dorifto240

Pay the piper? The IRS is one of the most wasteful and inefficient agencies on the planet. They fail to collect roughly $4 Billion a year. A YEAR! Excuse me if I'm loathe to fork out more money to poorly run, wasteful government. Beyond that, the odds of our representatives actually doing more than letting them expire across the board are slim to none. They're going to have to fight the same amount to negotiate an upper limit as they are to save the whole thing. So they'll probably let it slide. Secondly, raising taxes during a recession has almost never been a good idea. Higher taxes discourage spending, spending as we know drives the economy. Discouraging spending in a slow economy is akin to shooting yourself in the foot before you run a race. My instinct for self preservation is apparently operating just fine, but by all means keep looking at shortsighted political "bullshit" and calling it self preservation.

Your sarcastometer must have crossed wires with your ability to read. We're talking about 2011. And we can't wait until the costs of Obama-care come home! No one is arguing about the 2010 tax, we're talking about the expiration of the Bush tax cuts. Which in addition to the 4% raise, also include cuts to deductions, and some changes to the actual tax brackets. Obama can talk all he wants about limiting the expiration to $200,000 and up. Reality is a little simpler: They'll either let them all expire or not. To avoid a heated political battle and to put themselves into a position where they can blame the other: Both sides will do nothing.

You'd think the Big Ten would have learned from their disastrous Big Ten Network debacle. People who bring up these "good ideas" should be smacked. Repeatedly. Here's a better thought: All twelve teams play each other once through the season. No more of this ten game, eleven teams, who really won garbage. Twelve games would be great, I think the Big Ten season is ridiculously short anyways... We can then do one of two things: Declare a big ten champion as always, or take the top six teams, seed them, and then play a quick tournament. We've agreed on almost everything until this moment... Sadness

This means I finally get my share of that delicious Obama Money!

Not to rub it in anyone's face if they're unemployed but: I got a job! Finally!

True! And hilarious. Thanks.

Wow, over react much? Accuse me of fear mongering...

I'm guilty of breaking these too... http://www.ostrichheadinsand.com/images/ostrich_head_in_sand.jpg 1. Know the subject thoroughly. Not just your side of the issue, but all sides equally. 2. Trust both, but separate reason from emotion. The former is your ally. The latter is not. 3. Unless you live in a theocracy, morality and religion are subjective arguments, not objective arguments. Subjective arguments, while fascinating in certain social situations, have no place in reasonable debate. (Update: Rick pointed out that I may be wrong about this in the comment section, and I see his point. Our discussion about context helps shed some light about this. I indeed failed to take into account the context of a debate when I suggested #3. He’s right.) 4. Respect your opponent even if s/he does not respect you. (Your professionalism, kindness and honor are yours. Their absence in an opponent has no bearing on your own.) 5. The moment either person involved loses their temper, the debate is over. 6. Thin skin and public debates do not mix. 7. Be aware that debating a point with an unreasonable person may be a complete waste of your time. Debating the virtues of civil rights legislation with a racist, for instance, may not be the most productive use of your time. Likewise, arguing ethics with a crook probably won’t get you anywhere. Just as worthy opponents make great sport, worthy opponents make great debates. Too one sided a contest typically yields disappointing results. Don’t waste your time on unworthy foes. 8. At least 1 out of 4 people who disagree with you may be utterly incapable of arguing a point objectively. See item 7 for further instructions. 9. If you represent a company or organization, heated debates may be ill-advised – especially when they touch on religion, sex and politics. If you are answerable to no one but yourself, no such limitations exist beyond those you impose on yourself. In either case, always remember item 4: The golden rule of public debates. 10. If you are bested, acknowledge it gracefully. If you win, thank your opponent for his/her gracious effort. All other outcomes are to be avoided whenever possible. Nothing is gained from the murder of civility, especially in matters of public debate.

It's no different than: At the least, fear mongering leads to action.

