Whats going on in the World

[MakoMatt]

It is a running joke. Democrats want the price of oil to rise so that everyone will think the EV is a great idea to save the planet. So when it happens on their watch it's great and bumpkis - while they can also chant Tax the Rich because the oil companies would be making record profits. And the planet is dying.

When it happens on the Republican watch, their spin is pain and suffering all around for the American people. And they still bitch and moan about taxing the rich and the planet dying.

Really - a very miserable bunch of people, saw this on another site.
But the price of gas is killing us.

Food for thought: latest budget from Hochul $270B, 10 years ago $153B. NYC latest budget $125B, 10 years ago $82B. A 76 percent and 52 percent increase respectively. Is it a tax or spending issue? Inflation during this period was 35 percent. So the state is 41 percent over inflation and the city is 17 percent over. Wages increased 46 percent over the same period. So wages have kept up with inflation and spending has far exceeded it.

I won’t even comment on the first three paragraphs it is so retarded. However, as to your food for thoughts on budgets……….

All those numbers are a joke. Show me the actual budget. You need to see it line by line, and in addition you need to understand the reason for each line item. Some examples which might confuse someone who is not aquatinted with doing large budgets might be things like……..

Is this an operating budget? Is the capital budget included in the numbers? What are the capital expenses. Were there are emergency’s that necessitated additional expenses? Are expenses rising because of things that the Federal Government had paid and now Trump cut? There is a lot of that going on. And a thousand other things.

In short your food for thought is meaningless.

 

[MakoMatt]

And one last thing on budgets………. Trump has contributed more to the nations deficit than just about any other President. His spending is out of control. He has also lined his pockets with more money in his presidency that all past presidents did combined. Now he wants 1.5 Trillion for national defense?

 

[jpd]

All those numbers are a joke. Show me the actual budget. You need to see it line by line, and in addition you need to understand the reason for each line item. Some examples which might confuse someone who is not aquatinted with doing large budgets might be things like……..

Is this an operating budget? Is the capital budget included in the numbers? What are the capital expenses. Were there are emergency’s that necessitated additional expenses? Are expenses rising because of things that the Federal Government had paid and now Trump cut? There is a lot of that going on. And a thousand other things.

ALL/ALL/ALL
Read it - you might learn something. Note that it is an official site of NYS.
It seems to have all the details you were looking for

Budget and Actuals | OpenBudget.NY.Gov

2016/17 Budget total $157,015,269,000
2026/27 Budget Total $262,715,863,000 (not final)

 

[MakoMatt]

ALL/ALL/ALL
Read it - you might learn something. Note that it is an official site of NYS.
It seems to have all the details you were looking for

Budget and Actuals | OpenBudget.NY.Gov

2016/17 Budget total $157,015,269,000
2026/27 Budget Total $262,715,863,000 (not final)

I’ll pass on reading it. I understand budgets having worked on many.
You read it perhaps you will learn something and not just throw out useless numbers.

Do you fish?

 

[Rick67]

I’ll pass on reading it. I understand budgets having worked on many.
You read it perhaps you will learn something and not just throw out useless numbers.

Do you fish?

For all you Spin. This Bud Lights for you.

 

[jpd]

I’ll pass on reading it. I understand budgets having worked on many.
You read it perhaps you will learn something and not just throw out useless numbers.

Do you fish?

My current job is working on NYS cost reports, and I worked as a government auditor in year's past.
Nothing for me to learn right now.

I still fish, but not nearly as much as I used to.

 

[Rick67]

https://www.fayettevillenc.gov/City-Departments/Police-Department/FPD-Media-Releases/Swastika-Suspect-Arrested

Damn white supremacist.

 

[longcast]

Payroll data exposes six-figure salaries behind transit strike grinding NYC travel to a halt

Long Island Rail Road employees with median pay over $131,000 are on strike, disrupting travel for nearly 300,000 daily riders across the region.

www.foxnews.com

Long Island Rail Road workers walked off the job on Monday after rejecting the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s latest wage offer, snarling travel for hundreds of thousands of weekday commuters even as payroll data shows the striking employees already earn six-figure pay.

LIRR employees had am average income of $121,646 plus an average of $25,957 in overtime pay as of 2024, according to data provided by the railroad operator. While the typical LIRR employee makes about $150,000 a year, the median household on Long Island, which often contains multiple workers, earned just $131,000 in 2023, per the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The MTA, which manages the LIRR, offered the five unions representing the striking workers a raise of 9.5% over three years, an agreement that has already been approved by other transit unions, Newsday reported. To sweeten the deal, the MTA offered an additional 4.5% after the fourth year, provided the rail operators agree to productivity increases.

In addition to the generous pay, LIRR workers benefit from workplace rules that allow them to earn even more. If an LIRR worker operates electric and diesel vehicles on the same shift, or if they work in a rail yard and on an active train in one day, their contract entitles them to double pay. Three hundred twenty-five LIRR employees pull in $100,000 or more in overtime alone annually, according to data reviewed by the New York Post.

