Be prepared to go bankrupt if you get seriously ill.
As a well-paid senior (20 yrs experience) software engineer he likely has health insurance coverage from his employer, and as such will likely NOT go broke if he gets "seriously ill,"
I want to live with people, like those in Canada or the Nordic states that share my opinion.
Please, describe the immigration process for moving to Canada or "the Nordic states" permanently... It doesn't appear you can just "decide" to immigrate to any country you choose.
So this "study" found that well-paid employees have better benefits than those at low-paying jobs? Mon Dieu! how can this be?
Next you "find" that 401K and pension plans are reserved for top earners, while minimum wage earners are left with no mechanism other than self-directed savings...
Thank you captain obvious, it never would have occurred to me that people with more valuable skills, people that demand higher salaries, get more vacation days than those without valuable skill and that receive lower wages.
Go here, scroll down to the picture of the modern wind turbine mast standing without any blades attached and explain to me again how a wind turbine can survive a Category 4 hurricane. While you're there, look for the picture of the devastated solar panel field and tell me again how modern solar panels can survive a Category 4 hurricane.
Wanting something to be true isn't the same as it actually being true.
The power company has about a million customers, maybe a million and a half (based on a total population of around 3 million residents), the $9BN in debt is to pay for the crappy, inadequate, and completely devastated power grid, they are looking at $17BN to rebuild properly (for example, build a largely hurricane-proof infrastructure), but having burned every electrical contractor firm in the industry who will do the work? who will pay for the $26BN in total debt (old plus new)?
Puerto Rico has no industry, no raw materials, it's greatest wealth came from a tax program that incentivized manufacturing on the island, and when that expired, the economy tanked.
$9 BN in debt could be managed, but customers don't pay their bills and the utility under charges for the electricity it generates.
Statehood loses every time it's on the ballot in Puerto Rico - how exactly are the Republicans influencing the democrat residents to vote against statehood?
Per Capita debt levels for US States are much lower than Puerto Rico's $172BN or $50K per capita::
The five states at the center of the snowball with the highest debt per capita are Massachusetts ($11,000), Connecticut ($9,200), Rhode Island ($8,900), Alaska ($8,200), and New Jersey ($7,400).
The Jones Act is not the problem in any significant way. Explain to me how slightly larger transportation costs for imported goods equals a power utility that is $9BN in debt and needs $17BN to recover? PR got rich based on advantageous tax laws that expired a decade or two ago, and PR never adjusted it's spending to reflect the new reality.
Does Puerto Rico even have a deep water port big enough to take transoceanic container ships directly? I think Puerto Rico needs to have it's imports arrive on smaller US-flagged ships because of port restrictions.
Do you really imagine that a poor island nation of 3-4 million people consumes enough to support a sustained flow of goods from Asia?
Puerto Rico has for years made countless dumb decisions, long before Maria hit - it was wildly bankrupt before Maria with $172BN debt before Maria struck, or about $50Kof debt PER CAPITA.
The power company was $9BN in debt before Maria, and it will cost $17BN to build the infrastructure it needs - how does the Jones Act explain that? Years of failing to pay contractors is not because of the Jones Act?
The Jones Act goes back nearly 100 years (passed in 1920), it was in effect when Puerto Rico was rich, and now that it isn't. There are many reasons for the situation in Puerto Rico, arcane shipping regulations aren't one of them.
The island only has one electric company, and prior to Maria, it was $9 billion in debt and utilizing outdated infrastructure and equipment.
and
With a population of 3.74 million people, it works out to $2406/person, 8.7%GDP. on a per capita income of ~$20k.
That $2,406/person is only to bail out the power company financially, it doesn't provide one penny for rebuilding the infrastructure to current standards, it simply settles the debt for the craptacular power grid the hurricane wiped out. To "Build Back Better" is estimated to cost an additional $17.6 Billion, which adds another $5K or so per capita...
Congress is responsible for a lot of the poverty in PR.
