Texas politics gets weirder. First a law makes it illegal to have an abortion in most cases after six weeks of pregnancy. Then, rather than enforce their own prohibition, the state assigns that task to civilian bounty hunters. This has resulted in one abortion doctor making public the fact that he performed an abortion later than the law allowed, just to draw civilian lawsuits to him, so he’d be in a position to sue the state.
He’s actually hoping many seeing his admission in the papers will try to claim their $10,000 bounty from him. Then he’ll sue the state for allowing that.
Meanwhile, civil politics got uncivil at a restaurant near Dallas. A couple with a 4-month-old immunocompromised baby got to go to the restaurant while a relative served as babysitter. They wore masks to the restaurant so as not to bring any virus back home to the baby later. Seems reasonable, right? Maybe they were being overly cautious, but hey, it’s their faces. It’s not like they were saying everyone should wear masks around them. They were just masking themselves.
After finding out they were there wearing masks, the manager of the restaurant had them kicked out. They even had to pay for the meal they ordered, which they were never able to eat.
You see, the manager hates everyone trying to make him wear a mask, so he hates mask-wearing itself and has declared mask-wearing off limits in his restaurant, because making him wear a mask infringes on his freedom.
This makes about as much sense as refusing to serve alcohol to someone because their ID shows they have more than three names. “This is America. We Americans have a first name, a middle initial and a last name. If you have more names than that, find a bar that caters to non-Americans. We don’t want your extra names around here.”
But actually, this couple wasn’t wearing masks to make the manager wear a mask, nor to take a pro-mask political stand. They were just wearing masks for their own reasons and their own purposes.
Since at the time there was no mask mandate for Texas restaurants, the restaurant couldn’t be in violation of a mandate. Since mask wearers aren’t a protected class, well, certainly not in Texas anyway, the couple couldn’t sue for discrimination. But they could make the story public so people might not give the restaurant business.
The parallel in the two stories is this: With Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court took away the freedom of Texans to prevent abortions. Yes, that’s the thinking behind the new law. The law is designed to restore the freedom of Texas residents to meddle in others’ personal affairs and prevent those people from getting abortions.
Because every time someone gets an abortion in Texas, it’s an assault upon the self-evident God-given freedom of every non-abortion-getting-Texan to prevent abortions. Just like mask-wearing assaults the freedom of the restaurant manager to keep on not wearing a mask, which he has been doing because his state doesn’t care. He’s free to not wear a mask. It’s Texas!
Texas residents can now interfere more with the rights of others than they’ve been able to since Juneteenth.
I was happy to see that the Inspiration4 space tourists got back to earth safely. They reported loving their three days in high orbit. The view from the toilet was fantastic. The only complaint was that the toilet didn’t have the proper amount of suction. Space toilets are supposed to suck your productions away from you and into a collector. They had their very own “Houston, we have a problem” moment. Elon Musk had to admit the Dragon toilet needs some upgrading.
The thing I like most about space tourism is what it shows about the law of supply and demand. How rare is being able to orbit the earth? It’s really, really, really hard to get to do it. So let’s charge megamillions per person to get to orbit the earth.
What would have happened if the couple wearing the masks in the anti-masker’s restaurant said, “Let us keep the masks on until the food arrives and we will pay an extra thousand dollars over the tab”? And they check their credit card and find they’re good for it?
I bet that would change the calculation of “rights.”
Dr. Wes is the Real Change Circulation Specialist, but, in addition to his skills with a spreadsheet, he writes this weekly column about whatever recent going-ons caught his attention. Dr. Wes has contributed to the paper since 1994. Curious about his process or have a response to one of his columns? Connect with him at drwes@realchangenews.org.
Whether you're using Facebook Marketplace, eBay, or Craigslist, there are benefits and risks to buying or selling a car. Scams and privacy concerns are high on the list of things to watch out for.
Facebook, for example, has a billion people using Marketplace, and it relies on automated anti-fraud software as well as around 400 contract workers to police those transactions, according to a new ProPublica report.
eBay offers an escrow service and can provide refunds, and Craigslist now requires car sellers to pay for their listing, which has reduced fraud. But it still helps to educate yourself.
It's not easy to keep a billion people following the rules. That's the problem with Facebook Marketplace, which now has that many people on the site buying and selling goods. But success is no excuse for endangering users, which brings us to ProPublica's recent research on the social media giant and how Facebook allowed thousands of Marketplace listings that break the company's own rules, risking users' safety.
