Messages the Gubmit has sent me recently
 

I should not buy a house within my means to pay back the loan, because the gubmit will see that I can't pay it and they will push for rate cuts and the Chairman of the Fed will push for my bank to cut my principal.

Corollary, I should not invest in financial institutions cause the Fed will push for interest rate cuts and reductions in principal on loans, screwing me with a lower return on my stocks.

I should not make so much that I won't get a tax incentive rebate (I won't get one god damn dime). But everyone who made less than me, including people like my son, who works part time while a student will get one. He didn't even have any tax liability!

I can't get a Pell Grant for my son's education because I make too much money, but I'll get to pay for some other kid's Pell grant.

I shouldn't restore and maintain an old car and sell it because the gubmit, between the state and Feds, want 25% of my net proceeds. Funny, I don't remember an IRS agent under that car in the freezing cold and rain, filthy dirty with oil and antifreeze soaked into his hair, not even once, and I must have done that dozens and dozens of times.

I shouldn't move my money around too much because it could constitute unusual activity (even less than $10K) and require the bank to report to the government that type of suspicious activity (think Elliott Spitzer).

In California, the state says that if you live with a women, married or not, you can't use DNA to refute child support of a kid born while you lived with her, but if you don't live with her, she can force a DNA test to prove paternity. What's the message here from the Government? Screw your neighbors wife!

I shouldn't put money away for retirement cause if I do, the government won't give me Medicaid until I've exhausted all my retirement money first.

I should smoke because the state has a special tobacco tax that goes to fund health care for kids, not smoking denies those kids the health care that they desperately need.

As a foreigner, if I want to have my kid get a great college education, the kid should enter the country cause he can get in state tuition in many states, but if you come from New York to California and your legal, you have to pay out of state tuition.

You should enter the country illegally cause you can jump to the head of the line and wait for "Amnesty Reform".

SmileWavy

Thanks for the tips! I gotta make some changes!

What brand of cigarette do you recommend? I'm gonna blow my retirement savings on them.

Did you come up with these, Hugh? Good stuff...

Pretty much. The other one is that stupid, reckless and irresponsible gets subsidized and the subsidy is funded by the smart, restrained and responsible types.

I'm very close to declaring this country a lost cause. The next 5 years will tell the story, and ultimately decide if I stay or go.

Yeah, I did, while doing my taxes.

Sweet!

Sounds like something from the AWM thread :)

Although it appears your post is ironic, it's not. It's spot-on.

None of these are "mine" in that I collected and put together thoughts from reading PPOT.

That's all that went thru your head? I came to the conlusion this afternoon (seeing my taxes paid, and the liability that's still due...) that I need to refinance the snot out of my house. Or my wife quits her job.

I'm sooooo motivated to work hard and be a legal productive member of society.

On the taxes part, don't get me started:mad: If one more politician talks about no tax breaks for the "Rich" and I'm not paying my fair share, I may go postal.

I seem to remember a quote from some 7+ years ago akin to "only the top 2% of wage earners pay all the taxes..." and thinking huh?

Then I got a tax bill for ~ $7500 due to cap gains on some property. I was comforted to know that I was in the top 2%. At least as far as the IRS was concerned. Reality? Now theres another story......

I had a "Falling Down" moment when I got that return from the accountant.

Sounds like you are very one fortunate man. Nothing to be thankful for, whatsover.

Clearly you don't "get it" Hugh.

Working is for suckers. Go on the Government teat. You can still afford most of the luxuries you have now, but you will never again have to deal with "the man" taking a huge cut out of your earnings.

Hell, you won't have to pay for most things, like food, shelter, college for your kids, healthcare...

Ice,

I think about 50% of American households have no Federal Tax liability, not 2%.

Yeah StevePaa, I have plenty to be thankful for. But that doesn't mean I should be pulling the wagon ALL the time. Those who are riding in the wagon should get out and pull sometimes as well.

You're pretty close:

http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/542.html

Anyone who thinks America is not a socialist country ought to have their head examined.

"Broadly speaking, the 42.5 million zero-tax filers are: low-income, young, female-headed households, part-time workers, and beneficiaries of the $1,000 per-child tax credit or the Earned Income Credit. "

I think they have enough in their own wagon to pull with 1/5 the horsepower we have. Hopefully they will improve, but I don't want to throw more weight in their wagon.

Hugh, obviously since you have been so "lucky" in life, you are responsible for supporting those who are "unlucky". You know, the ones who don't work, pop out kids from different dads on a yearly basis, and spend the day on the couch watching their stories.

You know, I was hoping this thread involved black helicopters and tin-foil hats. Damn you for dissapointing me!

It's always good public policy to reward bad choices and punish good choices.

That is a silly sound bite. So how does it apply?

You would have to show how people who are doing the best they can and only make 30k have made a bad choice.

