"51 former intelligence agents claim the laptop story has all of the halmarks of Russian disinformation"

Gee ... no provenance, other than Russian hands, about the son of a candidate, right before an election, and hawked by a known political operative who had been to Russia, and admitted he wanted the story published before the hard drive inspected.

"Has all the hallmarks" is accurate.

And that's why Fox, Newsmax, and OANN all passed on the story, and why the byline in the NY Post was a surprise to the "author" when she read her name.

" They had edited out Lucy talking about presents saying, "All I want is what I have coming to me. All I want is my fair share.""

Maybe they did that because it's not Lucy's line.

Charlie Brown's little sister Sally says that, right after asking for tens and twenties.

Costco: we want our workforce to resemble our clientele.

MAGA: We'll sue you for discriminating against whites!

"Whatever the reason"

The "reason" is we had Potter as a President, and now have re-elected him.

"moral depravity."

Aw, isn't that cute? The poster who voted for the guy who breaks half the Commandments on a regular basis wants to lecture others about moral depravity.

It's like the comedy writes itself!!!

" the money is not expected to be used to establish a new armed force..."

Only 2.5 % of agents carry guns. They work in the criminal division, where the IRS routinely send out agents in pairs due to the relative danger.

The "87,000 new hires" was and is a fiction. It was just the Republican Math of dividing IRS money by average salary ... as if a revamped computer system, training, and all other expenses don't exist.

Fact is, most of the money was going for the update, and to replace retiring agents.

Now ... you might read a headline like "IRS audits on small businesses up 100%". Why? Because audits are currently down over 50%, and the IRS Commissioner has a stated goal of "returning to par", meaning historical norms.

That said, the new regime will doubtless strip as much money as possible, making the IRS's goal of a high income group a fantasy ... which is the aim in the first place. Not being able to properly audit rich folks isn't a bug, it's a feature.

" George Carlin was right, it's not the politicians that suck, it's the public."

You know how dumb the average person is? Well 50% of the population is dumber than him!
~GC

" the disastrous Bidenomics."

The inflation under Biden was due, in part, to his $1400 stimulus which most economists admitted wasn't needed. Steve Rattner sounded the alarm early on, pointing out the third stimulus meant more money was infused into the economy than Covid had drained. Rattner predicted inflation.

Meanwhile, Trump had promised a 42% higher stimulus.

Is there anyone here who doesn't believe inflation would've been WORSE under Trump?

"It is written in the Bible ... "

The Bible says Methuselah lived 969 years, and Ruth had children in her 90s.

So ... clearly, you can believe it if it's in the Bible!

Circular 230 is very clear: tax advisors CANNOT use the word "certified" unless they're either a CPA, or a Certified Financial Planner.

The last thing we need at the IRS is a leader who doesn't believe in the rules.

" Let's test this will some actual numbers."

More stupidity.

All your smoke and mirrors won't change the obvious fact: renters pay property taxes indirectly.

It's intellectually dishonest to OMIT that portion of the equation.

" Why do you use this as some kind of gotcha?"

Because it's mainly Republican Sheriffs in Republican counties looking the other way because the Republicans on the Chambers of Commerce are the largest contributors to the Sheriff's re-election campaign.

And also because to date, you've only blamed the workers, and not the folks breaking the law by hiring them.

" Not all illegals steal a SS number - most just work for cash and pay nothing."

Then why aren't you arresting the owners?

Deport an illegal and you just put up a "job opening" sign.

I won't believe you're serious until you go after the guy paying cash under the table. THATs the one who's ripping you off.

" Will the property tax be paid if no illegal was renting?"

Are you actually going to pretend landlords don't include property taxes in their calculation for how much rent to charge???

You're too dumb to debate.

G'night, all.

Correction: $15 billion in SS tax.

So $190/week. That's the worker you think is ruining your life.

" one would argue with the 20M illegals deported, the demand for apartments would crater resulting in much lower rental rates for the US citizens."

One could also argue the inflation spikes will more than eat up any pretend advantage.

Deporting 25% of the produce chain is insane. Adding tariffs on top is a recipe for a Depression.

" The illegals don't pay property taxes. The home owners do."

Phenomenally stupid.

You're pretending landlords setting rents don't take property taxes into account. Nothing could be further from reality.

" We estimate that illegal immigrants in 2019 paid roughly $5.9 billion in federal income tax, $16.2 billion in Social Security tax and $3.8 billion in Medicaid taxes. However, as the net fiscal drain of $68,000 per person cited above indicates"

So they're comparing ONE YEAR with one lifetime. And they're misusing the word "fiscal".

They're also pretending sales and property taxes don't exist.

And 12.6 million paying $5.9 billion in SS tax?!? That's an average of ~$3,400 of income per person. Either you're pissing yourself over folks who average $68 per week ...

... or the authors' math is bogus, and they're purposely leaving out facts which change the bottom line.

This "report" looks retro-fitted.

"We estimate ... ".

Of course they do. Without a single keystroke regarding methodology.

" what I stated was 'net' cost,"

And the authors have some wild ideas about costs and payments.

For example, like you, the authors pretend sales tax doesn't exist, and rent NEVER includes property tax.

Be sure to stretch if you're going to carry water that far.

" In order to understand how it works ... "

What a riot.

EVERYONE on Earth is going to hell, according to SOMEBODY's religion.

And those claiming no one gets to heaven but through Christ aren't referring to your generic messiah.

" It is not my analysis."

Good.

Because your link excludes HALF the equation. All about costs, while ignoring what they pay.

Did you bother to notice, or are omissions like that your plan?

" Trump for President 2024 campaign has refused to pay more than $49,000 in bills for two rallies in the city this year. That is forcing the city to write off those expenses as uncollectable and to reevaluate policies for future campaign visits."

Re-evaluate?!?

Pro tip: get 90% upfront; 110% for former deadbeats.

The city has no excuse for the SECOND stiffing.

"Does that make you going to hell then?"

No, of course not. Unlike you, I don't bear false witness.

Nor do I believe a person violating half the commandments on a regular basis deserves ANY religious fealty.

In fact ... doesn't Trump fit the Bible's description of the Anti-Christ???

" Lifetime Net Tax: -$68,000 per illegal."

Link to your proof, please; my guess is the equation you're using leaves out some salient numbers.

We've already seen you pretend folks here illegally aren't charged sales tax.