#Republican U.S. Senator #ChuckGrassley introduced a bill on Thurs that would require congressional approval for new #tariffs, the day after #Trump unveiled sweeping new #taxes on a vast array of imported goods.

Only problem, Trump doesn’t care if something needs the approval of #Congress.

#Senate #economy #recession #Trumpcession #inflation #law #USpol #geopolitics
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senate-republican-pushes-congressional-approval-presidents-tariffs-2025-04-03/

Y’all, I don’t want to cause alarm, and I may be the only one affected,which seems unlikely, but I just checked my social security statement, and my entire history is blank. #Doge is fucking shit up, y’all.

I’ve been working and paying taxes since I was 14, and I’m less than a decade away from being old enough to collect SS, and my statement shows no work history. None. I’ve been told I need to fill out a form for every year missing to send to the irs, and then send those forms from the irs to SS, so I can prove to SS I worked. None of this can be done online, and each year is a separate process.

Check your statements. We are being robbed in broad daylight.

#socialsecurity #doge #taxes #WellFuckWeAreDoomed

https://www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/us-news/personal-finance/2025/04/03/67ee79c6ca47416f308b4597.html

#RevengePolitics

Hunter Biden #tax *informant* set to control #IRS #criminal division

The #Trump admin is amassing influence over criminal investigations at the IRS, bypassing senior career ofcls to elevate an ofcl who previously raised concerns about an investigation into Hunter Biden’s #taxes to a key leadership role in the division.

#law #WeaponizationOfGovernment #TrumpEnemiesList
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/04/02/trump-administration-irs-politicization/

God announces that Canada has just launched a billboard offensive in MAGA states, with giant roadside signs information MAGA voters of something they are reluctant to learn — since they voted for this to be done to them:

"Tariffs Are A Tax On Your Grocery Bill."

#Trump #tariffs #taxes #groceries #economy

https://www.thegodpodcast.com/p/canada-trolls-12-red-states-with

"As oligarchs can further avoid taxation, taxes fall more heavily on the poor and middle classes. Tariffs typify this trend, since they are taxes paid primarily by the consumer, not the supplier. Price increases from tariffs on food will hit the poor especially hard; the lowest income quintile of U.S. households spent 33 percent of their after-tax income on food in 2023, compared with the richest quintile, which spent only 8 percent."

~ Jodi Vittori

#tariffs #taxes

https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/03/25/america-kleptocracy-trump-musk-corruption/

So I guess the winning has started? Yes?

IRS Predicts DOGE Lost Half a Trillion Dollars for the USA
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/irs-predicts-doge-lost-half-a-trillion-dollars-for-the-usa

No less than 76 #Democrats just voted with Republicans to overturn the #IRS's "defi broker rule" which would have required crypto firms like #MarcAndreessen's #Uniswap to collect information on their users and in so doing discourage the use of these platforms for #moneylaundering by criminals and rogue nuclear states (#NorthKorea *loves* Uniswap) and by the very wealthy to avoid paying #taxes.

The new wave of #memecoin scams like #TrumpCoin are also all facilitated/perpetrated by these decentralized trading platforms.

If any of these people are your representative you should do what you can to make sure they are primaried because they are not representing your interests. At a minimum call them and yell at them (this works better than most people think!)

The corruption of the US government by #crypto bros is extremely bipartisan.

* Full roll call of vote: https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202571

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/musks-doge-fires-federal-tech-team-that-built-free-tax-filing-site-2025-03-01/

"#Musk's #DOGE fires federal tech team that built free #tax-filing site"

#MAGA parasocially identifies with #plutocracy robbing them. Rich MAGA "doesn't pay #taxes." Poor MAGA hates taxes

So they think this is for them! "This hurts black people" and so they like it

The trick is mind-numbingly simple:

Be a stupid *poor* cruel ghoul

Adore *rich* cruel ghouls

Who rob them, see them as cattle to abuse

And they never. fucking. see. it.

How #bigotry is used for #power

U.S. cities face a fiscal crisis due to #climatechange
[https://newsie.social/tags/climatechange], dwindling downtowns, federal cuts
and pension costs. A public policy expert sees budget fixes as chances to build
public consensus on what cities can afford: #economy
[https://newsie.social/tags/economy] #taxes [https://newsie.social/tags/taxes]
https://theconversation.com/a-fiscal-crisis-is-looming-for-many-us-cities-249436
[https://theconversation.com/a-fiscal-crisis-is-looming-for-many-us-cities-249436]

Are there any coherent arguments against taxing very high incomes and wealth, to reduce social inequality ?

I don't think so. Three of the main arguments are:
1. Income and wealth belong to individuals - tax is theft;
2. Individuals make better investment decisions than governments or other social bodies; and
3. Unless people keep all or most of the income and wealth they have gained there will be no incentive to work, so everybody gets poorer.

The first argument breaks down because all income and wealth is social in origin - most profit arises from business 'externalities' - unpaid labour in the home, state education, free use of resources, use of public roads and other infrastructure... None of the world's major industries would be profitable if they paid for their use of these free resources.

The second argument breaks down because private investment only goes after financial returns or hobby-horses (like space rockets) not wider priorities with no quick investment returns (like education, home insulation, rewilding) - and a lot goes on socially useless investment in assets like housing just to extract rents - a disutility for almost everyone.

The third argument is disproved by history. In the 'Trente Glorieuses' - the 30 years or so after the war - marginal tax rates on both income and property were 70-90%, even in the US - but these were exceptionally hard-working years, with high economic growth, improving living standards, better education, more caring societies, etc, etc... When taxes were reduced from the 1980s on, social progress began to reverse.

A few weeks back I was complaining about this meme and we had a good discussion about it on here. I ended up making a lesson plan about taxes and my students really liked it so I will share it. (It is for students with a basic understanding of integration. But, you could probably rework it to skip that bit.)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14xaQ1hMpqy0A68MAbxN49zK4HxK8m2R6/view?usp=sharing

(And if you have feedback let me know!)