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☆ Oklahoma measure to legalize recreational marijuana headed for defeat
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 7 (Reuters) - A ballot measure to legalize recreational use of marijuana for adults in Oklahoma and establish an excise tax on cannabis sales in the state appeared headed for a resounding defeat at the polls on Tuesday, according to state election returns. The vote came nearly five years after Oklahoma voters approved legalizing cannabis for medical purposes. It also would have placed a 15% tax on sales of all recreational marijuana products, with revenues divvied up between municipalities and the state's general fund, public education grants and substance abuse programs. The existing state medical marijuana authority would have been tasked with regulating and licensing commercial cannabis businesses. In addition, individuals already convicted of low-level marijuana offenses that the measure proposed to make legal could have sought re-sentencing or have their records expunged.

President Biden’s budget plan will also outline several new prescription-drug-related proposals. WASHINGTON—President Biden’s coming budget blueprint will propose extending the solvency of a key Medicare trust fund by at least 25 years, according to the White House, in part by increasing tax rates on people earning more than $400,000 a year. The plan would raise Medicare taxes to 5% from 3.8% for those top earners and effectively expand the reach of the tax so it applies to business income as well as investments, wages and self-employment income. Mr. Biden would also redirect some existing taxes from the government’s general fund to a Medicare fund. The Medicare program provides health insurance for adults 65 and older, as well as some younger people with disabilities.

☆ Biden’s Budget to Lay Out Plan to Extend Key Medicare Trust Fund by 25 Years
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Andrew Restuccia | Richard Rubin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Trump loses latest fight with New York Attorney General Letitia James over $110K contempt payment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The battle was an odd sideshow to AG Letitia James' $250 million fraud lawsuit against Trump Org. A New York appellate court spent just four paragraphs rejecting the former president's 1,000-page appeal of the contempt fine. The contempt fine was Trump's penalty for repeatedly failing to fully comply with James' subpoena for his personal business documents. In January, Engoron rejected what he called Trump's "borderline frivolous" request to dismiss James lawsuit altogether. Also in January, Trump dropped his efforts to challenge James' lawsuit in federal court in Florida.

☆ Small California town wonders if restored floodplain prevented disaster
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Daniel Trotta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

[1/5] An aerial view shows the town of Grayson near floodwaters from the San Joaquin River in Grayson, California, U.S., January 25, 2023. Advocates for floodplain restoration say it can help solve California's dual dangers of flooding and drought, replenishing groundwater for future drought relief while protecting towns from the catastrophic flooding that scientists predict will come with climate change. One of the volunteers was David Guzman, who works in an almond processing plant and lives right up against a slough of the San Joaquin River. But some experts say floodplain restoration can help spare adjacent towns, and they envision a day when a proliferation of projects will prevent wider flooding throughout the state. The valley lies west of the north-south Sierra Nevada mountain range and includes the smaller San Joaquin Valley.

Federal dollars are also not an option for reimbursement because regulations prohibit federal funds from being used to replace stolen SNAP funds. SNAP participants say they cannot wait that long after a month or more of stolen benefits plunged them into financial turmoil. Washington, D.C., also reimburses SNAP skimming victims. In the meantime, anti-hunger advocates say there’s no reason states can’t fill the gap for SNAP skimming victims. How states can helpCalifornia, one state that restores stolen benefits, has a law allowing state funds to be used that dates back to 2013.

☆ How almost $427 million in taxpayer money is locked away in a forgotten government fund — and lawmakers won't spend it or return it
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Dave Levinthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

The intended beneficiaries of the taxpayer-fueled Presidential Election Campaign Fund — presidential candidates — don't want it, as they're soured by its restrictions on their election fundraising and spending. An accounting of the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, as of October 31, 2022. Several nonprofit leaders told Insider that Congress could use the Presidential Election Campaign Fund money to immediately ease suffering, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2019-20 congressional session, two Republican lawmakers sponsored similar bills that attempted to kill the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. Until that or any other repurposing decision comes down, the FEC continues to spend taxpayer resources keeping the Presidential Election Campaign Fund alive.

☆ Proposition 30: Californians will vote to tax high-earners to fund electric vehicle rebates and other climate change initiatives
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Proposition 30 would raise the personal income tax to create a Clean Cars and Clean Air Fund. Opponents say it's a scheme by rideshare companies to avoid paying for their electric vehicle transition. The state legislative analyst's office estimates an increase of $3.5 billion to $5 billion annually in funding for climate change initiatives. Gavin Newsom, the California Republican Party, the California Teacher's Association, the California Chamber of Commerce, and the California Hawaii State Conference NAACP. The largest financial contributors for or against the proposition include Lyft, a coalition of rideshare companies, and labor and environmental groups, according to OpenSecrets.

☆ A congressional campaign committee just reimbursed a dead lawmaker for travel mileage
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rep. Jim Hagedorn's principal campaign committee just refunded him more than $1,100 for mileage. The Friends of Hagedorn campaign committee refunded Rep. Jim Hagedorn, a Republican lawmaker from Minnesota, more than $1,100 for "mileage" on September 20, a report filed Monday with the Federal Election Commission indicates. By that measure, Hagedorn's campaign reimbursed him for about 1,937 miles of travel. Thomas Datwyler, the custodian of records and treasurer for the Friends of Hagedorn committee, did not respond to Insider's request for comment. But as of September 30, Hagedorn's campaign committee still had about $141,000 cash on hand, according to federal records.

☆ How more than $424 million in taxpayer money is locked away in a forgotten government fund — and lawmakers won't spend it or return it
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Dave Levinthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

The intended beneficiaries of the taxpayer-fueled Presidential Election Campaign Fund — presidential candidates — don't want it, as they're soured by its restrictions on their election fundraising and spending. A US Treasury document detailing the finances of the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. Several nonprofit leaders told Insider that Congress could use the Presidential Election Campaign Fund money to immediately ease suffering, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2019-20 congressional session, two Republican lawmakers sponsored similar bills that attempted to kill the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. Until that or any other repurposing decision comes down, the FEC continues to spend taxpayer resources keeping the Presidential Election Campaign Fund alive.

☆ Congress needs to stop day trading, says Senator Mark Warner, a former VC and entrepreneur
▼ + stars: | 2022-01-14 | by ( Alex Kantrowitz | Big Technology | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner says members of Congress shouldn't be allowed to trade individual stocks. "The ability to trade, and particularly on a day trade basis, even if you're not doing anything wrong, it looks bad," said Sen. Warner. Nancy Pelosi's argument for allowing stock trading is that federal representatives should not be restricted from participating in the economy. His transactions took place just a week before the House Judiciary Committee advanced its slew of antitrust bills aimed at Big Tech. As he leaned back in his chair in his Washington DC office, Sen. Warner, a seasoned investor, brought the point home.

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