July 1, 2021

Bloomberg report: GETTR is NOT Trump's Social Media creation...

It's purely Jason Miller and Trump commented that his own venture was still coming soon.

Kinda like his Health Care plan and the Wall payments from Mexico?

June 30, 2021

Just to clarify, High Rise Beach condos are NOT built "on sand"

It's not your Ranch or Craftsman home with a concrete slab or raised foundation.

These buildings are supported by concrete columns extending INTO LIMESTONE ROCK 50 feet, 100 feet... sometimes even 150 feet + deep.

Rising Seawater. So? Engineered Marine Pilings last 30 years+ and that's a piling like at a pier in the ocean.

Whatever happened in Miami was NOT the deep foundation.

I'd bet it was a design flaw from the 80's or water damage to ground level support structures, possibly from a leaking pool/irrigation/rainwater, etc... or a combination of both.

Good reading here:

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article17333627.html

Contractors building the 62-story One Thousand Museum condo tower drilled to Miami-Dade County-record depths earlier this week to lay the foundation for the ultra-luxury downtown building, the project’s developers said.

Workers at the construction site on Biscayne Boulevard drilled two shafts into the earth — one at a depth of 177 feet, the other at 171 feet — for pilings that will support the 709-foot-high building. The rest of the tower’s 225 shafts went down 155 feet, the required depth for its height.

The previous record for depth was 158 feet, held by the 60-story Porsche Design Tower in Sunny Isles Beach.

June 25, 2021

A few months ago I griped about Senator Feinstein's office not responding to me.

EDIT: My two biggest political hot button issues are Wealth Inequality/Tax Inequality... and the support of the poor on Social Security and the fact that people who care for children or loved ones for decades might not have enough credits to get more than $500/mo on SS

Actually got a letter today that specifically addressed my concerns. Note, there are even typos. Looks like an aide wrote it.

She's back on my Christmas Card list.

Dear XXX:

Thank you for writing to me to share your thoughts regarding Social Security. I appreciate the time you took to write, and I welcome the opportunity to respond.

I understand you support establishing a higher minimum Social Security payment. Please know that I recognize millions of Americans rely upon Social Security benefits to maintain their independence and live heathy, productive lives.

I believe Congress must explore different options to ensure that Social Security continues to function as well as it can, and I am open to considering proposals that maintain our nation’s ability to support Social Security beneficiaries.

If you have not done so already, you may wish to submit your comments directly to the Social Security Administration at faq.ssa.gov/ics/support/ticketnewwizard.asp?style=classic.

I appreciate you sharing your suggestion with me, and I have made careful note of how Social Security has impacted you. I will keep your letter in mind as I continue to work with my colleagues in the Senate to make Social Security work better for all Americans.

Once again, thank you for writing. Should you have any other questions or comments, please call my Washington, D.C., office at (202) 224-3841 or visit my website at feinstein.senate.gov. You can also follow me online at YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, and you can sign up for my email newsletter at feinstein.senate.gov/newsletter. Best regards.

June 23, 2021

It's not fair to blame Biden re: For the People Act.

Surprised to see the post saying that some are blaming the White House.

Let's put this into perspective. The For the People Act is the single greatest legislative endeavor in decades.

It's also the "end" of the GOP.

The MORE people who vote, the better the DEMS do. Just look at 2020 and the expanded opportunities to vote.

So the GOP resistance was entirely predictable.

It was "Dead Bill Walking" from day one.

The GOP would rather pass into law Universal Abortion and Universal Firearm bans than pass voter rights.

So the next step... now work on more streamlined Voting Rights Bills and use this in '22 and '24 to demonstrate GOP recalcitrance.

We MUST keep moving. President Biden is successful right now because he's exercising competent governance. 2022? Yeah, we're going to have to GOTV, hard. But that's the way it always is.

Keep the chin up... keep moving forward.

June 22, 2021

No point vaccinating those who've had COVID-19: Findings of Cleveland Clinic study

First of all... it's a non peer reviewed, MedRxiv study review for now...

