Amazon didn't pay taxes this year dispite profits because it invested excessively in prior years, and is still writing down that deficit. If you run a business, and it takes many years and a lot of money to R&D, engineer, construct, and operate your business, you get to carry over the red ink from one tax year to another. Think about massive operations like an Oil Refinery, or power station, or a chip fabrication facility that take YEARS to construct. The total cost is very high. The losses in the construction tax years are carried over into the profit tax years until the balance is 0.
Amazon didn't actually pay taxes this year because their deficit was so high from all the expansion they have done. Many tax policies are very short sighted, but this one I whole-heatedly agree with because it encourages investment in long-term projects and is far-sighted in contrast to most other tax policies. Their tax-deference balance is significantly less now, and will soon start to pay taxes on profits. This is the same situation as GE and a lot of the other funny "0% tax rate" fake-news stories you read about. I say fake-news because every reporter writing about tax rates on corporations is smart enough to know that not all investment cycles fit into a tax year.
What I do have a problem with is these large companies working with the local governments to get tax-breaks. That in my opinion should be illegal. It is a subsidy. Instead the corporations should be forced to ask for tax rate changes so all companies get the same rates. Small competitors are effectively at a disadvantage because they don't enjoy the same tax breaks as the large companies can negotiate for. It makes for an un-fair playing field.
I have a business which process most purchases through credit cards a and I can tell you, it is almost impossible to determine at time of purchase what the fees will actually be. There are interchange fees and processing fees and they vary not only between Amex and Visa, but also what type of rewards program the card uses, and what bank the card is issued by. Amex cards issued by banks like a Citi Amex cards are billed different than Amex cards alone.
The Chinese have the political will to modernize their country, and are relatively patriotic, as a byproduct of their propaganda, and information control. We are more individualistic and put ourselves above the needs of everyone else.
Reminds me of a Milton Friedman quote: "I believe the government spends too much money. We should spend less money on everyone else, and spend more on me - Everyone"
"In January 2017, the California Legislative Analyst’s Office said by several measures California is, indeed, a donor state, but just barely. It receives $0.99 in federal expenditures per dollar of taxes paid"
So, it's about dead even. Since California based companies and individuals have written off so many state and local taxes on their federal income tax returns for so long, they effectively short out the federal government in favor of state and local taxes. Since the TCJA, there has been a cap on the SALT (state and local taxes) deductions you can make. So it will likely change in the future.
Before TCJA, if you made $100,000 a year and you lived in California, you paid to Uncle Sam less than if you made $100,000 a year and lived in Kentucky (since Kentucky had lower state and local taxes). In fact, California is the highest SALT state, so it paid the lowest to Uncle Sam, all else being equal.
Now, it's closer to normal.
But don't let \ stupid little things like facts keep you from getting angry.
Ineptocracy (in-ep-toc'-ra-cy) - a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.
Why invent a digital currency with little transaction costs which requires exchanges to operate is my question? Why not engineer the coins to be Uber-divisible or have a million more of them so your lowest denomination is of so little value, it can be used in goods-exchange, like the penny?
No. Having a legal right to a name only allows you to use the name. There are many protections products have which do not require the name to violate. These are design patents, trademarks, and copyrights.
Samsung probably reached out to who they thought was the legitimate "Supreme", and negotiated a deal with the counterfeit without realizing it. Counterfeits are getting pretty good these days.
What I dont get is how VPN apps are meant to work? iOS has its own VPN connection tool right there in settings. In China, does that VPN option go away?
Anyone could spin up a micro instance in any AWS (or any other cloud) and VPN their way anywhere.
Maybe I am ill-informed, but I use that all the time when traveling internationally.
Just incase you want to learn more about it, load the developer console in chrome (right-click: inspect element), in the console, type sensors. Select "Show Sensors". The sensors drawer shows up on the bottom. In GeoLocation, enter the geo-location for whatever market you want to load. NY is 40.730610, -73.935242.
