"Isn't that effectively the same thing? Humans now exist predominantly in cities. How can anyone in a city expect privacy by your metric?"
Well, maybe what privacy means today is what needs to be expanded. Sure, privacy as in "not being seen or observed by another human being" is one thing. But, I think even with that setting, you should have the expectation of your whereabouts and movements not being documented and stored. A stranger passing you on the street sees you, but, after about 10 seconds you have been forgotten, or ignored from the beginning. That person snapping a picture out doors that you happen to be in because you walked by, doesn't know, or care who you are, or where you were going. You still have privacy in that you are a stranger still.
"OK, makes a certain amount of sense but doesn't that mean your future Social Security benefits will be calculated based on your $30K base salary? That could affect you quite significantly later on.
I guess if you really believe you're better off investing your money yourself than having it in the SS system, you come out ahead. I personally don't subscribe to that belief because I am convinced that the payout everyone receives from Social Security far exceeds their pay-in plus interest -- at least for parasite^H^H^H retirees who are receiving the current lavish rate of benefits."
You are absolutely correct. I worked in the W2 world long enough in the past (actually, I'm on a W2 gig right now in between 1099 stuff), so that I have plenty of SS coming to me. Frankly, tho...I don't really believe that there will be any SS for me in the retirement years. I think it is much better to invest myself. At the very least, I will take whatever SS is available to me (at this point I think it is about $2500/mo according to the statemenst SS sends out), and will supplement that with various 401K's I've got out there, and other investments.
Honestly, though, I don't believe there will be any SS left when I get to it.
"Not really. If you do something stupid then piercing the S-Corp layer isn't that hard. At the end of the day you are really a sole proprietor, and having paid a few hundred bucks to file some paperwork isn't going to work any magic in court."
I'm not a sole proprietor...I am a regular incorporated entity. Once I did that with the state, I filed for subchapter S status with the feds.
"This would work if the owner of the S-Corp was someone else. As the sole owner of the S-Corp and the only person who does any work for the S-Corp then you are deemed to be an "active" owner. You owe SS and Medicare on all of the income, including the pass through income. You may not report the income this way, but you should be. I'm guessing you haven't been audited yet."
Again, not true. Check with a CPA (a very good idea if working on your own. I do not owe SS and medicare on my full billings I bring in through the corporation. If you have a sole proprietorship, and maybe just a plain LLC (I'm not 100% sure on that one) you owe employment taxes on the full amount, but, with my set up, I do not. Perfectly legal...it is the reason I set up my corporation that way. I have had full advice from CPA's, and I know many others doing exactly this type of structure. The main thing is to make sure you give yourself enough of a 'reasonable' salary, so that the IRS doesn't get you. For instance, on about $120K annual gross income, $40K salary should be well within the reasonable range.
Yes, this method does take some paperwork, forms, etc. But, after a bit of a learning curve (a good CPA can help get you started with all this), I just make sure and document things, I set up Quickbooks Pro (the one reason I have a windows box at home), and maintain what I need. Quarterly, I send in my forms to the state and the feds, and I set up electronic pay with the feds when I have enough salary that I need to send in taxes monthly.
"Reasonable advice, except for the part about incorporating. As an individual consultant it will make little or no difference in taxes or retirement plans whether you incorporate or not. And incorporating just adds another layer of paperwork."
I have to strongly disagree with you. Incorporating does MANY things for you. First, your personal assets are shielded from liability from business problems you might encounter, this is a litigious society after all.
But the biggest is financial.
I have a subchapter "S" corporation. One of the best tax benefits is that I can legally cut my SS and medicare taxation by a huge amount. All I have to do, is pay myself a reasonable salary...as sole shareholder and owner of the company. For example. Let's say the company bills out and makes $100K one year. I pay myself a 'reasonable salary' of say $30K. Now, with this set up, I only have to pay FICA and medicare on that $30K. The remaining $70K falls through to my personal taxes at EOY, and I only have to pay regular state and federal income taxes on that. That adds up quickly.
Not only that...I can write off all my mileage driving for anything work related. That is $0.55/mile. That adds up quickly, I can just re-imburse myself through out the year for that mileage tax free. You can write off purchases for business. I can write off my internet connection (business connection to the home), cell phone, books, software, hardware.
