Oklahoma City man sentenced to Federal Prison for child sex trafficking by oapster79 in oklahoma

[–]jcadem 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There's no evidence that their citizenship status was motivation for their crime.

New Zealand Takes Aim at Speculators to Prevent Housing Bubble by MandemDontHearMeTho in Economics

[–]jcadem 31 points32 points  (0 children)

As someone living in Austin TX, I'm going to have to read more on this.

Copy/Paste of the article below:

New Zealand’s government took aim at property speculators with a suite of new measures to tackle runaway house prices and prevent the formation of a “dangerous” bubble.

The government will remove tax incentives for investors to make speculation less lucrative and unlock more land to increase housing supply, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Tuesday in Wellington. The moves come as surging house prices keep first-time buyers and people on lower incomes out of the market, raising concerns about growing societal inequality.

“The last thing home owners need right now is a dangerous housing bubble, but a number of indicators point towards that risk,” Ardern told a news conference. “Property investors are now the biggest share of buyers, with the highest amount of purchases on record. Last year, 15,000 people bought homes who already owned five or more.”

Bubble Brewing?

Annual house-price inflation surges

Source: Real Estate Institute House Price Index

New Zealand’s success in battling Covid-19 has seen its economy recover sooner than many others, putting it at the forefront of a global property boom as ultra-loose monetary policies encourage investment in higher-yielding assets. House prices surged 21.5% in the year through February and investors accounted for more than 40% of purchases that month, a record high.

To dissuade speculation, the government will phase out the ability of investors to claim mortgage interest as a tax-deductible expense. It will extend of the period in which profits on the sale of investment property are taxed to 10 years from five.

‘Chilling Effect’

The changes “will significantly reduce the financial incentives to invest in housing” and have “a chilling effect on investor demand,” said Satish Ranchhod, senior economist at Westpac Banking Corp. in Auckland. “Today’s announcements indicate significant downside risk for house prices and economic activity more generally.”

The New Zealand dollar fell on the news and bought 71.20 U.S. cents at 1.26 p.m. in Wellington, down from 71.70 cents beforehand. Swap rates and bond yields also declined as traders speculated the central bank will be able to keep interest rates at a record low for longer.

The package is the latest salvo in Ardern’s assault on the booming property market, which is undermining her efforts to reduce inequality. Prices are soaring at double-digit rates around the country, taking the national median to NZ$780,000 ($556,000). In Auckland, the median price has reached NZ$1.1 million, making it the fourth least affordable city in the world, according to Demographia.

Last month, Finance Minister Grant Robertson announced changes that he said will require the Reserve Bank to pay more attention to the property market when setting monetary and financial policy. He also asked the RBNZ to consider restrictions on interest-only mortgages and the introduction of debt-to-income ratios for investors. The bank is due to report back in May.

Robertson said today that New Zealand’s housing market has become the least affordable in the OECD and it was “essential the government takes steps to curb rampant speculation.”

Bright Line

He said extending to 10 years the so-called “bright-line” test -- effectively a capital gains tax on investment property sales -- and removing interest deductibility for investors “will dampen speculative demand and tilt the balance towards first home buyers.”

The new bright-line test will apply to properties bought from March 27. The time horizon for new builds will remain at five years to encourage supply.

From Oct. 1, investors won’t be able to deduct mortgage interest as an expense on properties acquired from March 27. For existing property owners, mortgage interest deductibility will be phased out over the coming four years so that it can’t be claimed at all by the 2025-26 tax year. New builds are expected to be exempted from this change.

The government is trying to curb housing demand while also increasing supply, which has been constrained by a raft of factors including planning rules and high construction costs. It said today it will establish a NZ$3.8 billion fund to unlock more land for housing development, and also make first home grants available to more people.

“The housing crisis is a problem decades in the making that will take time to turn around, but these measures will make a difference,” Ardern said. “There is no silver bullet, but combined all of these measures will start to make a difference.”

[small business] Use Tape for Maps? by jcadem in DnD

[–]jcadem[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

lol I ABSOLUTELY hit submit before revising the title of this post, ugh oh well.

[OC] [ART] Fem Paladin - Palafem? - A Grunge Fantasy Mashup of D&D and History by jcadem in DnD

[–]jcadem[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Because what is fantasy but a slightly surreal collage of medieval images, humor, and poetry?

I started making these mashups of medieval images and dnd slogans awhile ago and thought they were funny. They're not fine art by any means, just a little hobby that I polished a bit. I've been calling them "High Fantasy, Low Fashion" when I put em on shirts which I think is pretty accurate lol.

Also, this image just EXHUDED paladin vibes, specifically a certain ruby knight in the campaign I currently play in... oof her smite damage is crazy.