If you can't afford to feed your family without the government's help, then you shouldn't have had that family in the first place.

Exactly...Many of today's "upper middle class" are bureaucrats.

silly rabbit, don't you know all those kids are needed to fuel the economy. who will go to the movies Hugh works on if there were no kids.
who will fight the wars
who will be around to stop the Muslims from taking over the country

Life's a b!tch. I went back to college in my late '20s with 2 kids and a full-time job because I didn't want to be stuck in that rut. Now I will pay more in taxes because others don't share my ambition. I will be punished by the govt for my hard work.

Regardless of good or bad, they made the choices. Why should I be forced to supplement it?

you really think that person behind the car rental counter window has the same aptitude, intelligence as you??

I repeat myself... form a corporation ;)

nonsense, Jeff.

from your link


90% of zero tax filers earn less than 30K
35% are less than 24 yrs old
79% are white
most are working full time

To be an engineer, perhaps not. But to be something in America, all you need is a work ethic and ambition. You can easily make $50k+ as an electrician, plumber, bricklayer, truck driver, etc. The opportunities are out there for everyone, you just have to work for it. That is what seperates the haves from the have nots in America.

oops, someone else did before he got a chance. They chose to have children they could not afford, they chose to drop out of school, I could go on and on, but that would not be persuasive to you in the least, or historically has not been.

We are talking about two different things. You are talking about the working poor, EVERYONE else is talking about welfare bunnies, though the demographic is largely the same

again, nonsense. reread the thread.

I'm talking about both...they is a part of our society that does not work and sits back and collects a welfare check, or rolls up to the food pantry on 24's to pick up their free groceries. They is also the part of our society that wakes up at 6am and hauls off to their minimum wage job and works all day and brings in $25K a year. I have respect for one group and disdain for the other. However, I believe that someone from either group that can not afford to have children should not have children.

And we certainly need to reform the welfare, handout, tax break criteria so as not to encourage the cycle repeating. But I have respect for those who make a fraction of what I make and resist going for the handout until they have no other avenue of help.

You know what I WOULD support? A program that helps people that are TRYING to better themselves. Not through handouts, but by connecting them with programs that can help them advance in this world. Someone to point them in the right direction, and give them advice to better their situation.

Those who don't care enough to work for a better future? I have little interest in them. I don't believe society is responsible for supporting ANYONE, except those who physically cannot support themselves. Nobody would starve or freeze, every town has a soup kitchen and homeless shelter. The reason we have so many people milking the system today is they have it too good. Take away that incentive, and I think you'd see a lot more people with jobs.

+1 to Matt.

(And -$20,000 to my taxes while you're at it...)

I agree with that.

you are right, it is nonsense, I was just trying to make sense out of what you are saying, my mistake.

This thread needs to get back on topic. Its degrading to rants about taxes and such. The purpose of it was to draw on the irony of stupid messages that the government sends with its special programs and incentives/disincentives. Another one that comes to my mind was a few years ago, you could buy a business vehicle with a GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight, for our friends in Sweden) of in excess of 5,000 pounds and get an accelerated depreciation rate for tax purposes. The intent of the legislation was to aid farmers, like they need more tax breaks, but the result was that you, as a realtor in Beverly Hills could get a nice tax break for shuttling your clients around looking at houses in your Hummer. Which is a gas hog, un-environmental, polluting, etc.

Does that mean that I am required to support them? Well yes, I guess so...:mad: I realize that I don't have the same mental capacity as many on this board. That has not slowed me up one bit. All through life, I just made up the difference with harder work and an inbred revulsion to handouts. I have done just fine all on my own. Novel idea huh! I especially love when I go to the store and see somebody buying real cherrios in the checkout line with food stamps and I'm there with my generic or storebrand paying with my own money. Kinda ironic.I really like the big fat tattooed broads with multiple screaming dirty kids, buying food with stamps and paying cash for the dog food and cigarettes. Great system we got here.:rolleyes: Once again you libs seem to think that you know so much better than I, how to spend my money.

The system is set up on steps. You reach a certain amount of year salary and the dole goes "poof" ...
Once that happens you are in a worse situation than if you work up to that limit and get the dole too!

So, the system needs to be on a sliding scale which works like a limit function from math. The closer you get to goal (upper lower class/lower middle class) the dole becomes so little that you don't miss it anymore. Basically wheen the people off the system who would have normally gone through shock.

This type of wheening helps those who want to help themselves. I have nothing against this and wouldn't mind my taxes going to such folk.

It's those who live off of food stamps, work seasonally, and use the system to food stamp an easier life with vacations that work the system for all it's worth.

I remember even at 13 years old, why can folks buy smokes and booze but yet live off of food stamps ??? This has never made any sense to me. When I got older I realized that they were smart --- they used the system ;)