1 - lack of regulation on the GSE's. They (and especially the FSA's) overstep their stated purposes and are run fast and loose - think S&L's.
3/4 - Rising interest rates != recession or depression - they argue exactly the opposite!
One can argue that the interest rates have been held artificially low for quite some time. The Fed's "easy money" policy has increased lending (the real place more dollars in the economy come from) and will lead to inflation. Look at the price of gold or the $/Euro price of oil ($ price of oil at an all time high - Euro price of oil near 2000 levels == devaluation of the dollar due to easy money).
4b (I guess) - China's got a 2 edged sword - they're pegging their currency for an advantage in exports, but they've "outsourced" their monetary policy to the American Fed.
5 - Not all commodities - only those where Americans are net consumers. In commodities where we are net producers (think ag commodities especially) we are feeling the pinch of the weaker dollar.
Higher interest rates are not necessarily a bad thing - they're better than high inflation. In 2001 - 2002, the Fed dropped interest rates farther and faster than they had historically done. There should be no surprise when they raise interest rates at the same precipitous speed in 2005. I've been reading some stuff predicting that the Fed rate will go from under 2% today to 4% in the fourth quarter of 2005 - that's a big, fast hike in rates!
All farmers and businesses do for commercial and ag land - that is a cost of doing business and it is correct to deduct it.
Individuals who pay property taxes directly (home owners and condo owners (in this example)) also may deduct property taxes (and any state income taxes as well) if they itemize their deductions instead of taking the standard deduction.
In most states, vehicle registration is at least partly a form of "personal property taxes" and a portion of your annual registration fees may be deducted on your tax return as well. I'm not sure how other states do it, but the Iowa tax instruction books have the formula for determining how much of the registration fee is deductible.
As an interesting side note about property taxes on apartments, I think that Minnesota has a portion of their tax law that will allow renters to claim a refund on their property taxes when doing their state return. Not sure why they do it, but it seems to be a nice gesture on their part.
Our base tax rate is 15.3% on "earned" income (FICA - Social Security and Medicare is collected on the first dollar) - but that is a little misleading. Under the right circumstances, a taxpayer earning even a small amount of income will get an "earned income credit" that is meant to pay back the FICA taxes collected from him or her throughout the year.
If you are running a small business at home, you will likely pay at least 30% federal income tax plus whatever the state taxes are - and that's if you're in the "15% middle class" tax bracket. It only gets worse from there.
Just like we trust ATMs to withdraw money, but few trust them to deposit money. The reason is because people don't trust the machine even though it has been measured to be much more accurate than a human.
Just how automated do you think that ATM deposits are?
Most of the depository ATM's that I've seen accept deposits in envelopes and allow the user to enter the amount of the deposit. Everyday, these ATM's are emptied and the deposit envlopes are opened and the transactions are processed.
Check 21 may allow that to change a bit because the individual checks can now be fed into the ATM and converted into substitute checks (a fancy way of saying that they can be scanned) - but someone will still need to make sure that the check that the computer recognized as a $40.00 check really is $40.00 and not a sloppy $10.00.
Equip the robot cars with automatic weapons and peripheral vision. If a fast moving deer comes running in front of the car - shoot it before it reaches the highway.
The gay marriage issue started making headway after the mayor of San Francisco decided that there was no reason not to perform those ceremonies. The Mass. supreme court and some other municipalities got into the act. Without them, the issue would have been a non-issue and would not have gained any traction.
In northern Iowa, deer are not that hard to see. I was out at my parent's place (acreage just outside of a small town) a coule of weeks ago near dusk and saw 6 of them in the back yard. I got out of my vehicle and yelled at them and they just sort of looked at me. My 6 year old son got out and yelled - and they ran:) (He now likes to remind me that he's more fearsome than I am).
It depends upon how they're done. If it's something like a character (or set of characters) drinking a Coke or Pepsi - no problem.
If you've got poorly done placement - stuff that's out of place or blatantly in the way - then I'd just as soon have commercials because at least you can skip them.
The bank teller (besides being an ass) made the comment that my friend shouldn't "touch the check too often as they might get her fingerprints"
How many people normally handle a check? The person who writes it, the cashier, someone in the back office (maybe), and a bank teller (maybe). There might be a couple more, but chances actually are good to get a print off of a stolen or forged check.
A long time ago, TBS used to start shows at x:05 - so that when the first commercial breaks hit other stations, people could flip to TBS and get hooked into whatever show they were airing.
I don't think that they do that anymore, but I always thought it was a neat trick to get viewers.
Then you'd end up with a lot more "product placement" advertising in programming - probably a lot more blatant than it is now.
