Search Results: tax dollars

I read it would take an average American 25-30 years to make that money factoring in expenses and taxes. 15-20 for a bit higher earners

If my family wasn’t very wealthy I’d be panicking. I still need to work very hard, but it gives me the chance to reap the rewards of being successful as my parents suffered the most.

I'm not sure if Americans know the truth about agri-business.

Ethanol manufacturers use about 40 percent of the U. S. corn crop for ethanol and related co-products, with the majority of the ethanol being consumed in the domestic transportation fuel market.

Since the creation of the domestic market for corn ethanol after the energy crisis of the 1970s, the federal government has given away a steady stream of subsidies. Originally sold as a way to achieve energy independence and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, ethanol has been a favorite of policymakers from the Corn Belt. Ethanol producers have received favorable treatment under the tax code, tariff protection from foreign competition, a government mandate for its use, infrastructure subsidies, and more.

As a result, taxpayers have spent tens of billions of dollars over the last 40 years subsidizing the mature biofuel. Decades of subsidies have failed, however, to reduce climate risks and serve as a bridge to next-generation, non-food-based biofuels, while spurring several unintended consequences, wasting taxpayer dollars, and distorting markets.

As concerns, food, American farm subsidies have negative environmental effects. By encouraging the overproduction of certain crops, subsidies can lead to the use of more pesticides and fertilizers. Additionally, heavily subsidized corn is used to produce unhealthy processed foods which are cheaper and less nutritious which has a multiplier effect that further contribute to the obesity epidemic.

Another way in which corn subsidies raise prices is by setting minimum prices for certain crops. The government often sets a minimum price for corn that is higher than what would be considered the market price.

In effect USA Americans are subsidizing corn conglomerates AND raising the prices of corn derived products - hitting themselves in the wallet twice so huge agri-business conglomerates can rake in yet more profits.

🌽 is also a substitute for porn (duh)!

My experience: It took a few months to remember to bring bags into store with you but once that habit was ingrained I don't even notice EXCEPT it takes a TINY BIT longer each checkout & I've noticed cashiers are MUCH more willing to help bag stuff now. All in all it seems like a good idea. Many corporate stores gave out canvas or polymer bags at 1st (some still do 3 years later) so you could show off their logo for free advertising for them (you've really gotta just admire the amazing system capitalism is!).

Here's my concern, the fact remains that recycling is just not economically feasible to break even, let alone make a profit. These are some statistics about recycling which vary greatly by region:

In the United States, only about 35% of TOTAL waste is recycled or composted, according to the EPA. Specifically, plastic recycling rates are particularly low, with only 5% to 9% of plastics actually being recycled. Paper & cardboard fare better, with about 66% being recycled. Glass recycling stands at approximately 27%. These figures highlight significant inefficiencies and challenges in the recycling process, including contamination & economic factors that limit the recyclability of certain materials.

If you ever watched the Penn & Teller show "Bullshit" (where they expose common misperceptions), they did an episode on recycling that was eye-opening (still available to view on Paramount+ & Fubo but $ versions).

As a "radical commie liberal Marxist sheeple" as I've been called here I must say that initially I was for recycle everything but now I'm not so sure recycling in the USA is feasible economicly - especially if my tax dollars are subsidizing a losing fight! I now understand the obvious, that Europe is able to pull off amazing feats of recycling but they are much smaller and already have the infrastructure in place - neither of which applies to the United States. The end result of the Penn & Teller show (spoiler alert) is we recycle cuz it feels good.

well, I would do that, and we’re sitting down, you know, and I was, somebody, we had uh Senator Marco Rubio, and my daughter Ivanka was so, uh, impactful on that issue. it’s a very important issue. but I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I’m talking about, that, because, look, child care is child care, it’s couldn’t, you know, there’s something, you have to have it — in this country you have to have it. but when you talk about those numbers compared to the kind of numbers that I’m talking about by taxing foreign nations at levels that they’re not used to — but they’ll get used to it very quickly — and it’s not gonna stop them from doing business with us, but they'll have a very substantial tax when they send product into our country. uh, those numbers are so much bigger than any numbers that we’re talking about, including child care, that it’s going to take care. we’re gonna have — I, I look forward to having no deficits within a fairly short period of time, coupled with, uh, the reductions that I told you about on waste and fraud and all of the other things that are going on in our country, because I have to stay with child care. I want to stay with child care, but those numbers are small relative to the kind of economic numbers that I’m talking about, including growth, but growth also headed up by what the plan is that I just, uh, that I just told you about. we’re gonna be taking in trillions of dollars, and as much as child care, uh, is talked about as being expensive, it’s, relatively speaking, not very expensive compared to the kind of numbers we’ll be taking in. we’re going to make this into an incredible country that can afford to take care of its people, and then we'll worry about the rest of the world. let’s help other people, but we’re going to take care of our country first. this is about America first. it’s about make America great again, we have to do it because right now we’re a failing nation, so we’ll take care of it. thank you.

​​After the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991, the oligarchs who rose to power in the former Soviet republics looked to park their illicit money in western democracies, where the rule of law would protect their investments. Once invested in the United States, they favored the Republicans, who focused on the protection of wealth rather than social services. For their part, Republican politicians focused on spreading capitalism rather than democracy, arguing that the two went hand in hand.

The financial deregulation that made the U. S. a good bet for oligarchs to launder money got a boost when, shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks, Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act to address the threat of terrorism. The law took on money laundering and the illicit funding of terrorism, requiring financial institutions to inspect large sums of money passing through them. But the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) exempted many real estate deals from the new regulations.

The United States became one of the money-laundering capitals of the world, with hundreds of billions of dollars laundered in the U. S. every year. Congress addressed this threat in 2021 by including the Corporate Transparency Act in the National Defense Authorization Act. It undercut shell companies and money laundering by requiring the owners of any company that is not otherwise overseen by the federal government (by filing taxes, for example, or through close regulation) to file with FinCEN a report identifying (by name, birth date, address, and an identifying number) each person associated with the company who either owns 25% or more of it or exercised substantial control over it. The measure also increased penalties for money laundering and streamlined cooperation between banks and foreign law enforcement authorities. That act went into effect on January 1, 2024. Now FinCEN has firmed up rules to add anti-money-laundering safeguards to private real estate and private investment.

The department’s release of documents to The New York Times came shortly after President Biden dropped out of the presidential race, and as his son prepares to stand trial next month on charges of evading taxes on millions of dollars in income from Burisma and other foreign businesses.

The records, which the Biden administration had withheld for years, indicate that Hunter Biden wrote at least one letter to the U. S. ambassador to Italy in 2016 seeking assistance for the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, where he was a board member.

Embassy officials appear to have been uneasy with the request from the son of the sitting vice president on behalf of a foreign company.

The State Department did not release the actual text of the letter.

A White House spokesman said the president was not aware when he was vice president that his son was reaching out to the U. S. Embassy in Italy on behalf of Burisma.

Hunter Biden has not been charged with violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, which requires people to disclose when they lobby the U. S. government on behalf of foreign interests.

The NYT request was initially filed under the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, in June 2021. After nearly eight months, the State Department had not released any records, and The Times sued. About 18 months later, the department moved to close the case after releasing thousands of pages of records — none of which shed light on Hunter Biden’s outreach to the U. S. government.

The Times challenged the thoroughness of the search, noting that the department had failed to produce responsive records contained in a cache of files connected to a laptop that Mr. Biden had abandoned at a Delaware repair shop. The department resumed the search and periodic productions, but had produced few documents related to Mr. Biden until the week after his father ended his re-election campaign and endorsed Vice President Harris for the Democratic nomination.