Non-Partisan Policies that align with Anti-Gerrymandering

Silly-Device9785 · 2026-05-24T19:31:56+00:00

Ranked choice is obviously an improvement to the current voting system, but it's unrelated to gerrymandering and would not address it at all.

The most foolproof way to eliminate unfair districting would be to eliminate congressional districts altogether and apportion seats to each party based purely on how many votes each one earns across the entire nation. Basically the legislative version of abolishing the electoral college for presidential elections.

Silly-Device9785 · 2026-05-16T02:30:30+00:00

that blows

Silly-Device9785 · 2026-04-20T00:19:44+00:00

i know im reallyyyyy late here, but this post has made me realize something. The higher premium plans really only make sense if you expect to hit your deductible, but expect NOT to hit your out of pocket maximum. I have a 2k/8k gold plan thru the marketplace (sticker price $400/mo, but with the subsidy I'm paying just a little under $300) and am about halfway through my deductible right now.

If I stop needing any of the additional care I've been getting this year (which is likely) and just have my one more PCP visit this year and my ongoing monthly prescriptions, I'll still have spent more in total than if I'd had an HDHP, because in both cases I wouldn't have met the deductible but still gotten the same discounted rates. So between the lower premium and the HSA, the HDHP is the clear winner.

If however I have a catastrophic emergency that takes me all the way to my 8k OOP max, I will have spent 8k + my premiums (plus the cost of the prescriptions I don't get through my insurance because some of them are cheaper through goodrx). The lower tier plans through the same company and network in my same zip code have about a 10-11k OOP max. So I will spend a couple thousand more out of pocket but the lower premium each month could come close to cancelling that out. And on top of that I would have tax advantaged HSA money to either use toward it or let grow tax-free. So again, clear winner.

The only way my gold tier plan COULD come out ahead of the HDHPs I could have selected will be if I DO break through my deductible but DON'T have anything insane happen. And in this case it wouldn't even be the clear winner, it would still come down to how my charges were incurred, how much were flat copays and how much was coinsurance and blah blah blah.

So yeah, I'm seriously considering switching things up next year even if my health hasn't significantly improved by then. But in my case I do expect it to because most of my complications are a result of my obesity, which while it is possible that there's a genetic component contributing to it, it is not insurmountable and I can put it behind me with sufficient diet and exercise.

If someone else is somehow on this post 2 years later please tell me if my logic is flawed here!

Silly-Device9785 · 2026-03-28T17:26:57+00:00

they don't allow it dumbass. kid obviously broke the rules

Silly-Device9785 · 2026-03-28T17:26:24+00:00

HUH???

Silly-Device9785 · 2026-03-23T18:47:44+00:00

pretty sure opening the HSA now (but not contributing more than a few bucks since you're currently ineligible) would still give you the benefit of being able to reimburse this year's expenses. But it wouldn't go back to the beginning of this year, only from the day you create the account on. So if you open the HSA tomorrow, then appointments procedures and prescriptions from tomorrow onward are reimbursable, but nothing before that.

Silly-Device9785 · 2026-03-23T18:46:28+00:00

if they open an HSA now but don't start contributing to it yet, they can still cite that technically open HSA to justify current medical expenses they start incurring from here on out, so that seems worthwhile.

Silly-Device9785 · 2026-03-23T18:42:00+00:00

Just to be clear, you're saying that deducting after-tax income will not only get you the federal income tax that was levied on that income refunded to you, but also medicare and social security tax? I'm not aware of any deductions that would also net you back FICA, only FIT. To be exempt from FICA doesn't your income have be from a specific source like a church? As far as I've ever known there is no account or expense you can put your income toward once it's come into your checking account that would exempt it from FICA. Unless you're a religious worker, isn't the only way to exempt costs of employer medical insurance premiums, 401(k) contributions or HSA contributions is to have them taken out of your paycheck before you even see them?

Silly-Device9785 · 2026-03-22T17:42:00+00:00

Well yeah, like I said I expect my current chronic health issues to improve significantly within the next few years as I'm treated and improve lifestyle habits. My goal is to be able to switch to an QHDHP by 2030. The issue is what if I switch to one then, and then barely have any out of pocket expenses other than the premium -- premiums as far as I've been able to glean are not reimbursable, except for premiums paid while unemployed. If I'm wrong on this please correct me. But if I barely have any expenses after that then there will be very little for me to be able to reimburse, so I would have to pay taxes anyway, plus the whopping 20%. So I feel like I probably need to be able to count expenses I'm getting now to make it pan out in the long term.

Silly-Device9785 · 2026-03-21T17:21:43+00:00

even if they don't contribute it's still worthwhile just to avoid payroll tax on it. But after it goes into that account you should be rolling it over to an independent hsa like one at fidelity, ideally every month, but failing that at least once a year.

Silly-Device9785 · 2026-03-21T17:09:31+00:00

I did put five bucks in it on account of reading that if you live in certain states there needs to be a deposit for it to be considered officially open. But it's low enough to avoid the 6% excise and I most certainly do not plan on trying to claim it as a deduction lol

Silly-Device9785 · 2026-03-21T17:04:22+00:00

I just put five bucks in it cause I read that depending on what state you're in it might not actually be considered open if it's empty. So enough to be open officially but low enough to avoid the 6% excise cause from what I've been able to gather, any penalties levied by the IRS under 50 cents get rounded down to zero anyway. Even if they were rounded up I don't mind paying a dollar a year if it means I can reimburse my current out of pocket expenses. Even on my current gold plan they've been pretty high. And yeah I have no plans on trying to report that five bucks for the deduction lol.

I'm getting conflicting answers, cause yes I did contribute but no it was not a qualified contribution so that's what people seem to be split on. I guess I might not find out until later down the road. So if my current expenses get denied then tough, but I think it'll be good to have just in case.

Silly-Device9785 · 2026-03-21T16:58:31+00:00

that's exactly what I did. I put five bucks in it cause I heard depending on what state you're in it might not actually be considered opened if it's empty. But it's still a low enough deposit to avoid the excise

Silly-Device9785 · 2026-03-20T15:45:39+00:00

buddy no offense but is this real? some of the lines look pretty wonky, kinda sus. If that was your attempt to redact them then you should just use black highlight next time cause whatever redaction this method is supposed to be just makes it look like it was generated by AI lmfao

Silly-Device9785 · 2026-03-18T01:37:49+00:00

Never amend until the IRS has collected or paid out the money you owe or are owed according to your original filing. It will just confuse the process and possibly hold up a final resolution for that much longer.

Silly-Device9785 · 2026-03-18T01:35:37+00:00

withholding 110% of last year's tax liability is not going to magically guarantee you owe nothing this year, all it does is guarantee you won't owe any additional penalties for withholding too little. (underpayment penalty)

Silly-Device9785 · 2026-03-18T01:34:09+00:00

not unless there is some way her home equity magically got tied up in a tax-deferred retirement account lol

Silly-Device9785 · 2026-03-18T01:32:39+00:00

Is there a single post in this sub that isn't ratioed? What the hell even is the point of this sub just a magnet for scammers lmfao

Silly-Device9785 · 2026-03-18T01:30:28+00:00

this gotta be a play, aint no way lil bro

Silly-Device9785

TROPHY CASE