By the end of the year, I write off a pretty decent amount of that remaining $70K so that it is not taxable.
Not to mention it opens you up to new health care options (ok, you don't have to incorp for this). I just go with a high deductible private policy ($1200 deduct). that I keep only for emergencies. That qualifies me to set up a HSA (health savings account) that this year I believe you can load down with $3000 pre-tax. I use that to pay for my routine medical visits, meds, glasses, contacts, etc. It isn't a use it or lose it thing either like W2 people get with a FSA.
I really wish they'd make it EASIER to do the HSA thing for everyone, but, that would put people in charge of their medical care, not the govt...so...
But anyway, if you're gonna contract/consult...I'd HIGHLY recommend looking into forming an "S" corp. Just follow the rules, and it is all perfectly legal. Hell, is about the only way to keep you hard earned cash these days. I'm guessing tho...the govt will eventually try to can this as that with this scenario, you get your money first and they get their cut later. They really DO like getting money out of W2 paychecks (often more than they need, hence the 'refund') before YOU can touch your own money.
Well, not that 39 is OLD (I have to say that these days..hahah), but, it is a time to start thinking about the future. If you are wanting to stay with direct, W2 jobs....it is probably best to work into mgmt. That will allow you to progress further over time to better money and position as the next years come along.
If you are really good at your tech..you might look seriously into incorporating yourself, and do some indie contract work. This is especially good if you can get on govt./DoD projects which can be quite long term. This way, you can still have some job security (lets face it , even with direct jobs there is no such thing really anymore), and can make some very high dollars, by incorporating you can save serious money in taxes, and put lots of cash away for retirement at a decent age.
How about another method....give heavy tax incentives to stay in the US AND to hire US citizens?
Why not make the US a tax haven for companies, so we would not only keep US companies here, but, to also make the US an attractive place for foreign companies to do business?
Could that not bring jobs back to the US, and increase the overall tax base?
"I'm not talking about Chernobyl; I'm talking about Fat Man. "Breeder" reactors reprocess fuel into a form that could be diverted to make nuclear warheads."
Why is it countries like France can do this just fine, and don't seem to be running the risk of creating a bunch of bombs?
Just because it 'can' be used for this, doesn't mean it has to. We've got plenty of nuke warheads stockpiled. So, if we could do this...we could use our nuclear fuel MUCH more efficiently, and the waste wouldn't be toxic nearly so long.
YOu do seem to like efficiency in energy, don't you? well, this method would help a GREAT deal.
"Some power plants are near state lines where the wind is likely to blow pollutants across state lines. Releasing such pollutants is arguably "commerce [...] among the several States" that the U.S. Constitution explicitly gives the Congress power to regulate."
My God, THAT is as big a stretch as I've heard with giving the feds powers with the damned 'commerce' powers.
Just because the wind blows, it is no commerce?!?!
A man farts in Iowa, and now the feds gain more powers to regulate just because he might be near the border and the wind shifts??
"The only legislative "restriction" on nuclear placed during the Carter administration was the deregulation move that forced utilities to buy power from independent renewable-source power companies....Please, can you provide a single citation for your dig at Carter? It just doesn't agree with the facts, and I'd like to know if I'm missing something..."
"In October 1976, fear of nuclear weapons proliferation (especially after India demonstrated nuclear weapons capabilities using reprocessing technology) led President Gerald Ford to issue a Presidential directive to indefinitely suspend the commercial reprocessing and recycling of plutonium in the U.S. This was confirmed by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. After that, only countries that already had large investments in reprocessing infrastructure continued to reprocess spent nuclear fuel. President Reagan lifted the ban in 1981, but did not provide the substantial subsidy that would have been necessary to start up commercial reprocessing.[4]"
So, it was started by Ford, and confirmed by Carter.
It does appear that Carter was a major proponent of this and escalated this position: warning, pdf file
"Which is why the government is trying to shift the burden from taxpayers to people who use power by introducing "cap and trade" to include the cost of emitting pollution across state lines in the cost of generating power."
People that use more power already pay more $$ for their electric bills. Why do we need more taxes? Taxes are NOT meant to alter behavior, only to sustain the infrastructure. In a free country, the govt. doesn't/shouldn't tell the adult populace how to behave (as long as said behavior is legal).
