#medicare wages

[randyite]

#medicare #health care #food stamps #snap #minimum wage #economy #republicans #rethuglicans #income inequality #wealth inequality

[magicspun]

Disabled people shouldn't have to explain themselves. If you wouldn't question an able bodied person, why are you putting a disabled person trial over every little thing?

There's an argument over disabled people using Doordash. And people are using all sorts of explanations on why it's accessible.

Because we want the same convenience.

The issue shouldn't be about why. But why not? Those on financial assistance shouldn't have to explain themselves. They should have the same quality of life as others.

They're already on disabled income. They've already "proven" themselves. They don't need to be needled or scrutinized. If you're mad you're not getting paid enough or not enough free time- that's your issue and fight elsewhere.

#doordash #accessibility #life #living #quality of life #take out #food #food delivery #disabled #disability #financial assistance #medicare #medicaid #jobs #money #living wage #minimum wage

[lilithism1848]

#leftism #anti capitalism #socialism #communism #anarchy #medicare #healthcare industry #tweet #medicaid #pharmacy #healthcare #health insurance #living wage #twitter x #corporate greed #late stage capitalism #workers rights #income inequality #minimum wage

[battleangel]

Third Eye Realizations

🧿Abolitionist

🧿Liberation

🧿Justice

🧿Climate Change

🧿Protecting the Earth & the environment

🧿Socialism

🧿Community

🧿Banding together

🧿Pooling our resources

🧿End child hunger & poverty

🧿Eradicate homelessness

🧿Universal medical care

🧿Universal college & coding education

🧿Bodily Autonomy + Womens Rights

🧿Kemet

🧿Ancient Egypt

🧿Isis

🧿Decolonizing the mind

🧿End paternalism + patriarchy

🧿Toxic masculinity

🧿End corporate America

🧿Restoring communities not policing crime

🧿Legalize marijuana & psychedlics

🧿End prison sentences for non-violent crimes (exception financial manipulation where people & families lose life savings like securities fraud)

🧿End school to prison pipeline

🧿End criminalization of normal childhood behavior of black & brown boys in elementary school that leads to juvenille halls, early prison records & sets them up for a life of crime for something they should be getting detention for

🧿End overmedicalization of black women by psychiatry & disgusting abuse of power through misdiagnoses, forcible drugging & forced hospitalizations

🧿Remove Protestant work ethic from public consciousness

🧿Strengthen unions & labor laws

🧿Stop prioritizing profits over people

🧿End preventable deaths from starvation, homelessness & curable illnesses and diseases by providing a universal living (not "minimum") wage, affordable housing & medical care so people stop dying needlessly in the "richest country in the world"

🧿Remove organized religions influence from laws, education systems, public sphere & culture at large as it has caused hatred, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, racism, persecution, genocide, unjust laws, oppression, suppression, indoctrination, brainwashing, forced baptisms, trauma, upheld patriarchy & paternalism, reinforced bullshit feminine ideals, subjugation of women & their forced submission to the "head of the household", dogma, blind faith, zealotry, corruption, grift, theft, "tithes & offerings", sex abuse, emotional abuse, psychological coercion, child abuse, hypocrisies and wars.

🧿Societal realization that feminine doesnt equal women, masculine doesnt equal men, anyone can wear makeup, heels, dresses, business suits, tuxedos, grow facial hair, not shave their legs, have acrylic nails, etc. and it has nothing to do with genitalia, sex or assigned gender at birth and everything to do with Spirit (as the Native Americans know with 2 Spirit), energy and how Source has divinely chosen to manifest itself in each individual soul and that expression of Source is as unique and individual as our fingerprints and if that expression is through gender affirming transitions, surgery, medical care, facial feminization surgery, changes in physical appearance, hormones, drugs then that is how that persons soul has chosen to express themselves in this temporal, corporeal, temporary and physical plane of existence -- the soul, our energy, Source, the divine is what truly matters and noone should question anyone elses unique soul expression which can be expressed and communicated in literally millions of different ways, through body art, body modifications, tattoos, piercings, hair adornments, permanent makeup, the list is literally endless and gender identity expression and gender affirming care is just one of these millions of ways and should not be demonized, hated, feared or legislated against.

