The greatest obstacle to discovering the shape of the earth, the continents, and the oceans was not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge. -Daniel J. Boorstin, historian, professor, attorney, and writer (1914-2004)
If you're an American living and working abroad, you report your income in that country and pay taxes to that government. You must then pay U.S. taxes on the same income. Yes, there is an exclusion for foreign earnings of about $100,000. And yes, you get a tax credit for the foreign taxes paid. If you're lucky, filing the U.S. return is simply a time-consuming hassle. But depending on your income level and location, the tax credit may be too small to let you avoid paying extra taxes to the IRS. And if your assets are above $300,000, there are additional forms to file and taxes to pay.
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which was enacted under Obama, deputizes overseas financial institutions to snoop on and collect taxes from Americans, making banks reluctant to take on U.S. clients.
FATCA is best described as the ugly love child of Uncle Sam and Big Brother. Passed in 2010, it requires law-abiding Americans with legitimate bank accounts outside the country and foreigners working in the United States to turn over information about overseas holdings above $50,000. The far-reaching law forces a variety of institutions to hand over private bank data about depositors, without a warrant and independent of any suspicion that a tax crime has been committed. (from de Rugy)
What is.....the bathtub hoax?
The implications of Trump's election and presidency will be fodder for journalists and historians for years to come. But one parallel story is the unmasking of the federal agencies as the impartial "referees" in the government, the always hoped-for "grownups," free of politically charged hot blood. This appearance of connivance and narrow-mindedness within the high bureaucracy will do more damage to the reputation of government than Hilary and Trump combined.
The Yankees' payroll is $178 million.
From an article from The Independent:
The number of Portuguese dying from overdoses plunged more than 85 per cent, before rising a bit in the aftermath of the European economic crisis of recent years. Even so, Portugal’s drug mortality rate is the lowest in Western Europe – one-tenth the rate of Britain or Denmark – and about one-fiftieth of the latest number in the US."
Repeat: as many Americans dying last year of overdoses – around 64,000 – as were killed in the Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq Wars combined.
In 2006, only the higher-end suites at the Four Seasons in Austin, TX (the city's most luxurious hotel) had flat-screen televisions. The regular rooms still had the box-shaped version. But by 2015 flat-screen TVs were standard not just in rooms at the Four Seasons, but also in most any Motel 6. Tammey in Forbes uses this argument to explain the advantages of ending "net neutrality." He writes, "“Net neutrality” was all about giving everyone – large and small – equal access to the internet. Ok, but that’s a violation of property rights. Plain and simple. End of discussion. Those who own the “pipe” should be able to do whatever they want with it, including charging different prices for access to the pipe." To this conclusion: "Great wealth, the kind of wealth that causes inequality to soar, is frequently a function of entrepreneurs democratizing access to the goods and services formerly enjoyed by the rich alone."
Caplan has a new book on education (not flattering) and received a letter from Dennis Fried, a philosophy professor who left teaching because of the difficulties he had with students' preparatory backgrounds. This is from it:
"Appalled and shocked by the illiteracy displayed in my students' papers, I once began a class (comprised of freshmen through seniors) by writing on the board three words: cats, cat's, cats'. I then asked if anyone could explain the difference. About ten seconds elapsed before one (very brave) student raised her hand, began "I think ..." and then proceeded to explain the difference correctly. I said, "This is third grade stuff. Why do most of you not know it?"
Several said they were never taught it. I then asked, "Didn't your high school teachers correct this sort of thing on your papers?" to which several responded, "We never had to write any papers in high school."
"What did you do in English class?" I asked. Answers: Listened to records, watched videos, talked about movies and current events."
Several said they were never taught it. I then asked, "Didn't your high school teachers correct this sort of thing on your papers?" to which several responded, "We never had to write any papers in high school."
"What did you do in English class?" I asked. Answers: Listened to records, watched videos, talked about movies and current events."
