X -Where Twitter goes to die.

[Shizzle Popped]

I find it interesting that the estate tax exemption is tied to inflation but the minimum wage isn’t.

[raison de arizona]

I find it interesting that the estate tax exemption is tied to inflation but the minimum wage isn’t.

[Gregg]

No, Slarti, 'tain't you.

For a good perspective on accumulated wealth, read Anderson Cooper's book on his ancestors. By the time his mom was born, most of the wealth had been pissed away or been lost to creditors or otherwise abandoned because it became essentially worthless.

Whether past is prologue for today's obscenely wealthy families remains to be determined. Certainly assets held in trust that benefit future generations will endure for some time.

And maybe (not holding my breath) Congress will eventually realize that the inheritance tax is a good thing and jack up the rates while lowering the exclusionary amount (which is set to go back to 2017 levels in 2026.)

The exclusionary amount seems fine (around $5 million when my dad died in 2017), certainly that isn't so high it's creating billionaires and we do want it to be high enough to create generational wealth in the low multi-million dollar range. And I would say that closing loopholes is probably more important than jacking up rates.

Loopholes? Someone explained to me a scheme to avoid the inheritance tax. Say you have $5 billion and the rate is 50% (I have no idea honestly). Without planning your estate is gonna pay $2.5 billion. (Still a billionaire, see above).

But what if, you had an insurance policy with a benefit of $5 billion and a premium of something a bit less. Structure the payments so you don't actually pay the premium until the estate is in probate or just before. So the estate is depleted for tax purposes and the proceeds of an insurance policy is non taxable.

I'm sure if real that it's a little more than 3,500 pages more complicated than that and even if that doesn't work for reasons, the idea holds. The truly "phuck you rich" if they can't do that will still find something nearly as good because the battle for equity is between a few millions of dollars worth of legal talent fighting to out bend reality against a few GS-14 attorneys at the Treasury who often are only there for a few years until they can get the gig on the other side for big bucks.

And for any tax attorney reading this, I've have wondered for 20 years if the insurance policy to avoid probate would work, please tell me.

[p0rtia]

You sort of have to decide whether you want the economy to work for everyone or you want everyone to work for the economy.

[Sam the Centipede]

What was clear from the start of this thing and is even more clear today, is that Musk never had any intention of increasing the revenue and profits of the company. He bought it in haste, didn't want to complete the sale, and immediately began trashing the company.

Which might seem a little weird to some people. If I heard that someone paid $44 billion for a company, I'd think maybe they would try to make it more profitable or sumpin'. I never heard of paying billions so you could wreck a company you don't like before. That's a new one.

But this may be some sorta new business model for the 21st century.

I sense some bitterness in the Foglord's heart.

Did Elon not agree to buy the Fogbow for $4 billion, a bargain at a tenth the price of Twitter and with probably about the same earning potential (now)?

[Gregg]

What was clear from the start of this thing and is even more clear today, is that Musk never had any intention of increasing the revenue and profits of the company. He bought it in haste, didn't want to complete the sale, and immediately began trashing the company.

Which might seem a little weird to some people. If I heard that someone paid $44 billion for a company, I'd think maybe they would try to make it more profitable or sumpin'. I never heard of paying billions so you could wreck a company you don't like before. That's a new one.

But this may be some sorta new business model for the 21st century.

I sense some bitterness in the Foglord's heart.

Did Elon not agree to buy the Fogbow for $4 billion, a bargain at a tenth the price of Twitter and with probably about the same earning potential (now)?

Did Twitter come with a Regiment of Assault Dachshunds though?

[Ben-Prime]

I mean, what if Elon's voice-to-text was broken and he was really banning people for Dachshunds, not doxxing?

[Slim Cognito]

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Or was Elon "dachsing" out of fear of the brave and fearless 699th?

[much ado]

Dachshunde über alles!

[Foggy]

$4 billion is an eleventh. I don't know how to spell twelfth.

[RTH10260]

Eleventh? Did the dial overclock?

[Gregg]

Dachshunde über alles!

[pipistrelle]

Dachshunde über alles!

Oh, lord, see what that expression led me to.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11256610

[Gregg]

Dachshunde über alles!

Oh, lord, see what that expression led me to.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11256610

That was before anyone thought of teaching them to fly helicopters

[humblescribe]

No, Slarti, 'tain't you.

For a good perspective on accumulated wealth, read Anderson Cooper's book on his ancestors. By the time his mom was born, most of the wealth had been pissed away or been lost to creditors or otherwise abandoned because it became essentially worthless.

Whether past is prologue for today's obscenely wealthy families remains to be determined. Certainly assets held in trust that benefit future generations will endure for some time.