 

[longcast]

Maryland ballot blunder triggers GOP push for federal review of blue state's voter rolls

Republicans call for a federal review of Maryland's voter rolls after a ballot vendor error forced the state to resend thousands of primary ballots.

www.foxnews.com

A Maryland primary ballot mix-up has renewed Republican calls for a federal review of the state's voter rolls after some of the 400,000 primary voters requesting a mall-in ballot received the ballot of the wrong party this weekend.

Maryland’s conservative Freedom Caucus is demanding that state elections officials release Maryland’s voter rolls to the federal government for an audit after a vendor error forced the state to resend thousands of mail-in primary ballots.

"The Maryland Freedom Caucus is calling on Secretary of the Election Board, Jared DeMarinis, to immediately release Maryland's voter rolls to the federal government so a proper audit can be conducted to determine the sources of the mistake," the caucus wrote in a statement. "We caution against reissuing another 400,000 ballots and we demand to know how the state intends to differentiate between the first and second printing of these ballots."

 

[longcast]

The little-known Medicare surtax may hammer millions in Obamacare tax battle

Democrats may target the hidden 0.9% Medicare surtax created under Obamacare as a key funding tool heading into the upcoming midterm elections.

www.foxnews.com

 

[MakoMatt]

https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/18/politics/trump-irs-lawsuit-fund-for-allies

A 1.776 billion dollar slush fund for Trump’s buddies?

You can’t make this chit up

 

[MakoMatt]

https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/18/africa/ebola-outbreak-global-efforts-americans-intl-hnk

Ebola is back
Hopefully Trump doesn't F this all up like he did COVID

 

[MakoMatt]

Senate GOP looking for off-ramp from White House ballroom debacle

The Senate is gearing up for a battle over funding President Trump’s White House ballroom, which will take center stage when senators debate a budget reconciliation package this week to fund immigrati...

www.yahoo.com

 

[MakoMatt]

ICE agent charged with four counts of assault in Minnesota shooting of Venezuelan immigrant
ICE agent charged with four counts of assault in Minnesota shooting of Venezuelan immigrant

 

[longcast]

Butterfly Poop: Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know

Have you ever wondered what butterfly poop looks like or if they even poop at all? Here is a breakdown of everything you need to know about butterfly poop.

a-z-animals.com

 

[Avenger]

Payroll data exposes six-figure salaries behind transit strike grinding NYC travel to a halt

Long Island Rail Road employees with median pay over $131,000 are on strike, disrupting travel for nearly 300,000 daily riders across the region.

www.foxnews.com

Long Island Rail Road workers walked off the job on Monday after rejecting the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s latest wage offer, snarling travel for hundreds of thousands of weekday commuters even as payroll data shows the striking employees already earn six-figure pay.

LIRR employees had am average income of $121,646 plus an average of $25,957 in overtime pay as of 2024, according to data provided by the railroad operator. While the typical LIRR employee makes about $150,000 a year, the median household on Long Island, which often contains multiple workers, earned just $131,000 in 2023, per the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The MTA, which manages the LIRR, offered the five unions representing the striking workers a raise of 9.5% over three years, an agreement that has already been approved by other transit unions, Newsday reported. To sweeten the deal, the MTA offered an additional 4.5% after the fourth year, provided the rail operators agree to productivity increases.

In addition to the generous pay, LIRR workers benefit from workplace rules that allow them to earn even more. If an LIRR worker operates electric and diesel vehicles on the same shift, or if they work in a rail yard and on an active train in one day, their contract entitles them to double pay. Three hundred twenty-five LIRR employees pull in $100,000 or more in overtime alone annually, according to data reviewed by the New York Post.

You know where this leads, right?

If you ride the Airtrain, you know there's not a soul on the thing that isn't a passenger. Pretty soon, and sooner rather than later, the LIRR employees will go the way of the toll collectors.

 

[MakoMatt]

With AI, pretty soon, and sooner rather than later, many, many employees of an untold number of fields, will soon go the way of the toll collectors too.

 

[MakoMatt]

LIRR deal reached over strike

LIRR strike live updates: LIRR, MTA reach agreement to end 3-day strike, Gov. Hochul announces

Gov. Hochul announced the MTA and LIRR unions have reached a deal to end the 3-day strike.

abc7ny.com

 

[longcast]

Unearthed posts show Dem Senate hopeful praising vulgar graffiti, making crude porta-potty admission

Democrat Graham Platner, Maine's presumptive Senate nominee, made graphic sexual comments on Reddit about portable toilets during military service.

www.foxnews.com

 

[Avenger]

With AI, pretty soon, and sooner rather than later, many, many employees of an untold number of fields, will soon go the way of the toll collectors too.

I doubt many people will shed a tear for the LIRR workers after all the mayhem they've caused.