Stupid me

[KTP]

Why does the government have to give anything at all away for free???

You want welfare, you agree to clean a stretch of the highway 5 times a month, or mow the grass for the city hall and library. Actually, if they are going to tax me to pay you for sitting on your butt, come mow my grass and clean my toilets while I am driving and working 10 hours a day.

[wnlbutterfly]

As soon as they said that govt was going to help out families with problem mortgages but they gave it to the banks I knew the money would never trickle down to the families (that was when Bush was in office). Then they say the banks were too big to fail. Excuse me but there are plenty of banks in the USA, even with all the money we gave them both of my banks were bought out and swallowed up by a bigger bank last year. There are suppose to be guidelines in place already to make sure a company isn't "too big", and who decides where that line is anyway?

I just heard that unemployment benefits have been extended here for another 82 weeks. Where on earth do they pull these numbers from? That is a YEAR and 7 months.

Remember when Clinton was going to get people off welfare? Job training, limit the weeks you could receive aide? We were actually poor back then and getting food stamps. We had to sign up, but never were we asked to do any training or otherwise (we were both attending college anyway). There were some good ideas but there are lobbist that scream that the poor was being targeted.

[Beppington]

I just heard that unemployment benefits have been extended here for another 82 weeks. Where on earth do they pull these numbers from? That is a YEAR and 7 months.

How many weeks are in your year? There are 52 in mine!

Sorry to nitpick ...

[GrimJack]

I keep hearing about all the government money flyin' all around, & of course none to me ... not that I need it, want it or expect it, as I've been foolish enough to live within my means, but .... Just read a Yahoooo article declaring tax breaks for almost everyone .... but not me:

(snip)

Every d@mn govt cash thing misses me, & it's because I wasn't dumb enough to have done the stupid things that are causing the govt to want to "help" those that did. (I'm not saying getting married is dumb, BTW)

I know I'm supposed to bask in the satisfaction that I don't need no stinkin' govt $ to live, but that basking gets old sometimes.

That is all, I am done complaining now.

Actually your paychecks were just a little bit bigger last year due to the 'making work pay' tax credit/break - so all was not lost (unless you made more than $95,000, then oops).

[Beppington]

Actually your paychecks were just a little bit bigger last year due to the 'making work pay' tax credit/break - so all was not lost (unless you made more than $95,000, then oops).

$133,504.63

So I get to be "penalized" compared to others, because last year I consciously chose to work long days & late nights, drive until 2 am about 8 times for business meetings, etc.

Seems fair to me.



Edit: If I had know that $95K figure, I could've worked 28.84% less and gotten the 'making work pay' tax credit/break.

[wnlbutterfly]

Beppinton, there are 52 weeks in my year also.

82 weeks extension....1 year is 52 weeks leaving 30 weeks left over. I figured 4 weeks in a month (I know that is averaging), so that is 7 months and 2 weeks more.....

1 year 7 months and 2 weeks

Sorry I forgot about those 2 weeks....or is your math a little different?

[wnlbutterfly]

I do understand the theme of your post, in that all the tax credits are for those making less than you.

I just wanted to point out that at the tax office when I have clients that start in on the "but my co--worker got a bigger refund" I sometimes have to tell them that they too could get a bigger refund if they lived on less money throughout the year. Just something to remember.

[ceejay74]

$133,504.63

So I get to be "penalized" compared to others, because last year I consciously chose to work long days & late nights, drive until 2 am about 8 times for business meetings, etc.

Seems fair to me.



Edit: If I had know that $95K figure, I could've worked 28.84% less and gotten the 'making work pay' tax credit/break.

Just so you know, I've come across people who live in trailer parks and work two nearly full-time jobs. I also know people who work 9-5 and are able to afford a 5-bedroom weekend home. So the number of hours don't necessarily reflect the paycheck in everyone's case.

But you bring up an interesting point in your own life: The hours really do reflect the pay. So if you wanted to take life a little easier for less money, you could. I don't think the tax credits would make up for the pay cut, but maybe it would be worth it to have some more time to yourself.