Up until a decade or so ago Puerto Rico was rolling in cash with it's special tax breaks, allowing hihly-profitable manufacturing to be done on the island with minimal taxes. When the tax deal ended, the manufacturing jobs left, and Puerto Rico couldn't stop spending money it didn't have, hence the massive debt.
Christ, a ship from China isn't even allowed to dock in PR because of US laws - everything has to go to mainland US and brought over on US ships.
Because Puerto Rico is so big it often has full-size trans-oceanic container ships with their entire load dedicated to PR market arrive every week from China, passing though the Panama Canal? Seriously, you think the problem is related to shipping regulations?
The costs are staggering - one Walmart with access to direct shipping could do more to help PR than dozens of hair-brained political schemes. And good luck attracting private capital when the markets are regulated beyond the breaking point.
Wow, which regulation forced PR to defer maint. work on their infrastructure? What would PR do different with independence and home rule? Right now the best thing going on the Puerto Rico front is their ability to migrate to the US at-will, unimpeded. Unfortunately, every Puerto Rican that leaves the island increases the per capita debt obligation for the remaining citizens. The only hope PR has to recover is for the US to step in and make the vast majority of their outstanding debt disappear, but the pension plans and private investors that own PR debt aren't interested in losing 50-75% of the money PR promised to repay them.
No, Amazon does not. I frequently purchase items off the Amazon website from third-party sellers, and if the third-party seller is outside TX, I pay no sales taxes/none are collected. And Amazon has a huge presence in my town, from AWS offices to Amazon Fulfilment warehouses.
If my third-party seller is located in TX, taxes are collected.
It makes no difference where the item is stored, as Amazons fulfilment services are a service provided to the out of state vendor, not the buyer.
Amazon does collect sales taxes for items it sells to customers in states they have a physical presence AND the state has a sales tax to collect.
This would throw out the interstate commerce clause of the US constitution. Slippery slope, but it wouldn't be the first time.
This would be the same "Interstate Commerce Clause" that was used to let the federal government regulate the production and sale of chickens that were raised, slaughtered, sold, and consumed within the boundaries of one state - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... - because even though those chickens never crossed the state line, they replaced chickens that could have been carried across state lines and sold across state lines?
Internet =/= Broadband Lacking broadband does not mean lacking internet access.
Not everyone wants/needs broadband internet access, many/most do, but to just blanket assume that everyone wants/needs broadband internet is just wrong.
So to simplify the whole issue, have a Federal sales tax and 80% money is to be distributed to the states on a per capita basis and the other 20% to be distributed to the states upon a need basis
Uh, no. People don't spend money equally, so a high-spending state like CA has a high per-capita tax collection level, and is reimbursed at the same rate as low-spending Montana? Why would any Californian think that was a good idea?
Money spent in California is taxed to benefit Californians, end of story.
You're right! I was in Best Buy the other day, and when the woman in front of me shower the clerk her platinum AmEx card, the cashier immediately waived any sales taxes for the 4K TV she was buying.
Are you really that stupid?
How do you imagine a "rich person" itemizes their sales taxes for the year to get those "tax credits and deductions" you claim they get? What line, on what tax form captures that total?
Slashdot Mirror
Be prepared to go bankrupt if you get seriously ill.
As a well-paid senior (20 yrs experience) software engineer he likely has health insurance coverage from his employer, and as such will likely NOT go broke if he gets "seriously ill,"
I want to live with people, like those in Canada or the Nordic states that share my opinion.
Please, describe the immigration process for moving to Canada or "the Nordic states" permanently... It doesn't appear you can just "decide" to immigrate to any country you choose.
In 1967, Canada became the first country to adopt a points-based immigration system.
So fifty years after Canada implements a merit-based (AKA points-based) immigration policy America-hating Americans attack President Trump and his administration as being anti-immigrant by proposing a similar immigration program. (Apparently the only good immigration program is one that increases the absolute number of immigrants admitted into the country annually...)
