Are there seriously any Slashdot readers who see ads on the internet? By a combination of hosts files, AdBlock Plus, Keep MORE Opt Outs, Ghostery and some other tools I can't remember the last time I saw an ad on the internet.
Still though I strongly support your tip. I use that feature myself and it still helps with, for instance, auto-play videos and other annoying things.
I do complain about exactly that. All taxpaying entities should be taxed the same way -- same rates, same deductions. I prefer no deductions at all and when I say that I specifically mean the business expense deduction should be the first to go.
If I earn forty billion dollars, and if Apple earns forty billion dollars, then our tax bills should be the same.
It's easy. Just tax gross, like we do with human beings. Why would we allow the business expense deduction? It's ridiculous.
I always hear "BUT COMANIES WOULD DIE THEY CAN'T PAY TAX ON GROSS!1!!!1!" and that is nonsense. Humans pay on gross, we just shift around the earnings and payouts to make it work. If we tax businesses on gross two things would happen. First, we'd be taxing much more of the economy than we do today, so overall rates would be much lower, so companies wouldn't be paying today's 26% on every dollar they receive. Second, prices and wages would shift around to make sense under the new scheme.
We should do this not all at once, but phased in over 20 years. Every year, 5% more of gross proceeds would be taxable. The transition would be expected and smooth and the market would take care of it.
Without the B.E.D., rich people would not have the ability to hide money using legal fictions ("companies").
No need to do that. They just need to revert to the iTunes from -- gosh when was it -- like 2008 or 2009. It was a while ago now but there was a period of time when iTunes was pretty good. Now it's a shitshow. I can't believe how bad it's gotten and STAYED bad for years and years now.
I abandoned iTunes for podcasts, now I use Feedly+BeyondPod on my phone for podcasts. I use an Android app for syncing music and another one for playing music on my phone. When I sit in front of my old Mac, though, I still use iTunes, and it hurts. In fact a lot of things about the Mac hurts these days.
"Too few of them have any auto-correct features either."
Let me give a plug for Humanism which I don't personally consider a religion (because it makes no supernatural claims) but it is legally registered as a religious organization and explicitly states that moral truths evolve over time and can be 'discovered' in the same way that scientific facts can be discovered.
I think it would go to the definition of vote. My dictionary actually includes a "choice between two or more options" in the definition. Other definitions might not be so specific, but when Iraq went to the polls and "elected" Hussein, the only person on the ballot, I don't consider that to be "voting". It wouldn't count under what I meant but if you think that form of 'voting' is the same as 'voting' in places that you agree are real democracies, that is okay but I wonder how you manage to categorize anything in your mind.
Yeah me neither so I'm not going to respond to him anymore. I don't have any idea what the rejoinder "it's a republic not a democracy!" means. It's nonsense. Republics are democracies. When challenged on that point he retorts "but the country has problems!" as if that is germane. I have no idea what he's talking about.
We vote, we count votes, and the person who gets the most votes takes office (with rare exceptions like Gore in 2000 when Gore got more votes in Florida). That's democracy. Other critiques might be valid but they don't change the validity of our democracy.
Right. The United States is a constitutional republic, which is a form of democracy, and the Soviet Union and Baathist Iraq were "constitutional republics" which we both put in quotes because they were fake democracies.
Oh shit! Because I was led astray by poor googling.
I stand by my statement. I'll bet that guy a hundred dollars that Californians don't get tickets for putting groceries in their pickup trucks. That is total nonsense.
"The fact is that driving for Uber and driving friends around has zero actual difference in terms of external risk or ability."
I'm going to speak slowly so that you won't miss this. Pay attention.
When you pay for something you have a heightened reasonable expectation of quality.
Phew. Did you get all the way through that? When you cook for yourself you can use tainted beef, but when you sell food to other people they have a reasonable expectation, backed by law, that you won't use tainted beef. You can be a jackass crazy driver on the road but when you sell rides to other people they have a reasonable expectation, backed by law, that you will be competent.
"Why do I need a commercial license tags for that again?"
You JUST got done saying that you use your car more and differently because you use it for commercial services. I think you can answer this weak rhetorical question on your own.
"Why is is so different when it's someone I don't know at the start?"
It's hard to believe that you have thought this through. Do you oppose cleanliness standards for restaurants because Johnny Law doesn't come inspect the kitchen in your home? Can you fathom why skyscrapers are required to have sprinklers and marked exits but your shed is not? I feel like your post is subtle trolling but it's just too subtle. Forgive me if I bit on bait.
"what's to stop an insurance company from working with the ride share companies to offer up commercial coverage to anyone driving using the company's ride share app? "
I'm not positive about this, but probably the law.
