Sore Losers Plan To Sue Over New Tax Law

Let’s see: a piece of legislation passed by the Constitutionally elected Legislative Branch, signed by the duly and Constitutionally elected President. The only thing in the Constitution about taxation is that the federal government can have one. And this is what a few #resist weenies want to do

(Washington Post) The governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut said Friday that they are forming a multistate coalition to sue the Trump administration over the 2017 tax bill, challenging the constitutionality of a provision that limits Americans ability to deduct their state and local taxes from their federal bill.

The law sets a new cap of $10,000 on the amount of state and local property and income taxes that can be deducted from federal taxable income. That will disproportionately harm their residents, the governors said in a conference call, and is motivated by politics rather than sound fiscal policy. Residents most affected by the provision live in states run by Democrats that tend to have higher state and local tax rates, they said.

“The new federal tax law destroyed a century-old tax structure between the federal government and the states,” New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Twitter. “New York will sue.”

It doesn’t matter. There’s nothing in the Constitution that precludes the new tax structure. And arguing against it could, potentially, have the chance in a judge, or even the Supreme Court, ruling that all deductions of state and local property and income taxes are out of bounds, and there should be no deductions. That would be a bite in the nether-regions for high-tax states, would it not?

Megan McArdle notes this lawsuit idea, as a well as a few other bad ideas from Democrats to attempt to regain that tax money, and ends with

Given the problems with all of these strategies, it is a measure of state desperation that these are the ideas on the table — and that they are being seriously considered. In the end, these places may even be forced to consider the truly audacious Option 4: cut their taxes and learn to live within a new, tighter budget.

But, they won’t, at least not the majority of them. At the end of the day, elected Democrats want that spending money more than they want to take care of their citizens.

Read: Sore Losers Plan To Sue Over New Tax Law »

Blackrock Investment: Capitalism Has To Change To Stop ‘Climate Change’ (scam)

Yet another example of 1) people who already got theirs wanting to stop the same for others, and 2) Warmists hating capitalism (via Watts Up With That?)

(Renew Economy)  Capitalism must change to avert climate change, according to the vice-chair of the world’s largest asset manager, Blackrock.

Two weeks ago, Blackrock boss Larry Fink shook the corporate world with a letter demanding social responsibility in return for the support of his company, which manages around $6 trillion in assets.

On Wednesday at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Philipp Hildebrand expanded on that theme in a discussion of “fiduciary duty” – the responsibility to make clients the best return on their investments. (snip)

That would mean funds like Blackrock could become duty-bound to consider environmental risks such as climate change while making investments. It would create a dramatic shift, he said, but warned it would take time.

“We have to be realistic, we also have an enterprise to run, we have shareholders, this is a complicated story. Nobody is served by reducing this to very simple, fast things that we have to do immediately.

We have to change capitalism. This is really what’s at stake here. And frankly we need a new contract between companies, investors and governments,” said Hildebrand.

Al Gore, who was present, totally agreed (another guy who got his and wants to restrict others from doing the same.)

Anyhow, what is Hildrebrand recommending?

We also see many governments failing to prepare for the future, on issues ranging from retirement and infrastructure to automation and worker retraining. As a result, society increasingly is turning to the private sector and asking that companies respond to broader societal challenges. Indeed, the public expectations of your company have never been greater. Society is demanding that companies, both public and private, serve a social purpose. To prosper over time, every company must not only deliver financial performance, but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society. Companies must benefit all of their stakeholders, including shareholders, employees, customers, and the communities in which they operate.

Reading through the whole thing, what we’re seeing here is a recommendation for more government control of the economy, including investing. Because people who run up trillions in debt and tens of trillions in unfunded liabilities should be listened to.

However, we do have to wonder how much of this is simply patronizing the SJWs and Warmists, who typically share the same Progressive (nice Fascist) ideology, and how much is real Belief.

Read: Blackrock Investment: Capitalism Has To Change To Stop ‘Climate Change’ (scam) »

If All You See…

…is evil ice cream from moo cows causing heat snow, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Moonbattery, with a post on women’s marchers falling through the ice.