Obviously, thousands of people have safely sold their car or truck using sites like Marketplace or eBay or Craigslist. And thousands more will. But not everyone, as a 2015 story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows. There, robbers used Craigslist to offer deals on vehicles including a 2011 Honda Accord and a 2007 Dodge Caliber but requested the buyers show up with cash. Then, when they did, the "sellers" instead robbed the interested buyers. Stories like these are not hard to find, and may help encourage sellers and buyers to learn what safety measures are in place—and which actions it makes sense to take on their own—when car dealing online.
Facebook Marketplace
ProPublica notes that Facebook uses a few different methods to keep Marketplace safe and reliable. First, there is anti-fraud software to detect scams, but since this isn't the most accurate tech, Facebook also uses around 400 Accenture employees to "respond to user complaints and to review listings flagged by the software," ProPublica said. One of the problems here is that these employees were given access to Facebook Messenger inboxes, which led to them spying on people. A Facebook spokesperson told ProPublica this access has been changed. Another issue is that these 400 workers each need to deal with around 600 complaints or help requests a day, giving them less than a minute to deal with each one. ProPublica published its own guide giving tips to "avoid being scammed" on the Marketplace that's worth a look.
Craigslist and eBay, which have been in the classified sales game longer than Facebook, seem to have better security measures in place. eBay offers an escrow service and will offer refunds if the sale ends up being fraudulent. Craigslist now also charges people to list a car for sale, and that has lowered the amount of fraud happening on the site, experts told ProPublica.
We put together a list of 10 tips to successfully buy a car on Craigslist six years ago, and the safety components we mentioned, like meeting in a public place, if possible, and creating a paper trail in case anything goes wrong, remain valuable. When it comes to buying a car or truck on Facebook Marketplace, Facebook itself says that shoppers should "take some extra time and care" to better understand the deal and that keeping personal information and yourself safe should be a "top priority." There are similar bits of advice on third-party sites. Home security company ADT recommends seven steps to stay safe when selling items on Craigslist (but most of them would work well on other sites as well), including using a proxy email address, trusting your instincts when it comes to meeting potential buyers and making sure the transaction is worth your time. Given the prices of used cars these days, that last one is likely to be a resounding yes, but it's still important to keep in mind.
This content is imported from {embed-name}. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io
Deer Valley Resort, one of the area's largest employers, has already started hiring for this ski season, holding multiple job fairs, including the drive-thru fair held this summer, shown. But a labor shortage will likely make hiring challenging for Deer Valley and other employers staffing up for the winter. Courtesy of Deer Valley Resort
In the middle of what used to be the quiet shoulder season between summer and winter in the Park City area, and on the cusp of a seasonal hiring push that begins each fall, the Summit County economy is facing a shortage of workers and big questions about how thousands of jobs will be filled.
While the pandemic is an obvious cause for the upheaval felt over the last 18 months, the demographic trends that have resulted in this shortage have been building for some time, according to Jeff Jones, Summit County’s economic development director.
“History might be catching up to itself,” Jones said, referencing low birth rates, people leaving the workforce in droves and, in Summit County especially, a high cost of living.
“A lot of trends were already happening, and then COVID was the accelerant,” he said.
In a recent presentation delivered to the Sunrise Rotary Club, Jones detailed the demographic and pandemic-related forces acting on the local economy. He said employers would likely have to increase wages to try to entice the few workers available to hire.
Two of the area’s largest employers, Deer Valley Resort and Vail Resorts, which owns Park City Mountain Resort, have raised their minimum wages to $15 per hour for this winter.
Smaller employers, too, are being forced to adapt.
Matt Powers, a manager with Aloha Ski & Snowboard Rentals, said that the store has increased its starting wage from $15 per hour this year, up from $12 per hour.
“Labor costs are going up. A lot of ski shops are doing the same thing, mostly because of the situation we find ourselves in with housing in Park City,” he said. “Someone like me, who’s a manager and gets paid better, I can’t afford to live in a one-bedroom apartment in Park City by myself.”
He said the starting wage could be an enticement to encourage workers to commute from the Salt Lake Valley.
“Salt Lake is so expensive right now, there has to be some type of benefit for people to come up here to work,” he said.
He added that it was too early to tell whether the store would struggle to find workers this winter, as it doesn’t start the hiring push until November.
Jones said the local economy adds between 4,800 and 6,200 workers annually from November to February, with about 2,500 of those jobs held by foreign workers using special J1 or H2B visa programs.
