I once wrote a couple of stories about "Jeopardy!" game-show whiz James Holzhauer. James supposedly "won" a record $2.4 million in 33 episodes. Or that's what the press announcements and the show's publicity said. James didn't win nearly that much money.
The Feds took 40 percent and the State of California, where the show is taped, took 12 percent. James only worked in California six or seven day as five shows were taped in one day and each competition only took 22 minutes. So he probably "worked" in California for about five or six hours total. From that labor, the State of California netted more than $200,000 of James's alleged winnings. And the State of California didn't answer a single question!
So who really "won" all that money?
Fortunately, James lives in Nevada, which doesn't have a state income tax, so he got to keep more money than most winning contestants.
You "win" $10 million in the lottery. You take the instant-payout haircut and the federal and state government take 50 percent of what's left ... and you net $3 million. So: you were robbed of 70 percent of your winnings, but, this was "legal" theft and, since you’re now a millionaire, you’re probably not going to complain.
The convenience store that sells you 10 tickets every week isn't going to complain, because they get a cut of every lottery ticket you buy, and you probably bought some cigarettes and potato chips while you were in the store (and the government gets 10 percent of the sales tax on the chip purchase and 80 percent on the cigs) .... so everyone is a winner!
"Thank you, Carl. See you next time. I'm sure you'll win then. You're over-due."
US and only one other country on the entire globe allow drug commercials on tv. Everything is look here not there. For example they have us focus on illegal drugs coming over the border, however, not a peep on the domestic drug trade of Oxy going up and down our interstate highways every day.
I appreciate Citizen Free Press and its founder, "Citizen Kane," linking to this article. CFP also just linked to my prior article (The Infection Fatality Rate of Covid was a scandalous lie.")
This is how we get around the captured "gatekeepers of the news."
Superb analysis of “our” government which has no semblance of what those “old white men” set in motion after the war for independence. Freedom?
We are regulated everywhere we turn. And taxed too.
Thanks for this thoughtful & informative column.
Btw, citizens in our small town here in Alabama are up against the Marijuana Industry (some fancy it up with the word cannabis). One of our efforts was covered by ABC 33/40 yesterday. We’re Davids up against Goliath.
Most of us probably realize our government is pay to play and that corporations long ago figured out how to muscle We The People out and themselves into the driver's seat. But here's a new twist. What if foreign governments like Israel and the CCP have by a combination of control files on our friendly elected representatives, the generous funding of their campaigns and the stealthy use of our extorted tax dollars, managed to wrest control of our government away from We the People and our elected officials? Oh, and the last laugh is the private bankers of the federal reserve are laughing all the way to Davos riding on our backs. I feel like I am living in the Soviet Union and it's 1987 just waiting for the collapse and the fire sale so the oligarchs can scoop up everything else. We're all German farmers now.
Update: Apparently I accidentally clicked the button where only paid subscribers could comment on this article. I wondered why this article got so few comments! Anyway, 17 days later, anyone can now comment.
Inflation is another government racket. It's caused by the endless "money printing," which the Mob (government and central banks) control.
But the government gets its cut in other ways. One way is from sales tax receipts from products that are soaring in price. In my state of Alabama, the sales tax is 10 percent .... so when a bag of potato chips at Publix costs $7, the government makes 70 cents on each bag sold. They used to make 25 cents when the same bag of chips was $2.50 (three years ago).
The government/mob is making a killing on sales tax revenues.
I remember when the lottery began in California, we were told it would all be used to help fund schools…. A worthy cause, but I don’t see that has happened. When I was a kid schools were way better.
"The Mob also used to run “protection rackets.” Mafia chieftains demanded businesses pay them monthly stipends …. in exchange for the Mob not beating up the business owner or burning down his business."
But in fact, the business DID get protection. No 'unaffiliated' criminal would dare to rob a place protected by the Mafia. On the other hand, the 'protection insurance' (cops and courts) that business owners pay to governments for protection is worse than useless. Governments invite the criminals to rob the store, and then refuse to prosecute them. Now that I think of it, the Mafia is looking pretty damn good!
Nice article Bill. I was watching Michael Franzese talk with Mike Tyson. He actually suggested the government was running a lot of former mob business sectors. Also indicating many of these businesses now have more corruption now. I went to school at Troy State from 1992-1996!
UPDATE: See this Del Bigtree episode (No. 357) on the government’s involvement in “human trafficking.” Tens of thousands of minors who end up in America are trafficked in the sex/pedophile trade. Per Bigtree's source, the U.S. government is actually funding and coordinating all of this human trafficking into America.
