(FREE) PAINE IN THE MORNING: 9 things you need to know this Wednesday – March 16, 2022

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‘Not a Joke’ — Joe Biden Blames Vladimir Putin for Inflation that Spiked in 2021 –President Joe Biden again tried to blame Russian President Vladimir Putin for inflation on Monday, calling him a major factor in rising prices.

“Now the second big reason for inflation is Vladimir Putin and gas prices,” Biden claimed. “Not a joke.” – READ MORE

Buttigieg Argues Lowering Cost of Insulin Would Provide ‘Direct Relief’ and ‘Outweigh’ Higher Gas Prices – U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg believes there are steps the government could take to provide “direct relief” to Americans that are “way more under” its control than oil markets.

During an appearance on CNBC on Tuesday, he was asked about rising gas prices and whether the administration would consider putting a freeze on the national gas tax. – READ MORE

Fauci not sure how many COVID shots will be needed – Dr. Anthony Fauci said in an interview published Monday it’s likely that people who have been vaccinated will need more booster shots, but he isn’t sure how many.

The interview follows the confirmation by Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Monday that a fourth shot will be “necessary.” – READ MORE

Country pays out $45 million to victims of COVID vaccines – The government of Thailand has paid more than $45 million as compensation to people who developed illnesses and injuries after receiving COVID=19 vaccine shots.

So far, 12,714 people have received the compensation, the Phenom Penh Post reported. – READ MORE

Dem Omnibus Bill Gives IRS Biggest Budget in 20 Years, And That’s the Tip of the Iceberg – The House and Senate passed a huge $1.5 trillion spending bill that will fund the government through September. But it was a long road to get there.

H.R. 2471 was passed by the Senate but given back to the House with changes in January. Lawmakers made revisions and deals behind closed doors, but held on to the 2,741 page bill until just hours before the vote was set to take place on March 9, the Heritage Action reported. – READ MORE

Lowest-Income Taxpayers Are the Most Likely To Be Audited – IRS audits target the poor. Data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University shows the IRS audited the lowest-income Americans—”wage earners with less than $25,000 in total gross receipts”—at five times the rate of everyone else during government fiscal year 2021.

“A large increase in federal income tax audits targeting the poorest wage earners allowed the Internal Revenue Service to keep overall audit numbers from further declines for Americans as a whole,” TRAC reports. – READ MORE

Bloomberg: U.S. Doled Out Billions In Fraudulent COVID Aid. Where’s The Accountability? – The Biden administration should focus more on investigating and remedying billions of dollars worth of COVID-19 aid fraud before pumping out more of such spending, Bloomberg’s editorial board wrote on Monday.

In an op-ed published Monday morning, Bloomberg pointed out that the Secret Service estimates that $100 billion in COVID-19 relief funds may have been doled out in fraudulent claims, corrupt deals, or to dead people. The article suggests that Secret Service estimates may be too conservative, however. – READ MORE

Amazon Temporarily Relocating Employees From Downtown Seattle Office Amid Rise In Violent Crimes – Amazon is temporarily relocating employees from its downtown Seattle office due to an increase in violent crimes in the area, the company said on March 11.

The tech giant’s office is located at 300 Pine Street, about a half-mile from its main headquarters on Seventh Avenue in Seattle, and roughly 1,800 Amazon employees are working there. – READ MORE

10 Signs The War In Ukraine Is Part Of The Great Reset – Welcome to the second phase of the Great Reset: war.

While the pandemic acclimatised the world to lockdowns, normalised the acceptance of experimental medications, precipitated the greatest transfer of wealth to corporations by decimating SMEs and adjusted the muscle memory of workforce operations in preparation for a cybernetic future, an additional vector was required to accelerate the economic collapse before nations can ‘Build Back Better.’ – READ MORE