“It’s tax time, and talk of budget reconciliation is in the air on Capitol Hill. There is no better time than now to tackle one of the more bizarre features of our tax code: a phantom capital gains tax on mutual fund savers. Most taxpayers assume confusing tax rules have at least one constant: that capital gains tax is only owed when an asset is sold. If only that were true. Each year at this time, millions of Americans open their brokerage statements and find capital gains reported in Box 2a of their 1099 tax forms, despite never having sold a single share of stock or a mutual fund.” (04/14/26)
“I was born in the American South in 1942 ‘in the land of the free and the home of the brave’ (as the final stanza of the national anthem puts it). Francis Scott Key wrote those words in 1814. However, they were not true then, or in 1942, or today in Donald Trump’s all too reactionary America. My Blackness consigned obstacles to me (as it would have in 1814 and 1942) that White people simply don’t have. Let me explain. Throughout the 1950s, living in a segregated project in Kinston, North Carolina, there were several odd characters who (I now understand) were mentally ill.” (04/14/26)
“I have worked on board tankers for almost 20 years, which means that difficult situations are nothing new. I’ve encountered difficult captains, old vessels, and truly exhausting voyages across incredible distances. I’ve experienced bullying and harassment, and even been uncomfortably close to piracy. At a port in Nigeria, I once loaded a tanker while pirates raided ships within miles of us; and I passed through the Gulf of Aden, which connects the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, in 2008, when its security corridor was in its infancy. As we sailed, my crewmates and I could see the pirate skiffs prowling, waiting for a ship to hijack. But the Strait of Hormuz crisis is something else entirely.” (04/14/26)
Source: In These Times
by Meghan Schneider & Cass DiPaola
“Our dependence on fossil fuels does more than pollute our air. It destabilizes the world and empowers the ultra-wealthy to profit off of that volatility, leaving working families to pay the price. This dynamic has been on full display since President Trump’s attack on Iran. Trump’s invasion of one of the world’s most oil-rich regions jolted energy markets, sending gas prices soaring to the highest level in either of his terms. In 2024 he campaigned on cutting them in half. Instead, Americans are now on track to pay roughly $720 more for gasoline this year. The full cost to working families will be much steeper as high gas prices drive up prices on consumer goods across the board.” [editor’s note: And additional taxes will drive those prices even higher, geniuses – TLK] (04/14/26)
“Recent calls for a more realistic shift from ‘decarbonization’ to ‘low carbon’ suggest that discomfort with ideology-driven climate policy is finally beginning to surface in public debate. For years, climate discussions in many countries have been dominated by abstract targets, slogans, and numerical commitments. Yet behind these lofty ideals lies a deeper and more practical question: have we come to understand energy far too narrowly? Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz in early 2026 have made that question impossible to ignore.” (04/14/26)
“The deadline for filing US federal income tax returns falls (usually) on April 15, a date that’s worked its way into the American vocabulary as ‘tax day.’ That’s really not a very accurate term. For one thing, most Americans pay all sorts of other taxes (sales taxes, excise taxes, property taxes, etc.) all the time. You can’t swing a cat without hitting a tax … and there’s probably a tax on swinging cats, which I recommend against doing for all kinds of reasons other than potential tax implications. For another, most Americans pay federal income tax year-round through withholding from their paychecks (or quarterly ‘estimated’ payments). April 15 is just the day when the government demands that you do their paperwork for them to make sure they took as much as they wanted to take from you last year.” (04/14/26)
“Donald Trump sold himself to the American people as the ultimate dealmaker during his first run for President. He argued that Obama’s poor negotiating skills had impoverished the American people, and he would Make America Great Again by getting tough with both allies and adversaries. The American people bought the narrative and elected him over Hillary Clinton in 2016. In the President’s five years in office, he had been unable to cement any agreement that benefited Americans. … It should come as no surprise that Saturday’s talks in Pakistan to end the conflict failed. Trump has proven he is unable to take a good deal when it is gifted to him.” (04/14/26)
“To understand the American tax code, you first need to understand a theory developed while watching liquor regulations in the American South. Economist Bruce Yandle noticed that two groups supported Sunday alcohol bans: Baptist ministers, who wanted to protect communities from drinking, and bootleggers, who wanted to eliminate their competition for a day. The two groups had different motives, but pushed for the same policy. Yandle called this dynamic ‘bootleggers and Baptists,’ and it helps explain nearly every major provision in the US tax code.” (04/14/26)
“Even if Gulf shipping reopens tomorrow, supply lags and energy costs are driving fertilizer and other input costs sky high — just in time for planting season.” (04/14/26)