Read: If All You See… »

Surprise: Four Out Of Five Countries Are Late On Their Climate Change (scam) Dues

It seems like lots of countries love the notion of Doing Something in theory. Giving up their own money? Not so much

France, Germany, US among 166 countries late on UN climate dues

Four out of five countries are late in making their contributions to the UN climate change body’s operating budget.

Under Donald Trump, the US is actively refusing to fund international climate efforts. The majority of member states support cooperation in principle but have been slow to pay.

China, Brazil, France and Germany are among those failing to honour the agreed timeline for payments, a UN Climate Change statement on Thursday revealed.

The body’s executive secretary Patricia Espinosa focused on the positive, thanking 31 countries who paid their 2018 share by the due date of 1 January.

That’s weird. Isn’t Paris in France?

Negotiators approved a budget of €57 million ($71m) for 2018 and 2019, to support the climate talks process and implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Countries are expected to contribute according to a UN formula based on relative wealth and development status. Despite Trump’s stance, the formula implies the US will fund 21% of the core budget.

Good luck with that. They’ll be lucky to get anything.

At the last UN climate conference, French president Emmanuel Macron said Europe would replace the shortfall left by Trump’s refusal to contribute to the UN’s climate science body. This week, he said he had decided to “make France a model in the fight against climate change”. Yet his own country’s dues to the larger UN climate budget remain unpaid.

Hey, it costs a lot of money dealing with all the crime, terrorism, sexual assault, rape, fires, garbage, etc that comes from allowing in all those “refugees”.

Read: Surprise: Four Out Of Five Countries Are Late On Their Climate Change (scam) Dues »

Trump Offers Pathway To Citizenship For Up To 1.8 Million Illegals

As you can imagine, this did not go over well with some supporters, such as at Breitbart. Ted Cruz likewise blasted Trump over this

(CNN) President Donald Trump is proposing giving 1.8 million young undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship in exchange for $25 billion for his long-promised wall and a host of other strict immigration reforms, according to a White House framework proposed Thursday.

In what the White House framed as a “dramatic concession” and “compromise,” Trump would accept a path to citizenship not just for the roughly 700,000 undocumented immigrants were covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program when it was ended. But the proposal would also cover those undocumented immigrants who meet the DACA criteria but did not sign up and even more who would be newly eligible under the proposal’s timeframe requirements — giving legal status and a pathway to citizenship to about 1.8 million people.

In return, the White House would like to see a $25 billion investment in a trust for border infrastructure and technology, as well as more funds for personnel, and an end to family migration beyond spouses and minor children. The diversity visa lottery would also be abolished, though the visas would be reallocated so that the backlog of people already waiting for family visas and high-skilled immigration green cards would be processed.

In what may end up being the most contentious piece of the proposal, the White House is also looking to close “legal loopholes” that will allow it to deport more immigrants, specifically as it relates to undocumented immigrants from countries that don’t border the United States — which would likely include changes in immigration enforcement authority that would be virtually impossible for Democrats to swallow.

They’re offering this with the expectation of getting a lot back. They see it as a compromise position. Now, it wouldn’t mean a pathway to citizenship immediately: they’ve already noted that it would be at least 10-12 years before citizenship could be considered, and the illegals would have to meet certain criteria before it happened, much like as people going through the legal route have to meet. They think it could get 60 votes in the Senate. And, it may very well do that. However, it would mean a lot of Republicans not voting for it, while Democrats would love the idea of 1.8 more Democrat voters in the future.

Regardless, Trump made a promise during the campaign to not give amnesty. And Ted Cruz stated

(Bloomberg) Senator Ted Cruz blasted the idea of giving young undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship, a day after President Donald Trump said he was open to the idea as part of immigration legislation being negotiated in Congress.

“I do not believe we should be granting a path to citizenship to anybody here illegally,” the Texas Republican said in the Capitol. “Doing so is inconsistent with the promises we made to the men and women who elected us.”

“For some reason that to me is utterly inexplicable, we see Republicans falling all over themselves to gallop to the left of Obama in a way that is contrary to the promises made to the voters who elected us,” Cruz said. “We need to honor the promises we made. And that is what I am energetically urging my colleagues to do.”

