Mass Millionaires on the March

Drew Cline makes (roughly) the same prediction Pun Salad did three days ago: Massachusetts votes to raise New Hampshire's median income.

One of the more important New Hampshire stories of the 2022 mid-term elections happened in Massachusetts, where voters approved a so-called “millionaires tax.” That vote represents a pivot back toward the old “Taxachusetts” days when Bay State lawmakers disregarded the interstate competitive effects of their tax policies.

When it takes effect, the “millionaires tax” will levy a punitive 4% tax rate on incomes of $1 million or more. That is on top of the state’s existing 5% income tax. This 80% tax increase for people who earn $1 million or more is likely to motivate a lot of people to seek shelter in places that don’t treat them as cash cows to be milked for the benefit of others.

Massachusetts abuts just one state that does not view people as resources to be exploited. That would be the live-free-or-die state. Accordingly, New Hampshire’s population of millionaires — and people who aspire to that status — should increase a bit in the near future.

I, for one, welcome refugees fleeing economic persecution.

Briefly noted:

  • Victor Joecks of the Las Vegas Review-Journal performed a little experiment to test voting security, and didn't like what he found: Clark County accepted my signature on 6 mail ballot envelopes. (Don't worry, he went to a lot of trouble to ensure what he did was legal.)

    We are supposed to be soothed by repetitive chant: "No evidence of widespread voter fraud."

    The problem is that many places designed voting procedures that make it difficult, if not impossible, to detect widespread voter fraud.

  • I'm a minor crossword fan, doing the daily New York Times and Wall Street Journal grids. But all is not well in puzzleland! New Republic author Matt Harman takes us Inside the Elite, Underpaid, and Weird World of Crossword Writers. The subhed states "Efforts to diversify the industry might be having the opposite effect." Oh no! A short quote:

    For would-be constructors without such personal connections, there’s the Crossword Puzzle Collaboration Directory. The Facebook group launched in 2018 with an associated Google form that pairs newcomers with mentors. It has always been explicit about its aims to provide resources to underrepresented groups: “This matching form is intended specifically for [women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ people, and disabled people] as a tool for addressing structural inequities in the crossword industry. Because our mentors’ time is finite, if you’re not a member of any such group, we ask that you refrain from using the form.”

    Clue: "Judging people by which racial/sexual/etc pigeonholes they fall into instead of merit."

    Answer: WOKEISM


Last Modified 2023-05-30 7:47 PM EDT