And maybe (not holding my breath) Congress will eventually realize that the inheritance tax is a good thing and jack up the rates while lowering the exclusionary amount (which is set to go back to 2017 levels in 2026.)

The exclusionary amount seems fine (around $5 million when my dad died in 2017), certainly that isn't so high it's creating billionaires and we do want it to be high enough to create generational wealth in the low multi-million dollar range. And I would say that closing loopholes is probably more important than jacking up rates.

Loopholes? Someone explained to me a scheme to avoid the inheritance tax. Say you have $5 billion and the rate is 50% (I have no idea honestly). Without planning your estate is gonna pay $2.5 billion. (Still a billionaire, see above).

But what if, you had an insurance policy with a benefit of $5 billion and a premium of something a bit less. Structure the payments so you don't actually pay the premium until the estate is in probate or just before. So the estate is depleted for tax purposes and the proceeds of an insurance policy is non taxable.

I'm sure if real that it's a little more than 3,500 pages more complicated than that and even if that doesn't work for reasons, the idea holds. The truly "phuck you rich" if they can't do that will still find something nearly as good because the battle for equity is between a few millions of dollars worth of legal talent fighting to out bend reality against a few GS-14 attorneys at the Treasury who often are only there for a few years until they can get the gig on the other side for big bucks.

And for any tax attorney reading this, I've have wondered for 20 years if the insurance policy to avoid probate would work, please tell me.

Gregg, proceeds from life insurance claims are not taxable under the income tax rules. You are correct.

But for estate tax purposes, the death benefit is includable in the estate, so estate tax is paid on the death benefit. Life insurance is sensible for estates that have a number of business interests that the heirs do not want to liquidate or borrow heavily against in order to pay the estate tax or to buy out the surviving spouse from a deceased business partner.

My question for you (cuz I gots a D in economics from a professor who did not speak English) is how does the insurance company make money if they don't collect the premium until death? I always understood that insurance companies make money because they know that the future value of annual premiums of $X over the actuarially determined life expectancy of the insured will be greater than the sum of the death benefit and expenses paid to run a business. They know how to invest all those premiums for all those years in order to pay out their claims in the distant future.

[Gregg]

Gregg, proceeds from life insurance claims are not taxable under the income tax rules. You are correct.

But for estate tax purposes, the death benefit is includable in the estate, so estate tax is paid on the death benefit. Life insurance is sensible for estates that have a number of business interests that the heirs do not want to liquidate or borrow heavily against in order to pay the estate tax or to buy out the surviving spouse from a deceased business partner.

My question for you (cuz I gots a D in economics from a professor who did not speak English) is how does the insurance company make money if they don't collect the premium until death? I always understood that insurance companies make money because they know that the future value of annual premiums of $X over the actuarially determined life expectancy of the insured will be greater than the sum of the death benefit and expenses paid to run a business. They know how to invest all those premiums for all those years in order to pay out their claims in the distant future.

Insurance company writes the policy, and bills 1% of the payout until the policyholder dies. They they accept payment for say 105% of the stated benefit amount and cut the check for the policy. So they make 5% in the end plus 1% every year until payout.

Too bad it wouldn't work, we could have made a lot of money on that.

[raison de arizona]

Exclusive: Twitter removes suicide prevention feature, says it's under revamp

Twitter Inc removed a feature in the past few days that promoted suicide prevention hotlines and other safety resources to users looking up certain content, according to two people familiar with the matter who said it was ordered by new owner Elon Musk.

After publication of this story, Twitter head of trust and safety Ella Irwin told Reuters in an email that "we have been fixing and revamping our prompts. They were just temporarily removed while we do that."

We expect to have them back up next week," she said.

The removal of the feature, known as #ThereIsHelp, had not been previously reported. It had shown at the top of specific searches contacts for support organizations in many countries related to mental health, HIV, vaccines, child sexual exploitation, COVID-19, gender-based violence, natural disasters and freedom of expression.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/elon ... 022-12-23/

[RTH10260]

same by The Guardian

Elon Musk ‘orders Twitter to remove suicide prevention feature’
Sources say new owner sought removal of #ThereIsHelp feature that appeared at top of certain searches

Reuters
Fri 23 Dec 2022 23.03 GMT

Twitter has removed a feature in the past few days that promoted suicide prevention hotlines and other safety resources to users looking up certain content, according to two people familiar with the matter, who said it was ordered by new owner Elon Musk.

The removal of the feature, known as #ThereIsHelp, has not been previously reported. It had shown at the top of specific searches contacts for support organisations in many countries related to mental health, HIV, vaccines, child sexual exploitation, Covid19, gender-based violence, natural disasters and freedom of expression.

