The US income tax system is highly progressive. Currently the bottom 45% of US households pay no federal income tax [marketwatch.com]. So when you look at the tax burden of the average American family (ie at the 50th percentile) that family is only paying a little federal income tax. To get to the number in the article it is other taxes like property tax, social security, state tax, etc.
Careful....
Mitt Romney got crucified for saying these types of things....
Just because it is true, doesn't mean you can say such things in todays PC society....shame on you!!
Sales tax is typically extremely low (typically less than 6%), compared to the UK's 20% VAT.
Which sales tax were you quoting for the US? Federal? State? City? Parish/County?
Quite often in different parts the US in different states you can get hit by ALL of these.
And, you get hit by selling things use....buy a used car? Well, yep, you get taxed on that again (even though sales tax was paid for it new). And in many areas, you get property tax on that too annually.
I do certainly feel I get taxed MUCH more than what I get out of the system.
Waaaay more.
Hell, I found out a really cute twist here in LA.
I am self employed, I have a S-Corporation.
I pay unemployment taxes to Feds and State annually.
A few years back, I as in between contracts for a few months. I tried to collect unemployment...money I HAD PAID INTO THE SYSTEM. They told me I could not by law collect it, since I was the owner and employee of the company....?!!??
So, I am forced to pay, but I can never collect it...?
It's the fact that the rich pay less (in terms of % income) than the middle class.
I easily get 33% taxes taken between state and Federal....
I've not looked exactly this year, but that's likely a good ballpark estimate.
Reminds, me I got an email from my CPA the other day, I need to look at it and sign forms, etc.....see how much I owe.
As for how much the "rich" pay. Hey, I can't blame them for taking every deduction, legal method of saving tax payments. I do the same as much as I possibly, legally can.
If you want to bitch about it...then write your congress critters and engage them personally to re-write the laws.
I for one would love a simpler tax code. Throw out the horrible monstrosity we have now that no one but an army of CPA's could fathom, and do a fair tax or possibly national sales tax (ONLY if by constitutional amendment any other federal taxes are banned, no income tax and nat'l sales tax)....
Simplify for businesses too. I am a self employed S-Corp. It would be nice if I could simply say I billed X amount, I had Y expenditures, I owe 5 of X-Y, or something in that ball park.
Sure, it might make a lot of accountants have to look for another job, but hey...we don't see a lot of buggy whip industry around these days either, do we?
The return flight may be different, but then I have a wife and kids waiting for me to come home, so the reward for volunteering my seat needs to be a lot higher than it used to be.
Really?
You're in that much of a hurry to see wife and kids? I mean, you have to live with and see them every day.....seems like any little breaks would be welcome.
It is STAYING asleep that is the tough thing for me....
And if I've been drinking at all, you can almost set a timer to it...4 hours exactly I wake up and often can't go back to sleep.
But even if no alcohol is involved, I find it more and more difficult to stay asleep, you get up to pee 1-2 times a night and can't fall back asleep.
And I really do better on 8 hours of sleep..as I get older it seems more difficult to hit near that mark, 6 hours is often the best I can seem to get.
I just wish I knew how to stay or fall back asleep, it isn't the initial part of sleep I have a problem with, hence, no pills out there to help or anything I've found yet.
No gurps_npc is right. I've lived in NYC 20 years and I think I've driven a car in the city twice. You are right KiloByte that we are unusually into cars; I still drive cars when I'm in other parts of the US. But seriously, the statistical significance of people in NYC driving home from a bar after drinking is gotta be 0. Before Uber there was 0 reason to drive a car home, and you can't go down from 0.
They should do the study here in New Orleans.
I guarantee they'd see a significant drop and drunk driving since Uber came to town.
Ever since it came to my town, I"ve really hardly ever driving after or while drinking.
it is so convenient, I don't have to worry about parking, etc....and I can't get caught for a DWI, which with the unreasonably lowered BAC levels (.08 now I believe)....you can get popped as a grown man just having 2-3 glasses of wine with a meal out.
