James Medlock
@jdcmedlock.bsky.social
More good things for everyone. Public sector appreciator. Tax and welfare policy knower. Hyperinflation doubter.
Once again, with feeling: any leftism which doesn't account for the fact that America collects fully 30% less taxes than the average OECD country is doomed to fail. And no, you can't just get it all from billionaires. Adopt @jdcmedlock.bsky.social thought or die.
Sasho Todorov@sashotodorov.bsky.social · 3w agoIt genuinely sucks that the Orange Man has cratered the government, but the government will still be cratered and the more bonkers shit you promise voters the more they're going to be disappointed when you govern. Sure is great and cool that we're also full steam ahead into an anti-tax revolt.
Haven't been online much lately, how are y'all doing?
The LA election discourse is a good reminder that Democrats are overly process focused and build well intentioned systems that move far too slowly, whereas Republicans are really stupid.
Read @dogsinautumn.bsky.social today on why taxes are good and Democrats cannot cave to the temptation to campaign on lowering them
Liberal Currents@liberalcurrents.com · 3mo ago“Taxes are how we build the world for each other.” www.liberalcurrents.com/we-owe-each-...
listen to Mr Medlock. what you do is tax the piss out of basically every transaction and make up for any unfairness with a super generous welfare state
James Medlock@jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 3mo agoBezos says that the US has one of the most progressive tax codes. This is true by some measures. But our tax and transfer system reduces inequality far less than countries with broader tax systems. Tax cuts can't help people who don't have an income, but a generous tax financed welfare state can.
Bezos retweeted the absolute worst slop infographic I've ever seen in my life.
Bezos says that the US has one of the most progressive tax codes. This is true by some measures. But our tax and transfer system reduces inequality far less than countries with broader tax systems. Tax cuts can't help people who don't have an income, but a generous tax financed welfare state can.
James Medlock@jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 3mo agoI think Democrats like Cory Booker should take a hard look in the mirror and consider why Jeff Bezos loves their tax cut proposals so much. Billionaires would love to see a weak state with a gutted fiscal capacity.
I think Democrats like Cory Booker should take a hard look in the mirror and consider why Jeff Bezos loves their tax cut proposals so much. Billionaires would love to see a weak state with a gutted fiscal capacity.
Pinnacles National Park is some of our finest publicly owned land. Saw 7 condors and 3 rattlesnakes.
Requiring the parent of a SNAP recipient to provide a written statement clarifying that a birthday money transfer was not recurring support is so dystopian.
Katie Bergh@katiebergh.bsky.social · 3mo agoMore & more eligible low-income people are losing SNAP because of H.R. 1’s bureaucratic hurdles, including this mom who has tried for months to get her family’s benefits back while working & caring for 2 young kids. Keep in mind: SNAP benefits average about $6 per person per day.
I've been saying we need a progressive DOGE that actually focuses on making government work well rather than undermining it. But we need a better name. So how about DOPE: the Department of Public Excellence.
New working paper on the California Fast-Food minimum wage (will come out as NBER WP soon but posting now). Big increase in wages. Big drop in separations. Little change in jobs. (Bonus: sheds light on QWI vs QCEW measurement of jobs.)
A second extremely based AOC anti-tax-slop quote has hit the TL
Sahil Kapur@sahilkapur.bsky.social · 3mo ago. @aoc.bsky.social responds to this trend: "BOOOOO" "This race to try to see who can be exempt from participating in society is not a conversation that I'm interested in," she tells me, calling it an uninspiring message. "I'm a Great Society Democrat, and I believe in building that together."
my newest in Liberal Currents: in celebration of Tax Day i make the case for liberals to collect more taxes, not less www.liberalcurrents.com/actually-col...
Actually Collect Taxes
A gameplan for turning an overlooked federal agency into a flagship of liberal governance
liberalcurrents.com
Maybe can live in a society that collectively funds public goods that we all benefit from rather than giving up on governance and joining a tax cut bidding war that we'll inevitably lose to shameless republicans...
James Medlock@jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 3mo agoIt's such a breath of fresh air to see @aoc.bsky.social stand against gutting our tax base.
It's such a breath of fresh air to see @aoc.bsky.social stand against gutting our tax base.
NOTUS@notus.com · 3mo agoThe differences between Rep. AOC’s and Sen. Bernie Sanders’ approach to tax cut plans are indicative of the divides Democrats must bridge as they form their agenda going into 2028. https://www.notus.org/economy/democrats-tax-cut-plans-splintering-progressives
Yes, this argument drives me crazy - if you think Medicaid is corporate welfare, that would make Medicare for All the biggest corporate welfare program of them all. But neither would actually enable corporations to lower wages. Workers who are less desperate are able to hold out for higher wages.
ryan cooper@ryanlcooper.com · 3mo agothe rare intentionally annoying headline that is 100 percent correct. Medicaid is not corporate welfare www.vox.com/politics/486...
*guy who mocked the pope for saying AI developers should cultivate moral discernment voice*
I was initially lukewarm on Steyer, but I’ve come around to the idea that it’s actively good to have a billionaire help lead the charge to tax billionaires.
It’s all well and good for tech leaders to endorse UBI. But it feels convenient to only focus on a distant political prospect. The GOP, right now, is doing reverse-UBI (work requirements on SNAP). It’d be nice to hear more objections to that.
Happy tax day! This should be a civic holiday, we should have a parade and give out taxpayer awards. ruthbraunstein.substack.com/p/what-does-...
I think progressives were right to be skeptical of the gig work labor model, so I’m happy to see it automated away as quickly as possible.
