GOP Is Totally Misrepresenting The 87K New IRS Agents Or Something

By William Teach August 11, 2022 – 10:30 am

The plan totally doesn’t exist, you know!

See? From the link

“Do you make $75,000 or less?” tweeted House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. “Democrats’ new army of 87,000 IRS agents will be coming for you—with 710,000 new audits for Americans who earn less than $75k.” Richard Grenell, Trump’s former Acting Director of National Intelligence, wrote on the social media platform: “The FBI raids Trump’s house and the Democrats vote to add 87,000 new IRS agents to go after Americans. Wake up, America.”

Other high-profile conservatives have insinuated that the Biden administration intends to direct those additional auditors to dig up dirt on the President’s political opponents. “After todays raid on Mar A Lago what do you think the left plans to use those 87,000 new IRS agents for?” tweeted Sen. Marco Rubio.

There’s only one problem. It’s not true.

The Inflation Reduction Act, a landmark climate, health care and tax package that passed the Senate on Sunday and is expected to head to Biden’s desk after the House approves it on Friday, includes roughly $78 billion for the IRS to be phased in over 10 years. A Treasury Department report from May 2021 estimated that such an investment would enable the agency to hire roughly 87,000 employees by 2031. But most of those hires would not be Internal Revenue agents, and wouldn’t be new positions.

OK, so, it is actually true that the IRS is looking to hire 87,000 employees with a doubling of their budget, which is what they got. Not all would be actual agents, they’d be IT, support staff

According to a Treasury Department official, the funds would cover a wide range of positions including IT technicians and taxpayer services support staff, as well as experienced auditors who would be largely tasked with cracking down on corporate and high-income tax evaders.

All of whom would enable the people who do the audits to go after lots and lots of people. Only a die hard leftist thinks all those extra employees think that it will only be big corporations and high tax evaders. Right up till the IRS audits them. Which won’t necessarily in person. It can be as simple as the IRS checking their tax returns with a fine tooth comb. This is simply nit-picking the talking point

(Breitbart) Ro Khanna (D-Ca) answered, “I tell them, like everyone, pay your taxes. I mean, this is not designed for clever schemes, this is going after people who just aren’t honestly paying their taxes. And there is almost a trillion dollars of revenue because of that. That’s not me, that’s Larry Summers. He did this groundbreaking paper that a lot of…revenue we’re not collecting because people aren’t being honest about it. Most people, our teachers or firefighters, you have to on the W-2, you’re honest about your taxes, and if people are honest about their taxes, this won’t be an issue.”

No, nothing to worry about.

AP FACT CHECK: GOP skews budget bill’s impact on IRS, taxes

Republican politicians and candidates are distorting how a major economic bill passed over the weekend by the Senate would reform the IRS and affect taxes for the middle class.

The “ Inflation Reduction Act,” which awaits a House vote after passing in the Senate on Sunday, would increase the ranks of the IRS, but it would not create a mob of armed auditors looking to harass middle-class taxpayers, as some Republicans are claiming.

While experts say corporate tax increases could indirectly burden people in the middle class, claims that they will face higher taxes are not supported by what is in the legislation.

The AP tries the same thing as the Time piece. Perhaps they should fact check the name of the bill itself, which does really nothing to reduce inflation, rather than typical political yammering.

Read: GOP Is Totally Misrepresenting The 87K New IRS Agents Or Something »

Posted in Democrats, Taxation, Wonky Media | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

Europe Turning Off Street Lights To Save Energy

By William Teach August 11, 2022 – 7:15 am

Wait, are they not getting enough energy from wind turbines and solar panels?

Europe’s streets go dark to save energy

Pushed by a looming energy crisis, cities across Europe are switching off the lights.

While Spain has made such measures mandatory, ordering shops to turn their lights off at night, in other places local authorities are voluntarily hitting the switch, arguing it’s a good time to trial light-saving measures.

Berlin is switching off the spotlights illuminating 200 of its historic buildings and monuments, and a number of towns and cities in Austria, Germany and Italy have reduced street lighting or turned off commercial signs.

In France, 14 communes in the Val d’Oise department north of Paris are trialing measures to fully switch off public lighting at night. Local authorities estimate shutting off street lights for three-and-a-half hours every night will help curb energy consumption by about a quarter.