No. Keeping user-data private is probably wining more hardware sales for them than the revenue garnered by user-data. Anyone who values their privacy at all goes Apple. It's not even up for debate with them. Tim does a great job there. Apple is not in the business of selling user data or access to anything by anyone not the user. Their balance sheet reflects that.
You can not name another tech product with similar success that has fared better security-wise than Apple has. Windows security is a joke, barely held together by daily updates that fix what the previous update broke. Android is a walking advertiser's dream. Linux has yet to become meaningful on the desktop.
Apple at least are still updating to current code-base phones from 5 years ago. Are there bugs? Yes. Do they fix them? Yes. At least you aren't abandoned by the carrier, the manufacturer, and google all deciding it's time for you to get an update.
You know by paying more, you are economically saying "I am willing to pay more for video content, you should raise my rates." to your cable co.
Personally, I prefer to subscribe to HBO Now, Netflix, and other commercial free services. I hate commercials. If I want to watch something that isn't on those services, I use iTunes to rent or purchase it (if its something others will want to watch or something I prefer to have).
Everything is in relatively great quality, commercial free, and on demand. Oh, and on all my TVs via Apple TVs (no more multi-tv costs, no more DVR costs) and I can stream them to my mobile devices and download them for offline viewing.
The only thing I was missing out on was sports / major news events, but recently I decided to take advantage of a Direct TV Now offer from my cell company, and that works too. It just doesn't work on the Apple TV universal search, but at $35/month, I can't complain. This is all much cheaper Than my old $150/month cable bill that included commercials.
You can't use the phone's payment system without FaceID / TouchID or the pin. These services are 2fa. Something you have (the phone) and something you are (fingerprint / face) or something you know (pin).
That is a terrible reason. I'm not saying you are wrong, just commenting on that as justification for keeping potentially life-saving drugs off the market. There can be a cost to safety where the cost outweighs the benefit.
I understand the ethical concerns, but to say "because it doesn't follow the scientific method" is horse shit. You'll have to try again. For all those who tried something that didn't work, no one told them "what you are trying is unethical".
This guy tried some experiment to test a hypothesis. So long as he conducted his experiments following the scientific method (something even non-scientists are taught in the 6th grade), then you can't chastise him on "scientific" grounds.
Furthermore, if he didn't get consent of the parents (mother?), then sure. You can't experiment on people without consent. IF that was the case, I agree with you. It is unethical. Assuming for the moment, that the participants were informed and consented, there is nothing wrong with what he is doing.
Since when is science not achieved though the scientific method? Pose a question. Make a hypothesis. Conduct an experiment to test your hypothesis. Analyze your results. Conclude.
What he did is unethical because "the science isn't there yet"? The science will never be there unless we learn through the scientific method.
Unethical? I'm not so sure. What if gene editing is the only way we come up with to defeat some of the worst diseases in humanity? Cancer, ALS, Diabetes, heart disease. Was he wreckless? Sure. But is there a balance to be struck between the snails pace of government approved medical research Ana what he did? I think so.
How many lives would have been saved if we had less stringent rules in place for drug research? I read that the US caused tens of thousands of deaths because it hadn't approved beta-blockers for use in the public.
I'm all for safety for drugs reaching the public, but surely we can quicken the pace in the research field far before it becomes publically available?
Furthermore, you hire workers to build. Once you automate what they built, you lay off. Then you build something new, so you hire new people. Then you automate that, and lay off again. Tesla isn't a stable company. It is growing, really really fast. That's why there are going to be these spurts and corrections to their payroll.
Without the computer to actually launch the TLI-bound flights, they wouldn't have been close enough not to either slam into the moon or fly past it. Yes, things have gotten better now, but computers were still needed. That is especially true of launch and engineering the mighty Saturn V.
They really should release these e.coli into the wild, along with any other organisms they can infuse with XY nucleotides. I want to see what evolution does with it, just to see what happens!