Wow, glad I jumped on here. To Cheech, I thought the "I'm going out of town" statement was sufficient to answer your question. Pushy, pushy. But alright. Before we begin, I would like it noted that I said certain areas would be near 50%. So we'll take the low end of the tax bracket, which unless congress amends the tax cuts, will expire as well. That bumps their tax rate up to 15% Ohio has an interesting tax bracket, they charge a flat rate apparently, and an additional percentage for each bracket. (see here) For our example, making 15,000, they would have to pay $92.00 and then an additional 2.4%. (I used the 08, 09, 10 tax rates) Columbus has a tax rate of 2.5%. So for our minimum wage employee, they're now paying roughly a fifth (roughly) of what they earn to the government. Not including Medicare, Social Security and other deductions. Not bad; not great, but not bad. For a median income earner lets say $60,000: They now fall into a 28% tax rate, plus 1100 flat rate from the state of Ohio (which is a little less than 2%) and an additional 4% tax plus the 2.5% rate for Columbus. 36.5% of their income is now gone to the government. Again not including deductions. That's for a single individual filing taxes. At $100,000: They fall into the 31% federal tax bracket (with the hike included), a flat rate of $2843 (almost 3%) and a tax rate of almost 5%, plus the 2.5% tax rate from Columbus. They now pay 41.5% of their wages go to taxes. Do we want me to keep going until I hit 50% (it's coming up pretty quickly) A few flaws in my math should be noted: This is a generalization. There are deductions, addendums, loop holes, exemptions and more in the tax code. We could tweak numbers all we want. Secondly, this was a simple math formula, that didn't factor in things like order of taxation. That is to say, that the federal tax could be taken out first, then the state tax taken out from the remainder, then the municipality tax. However, if I did that, my numbers would be larger. 2.5% of $80 is $3.13, so I'd have to convert fractions to compare apples to apples. I didn't include social security and medicare deductions, merely because I didn't want to. If we consider that a "tax" as well, then the final amount taken by the government goes up as well. I didn't factor in the School Tax, which I should have. I apologize for that, but by all means, add it in! Is my math slightly suspect? Sure, why not. But even in Ohio tax payers below or near the $250,000 mark will be paying significantly higher taxes. Sources: http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/151.html http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/26062.html (for estimated Fed tax rates) http://www.tax.ohio.gov/divisions/ohio_individual/individual/annual_tax_rates.stm https://thefinder.tax.ohio.gov/StreamlineSalesTaxWeb/ZipLookup/LookupByZipResults_Municipal.aspx?from=lookup&muniFIPS=18000&countyFIPS=049 (I used the 43204 Zip Code) Now I'm going back to my vacation, I look forward to reading this come Sunday or Monday! Discuss! EDIT: We also aren't factoring in the fact that the higher tax brackets have better accountants. Meaning that a larger portion of those taxes aren't paid, where as in lower tax brackets that doesn't happen as much. Furthermore, we aren't factoring in other taxes that are paid on a regular basis (sales tax, gas tax, federal fees, etc), which would push everyones amounts paid in taxes even higher. What has saved us all, has been that the "pie" has gotten increasingly larger over the years. a half-formed idea of mine is that in reality, our share has actually dwindled as compared to a hundred years ago, but the pie itself is so large, we're taking home more money (I don't have any research/sources for that, again it's just a thought. Don't jump all over it, people) than individuals were a hundred years ago (maybe, not factoring inflation)

Sure. It will take me a few days to pull everything together as I'm going out of town for the weekend. Next week work?

I believe it's the combination of the two in a few specific setups that are trademarked.

Interesting that you only focused on federal taxes,where you are correct it is only a 4% raise (in a rather large 24pt font). But again, factoring in all the additional deductions, and other taxes (which we should, since its money out of my pocket). Combined with many states and municipalities raising taxes to help offset budget deficits (in addition to slashing services) That's a serious dent in my take home pay. But hey, it is what it is. And I'm hardly fear mongering or "OMG Socialism"-ing, unless of course, things like math and big picture thinking are fear mongering...