Perhaps they should restart some nuclear and coal plants. Nah. They voted for this green stuff, let them deal with it. I have to wonder, will the government buildings, especially for the elected officials, also have the power turned off?

But the communes are keen to highlight that the experiment will also tamp down on light pollution. More darkness will help “respect the rhythm of day and night, allowing species to regenerate,” said Carole Faidherbe, the first deputy mayor of Taverny.

Look, I’m good with reducing light pollution, but, this is in a city

Most of the concerns raised by locals revolve around safety, according to Faidherbe, the official from Taverny, though she also stressed that the backlash wasn’t as strong as she’d expected.

The measures were designed with safety in mind, she said. The time window accounts for the arrival of the last train of the night and the departure of the first train of the morning and can be adjusted on national holidays, when streets are busier than usual at night. She added that video surveillance continues to operate even when the lights are off.

That’s all well and good, but, do we not think that the criminals will take advantage of this, especially all the migrants let in over the years?

Spain Air Conditioning Crackdown Set to Take Effect

Escaping the sweltering heat baking much of Spain just got a little bit harder. The government last week declared that businesses will not be allowed to run their air conditioning below 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius), part of a broader effort to save energy as Europe contends with record heat and races to cut its dependence on Russian gas.

Starting on Aug. 9 and lasting through November 2023, commercial buildings will have to keep summer air conditioning above 80 degrees — matching a policy in place at public buildings — and winter heating below 66 degrees Fahrenheit (19 degrees Celsius). The new rules apply to theaters, cinemas, museums, restaurants and shopping malls, while kindergartens, hospitals, schools and universities are off the hook. So are gyms, hair salons and laundries.

Well, that will seriously reduce income at theaters, cinemas, museums, restaurants, and shopping malls. And, who’s going to want to work there, either sweating or being cold? If only Europe had listened to Donald Trump about their reliance on Russia energy, instead of laughing.

Read: Europe Turning Off Street Lights To Save Energy »

Posted in Energy, Europe | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

Texas Governor Hits Back At NYC Mayor Adams

By William Teach August 11, 2022 – 7:00 am

One would think that a supporter of unfettered illegal immigration and keeping NYC a sanctuary city would be thrilled to have as many illegals/migrants as possible, showing his tolerance and caring

Abbott’s campaign hits back after NYC Mayor Adams threatens to bus New Yorkers to Texas

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s campaign on Tuesday shot back at New York City Mayor Eric Adams after Hizzoner threatened to send busloads of New Yorkers to Texas to campaign against Abbott in the upcoming gubernatorial election in retaliation for Texas sending busloads of migrants to the Big Apple.

“I already called all of my friends in Texas and told them how to cast their vote, and I am deeply contemplating taking a busload of New Yorkers to go to Texas and do some good old-fashioned door knocking because, for the good of America, we have to get him out of office,” Adams said Tuesday during a press conference.

So, Adams doesn’t like all the illegals being dropped off? Huh

“Because of high taxes, out of control crime, and poor leadership by the Mayor, people are volunteering to leave New York City without the Mayor asking,” campaign spokesperson Mark Miner told Fox News Digital. “It looks like Mayor Adams has taken on the additional role of political director for [Democratic candidate] Beto O’ Rourke.”

That clash came hours before three more buses arrived in New York City on Wednesday morning.

The more Adams whines, the more buses Abbott should send. Start dropping them off at E 88th St &, East End Ave in Manhattan, the address of Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the NYC mayor.

Though, it would be fun if they were dropped off in Rehoboth, Delaware, the town Biden has his beach house in.

 

Read: Texas Governor Hits Back At NYC Mayor Adams »

Posted in Democrats, Illegal Immigration | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

Earth Spinning Faster Causes Climate Insanity, Er, Anxiety Or Something

By William Teach August 10, 2022 – 6:47 pm

CNN is very vexed with your Americans

Many Americans still don’t think climate change is coming for them

(a bunch of stupid stuff blaming Bad Weather on your carbon footprint)

A majority of Americans acknowledge that climate change is real and that humans contribute to it.

But a lot of people in eastern Kentucky might not know they’re feeling the effects of the climate crisis.