As the developer, you are responsible for what you publish, no matter where you got it from, internet or otherwise. If what you download conflicts with your privacy statement (or other TOS), you should modify the code, or the TOS.
I said "If". You just submit the app. It is pretty simple. IF they rejected your app, they tell you why. If you feel they are wrong, appeal (you can). IF you still think they are wrong (or unreasonable for that matter), come here (and elsewhere) and tell us why you think so. Others have done so, and they have changed their ways on numerous occasions. Having a stated privacy statement sounds perfectly reasonable to me. Surely you already had one and just needed it online somewhere?
I talk like you feel like your code is so good it is beyond code review, and like you feel your ways are beyond reproach. IF that is the case, see above.
I would argue, yes. Incalculably. How can you disagree? Do you think without calculators we could have navigated to the heavens, built such precisely engineered structures, or raised an economy every bit as sophisticated, nuanced, and technical as we have today?
Calculators tell is what will fail, what will work. Everything from climate modeling to civil engineering and urban planning to metal design and bio-technology needed calculators far more fast and accurate than we could possibly hope to do in our minds. Computers have calculated Pi to millions of digits. I'm not sure what applications need that accuracy, but to more than we could by hand, sure. Aerospace, turbine designs, rocketry, circuitry, etc.. etc... etc...
You are looking at one end of the spectrum, not the entire gamut of human progress since we got a little machine to tell us what 2 + 2 really equals. Imagine how much more we could do if the understanding of those applications moved from years of learning software to just having to think about it?
The problem is, he hasn't weakened the country. We have a stronger economy, we are checking NoKo, China, and Iran. Oh, and illegals, he is struggling to fend them off, but no one disagrees that they drain our entitlement coffers. Every administration since Reagan has said so.
Just because someone disagrees with you, doesn't make them an idiot.
Slashdot Mirror
Just to make a few things clear:
Amazon didn't pay taxes this year dispite profits because it invested excessively in prior years, and is still writing down that deficit. If you run a business, and it takes many years and a lot of money to R&D, engineer, construct, and operate your business, you get to carry over the red ink from one tax year to another. Think about massive operations like an Oil Refinery, or power station, or a chip fabrication facility that take YEARS to construct. The total cost is very high. The losses in the construction tax years are carried over into the profit tax years until the balance is 0.
Amazon didn't actually pay taxes this year because their deficit was so high from all the expansion they have done. Many tax policies are very short sighted, but this one I whole-heatedly agree with because it encourages investment in long-term projects and is far-sighted in contrast to most other tax policies. Their tax-deference balance is significantly less now, and will soon start to pay taxes on profits. This is the same situation as GE and a lot of the other funny "0% tax rate" fake-news stories you read about. I say fake-news because every reporter writing about tax rates on corporations is smart enough to know that not all investment cycles fit into a tax year.
What I do have a problem with is these large companies working with the local governments to get tax-breaks. That in my opinion should be illegal. It is a subsidy. Instead the corporations should be forced to ask for tax rate changes so all companies get the same rates. Small competitors are effectively at a disadvantage because they don't enjoy the same tax breaks as the large companies can negotiate for. It makes for an un-fair playing field.
I have a business which process most purchases through credit cards a and I can tell you, it is almost impossible to determine at time of purchase what the fees will actually be. There are interchange fees and processing fees and they vary not only between Amex and Visa, but also what type of rewards program the card uses, and what bank the card is issued by. Amex cards issued by banks like a Citi Amex cards are billed different than Amex cards alone.
The Chinese have the political will to modernize their country, and are relatively patriotic, as a byproduct of their propaganda, and information control. We are more individualistic and put ourselves above the needs of everyone else.
