Reading TFS make me even happier I don't have any Alexa (or other similar) devices - and never will.
The sole exception is my Pixel 5a, but Google Assistant is specifically not enabled and Gemini isn't installed (or selected as the Assistant) -- this sort of thing seems fairly unavoidable with smartphones now, but, thankfully, they can be disabled, for now anyway..
Maybe they have to buy hearing aids for their, much now older, customers who can't hear them now?
"I don't care about Direct File. I care about direct audit for poor people", Fixed your quote for you Bill.
For or against? Because poor(er) people probably don't make (or fake) enough to warrant an audit. On the other hand, very rich people do, and are apparently very good at paying their accountants/lawyers to game the tax system in their favor. Rich people *definitely* don't want to get audited, but are the ones who should be and the return on the IRS time/effort would probably be worth it.
IRS tops $1 billion in past-due taxes collected from millionaires
Turns out IRS audits of wealthy offer terrific return on investment for taxpayers
And just how much did Intuit and HR Block donate to Trump?
I'm thinking more like there's a "Trump Tax Service" in the works
That works to a point. First consumption taxes are regressive and affect poor(er) people more than wealthier ones as the former pay a higher percentage of their income on just living. Second, not everything can be purchased second-hand, like food, and not all food is grown domestically. For example, very few bananas and very little coffee is grown in the U.S.. Also some things are made with imported parts/materials no matter who makes them, which limits consumer choice to buy domestic.
A related point is that Trump isn't using his tariffs for the reasons tariffs exist. For example, he's put a 50% tariff on Brazil because he doesn't like that they are prosecuting their former president for attempting a coup after losing the last election (wonder why
Illegal aliens are not allowed to access Medicare or Medicaid. Hell, legal aliens are not allowed to access those benefits per the public burden rule. It is, by definition, fraud if an illegal alien is receiving those benefits. Why are you trying to protect Medicaid fraud? Why are you promoting the theft of our public resources? This harms you!
While this is true, but lawfully present immigrants may qualify for Medicaid and CHIP. However, Trump is having a run revoking peoples' status willy-nilly making them instantly here illegally and ICE is trying to deport them as fast, as with as little due process, as possible - to meet Stephen Miller's arbitrary 3,000/day quota. So people who were here legally, and on Medicaid/CHIP are now here illegally and all their info is in the Medicaid database.
No, the goal is locating illegal aliens, not "immigrants". There is a big difference.
Then explain ICE arresting people coming out of their immigration hearings, some with dates to return to court. These people are *trying* to do things "the right way" and ICE is arresting and deporting them anyway. In some cases these people had protected status, which Trump revoked and the ICE immediately goes after them, with no time for those people to file appeals or, in some cases, even leave voluntarily. The (stated) goals and (actual) practices seem different. Stephen Miller wants to deport 3,000 people/day. The only way to do that is w/o any due process, which even undocumented people are afforded under the Constitution.
Providers and insurers standardizing on electronic health records for internal use and as-needed sharing is not the same as having them all stored in a centralized system, accessible by a wider variety of people, providers, insurers and agencies - and probably ICE.
Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who will be in charge of maintaining the system, have said patients will need to opt in for the sharing of their medical records and data, which will be kept secure.
Except for any data accessed by ICE... which should bother everyone.
ICE Is Getting Unprecedented Access to Medicaid Data
A new agreement viewed by WIRED gives ICE direct access to a federal database containing sensitive medical data on tens of millions of Americans, with the goal of locating immigrants.
Per the agreement, ICE officials will get login credentials for a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) database containing sensitive medical information, including detailed records about diagnoses and procedures. Language in the agreement says it will allow ICE to access personal information such as home addresses, phone numbers, IP addresses, banking data, and social security numbers. (Later on in the agreement, what ICE is allowed to access is defined differently, specifying just “Medicaid recipients” and their sex, ethnicity, and race but forgoing any mention of IP or banking data.) The agreement is set to last two months. While the document is dated July 9, it is only effective starting when both parties sign it, which would indicate a 60-day span from July 15 to September 15.
The agreement allows ICE to retain any Medicaid data for as long as the agency deems it necessary. The document clarifies that this agreement can be renewed for “consecutive periods,” and that ICE also can share the data so long as the agency specifies who the recipients are in writing.
Always try to do things in chronological order; it's less confusing that way.