But do hourly employees get paid vacation? Or contractors?
No.
Hourly workers are, by and large, only paid for the hours they work, the same for contractors.
If paid time off is important to you, get a salaried position. A wise contractor adjusts their hourly rate to cover anticipated time off.
So this "study" found that well-paid employees have better benefits than those at low-paying jobs? Mon Dieu! how can this be?
Next you "find" that 401K and pension plans are reserved for top earners, while minimum wage earners are left with no mechanism other than self-directed savings...
Thank you captain obvious, it never would have occurred to me that people with more valuable skills, people that demand higher salaries, get more vacation days than those without valuable skill and that receive lower wages.
Go here, scroll down to the picture of the modern wind turbine mast standing without any blades attached and explain to me again how a wind turbine can survive a Category 4 hurricane. While you're there, look for the picture of the devastated solar panel field and tell me again how modern solar panels can survive a Category 4 hurricane.
Wanting something to be true isn't the same as it actually being true.
Your numbers are "interesting".
The power company has about a million customers, maybe a million and a half (based on a total population of around 3 million residents), the $9BN in debt is to pay for the crappy, inadequate, and completely devastated power grid, they are looking at $17BN to rebuild properly (for example, build a largely hurricane-proof infrastructure), but having burned every electrical contractor firm in the industry who will do the work? who will pay for the $26BN in total debt (old plus new)?
Puerto Rico has no industry, no raw materials, it's greatest wealth came from a tax program that incentivized manufacturing on the island, and when that expired, the economy tanked.
$9 BN in debt could be managed, but customers don't pay their bills and the utility under charges for the electricity it generates.
Exactly what would 2 senators do for Puerto Rico? What would a handful of congressmen add to Puerto Rico's situation?
Local government got Puerto Rico into this mess, more government probably isn't the answer.
Registering for the draft isn't the same as serving.
Statehood loses every time it's on the ballot in Puerto Rico - how exactly are the Republicans influencing the democrat residents to vote against statehood?
Per Capita debt levels for US States are much lower than Puerto Rico's $172BN or $50K per capita::
The five states at the center of the snowball with the highest debt per capita are Massachusetts ($11,000), Connecticut ($9,200), Rhode Island ($8,900), Alaska ($8,200), and New Jersey ($7,400).
Source: Here's how much state debt rests on your shoulders
The difference isn't "shipping charges" as a result of the century-old Jones Act.
The Jones Act is not the problem in any significant way. Explain to me how slightly larger transportation costs for imported goods equals a power utility that is $9BN in debt and needs $17BN to recover? PR got rich based on advantageous tax laws that expired a decade or two ago, and PR never adjusted it's spending to reflect the new reality.
Does Puerto Rico even have a deep water port big enough to take transoceanic container ships directly? I think Puerto Rico needs to have it's imports arrive on smaller US-flagged ships because of port restrictions.
Do you really imagine that a poor island nation of 3-4 million people consumes enough to support a sustained flow of goods from Asia?
Puerto Rico has for years made countless dumb decisions, long before Maria hit - it was wildly bankrupt before Maria with $172BN debt before Maria struck, or about $50Kof debt PER CAPITA.
The power company was $9BN in debt before Maria, and it will cost $17BN to build the infrastructure it needs - how does the Jones Act explain that? Years of failing to pay contractors is not because of the Jones Act?
The Jones Act goes back nearly 100 years (passed in 1920), it was in effect when Puerto Rico was rich, and now that it isn't. There are many reasons for the situation in Puerto Rico, arcane shipping regulations aren't one of them.
The island only has one electric company, and prior to Maria, it was $9 billion in debt and utilizing outdated infrastructure and equipment.
and
With a population of 3.74 million people, it works out to $2406/person, 8.7%GDP. on a per capita income of ~$20k.
