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Cake day: June 16th, 2023

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  • Actually, it depends on the state/city. There is no federal sales tax; all sales taxes are determined at the state and municipal level and are only charged at the final point of sale. Some states or cities allow for limited versions of what you’re talking about; Washington State rebates sales taxes for Oregon residents.

    However, why isn’t this typical across all states? It turns out that taxes tourists is generally more popular than taxing residents. This is especially true if the tax is enacted by referendum. For instance, a lot of stadiums are publicly funded via hotel room and rental car taxes.












  • In the context of “what did the military action physically do?” it is important to recognize the difference between direct action and additional effects caused by the reaction from the affected government.

    The attack on Venezuela was orders of magnitude less than the attack/war with Iran. Yet, Venezuela gave up financial control of its oil supply while Iran might be getting unprecedented control over a strategic waterway. If a government is going to resist American imperialism, it needs both the means and the will to resist. Iran has it, Venezuela didn’t have it, and early indications seem like Cuba is more like Venezuela than Iran.



  • I don’t want the USA to invade Cuba, but I don’t think that Cuba could credibly resist an occupation.

    Cuba is isolated from any ally who could offer military supplies, including drones. It is also fairly close to the US mainland, allowing for easy supply from the US.

    What I expect would happen is that the US would force some minor restoration of capital to pre-revolution owners and install a government filled with a mix of government collaborators and Cuban-Americans with a mandate to transform the Cuban economy.

    Unless the new government is wildly incompetent and corrupt, I expect that there would be enough stateside support to ensure that the new government is successful for the first few years. Keeping enough collaborators, which is something likely to happen with Trump, would likely prevent the whole government from engaging in an organized resistance. The likely dropping off the embargo will also allow an increase in economic conditions on the island, muting resistance of the rest of the citizenry.