🧿Opioids like fentanyl, percoset, oxycontin, etc. are dangerous, harmful and addictive. Millions are addicted and millions have lost their lives for no reason other than to enrich pharmaceutical companies. We can be healed with plants and herbs and we can be healed with our selves and our own inner healing power. We dont need these synthetic, unnatural, harmful & deadlydrugs. They should be made illegal.

🧿Cancer is nothing but a cottage industry and a money making tool -- with all the trillions and trillions donated and decades upon decades of research, where is the cure? Same with arthritis, lupus and other autoimmune diseases. Prescription drugs exist to make pharmaceutical companies richer, thats it.

🧿Satan was made up for Christianity, which is a bastardized & stolen form of kemet, Mary is a bastardized Isis & Jesus is a bastardized & fake ass Horus. There is no hell, hell is never mentioned once in the Old Testament, it was made up later for the New Testament to control and enslave. We are in hell, thats literally where we are now, what else do you call millions of children dying every year of starvation, from homelessness, from completely preventable & curable diseases when Apple is a trillion dollar company? What do you call the Earth dying because of profit and greed and capitalism? What do you call pointless wars over inside government jobs? What do you call genocide, systems of oppression, police killing unarmed Black men with absolute impunity, prison industrial complex, military industrial complex, school to prison pipeline, corporate amerikkka working people to death into literal early graves, money being valued over living human beings with unique souls, forests being destroyed, colonialism, colonizers, government experimentation, MK Ultra, minders, greys, the Bohemian Grove...youre in hell literally now.

🧿Decolonize your mind, heal yourself, commune with nature, unplug and disconnect, exit the rat race, stop treating yourself as a machine when you are a beautiful soul, stop overworking, stop hustling, stop overeating, stop overdrinking -- ethanol is a poisonous depressant, so how do you "drink to have a good time"?, stop overspending, stop overconsuming, stop retail "therapy", tap into yourself, tap into your soul, stop endlessly scrolling and tapping your phone, tap into Source, we are all infinite beings and they treat you like you are an inconsequential cog to be replaced -- if you die today, your job will replace you tomorrow i was a corporate recruiter and saw it happen more than once, listen to ocean waves, float weightlessly in a dark pool, stop listening to 24/7 news, stop being 24/7, youre not 24/7, you have a natural circadian rhythym, replenish your depleted melatonin levels, they treat you like a 5 below knock off when you are expansive & divine, stop killing yourself to make a CEO that doesnt know who tf you are and his shareholders richer they will brush your ass out the door this fall with the estimated 2 million more people being laid off, stop making yourself a number, stop being a statistic, stop being plastic, stop playing their game, be an individual, be yourSELF, know the Self, know Self, know thy Self, cant run away from Self forever, look inside because thats where all the answers are and thats the only place they dont want you to look so you google it but baybee what did people do before google, stop shortening your attention span, you are more than a Tik Tok, read a book, fight the power, fight the machine, take a slow leisurely walk to nowhere to do nothing, stop existing and curating your entire existence for social consumption on social media, you are not a thing to be consumed, you were wonderfully made by Source, you are Source, realize who you are and open your eyes...🧿

#gender abolition #prison abolition #abolish the supreme court #abolish the police #liberation #black lives matter #social justice #climate change #socialism #houselessness #food insecurity #minimum wage #corporate greed #anti capitalism #anarchist #universal healthcare #medicare for all #free college #abortion #pro choice #antinatalism #bodily autonomy #kemetic #ancient egypt #decolonize #reparations #psychedelique #anti religion #transgender #third eye

[emperornorton47]

Be angry

#social security #healthcare #Minimum wage #Billionaire tax cut #Tax cut for billionaires #eat the rich #medicare #medicaid #Child labor #SNAP #food stamps

[learnwithmearticles]

Working in France

In this article, I examine how working conditions and their impact on French living compare to those of the United States.