Both Deer Valley and PCMR say they will once again recruit foreign workers.
Deer Valley has already begun hiring, holding two job fairs with more scheduled.
“We are doing all we can to hire locally including adding drive-through options at Snow Park and in-person ones this fall,” said Emily Summers, a Deer Valley spokesperson. “… Hospitality workers have left the industry, however, new ones are taking their place.”
Jessica Miller, a spokesperson for PCMR, said the single largest investment Vail Resorts is making this year is increasing employee wages and restoring previous cuts.
She said PCMR is recruiting for the winter season.
“We have a great base of seasonal employees and our employees from prior seasons have continued to show enthusiasm to return to work this winter,” she said.
From 2019 and 2020, the Summit County economy lost more than 2,400 jobs. While the number of jobs is projected to grow by about 800 this year, the 2021 numbers are still below those from 2018.
Jones suggested the pandemic might have fueled a restructuring of the local labor force, in which service industry workers like waiters or bartenders chose to leave the industry.
In May, more than 5% of employees in the leisure/hospitality sector nationwide quit their jobs.
“By now, the quit rate is some of the highest in history across all spectrums,” Jones said.
He said some service workers may have moved out of the area, citing the high cost of living.
“There are a lot of reports of people moving to Summit County, but a lot of people left as well,” Jones said.
He said the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute estimated very little net migration into the county in 2019 and 149 new inhabitants in 2020.
With expensive housing costs and few unemployed local workers, Park City area employers will likely have to keep importing workers from elsewhere.
“I think the most obvious way this works out is that the wages for unskilled, lower paid positions will be forced up by supply and demand to a point where they overlap with lower end professional jobs,” Jones wrote in the presentation.
That could lead to a wage-price spiral, in which increased labor costs are passed on to consumers, leading to a higher cost of living and the need for further increased wages.
“That’s going to cut into everyone’s bottom line. Eventually what happens is businesses pass those costs onto consumers. Hopefully consumers are willing to pay those costs,” he said. “… I personally think the demographic forces we see are going to be with us for a while. I don’t think they’re going to be resolved in just a year.”
Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
Congressional Democrats are scrambling to stave off a potential government shutdown before Thursday's midnight deadline.
On Monday, Senate Republicans blocked a bill extending the federal budget into December after ongoing partisan fights over increasing the federal borrowing limit.
By Tuesday evening, Senate leaders were circulating a revamped federal spending bill without the provision contested by Republicans that lifts the cap on how much the federal government can borrow. According to Politico, that bill may face a vote in the Senate as early as Wednesday.
If lawmakers on Capitol Hill fail to compromise on a government spending bill on time, federal agency offices in Texas will close and thousands of employees will be furloughed without pay.
What happens to Texas?
If Congress fails to reach a deal to fund the government, federal agencies in Texas will cease operations, and any nonessential Texas federal employees will be furloughed from their roles without pay.
With over 35,000 federal employees in 22 federal agencies in Texas who may face furloughs, Texas is third only to California and the District of Columbia as areas most affected by a shutdown, according to data from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Federal services classified as essential to public safety or security, including the National Security Agency and Department of Justice, will stay in operation. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, border protection, hospital medical care, air traffic control, law enforcement and power grid maintenance have been classified as essential services in previous shutdowns.
However, nonessential federal agencies like the U.S. National Park Service and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration will close or limit visitor services. This includes museums, historical sites and parks, including Big Bend National Park and the Johnson Space Center.
With limited staff, nonessential government procedures could stall until funding resumes. Applications for home or small-business loans, passport processing and visa applications could all face delays should a shutdown occur. Depending on the shutdown length, federal assistance like food stamps and Social Security checks could also be impeded.
Following the most recent shutdown in December of 2018, President Donald Trump signed a bill guaranteeing automatic back pay to federal employees once operations resume. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the 35-day shutdown — the longest in U.S. history — cost the U.S. economy around $3 billion.
COVID-19 response
Although funding lapses are an annual concern in Washington during appropriations season, a government shutdown during a global pandemic would be unprecedented.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported it would likely furlough 43% of its staff but noted that the department’s COVID-19 response efforts and direct public health measures would “generally proceed” under the department’s readiness plan.
This means the Food and Drug Administration will continue to operate as it relates to COVID-19, including drug authorizations, medical and drug shortages, and misconduct investigations. The National Institutes of Health will continue to support COVID-19 vaccine-related activities including drug trials and research and development.
