The mainstream media keeps telling us it’s better to be a criminal than to be old.
GAY TALESE, CALL YOUR OFFICE! Biden Caught a Cold That Made Him 1,000 Years Old.
After about 15 minutes, I’d seen enough. I can’t stand to listen to either of them for more than that, but at least Trump seemed like he still knew where and who he was. He’s old, but he’s not Biden old.
Yet.
Even with the sound off, the optics were horrible: Trump gesticulating and yammering about whatever, and Biden just staring at him like a slack-jawed zombie.
And when Joe had to talk… oh boy…
After about 15 minutes, I’d seen enough. I can’t stand to listen to either of them for more than that, but at least Trump seemed like he still knew where and who he was. He’s old, but he’s not Biden old.
Yet.
Even with the sound off, the optics were horrible: Trump gesticulating and yammering about whatever, and Biden just staring at him like a slack-jawed zombie.
And when Joe had to talk… oh boy…
Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself. Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight — and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit. Last night didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November. joebiden.com
Opinion | This is how you do it: CNN cuts off interview with Trump spokesperson after repeated warnings
Ottaway Award acceptance speech
ArabLit's M. Lynx Qualey was recently awarded the Ottaway Award for the Promotion of International Literature by Words without Borders, and they now have “The Landscape around Us”: Marcia Lynx Qualey’s Ottaway Award Acceptance Speech.
Ottaway Award acceptance speech
ArabLit's M. Lynx Qualey was recently awarded the Ottaway Award for the Promotion of International Literature by Words without Borders, and they now have “The Landscape around Us”: Marcia Lynx Qualey’s Ottaway Award Acceptance Speech.
How PolitiFact and others are preparing for tonight’s presidential debate
Biden lost the coin toss, allowing Trump to have the final word. To make matters worse, what should have been a win for Biden — Melania Trump being MIA while the First Lady is there to support him — played more like he was being escorted from the stage by a caretaker
Twitter on presidential debate
Preparing for the senile presidential debate
Opinion | A big week for Biden, Trump and … CNN
DHS Identifies 400 Illegals With ISIS Ties, Can’t Find 50 Of Them.
NYC Pays $350,000 to Male Identifying as Muslim Female for Putting Him in Male Prison
But two out of nine probes into PwC’s confidentiality breach are expected to finish this year, Peter de Cure
Taxation commissioner Rob Heferen has warned that work-related costs claimed by people working from home will once again be a key focus for the ATO at tax time this year, after the proportion of people seeking refunds for working from home costs hit around 50% last year.
And he means individuals as well as business.
Tax chief tells ATO staff to sweat WFH expense claims this EOFY
The Greens say the government has “shafted” the 7,000 taxpayers who complied with the Tax Office's controversial campaign.
Around 7,000 taxpayers complied with the Tax Office's controversial on-hold debt recovery campaign but none will be refunded under the government's proposed reforms, officials say.
The reforms, announced in the federal budget following backlash against the ATO, would give the Commissioner discretion to not use a taxpayer’s refund to offset old debts put on hold before 2017.
But during a Senate Economics Legislation Committee hearing on Tuesday, the government said extending that discretion to reimburse taxpayers who already repaid their on-hold debts “was not going to be possible”.
“Individuals make choices about the payment or non-payment of debts,” Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said.
She said it would be "extremely unusual" to refund debts paid to the Tax Office.
Debts exist across the tax system, and they are important. It's a fundamentally important part of our tax system that if you have a tax debt, you pay that back.”
It comes despite the ATO acknowledging their suspended campaign was “confusing” and revealing that around 7,000 taxpayers paid $1 million in response to the letters.
“Our communication about historical debts placed on hold was confusing and we apologise,” ATO Commissioner Rob Heferen said.
“The community can rightly expect us to communicate and act with sensitivity, compassion and sound judgment.”
“At the time, people thought they were doing the right thing. There was some miscommunication, we've reverted, we've kept the situation as it was, we've put in place the status quo.”
Greens senator Nick McKim said the 7,000 Australians “intimidated by a confusing piece of communication into paying a debt” were being penalised and “shafted by the government” compared to those who stood to benefit under the proposed reforms.
“If you’re going to bring in legislation that is going to provide discretion to the ATO not to pursue some of these debts, it would be manifestly unfair for you not to apply that same discretion to people who pay the debt, after having received a confusing communication from the ATO for which they've apologised,” he said.
Internal documents obtained by Guardian Australia showed the ATO sought to raise as much as $15 billion by resurrecting old debts previously deemed uneconomical to pursue.
The campaign involved the sending of 200,000 letters to taxpayers and tax agents listing the sums without containing further details of their origins, meaning many would be impossible to verify or take “days of reverse workflow”.
The debts disproportionately impacted financially vulnerable individuals without access to tax advice, according to policy experts.
While the ATO argued the practice was required by law, it paused the campaign in February following community backlash, with the government proposing reforms in May’s budget.
As it currently stands, however, the discretion to not offset debts will only apply to small businesses, individuals and not-for-profit entities with current liabilities.
Government ‘unfairly’ refuses to refund on-hold debts paid to ATO
If it feels like you’re paying more tax, well, you are
Mesha Feet attempted to pay its debts with unconventional methods and then fined the Tax Office for failing to respond.
The Federal Court has rejected a business’ attempt to pay tax debts with a promissory note and bill of exchange for $47 and then invoicing the ATO $187,000 for ignoring them
Court rejects taxpayer’s attempt to pay $45k ATO debt with $47 cheque
The story doesn’t say, but there’s this from January: Former IRS Contractor Sentenced for Disclosing Tax Return Information to News Organizations.“A former IRS contractor was sentenced today to five years in prison for disclosing thousands of tax returns without authorization.”
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Tonight’s Debate But Were Afraid I’d Tell You.
JAMES PIERESON: The Nobel Laureates Strike Out. In a letter released just in time for the presidential debate, a group of prize-winning economists speak up for President Biden’s economic policies—the same policies these same economists predicted would ease inflation and spur growth when they endorsed Biden’s Build Back Better agenda in 2021.
How did it all work out? The expert economists were badly mistaken on inflation. They said that Biden’s spending packages would “ease inflationary pressures,” but everyone understands today that those same policies stoked inflation. When they signed their 2021 letter, the consumer price index stood at 273; since then, it has surged by at least 15 percent, to its recent level of 313. This is called “being wrong.”
Interest rates have also surged since then, much to the detriment of prospective homebuyers and those planning large expenditures for autos, home appliances, and school and college tuitions. The interest rate on 30-year mortgages has more than doubled since the 2021 letter, from 2.8 percent to above 7 percent today. The prime lending rate, used by banks for most loans, swelled from 3.2 percent in 2021 to 8.5 percent today. The economists would do well to ponder their performance as forecasters.
We have no evidence to suggest that Biden’s spending packages promoted economic growth. Real GDP surged in 2021 to 5.8 percent, mostly a bounce-back from pandemic era lockdowns, but it has declined and levelled off since then, to 1.9 percent in 2022 and 2.5 percent in 2023. In a recent forecast, the Conference Board projects that growth in 2024 is likely to slow to less than 1 percent (year over year). Contrary to what our Nobel laurates would have us believe, it is more likely that Biden’s policies have caused inflation and rising interest rates that have retarded economic growth.