While I have been a citizen of the U.S.A. for my entire life and have first-hand experience of the working conditions and work benefits, I have never lived in France. The knowledge used to make the comparisons here comes from quantitative reports and first-hand accounts.

Benefits and Pay

Compared to the U.S., workers in France have wonderful benefits. Full-time work weeks are usually 35 hours, of course varying by industry, and employees are assured about 25 days of paid vacation per year, not including holidays. When sick, an employee is guaranteed 50% of their daily pay for up to six months, as long as they have worked there for at least three.

The U.S. currently has no federal minimums for sick leave. However, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) applies to many companies and public agencies, and mandates twelve weeks of unpaid leave “for certain medical situations”, if an employee has worked for at least twelve months 7.

On average, a U.S. worker has about 11 paid vacation days every year 4. Paid vacation leave is not a legal requirement.

Maternity leave in France is generally around 16 to 48 weeks of paid time off, while paternity leave is up to 28 days of paid leave 2. In the case of paternity leave, employers must pay for three days and social security pays for the rest. In the United States, only 13 states have mandatory amounts of paid parental leave. The time off ranges from 6 to 8 weeks 3. In both countries, the earnings during time off largely depend on what the employee was making during regular work hours.

French health insurance covers employees, retirees, the self-employed, and the unemployed 5. It generally covers 70%-80% of medical fees, or 100% if one has a major illness 6. Major illnesses include Parkinson’s disease, stroke, Crohn’s disease, cancers, diabetes, bipolar disorder, and serious anxiety disorders, as well as many other conditions. Many citizens have secondary insurance to help with what isn’t covered, which is generally around €14-30 per month.

Most health insurance in the United States is private and depends on the agreements negotiated between employers and insurance companies. On average, a U.S. citizen pays around $117 a month through employer health insurance, or about $477 per month if they cannot enroll through their employment 17.

One might qualify for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance plan depending on household size and income. For example, a single person making up to $1,677 each month would qualify for Medicaid and not have to pay a monthly premium or copays 8. Usually, one also has to have lived in the United States for at least five years to qualify, and applying and receiving Medicaid approval can take over six months and be very difficult to navigate 9.

It’s Not Perfect

While employees are more secure in France, they do still face some of the issues that American workers do.

The French minimum wage, as of 2023, is €11.27 before taxes. This is about €1,600 per month. The estimated average cost of living is about €1,027, not including rent 11. As of 2018, about 40% of people also had rent costs to pay 12. It is generally less expensive to live in France than in the United States, but many people there are also facing the housing crisis and inflated costs of basic living.

About 17% of France’s population makes minimum wage 15. This compares to about 1.4% of U.S. workers 16, but the minimum wage there is $7.25 compared to €11.27 in France (12.23 USD).

While the average monthly salary in France is around €2,340 (varying by region) 13, about 14.6% of the population lived in poverty in 2020 14.

Overall, the employee benefit requirements and federal policies of France reflect an investment in its people and a belief in basic rights. Compared to the United States, the government puts effort into taking care of its citizens. They are facing cost of living issues and have not increased the minimum wage to reflect that, but still beat the U.S. in wage minimum, health coverage, and paid time off.

If you have personal experiences relating to French employee benefits and wages, please feel free to add what information you can!

Additional Resources

1. https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1110&langId=en&intPageId=4535

2. https://www.safeguardglobal.com/resources/employee-benefits-in-france/

3.https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/state-paid-family-leave-laws-across-the-u-s/#:~:text=Thirteen%20states%20and%20the%20District,are%20not%20yet%20in%20effect.

4. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/pto-statistics/

5.https://www.commonwealthfund.org/international-health-policy-center/countries/francef

6. https://www.internations.org/france-expats/guide/healthcare

7. https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/workhours/sickleave

8. https://njfamilycare.dhs.state.nj.us/who_eligbl.aspx

9.https://hnwlaw.com/elder-law/applying-medicaid/medicaid-application-process-in-new-jersey/

10. https://www.eurodev.com/blog/understanding-employee-benefits-in-france

11. https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=France

12. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/france-rental-housing-markets/

13. https://joinhorizons.com/countries/france/hiring-employees/average-salary/

14. https://www.statista.com/statistics/460446/poverty-rate-france/

15.https://www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/article/2024/01/22/too-many-french-workers-are-on-minimum-wage_6455732_23.html

16.https://www.statista.com/statistics/188206/share-of-workers-paid-hourly-rates-at-or-below-minimum-wage-since-1979/17.https://www.usatoday.com/money/blueprint/health-insurance/how-much-is-health-insurance/

#France #employment #research #article #politics #working class #resources #minimum wage #fmla #paid leave #family leave #maternity leave #mental health #benefits #health #medicare #paternity leave #parental leave #sick leave #comparison #united states

[filosofablogger]

We the Forgotten

As I flip through the news tonight, read about the lunacy that has become the politics of the right-wing ‘conservatives’ of late, a thought occurs to me:  They have forgotten about us.  They have forgotten that We the People elected them, that We the People pay their salaries, and that it is our best interest they are supposed to be looking out for.  But they are not looking out for us and don’t…

View On WordPress

#federal minimum wage rate #Republican Party decay #Social Security & Medicare #taxing the wealthy #U.S. Congress

[yallwildinrn]

Diversity win! The married couple in your example about how Medicare taxes are withheld are both men!

#dear diary #Mr oretga and Mr fox <3 #love wins #except when you don’t set aside enough of your wages to pay the additional Medicare tax #sorry boys but you owe more than you withheld #need to consider the pros and cons of joint filing

[odinsblog]

Just to emphasize: Mike Johnson is an antivaxxer, an anti-abortion forced bither, he believes the job of poor women is to give birth to an infinite supply of low wage jobseekers, he is a climate change denier, he wants to cut Social Security + Medicare + Medicaid, and he’s a “Trump won!” Republican. And House Republicans just unanimously voted for him as Speaker of the House.

Please take note: there are no “moderates” in the Republican Party.

#politics #republicans #mike johnson #trumpublicans #roe v wade #forced birthers #abortion #reproductive rights #reproductive health #reproductive justice #healthcare #war on women #house speaker #speaker of the house #republicans are evil

[peoplespartymd]

Check out the Peoples Party

You can support a 3rd party and remain a member of the party of your choice.

A viable 3rd party can have positive impacts in many ways.

There’s a power vacuum in our democracy. Fill it with real progressives.

To support the @Peoples_PartyUS, you don't have to change parties.

You also don’t have to vote a straight ticket.

There may be some local, state, or federal Peoples Party candidates that would be a good choice for your community.

Volunteer to put the Peoples Party on your State ballot for 2024.

Volunteer to put the Peoples Party on the MD State ballot, @peoples_partyMD

#Peoples Party #Politics #Democracy #Vote #Medicare for All #Support Social Security #Support a healthy environment #Human rights for All #Equity in Our Economy #Support a Living Wage #Stop Wage Theft #Revoke Culpable Corporations #Volunteer

[jdrachel]

Enough is enough! Which starts with us no longer being gullible fools. Those in power will continue to lie to us, continue rigging the system in their favor and that of their patrons, the privileged elite, if we let them. Time to get serious about installing a government of the people, by the people, for the people. By electing “people’s candidates” who have proven themselves worthy of our vote.

#climate change #democracy #election reform #immigration reform #livable wage #medicare-4-all #militarization #military-industrial complex #minimum wage #oligarchy #prison system reformsm i #ruling elite #Wall Street #war and peace #wedge issues

[mostlysignssomeportents]

A taxonomy of corporate bullshit

Next Tuesday (Oct 31) at 10hPT, the Internet Archive is livestreaming my presentation on my recent book, The Internet Con.

