Should BILLIONAIRE$ pay less tax than YOU?

On By Rick McIn economics, ethics, governmentLeave a comment

Someone in the American IRS leaked to Propublica:

  • Warren Buffett ~ 0.10% true tax rate
  • Jeff Bezos ~ 0.98% true tax rate
  • Michael Bloomberg ~ 01.30% true tax rate
  • Elon Musk ~ 3.27% true tax rate

What’s your true tax rate?

American politicians write complicated tax laws which result in loopholes used by the richest donors.

BUT — can it be fixed?

The best summary of the issue I’ve seen is the second podcast in this list.

‘Buy Now, Pay Later’: A New Wave of Consumer Debt – The Daily

As people in the United States struggle with rising costs, they are increasingly turning to “buy now, pay later” loans for essentials such as rent and groceries.Stacey Cowley, a business reporter for The New York Times, explains the draw and the hidden risks of the loan model.Guest: Stacy Cowley, a business reporter at The New York Times, with a focus on consumer finance.Background reading: “Buy now, pay later” lenders have pitched loans for needs like electricity and rent.They got to live a life of luxury. Then came the fine print.Photo: Amir Hamja for The New York Times For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
  1. ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’: A New Wave of Consumer Debt
  2. Classical Music Is in Crisis. Gustavo Dudamel Is Here to Save It.
  3. The Intertwined Legacies of Gloria Steinem and Dolly Parton
  4. A.I. Is Outsmarting Its Creators
  5. The Fight for the West Bank

Bloomsday Dead by Adrian McKinty

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Bloomsday Dead is the 3rd book in McKinty‘s Michael Forsythe Trilogy.

Though he’s one of my favourite writers, the Michael Forsythe series is too violent for me. I was surprised I got through this one.

… living in Lima, reasonably well-hidden by the FBI’s Witness Protection Program, but Bridget Callaghan, whose fiancé he murdered twelve years ago, has an enduring wish to see him dead.

So when her two assassins pass him the phone to speak to her before they kill him, Michael thinks she just wants to relish the moment. In fact, out of desperation, she is giving him a chance to redeem himself.

All he has to do is return to Ireland and find her missing daughter.

Before midnight.

officialadrianmckinty.com

West Coast Trail after the pandemic

On By Rick McIn hikingLeave a comment

For the next couple of weeks I’ll be mostly disconnected from the internet attempting a West Coast Trail YOYO.

Hiking the trail. Resupply. Then hiking back to where I started.

June 10 starting SE from Bamfield.

June 15 starting NW from Port Renfrew. UPDATE – I quit after my first crossing, due to minor injuries and gear problems. Rescheduling part 2 for July.

The Bay – season 2

On By Rick McIn TVLeave a comment

More intense than season 1, but still well worth watching.

Detective Constable Lisa Armstrong was suspended. But is brought back with a demotion.

A lawyer is murdered at his front door. In front of his 10-year-old son.

Shocking.

Solving the murder is the main plot line. But secondary stories are more interesting. And there are quite a few.

Lisa’s ex-husband Andy shows up, for example. That’s a drama.

Again — the acting is good.

I’ll quit here as Morven Christie is leaving before season 3. She’s been the main reason I watched.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

I tried book #1 in the Mrs. Jeffries series by American author Cheryl Lanham under the pseudonym, Emily Brightwell.

And easy, fun read.

It was written 1993.

There are dozens of sequels.

The central character of this cozy historical mystery series is Mrs. Jeffries, who is a housekeeper by profession and along with her staff, secretly helps Inspector Witherspoon of the Scotland Yard to solve the murder mysteries taking place in and around Victoria, England.

In fact, Witherspoon is a nice guy. Well meaning. But basically slow witted. His housekeeper and staff do a lot of the investigating for him.

A cute premise.

I don’t need to continue, however.

The Bay – season 1

On By Rick McIn TVLeave a comment

Good TV.

The Guardian: four stars out of five” — Suspects and police officers with shared secrets? Check. Information wilfully withheld by the writer? Check. Will you be hooked? Check.”

Detective Sergeant Lisa Armstrong (Morven Christie) is the mother of two children and working for (the fictional) West Lancashire Police Service as a Family Liaison Officer (FLO).

She is called out on the case of two missing children  …

Wikipedia

Many twists and turns.

Some OTHER story threads are more interesting than the actual whodunnit.

The detective is a single mother, for example, with two teenagers both getting in serious trouble.

I like the subtle, pastel colour grading used to set the look and feel. Wallander did something similar.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Tiananmen Square, June 4th, 1989

On By Rick McIn governmentLeave a comment

No one understands better the importance of symbolic imagery than totalitarian governments. One day this photo will be revered in China.

Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 – Wikipedia

Tianasquare

The Unknown Rebel – AP photographer Jeff Widener. A lone protester delayed the tanks for over half an hour.

Cropping Photos for the Web

On By Rick McIn photosLeave a comment

I really haven’t got much more excited about photography since going all in for VIDEO during the pandemic.

Many things irk me about photos online.

The majority of those you see are not very good — diminished so the image can load more quickly.

For my photos, best place to look is my Flickr account. Over 57,000 pics organized into albums.

THE photo site Instagram … I find super restrictive. And dumb.

Instagram wants to first display photos SQUARE. Here I cropped my 9×6 photo for that default.

Another crop.

Newer models of iPhone can be switched to my preferred 16:9.

These look great in landscape mode on a phone.

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

On By Rick McIn books, movies2 Comments

You might want to wait for the film version currently underway at Sony.

William Blake Crouch has already had several books adapted for popular culture.

Some feel this novel was constructed with the movie version in mind. He sold the film rights for $1.25m.

Jason Dessen, an atomic physicist, finds himself in a multiverse — traveling between alternative worlds in his home town Chicago.

Like time travel, it’s not easy to put together a coherent plot where characters meet themselves in other dimensions.

Crouch does a pretty good job at keeping the story interesting.

related – Dark Matter review – quantum fiction that’s delightfully unserious

Click PLAY or meet the author on YouTube.

I put Airtags on my bikes

On By Rick McIn Apple, cycling1 Comment

If anyone rides away on my bike, I can track it down via the Apple Find My network.

Shane Miller tested WHERE to place the tracking device.

Open to the sky is best. Hidden inside the frame near useless.

I’m keeping mine attached to the bike in a reflector.

Also, it’s unlikely a thief will be alerted by their own phone — until they get home.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.