Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[bambamcam4ever]

That's highly inefficient

Like I said, the government knows my SS#, my kids' SS#'s too (they've never worked)
They also know who is here on different visas and such.

Seems like a situation where we just do something because it's "always been done that way"

Edit- also applies to taxes. Government knows my employer, my bank account (can't open it without a SS#), they know if I sold or bought a house, they know of any stocks I own, etc
There is literally nothing they don't have access to if they wanted it
Yet we do this odd calculation every year to see what our "bill" is. Flat tax would be so much simpler

It's done so people here illegally aren't afraid to pay taxes.

For probably 90% of the population, you are correct that the government has enough information to calculate your taxes. There are two reasons why you have to fill out a return:

1) TurboTax and HRblock have successfully lobbied to keep it that way so they can rake in their software sales, despite providing little value to society.

2) Certain political entities in this country want it to be painful to fill out your taxes.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Flat tax is a giant rip-off for anyone not in the top percentile of accumulated wealth. I'm all for simplifying US' archaic and ridiculous tax code, but man, flat tax is not the way to go.

Having known a few illegal immigrants in Chicago (lots of Irish and Poles actually) it's crazy how much more illegal immigrants pay in taxes than any of us posting here.

 

[ZeroPucksGiven]

Flat tax is a giant rip-off for anyone not in the top percentile of accumulated wealth. I'm all for simplifying US' archaic and ridiculous tax code, but man, flat tax is not the way to go.

Having known a few illegal immigrants in Chicago (lots of Irish and Poles actually) it's crazy how much more illegal immigrants pay in taxes than any of us posting here.

I didn't mean flat (even though I obviously typed it) haha
I mean a simple tax code: if you make between $x to $y your rate is A%

Make it tiered.

And agree on the points above that HR block (and likely CPAs) lobby the hell to make sure that doesn't become to fruition.

 

[Sideline]

Flat tax is a giant rip-off for anyone not in the top percentile of accumulated wealth. I'm all for simplifying US' archaic and ridiculous tax code, but man, flat tax is not the way to go.

Having known a few illegal immigrants in Chicago (lots of Irish and Poles actually) it's crazy how much more illegal immigrants pay in taxes than any of us posting here.

I've toyed around in my head with the idea of universal basic income + a flat sales tax. The major problem with a flat tax is that it's regressive, but a UBI makes that a non issue. You'd need import tariffs to prevent rich people buying things abroad to avoid taxes. You could write the tax code in less than 100 pages.

There isn't much opportunity for graft or special interest lobbying so it will never happen. Nice thought experiment though.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Tax people who make the same or less than I do very little. Tax everyone who makes more than I do a lot. Simple.

 

[HandshakeLine]

I've toyed around in my head with the idea of universal basic income + a flat sales tax. The major problem with a flat tax is that it's regressive, but a UBI makes that a non issue. You'd need import tariffs to prevent rich people buying things abroad to avoid taxes. You could write the tax code in less than 100 pages.

There isn't much opportunity for graft or special interest lobbying so it will never happen. Nice thought experiment though.

I've not seen it coupled with UBI before, and you're right, it is an interesting thought experiment.

I suspect that with increasing automation and the pandemic, UBI might no longer be as taboo a topic as it once was, so who knows? It might get some traction, or at least parts of that idea.

 

[Mr. T]

To help understand a small part of the mosaic of efforts and advances which have made a much quicker than year to year and a half vaccine not only possible, but likely.

You follow some interesting people on Twitter.

 

[EightyOne]

I've not seen it coupled with UBI before, and you're right, it is an interesting thought experiment.

I suspect that with increasing automation and the pandemic, UBI might no longer be as taboo a topic as it once was, so who knows? It might get some traction, or at least parts of that idea.

With UBI, why would I, someone who works in a field that helps prop up society, but hates their job, ever f***ing go back??

My personal work ethic is no match for the pile of BS I sift through during my shifts. SOMEONE has to do it...but if people get free money and rent help, then f*** this 40+hrs + 2 hours commuting a week shit! Lol

 

[Jaded-Fan]

You follow some interesting people on Twitter.

I read it on the Hill. Then searched for a link on Twitter as easier to read the link.

I have zero clue who that person/group is.

 

[Mr. T]

I read it on the Hill. Then searched for a link on Twitter as easier to read the link.

I have zero clue who that person/group is.

Yeah, you don't strike me as someone that actively hates their own brain.

 

[Ogrezilla]

With UBI, why would I, someone who works in a field that helps prop up society, but hates their job, ever f***ing go back??

My personal work ethic is no match for the pile of BS I sift through during my shifts. SOMEONE has to do it...but if people get free money and rent help, then f*** this 40+hrs + 2 hours commuting a week shit! Lol

Well for one it would almost certainly be less than you currently make. And I think the long term idea of it isn't for less people to work, it's for everyone that works to be able to work less as more of the work becomes automated. That's obviously a very long term and idealistic view of it. I can't imagine it happening at a level that gets you out of poverty anytime soon.

 

[billybudd]

Governments lying with the effect of killIng more people...isn’t much worse than that...ridiculous

Georgia's coronavirus data made reopening look safe. The numbers were a lie

This author hopes you don't follow his links to see if they support the article's premise (which is probably why LAT ran it under "opinion," rather than "news"). At most, it (or, more accurately, the AJC) demonstrates that the state had one bad graph on its website for a few hours (Georgia says this was due to a database sorting error, which is plausible but not necessarily true). Mr Fleischer uses this to draw the conclusion that it is irresponsible to remove restrictions. This conclusion is contradicted by the only real piece of evidence he linked, which says this

The data is still preliminary, and cases have held steady or dropped slightly in the past two weeks.

a few different times, in a few different ways. The tepid "time will tell" disclaimer at the end of an "I told you so" article isn't enough. I don't know who "Matthew Fleischer" is, but this is the last time I read something under his byline. Sanctimonious, sensationalistic, unsupported garbage. The man is either stupid or a liar.