There are six lies that corporations have told since time immemorial, and Nick Hanauer, Joan Walsh and Donald Cohen's new book Corporate Bullsht: Exposing the Lies and Half-Truths That Protect Profit, Power, and Wealth in America* provides an essential taxonomy of this dirty six:

https://thenewpress.com/books/corporate-bullsht

In his review for The American Prospect, David Dayen summarizes how these six lies "offer a civic-minded, reasonable-sounding justification for positions that in fact are motivated entirely by self-interest":

https://prospect.org/culture/books/2023-10-27-lies-my-corporation-told-me-hanauer-walsh-cohen-review/

I. Pure denial

As far back as the slave trade, corporate apologists and mouthpieces have led by asserting that true things are false, and vice-versa. In 1837, John Calhoun asserted that "Never before has the black race of Central Africa, from the dawn of history to the present day, attained a condition so civilized and so improved, not only physically, but morally and intellectually." George Fitzhugh called enslaved Africans in America "the freest people in the world."

This tactic never went away. Children sent to work in factories are "perfectly happy." Polluted water is "purer than the water that came from the river before we used it." Poor families "don't really exist." Pesticides don't lead to "illness or death." Climate change is "beneficial." Lead "helps guard your health."

II. Markets can solve problems, governments can't

Alan Greenspan made a career out of blithely asserting that markets self-correct. It was only after the world economy imploded in 2008 that he admitted that his doctrine had a "flaw":

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/greenspan-admits-flaw-to-congress-predicts-more-economic-problems

No matter how serious a problem is, the market will fix it. In 1973, the US Chamber of Commerce railed against safety regulations, because "safety is good business," and could be left to the market. If unsafe products persist in the market, it's because consumers choose to trade safety off "for a lower price tag" (Chamber spox Laurence Kraus). Racism can't be corrected with anti-discrimination laws. It's only when "the market" realizes that racism is bad for business that it will finally be abolished.

III. Consumers and workers are to blame

In 1946, the National Coal Association blamed rampant deaths and maimings in the country's coal-mines on "carelessness on the part of men." In 2003, the National Restaurant Association sang the same tune, condemning nutritional labels because "there are not good or bad foods. There are good and bad diets." Reagan's interior secretary Donald Hodel counseled personal responsibility to address a thinning ozone layer: "people who don’t stand out in the sun—it doesn’t affect them."

IV. Government cures are always worse than the disease

Lee Iacocca called 1970's Clean Air Act "a threat to the entire American economy and to every person in America." Every labor and consumer protection before and since has been damned as a plague on American jobs and prosperity. The incentive to work can't survive Social Security, welfare or unemployment insurance. Minimum wages kill jobs, etc etc.

V. Helping people only hurts them

Medicare will "destroy private initiative for our aged to protect themselves with insurance" (Republican Senator Milward Simpson, 1965). Covid relief is unfair to people that are currently in the workforce" (Republican Governor Brian Kemp, 2021). Welfare produces "learned helplessness."

VI. Everyone who disagrees with me is a socialist

Grover Cleveland's 2% on top incomes is "communistic warfare against rights of property" (NY Tribune, 1895). "Socialized medicine" will leave "our children and our children’s children [asking] what it once was like in America when men were free" (Reagan, 1961).

Everything is "socialism": anti-child labor laws, Social Security, minimum wages, family and medical leave. Even fascism is socialism! In 1938, the National Association of Manufacturers called labor rights "communism, bolshevism, fascism, and Nazism."

As Dayen says, it's refreshing to see how the right hasn't had an original idea in 150 years, and simply relies on repeating the same nonsense with minor updates. Right wing ideological innovation consists of finding new ways to say, "actually, your boss is right."

The left's great curse is object permanence: the ability to remember things, like the fact that it used to be possible for a worker to support a family of five on a single income, or that the economy once experienced decades of growth with a 90%+ top rate of income tax (other things the left manages to remember: the "intelligence community" are sociopathic monsters, not Trump-slaying heroes).

When the business lobby rails against long-overdue antitrust action against Amazon and Google, object permanence puts it all in perspective. The talking points about this being job-destroying socialism are the same warmed-over nonsense used to defend rail-barons and Rockefeller. "If you don't like it, shop elsewhere," has been the corporate apologist's line since slavery times.