About half the country in 2021 — 47% — believed global warming would harm them personally, according to data gathered by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

Maybe the majority do not because they know it’s a scam, especially with dumb stuff like this

The Earth spun faster than usual on June 29 and triggered climate anxiety — here’s how to cope

The Earth shaved 1.59 milliseconds off its rotation on June 29, 2022 and became the shortest day recorded since accurate daily measurements using atomic clocks first began in the 1960s.

The length of day is measured by how fast or slow the Earth is spinning, and data from recent years show that Earth is spinning faster than it ever has, according to scientists who study the Earth’s rotation.

Twenty eight of the shortest days ever recorded were in 2020, but June 29 and July 26 this year surpassed the shortest day in 2020. Simultaneously, days are mysteriously getting longer, according to scientists who wrote about it in Science Alert. It’s unclear what accounts for the change, but scientists have predictions about potential causes like changes in weather systems, major earthquakes, melting ice caps and more.

For many, these new findings — coupled with the severe heat we’ve been experiencing around the world and the extreme flooding in Kentucky and Missouri — are triggering feelings of climate anxiety.

See the climate cultists want to Blame this on the melting poles, because that’s never happened before, and, quite frankly we have no true measurements from during the previous Holocene warm and cool periods. But, it wouldn’t matter, because these people are nuts.

Read: Earth Spinning Faster Causes Climate Insanity, Er, Anxiety Or Something »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach August 10, 2022 – 1:00 pm

…is a sea that will soon rise up and wipe out coastal liberal cities, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Greenie Watch, with a post on Germany reconnecting a coal plant.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 32 Comments | Trackback URL

Good News: Inflation To Stay High Even As Gas Prices Fall

By William Teach August 10, 2022 – 10:30 am

Well, yeah, because gas is still much higher than when Biden took office, and so much of today’s prices have that price increase built in. Plus, there are many other factors

US inflation will likely stay high even as gas prices fall

Americans may finally be catching a break from relentlessly surging prices — if just a slight one — even as inflation is expected to remain painfully high for months.

Thanks largely to falling gas prices, the government’s inflation report for July, to be released Wednesday morning, is expected to show that prices jumped 8.7% from a year earlier — still a sizzling pace but a slowdown from the 9.1% year-over-year figure in June, which was the highest in four decades.

The forecast by economists, if it proves correct, would raise hopes that inflation might have peaked and that the run of punishingly higher prices is beginning to ease slightly. There have been other hopeful signs, too, that the pace of inflation may be moderating.

At the same time, an array of other economic developments are threatening to keep intensifying inflation pressures. The pace of hiring is robust and average wages are up sharply. And even as gas prices fall, inflation in services such as health care, rents and restaurant meals is accelerating. Price changes in services tend to be sticky and don’t ease as quickly as they do for gas, food or other goods. Those trends suggest that overall inflation may not drop significantly anytime soon.

There are a lot more factors, especially the low availaibility of microchips and used vehicles, which really increase inflation. The lack of new vehicles doesn’t help, not when dealers are, at best, charging MSRP, at worst, charging thousands more. You can find cause after cause, going back to China’s COVID19.

Other items may have also helped lower price gains in July: Food costs, though they likely kept rising, probably did so at a slower pace than in June. Prices for used cars, clothing and rental cars may have fallen, too.

Not sure about clothes, but, the other two have not dropped.

The number of ships waiting to be unloaded at the Los Angeles/Long Beach port has fallen for six straight months, according to Oxford Economics. Shipping costs have generally leveled off or declined, including for trucking and rail services, Oxford said, though they remain high.

Those costs may not be going up much, if at all, but, they are staying elevated. A tiny decrease won’t mean much at all.

But a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, released Monday, showed that Americans now expect lower inflation in the next few years than they did a month ago. Yung-Yu Ma, chief investment strategist at BMO Wealth Management, said lower inflation expectations may allow the Fed to react less aggressively to reports, such as last month’s burst of hiring, that suggest the economy is still strong and that inflation could remain high.

Well, yeah, we don’t expect it to stay high. We aren’t Venezuela or some 3rd world nation. But, people do still expect this to go on for years.

Falling prices online and at the pump fuel hopes for inflation-ravaged economy

The Biden administration on Tuesday got some much-needed good news on inflation: Online consumer prices dropped in July — the first time in more than two years that’s happened.