"Disposing trash in the correct way is a priority that all governments will need to promote & enforce in a few years. Initiative should be starting from the nerd crowd."
Wait...?!?!
So now your saying that the government should get involved with how we throw our fucking trash away?!? Geez..what's next?
I mean, if someone wants to voluntarily sort through all their garbage to recycle things as somepeople do nowdays, that's fine. But to mandate that everyone has to sort through their trash, have 16 different trash cans to keep up with, and I guess you somehow want to employ 'garbage police' to go through said trash and fine those who don't participate....?
Wow. I just never pictured having the govt. tell me what to do with every aspect of my life. What's next...what days of the week I can wash clothes or water my lawn?
"In order for me to answer that question in a way that you would most easily understand, I'd like you to answer the following question first: who pays to clean up the pollution caused by the power plants that generate electric power for the bulbs?"
My answer: Who cares? If you're implying that the federal govt. cleans up after current power plants, I'd say that was none of their business either. Where exactly in the constitution is that a mandated power of the federal govt?
If they were interested in cleaner power, then why not relax laws and restrictions put in place back in the Carter administration and allow nuclear tech to proliferate, along with them being able to legally reprocess the fuel so it can be 'burned' more completely. Why kill the consumer end of things?
Well if u are holding up traffic flow on a roadway meant for vehicles faster than yours what so you expect?
Sure it would be nice if they had more dedicated bike lanes, but till then face it a bike is a 3rd class citizen on the road and a general hazard for everyone
on a moderately busy road.
"They changed the default behavior, but you change it back from about:config (type about:config in your url bar):
set browser.tabs.closeWindowWithLastTab to false."
Nope..didn't work.
I can close and open and whatever with all the other tabs I have open. But that one that opened when it restarted, I cannot seem to close it by any means.
Yeah..the low carb thing and working out has really been working for me. I'm well on my way to my goal of going from 38" waist to 32" waist. I'd ballooned out, and starting in Feb. started pretty strict low carb diet. I put a $1K bet with a friend of mine to reach a goal by July 1...we both did it to put 'teeth' behind the thing and not allow ourselves to backslide.
It has worked...and I'm sticking with it, although will bring back more veggies and fruits and all. I will stay away from highly processed foods, that's not a problem. I like to cook and I've had no problems coming up with fun and good meals.
I've also been working out as regular as possible too...
I've found that through this, and eating smaller meals 5-6 times a day, my voracious appetite has been controlled, and I've been able to pretty easily start watching portion control.
After a mere 4 months or so...it is now pretty easy. I can see the 32" waist in my gunsights before end of summer.
I'm also hoping with my next Dr. visit...my triglyceride count is down, as well as blood pressure.
My advice to the guy who posted this article...do what the first few posts have said. You have to figure some way to change the lifestyle that is obviously NOT working for you and your health.
You are given 24 hours in a day. It is up to YOU to figure how you're gonna spend them to accomplish whatever goals you have in life.
If this job is in the way...well, maybe look for another job with better hours. I hope you are getting PAID for 60 hours if you are working that many. If you are just salary..you are a chump for working that extra 20 hours for free. It is one thing for an occasional long stretch with a deadline or emergency, but, it sounds like they're working you 60+ all the time as a normal part of your job??
I know the economy is bad, but, it ain't that bad and there are other jobs if you are qualified.
Strange thing...when it restared, it of course had a tab opened saying it was upgraded, etc.
Trouble is...I can NOT close this fucking tab to save my life?!?!? I can close and open others, but, cannot close this one. I can go to other sites on it..but, cannot close it.
"If smokers do not have to pay for the health costs of smoking by paying higher health insurance premiums"
I think smokers pretty much DO pay higher insurance premiums than non-smokers, so, not a good example. They also pay with their lives.
Everything comes with it's price. People that drive SUV's pay more FUEL costs...no need to tax them into oblivion..if they have the means to afford one, why try to make them not have one?
I lean towards freedom of choice more. Everything has a cost, yes..but, I don't think it is up the the government to set the price via targeted taxation.
"I don't like the GPS tracking proposal, but I think your argument is wrong. The more info that is collected, the more accurate the analysis should be. Obviously innocent people are going to be near any crime scene. Now, if you were there, AND you had a motive..."