As Dayen says, Corporate Bullshit is a "reference book for conservative debating points, in an attempt to rob them of their rhetorical power." It will be out on Halloween:

https://bookshop.org/a/54985/9781620977514

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/27/six-sells/#youre-holding-it-wrong

#pluralistic #corporate bullshit #lies #books #reviews #taxonomies #labor #denialism #consumerism #Nick Hanauer #Joan Walsh #Donald Cohen #history #object permanence #taking the right seriously

[robertreich]

5 Crises Republicans Made up to Distract You

Here are five totally made-up “crises” Republicans have invented to distract from the real crises facing Americans today: the growing concentration of wealth, the worsening climate crisis, and the undermining of our democracy.

Fake crisis #1:  Anything they claim is “woke.”

Although Republicans struggle to define what “woke” even means, they’re constantly using it as a weapon to combat anything that seeks to foster tolerance and acceptance.

Pride flags? Woke!

Books about Rosa Parks? Woke!

Green M&M’s? The wokest!

Fortunately, most Americans think being informed and aware of social injustice…which is what being “woke” really means... is a good thing.

Fake crisis #2: The panic over trans people.

Trans people just want the right to exist safely as their true selves, like everyone else. And despite the lies spewed by some Republicans, there’s not a shred of evidence that they are a threat to anyone. But they’ve become easy scapegoats for the GOP, who vilify them and threaten to criminalize their very existence.

Fake crisis #3: Critical race theory

In reality, critical race theory is mostly taught in universities — like quantum physics or philosophy. It's really not taught in K-12, nor is it dangerous.

It’s merely a framework to understand the role that race and racism have played in shaping America’s laws and institutions. But Republicans have deliberately turned this obscure academic phrase into a weapon to silence any discussion of race they don't like.

Unfortunately, this includes teaching many basic historical facts.

Fake crisis #4: “Couch potatoes.”

Republicans are whipping up anger over welfare recipients supposedly abusing the system.

The reality is most people who collect benefits already hold jobs and work exceedingly hard.

Like Ronald Reagan’s claim about so-called “welfare queens”, the “couch potato” myth is a cruel racial dog whistle. In fact, the vast majority of Americans who receive government benefits are white.

We should be asking why so many jobs pay such low wages that workers need government help to get by?

Fake crisis #5: “Out of control government spending.”

Another lie. Apart from mandatory spending like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, government spending has actually fallen more than 30% in the past 50 years as a percentage of our total economy.

[9.6% in 1973  vs. 6.6% in 2022, a decrease of  31.25%]

Yes, the national debt is a problem, but in recent years, among its biggest drivers have been the Bush and Trump tax cuts, which have added nearly $10 trillion to the debt since their enactment.

All five of these so-called crises have been manufactured by the GOP. They’re entirely made up.

Why? To deflect attention from the near record share of the nation’s income and wealth now going to the richest Americans.

As the wealthy pour money into politics — largely into the GOP — they don’t want the rest of America to notice they’re rigging the economy for their own benefit, that their greed is worsening the climate crisis, and they’re undermining our democracy.

So the game of the Republican Party and their major donors is to deflect attention — to use fake crises to disguise what’s really going on.

Don’t let them get away with it.

#youtube #videos #video #politics #Republican #Trump #Taxes #government

[kp777]

By Jessica Corbett

Common Dreams

March 20, 2024

"Trump has tried to walk back his support for Social Security and Medicare cuts," said the head of Social Security Works. "This budget is one of many reasons why no one should believe him."

Defenders of Social Security and Medicare on Wednesday swiftly criticized the biggest caucus of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives for putting out a budget proposal for fiscal year 2025 that takes aim at the crucial programs.

The 180-page "Fiscal Sanity to Save America" plan from the Republican Study Committee (RSC) follows the release of proposals from Democratic President Joe Biden and U.S. House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas)—who is leading the fight to create a fiscal commission for the programs that critics call a "death panel" designed to force through cuts.

The RSC document features full sections on "Saving Medicare" and "Preventing Biden's Cuts to Social Security," which both push back on the president's recent comments calling out Republican attacks on the programs that serve seniors.