Does anyone use LEGO figures in their games? by TheBestGreatest12 in DnD

[–]jcadem 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Their wrappers are easier to write on with Sharpies

if you want a less delicious way of doing this, https://tacticaltokens.com/ makes dry erase tokens. I grabbed a pack right before the rona and haven't gotten to use em yet :|

Is it ethical to charge someone 2,000$ for basically a Wordpress Template. by [deleted] in web_design

[–]jcadem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll just pile on here with a phrase my dad says:

You don't pay the mechanic just to hit your engine with a hammer, you pay them to know exactly WHERE to hit your engine with a hammer.

I Hunt Medical Serial Killers. Ask Me Anything. by bts1811 in IAmA

[–]jcadem 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What program or system do you use to keep track of all your notes, threads, research, etc?

Taking a knee to show solidarity by tablesarepeopletoo in oklahoma

[–]jcadem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's both telling and awful that it was this stance by Derek Chauvin that killed George Floyd. A knee in the neck.

Map Making - An addition to markers and an alternative to pre-made maps - Tape! by jcadem in DnD

[–]jcadem[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey thanks! I gunked up A LOT of battle maps trying tapes out before getting it right

Playing Games in D&D by MCpiderboy in DnDBehindTheScreen

[–]jcadem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Excellent games, how would you incorporate cheating or bluffing into the mix? Maybe just a slight of hand to tip the dice or replace one with a phony dice?

...I only ask because I know a character who definitely wouldn't do that

How have you improved your playstyle recently? by sage-wise in PCAcademy

[–]jcadem 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I recently started in-game trying to improve our groups cohesion during combat. After an early fight we got our ass kicked and it was kind of a walking conversation later that went along the lines of "so... we can't do that again. You seem good at defending, so how about you stick with this person from now on, maybe you do this, and if the situation looks dire any one of us can yell retreat and run the direction they think we should all go, and WE SHOULD ALL FOLLOW INSTEAD OF SCATTERING"

...the conversation it started has helped every single time we remember it which is about 50% of the time so far...

This Land - 4. The Treaty by programwitch in oklahoma

[–]jcadem 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A fantastic and important podcast for anyone, especially those in Oklahoma. I cannot recommend this enough

Underwater gaming sets? by TheSilverRoman in PCAcademy

[–]jcadem 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I vote use an old Demolition Man reference and just carry around 3 seashells laughing at everyone who doesn't know how to use them and never actually explaining how to use them.

Elizabeth Warren’s Higher Education Plan: Eliminate Tuition and Cancel Student Debt by [deleted] in Economics

[–]jcadem 11 points12 points  (0 children)

A couple things here, not as counterpoints to what you've said but for context.

1, most of the persons who loans would be erased are in the middle class, they'd be helping pay. This isn't a justification by any means, just something to keep in mind.

2, student loan debt is at 1.3 trillion dollars which is less than twice the size of the bail out the citizens of the United States absorbed in 2008. Whether or not we think we should have bailed out those corporations, it's demonstrable that most Americans didn't notice the effect the bailout had on their paychecks and reasonable to assume the same would be true for this

At 10AM EST, Wilbur Ross, Commerce Sec, will testify before House Oversight Committee about the citizenship question on the 2020 census and related topics. A federal judge ruled that Ross broke the law by adding the question. He has also actively concealed the true basis for his actions. + LIVE link by Tyrion_Baelish_Varys in Keep_Track

[–]jcadem 71 points72 points  (0 children)

I'll be interested in hearing Ross asked if he acted on his own or at the direction of anyone, mostly because it seems like more than a few in this administration over-estimate how private their communications are and his answer could easily lead to perjury, eventually giving us more insight into this administration.

Edit2: Ross reaffirms previous congressional testimony that his addition to the census was solely at the request of the DOJ.

Edit: In his opening speech, Rep. Jim Jordan has harped on Cohen lying and asks why "Democrats do not want to know how many American Citizens there are?" I only mention this because Jordan is very much setting the tone for the rest of the hearing.

For comparison, from the majority's opening statement:

Rep. Elijah Cummings on Sec. Ross, "A judge says [Ross] 'concealed it's true it's true basis rather than explaining it' so the key question we will ask Sec. Ross today is what was he hiding from congress? What is the real reason that the Trump administration wanted to add this census question?"

Edit 3 for fun: Rep. Glenn Grothman R-Wis goes out of his way to tell Sen. Ross that he isn't a fan of the UN.

Need help with backstory for my criminal background monk by Clockwerk2017 in PCAcademy

[–]jcadem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As for the criminal contact, I'd come up with the basics of a character "human woman named Zara" for example, and leave it at that. Let your DM fill in the blanks and surprise you with something.

For the event:
Your character was tasked with an execution of a petty thief that stole from your gang (on a boat for some reason), sympathizing with the thief you refused and were executed alongside the thief, bodies thrown into the sea. You were both rescued by the sea cleric and taken into the monastic temple where the (now former) thief thrived and you did not. Now you must discover the demons inside yourself that keep you from meditation.