The trouble is, in my scenario...ALL innocent people in that area are now on a list. Everyone is guilty of some crime these days. The best you can hope for now, it to stay off the 'radar'. With this system, you are potentially going to be on 'radar' at all times with respect to the authorities.
I personally, prefer how it is today...and not even be on a list of suspects if I just happen to be in an area where something bad happens.
"I'd have no problem if they added on another $0.25 or more to fuel taxes. Better yet, if we get to European levels then we'd see true movement towards fuel efficiency!"
While I have no problem paying reasonable taxes to maintain infrastructure, I am vehemently against using taxes to modify behavior!!
That is NOT their function. Who is the government to try to modify MY behavior, that is an encroachment on freedom. Frankly, we would all be a lot better and have smaller govt and pay less in taxes if the govt just got out of the behavior modification business a let adults live as adults, choosing how they want to live as long as it it legal.
Yep, and think about how it will help with crime investigations!!
Sure, let's say there's a murder, and they decide to check out every car that was in the vicinity at the estimated time of death. Congrats...just by driving around that area, you are now on a list of potential suspects to be investigated.
Of course, I'm sure this could NEVER lead to a false conviction of someone due to a lot of coincidences.
Slashdot Mirror
Everyone repeat after me:
I promise to be different...
I promise to be unique....
I promise NOT to repeat things other people say....
--with apologies to Steve Martin
Well, maybe what privacy means today is what needs to be expanded. Sure, privacy as in "not being seen or observed by another human being" is one thing. But, I think even with that setting, you should have the expectation of your whereabouts and movements not being documented and stored. A stranger passing you on the street sees you, but, after about 10 seconds you have been forgotten, or ignored from the beginning. That person snapping a picture out doors that you happen to be in because you walked by, doesn't know, or care who you are, or where you were going. You still have privacy in that you are a stranger still.
Actually, I believe you are explicityly granting permission for people to contact you. There is a difference.
I guess if you really believe you're better off investing your money yourself than having it in the SS system, you come out ahead. I personally don't subscribe to that belief because I am convinced that the payout everyone receives from Social Security far exceeds their pay-in plus interest -- at least for parasite^H^H^H retirees who are receiving the current lavish rate of benefits."
You are absolutely correct. I worked in the W2 world long enough in the past (actually, I'm on a W2 gig right now in between 1099 stuff), so that I have plenty of SS coming to me. Frankly, tho...I don't really believe that there will be any SS for me in the retirement years. I think it is much better to invest myself. At the very least, I will take whatever SS is available to me (at this point I think it is about $2500/mo according to the statemenst SS sends out), and will supplement that with various 401K's I've got out there, and other investments.
Honestly, though, I don't believe there will be any SS left when I get to it.
I'm not a sole proprietor...I am a regular incorporated entity. Once I did that with the state, I filed for subchapter S status with the feds.
"This would work if the owner of the S-Corp was someone else. As the sole owner of the S-Corp and the only person who does any work for the S-Corp then you are deemed to be an "active" owner. You owe SS and Medicare on all of the income, including the pass through income. You may not report the income this way, but you should be. I'm guessing you haven't been audited yet."
Again, not true. Check with a CPA (a very good idea if working on your own. I do not owe SS and medicare on my full billings I bring in through the corporation. If you have a sole proprietorship, and maybe just a plain LLC (I'm not 100% sure on that one) you owe employment taxes on the full amount, but, with my set up, I do not. Perfectly legal...it is the reason I set up my corporation that way. I have had full advice from CPA's, and I know many others doing exactly this type of structure. The main thing is to make sure you give yourself enough of a 'reasonable' salary, so that the IRS doesn't get you. For instance, on about $120K annual gross income, $40K salary should be well within the reasonable range.
Yes, this method does take some paperwork, forms, etc. But, after a bit of a learning curve (a good CPA can help get you started with all this), I just make sure and document things, I set up Quickbooks Pro (the one reason I have a windows box at home), and maintain what I need. Quarterly, I send in my forms to the state and the feds, and I set up electronic pay with the feds when I have enough salary that I need to send in taxes monthly.