I live in New Orleans...and I know many will be appalled, but it isn't that big a deal here to drink and drive, it isn't as frowned upon here and other places in the south as it appears to be up in the NE and way out west.
But with uber, it is so convent and now economical, it just isn't worth any of the risk.
My only worry is, that I"m losing my practice and skill at driving after a few (the only time I actually bother looking at and trying to go the speed limit)...but I"ll trade that off for only a few $ and an app button push away and able to party all night and not have to worry if I"ve had too much or not.
I can't imagine that I'm alone in the least bit on this....
Ok..so where is the option to switch it to NO DATA COLLECTED AND REPORTED....?
Basic and full are dandy for those that want to "opt in" for such data collection, but how about those of us who liked the old fashioned OS days when NO data was sent or required to be sent?
Setting aside the sheer fascist idiocy of this statement for a second, what about older people? My mother and father don't have smartphones.
Err...I do not think that word means what you think it means...?
And if you were a good son/daughter, would you not buy a smart phone for your parents?
I did and I've taught them how to use Uber, which is proving already to be VERY useful, in that they are getting old and less able to drive, and now they're using it for Dr. appts, etc.
1. The big screen. There's something to be said about watching visual storytelling on a three-story screen, particularly when the film really takes advantage of the format.
2. People everywhere. A group of people laughing together simultaneously triggers a feeling that you should laugh, too; during a suspenseful moment, you can feel dozens of strangers suck in their breath together.
3. Focus. Even people who try their hardest to give a movie their undivided attention on a living-room screen have fallen victim to temptations like "Well, I'm just sitting here, I might as well pay the electric bill."
4. Relentlessness. Part of the advantage of that kind of focus is that movies that are tense, scary, or deeply emotional can cast much more of a spell over you when you don't have the option to pause or turn away from the worst, then rewind later to catch it safely out of context.
5. A massive speaker system.
6. Previews.
7. Disruption. A problem with watching movies at home is that it makes the film-watching experience blur into the same experience as surfing cable channels, running a Netflix comedy show in the background while you do dishes, or half-assedly watching an Adventure Time marathon while stoned.
8. Alone time. Going to the movies with friends or your significant other can be a cherished pastime, especially when you're surrounded by an excited audience.
9. 32 ounces of cola in the dark.
10. Bragging rights.
1. Well, most movie theaters, except for IMAX, have screens MUCH smaller than they used to, certainly not 3 stories. I have 60+ inch Plasma and OLED tvs (4k the latter)...and from my viewing distance, it is quite large. I have had projectors in the past which worked out great, but my current abode really doesn't work for that, but honestly, with the quality sets I have, I don't miss them.
2. People Everywhere - That's PRECISELY the PROBLEM. I dunno exactly when it happened, but general public civility and manners has long since disappeared from the populace. You have parents bringing in kids too young for some movies or just dropping them off and letting them run wild in a theater. Then, there's the "adults", constantly texting, talking on phone, being rude in general. And hey, of late, there's even those that want to storm into a crowded theater and start shooting people. No thanks. At home, I can invite people I want over, and have them leave if they act an ass.
3. Focus - Ok, maybe. I personally don't have a problem turning things off and paying full attention to something for a couple hours. I guess it comes from my background in getting lost in books. I can readily disappear into a good story. Unless it is an emergency or I take a break to pee, eat or mix a cocktail...I can safely ignore the real world for a period of time even while at home.
4. Those important periods are NOT when I hit pause....in between those bits is when I pause for a pit stop or make a drink (having bar that is stocked and free to use at anytime is a major plus of home theater).
5. I got that covered...100% Klipsch surround, KlipschHorns in front, Cornwalls in back, 17" 800W sub, and good center channel (soon to replace that with a single heresy speaker from klipsch)...and I recently got a new Marantz AV processor. One of the last times I was in a movie theater, they barely had the sound on. I've gone to THX theaters especially for the sound, only to have to get up numerous times and ask them to turn the damned sound ON. Sorry, theater lose there. They might have better equipment at some places, but it does not good at all if not used. Hell, I watch the Flintstones cartoons at concert level....