The caucus plan promotes premium support for Medicare Advantage plans administered by private health insurance providers as well as changes to payments made to teaching hospitals. For Social Security, the proposal calls for tying retirement age to rising life expectancy and cutting benefits for younger workers over certain income levels, including phasing out auxiliary benefits.

The document also claims that the caucus budget "would promote trust fund solvency by increasing payroll tax revenues through pro-growth tax reform, pro-growth energy policy that lifts wages, work requirements that move Americans from welfare to work, and regulatory reforms that increase economic growth."

In a lengthy Wednesday statement blasting the RSC budget, Social Security Works president Nancy Altman pointed out that last week, former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee to face Biden in the November election, "toldCNBC that 'there's a lot you can do' to cut Social Security."

"Everyone who cares about the future of these vital earned benefits should vote accordingly in November."

"Now, congressional Republicans are confirming the party's support for cuts—to the tune of $1.5 trillion. They are also laying out some of those cuts," Altman said. "This budget would raise the retirement age, in line with prominent Republican influencer Ben Shapiro's recent comments that 'retirement itself is a stupid idea.' It would make annual cost-of-living increases stingier, so that benefits erode over time. It would slash middle-class benefits."

"Perhaps most insultingly, given the Republicans' claim to be the party of 'family values,' this budget would eliminate Social Security spousal benefits, as well as children's benefits, for middle-class families. That would punish women who take time out of the workforce to care for children and other loved ones," she continued. "This coming from a party that wants to take away women's reproductive rights!"

The caucus, chaired by Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), included 285 bills and initiatives from 192 members in its budget plan—among them are various proposals threatening abortion care, birth control, and in vitro fertilization (IVF) nationwide.

"The RSC budget would also take away Medicare's new power to negotiate lower prices on prescription drugs, putting more money into the pockets of the GOP's Big Pharma donors," Altman warned. "And it accelerates the privatization of Medicare, handing it over to private insurance companies who have a long history of ripping off the government and delaying and denying care to those who need it."

"In recent days, Trump has tried to walk back his support for Social Security and Medicare cuts," she noted. "This budget is one of many reasons why no one should believe him. The Republican Party is the party of cutting Social Security and Medicare, while giving tax handouts to billionaires."

"The Democratic Party is the party of expanding Social Security and Medicare, paid for by requiring the ultrawealthy to contribute their fair share," Altman added. "Everyone who cares about the future of these vital earned benefits should vote accordingly in November."

Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler also targeted the Republican presidential candidate while slamming the RSC plan, saying that "Donald Trump's MAGA allies in Congress made it clear today: A vote for Trump is a vote to make the MAGA 2025 agenda of cutting Social Security, ripping away access to IVF, and banning abortion nationwide a hellish reality."

"While Trump and his allies push forward their extreme agenda, the American people are watching," Tyler added, suggesting that the RSC proposal will help motivate voters to give Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris four more years in the White House.

#social security #medicare #fiscal year 2025 budget #republicans #2024 elections #donald trump

[phantomrose96]

I never understood the concept of "doing taxes". Taxes are just there and you just pay them, like everytime you buy something it includes a tax you have no other choice but to pay it, what do you have to do?? (I live outside the USA)

Oh fun! I get to explain U.S. taxes!!

(disclaimer: if you're a young adult in America who will have to learn to do taxes soon, please don't take this as a reason to panic. It IS absurd and it is kinda stressful the first time you do it, but you get a handle on it, and filing services like FreeTaxUSA walk you through it and do all the math parts for you. [Though learning the math parts yourself is kinda smart if you want to understand what you're doing.])

(other disclaimer: I might have some details wrong because I'm a random blogger and not an accountant. Accountants don't maul me please.)

So it's true that tax is included when you buy something, but the whole "doing taxes" in America is about income tax.

My experience is with a company that does withholdings (god bless all you freelance workers figuring it all out for yourselves.) Withholdings means my company will estimate how much tax I should owe and take it out of each paycheck to give to the government. So from a $1,000 paycheck, they might withhold $300 to pay taxes with, and gives you the remaining $700.