I have to strongly disagree with you. Incorporating does MANY things for you. First, your personal assets are shielded from liability from business problems you might encounter, this is a litigious society after all.
But the biggest is financial.
I have a subchapter "S" corporation. One of the best tax benefits is that I can legally cut my SS and medicare taxation by a huge amount. All I have to do, is pay myself a reasonable salary...as sole shareholder and owner of the company. For example. Let's say the company bills out and makes $100K one year. I pay myself a 'reasonable salary' of say $30K. Now, with this set up, I only have to pay FICA and medicare on that $30K. The remaining $70K falls through to my personal taxes at EOY, and I only have to pay regular state and federal income taxes on that. That adds up quickly.
Not only that...I can write off all my mileage driving for anything work related. That is $0.55/mile. That adds up quickly, I can just re-imburse myself through out the year for that mileage tax free. You can write off purchases for business. I can write off my internet connection (business connection to the home), cell phone, books, software, hardware.
By the end of the year, I write off a pretty decent amount of that remaining $70K so that it is not taxable.
Not to mention it opens you up to new health care options (ok, you don't have to incorp for this). I just go with a high deductible private policy ($1200 deduct). that I keep only for emergencies. That qualifies me to set up a HSA (health savings account) that this year I believe you can load down with $3000 pre-tax. I use that to pay for my routine medical visits, meds, glasses, contacts, etc. It isn't a use it or lose it thing either like W2 people get with a FSA.
I really wish they'd make it EASIER to do the HSA thing for everyone, but, that would put people in charge of their medical care, not the govt...so...
But anyway, if you're gonna contract/consult...I'd HIGHLY recommend looking into forming an "S" corp. Just follow the rules, and it is all perfectly legal. Hell, is about the only way to keep you hard earned cash these days. I'm guessing tho...the govt will eventually try to can this as that with this scenario, you get your money first and they get their cut later. They really DO like getting money out of W2 paychecks (often more than they need, hence the 'refund') before YOU can touch your own money.
If you are really good at your tech..you might look seriously into incorporating yourself, and do some indie contract work. This is especially good if you can get on govt./DoD projects which can be quite long term. This way, you can still have some job security (lets face it , even with direct jobs there is no such thing really anymore), and can make some very high dollars, by incorporating you can save serious money in taxes, and put lots of cash away for retirement at a decent age.
Now....looking for policy #2 I can get behind....
Why not make the US a tax haven for companies, so we would not only keep US companies here, but, to also make the US an attractive place for foreign companies to do business?
Could that not bring jobs back to the US, and increase the overall tax base?
Ok...so, if they aren't doing that...then they are exempt from C&T?
Why is it countries like France can do this just fine, and don't seem to be running the risk of creating a bunch of bombs?
Just because it 'can' be used for this, doesn't mean it has to. We've got plenty of nuke warheads stockpiled. So, if we could do this...we could use our nuclear fuel MUCH more efficiently, and the waste wouldn't be toxic nearly so long.
YOu do seem to like efficiency in energy, don't you? well, this method would help a GREAT deal.
My God, THAT is as big a stretch as I've heard with giving the feds powers with the damned 'commerce' powers.
Just because the wind blows, it is no commerce?!?!
A man farts in Iowa, and now the feds gain more powers to regulate just because he might be near the border and the wind shifts??
I stand slightly corrected. According to this:
"In October 1976, fear of nuclear weapons proliferation (especially after India demonstrated nuclear weapons capabilities using reprocessing technology) led President Gerald Ford to issue a Presidential directive to indefinitely suspend the commercial reprocessing and recycling of plutonium in the U.S. This was confirmed by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. After that, only countries that already had large investments in reprocessing infrastructure continued to reprocess spent nuclear fuel. President Reagan lifted the ban in 1981, but did not provide the substantial subsidy that would have been necessary to start up commercial reprocessing.[4]"
So, it was started by Ford, and confirmed by Carter.
It does appear that Carter was a major proponent of this and escalated this position: warning, pdf file
People that use more power already pay more $$ for their electric bills. Why do we need more taxes? Taxes are NOT meant to alter behavior, only to sustain the infrastructure. In a free country, the govt. doesn't/shouldn't tell the adult populace how to behave (as long as said behavior is legal).
Wait...?!?!