6. Ok, I'll give them this one...ever since I was a kid, I LOVED the previews. I don't, however, appreciate the multitude of commercials they've been putting there last years...ugh. I paid...quit selling me stuff!!
Interesting...maybe I need to look back into this again.
I thought I'd read, a year or so ago..that expansion boxes for GPU wouldn't really work with Resolve or other applications running on OS X..on an iMac or older Macbook Pro....
I'm hoping they put in really BEEFY GPU options...I want a new iMac to work on pictures, video editing and with Davinci Resolve, which is a resource BEAST...
See , cities offer the job, but if you cannot live there , then not only you are poor, but the burden of a longer more costly (in time and money) transportation will fall on you. So you worsen the the situation for the poorest of all. So while what you say is true, one has to consider what you want for a society, and if you really want to push the head of those without much money even further under the water. Because at some point those will simply decide that destroying the system may as well be a better solution than participating. Just sayin'.
You know....the US is a very large country, and there are many, many cities, with many, many jobs....AND many of them have much lower costs of living.
If you cannot afford to live in a city like NYC, there are MANY other places across the US that you can afford to live in, and have a job there.
It simply takes moving to where the job is...that's part of US life reality now, and what's wrong with that? Who wants to stay in one place all their life?
Why would a developer build anything but the priciest luxury rentals? There is no economic incentive to build small places for small rents.
Actually, there is. You do this on volume and ensure yourself a constant stream of tenants in the buildings generating rent.
You get your low price, small units in the Federal Section 8 housing program. The US Feds pay most of the rent, they have rules for the tenants, and if the tenants break rules, do drugs, destroy the place, you can have the Feds evict them and replace them with someone else in the program.
I know folks that make a LOT of mostly GUARANTEED money owning section 8 housing units.
I dunno if I'd be investing in this startup. All any municipality would have to do is pass a law that says "any quoted or advertised rental price must be the final price the tenant pays" and the whole concept of bidding wars goes out the window. I wouldn't something like that past San Francisco voters, for example... our city government may be completely corrupt and in the pocket of developers, but there's also a referendum process that lets citizen groups put things on the ballot. And from the sound of it, that would pretty much be the end of Rentberry's business model.
But if they did that, it would break the current model for renting too...?
I mean this happens today, you negotiate the rental price (up/down) when you're trying to rent, the only difference is, with this model, there is a 3rd party and computer in between.
But today, advertised price is not necessarily the price, one always tries to negotiate them down a bit off that rent price advertised....and if others are wanting to rent it, the landlord will let you bid higher....
How is that different from the U.S., where every college application is admitted merely because they will be paying tuition?
You must not be from the US, or have never applied to a number of US colleges.
They certainly do NOT admit everyone that submits an application.
Once the quotas are met for diversity's sake...it gets a bit competitive for the rest of the folks trying to compete to get in, and not everyone makes it.
Slashdot Mirror
Careful....
Mitt Romney got crucified for saying these types of things....
Just because it is true, doesn't mean you can say such things in todays PC society....shame on you!!
Which sales tax were you quoting for the US? Federal? State? City? Parish/County?
Quite often in different parts the US in different states you can get hit by ALL of these.
And, you get hit by selling things use....buy a used car? Well, yep, you get taxed on that again (even though sales tax was paid for it new). And in many areas, you get property tax on that too annually.
I do certainly feel I get taxed MUCH more than what I get out of the system.
Waaaay more.
Hell, I found out a really cute twist here in LA.
I am self employed, I have a S-Corporation.
I pay unemployment taxes to Feds and State annually.
A few years back, I as in between contracts for a few months. I tried to collect unemployment...money I HAD PAID INTO THE SYSTEM. They told me I could not by law collect it, since I was the owner and employee of the company....?!!??
So, I am forced to pay, but I can never collect it...?
Ok, really?
Seriously?
