> Also this test does not measure actual empathy (as in, what you do for your > neighbour -- where current generations are in fact better than their elders)
> If you work as wait staff or pizza delivery or , you are supposed to report > your cash tips.
Actually, the IRS will impute an amount of tip income based on your wages and the type of restaurant. You will be required by law to pay income tax on that amount regardless of how much you actually received. The only way out is for the restaurant to have a strictly-enforced no-tips policy.
> So I literally could sell a million dollars of goods over the next year and > report $0 income. That's not to say I didn't take a trip to Europe and eat > out every day. And that new pickup in the driveway is a business vehicle. > The business, on paper, would barely be breaking even, but I'd be enjoying > life.
Until they audit you, disallow all your "expenses" for the last five years, bankrupt you with penalties, and prosecute you for tax evasion.
In other words, it doesn't work that way. Whoever has been advising you is a liar or a fool. Yes, you can push the limits a little bit. Get caught at that and all it will cost you is lawyer and accountant fees and some fines. Push it as hard as you propose, though, and you could end up in prison.
It doesn't, of course. It screws someone much more powerful: the enormous bureaucracy and industry that has grown up around the present insanely complex and capricious system. Even more important, it takes away the power of politicians to reward interest groups and punish scapegoats with special deductions, exemptions, and punitive taxes. It also makes it impossible to conceal tax increases.
> The very poor don't usually put a significant part of their income towards > savings, while the very wealthy do.
Impose a flat rate tax on income with a 100% deduction for savings and a very, very large standard deduction such that the poor pay no tax at all (including no social security tax). There should be no other deductions, exemptions, or credits. Those who can afford to save will be given a strong incentive to do so thereby increasing investment (and future tax revenues) while relieving the poor of the burden of taxation.
> With an entirely spending-based tax system, the poor pay that tax on the > majority of their income, while the wealthy pay it on relatively little.
Money the "wealthy" invest is not spent on themselves: it is invested to the benefit of society. They do this, of course, in the expectation that it will appreciate, providing them with more to spend (and therefor pay taxes on) in the future.
> It's more desirable that people earning very little pay no taxes, because > that comes out of their necessities, while those with excess pay the taxes > in proportion to what portion of their income is beyond what they need to > survive.
Then how do you justify the explicitly regressive social security tax? Or sales taxes? Or any of the "excise" taxes? Or import duties? Or license fees?
All businesses no matter how large or how small or informal will have to file a 1099 for every entity to which they pay more than $600 in payments for goods and/or services in a year. This includes everything: the part-time plumber, your landlord, the power company, Office Max, WalMart, etc. You are going to have to get Best Buy's TIN if you purchase a server from them. The average USA small business will need to file about 600 every year.
> In your corporate espionage scenario, that's my own data the spy has got. If > I'm looking at my own data, no foul. This is random Web access data from > the general public.
Which, to the government, is their own data.
Come on. Don't you believe in government of the people?
Everyone always lies about it. However, unlike sex, there is no way even in principle to determine the truth. No study of what people believe tells you anything about what they believe. It tells you only what they think they should say about what they believe. This can be useful information, but do not mistake it for knowledge of actual beliefs.
It shouldn't be as large as the earth-radius though, otherwise you can only observe a few hours per day.
I'd think you'd want a baseline nearly as long as an Earth diameter, as long as you can switch elements in and out of the array as they come into view of the target. With a ring all the way around the planet and the ability to continuously reconfigure the array in real time you could keep equatorial objects under continuous observation. Resolution would vary throughout the day, though, as it is not (yet) practical to place elements at sea.
Astronomy. Fuck the squirrels. They'll survive a little construction work.
>...redneck construction workers fucking everything up?
Bigot.
> You think maybe those laws exist for a reason?
All laws exist for a reason. It usually isn't a good one. In this case it is because reactionary ecofreaks have better political connections than do astronomers.
Add some windmills to yout installation and come up with a plausible reason why they need fiber. The permits will slide right through.
...and the second Tuesday of the month can become a national holiday for everyone except IT (and Free Software users). The next step will an act of Congress declaring the Monday before the second Tuesday of the month to be Patch Tuesday so as to create a three day weekend.
Slashdot Mirror
Why are you sure she is going to win?
> "Apple hasn't made jailbreaking illegal".
Apple does not have the power to make anything illegal.
> You're implying that Apple is ok with Jailbreaking.
No. he is implying that they can do nothing about it but make their displeasure known.
> Basically they're not allowing anyone else to have an app store for the
> iPhone.
How are they stopping you?
> What, the Tea Party doesn't count?
No. It is merely a faction of the current Republican party, which recently presided over the largest expansion of government since the New Deal.
But then, no major political party ever has or ever will oppose expansion of government.
> Also this test does not measure actual empathy (as in, what you do for your
> neighbour -- where current generations are in fact better than their elders)
[Citation needed]
> If you work as wait staff or pizza delivery or , you are supposed to report
> your cash tips.
