Turns Out We Blew Up All Those Boats in the Caribbean for Nothing
www.esquire.com
As if we needed more confirmation that Pete Hegseth and our defense department are both psychotic and ineffectual.

Granted, it is a few dozen bungled policies ago, but remember when we were blowing up fishing boats in the Caribbean as part of the administration’s Operation Dude Bro antidrug strategy? Well, the results are in, and they are sadly predictable. From The Washington Post:

In a recent assessment reviewed by The Washington Post, DEA analysts found the strikes had failed to affect the supply or price of cocaine in the United States and had led traffickers to diversify beyond go-fast boats and to avoid international waters, opting instead for larger boats and hemming close to coastlines, where U.S. forces are less likely to open fire. In a closed-door briefing last month, Pentagon officials told lawmakers the strikes in international waters off South and Central America had not reduced its purity.

      • burgermeister@sh.itjust.works
        0·
        4 days ago

        In the US, for most “employee” type positions (as opposed to an independent contractor) you receive a form (form W2) that shows your total pay for the year and your total deductions. When you are hired you fill out another form (W4) to tell your employer how many income tax exemptions you claim. (More exemptions = more tax breaks). In every W2 job I have worked, my taxes were taken out automatically before I got my check. So your employer kind of “pays your income taxes for you” prior to every check. As far as I know the only way to stop them from doing this is to fraudulently claim more exemptions, which the IRS will absolutely catch onto.

        There are other taxes (sales tax, property tax, etc.) which you can absolutely refuse to pay, if you’re okay with the IRS coming after you.

        (Apologies if my explanation is slightly incorrect, I’m sure there’s someone out there who can explain it better)

        • brachiosaurus@mander.xyz
          0·
          3 days ago

          Yea it’s illegal to not pay taxes. If the US bombed a school in france and murdered 150 white kids, not paying taxes to the government and go to jail as a result would sound as being part of the resistance.

          • burgermeister@sh.itjust.works
            0·
            3 days ago

            Do back to my original question of how does one avoid paying income tax when working a W2 position? Or, now that I think about it, avoid paying sales tax? Places won’t sell to you tax-free unless you have a legitimate exception.

            Property tax is easy enough, just don’t pay it.