It’s another early sign that the white-hot inflation that has plagued the economy for more than a year could be abating as the Federal Reserve aggressively raises interest rates. Gas prices have dropped for eight straight weeks. Key commodities costs have eased. Walmart and other giant retailers are slashing prices. And even consumers are telling the Fed that their long-term fears of inflation are subsiding.

The problem here is that it looks good, but, much is due to demand destruction, meaning people are using less gas and buying fewer products, especially non-essential goods and services. People will still notice that gas is, nationally, $4.01, much higher than January 20th, 2021. Home energy is high. Food is high. Essentials are high.

Read: Good News: Inflation To Stay High Even As Gas Prices Fall »

Posted in Economy, Energy | 9 Comments | Trackback URL

Good News: Myanmar Bears Cost For Elites Green Agenda

By William Teach August 10, 2022 – 7:00 am

I’m rather surprised that the big wigs at the Associated Press allowed this to be published

‘The Sacrifice Zone’: Myanmar bears cost of green energy

The birds no longer sing. The fish no longer swim in rivers that have turned a murky brown. The animals do not roam, and the cows are sometimes found dead.

The people in this northern Myanmar forest have lost a way of life that goes back generations. But if they complain, they, too, face the threat of death.

This forest is the source of several key metallic elements known as rare earths, often called the vitamins of the modern world. Rare earths now reach into the lives of almost everyone on the planet, turning up in everything from hard drives and cellphones to elevators and trains. They are especially vital to the fast-growing field of green energy, feeding wind turbines and Tesla engines. And they end up in the supply chains of some of the most prominent companies in the world, including General Motors, Volkswagen, Mercedes, Tesla and Apple.

But an AP investigation has found that their universal use hides a dirty open secret in the industry: Their cost is environmental destruction, the theft of land from villagers and the funneling of money to brutal militias, including at least one linked to Myanmar’s secretive military government. And as demand soars for rare earths along with green energy, the abuses are likely to grow.

“This rapid push to build out mining capacity is being justified in the name of climate change,” said Julie Michelle Klinger, author of the book “Rare Earths Frontiers,” who is leading a federal project to trace illicit energy minerals. “There’s still this push to find the right place to mine them, which is a place that is out of sight and out of mind.”

But, hey, it’s over there in the 3rd World, which means the 1st World elitist climate cultists do not have to see what their beliefs are causing. Most companies did not respond to the APs questions. Better

The State Department, which leads work on securing the U.S. rare earths supply, did not respond to repeated requests for comment. But experts say the government weighs the regulation of rare earths against other green goals, such as the sales and use of electric vehicles. Rare earths are also omitted from the European Union’s 2021 regulation on conflict minerals.

Yeah, so the State Department is blowing smoke and providing cover all in the name of the Climate Cult.

There is a name for what Myanmar has become: A “sacrifice zone,” or a place that destroys itself for the good of the world.

Good job, Warmists

Militias are rampant in these northern forest frontier areas, including at least one tied to the military-backed Border Guard Force. The Myanmar military or Tatmadaw is under international sanctions for human rights abuses after it seized power last year. That means the rare earths money it gets from the militia may be fueling a violent crackdown against civilians. The Myanmar military and militia leaders did not respond to requests for comment.

Hey, there has to be some sacrifice for the green agenda, right?

Read: Good News: Myanmar Bears Cost For Elites Green Agenda »

Posted in Climate Cult, Environment, Global Warming | 7 Comments | Trackback URL

Hot Take: Trump Could Be Charged With Espionage Act Violations

By William Teach August 10, 2022 – 6:45 am

Did we not hear something about this in 2016?

Trump could be charged with violating the Espionage Act, former DOJ national security chief says

The former chief of the Justice Department’s national security division said Tuesday that the search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Fla., suggests that the former president could be charged with violating the World War I-era Espionage Act.

That law has traditionally been used to target government leakers, such as former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. But it also “actually has provisions that apply to essentially the mishandling [of classified material] through gross negligence, permitting documents to be removed from their proper place, or to be lost, stolen or destroyed,” Mary McCord, a veteran federal prosecutor who headed DOJ’s national security division in the closing years of the Obama administration, told the Yahoo News “Skullduggery” podcast.

