My Comments About The Article Above There you go. I think the article speaks for itself. Well good for them. BUT not much so for consumers.
It's all about the cost of doing business Government legislation has eliminated these costs through deregulation. A telephone services provider needn't own nor maintain a single piece of equipment. Hell they don't even need to know how the technology works. Just a good sales staff and bunch of accountants. Same goes for all the other formerly regulated utility companies. All of this is very much like receiving a pay check without the 'know how' or having to do any of the work.
What are the incentives for resellers? They don't have to create infrastructure, produce nor invest in future technology for the services they sell. Simply leech off those who do for profit.
In the past if a company wished to improve technologically and become more financially competitive they'd assume these costs were a natural part of the business they were in. Once that part of the business was allowed to be separated via deregulation they began getting out of the business and became sales hucksters themselves.
What are the incentives for future suppliers? Not much. Take for example electricity. Eventually the resellers will be forced to purchase electricity from only a handful of those left who generate it. Since wholesalers will not be competing in the retail market nor out of their service areas they can charge almost anything they like . Neither will they have a great need to introduce technological advancements to produce electric.
One of the greatest problems facing the economy of this country and it's middle income workers is how it has become little more then a nation of resellers. This disincentivizes not only critically important technological advancements in today's highly completive global market, but less need for skilled workers in them.
As a result of 'deregulation'.. (1) Consumers have only a limited advantage via the varying profit margins between resellers. (2) The United States becomes less competitive.
All three are charged with criminal mischief, harassment, scattering rubbish and disorderly conduct. They were each released on $5,000 unsecured bail."
Oh thank God they caught these desperados. We can all sleep safer now!
WFMZ TV is reporting , "The Allentown School District Board of Directors on Thursday night approved a 2014-2015 budget... " blah, blah, blah.
I could point out that my Social Security benefit check was raised only 1.5%. I could also point out that my teeny tiny IRA CD is earning less then 2% interest or that my only other source of income, my 401k earnings rate has been fluctuating around 4%-5%. Which might be better for me then some who are working and haven't had any raises at all.
Let me put it this way...
What the hell am I getting for my monthly $200.35?
That's how much it will cost me with this 5.85% increase. That may not seem a lot to some people, but I sure can think of a lot better ways I could use this money.It's not that the house looks like crap, but these things will have to be done surely within a year to 5 years at most. That $200.35 school tax per month over 5 years adds up to $12,021. That may not pay for it all, but that $12,021 would benefit me far more then draining down my remaining retirement funds to pay for them. Without factoring in future school tax increases.
Oh we could sell the home and go rent. Don't think we haven't thought it through, but that money would only last about 10 years at today's rents and future increases. So here's the bottom line... We, like many others on fixed incomes, are being drained by ever increasing taxes that exceed all cost increases in the other sectors of the economy. There will come a time I like so many others (not only those on fixed incomes but workers too) will be forced by these taxes out of our homes and apartments.
As each of us continue to go broke while the school system is bleeding money it's only a matter of time when the shit hits the fan (if it hasn't already). No matter how you slice it, an investment of $200.35 a month for education in no possible way is providing us (or others) a direct return that benefits us. This isn't a matter of being selfish, but rather economic survival.
There's A Rather Simple Solution Increase sales taxes 2%-3%. Everyone spends money on something that's taxable. Those that have more, spend more. Those that have little spend little on taxable consumer items. We are told education benefits us by developing the skills needed into today's marketplace. Well it seems to me if consumers in the marketplace benefit the most, why not tax them the most to pay for it?
There is little if any correlation between property ownership and the cost for education. On the other hand, large purchasers receive direct benefits from the items or services that require the skills needed for them.
Schools whine that this kind of revenue fluctuates too much. Well it does for all of the rest of us too. None of us are guaranteed next year we will make the same money as this year. But oh no, not the school district even if a homeowner loses his job or retires to a fixed income. They still expect the same amount of money.
Once these city, country and schools taxes have bled the property owners dry it will be time to turn off the lights. The party will be over. That day may not be as far away as some believe.
Property taxes are the most evil of all taxes Any other item (other then maybe a car) when you buy it the purchaser pays a one time tax. Every time a property is sold sales taxes are collected again. Over the life of a home it can be sold several times. Each time the home is sold it's usually for more then the time before. Henceforth sales taxes are collected several times over at ever escalating amounts. Even these taxes pale in comparison to the real estate taxes the owner pays in between.
If these taxes were for investment that would be one thing, but someone buying a home for their primary residence should not be taxed in the same way. I have no problem paying my fair share, but for God's sake.... I've lived here for 24 years and added up the sales and real estate taxes we've paid. It adds up to over 75% of what we paid for the home!
