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Retailers Deploy Databases Against Customers
A couple of people submitted this piece about retailers using databases to crack down on sub-optimal customers, such as those who return too many purchases to the store. Also has a few tidbits about other database blacklists that are available to companies. Customers avoid intrusive practices; although this story was written by the Washington Post and I have the URL to the original story available, I declined to link to washingtonpost.com because of their intrusive registration.
So are all those NYT stories going to be blacklisted from slashdot just because a registration is needed?
Open Source Java Web Forum with LDAP authentication
who needs to register when you use firefox + bugmenot
You mean, kind of like the Alternative Minimum Tax in the US? The net of deductions and income amounts for the AMT was greatly increased in the tax bill pushed by the Bushites a couple of years ago.
The AMT was set up to catch the top 0.x% of people in the US who can work the system to have no income tax on millions of dollars of income. Now, if you declare enough deductions (say, child care, or the big new deduction for your children that was a part of it), and you make more than $50,000, you could get sucked into it as well. AMT is taxed at the top tax rate regardless of your actual income.
"Hey, I'm super-rich, and I hate the fucking AMT, so, George, for this $100,000 election check, will you either get rid of it or make more of the untermenschen qualify for it as well?"
Personally I think the whole tax situation is way out of hand. Things like AMT just make it worse. I really believe we should move to a pure flat 10% tax. No exceptions no deductions. Yes, it would simplify things such that a lot of tax lawyers and CPA's would be thrown out of work. But it would be fairer that what is in place now.
But the likely hood of anything like this getting passed is infintesimal at best. To many special interest groups lobbying to protect their little deduction. Someone would have to buy a lot of congress critters to get a flat tax passed.
What is amazing is that if there was such a flat tax there would actually be more insentive to make more money there by increasing the taxable income to the government. As it is now once a person hits a threshold of a few hundred thousand they start spending money on CPAs and lawyers to find ways to hide their money from the government so they don't pay so much in taxes.
I think this is partially why the Democrats have slowly been loosing control. They typically seem to like the idea of tax everyone since they seem to think they know better how to spend your money than you do. This idea that it is somehow more fair to tax people that make more money is silly. They should all be taxed at the same rate. That is fair.