The shutdown threat comes during a time when the highly transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus continues to spread rampantly throughout Texas, with 4 million confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases as of Monday.
Last week, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters the Biden administration is "taking every step we can to mitigate the impacts of a potential shutdown on our pandemic response, economic recovery or other priorities."
While the U.S. Office of Management and Budget told all federal agencies to prepare for a shutdown last Thursday, the office emphasized this was a standard notification procedure.
Will this happen?
With Democrats dropping their demand to raise the debt ceiling in a standalone continuing resolution, it’s possible a shutdown will be averted. However, this will punt the problem of the national debt to later this year.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said last week that while he expects Congress will find a solution to keep the government open, the debt ceiling debate will be an ongoing fight on both sides of the aisle.
"Congress has an obligation to file an appropriation bill and pass one that will keep the lights on here in the Congress. And I have every confidence we will do so. But in the meantime, there's going to be quite a bit of drama associated with the debt ceiling, which is a separate issue," Cornyn said.
Last week, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, indicated in an interview with Politico his intent to filibuster any attempt to raise the federal borrowing limit. He added that Democrats would prefer to have the safety net of bipartisan passage rather than pass the provision through budget reconciliation.
"Democrats have the full ability to raise the debt ceiling as a part of reconciliation," Cruz said. "They want political cover."
Unless a solution is found to expand the federal borrowing limit by mid-October, the government may end up defaulting on its loans.
The shutdown threat is the latest in a series of congressional standoffs in Washington. The Senate is also facing a vote on $1.2 trillion infrastructure legislation while negotiations continue over a $3.5 trillion bill that includes the majority of the Biden administration’s budget proposals.
Disclosure: Politico has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
The 2021 Texas Tribune Festival, the weeklong celebration of politics and policy featuring big names and bold ideas, wrapped on Sept. 25, but there’s still time to tune in. Explore dozens of free, on-demand events before midnight Thursday, Sept. 30, at tribfest.org.
"here" - Google News
September 29, 2021 at 10:24PM
https://ift.tt/3m9BaOr
Here's what Texans need to know about the government shutdown threat in Congress - The Texas Tribune
"here" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2z7PfXP
https://ift.tt/2Yv8ZPx
Jeep revealed the 2022 Grand Cherokee 4xe, the first plug-in hybrid version of the automaker’s best-selling SUV. It is the second Jeep vehicle to get an electrified version, following the hybrid 2021 Wrangler 4xe released last year. Jeep also announced an off-roading version of the Grand Cherokee, the Trailhawk, which also comes with a hybrid motor.
Tellingly, Jeep is not announcing a pure electric version of the Grand Cherokee, nor selling any battery-electric vehicles. The automaker recently announced that it would release “zero-emission” versions of all of its vehicles by 2025, along with plug-hybrid variants.
The Grand Cherokee 4xe (“four by E” in Jeep parlance) is estimated to get 25 miles of all-electric range and 57 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) for a total driving range of more than 440 miles (708 km). Jeep says that its plug-in hybrid propulsion system includes two electric motors, a 400-volt battery pack, 2.0-liter turbocharged, four-cylinder engine, and an eight-speed automatic transmission. Overall, the 4xe system delivers 375 horsepower (280 kW) and 470 lb.-ft. (637 Nm) of torque.
Drivers can tailor the energy output to best suit their driving situation. There are three modes to choose from: Hybrid, which blends torque from the electric motor and gas engine; Electric, which operates on zero-emission electric power only until the battery is depleted; and eSave, which prioritizes the engine, saving the battery charge for later use.
Owners can monitor the hybrid system through the infotainment screen, as well as the amount of power created by regenerative braking. Regen can be adjusted for minimum and maximum levels to best suit driving styles and the amount of power it creates. Drivers can also schedule charging times to take advantage of lower electric rates and view their driving history with detail of electric and gasoline usage.
The Grand Cherokee’s 4xe system also includes something called an Integrated Dual Charging Module (ICDM) that combines a battery charger and a DC/DC converter in a single unit and a Power Inverter Module (PIM) that is reduced in size. These are mounted under the vehicle and protected with steel shields.
Jeep’s are meant to be taken off-road, and as such, the company claims its electronic are properly sealed and waterproofed. Jeep says the Grand Cherokee 4xe is capable of water fording up to 24 inches.
