Notices by Andrew Leahey (andrew@esq.social)

"Undergraduates with family income below $200k can expect to attend MIT tuition-free starting next fall, thanks to newly expanded financial aid. 80% of American households meet this income threshold.

And for the 50% of American families with income below $100,000, parents can expect to pay nothing at all toward the full cost of their students’ MIT education.”

Undergraduates with family income below $200,000 can expect to attend MIT tuition-free starting in 2025
| https://news.mit.edu/2024/mit-tuition-undergraduates-family-income-1120

An ounce of introspection would end in, if not the fundamental recognition of another human being's humanity, at the very least the realization of what this will look like through the lens of history. You're the villain, Johnson. A wretched little creature, crawling in the gutter of a soon forgotten cul-de-sac in time.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/20/us/politics/mike-johnson-transgender-women-ban-capitol-bathrooms.html

Attorney discipline reform out of CA:

“The State Bar of California has approved a proposal to expunge attorney discipline records from public view after eight years, provided the attorney has not faced subsequent disciplinary action during that time.”

https://www.minimumcomp.com/p/legal-news-for-tues-1119-big-law

@tim

Love aerosolizing all the junk on the ground too.

Either I don't have the knack or leaf blowers don't really work all that well. I'm reminded of this every year, around now, as I try to move a waist-deep 40' x 10’ pile of leaves down my driveway and mostly just succeed in blowing them into the air.

Even scammers seem kind of depressed. I just got a Wells Fargo phishing email that was just a shared Google Doc with blanks asking me to fill in my account information.

#Trump's tariff proposal is something folks who still thought illness was caused by the humors could see through -- and did.

Also:

It'd cost US consumers $3.9 trillion.

It would not result in China, or any other foreign state, footing the bill. At all.

It would not suddenly create robust domestic industries.

It would probably cause a trade war.

Even if it ever did, it would be done so disproportionately on the backs of the lowest-income consumers.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewleahey/2024/10/23/trumps-20-tariffs-would-cost-trillions-we-learned-this-a-century-ago/

Sometimes I catch myself writing one of these brief pieces and I wonder why I'm even bothering to critique a tax policy proposed by this bozo.

But, alas, here is another. Sigh. Eliminating tax on overtime is a stupid idea.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewleahey/2024/09/13/no-tax-on-overtime-policy-would-be-even-worse-than-no-tax-on-tips/

Taking even the lowest rate (1.7%) and the smallest base (top 0.5%) from the Spanish wealth tax and applying it to the US would mean an immediate $340 billion annual tax revenue increase.

That would be a 7% increase in total tax revenue and, applied to social welfare programs, would constitute a 25% increase in their funding.

A wealth tax can work -- those who say otherwise are either billionaires or listening to billionaires.

#lawfedi @law #wealthtax #taxes

https://news.bloombergtax.com/tax-insights-and-commentary/spains-wealth-tax-model-could-address-inequality-in-us-policy

The top 0.1% wealthiest Americans control about $20 trillion in assets.

A tax on them would raise $340 billion and never touch anyone worth less than $50 million.

If you're worth less than $50 million and opposed, you might ask yourself why and who you are furthering the interests of. https://esq.social/@andrew/113033909325519493

@jerry

No worries I can pull it down, thanks so much -- should have looked closer before bothering you. Eyes glazed right over it. Thanks!

Hey, listen, I'm not opposed to the broader argument that two people punching each other until one of them blacks out or falls down may not be a sport we need to engage in.

I know we are supposed to be more enlightened on the #fediverse, but I've been close to 4,000 followers for a few months now and I have to admit I keep checking back to see if I've crossed over.

Old habits and all.

It is heartening to see more attention being paid to #climatechange owing to the current nationwide heatwave, but it is disheartening to realize that attention will only last as long as the heat does.

Once temperatures, albeit temporarily, return to something like "normal," folks will go back to not particularly caring.

Which just means the moment we'll have full unflagging support for combatting climate change will be precisely the moment it’s too late.

Some back of the envelope math suggests for #Trump to pull of his ridiculous "proposal" of eliminating income tax in favor of tariffs, the tariffs would have to average about 85%.

That's the base model #iPhone going from $799 to $1,478 (at least). Choose your other exemplar goods to do your own math.

Clown stuff.

#lawfedi @law

https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewleahey/2024/06/14/can-trump-eliminate-the-income-tax/

Also grateful for projects like #Ivory ( @ivory) that are smoothing the transition from Twitter/X for folks that are amenable but want a familiar experience.

I have no doubt we owe a lot of users on #Mastodon and the #fediverse more generally to projects that set out, and succeeded, in paving the road ahead of the crowds to make the day-to-day as seamless as possible. https://esq.social/@andrew/112515516679521573

I reckon Copilot+ PC is going to be a product that an entire class of professional just simply can't purchase or use for work. Thinking of #attorneys, #accountants, etc.

Surely the "features" will be able to be disabled, but can anyone reasonably trust that?

#lawfedi @law

"Using techniques he’s honed over a lifetime, Abernethy will machine the gears by hand in traditional materials such as steel and brass. But the pendulum will respond to the forest: When trees grow quickly, the hours will advance more rapidly; more lethargic growth will result in a slower tempo.”

#trees #environment

A Clock In The Forest | https://www.noemamag.com/a-clock-in-the-forest/

“The budget proposal is functional first step to begin internalizing the externalities wrought from private space flight—the short-term costs are unquestionably most evident in air traffic control. Using the internalization of that cost as a wedge to pursue broader policy initiatives that ensure the ongoing low-Earth congestion caused by increased satellite deployment is calculated and compensated for is a long-term solution.”

#space #spacex #tax @law

https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewleahey/2024/04/22/do-we-need-a-property-tax-for-space

In this week’s column I make the case that the proliferation of government services online, including IRS Direct File, makes it incumbent upon the government to ensure universal broadband access.

The Affordable Connectivity Program will be out of money next month, potentially kicking 23 million households offline just as Direct File rolls out.

#lawfedi #librarians @law

https://news.bloombergtax.com/tax-insights-and-commentary/irs-direct-file-should-ignite-push-for-universal-internet-access