I once wrote a couple of stories about "Jeopardy!" game-show whiz James Holzhauer. James supposedly "won" a record $2.4 million in 33 episodes. Or that's what the press announcements and the show's publicity said. James didn't win nearly that much money.
The Feds took 40 percent and the State of California, where the show is taped, took 12 percent. James only worked in California six or seven day as five shows were taped in one day and each competition only took 22 minutes. So he probably "worked" in California for about five or six hours total. From that labor, the State of California netted more than $200,000 of James's alleged winnings. And the State of California didn't answer a single question!
So who really "won" all that money?
Fortunately, James lives in Nevada, which doesn't have a state income tax, so he got to keep more money than most winning contestants.
You "win" $10 million in the lottery. You take the instant-payout haircut and the federal and state government take 50 percent of what's left ... and you net $3 million. So: you were robbed of 70 percent of your winnings, but, this was "legal" theft and, since you’re now a millionaire, you’re probably not going to complain.
The convenience store that sells you 10 tickets every week isn't going to complain, because they get a cut of every lottery ticket you buy, and you probably bought some cigarettes and potato chips while you were in the store (and the government gets 10 percent of the sales tax on the chip purchase and 80 percent on the cigs) .... so everyone is a winner!
"Thank you, Carl. See you next time. I'm sure you'll win then. You're over-due."
US and only one other country on the entire globe allow drug commercials on tv. Everything is look here not there. For example they have us focus on illegal drugs coming over the border, however, not a peep on the domestic drug trade of Oxy going up and down our interstate highways every day.
I appreciate Citizen Free Press and its founder, "Citizen Kane," linking to this article. CFP also just linked to my prior article (The Infection Fatality Rate of Covid was a scandalous lie.")
This is how we get around the captured "gatekeepers of the news."
Superb analysis of “our” government which has no semblance of what those “old white men” set in motion after the war for independence. Freedom?
We are regulated everywhere we turn. And taxed too.
Thanks for this thoughtful & informative column.
Btw, citizens in our small town here in Alabama are up against the Marijuana Industry (some fancy it up with the word cannabis). One of our efforts was covered by ABC 33/40 yesterday. We’re Davids up against Goliath.
Most of us probably realize our government is pay to play and that corporations long ago figured out how to muscle We The People out and themselves into the driver's seat. But here's a new twist. What if foreign governments like Israel and the CCP have by a combination of control files on our friendly elected representatives, the generous funding of their campaigns and the stealthy use of our extorted tax dollars, managed to wrest control of our government away from We the People and our elected officials? Oh, and the last laugh is the private bankers of the federal reserve are laughing all the way to Davos riding on our backs. I feel like I am living in the Soviet Union and it's 1987 just waiting for the collapse and the fire sale so the oligarchs can scoop up everything else. We're all German farmers now.
Update: Apparently I accidentally clicked the button where only paid subscribers could comment on this article. I wondered why this article got so few comments! Anyway, 17 days later, anyone can now comment.
Inflation is another government racket. It's caused by the endless "money printing," which the Mob (government and central banks) control.
But the government gets its cut in other ways. One way is from sales tax receipts from products that are soaring in price. In my state of Alabama, the sales tax is 10 percent .... so when a bag of potato chips at Publix costs $7, the government makes 70 cents on each bag sold. They used to make 25 cents when the same bag of chips was $2.50 (three years ago).
The government/mob is making a killing on sales tax revenues.
"We're bigger than US Steel" Hyman Roth in Godfather II
I remember when the lottery began in California, we were told it would all be used to help fund schools…. A worthy cause, but I don’t see that has happened. When I was a kid schools were way better.
"The Mob also used to run “protection rackets.” Mafia chieftains demanded businesses pay them monthly stipends …. in exchange for the Mob not beating up the business owner or burning down his business."
But in fact, the business DID get protection. No 'unaffiliated' criminal would dare to rob a place protected by the Mafia. On the other hand, the 'protection insurance' (cops and courts) that business owners pay to governments for protection is worse than useless. Governments invite the criminals to rob the store, and then refuse to prosecute them. Now that I think of it, the Mafia is looking pretty damn good!
Nice article Bill. I was watching Michael Franzese talk with Mike Tyson. He actually suggested the government was running a lot of former mob business sectors. Also indicating many of these businesses now have more corruption now. I went to school at Troy State from 1992-1996!
UPDATE: See this Del Bigtree episode (No. 357) on the government’s involvement in “human trafficking.” Tens of thousands of minors who end up in America are trafficked in the sex/pedophile trade. Per Bigtree's source, the U.S. government is actually funding and coordinating all of this human trafficking into America.
https://thehighwire.com/watch/