Its elimination could add to concerns about the wellbeing of vulnerable users on Twitter. Musk has said that impressions, or views, of harmful content are declining since he took over in October and has tweeted graphs showing a downward trend, even as researchers and civil rights groups have tracked an increase in tweets with racial slurs and other hateful content.



https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... on-feature

[tek]

Musk is a real peach.

[RTH10260]

a Christmas story ( )

She Worked for Twitter. Then She Tweeted at Elon Musk.

Katherine Rosman
Sat, December 24, 2022 at 4:24 PM GMT+1

In the middle of a workday, Sasha Solomon, a 34-year-old software engineer in Portland, Oregon, put her French bulldog, Bosworth, on a leash and walked down a leafy street to a favorite coffee shop.

It seemed like an ordinary November afternoon, or as ordinary as it could be for someone working at Twitter under its mercurial new owner, Elon Musk. Solomon ordered a latte for herself and a drip coffee with cream for her husband. Then she and Bosworth headed back home.

Sitting at her computer on her living room couch, she tried to check the latest messages on Slack, only to find her account was locked. She then pulled up her work email account, or tried to. Also locked. She logged onto her personal email account and saw something in her inbox from a human resources executive at Twitter.



https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/23/styl ... lomon.html

gift link https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/23/styl ... =share-url

[RTH10260]

Twitter restores suicide-prevention hotline feature after outcry
Top official confirms feature was removed but only temporarily, following Reuters report that prompted criticism of Elon Musk

Edward Helmore in New York
Sat 24 Dec 2022 15.09 GMT

Twitter has restored a feature that promoted suicide prevention hotlines and other safety resources to users looking up certain content, after coming under pressure from users and consumer safety groups.

The feature, known as #ThereIsHelp, placed a banner at the top of search results for certain topics, listing contacts for support organizations in many countries related to mental health, HIV, vaccines, child sexual exploitation, Covid-19, gender-based violence, natural disasters and freedom of expression.

Reuters said on Friday the feature had been taken down this week. Citing two people familiar with the matter, the report said the removal was ordered by the social media platform’s owner, Elon Musk.

After publication of the story, Twitter’s head of trust and safety, Ella Irwin, confirmed the removal but said it was temporary.

“We have been fixing and revamping our prompts. They were just temporarily removed while we do that,” Irwin said in an email to Reuters.

Musk then denied the feature had been removed, and called the Reuters report “fake news”.

Nonetheless, the report appeared at the start of the Christmas holiday, a fraught time for many, prompting widespread concern. The anonymous sources cited by Reuters said millions had encountered #ThereIsHelp messages on Twitter.

Eirliani Abdul Rahman, a member of a recently dissolved Twitter content advisory group, told Reuters the disappearance of #ThereIsHelp was “extremely disconcerting and profoundly disturbing” even if the removal had been implemented to make way for improvements.

“This is the worst time of the year to remove the suicide prevention feature,” wrote Jane Manchun Wong, a software developer and Twitter user. “Instead of leaving a time gap without suicide prevention feature for a revamp, they could’ve kept the old prompt and replaced it with a new one when it’s ready.”

Early on Saturday, Musk responded, tweeting: “1. The message is actually still up. This is fake news. 2. Twitter doesn’t prevent suicide.”




https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... al-reports

[Jim]

I shall remain un-twittered...

Data of nearly 400 million Twitter users allegedly hacked and now up for sale on the dark web. The hacker claims the stolen data includes important information, such as users' names, emails, and phone numbers. The threat actor put out an offer for Elon Musk and Twitter to purchase the data exclusively.

According to Bleeping Computer, the hacker is setting a price tag of $200,000. However, if an exclusive purchase is not made, copies will be sold to multiple buyers for $60,000 per sale. We'll continue to track that developing situation

https://finance.yahoo.com/video/fda-fas ... 22725.html

[Foggy]

I looked, and my Twitter profile did include my phone number. But it's not valuable to spammers. I have, in fact, a very bad reputation among the spammers, such that if I even try to troll one by pressing 1 or whatever, as soon as the spammer sees her screen, she hangs up on me. Instantly.

And I wasn't really gonna hurt her. But I wasn't going to fall for any script, and no spammer has ever seen a nickel of mine, and they must have me on some sorta list, because they always hang up on me.

Or maybe it's my breath mints.

Anyway, I pity the fool who pays to get my phone number. So I don't worry too much about somebody who wants to sell it for $60,000, even if some other numbers are in there.

[raison de arizona]

Mine has nothing, I used a throwaway email I don’t even have access to anymore. Hope they spend $60k for it.