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210608/No-point-vaccinating-those-whoe28099ve-had-COVID-19-Findings-of-Cleveland-Clinic-study.aspx

But the data is quite interesting. A larger sample size and a more thorough analysis is in order.

The study was conducted on 52,238 employees in the Cleveland Clinic. A positive RT-PCR test was considered to define SARS-CoV-2 infection. The participants received two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at an interval of 28 days. A participant was considered vaccinated after 14 days of receiving the 2nd vaccine dose. Similarly, a participant who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 at least 42 days before the vaccination initiation was considered previously infected.

Of all enrolled participants, 5% had previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. Compared to 59% of non-infected participants, only 47% of previously infected participants were vaccinated by the end of the study. About 63% of all vaccinated participants received the Moderna vaccine.

...snip

Importantly, not a single incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was observed in previously infected participants with or without vaccination.

June 20, 2021

Fort Lauderdale Gay Mens Chorus confirms the truck driver was one of their own...

Really sad... apparently an accident after all, despite the jumping to conclusions, I wonder if people that called it terrorism and assassination attempts will take back their comments?

Nevermind, I Know the answer.

https://www.the-sun.com/news/us-news/3118900/two-run-over-truck-man-florida-pride/

The Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus issued a statement to WLPG confirming that the driver is a member of the choir, as were to two men hit by his vehicle.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the tragic accident that occurred when the Stonewall Pride Parade was just getting started," the group said.

"Our fellow Chorus members were those injured and the driver was also part of the Chorus family.

"To my knowledge, this was not an attack on the LGBTQ community. We anticipate more details to follow and ask for the communities love and support."

June 15, 2021

The money is THERE, just take it. Part 38

Another trivial fact...

Approximately 15 BILLION shares of stocks trade daily. (2021 so far)

A ONE PENNY/SHARE fee/tax on each and every Wall St. transaction would net 150 million dollars a DAY.

ONE DIME/SHARE would produce 1.5 Billion Dollars a day.

ONE DOLLAR/SHARE would produce 15 Billion dollars a day.

So when some whale buys 1000 shares of Tesla ($620/share) = $620,000 he'd pay either $10, $100 or $1000... in other words, a pitiful amount.

The sons of bitches have the money.

You just gotta' take it.

Since I'm compassionate... make it a penny on stocks under $10, a dime on stocks $!0-100 and a dollar on all $100+ stocks.

June 14, 2021

A hat tip and much respect to Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-N.Y.) Meet the PATRIOT TAX.

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/558263-exclusive-democrat-exploring-patriot-tax-on-multimillionaires-wealth


** He must have been reading my DU posts, lol... (only disagree with his threshold of $50M+...I would add a 1% bracket from $10m-$50M))

Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-N.Y.), a member of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, said that he’s exploring the idea of a one-time tax on the wealth of the richest Americans as Democrats seek to increase taxes on the rich in order to pay for spending priorities.

In an interview with The Hill on Friday, Suozzi said he’s in the early stages of looking at what he called a “patriot tax.” This would be a one-time surcharge of 2.5 percent on wealth between $50 million and $100 million and a 5 percent tax on wealth above $100 million. Wealthy people would be able to pay the tax over five years.

“We all know that people who are wealthy did very well during the pandemic and people that were low-income people did not do well,” he said.

He said that for wealthy people, the surcharge would be “a way to help your country to build back better.”

Research provided by Suozzi’s office estimates that such a tax could raise about $450 billion.

June 14, 2021

Some might not understand HOW the Billionaires got RICHER during COVID-19. Come on in.

This is really simple.

It's the stock market.

I'm an amateur dabbler but keep a close eye on the markets.

In March of 2020 the bottom dropped out of everything.

SPY is a tradable fund of S&P 500 companies. It's a commonly invested-in vehicle.

On 3/20/20, SPY hit a low of $228 a share. Today it's $425.