So now your saying that the government should get involved with how we throw our fucking trash away?!? Geez..what's next?
I mean, if someone wants to voluntarily sort through all their garbage to recycle things as somepeople do nowdays, that's fine. But to mandate that everyone has to sort through their trash, have 16 different trash cans to keep up with, and I guess you somehow want to employ 'garbage police' to go through said trash and fine those who don't participate....?
Wow. I just never pictured having the govt. tell me what to do with every aspect of my life. What's next...what days of the week I can wash clothes or water my lawn?
My answer: Who cares? If you're implying that the federal govt. cleans up after current power plants, I'd say that was none of their business either. Where exactly in the constitution is that a mandated power of the federal govt?
If they were interested in cleaner power, then why not relax laws and restrictions put in place back in the Carter administration and allow nuclear tech to proliferate, along with them being able to legally reprocess the fuel so it can be 'burned' more completely. Why kill the consumer end of things?
What's next...federal mandates on underwear design?
Well if u are holding up traffic flow on a roadway meant for vehicles faster than yours what so you expect? Sure it would be nice if they had more dedicated bike lanes, but till then face it a bike is a 3rd class citizen on the road and a general hazard for everyone on a moderately busy road.
Nope..didn't work.
I can close and open and whatever with all the other tabs I have open. But that one that opened when it restarted, I cannot seem to close it by any means.
It has worked...and I'm sticking with it, although will bring back more veggies and fruits and all. I will stay away from highly processed foods, that's not a problem. I like to cook and I've had no problems coming up with fun and good meals.
I've also been working out as regular as possible too...
I've found that through this, and eating smaller meals 5-6 times a day, my voracious appetite has been controlled, and I've been able to pretty easily start watching portion control.
After a mere 4 months or so...it is now pretty easy. I can see the 32" waist in my gunsights before end of summer.
I'm also hoping with my next Dr. visit...my triglyceride count is down, as well as blood pressure.
My advice to the guy who posted this article...do what the first few posts have said. You have to figure some way to change the lifestyle that is obviously NOT working for you and your health.
You are given 24 hours in a day. It is up to YOU to figure how you're gonna spend them to accomplish whatever goals you have in life.
If this job is in the way...well, maybe look for another job with better hours. I hope you are getting PAID for 60 hours if you are working that many. If you are just salary..you are a chump for working that extra 20 hours for free. It is one thing for an occasional long stretch with a deadline or emergency, but, it sounds like they're working you 60+ all the time as a normal part of your job??
I know the economy is bad, but, it ain't that bad and there are other jobs if you are qualified.
It sure isn't worth your health man...
Strange thing...when it restared, it of course had a tab opened saying it was upgraded, etc.
Trouble is...I can NOT close this fucking tab to save my life?!?!? I can close and open others, but, cannot close this one. I can go to other sites on it..but, cannot close it.
I think smokers pretty much DO pay higher insurance premiums than non-smokers, so, not a good example. They also pay with their lives.
Everything comes with it's price. People that drive SUV's pay more FUEL costs...no need to tax them into oblivion..if they have the means to afford one, why try to make them not have one?
I lean towards freedom of choice more. Everything has a cost, yes..but, I don't think it is up the the government to set the price via targeted taxation.
The trouble is, in my scenario...ALL innocent people in that area are now on a list. Everyone is guilty of some crime these days. The best you can hope for now, it to stay off the 'radar'. With this system, you are potentially going to be on 'radar' at all times with respect to the authorities.
I personally, prefer how it is today...and not even be on a list of suspects if I just happen to be in an area where something bad happens.
While I have no problem paying reasonable taxes to maintain infrastructure, I am vehemently against using taxes to modify behavior!!
That is NOT their function. Who is the government to try to modify MY behavior, that is an encroachment on freedom. Frankly, we would all be a lot better and have smaller govt and pay less in taxes if the govt just got out of the behavior modification business a let adults live as adults, choosing how they want to live as long as it it legal.
Sure, let's say there's a murder, and they decide to check out every car that was in the vicinity at the estimated time of death. Congrats...just by driving around that area, you are now on a list of potential suspects to be investigated.
Of course, I'm sure this could NEVER lead to a false conviction of someone due to a lot of coincidences.