“It’s a little too quiet” - US Politics February 2021

the reason the NHS has survived (just about) and is politically untouchable is that it is *not* mean tested. means testing benefits seems like common sense and being reasonable. but it's not. it's a wedge issue that weakens the foundation of what will hopefully become a welfare state. don't fall for it.

Means testing is dumb and we shouldn’t do it

so much paperwork! just raise the top tax bracket!

And it’s crazy that we don’t have monthly checks in this country like the rest of the developed world.

heh uh well i got bad news from over here in the uk

"written out"

xxpost Former leader of the Free World now 'suggesting putdowns,' figured as much

I keep imagining Mar-a-Lago visitors gawking when Trump does this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umU8vKRNnRw

One of the big problems with means-testing the stimulus checks is that it's all based on 2019 tax returns, which doesn't really give a good indication of current need. Better to give 'em to everyone and then make the necessary adjustments to people's 2021 taxes.

so much paperwork! just raise the top tax bracket!

Yeah, basing it on 2019 returns feels like a sure way to fuck over a lot people.

Any kind of means testing just slows the checks down. The sooner they're out, the sooner they help people who need it, and stimulate the economy for those who don't.

.@SpeakerPelosi's office has begun referring to the House GOP leader in press releases as: "McCarthy (Q-CA)"

— Luke Broadwater ☀️ (@lukebroadwater) February 3, 2021

ah shit we're going to have to move the Q stuff back here aren't we

means testing is an ostensibly 'responsible', but in reality just a wonky way to make people just over the cusp resentful towards those lower, and blow the whole program to smithereens

which is why i'm suspicious any time a democrat starts arguing in favor of it

Means testing is dumb and we shouldn’t do it.

otm. it adds needless layers of complication to an idea that ought to be dirt simple.

I think most ilxors would quickly agree that our entire approach to the social safety net and the tax system that supports it are cruel, unfair and inefficient and should be torn up by the roots and a better, fairer, more equitable system instituted.

This stimulus is just another creaky, awkward, ugly 'fix' for a system should work on everyone's behalf during good times as well as crises. But it is all we can get in a hurry and needs to be rammed through asap.

xpost (and i say that as someone who was easily swayed by arguments like 'why should millionaire kids get to go to state schools for free' well into the Obama era, so i get why they can seem logical on their face)

And it’s crazy that we don’t have monthly checks in this country like the rest of the developed world.

I'm anti-means testing but if they're gonna do it anyway are they offering the stimmy as tax rebates to people who had good 2019s but shitty 2020s? Filing starts in less than 2 weeks so they could theoretically get people their money soon.

Why not?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is considering whether to charge members of far-right groups involved in the deadly Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol under a federal law usually used against organized crime, according to two law enforcement sources.

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO, enables prosecutors to combat certain ongoing racketeering crimes such as murder, kidnapping, bribery and money laundering. The 1970 statute provides for hefty criminal penalties including up to 20 years in prison and seizure of assets obtained illegally through a criminal enterprise...

RICO the fuck out of those shitcicles

that protest against putting homeless people in the hotel was right up the road from me. There are sizable homeless encampments under every overpass along the highway near there. Austin has been in dire need of better options for the booming homeless population. I don't see how these people are unable to grasp that this is a better solution.

these assholes don't want homeless people to live on the street. they don't want them to live in a hotel.

they really just don't want them to exist.

re: RICO. If they can make the charges stick, then I say don't hesitate for a minute. It probably makes more work for the prosecutors, but the easy charges to bring are all for piddly-ass shit.

Not going to cheer RICO being used for any purpose.

Did I see something about Canada officially designating the Proud Boys a terrorist group?

I would almost guarantee that the Venn diagram comparing people at that protest to people that drive by the unhoused encampments and say, "someone really needs to get rid of those unsightly camps" is a perfect fucking circle.

Oh, and speaking of assholes:

mom drives this teen across state lines to confront protesters; he does so with an assault rifle and kills two people; he’s allowed to leave the scene; he’s bonded out; he does a lot of nazi shit; his family moves w/o telling the court; prosecutors still aren’t seeking remand https://t.co/YsTfmJqpib

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) February 3, 2021

article I just read says they are seeking his arrest, so unless that tweet is saying something diff, I'm confused on what the prosecutors haven't done:

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-kyle-rittenhouse-move-bail-violation-20210203-t6m7h4vrkvggjdwmq3nbttdy3m-story.html

Not going to cheer RICO being used for any purpose.