It kind of reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Nixon and Kennedy were debating, and they took a time out for a commercial break and both endorsed Duff beer.
Slashdot Mirror
3/4 - Rising interest rates != recession or depression - they argue exactly the opposite!
One can argue that the interest rates have been held artificially low for quite some time. The Fed's "easy money" policy has increased lending (the real place more dollars in the economy come from) and will lead to inflation. Look at the price of gold or the $/Euro price of oil ($ price of oil at an all time high - Euro price of oil near 2000 levels == devaluation of the dollar due to easy money).
4b (I guess) - China's got a 2 edged sword - they're pegging their currency for an advantage in exports, but they've "outsourced" their monetary policy to the American Fed.
5 - Not all commodities - only those where Americans are net consumers. In commodities where we are net producers (think ag commodities especially) we are feeling the pinch of the weaker dollar.
Higher interest rates are not necessarily a bad thing - they're better than high inflation. In 2001 - 2002, the Fed dropped interest rates farther and faster than they had historically done. There should be no surprise when they raise interest rates at the same precipitous speed in 2005. I've been reading some stuff predicting that the Fed rate will go from under 2% today to 4% in the fourth quarter of 2005 - that's a big, fast hike in rates!
Damn - a serious response!
Perhaps being the President of a union pays better than a full time job.
They come in a lovely light green color.
Individuals who pay property taxes directly (home owners and condo owners (in this example)) also may deduct property taxes (and any state income taxes as well) if they itemize their deductions instead of taking the standard deduction.
In most states, vehicle registration is at least partly a form of "personal property taxes" and a portion of your annual registration fees may be deducted on your tax return as well. I'm not sure how other states do it, but the Iowa tax instruction books have the formula for determining how much of the registration fee is deductible.
As an interesting side note about property taxes on apartments, I think that Minnesota has a portion of their tax law that will allow renters to claim a refund on their property taxes when doing their state return. Not sure why they do it, but it seems to be a nice gesture on their part.
Apartment buildings are taxed - and that is built into your rent. You pay it, but you don't see it or get to claim it as a deduction.
When they think that no one is looking!
If you are running a small business at home, you will likely pay at least 30% federal income tax plus whatever the state taxes are - and that's if you're in the "15% middle class" tax bracket. It only gets worse from there.
Sears + K-Mart = S-Mart?
Just how automated do you think that ATM deposits are?
Most of the depository ATM's that I've seen accept deposits in envelopes and allow the user to enter the amount of the deposit. Everyday, these ATM's are emptied and the deposit envlopes are opened and the transactions are processed.
Check 21 may allow that to change a bit because the individual checks can now be fed into the ATM and converted into substitute checks (a fancy way of saying that they can be scanned) - but someone will still need to make sure that the check that the computer recognized as a $40.00 check really is $40.00 and not a sloppy $10.00.
Equip the robot cars with automatic weapons and peripheral vision. If a fast moving deer comes running in front of the car - shoot it before it reaches the highway.
How would you like to take time on trips to client sites and be able to bill them to another project - the ultimate in double dipping!
Have you ever tried to do taxes by hand? HAL 9000 didn't go crazy because someone asked it to lie - it went crazy trying to do tax returns...
They depend upon foreign oil - just in the form of money under the table.
The gay marriage issue started making headway after the mayor of San Francisco decided that there was no reason not to perform those ceremonies. The Mass. supreme court and some other municipalities got into the act. Without them, the issue would have been a non-issue and would not have gained any traction.
If this were even close to being true. In Iowa, they can't even make a dent in the deer population with hunting.
In northern Iowa, deer are not that hard to see. I was out at my parent's place (acreage just outside of a small town) a coule of weeks ago near dusk and saw 6 of them in the back yard. I got out of my vehicle and yelled at them and they just sort of looked at me. My 6 year old son got out and yelled - and they ran :) (He now likes to remind me that he's more fearsome than I am).
If you've got poorly done placement - stuff that's out of place or blatantly in the way - then I'd just as soon have commercials because at least you can skip them.
Or not.
When is CSI: San Andreas coming out? I hear that is a violent town and in need of some law enforcement!
How many people normally handle a check? The person who writes it, the cashier, someone in the back office (maybe), and a bank teller (maybe). There might be a couple more, but chances actually are good to get a print off of a stolen or forged check.
Burying everything in only 2 feet of depth - good thing you don't have to worry about frost or else that wouldn't work!
I don't think that they do that anymore, but I always thought it was a neat trick to get viewers.
It kind of reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Nixon and Kennedy were debating, and they took a time out for a commercial break and both endorsed Duff beer.
In Iowa we have their parents.