That $2,406/person is only to bail out the power company financially, it doesn't provide one penny for rebuilding the infrastructure to current standards, it simply settles the debt for the craptacular power grid the hurricane wiped out. To "Build Back Better" is estimated to cost an additional $17.6 Billion, which adds another $5K or so per capita...
Stiff the power company's creditors.
Like your dad's pension?
Congress is responsible for a lot of the poverty in PR.
Up until a decade or so ago Puerto Rico was rolling in cash with it's special tax breaks, allowing hihly-profitable manufacturing to be done on the island with minimal taxes. When the tax deal ended, the manufacturing jobs left, and Puerto Rico couldn't stop spending money it didn't have, hence the massive debt.
Christ, a ship from China isn't even allowed to dock in PR because of US laws - everything has to go to mainland US and brought over on US ships.
Because Puerto Rico is so big it often has full-size trans-oceanic container ships with their entire load dedicated to PR market arrive every week from China, passing though the Panama Canal? Seriously, you think the problem is related to shipping regulations?
The costs are staggering - one Walmart with access to direct shipping could do more to help PR than dozens of hair-brained political schemes. And good luck attracting private capital when the markets are regulated beyond the breaking point.
Wow, which regulation forced PR to defer maint. work on their infrastructure? What would PR do different with independence and home rule? Right now the best thing going on the Puerto Rico front is their ability to migrate to the US at-will, unimpeded. Unfortunately, every Puerto Rican that leaves the island increases the per capita debt obligation for the remaining citizens. The only hope PR has to recover is for the US to step in and make the vast majority of their outstanding debt disappear, but the pension plans and private investors that own PR debt aren't interested in losing 50-75% of the money PR promised to repay them.
Yes, that's how scholarships work
No, Amazon does not. I frequently purchase items off the Amazon website from third-party sellers, and if the third-party seller is outside TX, I pay no sales taxes/none are collected. And Amazon has a huge presence in my town, from AWS offices to Amazon Fulfilment warehouses.
If my third-party seller is located in TX, taxes are collected.
It makes no difference where the item is stored, as Amazons fulfilment services are a service provided to the out of state vendor, not the buyer.
Amazon does collect sales taxes for items it sells to customers in states they have a physical presence AND the state has a sales tax to collect.
Or simply impose an alternative, state-wide Internet Sales Tax Rate, if you want you can call it a use tax, and make it 4%, as SD currently does.
This would throw out the interstate commerce clause of the US constitution. Slippery slope, but it wouldn't be the first time.
This would be the same "Interstate Commerce Clause" that was used to let the federal government regulate the production and sale of chickens that were raised, slaughtered, sold, and consumed within the boundaries of one state - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... - because even though those chickens never crossed the state line, they replaced chickens that could have been carried across state lines and sold across state lines?
Car attacks are unlikely inside of a secured building such as YouTube.
But if you pull the fire alarm your victims will all come out and congregate in the parking lot in departmental clusters for your convenience.
Internet =/= Broadband
Lacking broadband does not mean lacking internet access.
Not everyone wants/needs broadband internet access, many/most do, but to just blanket assume that everyone wants/needs broadband internet is just wrong.
So to simplify the whole issue, have a Federal sales tax and 80% money is to be distributed to the states on a per capita basis and the other 20% to be distributed to the states upon a need basis
Uh, no. People don't spend money equally, so a high-spending state like CA has a high per-capita tax collection level, and is reimbursed at the same rate as low-spending Montana? Why would any Californian think that was a good idea?
Money spent in California is taxed to benefit Californians, end of story.
If you are rich, you don't pay sales taxes.
You're right! I was in Best Buy the other day, and when the woman in front of me shower the clerk her platinum AmEx card, the cashier immediately waived any sales taxes for the 4K TV she was buying.
Are you really that stupid?
How do you imagine a "rich person" itemizes their sales taxes for the year to get those "tax credits and deductions" you claim they get? What line, on what tax form captures that total?
It's as if you've never heard of the concept of withholding.