The high seas are the common property of all mankind

 

MAGA Marxist: Our gangsta good, your gangsta bad

 

 Ungar-Sargon: Trump Out-Gangstered the Islamic Republic of Iran

Just in time for Tax Day 2026, the Bezos Post says it's not fair to tax the richest so much, you know, people like Jeff, when the almost rich could pay so, so much more lol

But they are making my point for me nevertheless, God bless 'em.

The Rich Already Pay More Than Their Fair Share

Washington Post

 

... Consider: There were 30,382 tax filers with incomes of $10 million or more in 2023, the latest year IRS data is available. That includes all sources of income. This tiny group of people, less than 0.02 percent of all tax filers and 10,000 fewer than fit into Nationals Park, made 5.9 percent of all income — and paid 10.9 percent of all income taxes. ...

 

[Please note that in 2023 there were just 5,212 individual wage earners making more than $10 million. The other 25,000 DON'T WORK, because at these levels work is only for chumps.] 

 

The upper-middle class is where more of the less-taxed money is located. Filers with incomes between $100,000 and $500,000 make 49.7 percent of taxable income, yet they pay just 43 percent of all income taxes.

 

This fact is tremendously inconvenient for revenue-hungry politicians in a country where tens of millions of people are upper-middle class, and even more people want to become upper-middle class. Republicans promise not to raise income taxes on anyone, and Democrats promise not to raise income taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 — which is almost everyone. ...

 

 

The original $3,000 personal exemption for a single wage earner [eliminated by Trump in 2017] from the first income tax code in 1913, when the average Joe made about $800, would be $101,085.61 in March 2026. For the married filing jointly the personal exemption was $4,000, or $134,780.82 today.

 

NO ONE making up to those limits today should be paying any federal income tax. 

 

In 2023 that's about 85% of individual wage earners not paying any federal income tax. The 15% making more than 100K numbered about 28 million in 2023. Tax them.

 

Let these "rich" duke it out over who pays what, as this column suggests, and Make America Great Again.

My morning coffee, my Sunday hamburger, my Italian tomatoes, pasta and olive oil, and now even my salad

I coulda mentioned salad the other day, but I didn't.

The average price made a new record high in 1Q2026. 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why BLTs and salad just got more expensive — tariffs, war send tomato prices soaring

This story is about fresh tomatoes, not salad, and it is interesting, but the average price of tomatoes in 1Q2026 still hasn't surpassed 1Q2016.

Adjusted for inflation since 1Q1980, tomatoes could cost $2.64 per pound, but they were only $1.98 in 1Q.

As the story says, canned tomatoes are much cheaper. I make my sauce from stewed whole plum tomatoes from a can, preferably Italian, preferably San Marzano or Parma, but there are many acceptable American brands to choose from. 

Mad King Ludwig can't get Kevin Warsh confirmed on time, throws another tantrum at Powell

 Powell staying on as acting chair until Trump can get his shit together would be customary procedure, not an anomaly.

 Trump threatens to fire Powell if Fed chair doesn’t leave office on his own

 Fed nominee Warsh filings detail vast wealth, far exceeding past chairs

 ... Warsh’s filings detail roughly 1,800 individual assets. Many individual items are identified as being subject to “pre-existing confidentiality obligations” that prevent him from specifying the underlying assets.

Warsh in the filings pledges to divest these assets if confirmed. ...