Interview with LDS Farnsworth who defeated LDS Rusty Bowers, Jan 6. Witness, in Arizona

[Chum]

1 hour ago, rodheadlee said:

Not to change the subject but what's up with arming IRS agents? An ad came out that said "must be willing to use deadly force."

That's literally changing the subject. Baseless, easily debunked rumors might be more at home in their own thread.

[Chum]

3 hours ago, Danzo said:

I'm in Oregon.

For son#2 I would recommend having him sit for the Special Enrollment Examination (SEE) and get his Enrolled Agent License from the IRS. That should enable him to get a Tax Job most places. Add five of years experience and he should be able get a job anywhere, in person or remote. As for son 2, non skilled jobs often start at 20/hour. But I would recommend son training to increase marketability.

That sounds like pretty good counsel. We'll look into it. Appreciated.

[bsjkki]

4 hours ago, Calm said:

Is this legal?

In Utah you can do this. They passed a law allowing home owners to rent out any part of their house. HOA’s can’t ban the practice. If you have an HOA in Colorado, it’s not allowed. Or live in an HOA free zone.

*Utah’s bill passed last year. https://le.utah.gov/~2021/bills/static/HB0082.html
 

I wish Colorado would do this too. So many people could benefit from having a basement apartment to rent out but it’s the HOA’s that make it impossible. 
 

 

Edited August 13, 2022 by bsjkki

[Calm]

Good to know if we ever decide we can have someone else stay.  We had been offering it free to nieces and nephews, but all of them wanted to stay with friends or didn’t have a car…the bus route here isn’t great.  

[Danzo]

12 hours ago, rodheadlee said:

Not to change the subject but what's up with arming IRS agents? An ad came out that said "must be willing to use deadly force."

IRS special agents with the Criminal Investigation division have been armed for years, nothing new. I've met a few, seem like good people. If two of them (like missionaries, they always come in pairs) shows up to ask you questions, shut up and call a lawyer(same for a visit by any law enforcement personnel)

 

 

 

[rodheadlee]

9 hours ago, Danzo said:

IRS special agents with the Criminal Investigation division have been armed for years, nothing new. I've met a few, seem like good people. If two of them (like missionaries, they always come in pairs) shows up to ask you questions, shut up and call a lawyer(same for a visit by any law enforcement personnel)

 

 

 

I'll agree there are some dangerous neighborhoods out there. The thing is every time we have been audited we had to show up in their office.

[The Nehor]

On 8/12/2022 at 9:54 PM, rodheadlee said:

Not to change the subject but what's up with arming IRS agents? An ad came out that said "must be willing to use deadly force."

It is a myth. Some idiots discovered for the first time (for them) the IRS Special Criminal Division that deals with things like money laundering, organized crime, cybercrimes, drug trafficking, financial fraud, and the like. Lately they have been busy tracking down the assets of Russian oligarchs that were squirreled away in the US. Funding for firearms and ammo for that unit are roughly the same as they previously were. This Division does not do conventional audits, either the by mail versions or the auditor comes in person to review books audits. These are the guys who took down Capone back in the day.

It is just lying and deceit. Standard stuff.

[The Nehor]

I am still amazed how people are trying to tie inflation to a few thousand dollars that were given out over a year ago and say that is why people aren’t working. How does that make any sense at all?

[bsjkki]

57 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

I am still amazed how people are trying to tie inflation to a few thousand dollars that were given out over a year ago and say that is why people aren’t working. How does that make any sense at all?

Economists argue that it was the printing of dollars that increased the monetary supply that led to inflation. The many economists I have listened to say it takes years for these dollars to work their way out. I've heard not a lot of inflationary relief for a year or so. The economy is slowing with increased rates and that will help but the underlying cause will take time to relieve. 

[The Nehor]

12 minutes ago, bsjkki said:

Economists argue that it was the printing of dollars that increased the monetary supply that led to inflation. The many economists I have listened to say it takes years for these dollars to work their way out. I've heard not a lot of inflationary relief for a year or so. The economy is slowing with increased rates and that will help but the underlying cause will take time to relieve. 

The stimulus money was a drop in the bucket. The economists are still casting horoscopes and reading tea leaves to try to figure out why this really weird and pretty unique period of inflation is not behaving normally. A lot of the normal secondary effects aren’t happening. It is very weird.

[ttribe]

1 hour ago, bsjkki said:

Economists argue that it was the printing of dollars that increased the monetary supply that led to inflation. The many economists I have listened to say it takes years for these dollars to work their way out. I've heard not a lot of inflationary relief for a year or so. The economy is slowing with increased rates and that will help but the underlying cause will take time to relieve. 