Reminds me of a Milton Friedman quote: "I believe the government spends too much money. We should spend less money on everyone else, and spend more on me - Everyone"
"In January 2017, the California Legislative Analyst’s Office said by several measures California is, indeed, a donor state, but just barely. It receives $0.99 in federal expenditures per dollar of taxes paid"
So, it's about dead even. Since California based companies and individuals have written off so many state and local taxes on their federal income tax returns for so long, they effectively short out the federal government in favor of state and local taxes. Since the TCJA, there has been a cap on the SALT (state and local taxes) deductions you can make. So it will likely change in the future.
Before TCJA, if you made $100,000 a year and you lived in California, you paid to Uncle Sam less than if you made $100,000 a year and lived in Kentucky (since Kentucky had lower state and local taxes). In fact, California is the highest SALT state, so it paid the lowest to Uncle Sam, all else being equal.
Now, it's closer to normal.
But don't let \ stupid little things like facts keep you from getting angry.
Ineptocracy (in-ep-toc'-ra-cy) - a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.
Why invent a digital currency with little transaction costs which requires exchanges to operate is my question? Why not engineer the coins to be Uber-divisible or have a million more of them so your lowest denomination is of so little value, it can be used in goods-exchange, like the penny?
No. Having a legal right to a name only allows you to use the name. There are many protections products have which do not require the name to violate. These are design patents, trademarks, and copyrights.
Samsung probably reached out to who they thought was the legitimate "Supreme", and negotiated a deal with the counterfeit without realizing it. Counterfeits are getting pretty good these days.
It's ok. It happens.
What I dont get is how VPN apps are meant to work? iOS has its own VPN connection tool right there in settings. In China, does that VPN option go away?
Anyone could spin up a micro instance in any AWS (or any other cloud) and VPN their way anywhere.
Maybe I am ill-informed, but I use that all the time when traveling internationally.
Just incase you want to learn more about it, load the developer console in chrome (right-click: inspect element), in the console, type sensors. Select "Show Sensors". The sensors drawer shows up on the bottom. In GeoLocation, enter the geo-location for whatever market you want to load. NY is 40.730610, -73.935242.
No. Keeping user-data private is probably wining more hardware sales for them than the revenue garnered by user-data. Anyone who values their privacy at all goes Apple. It's not even up for debate with them. Tim does a great job there. Apple is not in the business of selling user data or access to anything by anyone not the user. Their balance sheet reflects that.
Not humanity, just the rest of the tech sector.
You can not name another tech product with similar success that has fared better security-wise than Apple has. Windows security is a joke, barely held together by daily updates that fix what the previous update broke. Android is a walking advertiser's dream. Linux has yet to become meaningful on the desktop.
Apple at least are still updating to current code-base phones from 5 years ago. Are there bugs? Yes. Do they fix them? Yes. At least you aren't abandoned by the carrier, the manufacturer, and google all deciding it's time for you to get an update.
Chromebooks maybe?
You know by paying more, you are economically saying "I am willing to pay more for video content, you should raise my rates." to your cable co.
Personally, I prefer to subscribe to HBO Now, Netflix, and other commercial free services. I hate commercials. If I want to watch something that isn't on those services, I use iTunes to rent or purchase it (if its something others will want to watch or something I prefer to have).
Everything is in relatively great quality, commercial free, and on demand. Oh, and on all my TVs via Apple TVs (no more multi-tv costs, no more DVR costs) and I can stream them to my mobile devices and download them for offline viewing.
The only thing I was missing out on was sports / major news events, but recently I decided to take advantage of a Direct TV Now offer from my cell company, and that works too. It just doesn't work on the Apple TV universal search, but at $35/month, I can't complain. This is all much cheaper Than my old $150/month cable bill that included commercials.
You can't use the phone's payment system without FaceID / TouchID or the pin. These services are 2fa. Something you have (the phone) and something you are (fingerprint / face) or something you know (pin).
That is a terrible reason. I'm not saying you are wrong, just commenting on that as justification for keeping potentially life-saving drugs off the market. There can be a cost to safety where the cost outweighs the benefit.