I’d agree with the plan provide, as I’ve written before, that the people who brought the “Dreamers” have to self deport prior to any sort of legalization, meaning that even DACA cannot begin for any Dreamer until that person who “sinned” in bringing the kids has left. And, if they come back illegally then the whole kit and kaboodle is ended for that Dreamer, and they are deported.

Furthermore, I would like to see a major crackdown on those who hire illegals, and make companies and educational facilities heavily responsible for keeping track of the immigration status of those they sponsor. We need to crackdown on visa overstays.

Providing amnesty in any form isn’t going to earn the GOP any goodwill from Democrats, the media, nor the illegals themselves. It will earn the ire of Republican voters. The question here is, is a pathway a decade away worth it to get tough measures back? There would certainly need to be a poison pill in any bill, stating that if any security/law enforcement type measures are weakened, citizenship is off the table.

Read: Trump Offers Pathway To Citizenship For Up To 1.8 Million Illegals »

People’s Republik Of California: Up To 6 Months In Jail, $1,000 Fine For Serving A Straw

Because they really, really care about the middle and lower classes, which make up 99.9% of those who work as servers

https://twitter.com/PoliticalShort/status/956612420201414656

From the link

Ian Calderon wants restaurateurs to think long and hard before giving you a straw.

Calderon, the Democratic majority leader in California’s lower house, has introduced a bill to stop sit-down restaurants from offering customers straws with their beverages unless they specifically request one. Under Calderon’s law, a waiter who serves a drink with an unrequested straw in it would face up to 6 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

“We need to create awareness around the issue of one-time use plastic straws and its detrimental effects on our landfills, waterways, and oceans,” Calderon explained in a press release.

This isn’t just Calderon’s crusade. The California cities of San Luis Obispo and Davis both passed straws-on-request laws last year, and Manhattan Beach maintains a prohibition on all disposable plastics. And up in Seattle, food service businesses won’t be allowed to offer plastic straws or utensils as of July.

Now, look, I can understand the sentiment that plastic straws are a big problem. They end up in the waterways, can cause serious problems with wildlife. But, where they tend to be a big problem is at the beach. Not in restaurants. When people are given a straw with a glass, they do not tend to take that drink with them. It tends to stay. People do not tend to pick them up and pocket them with the intention to create litter. Plus, this is California: I thought everyone was super environmentally conscious? No?

Anyhow, this being California, instead of just spreading awareness, asking restaurants to not provide a straw unless asked, they’re looking to go the authoritarian route with big punishment. It may not have been even voted on yet, but, what’s the chance this gets passed? 50/50? 60/40? 90/10? This is the majority leader of the California House who wants this. Democrats will want to keep him happy.

Read: People’s Republik Of California: Up To 6 Months In Jail, $1,000 Fine For Serving A Straw »

Doomsday Clock Moved Due To Trump’s Feud With N. Korea, ‘Climate Change’ Or Something

It’s fun how this is Blamed on Trump, in terms of North Korea, since Trump wasn’t the one who told North Korea to develop nuclear weapons. As for ‘climate change’, bitch, please

Trump’s feud with North Korea, climate change move Doomsday Clock closer to midnight

The risk of nuclear war and the threat of climate change have caused the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists to move the Doomsday Clock 30 seconds closer to catastrophe to two minutes to midnight.

This is closest the clock has been to midnight since the height of the Cold War in 1953.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists cited “the possibility of nuclear war by accident or miscalculation” as the greatest danger to the world. President Donald Trump’s ongoing feud with Kim Jong-un has created an “untenable nuclear threat.”

Why is this not blamed on North Korea? You know, the nutjobs developing nuclear weapons and ICBMS, capable of being launched on the whim of a wackjob?

The U.S. government’s changes in policy in regards to climate change and a “loss of public trust in political institutions, in the media, in science, and in facts themselves” were contributors to the clock moving.

Stupid. Just stupid. I wonder if all the members of the body have given up their own use of fossil fuels and made their lives carbon neutral? Obviously, that’s rhetorical, because we know they haven’t. Warmists rarely do.

Read: Doomsday Clock Moved Due To Trump’s Feud With N. Korea, ‘Climate Change’ Or Something »

If All You See…

…is a world covered in carbon pollution snow, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is America’s Watchtower, with a post on Trump unveiling his immigration plan next week.