[shibabigk]

Might not have as high of an earning potential (I would need to see some facts to support that), but you get a free edcuation in Germany, (well to be honest average tutition is 500 euros per semester which includes a six month pass for public transportation), healthcare, maternity and fraternity leave, and a pension. If you go to trade school you get paid while going to school. So while you might make less you also get more. Just a thought.

[Beppington]

Just so you know, I've come across people who live in trailer parks and work two nearly full-time jobs. I also know people who work 9-5 and are able to afford a 5-bedroom weekend home. So the number of hours don't necessarily reflect the paycheck in everyone's case.

But you bring up an interesting point in your own life: The hours really do reflect the pay. So if you wanted to take life a little easier for less money, you could. I don't think the tax credits would make up for the pay cut, but maybe it would be worth it to have some more time to yourself.

First, certainly I understand that people make different hourly wages.

Second: OK, I was lucky enough that my income happened to go right thru the $95K limit all the way to $133K, so instead let me re-state it in this hypothetical way:

Let's say I made $95,100

So again I get to be "penalized" compared to others, because last year I consciously chose to work long days & late nights, drive until 2 am about 8 times for business meetings, etc. ... & just barely earned too much to get the 'making work pay' tax credit/break.

Seems fair to me.

If I had know that $95K figure, I could've worked 0.11% less and gotten the 'making work pay' tax credit/break.

[GrimJack]

Sorry, my first response was not as clear as it could have been. The $95,000 was not a complete cutoff, it is where the sliding scale starts; a single person gets $400 and at the 95k, the amount is adjusted to some vanishing point - there is a schedule M worksheet for anyone who is interested.

[Mike75]

Saying some business are "too big to fail" is promoting dependence and failure and rewarding them. They should have not done bailouts and let the businesses fail. Why is some business somehow worthy of more rights to the govt trough than another? A poor business should fail.

I completely agree. If big businesses are too big to fail, shouldn't smaller businesses be too small to fail considering if a small business fails then the owners don't even have that huge of personal finance to take care of their family.

[cschin4]

shouldn't smaller businesses be too small to fail considering if a small business fails then the owners don't even have that huge of personal finance to take care of their family

THey don't have deep pockets to make large political contributions.

[geojen]

I always get a kick out of the "blame the poor people" argument. Poor people get handouts, poor people are lazy, get off their butts, and on and on. Excuse me, but our economic system depends on those poor people to function. We need very poor people, kinda poor people, working class people, etc because they make up a very important part of the economy. They do the low-skill, low-paying jobs that need to be done. We need janitors and tolll booth operators and blueberry pickers (which is what I wanted to be when I grew up when I was 4, I know, weird) etc, and the American public is not willing to pay a lot of money for these professions. So why shouldn't they get tax breaks? We need them more than they need us.

Another thing to consider is this: yes, some poor people take advantage of the system. So do rich people. At the very least, if someone on welfare is just collecting money, they have to be spending it on something. They have to eat, live somewhere, buy clothing, etc. So at least that money is being pumped back into the economic system in some way.

Besides, living in a civilization, a society, really does mean that sometimes we have to put aside what we each think is fair and do what is best for society at large. Unfortunately, that means even taking care of dead beats if necessary if it gets the working poor the help they need to stay functioning members of society.

[mom-from-missouri]

Bepp, you seem to bring politics with you like a bad smell. It's not the government's fault you consider yourself stoopid.

Personally, I insulated my basement, I'm getting a tax credit. I installed a storm door, I'm getting a tax credit. I bought an energy efficient freezer, I'm getting a tax credit. I bought a new car, I'm getting a tax deduction for the sales tax. Oh, and I have a job, so I'm paying less withholding.

So I'm employing contractors, buying construction materials, durable goods, saving energy, holding a job, and paying less taxes as an incentive for the contribution I'm making.

And you're complaining you're not getting free money?

Credit for a storm door?????? I just heard on a live radio program this morning that storm doors didn't count????? Is this on your state or federal? Is this on your home you live in or a rental???