Funny you should mention that. The Senate votes on the budget, and for the last two years of Bush' presidency it was a Democrat controlled senate, of which President Obama was a voting member. So in reality. Obama inherited his own mess... I wonder how it feels to sleep in the bed you made?

I'll take a stab at it. PM me the details/ideas and a good time to get my hand job. It's going to be a dry one right? The drier it is the less gay it is I always say.

^ It's funny because it's true. Also, technician and any of the degree requirements go together. "Technician, MA in Engineering Required" = We know you're desperate, we know you can't find any job. We're going to pay you in peanuts. Literally peanuts. Another fun motorcycle/automotive one: "Project" = I hacked everything to pieces with a machete, the library doesn't have a Haynes manual for it, and duct tape wasn't structurally strong enough to hold the frame together. You're going to need a strong life insurance policy if you buy this one. "Slight Damage" = Ten gallons of bondo is hiding under that bit of rash/dimple/warping.

Make sure to click the link towards the bottom of the page

To give a little more credence to the thread title: If/when the Bush tax cuts expire, when state and local taxes are factored into the equation, certain regions of the country will have tax rates north of 50%. With a minimum wage job of $7.50 an hour, you actually get to bring home $3.75. Basically that's $120 a week, or roughly $500 a month. Hope you like Aldi's macaroni, and government cheese.

You're probably right but I've learned: Rich, stupid people realize on some level that they're stupid and hire incredibly smart lawyers and accountants.

http://www.chopcult.com/news/articles/fashion-fallout.html Fun things to note if you're under 30: 47% live with their parents 69% admit to having "been with a girl" fewer than 5 times in their life Fun things if you're over 30: 61% ride fewer than 100 miles per month 54% own matching "biker-themed" apparel with their spouse

"Slight rust" = Touch it and the bike will disintegrate. "Carb Issues" = Two of the carbs exploded, one is gone, the other one needs a rebuild kit that costs more than the bike did originally. "Harley" = overpriced and abused. My law practice isn't doing as well "Wow! L@@K" = It's a Ninja 250! Exactly like the six thousand other Ninja 250s. "Classic" = Also means: " I saw an article about this bike once, so I'm now asking more money than KBB recommends as prudent." "Salvage Bike" = This thing hit the median on 270 North going about 200mph. After we cleaned the bits of brain matter off, we used two trucks and a logging chain to barely straighten the frame out. I'd also like to expand into the jobs category: "No experience required" = Shitty, entry level job "Will train" = See above "Entry level marketing"= Door to door sales "Partners with Fortune 500 company" = Door to door sales "Progressive Non-profit" = Door to door fundraising "Models Needed" = porn "Actresses needed for film" = porn "Independent film needs cast" = artsy porn. "Customer Service Rep" = Collections agency. You'll either quit or commit suicide in a week "Fast paced environment" = We can't afford to hire ten people, so we're hiring one. "Change America!" = Work for an aspiring politician. Most likely crooked. See "Progressive Non-Profit" "Warehouse Help" = Slave Labor.

When did Czechoslovakia cease to exist?

That's the Bimota Tesi. You can find them on this list http://www.bimotaamerica.com/dealers.html I've heard it comes in at about $17899 or so according to these guys http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2008models/2008models-Bimota-TESI3D.htm

I'm not afraid of it, I just didn't know how it worked. All the photos I saw it looked like all the rods were attached to brackets around the wheel. I thought the wheel was effectively locked into place.

The board of directors probably hedged their investments against this loss, meaning they made money on it either way. Worse part is that hedge funds are private investments, meaning they don't have to fully disclose all the details publicly. So we'll never really know what all the specifics of the deals are. They wouldn't have done something this stupid publicly, if they weren't making money privately.