It's only but one element in the overall inflation picture, right now. Don't forget that a significant driver of overall inflation (not the CPI) was the dramatic increase in fuel costs, which was a direct result of the oil and gas companies being slow to bring back online the level of refining capacity as was in place prior to COVID. They lost an enormous amount of money during the lock downs and were, in some cases, literally paying downstream partners to store their refined product. By being slow to bring refining capacity online as demand ramped back up, they forced the price to skyrocket and recouped significant portions of their losses.

One can also not overstate the impact of the varying timing and duration of lock downs across international borders on the global supply chain. Many companies are still struggling to get parts and materials in quantities which were once ubiquitous pre-COVID.

The free money certainly didn't help the inflation picture, but it's hardly the only factor involved.

Edited August 17, 2022 by ttribe

[The Nehor]

Inflation is a mess.

 

[bsjkki]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11121263/Fed-plans-raising-rates-despite-economic-downturn.html

From today. 
 

https://www.americanexperiment.org/inflation-what-did-cause-it/

[Calm]

I was shocked my husband came home with a bunch of bananas for only $2 and another for 2.50$ (5 or 6 good size bananas in each).  Some stuff is cheap apparently. (I am currently living off of banana, fresh ground almond butter, and naan bread, so my husband is carting home bananas like we are a zoo).

[bsjkki]

3 minutes ago, Calm said:

I was shocked my husband came home with a bunch of bananas for only $2 and another for 2.50$ (5 or 6 good size bananas in each).  Some stuff is cheap apparently. (I am currently living off of banana, fresh ground almond butter, and naan bread, so my husband is carting home bananas like we are a zoo).

I had sticker shock at Costco. But, then, I don’t buy a lot of bananas. 😋They will not raise the price of their roasted chicken and I got two meals out of it. Winning! 

[Calm]

14 minutes ago, bsjkki said:

I had sticker shock at Costco. But, then, I don’t buy a lot of bananas. 😋They will not raise the price of their roasted chicken and I got two meals out of it. Winning! 

It is a pain being low sodium, very low sugar, but worth it as the spins (vertigo from Meniere’s for those not taking notes on the saga of my life )are the lowest in two years, I even drove the other day for the first time in two years. But oh, I so wish I could just do prepared for me once in awhile.  I miss my butternut squash chicken soup I used to make with Costco’s chicken and cut up squash.  
 

Once the summer renovation is done, I have a nook reserved for growing my own salad greens as I go through a large spring mix every other day. A couple of shelves and a grow light, potting soil and some seeds. Saving the spring mix containers to be my pots too.  Almost like sprouts, but using soil. Means less work and less living by the clock than sprouts.  Mostly for convenience and to vary the taste of my salad greens, but also because I like the idea of not paying as much even if we can afford it. 

Edited August 17, 2022 by Calm

[Chum]

6 minutes ago, bsjkki said:

I had sticker shock at Costco. But, then, I don’t buy a lot of bananas. 😋They will not raise the price of their roasted chicken and I got two meals out of it. Winning! 

Is tough out there. Shopping for 6 guys is a 100 every trip now.

[ttribe]

35 minutes ago, bsjkki said:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11121263/Fed-plans-raising-rates-despite-economic-downturn.html

From today. 
 

https://www.americanexperiment.org/inflation-what-did-cause-it/

That is a known conservative think tank; I suggest some broader research.

But, then, what do I know? I just do economic forecasts for litigation cases with regularity.

[bsjkki]

2 minutes ago, ttribe said:

That is a known conservative think tank; I suggest some broader research.

But, then, what do I know? I just do economic forecasts for litigation cases with regularity.

I generally agree with you…it’s complicated. There are a lot of moving parts. Energy is a big factor. 
 

Economists definitely don’t all agree and my knowledge has come from long form interviews with economists…hard to cut and paste. Printing money, supply chain issues, increased wages due to labor shortages and energy. They all are contributing. 
 

Europe is facing an unprecedented energy problem that is scary. 

[bsjkki]

17 minutes ago, ttribe said:

That is a known conservative think tank; I suggest some broader research.

But, then, what do I know? I just do economic forecasts for litigation cases with regularity.

But isn’t the massive increase in money supply a big factor? This looks like more than a blip and many experts point out the infrastructure bill made things worse.

[Stargazer]

2 hours ago, The Nehor said:

It is a myth. Some idiots discovered for the first time (for them) the IRS Special Criminal Division that deals with things like money laundering, organized crime, cybercrimes, drug trafficking, financial fraud, and the like. Lately they have been busy tracking down the assets of Russian oligarchs that were squirreled away in the US. Funding for firearms and ammo for that unit are roughly the same as they previously were. This Division does not do conventional audits, either the by mail versions or the auditor comes in person to review books audits. These are the guys who took down Capone back in the day.

It is just lying and deceit. Standard stuff.

Sounds like something the Babylon Bee might have come up with. Except that what they did come up is perhaps more tame.