― Joe Biden Stan Account (milo z)

yeah this, see also grand juries

his mother needs to be arrested for this shit too. unfuckingreal

xpost

I am not a lawyer, but maybe it's that they're seeking his arrest, not his incarceration? That is, with bond being raised, that implies he can just be bailed out again.

"When a person is remanded in custody it means that they will be detained in a prison until a later date when a trial or sentencing hearing will take place." So there's a warrant for his arrest, but he can just get out again on bail with his right-wing blood money.

@euler: "We do have significant unemployment benefits for workers out because of the rona"

Oh, I thought France was doing checks. Sounds like I was misinformed.

Re monthly payments, We have them here in Aus. They raised the normal dole from "completely unlivable below poverty line" to reasonable, and also set up a "job keeper" payment for those in jobs but on furlough which was even more generous. Theyre about to stop that one though and the airlines are whingeing cos theyre still all out of work.

ok thanks JiC that makes sense.

“After all, it is extremely unusual for a defendant facing a charge of First Degree Intentional Homicide in Kenosha County to post cash bond and be released from custody pending trial,” the motion said. “Rarely does our community see accused murderers roaming about freely.”

I'm sure the reason why is white under our noses

Oh but again, thats not for *everyone*, if you still have a paid job obv you wont get anything - I didnt.

So is there a difference between the $600/2000 check and “paycheck protection?”

Yes.

xp -
stimulus checks are to boost the economy (and help people struggling... but mostly to encourage spending)
enhanced unemployment was to help people who lost their jobs, it was the program that paid many people more than they had ever made in their lives working retail and by God we couldn't have that continue on unabated
paycheck protection is a loan to employers, possibly forgivable if used correctly) to keep employees on

There have also been other programs like funding to keep airline workers from being furloughed.

enhanced unemployment was to help people who lost their jobs, it was the program that paid many people more than they had ever made in their lives working retail and by God we couldn't have that continue on unabated

I'm currently collecting unemployment in NJ and between the state and the feds I get a little over $500 a week; it's definitely helpful. And I don't know how long the federal bonus cash will last, but NJ keeps extending unemployment — I'm gonna be able to stay on the rolls until mid-June at present.

thankful that my mother is getting the federal $300/week bonus again

i'm one of those people who made more than they ever had in their life with the cares unemployment last summer for about 3 months. i paid down most of my credit card debt! i could afford new tires for my car! i put two grand in savings! it was incredible.

Source tells me that roughly half the House GOP conference gave Marjorie Taylor Greene a standing ovation after she rose to speak a few min ago.

— Cameron Joseph (@cam_joseph) February 3, 2021

She ain’t going anywhere.

the House is filled with the fringiest extremists of the party so I'm not exactly shocked but it did make my hair stand on my neck for a moment reading that.

I suspect this is more 'protect one of our own when the libs comes for her' but to me idgaf why they're applauding, they should be booted too

Here's that Pelosi release:

https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/2321-0

McCarthy (Q-CA) Fails to Lead, Hands Keys to Party to Greene

February 3, 2021
Press Release

* Sen. John Thune: House Republicans Must Decide if They Want to Be the Party of QAnon *

After several conversations and literally running away from reporters, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Q-CA) made clear that he is refusing to take action against conspiracy theorist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. As a result, the House will continue with a vote to strip Greene of her seat on the esteemed House Committee on Education & Labor and House Committee on Budget. McCarthy’s failure to lead his party effectively hands the keys over to Greene – an anti-Semite, QAnon adherent and 9/11 Truther.

McCarthy’s cowardly refusal to deal with Greene breaks with calls from Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, the Republican Jewish Coalition and several prominent members of the party to take action against Greene.

As No 2. Senate Republican John Thune warned Tuesday, McCarthy has chosen to make House Republicans “the party of conspiracy theories and QAnon” and Rep. Greene is in the driver’s seat.

honestly...i hope i'm wrong, but this is not good. it may destroy the GOP earlier, and yeah, it's crazy and they sure are cowardly and dumb. but i think this is very bad. i was worrying earlier today about what would happen if a few more Q people manage to get elected, and that was back when i assumed MJT would face some sort of real accountability or be stripped of a position or at least be reprimanded. i did not have "House GOP formally goes full Q_anon" in my First Week of February 2021 bingo card

Well, we already found out what it's like to have a Q-ish president, so ...

like, whey did they even bother censuring steve king, the neo-nazi from iowa? maybe steve will see the GOP's renewed commitment to 8chan derivatives and make another run in 2022. i'm sure MJT and her party would welcome his very interesting views (some might say conspiratorial) about white supremacy