Let me ask, do you not seriously take EVERY legal deduction you can on your taxes? Do you go out of your way to pay more than you actually owe?!?!
You almost seem to be trying to put some morality spin on paying taxes.
It is not a moral obligation.
It is only a necessary evil....that should not be overly burdensome.
I easily get 33% taxes taken between state and Federal....
I've not looked exactly this year, but that's likely a good ballpark estimate.
Reminds, me I got an email from my CPA the other day, I need to look at it and sign forms, etc.....see how much I owe.
As for how much the "rich" pay. Hey, I can't blame them for taking every deduction, legal method of saving tax payments. I do the same as much as I possibly, legally can.
If you want to bitch about it...then write your congress critters and engage them personally to re-write the laws.
I for one would love a simpler tax code. Throw out the horrible monstrosity we have now that no one but an army of CPA's could fathom, and do a fair tax or possibly national sales tax (ONLY if by constitutional amendment any other federal taxes are banned, no income tax and nat'l sales tax)....
Simplify for businesses too. I am a self employed S-Corp. It would be nice if I could simply say I billed X amount, I had Y expenditures, I owe 5 of X-Y, or something in that ball park.
Sure, it might make a lot of accountants have to look for another job, but hey...we don't see a lot of buggy whip industry around these days either, do we?
Really?
You're in that much of a hurry to see wife and kids? I mean, you have to live with and see them every day.....seems like any little breaks would be welcome.
It is STAYING asleep that is the tough thing for me....
And if I've been drinking at all, you can almost set a timer to it...4 hours exactly I wake up and often can't go back to sleep.
But even if no alcohol is involved, I find it more and more difficult to stay asleep, you get up to pee 1-2 times a night and can't fall back asleep.
And I really do better on 8 hours of sleep..as I get older it seems more difficult to hit near that mark, 6 hours is often the best I can seem to get.
I just wish I knew how to stay or fall back asleep, it isn't the initial part of sleep I have a problem with, hence, no pills out there to help or anything I've found yet.
And I'm trying to read the Hitchhikers Guide series of books. Starting on #1 when the neighborhood pool opens up.
They should do the study here in New Orleans.
I guarantee they'd see a significant drop and drunk driving since Uber came to town.
I know I use it for that now...
Ever since it came to my town, I"ve really hardly ever driving after or while drinking.
it is so convenient, I don't have to worry about parking, etc....and I can't get caught for a DWI, which with the unreasonably lowered BAC levels (.08 now I believe)....you can get popped as a grown man just having 2-3 glasses of wine with a meal out.
I live in New Orleans...and I know many will be appalled, but it isn't that big a deal here to drink and drive, it isn't as frowned upon here and other places in the south as it appears to be up in the NE and way out west.
But with uber, it is so convent and now economical, it just isn't worth any of the risk.
My only worry is, that I"m losing my practice and skill at driving after a few (the only time I actually bother looking at and trying to go the speed limit)...but I"ll trade that off for only a few $ and an app button push away and able to party all night and not have to worry if I"ve had too much or not.
I can't imagine that I'm alone in the least bit on this....
Basic and full are dandy for those that want to "opt in" for such data collection, but how about those of us who liked the old fashioned OS days when NO data was sent or required to be sent?
I"ll be taking a dirt nap, so, likely as not, I'll not be terribly discomforted or inconvenienced in year 2100 by this....
Err...I do not think that word means what you think it means...?
And if you were a good son/daughter, would you not buy a smart phone for your parents?
I did and I've taught them how to use Uber, which is proving already to be VERY useful, in that they are getting old and less able to drive, and now they're using it for Dr. appts, etc.
In the US, they can just whip out their Obama Phone ....
I would guess the Canadians have an analogous program?
What, you mean the sinks were all full too...?!?!!
I thought hoodies were mostly worn by gang members that shoot people....?
1. Well, most movie theaters, except for IMAX, have screens MUCH smaller than they used to, certainly not 3 stories. I have 60+ inch Plasma and OLED tvs (4k the latter)...and from my viewing distance, it is quite large. I have had projectors in the past which worked out great, but my current abode really doesn't work for that, but honestly, with the quality sets I have, I don't miss them.