Read: If All You See… »

Surprise: Socialist Hotbed Of Venezuela Has Lost Half It’s Economy

Quite frankly, I’m surprised it has half left. This is a country that cannot even produce toilet paper and beer. And they’re stealing zoo animals for food. Here we have a Progressive/Marxist/Socialist station (CNN) telling us about how bad things are in a PMS nation

Half the Venezuelan economy has disappeared

It’s getting worse. Unemployment will reach 30% and prices on all types of goods in the country will rise 13,000% this year, according to new figures published Thursday by the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF’s economist for the Western Hemisphere, Alejandro Werner, put Venezuela’s future bluntly.

“In Venezuela, the crisis continues,” Werner said in a blog post. He added that inflation is skyrocketing this year because of “the loss of confidence in the nation’s currency.”

This year will mark the third consecutive year of double-digit contractions in Venezuela’s gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity. The nation’s GDP declined 16% in 2016, 14% last year and it’s projected to fall 15% this year, according to the IMF.

Venezuela is deep into an economic, political and humanitarian crisis, largely inflicted by the government’s own policies, economists say. Food and medical shortages are widespread. People are scavenging for food in dumpsters. Citizens are fleeing by the thousands. The currency, the bolivar, is nearly worthless. The government has defaulted on its debt. World leaders are calling President Nicolas Maduro a dictator.

And what policies are those? PMS ones. Big, dominating, controlling government ones. Similar to the same ones Democrats push. The darling of the Left’s last primary season, Bernie Sanders, also a favorite of the young Democrat voters, espouses policies not that dissimilar from Maduro’s, and Hugo Chavez before him.

If it wasn’t for fossil fuels, Venezuela would probably be in the same shape as Somalia.

Read: Surprise: Socialist Hotbed Of Venezuela Has Lost Half It’s Economy »

Your Sandwich May Be Bad For ‘Climate Change’ Or Something

Now the Cult of Climastrology has decided to come for your sandwiches. This really is a 1st World Problem, considering they have a good enough lifestyle to be able to waste time doing this, and they’re also conflating the environment with Hotcoldwetdry

Is your sandwich bad for the environment?

Do you take a packed lunch to work or buy a sandwich from the shop? The carbon footprint of your sandwich could be having a major impact on greenhouse gas emissions according to new research.

Researchers at The University of Manchester have carried out the first ever study looking at the carbon footprint of sandwiches, both home-made and pre-packaged. They considered the whole life cycle of sandwiches, including the production of ingredients, sandwiches and their packaging, as well as food waste discarded at home and elsewhere in the supply chain.

Altogether the team looked at 40 different sandwich types, recipes and combinations. They found the highest carbon footprints for the sandwiches with pork meat (bacon, ham or sausages) and those containing cheese or prawns.

Of the recipes considered, the most carbon-intensive variety is a ready-made ‘all-day breakfast’ sandwich which includes egg, bacon and sausage. The researchers estimate that this type of sandwich generates 1441 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2 eq.). This is equivalent to CO2 emissions from driving a car for 12 miles.

These frickin’ people.

Professor Adisa Azapagic, from the School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Sciences, said: ‘Given that sandwiches are a staple of the British diet as well as their significant market share in the food sector, it is important to understand the contribution from this sector to the emissions of greenhouse gases.

The study concludes that the carbon footprint of the snacks could be reduced by as much as 50 per cent if a combination of changes were made to the recipes, packaging and waste disposal. The researchers also suggest extending sell-by and use-by dates to reduce waste.

Which means they really want Government to force compliance.

The study also recommends reducing or omitting certain ingredients that have a higher carbon footprint, like lettuce, tomato, cheese and meat. Reducing ingredients, such as cheese and meat, would also reduce the amount of calories eaten, contributing towards healthier lifestyles.

Without any of those, why bother eating a sandwich? I do get a kick out of saying that lettuce and tomatoes are Bad for ‘climate change.’ Interestingly, the same wankers who want us to eat healthier for ‘climate change’ are also the same ones who yammer on about “body positive” mumbo jumbo, ie, overweight people saying “think and proud.”

Really, these nags just need to mind their own business.

Read: Your Sandwich May Be Bad For ‘Climate Change’ Or Something »

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