I refused to file my taxes last year after Trump had already started engaging in excursions from democratic norms. It’s like an abusive spouse demanding alimony during a contentious divorce.
More than $20bn. That’s roughly the cost of our military operation in Iran to date.
Tax day is a month away. If you’re like me, it makes your stomach turn to watch the US practice regime change in the Middle East – again. If you’re like me, the reckless murder of more than 150 little girls in the name of “liberating” Iranian women fills you with rage. The worst part? You and I literally paid for this.
Today, our government dollars at work look like the hellscape that was Tehran, where our military intentionally blew up oil storage facilities whose burning black rain will deliver cancer to generations to come. We are financing chemical warfare, a war crime, banned under the Geneva conventions. All of this, of course, against the backdrop of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, where up to 70% of the weapons come from the United States and the revolting and deadly paramilitary operations of our Department of Homeland Defense and ICE.
The American people did not sign up for this. Congress was neither consulted nor did it approve the opening attack on 28 February, contrary to the separation-of-powers bedrock our country was built upon. Most of us are fed up with unjustified conflicts and “forever wars”. In fact, 70% of voters opposed potential action in Iran before the first bombs fell. A majority continue to oppose the war now, and support will keep eroding as gas and food prices rise.
For most folx, this is like shooting yourself in the foot to kill the spider on the floor. Or perhaps it’s more like trying to mop the floor with your shotgun, and then wondering why you shot yourself in the foot.
My point is, your payment of taxes and a US war of aggression are not correlated at all. Not paying your taxes won’t stop bad policy decisions.
The system doesn’t care if you pay your tax bill. It only cares that the money is owed. If you don’t pay this year, the debt collects interest. If you tell a judge that this was a purposeful, planned protest, and you still refuse to pay, then criminal charges can be filed against you.
Meanwhile, the bombs continue to fall.
I’m all about reckless protests and fighting the unwinnable battles in life, btw, so anyone who chooses to do this has my full support. But go in with both eyes wide open and make sure that you have little or nothing to lose.
I’m already homeless and unemployed. How would throwing $900 at the U.S. Treasury solve anything?
So, it’s not that you are protesting the war. It’s that you don’t have the money.
I’m sorry, man. That sucks.
I’m sure you can see, though, that there’s no way I could have known that. I thought we were discussing the article, not your personal situation.
You said it was risky unless I had nothing to lose. I was merely letting you know that I have nothing to lose.
For most in the US, estimated tax is collected from your employer before you control the money and filing is just to adjust the difference between estimated and due. So most people can’t withhold tax because of the system
I was 1099ing it. So, no withholding. I put some into savings for my tax bill and then decided I wasn’t going to support the junta. If the IRS wants to lock me up over $900, so be it. I get free fixed housing and food. They’re on the losing side of the ledger past a few days.
If I were to avoid filing taxes I would loose nearly 1000$. My income is low enough that I qualify for EITC. If I don’t file taxes I’m letting them keep money I should be receiving from them.
Sure, if you make 100k a year and don’t get taxes auto deducted from a paycheck, be my guest. But for most people, this is a great way to give the IRS more money than they would otherwise have.
My income has always been low enough to qualify for the EITC (journalism, amirite?) … the problem is, I never participated in making another good wage slave, so I’m excluded from that credit.
…you don’t need to have kids to claim EITC.
I don’t have kids. or any other dependent.
That’s not what any tax prep software I’ve used over the years said. It was always a binary “do you have dependents? If no, you do not qualify for the EITC.”
Then you were getting scammed, or your income was above the threshold for 0 dependents to claim EITC. ( the threshold was 21,430 in 2021, for a childless non-joint filing adult)
Frankly I think they should probably raise that threshold to account for the vast amount of socially important but financially non-productive work there is in the country.
Yeah, in 2021, I had no income, but in 2020, I’d topped out at $48K. Twenty fucking years into my career. I was being paid shit wages, but not shitty enough.
Your taxes dont go directly to pay budget. It’s basically collected after they spend it.
The government will just go into debt to do these things. Thats why things just keep moving despite budget shortfalls. That’s why no amount of “shutting down the government” stops them from going to war. Just acceptance of more and more debt hoping it doesn’t eclipse the GDP
Per the St. Louis Fed, we’re already at 126.8% of GDP in terms of the federal debt.
Sidenote: It seems crazy to use GDP as a measuring stick for federal debt.
Yes, the country produces over $30 trillion in goods and services per year. BUT THAT’S NOT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S BUDGET!
The debt is approaching $40 trillion, which is 20 times the federal budget.
For comparison, that’s like a household making $30k/year and has a $600,000 loan. “Oh, but our small business brought in $150,000 in revenue,” they say, “so no worries, we can make the payments.” Yeah, that’s not profit and it won’t pay down debt.
The debt pyramid will collapse at some point. Maybe not in our lifetimes, but at a certain point, the bankers will get pissed enough to overthrow the system and demand change. And reparations, of course.
The American people did not sign up for this
Yes, most of them did, either by voting for it or not voting. Twice. Some did not sign up for it.
I’m sick of hearing this, it’s self imposed absolution from responsibility.
“Never believe that
anti-Semitespeople like this person are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. Theanti-Semitespeople like this person have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.”Jean-Paul Sartre
Is this another quote in the form of resistance?
absurdity of their comment
What’s absurd? Their population elected him again after a trial run. They are responsible for him being elected.
frivolous
Not at all. For years the risk of this and how serious its consequences are has been pointed out to their citizens.
open to challenge
Go ahead, then.
for they are amusing themselves
Nothing amusing about pointing this out, at all. Far from it.
anti Semites
Jam this up your arse. I oppose their current leadership and their actions, not the religion or its people. It’s as spineless as the use of a quote.
they even like to play
giving ridiculous reasons
discredit the seriousness
Yarda fucking yarda and worse still, it’s not even yours.
delight in acting in bad faith
Problem is, it’s all true and demonstrably so.
if you press them
Go ahead
abruptly fall silent
Like the American public when pressed? Hahaha not here sunshine
the time for argument is past
It is. It’s time American citizens got something together and urged whatever leadership or influence they can to organise and help with a national strike, so the houses will act in impeachment. It’s a dead set shame some (if they’re Americans) prefer to quote movie lines and philosophy, but anyway.
That was terrible, and lazy.
OK, so under your view that we actually have majority rule, why is it that I literally can’t vote? It’s not that I don’t want to, but Texas sends out new voter ID cards annually, they aren’t forwarded (for somewhat obvious reasons), and when I became homeless, I was dropped from the voter roll because my ID card was rejected for having a new address (my friend’s).
I’m scarcely the only one who can legally vote but can’t practically vote. Stop acting like we wanted this. I have three stories about disenfranchisement for every one you can provide about how American voters are apathetic and lazy. Trump isn’t in power because he had a good message; he’s there because people like me can’t vote.
Righto, you’re aware that this has been going on for decades, right?
Why Texas does this, is because Texans have refused to vote, like the rest of the nation, for decades. People outside that country were warning them about their apathy before 2010 but none of them listened. Those people were told to mind their own business, while they were being told they lived in communist nanny states that had no freedom.
You’ve got the ability to vote it out, or did have, how do you think the Republicans have done so well? Why do you think they want to take it away?
They wanted it, or didn’t care. For a long time.
“Never believe that
anti-Semitespeople like this person are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. Theanti-Semitespeople like this person have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.”Jean-Paul Sartre
You want a copy and paste like this, since you got your reply?
Or was the other the copy and paste?
Even the ones that voted for the criminal believed him when he lied about not wanting war
I mean its a bit unfair because I have not worked for pretty close to two years.