2. People Everywhere - That's PRECISELY the PROBLEM. I dunno exactly when it happened, but general public civility and manners has long since disappeared from the populace. You have parents bringing in kids too young for some movies or just dropping them off and letting them run wild in a theater. Then, there's the "adults", constantly texting, talking on phone, being rude in general. And hey, of late, there's even those that want to storm into a crowded theater and start shooting people. No thanks. At home, I can invite people I want over, and have them leave if they act an ass.
3. Focus - Ok, maybe. I personally don't have a problem turning things off and paying full attention to something for a couple hours. I guess it comes from my background in getting lost in books. I can readily disappear into a good story. Unless it is an emergency or I take a break to pee, eat or mix a cocktail...I can safely ignore the real world for a period of time even while at home.
4. Those important periods are NOT when I hit pause....in between those bits is when I pause for a pit stop or make a drink (having bar that is stocked and free to use at anytime is a major plus of home theater).
5. I got that covered...100% Klipsch surround, KlipschHorns in front, Cornwalls in back, 17" 800W sub, and good center channel (soon to replace that with a single heresy speaker from klipsch)...and I recently got a new Marantz AV processor. One of the last times I was in a movie theater, they barely had the sound on. I've gone to THX theaters especially for the sound, only to have to get up numerous times and ask them to turn the damned sound ON. Sorry, theater lose there. They might have better equipment at some places, but it does not good at all if not used. Hell, I watch the Flintstones cartoons at concert level....
6. Ok, I'll give them this one...ever since I was a kid, I LOVED the previews. I don't, however, appreciate the multitude of commercials they've been putting there last years...ugh. I paid...quit selling me stuff!!
7. See #2...in a theater these days, it is the f
Interesting...maybe I need to look back into this again.
I thought I'd read, a year or so ago..that expansion boxes for GPU wouldn't really work with Resolve or other applications running on OS X..on an iMac or older Macbook Pro....
Maybe things have changed...I'll look into this.
Thanks!
I'm hoping they put in really BEEFY GPU options...I want a new iMac to work on pictures, video editing and with Davinci Resolve, which is a resource BEAST...
You know....the US is a very large country, and there are many, many cities, with many, many jobs....AND many of them have much lower costs of living.
If you cannot afford to live in a city like NYC, there are MANY other places across the US that you can afford to live in, and have a job there.
It simply takes moving to where the job is...that's part of US life reality now, and what's wrong with that? Who wants to stay in one place all their life?
Apparently recently, I guess an update...but for no explainable reason I can find, the option to download to this tablet has been removed.
Anyone else see this recently?
Actually, there is. You do this on volume and ensure yourself a constant stream of tenants in the buildings generating rent.
You get your low price, small units in the Federal Section 8 housing program. The US Feds pay most of the rent, they have rules for the tenants, and if the tenants break rules, do drugs, destroy the place, you can have the Feds evict them and replace them with someone else in the program.
I know folks that make a LOT of mostly GUARANTEED money owning section 8 housing units.
But if they did that, it would break the current model for renting too...?
I mean this happens today, you negotiate the rental price (up/down) when you're trying to rent, the only difference is, with this model, there is a 3rd party and computer in between.
But today, advertised price is not necessarily the price, one always tries to negotiate them down a bit off that rent price advertised....and if others are wanting to rent it, the landlord will let you bid higher....
Well, at some point, a city is a finite resource, and it sounds like NYC is about full, and people need to look elsewhere perhaps, to live?
Sure, everyone has a right to live wherever they want, but they don't necessarily have a right to "afford" to live wherever they want.
Everything in life has a price.
You must not be from the US, or have never applied to a number of US colleges.
They certainly do NOT admit everyone that submits an application.
Once the quotas are met for diversity's sake...it gets a bit competitive for the rest of the folks trying to compete to get in, and not everyone makes it.
Neither do foreigners....