MaxGhenis

5 ms·

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Show HN: OpenMessage – Google Messages Client for macOS with MCP Server(openmessage.ai)
1 points by MaxGhenis 8mo ago|0 comments
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Show HN: PolicyEngine, a FOSS web app that computes the impact of public policy(policyengine.org)
3 points by MaxGhenis 4y ago|0 comments
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by MaxGhenis 4y ago
FWIW, we'll have Maryland income taxes, including local income taxes, by the end of July: https://github.com/policyengine/openfisca-us
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by MaxGhenis 4y ago
Thanks for the suggestion, I added a link to our documentation ( https://openfisca.us ) to the readme.
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by MaxGhenis 4y ago
And for all the complexity of the tax code, it often pales in comparison to the version of the tax code we subject low-income families to: rules for means-tested benefits.
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by MaxGhenis 4y ago
France has also developed the OpenFisca framework [1] for tax and benefit rules as code, and its OpenFisca France [2] model is widely used (I think significantly more than mlang). We've extended it to the UK [3] and the US [4]. [1] ht
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by MaxGhenis 4y ago
We've also built an open-source tax and benefit calculator for the UK, which also lets you simulate custom policy reforms: https://policyengine.org/uk
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by MaxGhenis 4y ago
Fantastic job making taxsim more accessible! We've built an open-source version of taxsim called OpenFisca US [1] which we expose in our (also open-source) web app, PolicyEngine US [2]. We haven't yet implemented all of taxsim—we
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by MaxGhenis 4y ago
Agreed. We're building an open source version of taxsim (plus benefit rules) at https://github.com/policyengine/openfisca-us .
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by MaxGhenis 4y ago
My team at PolicyEngine [1] is also now further reimplementing Tax-Calculator in the Python-based OpenFisca framework [2]. OpenFisca US [3] includes all tax logic in Tax-Calculator, plus many means-tested benefit programs like SNAP, and som
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by MaxGhenis 4y ago
SmartAsset is only a rough approximation based on standard deductions/exemptions and the rate structure. It excludes tax credits and other provisions that make taxsim much more accurate, especially for low-income households.
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by MaxGhenis 5y ago
Our current static approach follows the bulk of public policy analysis, but we do plan to add dynamic responses. For example, https://compute.studio/PSLmodels/Tax-Brain which supports "partial equilibrium" wh
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by MaxGhenis 5y ago
PolicyEngine lets anyone simulate reforms to the UK tax and benefit system, and see the impact on society and their own household. We're working on building it for the US as well. Here's a two minute demo video: https:/&#x2F
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Show HN: PolicyEngine lets you simulate reforms to the tax and benefit system(uk.policyengine.org)
6 points by MaxGhenis 5y ago|3 comments
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by MaxGhenis 5y ago
>Our starting hourly wages are at least $15 per hour for all full time, part time, and seasonal employees and contractors. https://www.aboutamazon.com/workplace/employee-benefits
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by MaxGhenis 11y ago
Yes I'd like to do that. Net tax burden (taxes - BI) still shouldn't change under the revenue-neutral approach, since they'd be equal between NIT and BI.
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by MaxGhenis 11y ago
Agreed, though I'd hope that some lessons from basic income could be used in the disability benefit sphere too. The welfare cliffs are devastating and produce severe underemployment among PwD.
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by MaxGhenis 11y ago
As stated in the article, 50% was chosen only because it's the rate where calculations are simplest, it's not the proposal (it'd generate way more than the current government tax receipts). Income tax rates under a revenue-ne
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by MaxGhenis 11y ago
Do you have sources for the Spain-beach-hitting? Several studies have found that cash transfers do not reduce work incentives, except in specific populations like new mothers and teenagers. Much more significant disincentives are those gene
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by MaxGhenis 11y ago
Very interesting suggestion. I'm also not too familiar with the field, but it seems that most benefits are non-cash (e.g. health and housing), and cash grants tend to be <$1k/year [1]. I would guess there are many other reasons
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by MaxGhenis 11y ago
Pegging BI to tax revenue or GDP seems like a good idea to me, though I'd prefer to start with something revenue-neutral like I lay out. As it eliminates welfare cliffs, it seems self-evident that it would not reduce employment. Many o
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by MaxGhenis 11y ago
Separating (1) children (2) people with disabilities (3) retirees and (4) other adults, is I would say an upper bound on complexity. The PwD piece falls more under healthcare (which I think should probably just be universal), so if their he
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by MaxGhenis 11y ago
The quote you selected concerns welfare cliffs, where smoothing out the payout curve may slightly reduce benefits of those near a cliff and increase benefits for those just past a cliff. This split should be independent of the "grandma
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by MaxGhenis 11y ago
Part of the reason I got into BI is because my brother is quadriplegic (spinal cord injury), so I saw firsthand how extreme the welfare cliffs are for the disabled: if he earns over ~$20k/year, he loses so many benefits (which he needs
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by MaxGhenis 11y ago
My goal with this piece is to deconstruct basic income into parallelizable, redistribution-neutral pieces: 1) Replacing non-cash benefits with cash 2) Smoothing the payout curve to avoid welfare traps 3) Replacing means-tested negative inco
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If we can afford our current welfare system, we can afford basic income(medium.com)
27 points by MaxGhenis 11y ago|28 comments
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by MaxGhenis 11y ago
Fortunately, Uber is getting into food delivery, so DoorDash will soon face a competitor without the inconvenience and awkwardness of tipping. Given Uber's popularity, as well as the trend of restaurants like Joe's Crab Shack endi
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by MaxGhenis 11y ago
The federal tipped minimum wage is $2.13/hour, but the employer must top it off to non-tipped MW if the worker's total earnings w/tips fall short (in reality many don't ask for this for fear of employer retribution). Cal