 

[CascadiaPenguin]

This author hopes you don't follow his links to see if they support the article's premise (which is probably why LAT ran it under "opinion," rather than "news"). At most, it (or, more accurately, the AJC) demonstrates that the state had one bad graph on its website for a few hours (Georgia says this was due to a database sorting error, which is plausible but not necessarily true). Mr Fleischer uses this to draw the conclusion that it is irresponsible to remove restrictions. This conclusion is contradicted by the only real piece of evidence he linked, which says this a few different times, in a few different ways. The tepid "time will tell" disclaimer at the end of an "I told you so" article isn't enough. I don't know who "Matthew Fleischer" is, but this is the last time I read something under his byline. Sanctimonious, sensationalistic, unsupported garbage. The man is either stupid or a liar.

I followed the links the author provided.

I read this: "I have a hard time understanding how this happens without it being deliberate," microbiology and molecular genetics PhD and state Rep. Jasmine Clark told the Journal Constitution. "Literally nowhere ever in any type of statistics would that be acceptable."

A reasonable reader with ANY experience with spreadsheets, charting and databases would surely not believe this was a "database sorting error". Not for a second. And because I can't dip my toes into any political pool, I won't recite Gov. Kemp's track record as AG, but this episode seems quite consistent with past behavior.

And while I love histrionics as much as the next person, "Sanctimonious, sensationalistic, unsupported garbage"
is more than a bit much, as well as being wholly inaccurate.

Fleischer concluded : "Wishful thinking isn’t going to end this pandemic. If the numbers look too good to be true, they probably are. Stay home if you can, wear a mask, and don’t let politically motivated talk of reopening lull you into a false sense of security."

Spot on, mic drop, even if lacking in sensationalism and sanctimony. ;-)

 

[Mario_is_BACK!!]

Uh.

 

[Mario_is_BACK!!]

Uh the second wave

 

[HandshakeLine]

I hate this hell timeline.

 

[Andy99]

Uh the second wave

This is all the proof you need that there’s a shit ton of stupid people in this country...in case you needed any...I live in a bubble in SF

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Again, I was finding a twitter link of a story that I read that I thought was of interest that I found in legit news reading. The ones who are retweeting this I almost always have no clue who they are, as in this case.

 

[billybudd]

I followed the links the author provided.

I read this: "I have a hard time understanding how this happens without it being deliberate," microbiology and molecular genetics PhD and state Rep. Jasmine Clark told the Journal Constitution. "Literally nowhere ever in any type of statistics would that be acceptable."

"Nevermind that the data Fleischmann linked to contradicts the premise of his article, the important part is that a politician is peddling a conspiracy about her opposition."
...
...

A reasonable reader with ANY experience with spreadsheets, charting and databases would surely not believe this was a "database sorting error".

If you've never seen a single instance where an algorithm or inquiry produced data that was sorted out of order, you don't have much experience with databases. I don't know that that happened here, but I do know that this sort of occurrence is not rare.

And while I love histrionics as much as the next person, "Sanctimonious, sensationalistic, unsupported garbage"
is more than a bit much, as well as being wholly inaccurate.

Fleischer concluded : "Wishful thinking isn’t going to end this pandemic. If the numbers look too good to be true, they probably are. Stay home if you can, wear a mask, and don’t let politically motivated talk of reopening lull you into a false sense of security."

Spot on, mic drop, even if lacking in sensationalism and sanctimony. ;-)

It is unfortunate that years of ragebait media have conditioned people into thinking that the purpose of newspapers is to slay the enemy with conspiracy theories (nevermind whether they're true or if there's even any attempt to substantiate them--in Fleischmann's case, there is not), rather than to inform the reader with facts.

 

[Ogrezilla]

This is all the proof you need that there’s a shit ton of stupid people in this country...in case you needed any...I live in a bubble in SF

"After the coronavirus pandemic"

All gravy baby

 

[HandshakeLine]

It is unfortunate that years of ragebait media have conditioned people into thinking that the purpose of newspapers is to slay the enemy with conspiracy theories (nevermind whether they're true or if there's even any attempt to substantiate them--in Fleischmann's case, there is not), rather than to inform the reader with facts.

That has never ever been the case, even before Hearst's day.

I really don't know how that myth still survives, but the point of a free press has never been reporting the truth. It's the freedom to tell whatever "truth" you want, within the bounds of libel law.

Edit: For anyone interested in historical newspapers, there's a great collection online for free at the Library of Congress, but it doesn't include any of the main Pittsburgh ones, which got snapped up years ago and are administered through some pay-to-access sites.

Chronicling America « Library of Congress

 

[Jaded-Fan]

That has never ever been the case, even before Hearst's day.

I really don't know how that myth still survives, but the point of a free press has never been reporting the truth. It's the freedom to tell whatever "truth" you want, within the bounds of libel law.

REMEMBER THE MAINE!

 

[HandshakeLine]

Yeah, that's one of the main examples that people should know.

 

[Mario_is_BACK!!]

 

[ColePens]

Uh the second wave

Please tell me this is edited video from an old girls gone wild mixed in with a fake Coronavirus correspondent. Omg please. People cannot be this dumb?

Oh wait.. who am I kidding? This is where the evil in me just gives up on society.