Golden oldie:
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steeleydock.blogspot.com
Materialism is all the rage. The world is flooded with new takes on history and psychology interpreted through the materialistic filter. Th...
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Is it possible to be a populist and to cut corporate taxes at the same time?
Bad news: Apparently Melania Trump has succeeded in her nefarious scheme to take over the United States National Arboretum and is having part of a tree on White House grounds removed. The overall objective of this coup is as yet unclear. There is ambiguity among the astute whistleblowers however as the tree was originally planted by Andrew Jackson, who is quite out of favor and some fear her shameless assumption of power might be excused by many as a "bad means to a good end." As Mussolini made the trains run on time, such an excuse might also be seen as alt-right. More to follow.
A few months ago Mike Pence was mocked for his practice of never meeting or dining alone with a woman who is not his wife. Now such practice may be mandatory for public figures.
Investors who loaded up on U.S. and Asian stock index funds might be surprised to learn just what they own now: technology stocks—a lot of them. (wsj)
On Mencken's bathtub hoax.
"In the omniscient tone of newspaper editorials, Mencken lamented and reprimanded that such an august cultural moment as the seventy-fifth anniversary of the bathtub should arrive and "Not a plumber fired a salute or hung out a flag. Not a governor proclaimed a day of prayer. Not a newspaper called attention to the day." This was worse than unhygienic; it was unpatriotic. A thankless, forgetful nation had forgotten that the first bathtubs -- these, of course, appeared in Cincinnati -- had been met with contempt by the social watchdogs, who thought them "an epicurean and obnoxious toy from England, designed to corrupt the democratic simplicity of the Republic," and by the medical profession, who thought them likely to induce "phthisic, rheumatic fevers, inflammation of the lungs and the whole category of zymotic diseases."
From there, according to Mencken's exhaustive research, the Great Bathtub Debate had snowballed:" (king)
- The noise of the controversy soon reached other cities, and in more than one place medical opposition reached such strength that it was reflected in legislation. Late in 1843, for example, the Philadelphia Common Council considered an ordinance prohibiting bathing between November 1 and March 15, and it failed of passage by but two votes. During the same year the legislature of Virginia laid a tax of $30 a year on all bathtubs that might be set up, and in Hartford, Providence, Charleston and Wilmington (Del.) special and very heavy water rates were levied upon those who had them. Boston, very early in 1845, made bathing unlawful except upon medical advice, but the ordinance was never enforced and in 1862 it was repealed.
It is doubtful in today's world of fake news, such a satire on American gullibility would gain much traction. Indeed, eight years after the original article Mencken attempted to pull the plug by publishing various confessions, but many regarded the confession as the hoax, and his bogus bathtub anniversary continued to be commemorated in many quarters.
Official data released earlier this week showed the Saudi economy contracted last for the first time in eight years. It’s estimated to have shrunk by 4% as thousands of state-subsidized jobs have disappeared. There is a rumor--we can all hope is untrue--that members of the royal family are being tortured for information on their hidden money.
"This is why populism and nationalism, taken to their natural conclusions, always lead to statism. The state is the only expression of the national or popular will that encompasses everybody. So, the more you talk about how the fundamental unit of society is a mythologized collective called “The People” or the nation, the more you are rhetorically empowering the state."--Goldberg
Wisdom -- the ability to take the perspectives of others into account and aim for compromise --comes more naturally to those who grow up in poor or working class, according to a new study by social psychologist Igor Grossman at the University of Waterloo in Canada and his colleagues, Science Magazine reports.
According to data released by LedgerX, one anonymous trader bought $1 million in options that will only pay off if the price of a single bitcoin surges above $50,000 next year.
The real nature of camo: The British Army was accused of donning “blackface” after they posted a picture of a soldier wearing dark face paint and holding a rifle.
Expecting students to show up on time to class might be insensitive to “cultural differences,” Clemson University said in a diversity training program
Uh oh. According to a study by the University of Toronto, babies show preference to adults of their own race. I suppose we could just slap it out of the little devils.
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