We don't have to imagine what it would be like to have unlicensed barbers, we can just look at the world as it existed prior to the licensing requirements. You'd go in for a shave and walk out with a staph infection. You'd go in for a haircut and walk out with head lice.
So, stop imagining. If you prefer staph infections and head lice to the requirement that people in control of public health (which includes barbers) complete a half-day training on basic sanitation methods, then you can go vote for that. I won't be voting with you.
Your whole story boils down to "Pickup trucks are usually used for business and the State of California knows it so that is the default. You can license a pickup in a non-business way if you want to, though, by checking a checkbox."
Yeah. So what's the problem?
This is ridiculous: "subject to being issued a very pricey ticket if you are ever caught carrying anything in the truck bed - even if it's personal belongings or groceries". I looked it up and I couldn't even find cranks complaining about that much less reasonable people.
In other news, UK Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed to put the genie back in the bottle. On the way to do that, he's going to shut the barn door and go looking for his horse.
Fair enough. Freedom of speech can be difficult, and the edges of the right can be difficult to balance. In my opinion, America hits the balance almost perfectly. Not exactly perfect, but as close as anyone could reasonably expect in a complicated world. Listening to asshats spouting hate is near the edge of the right, but in my opinion is inside it. Putting out fatwa's on people heads -- and there was a fatwa against the Charlie Hebdo editors' -- is outside the edge of the right, in my opinion.
"If I didn't, then I couldn't support Charlie Hebdo et al to mock islam"
I don't know why you see it that way. I don't support the right of people to advocate in specific terms for the extrajudicial death and destruction of... well of anybody. I do support the right of people to poke fun at things they find silly or dumb. What's the contradiction?
Slashdot Mirror
Thank you. I will switch in Firefox immediately. What should I use for Crome (which doesn't have Adblock Edge)?
Are there seriously any Slashdot readers who see ads on the internet? By a combination of hosts files, AdBlock Plus, Keep MORE Opt Outs, Ghostery and some other tools I can't remember the last time I saw an ad on the internet.
Still though I strongly support your tip. I use that feature myself and it still helps with, for instance, auto-play videos and other annoying things.
"use Windows. You'll have far less issues and less headaches"
Obvious troll!
I do complain about exactly that. All taxpaying entities should be taxed the same way -- same rates, same deductions. I prefer no deductions at all and when I say that I specifically mean the business expense deduction should be the first to go.
If I earn forty billion dollars, and if Apple earns forty billion dollars, then our tax bills should be the same.
It's easy. Just tax gross, like we do with human beings. Why would we allow the business expense deduction? It's ridiculous.
I always hear "BUT COMANIES WOULD DIE THEY CAN'T PAY TAX ON GROSS!1!!!1!" and that is nonsense. Humans pay on gross, we just shift around the earnings and payouts to make it work. If we tax businesses on gross two things would happen. First, we'd be taxing much more of the economy than we do today, so overall rates would be much lower, so companies wouldn't be paying today's 26% on every dollar they receive. Second, prices and wages would shift around to make sense under the new scheme.
We should do this not all at once, but phased in over 20 years. Every year, 5% more of gross proceeds would be taxable. The transition would be expected and smooth and the market would take care of it.
Without the B.E.D., rich people would not have the ability to hide money using legal fictions ("companies").
No need to do that. They just need to revert to the iTunes from -- gosh when was it -- like 2008 or 2009. It was a while ago now but there was a period of time when iTunes was pretty good. Now it's a shitshow. I can't believe how bad it's gotten and STAYED bad for years and years now.
I abandoned iTunes for podcasts, now I use Feedly+BeyondPod on my phone for podcasts. I use an Android app for syncing music and another one for playing music on my phone. When I sit in front of my old Mac, though, I still use iTunes, and it hurts. In fact a lot of things about the Mac hurts these days.
"Too few of them have any auto-correct features either."
Let me give a plug for Humanism which I don't personally consider a religion (because it makes no supernatural claims) but it is legally registered as a religious organization and explicitly states that moral truths evolve over time and can be 'discovered' in the same way that scientific facts can be discovered.
I think it would go to the definition of vote. My dictionary actually includes a "choice between two or more options" in the definition. Other definitions might not be so specific, but when Iraq went to the polls and "elected" Hussein, the only person on the ballot, I don't consider that to be "voting". It wouldn't count under what I meant but if you think that form of 'voting' is the same as 'voting' in places that you agree are real democracies, that is okay but I wonder how you manage to categorize anything in your mind.