Actually, the IRS will impute an amount of tip income based on your wages and the type of restaurant. You will be required by law to pay income tax on that amount regardless of how much you actually received. The only way out is for the restaurant to have a strictly-enforced no-tips policy.
> So I literally could sell a million dollars of goods over the next year and
> report $0 income. That's not to say I didn't take a trip to Europe and eat
> out every day. And that new pickup in the driveway is a business vehicle.
> The business, on paper, would barely be breaking even, but I'd be enjoying
> life.
Until they audit you, disallow all your "expenses" for the last five years, bankrupt you with penalties, and prosecute you for tax evasion.
In other words, it doesn't work that way. Whoever has been advising you is a liar or a fool. Yes, you can push the limits a little bit. Get caught at that and all it will cost you is lawyer and accountant fees and some fines. Push it as hard as you propose, though, and you could end up in prison.
> What's to stop someone from having multiple eBay / PayPal accounts? Will
> keeping each of them under $20k or 200 transactions prevent reporting?
Yes, until you get caught, convicted of tax evasion, and sent to prison.
Maybe you won't get caught...
> How does that screw low-income earners?
It doesn't, of course. It screws someone much more powerful: the enormous bureaucracy and industry that has grown up around the present insanely complex and capricious system. Even more important, it takes away the power of politicians to reward interest groups and punish scapegoats with special deductions, exemptions, and punitive taxes. It also makes it impossible to conceal tax increases.
> 47% of people don't pay income tax.
Only if you subscribe to the myth that the social security tax is not a tax.
> The very poor don't usually put a significant part of their income towards
> savings, while the very wealthy do.
Impose a flat rate tax on income with a 100% deduction for savings and a very, very large standard deduction such that the poor pay no tax at all (including no social security tax). There should be no other deductions, exemptions, or credits. Those who can afford to save will be given a strong incentive to do so thereby increasing investment (and future tax revenues) while relieving the poor of the burden of taxation.
> With an entirely spending-based tax system, the poor pay that tax on the
> majority of their income, while the wealthy pay it on relatively little.
Money the "wealthy" invest is not spent on themselves: it is invested to the benefit of society. They do this, of course, in the expectation that it will appreciate, providing them with more to spend (and therefor pay taxes on) in the future.
> It's more desirable that people earning very little pay no taxes, because
> that comes out of their necessities, while those with excess pay the taxes
> in proportion to what portion of their income is beyond what they need to
> survive.
Then how do you justify the explicitly regressive social security tax? Or sales taxes? Or any of the "excise" taxes? Or import duties? Or license fees?
> Unwittingly operating a business! For christ sakes, how is that even
> possible?
It's trivally easy. The IRS' definition of a business differs from that of the general public.
> I am personally waiting for the IRS to start cracking down on drug dealers.
> there are billions in taxes that are waiting to be collected.
"Taxes"? They don't need no stinkin' taxes. If you get busted for drug dealing they will take all of your money.
> ...then it's up to you to prove you paid enough not up to the IRS to prove
> you didn't.
That isn't true.
All businesses no matter how large or how small or informal will have to file a 1099 for every entity to which they pay more than $600 in payments for goods and/or services in a year. This includes everything: the part-time plumber, your landlord, the power company, Office Max, WalMart, etc. You are going to have to get Best Buy's TIN if you purchase a server from them. The average USA small business will need to file about 600 every year.
> In your corporate espionage scenario, that's my own data the spy has got. If
> I'm looking at my own data, no foul. This is random Web access data from
> the general public.
Which, to the government, is their own data.
Come on. Don't you believe in government of the people?
There is an election this fall.
Everyone always lies about it. However, unlike sex, there is no way even in principle to determine the truth. No study of what people believe tells you anything about what they believe. It tells you only what they think they should say about what they believe. This can be useful information, but do not mistake it for knowledge of actual beliefs.
> ...that typically amounts to a few extra bucks per month...
For what?
I'd think you'd want a baseline nearly as long as an Earth diameter, as long as you can switch elements in and out of the array as they come into view of the target. With a ring all the way around the planet and the ability to continuously reconfigure the array in real time you could keep equatorial objects under continuous observation. Resolution would vary throughout the day, though, as it is not (yet) practical to place elements at sea.
> What's more important?
Astronomy. Fuck the squirrels. They'll survive a little construction work.
> ...redneck construction workers fucking everything up?
Bigot.
> You think maybe those laws exist for a reason?
All laws exist for a reason. It usually isn't a good one. In this case it is because reactionary ecofreaks have better political connections than do astronomers.
Add some windmills to yout installation and come up with a plausible reason why they need fiber. The permits will slide right through.
...and the second Tuesday of the month can become a national holiday for everyone except IT (and Free Software users). The next step will an act of Congress declaring the Monday before the second Tuesday of the month to be Patch Tuesday so as to create a three day weekend.
> My loathing of Adobe is almost boundless.
Yet you continue to use their software.
> Negroponte said it would be running Linux.
He said that once before.
>...they're using an ARM chip...
With Windows CE, no doubt.