But that might NOT be right. So in April every American has to go crunch all the numbers and figure out if they paid the right amount :) (chances are the answer is no).

We get a form called a W-2 (god bless, I only have one W-2 because I work just one full time job) which includes *adjust glasses*: employer's name, your info, your federal ID number, your social security number (partially redacted), your total wages, your federal income tax withheld, your social security tax withheld, your medicare tax withheld, your deferrals with things like 401k contributions, tips, dependent care benefits, STATE income tax withheld (my state has a 5% income tax, on top of the federal income tax) AAAAAAND other boxes I won't even bother with.

You feed this into software (like turbotax, which CHARGES you to do this, but I used FreeTaxUSA which had free federal filing and almost-free state filing) - RIGHT, you file federal and state SEPARATELY. And you owe/receive SEPARATE amounts.

America has tax brackets, which means you owe x% of money you make between--actually, lemme get the fucking chart

fucking delightful.

So if you make $50,000, as a single filer, you owe 10% of the first $10,275, then you owe 12% of the next $31,500 (that's the amount between $10,275-$41,775, in the second row), then 22% of the remaining $8,225 (cough and then also state income tax if you have it cough). It's a little bit like filling up a thermometer, and the amount between each tick mark is what you owe x% of.

BUT WAIT. THERE'S DEDUCTIONS.

DEDUCTIONS are where most of the complexity comes from. Because there's like 1,000 random things that can give you a tax break. And there's also the standard deduction of $12,950.

What's the deduction? It's an amount of your income that qualifies as tax-exempt. So for the $50,000-earner, if they go with the standard deduction of $12,950, then only $37,050 of their income is taxable. So FORGET that calculation above, it's now 10% of the first $10,275, and 12% of the remaining $26,775

But if your itemized deduction is higher than your standard deduction, it's in your interest to calculate all your itemized deductions and use those, if they add up to more than $12,950

My itemized deductions were almost higher than the $12,950, between my state income tax contribution, property tax contribution, and mortgage interest payments. Other people might have a fuckton of other things--uh like dependents, business expenses, uh I'm not even sure since I skim past all the ones that don't apply to me.

OH, ALSO, THERE ARE OTHER FORMS YOU MIGHT HAVE TO PROVIDE BEYOND THE W-2. There are 1099-INT forms for interest made on bank accounts, 1099-DIV forms for money made from stock dividends, and others I don't even know about.

And all my knowledge and experiences comes as someone with relatively simple taxes by U.S. standards.

(The state taxes then have their own things and own deductions and whatever. They're usually kinda less complicated than federal, but they're a separate thing you have to file.)

And after you do all that, it figures out how much tax you SHOULD owe, how much you ACTUALLY paid, and tells you the difference that you owe/are owed.

I got back a decent amount of money in 2019 and 2020. 2021 was preeettty much even. 2022 I OWE a lot of money because, fuck it, I dunno.

#ask #taxes

[not-safe-for-democracy]

The GOP jokes just write themselves.

Not only have Republicans consistently voted no on raising the minimum wage and are against mandatory overtime wages, since 2020, Republicans have voted against all these measures to help workers and families:

Railroad Workers Paid Sick Leave

Capping the exorbitant price of insulin (which would help working families dependent on the medicine)

Paycheck Fairness Act

Added Health benefits for veterans exposed to Burn Pit toxins

Covid relief funding (an effort to make tests, vaccines, etc more easily available to working Americans)

Extending Child Tax Credit payments

Stopping gas price gouging

In addition, Republicans introduced a bill that would stop Medicare from negotiating for lower drug prices. And Republican Attorney Generals from several states brought a lawsuit which halted Biden's Student Loan Forgiveness plan, another measure to help working families.

What DID Republicans vote for? A $847 billion military budget which was actually $45b more than Biden had requested.

And another thing, why did the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was signed by Trump, make tax cuts permanent for corporations but temporary for individuals?

#republicans #republican hypocrisy #some days I have time