Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker shares a gay couple’s heartfelt letter detailing their escape from a red state

https://flip.it/W.qqGE #LGBTQ #JBPritzker #Illinois #BlueState #RedState #Politics #CivilRights #Equality #Resist

#USPol

Questions and an idea for my #USAnian friends...

Your ~~feral~~ federal government is currently being commandeered by an executive that believes that it can rewrite the U.S. constitution via executive orders. One of the primary techniques they are using is usurping the congress's "power of the purse", by either refusing to spend congressionally-allocated funds, or by spending those funds on things other than congress allocated them for.

If the executive branch thinks it's fine to ignore your constitution and screw taxpayers with tax dollars, then...

1) Most of the feds' tax income comes from income tax and various #employment taxes.

2) Employers collect these taxes and remit them to the government.

3) Q: exactly *who* do they remit them to? Based on history, I would think this would be a state agency, who would keep the state/municipal portion and remit the rest to the federal government. Is this correct?

4) "Blue" states are, in general, net payers of tax dollars vs. federal services received.

5) "Red" states are, in general, the opposite - they receive more in federal services / support than they remit in taxes.

So, depending on the answer to (3), my #idea is: why don't blue states stop remitting funds to the federal #government? Don't steal it, just hold it in trust until the feds can be made to follow the law correctly.

I would think this would hurt the feds, a *lot*.

Found this on a Discord...

If you need to move from a #redState to a #blueState because you are #trans or #nonBinary, etc. these folks are offering interest-free #loans.

Keshet-HFLS “Move to Thrive” Interest-Free Loan Program

Applicants do not have to be Jewish and can be moving from any state in the U.S. to any state in the U.S. (but not outside of the country).

To qualify, applicants must meet the following requirements:

- Have plans to move to a different state within three months of receiving an HFLS loan and be able to submit documentation of their move OR plan to move no later than six months from the time they receive the loan.

- Have annual household income sufficient to support loan repayment, and no higher than the HFLS income limits.

- Have an active checking account.

- Provide one guarantor who meets the two requirements above.

Initial funding for this program is provided by the Jewish LGBTQ Donor Network.

https://www.keshetonline.org/movetothrive/

I would strongly suggest using AIs other than #Google #Gemini. There is a reason #GeoffreyHinton left #Google. Prompt multiple AIs and compare the answers. Moreover, don't buy #RedState #Liquor. There are lots of excellent #BlueState #Distilleries and #CraftBreweries. Throw your #RedStateShit away and never buy it again.

I keep reading about how blue states are losing population due to high cost of living - but every time we crunch the numbers the only thing that makes #Baltimore more expensive for us than #Florida is the post-pandemic mortgage + to a much lesser degree, state taxes

Florida is not affordable, especially when your home insurance doubles overnight in the least climate-sensitive (inland, high ground) part of the state. #costofliving #redstate #bluestate

Greetings from #RhodeIsland. I love living in #NewEngland and nothing beats a great glass of red #wine on a crisp autumn day here. I pretty much always have music on, often the #GratefulDead, but otherwise usually something from the late 80s or 90’s such as #PearlJam, #Oasis, #Radiohead, #CocteauTwins, #PinkFloyd, #StoneRoses #Lush, #TalkingHeads etc. Politically, happy to live in a #BlueState where I feel more comfortable. Nice to meet you :)