McCord said that the Espionage Act is one of two federal crimes that appear to apply to Trump’s reported conduct. He could also be charged, she said, with violating another federal statute that targets anyone who “willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies or destroys public records.”

OK, this speculation, a lot of others think this is related to the stupid J6 stuff. Regardless, if Trump is charged, how will the same media and Democrats react when they cheered on Hillary Clinton actually doing everything mentioned above and being let off the hook scott free? It really is a two tiered justice system, and it will tear the country apart further. You know there was no way in hell that the FBI performed a pre-dawn raid on Trump’s Mar-A-Lago residence without the knowledge of Merrick Garland and Joe Biden.

I’m surprised the Washington Post let him post this. Look, this is going to harden support for Trump to run again. Personally, I want some new blood, but, this will fire up the GOP voters (excluding the unhinged #NeverTrumpers who’ve given up all pretense of conservative leanings) to get out there, starting with the mid-terms.

Read: Hot Take: Trump Could Be Charged With Espionage Act Violations »

Posted in Constitution, Current Affairs, Donald Trump | 15 Comments | Trackback URL

Good News: Almost No EVs Will Qualify For The Tax Credits

By William Teach August 9, 2022 – 3:51 pm

This is what happens when you neither read nor understand the legislation you’re voting for, when you’re just desperate to Do Something and do not really consider that it actually has to make sense, not just be a Talking Point

The climate bill could short-circuit EV tax credits, making qualifying for them nearly impossible

The U.S. Senate passed a far-reaching climate, energy and health care bill on Aug. 7, 2022, that invests an unprecedented US$370 billion in energy and climate programs over the next 10 years – including incentives to expand renewable energy and electric vehicles.

Rapid and widespread adoption of electric vehicles will be essential for the United States to meet its climate goals. And the new bill, which includes a host of other health and tax-related provisions, aims to encourage people to trade their gasoline-fueled cars for electrics by offering a tax credit of up to $7,500 for new electric vehicles and up to $4,000 for used electric vehicles through 2032.

But there’s a catch, and it could end up making it difficult for most EVs to qualify for the new incentive.

A catch? The hell you say!

The bill, which needs House approval, requires that new electric vehicles meet stringent sourcing requirements for critical materials, the components of the battery, and final assembly to qualify for the tax credits. While some automakers, like Tesla and GM, have well-developed domestic supply chains, no electric vehicle manufacturer currently meets all the bill’s requirements.

Wait, what was that final line? “no EV manufacturer currently meets all the bill’s requirements.” Huh. That’s what you would call a Class 1 Fuckup.

The problem is that the Inflation Reduction Act’s sourcing requirements come online so quickly, starting in 2023, and ratchet upward so rapidly, that the plan could backfire. Instead of expanding electric vehicle adoption, the policy could make almost all electric vehicles ineligible for the tax incentives.

The bill excludes incentives for any new vehicle which contains battery materials or components extracted, processed, manufactured or assembled by a “foreign entity of concern” – a category which includes China.

Whoops. At least 40% of the battery components must come from the U.S. or a nation we have a fair trade deal. China controls somewhere between 60-80% of the market at this time, and are producing 76% of the world’s EV batteries. (that info via Reason)

Although EV manufacturers are already pursuing plans to develop supply chains that meet these sourcing requirements, proposals for mines and processing facilities often face challenges. Indigenous and environmental concerns have slowed a proposed lithium mine in Nevada. In some cases, key materials, such as cobalt and graphite, are not readily sourced domestically or from fair-trade allies.

Double whoops. And, seriously, do you think there won’t be lawsuits left and right if the federal government even greenlights domestic mining? The hardcore enviroweenies won’t allow it. And, if it looks like it has a chance of going forward, they will do anything from mass protests at the site to performing illegal acts.

(Reuters) Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan told Reuters on Tuesday: “It’s a very cumbersome, unworkable credit once the full restrictions set in. There’s conversations going on.”

Perhaps you should have thought of this before jamming the legislation through.

Read: Good News: Almost No EVs Will Qualify For The Tax Credits »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Democrats, Global Warming, Surrender Monkey Friday | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach August 9, 2022 – 1:00 pm

…is horrible carbon polluting concrete, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Victory Girls Blog, with a post on Biden’s Afghanistan debacle one year later.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 2 Comments | Trackback URL
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