Yeah me neither so I'm not going to respond to him anymore. I don't have any idea what the rejoinder "it's a republic not a democracy!" means. It's nonsense. Republics are democracies. When challenged on that point he retorts "but the country has problems!" as if that is germane. I have no idea what he's talking about.
"Also, the watchmen don't like being watched? Tough shit."
Exactly. Google should word it more politically but I hope "No, fuck you" is an accurate paraphrase of their response.
We vote, we count votes, and the person who gets the most votes takes office (with rare exceptions like Gore in 2000 when Gore got more votes in Florida). That's democracy. Other critiques might be valid but they don't change the validity of our democracy.
Right. The United States is a constitutional republic, which is a form of democracy, and the Soviet Union and Baathist Iraq were "constitutional republics" which we both put in quotes because they were fake democracies.
Oh shit! Because I was led astray by poor googling.
I stand by my statement. I'll bet that guy a hundred dollars that Californians don't get tickets for putting groceries in their pickup trucks. That is total nonsense.
Yes, and constitutional republics are democracies, which makes your reply true but unnecessary.
Wow do you think so? That's an interesting claim, one I've never considered. Tell me more.
"The fact is that driving for Uber and driving friends around has zero actual difference in terms of external risk or ability."
I'm going to speak slowly so that you won't miss this. Pay attention.
When you pay for something you have a heightened reasonable expectation of quality.
Phew. Did you get all the way through that? When you cook for yourself you can use tainted beef, but when you sell food to other people they have a reasonable expectation, backed by law, that you won't use tainted beef. You can be a jackass crazy driver on the road but when you sell rides to other people they have a reasonable expectation, backed by law, that you will be competent.
"Why do I need a commercial license tags for that again?"
You JUST got done saying that you use your car more and differently because you use it for commercial services. I think you can answer this weak rhetorical question on your own.
"Why is is so different when it's someone I don't know at the start?"
It's hard to believe that you have thought this through. Do you oppose cleanliness standards for restaurants because Johnny Law doesn't come inspect the kitchen in your home? Can you fathom why skyscrapers are required to have sprinklers and marked exits but your shed is not? I feel like your post is subtle trolling but it's just too subtle. Forgive me if I bit on bait.
"what's to stop an insurance company from working with the ride share companies to offer up commercial coverage to anyone driving using the company's ride share app? "
I'm not positive about this, but probably the law.
We don't have to imagine what it would be like to have unlicensed barbers, we can just look at the world as it existed prior to the licensing requirements. You'd go in for a shave and walk out with a staph infection. You'd go in for a haircut and walk out with head lice.
So, stop imagining. If you prefer staph infections and head lice to the requirement that people in control of public health (which includes barbers) complete a half-day training on basic sanitation methods, then you can go vote for that. I won't be voting with you.
Your whole story boils down to "Pickup trucks are usually used for business and the State of California knows it so that is the default. You can license a pickup in a non-business way if you want to, though, by checking a checkbox."
Yeah. So what's the problem?
This is ridiculous: "subject to being issued a very pricey ticket if you are ever caught carrying anything in the truck bed - even if it's personal belongings or groceries". I looked it up and I couldn't even find cranks complaining about that much less reasonable people.
Here's the DMV page: http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Vehicle/NonCommercial.htm. Big spoiler here: there's nothing about ticketing you for getting groceries.
"I once drove some of my daughter's friends home from a birthday party. Should I have had to have a commercial driver's license?"
Yes, of course you should.
I assume that the little girls paid you, of course, because if not then then your comment is curiously irrelevant.
In other news, UK Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed to put the genie back in the bottle. On the way to do that, he's going to shut the barn door and go looking for his horse.
Weed is the low-hanging fruit. It is a vast outlier in terms of both safety and popularity. All arguments are in favor of legalizing weed.
Other drugs are not as safe and not as popular but I still think there is a strong argument for some kind of stepped legalization of most drugs.
Fair enough. Freedom of speech can be difficult, and the edges of the right can be difficult to balance. In my opinion, America hits the balance almost perfectly. Not exactly perfect, but as close as anyone could reasonably expect in a complicated world. Listening to asshats spouting hate is near the edge of the right, but in my opinion is inside it. Putting out fatwa's on people heads -- and there was a fatwa against the Charlie Hebdo editors' -- is outside the edge of the right, in my opinion.
"If I didn't, then I couldn't support Charlie Hebdo et al to mock islam"
I don't know why you see it that way. I don't support the right of people to advocate in specific terms for the extrajudicial death and destruction of... well of anybody. I do support the right of people to poke fun at things they find silly or dumb. What's the contradiction?