You see one never truly owns their home other then on paper. The banks hold the note until the home is paid off. They get 1 to 2x's the purchase price in interest.. After that a homeowner then has to pay real estates taxes for about the same amount of money they bought it in accumulated taxes over the next 30-35 years for the rights to continue living in it.
For the government this a whole lot like homeowners paying all the expenses to repair and maintain while the government collects all the financial rewards.
Even Neil Cavuto has finally figured out that Michele Bachmann & her ilk are a bunch of hateful loonies. Republicans in Congress both under Clinton and Obama went gonzo each time a Democrat got elected by the American people to the oval office. What kind of message does this send to the rest of the world? Or is that their plan.. to make sure if a Democrat gets into the oval office he/she fails?
Here's a flash. If the president of either party fails in office.. so goes the United States. So which is the bigger threat to the United Sates, foreign influences or our own U.S Congress on the right side of the aisle?
Like them or not the Democrats held their noses and stood in solidarity with George W's bullshit arguments for invading Iraq. A price both the Democratic party and the rest of us are paying for dearly with both the lives lost and tremendous amount of money the next generation will inherit.
Talk about tearing a country apart. Why should the bad guys expend themselves. All they have to do is standby laughing and wait while we do it to ourselves. In my lifetime I've never experienced such divisiveness. If and/or when this country fails it will not come from outside but rather the rot within.
There once was a time we Americans pulled together even if we didn't agree amongst ourselves.
That time is no longer. Shame be on those who no longer comprehend the former values we once shared.
What we can quickly surmise is (1) the vast majority of discretionary spending is on the military (55%). (2) Even though the federal government receives 32% of it's revenue from Social Security and Medicare taxes it spends less then 5% in discretionary money on them. (3) If we eliminated all the tax breaks the federal government wouldn't only have enough to cover the entire amount of discretionary spending, but even have a surplus left over!
I found it also interesting that individuals pay into Social Security/Medicare taxes that amount to almost 3x's as much as corporations pay in taxes (32% versus 13%). Plus an additional 46% in payroll income taxes. In other words workers are paying 78% of the load. The vast majority of discretionary goes, in many cases, back into the private investors for education, housing, transportation and military contract providers.
My Overall View Of The Entire Budget The main beef I have is the way we spend taxpaying worker's money for our military. Over the entire federal budget we are projected to spend around $3.9 trillion in 2015. Of the entire budget 16% will be spent on our military. Much of it to protect foreign nations. Shouldn't we compensated? Each of us have to pay taxes towards our local and state police. Shouldn't foreign nations as well?
While Americans receive back directly about 60% in the form of Medicare, Social Security and in unemployment benefits, this still leaves over $1.16 trillion being spent elsewhere. Take into account the $1.24 trillion in tax breaks and that's a sizable chunk of change ($2.4 trillion) we have to work.
Does it make for sound reasoning to allow almost 1/3rd of our annual budget be in the form of tax breaks?
Provide military protections costing us over a half a trillion $'s w/o being compensated by much of it going to protect foreign nations?
Should 32% of the annual revenue derived from Social Security & Medicare go towards funding the government or instead be set aside and not factored in the budget?
Since President Obama's 2015 budget has a deficit of $561 billion (3.1% of the U.S. Economy) why not take part of it from the $1.24 trillion in tax breaks?
Lord knows how many emergency spending bills are proposed & passed beyond the budget and how many of these contain hidden provisions?
None of this means anything. It's just a giant game of bullshit. The only reason any of this continues to work is because of either peoples ambivalence towards it or indifference. So long as that's the case everything will be just fine.
My Comments About The Article Above 'The Express-Time's publishes local stories far more then anyone else and few garner the number of comments this one has. That's a good thing. This is such a hot-button issue the story has taken off internationally. 'The Raw Story' headlined their post, PA school director wants kids to learn the Tea Party ‘science’ of global warming denial. Usually when outlets like 'The Raw Story' pickup on these stories they gather wings, so I expect we'll see even greater attention nationally as TV news producers come across this. They too had over 100 comments in less then two hours!
I'll try an make this brief. Ah.. let me think.... mmmm.... I'll go with (A)
Who cares if those who warn us of greenhouse gases and their effect on global temperatures are wrong. No harm can come from it. BUT on the other hand the consequences of those who deny global warming if they should be wrong would be devastating if not deadly.
Don't believe it? WHY WOULD ANYONE BE WILLING TO TAKE THAT CHANCE?