But that's JUST a ~100% profit. There's a way the Billionaires multiplied that.

Through options trading, you could buy contracts controlling 100 shares per option contract betting for a higher stock price in the future.

For example, cost to buy 1000 shares of SPY on 3/20/20 = $244,000

But on 3/20/20 you could buy 100 options contracts for SPY for maybe... $100,000 which gave you control over 10,000 shares of SPY for 6 months without actually owning them. For every dollar past the "strike price" SPY went, you pocketed $100 per contract.

Let's say in March 2020, you bought 100 options of SPY for 6 months, with a strike price of $250.

On 9/20/20, SPY was selling for $330 a share. That's $80 per share profit, or 80 x 10,000 = $800,000, a $700k profit after the premium.

This is just ONE example.

Anyone who put money in the market in March or April of 2020 made a fortune. Nearly EVERY stock doubled or even tripled from 3/20 to today.

Examples:

TSLA $85 on 3/20... $610 today

JP Morgan Chase $83 on 3/20... $160 today

AMC (movie theater) $3 on 3/20... $50 today

People made more money in a year than most people make in a lifetime... during a global pandemic that killed MILLIONS.

And for those who say "Didn't they lose money in the crash?"

Yes they did. Temporarily. But the rich have the cash to dump back in while the market was down.

Go look at your local Rolls Royce Dealer, Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari and Bentley...

They're OUT OF CARS, I shit you not.

The largest RR dealers in the country have less than 10 cars in stock. Their $400k SUV has been out of stock nationally for months with a 2 year waiting list.

The RICH are swimming in money right now.

I have NO COMPASSION for those on the Left OR Right who coddle Billionaires. I don't care which side of the fence the Billionaire straddles, no mercy. Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg, Cuban, Gates... all get positive press 24/7 because they're perceived as friends of the progressives...

They're playing all of us.

June 13, 2021

In a recent interview, they asked Mark Cuban about a "Wealth Tax". He's fucking terrified.

And he started fighting the very idea of a wealth tax.

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/557805-mark-cuban-propublica-not-being-honest-about-taxes-on-wealthy

Cuban said that while he’s open to paying more federal income tax... he's opposed to a wealth tax

****Translation: Rich people seldom have large salaries, unless they're a pro athlete or Hollywood actor.


He continued. Imagine beads of sweat forming on his brow as he spoke:

“Do you tax net worth or do you only tax income?” Cuban asked. “Because net worth is fleeting. If you go back to the internet stock days, there are a lot of people who were billionaires who aren’t even close anymore and working regular jobs.”

Translation: You can't really tax Billionaires because someday their wealth may be higher or lower or even gone.

Speaking of home appreciation, Cuban said:

“The only way you’re going to benefit from that financially is if you sell it,” Cuban said. “Should you have to sell your house in order to pay your taxes?”

***Ummm... yes. That's the whole idea.

And this line of logic is classic:

“I don’t keep cash in the bank. It’s invested. If you tax me on my net worth, I’m going to have to sell a lot — not just a little, but a lot,” he said.

“So, it’s one thing to talk about it from a political side, it’s another thing to do it because it makes good copy, and it’s another thing to do the work to find out truly what is fair and what’s not fair. Fair is good. I’ve got no problem with fair, but you have to look at the realities,” said Cuban, who was not named in the ProPublica article.




My $.02

Corporate Taxation is a tax on the consumer. Corporations are owned by millions of PEOPLE including teachers, firemen and cops. A Corporation will ALWAYS adjust their business model to remain profitable. Who pays for Corporate Taxes? Shareholders, employees and consumers.

Income tax will ALWAYS be limited because the wealthy are able to control their wealth to take little if ANY salary. Elon Musk is worth BILLIONS but takes NO salary from Tesla. He lives on stock income which he pays long term Capital Gains taxes on.

The money we NEED to tax is tied up into investments by the filthy rich, protected by the tax law and Capital Gains taxation.

Wealth Tax now.