Republicans asked a federal court to block newly approved maps in California that were designed to flip as many as five House seats for Democrats.

  • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    24
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 day ago

    Unfortunately, House Speakers can just choose to ignore the results of an election and refuse to seat representatives

    • Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      1 day ago

      They can’t. The only way he’s managing to do this is by keeping the House on recess. Once it’s open again, she can be sworn in by anyone

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        13
        ·
        1 day ago

        states can refuse to hand over income taxes

        Why do I keep seeing this posted? That’s not how income taxes work. The state does not collect income tax on behalf of the feds.

        • gdog05@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          1 day ago

          No, but I think the idea is that the state will collect federal taxes in escrow and then say they will protect the state’s citizens from federal prosecution. The taxes are there and collected but the state is showing its value to the United States monetarily. It’s absolutely not lawful but none of this shit is. Not in any good faith measure at least.

          • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            6
            ·
            1 day ago

            I think the idea is that the state will collect federal taxes in escrow

            That’s not how the IRS works. Never has been.

            It’s absolutely not lawful but none of this shit is

            It’s not feasible. What are you even proposing? That the New York State Government try and seize federal tax revenue from IRS offices in the state? Given how much money is functionally digital, I’m not even sure how that would work.

            Might as well say they should nationalize the NYSE while you’re at it.

            • gdog05@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              arrow-down
              2
              ·
              23 hours ago

              I think every reasonable person knows that it isn’t how it works currently. People are saying that it’s what could and maybe should happen. Individuals have an escrow account created and monitored by the state to send their federal taxes into. It’s on the individual to be correct and maintain a receipt but then it always is anyway, isn’t it? It is not exactly uncomplicated but it’s not impossible. I’m not arguing for people doing it, but as an extreme measure to choke the federal government, yeah. I could get on board with it.

        • BakerBagel@midwest.social
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 day ago

          Typically the state government is the largest single employer in any given state. If California withheld all their public employees’s federal income tax, Uncle Sam would feel that pretty sharply, especially if joined by New York and New England.

          • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            24 hours ago

            If California withheld all their public employees’s federal income tax

            The payroll system is fully privatized. California bureaucrats don’t control it, they just submit information to private banks and payment processors.

            Again, you don’t understand how the IRS actually functions. Or how HR and payroll function. There isn’t a big toggle under the governor’s desk that stops W-2 withholdings for every state employee.

            If you tried to do this inside a single company, you’d be setting off alarms in whatever bank or accounting firm you contracted to process paychecks. Even just an individual trying to zero out withholdings with get a dirty look from HR and a polite deny.

            • AxExRx@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              23 hours ago

              The ‘big toggle under the governors desk’ is sending law enforcement to all the banks and forcing them to reroute all money that would otherwise go to the IRS. Comply or go to jail and we close your bank down for a couple days and cost you billions for good measure.

      • NABDad@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        1 day ago

        How would that work?

        Am I misunderstanding how federal income tax works? To my knowledge, the state government isn’t involved.

      • Triasha@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        21 hours ago

        States are not involved with collecting income taxes generally.

        They could refuse to collect income tax from state employees, but that’s only a few billion if all blue states did it.