Just to confirm what you've written here, the IRS Criminal Investigation division does have some employee tasks that involve armed agents. Quote from USAjobs.gov about some of the duties of members of that division:

• Conducts or participates in surveillance, armed escorts, dignitary protection, undercover operations, execution of search and arrest warrants, seizures, etc.
• Maintains good physical condition in order to conduct criminal investigations, surveillance, protective assignments, undercover assignments, etc.

Both of which would seem to require firearms knowledge and use. Further, we find that as part of the qualifications for this job you will read this:

"You must pass a medical examination prior to being appointed. This position requires moderate to arduous physical exertion involving walking and standing, use of firearms, and exposure to inclement weather." 

The CI division is a very small part of the IRS, so the idea that IRS agents in general are going to be going about their business strapped is ludicrous. In examination of the federal budget someone discovered that the IRS spent about $725,000 on ammunition this year. "But that's not unusual, and is actually a bit less than what was spent in other recent years. These purchases are not new or unique to the Biden administration — they have been made for an IRS division that has been armed for more than a century." <-- That's from Politifact, whom I would normally distrust, but I happen to know independently that this a true statement. 

Ammo is not cheap. And those who are certified to be competently armed must use prodigious amounts of it to stay qualified. As you say, there's nothing to concern ourselves with in this case.

[bsjkki]

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/whats-causing-inflation-economists-point-fingers-different-culprits-rcna16156

 

[Stargazer]

24 minutes ago, ttribe said:

That is a known conservative think tank; I suggest some broader research.

But, then, what do I know? I just do economic forecasts for litigation cases with regularity.

What do you think causes inflation? Or, in other words, how does the money supply increase? And in a growing economy it must increase. One of the first financial crises that occurred in the new United States was the situation that resulted in Shay's Rebellion. Because the money supply was very tight, farmers were finding that they could not pay their debts or their taxes (because banks and some local governments would only accept hard currency -- i.e. gold and silver, which were scarce), and courts were confiscating farms for non-payment. 

Some years ago, I obtained and read a pamphlet published by the Federal Reserve called "Modern Money Mechanics", which I obtained not from some conservative think tank, but from the Federal Reserve itself. They were very clear on how they increase the money supply at the local level, and I was astonished to find that banks are allowed to create money out of thin air in the process of issuing mortgages. The document was very upfront about it. 

Are you aware that it is perfectly legal for US communities to print their own currency, backed by nothing at all? It's a fact, jack! As long as certain rules are followed, including being denominated in dollars, the notes must be clearly marked as not federal currency, and treated as real dollars for tax purposes, it's OK with both the Treasury and the IRS. And of course, the creation of local currency also increases the money supply. Marginally.

Just because a think tank is conservative doesn't mean it's lying. 

[ttribe]

1 minute ago, Stargazer said:

What do you think causes inflation? Or, in other words, how does the money supply increase? And in a growing economy it must increase. One of the first financial crises that occurred in the new United States was the situation that resulted in Shay's Rebellion. Because the money supply was very tight, farmers were finding that they could not pay their debts or their taxes (because banks and some local governments would only accept hard currency -- i.e. gold and silver, which were scarce), and courts were confiscating farms for non-payment. 

Some years ago, I obtained and read a pamphlet published by the Federal Reserve called "Modern Money Mechanics", which I obtained not from some conservative think tank, but from the Federal Reserve itself. They were very clear on how they increase the money supply at the local level, and I was astonished to find that banks are allowed to create money out of thin air in the process of issuing mortgages. The document was very upfront about it. 

Are you aware that it is perfectly legal for US communities to print their own currency, backed by nothing at all? It's a fact, jack! As long as certain rules are followed, including being denominated in dollars, the notes must be clearly marked as not federal currency, and treated as real dollars for tax purposes, it's OK with both the Treasury and the IRS. And of course, the creation of local currency also increases the money supply. Marginally.

Just because a think tank is conservative doesn't mean it's lying. 

[sigh] How many times do I have to say this? The free money WAS A FACTOR, but there are many other factors as well.

That think tank came straight out and called it THE cause of inflation; nothing else in their conclusion. I didn't say they were lying, but there is such a thing as bias in research and presentation of results. I'm simply suggesting that their report be read with some amount of skepticism and critical thinking.

[bsjkki]

2 minutes ago, ttribe said:

[sigh] How many times do I have to say this? The free money WAS A FACTOR, but there are many other factors as well.

That think tank came straight out and called it THE cause of inflation; nothing else in their conclusion. I didn't say they were lying, but there is such a thing as bias in research and presentation of results. I'm simply suggesting that their report be read with some amount of skepticism and critical thinking.

Maybe it’s semantics. https://www.forbes.com/sites/adammillsap/2022/08/10/inflation-still-high-and-bidens-policies-are-not-helping/?sh=5e174fa17106