Jeep did not announce pricing for the 2022 Grand Cherokee, though if the Wrangler’s window-sticker price is any indication, it won’t be cheap. (The 2021 Wrangler 4xe Sahara starts at $52,520, the Rubicon at $56,220, and the High Altitude at $58,340.) The federal EV tax credit of $7,500 should take some of the sting out of it.
Whether customers flock to Jeep’s new hybrid powertrains remains untested. The Wall Street Journal’s Dan Neil recently panned the 2021 Wrangler 4xe, calling it “shameless greenwashing, unable to clear the lowest speed bump of skepticism.”
The company, which is an iconic American brand, has been slow to embrace electric vehicle technology compared to its competitors. Whether the new Grand Cherokee can help Jeep pick up the pace remains to be seen.
The estate tax, which is owed at death, is a tax on wealth transfer. Taxes are levied on cumulative property like stock and real estate valued over a certain level before they're passed to heirs.
Lawmakers created the federal estate tax in 1916. Since then, Congress has changed elements like the tax rate and estate size at which the tax applies.
Currently, a 40% federal tax applies to estate values exceeding $11.7 million for single individuals and $23.4 million for married couples.
There were 6,409 estate tax returns filed in 2019, according to IRS data. About 40% of them (2,570 returns) were taxable. They owed $13.2 billion in net estate tax.
Publicly held stock accounted for the biggest portion of property held by taxable estates. It represented $23 billion, or 30%, of taxable estates.
0.2% owe tax
Historically, between 1% and 2% of U.S. adults who die each year owe estate tax, Kaufman said.
But the share fell to about 0.2% annually from 2011 to 2016, according to most recently available IRS data. That's the lowest percentage on record, dating to 1934.
Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee proposed and passed a plan to cut the taxable asset threshold to $5 million per individual, the same level as in 2010. (The measure is part of a $3.5 trillion budget plan Democrats are weighing.)
It's a tiny fraction of decedents who pay any estate tax at all.
Beth Shapiro Kaufman
estate planner at Caplin & Drysdale
In the short-term, the change would likely increase the taxable share to about 0.3% or 0.4% of deceased adults, Kaufman said.
While House Democrats' proposal wouldn't significantly raise the share of people subject to estate tax, the policy would raise $52.3 billion over the next five years, according to an estimate from the Joint Committee on Taxation, the nonpartisan tax scorekeeper for Congress. That's about four times more than tax revenues from 2019 returns.
Declining tax base
The record-low share of estates that owe tax each year is largely attributable to an increase in the taxable asset threshold. That increase effectively reduces the number of estates that owe taxes.
For example, estates of more than $1 million were taxable in the early 2000s. By 2009, that threshold jumped to $3.5 million, and then to roughly $5 million for several years last decade. In 2017, Republicans passed a tax law that doubled the asset threshold to about its current level.
As a result, the number of estate tax returns filed each year decreased by almost 60% from 2010 to 2019, according to the IRS.
The asset threshold would roughly halve after 2025, even without action by Democrats, due to a provision in the Republican tax law.
Total tax revenues
Tax revenues from wealthy estates have also been low by historical standards in recent years.
The $13.2 billion in net estate tax for returns filed in 2019 represented about 0.4% of federal tax receipts in 2018 (i.e., the corresponding year of death).
By comparison, revenue from federal estate and gift taxes has generally hovered between 1% and 2% of federal budget receipts since World War II, with limited exception, according to a historical account of the estate tax by IRS economists.
The share of revenue hit a post-war high of 2.6% in 1972. (There was a top 77% federal estate tax rate from 1942 to 1976; estates of more than $60,000 were subject to tax, according to the IRS account.)
Politics
House Democrats may not be successful in wrangling more estates into taxation. President Joe Biden didn't propose such a measure as part of his tax plan issued earlier this year. Senate Democrats haven't yet unveiled their plan to levy higher taxes on wealthy Americans to help fund the $3.5 trillion budget measure.
Congressional Republicans have generally been loath to scale back any parts of their 2017 tax law.
"Proponents have frequently advocated that these taxes are effective tools for preventing the concentration of wealth in the hands of a relatively few powerful families, while opponents believe that transfer taxes discourage capital accumulation, curbing national economic growth," according to IRS economists.
/static.texastribune.org/media/files/275bcf2c67729227dd202327e69442ea/US%20Capitol%20REUTERS%20TT%2077.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22885761/JP022_112GC.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22885744/JP022_126GC.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22885748/JP022_132GC.jpg)