I understand the ethical concerns, but to say "because it doesn't follow the scientific method" is horse shit. You'll have to try again. For all those who tried something that didn't work, no one told them "what you are trying is unethical".
This guy tried some experiment to test a hypothesis. So long as he conducted his experiments following the scientific method (something even non-scientists are taught in the 6th grade), then you can't chastise him on "scientific" grounds.
Furthermore, if he didn't get consent of the parents (mother?), then sure. You can't experiment on people without consent. IF that was the case, I agree with you. It is unethical. Assuming for the moment, that the participants were informed and consented, there is nothing wrong with what he is doing.
Since when is science not achieved though the scientific method? Pose a question. Make a hypothesis. Conduct an experiment to test your hypothesis. Analyze your results. Conclude.
What he did is unethical because "the science isn't there yet"? The science will never be there unless we learn through the scientific method.
Unethical? I'm not so sure. What if gene editing is the only way we come up with to defeat some of the worst diseases in humanity? Cancer, ALS, Diabetes, heart disease. Was he wreckless? Sure. But is there a balance to be struck between the snails pace of government approved medical research Ana what he did? I think so.
How many lives would have been saved if we had less stringent rules in place for drug research? I read that the US caused tens of thousands of deaths because it hadn't approved beta-blockers for use in the public.
I'm all for safety for drugs reaching the public, but surely we can quicken the pace in the research field far before it becomes publically available?
Furthermore, you hire workers to build. Once you automate what they built, you lay off. Then you build something new, so you hire new people. Then you automate that, and lay off again. Tesla isn't a stable company. It is growing, really really fast. That's why there are going to be these spurts and corrections to their payroll.
Just to be clear, this is three times (three times as likely). Threefold is much greater. It is double, three times.
Without the computer to actually launch the TLI-bound flights, they wouldn't have been close enough not to either slam into the moon or fly past it. Yes, things have gotten better now, but computers were still needed. That is especially true of launch and engineering the mighty Saturn V.
They really should release these e.coli into the wild, along with any other organisms they can infuse with XY nucleotides. I want to see what evolution does with it, just to see what happens!
As the developer, you are responsible for what you publish, no matter where you got it from, internet or otherwise. If what you download conflicts with your privacy statement (or other TOS), you should modify the code, or the TOS.
I said "If". You just submit the app. It is pretty simple. IF they rejected your app, they tell you why. If you feel they are wrong, appeal (you can). IF you still think they are wrong (or unreasonable for that matter), come here (and elsewhere) and tell us why you think so. Others have done so, and they have changed their ways on numerous occasions. Having a stated privacy statement sounds perfectly reasonable to me. Surely you already had one and just needed it online somewhere?
I talk like you feel like your code is so good it is beyond code review, and like you feel your ways are beyond reproach. IF that is the case, see above.
I would argue, yes. Incalculably. How can you disagree? Do you think without calculators we could have navigated to the heavens, built such precisely engineered structures, or raised an economy every bit as sophisticated, nuanced, and technical as we have today?
Calculators tell is what will fail, what will work. Everything from climate modeling to civil engineering and urban planning to metal design and bio-technology needed calculators far more fast and accurate than we could possibly hope to do in our minds. Computers have calculated Pi to millions of digits. I'm not sure what applications need that accuracy, but to more than we could by hand, sure. Aerospace, turbine designs, rocketry, circuitry, etc.. etc... etc...
You are looking at one end of the spectrum, not the entire gamut of human progress since we got a little machine to tell us what 2 + 2 really equals. Imagine how much more we could do if the understanding of those applications moved from years of learning software to just having to think about it?
The problem is, he hasn't weakened the country. We have a stronger economy, we are checking NoKo, China, and Iran. Oh, and illegals, he is struggling to fend them off, but no one disagrees that they drain our entitlement coffers. Every administration since Reagan has said so.
Just because someone disagrees with you, doesn't make them an idiot.