Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
June 7, 2012 at 11:19 AM in reply to: Question for those of you opposed to government pensions. #745241
dumbrenter
Participant[quote=poorgradstudent] There has been a pretty steady march of corporations continuing to screw over the little guy buy cutting benefits and perks like pensions (although some companies do have pretty sweet matching for their 401k plans). [/quote]
All benefits including pension & perks are part of compensation. As harvey put it: stockholders of companies have become more alert to the consequences of such long term plans. The debates on this site indicates that only a few taxpayers have gotten wise to it so far.
The little guy is so busy screwing himself (or herself) that not much contribution is needed from the corporations in this department. What else you call folks who prefer to buy IPads before saving up for a rainy day? On basis can somebody with a negative net-worth, $0 in retirement funds think they need an entertainment device?
And they vote, actually they might be the majority of the population.June 7, 2012 at 11:06 AM in reply to: Question for those of you opposed to government pensions. #745239Participant[quote=briansd1] The Brits outsourced to Indians during the days of empire and we could do the same. Big burly Indians can be very effective killing machines. [/quote]
Wow. I just do not understand why folks with self-professed liberal attitudes say such things.
Anyway, between the white settlers and the rangers and maybe Custer there are not many left to do this job for you. Try Mexicans.
June 3, 2012 at 1:01 PM in reply to: OT: Is it really that bad out there for fresh grad attorneys? #744882ParticipantOn the bright side, there is some on the job training, health insurance and a clothing allowance.
A clothing allowance!! What else could a new lawyer ask for?You guys are making too much out of this. Whine if somebody offers a low cost opportunity to network & gain experience while still in school or Whine if the same job is outsourced to China.
Whining itself is becoming so popular these days that it is in the danger of being outsourced itself. What are you going to do then?Participant[quote=ocrenter] You can not refine and process sex and exercise. You can not box up sex and put a tiger on it and advertise to kids with the tiger saying “they’reeeee ggggrrreeeaaaatttttt.” can you tell me how many commercials on “exercise” a kid sees during Saturday morning cartoons? Compare that to how many commercials kids see on sugary food and drinks.[/quote]
I am pretty sure you can refine and process and sell sex. There are folks willing to pay $19.99 a month for that. Some claim the internet was invented just for that.
Maybe you are on to something here. We should have a law that dictates a certain ratio of sugary food ads with some sex ads. Folks would get some ides on how to burn off that sugar. How about that Bloomberg?June 1, 2012 at 1:39 PM in reply to: How are people dumber than us going to make out with their 401(k)s? #744783ParticipantI do not understand the often repeated claim about 401Ks and IRAs being tax heavy come distribution time.
If I put money in 401K now, I am saving money on taxes I would have paid today (of which I have no choice in matter of taxes).
However, when I draw money when I am old, I could CHOOSE to draw as much to manage my tax bill.
Assuming we still have a progressive tax system 40 years from now, I can draw as much to keep me in a very low tax rate at that time. So why is this option bad?June 1, 2012 at 1:34 PM in reply to: How are people dumber than us going to make out with their 401(k)s? #744781Participant401ks are not Ponzi schemes because:
1. They are not deliberate frauds. Anybody who can read can figure out the fees and risks involved.
2. Buy in of new entrants is practically infinite, so the Ponzi dynamics do not really apply here.And ultimately, folks have an option of putting their 401k in cash and choose not to participate in the markets.
It is true the most big companies have ended up with healthier balance sheets after doing away with the pension plans for new employees in 1990s. However, those new employees also benefited because they now have job and retirement portability instead of having to stay with a single employer for a dozen years or so.
Participant[quote=ocrenter] so here’s the question, do we just let that 2/3 of America continue drowning in their fat?[/quote]
How else are we going to solve the social security payments issues?
ParticipantDisclaimer: I have not read his book.
But I did spend time reading the content of the link.
But some of the claims he makes are false. And for an anthropologist to make such claims is equivalent to professional cheating.I know for a fact that ‘debt’, ‘guilt’ and ‘sin’ are not the same word. Wonder where this anthropologist gets his information from. Now that I know this is wrong, I question everything else he passes off as facts, especially relating to Mesopotamia and Medieval Ireland and the slave girls.
Sad thing is that the did not have to go this far to make his point. The first recorded written information has to do with some merchant making accounts of who owes him what (or so). It is enough to claim writing was invented essentially to keep track of who owes whom and how much.
Participant“Rulers would regularly conclude the only way to prevent complete social breakdown was to declare a clean slate or ‘washing of the tablets,’”
Can we get one example of this in last 3000 years from either China or India or Europe? I doubt it.
I seriously doubt this ever happened in Mesopotamia, but have not read much about them.
Participant[quote=no_such_reality]I grew up in Minnesota, the WPA projects were visible in every single park, the local courthouse, other buildings, bridges, etc. Beautiful work, lasting work.
This is a simple staircase in a small park. It’s common to have the accompanying buildings match for a full day at the park. Firepits, open air dining lodge, restrooms, boatramps, parking.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/casualcameracollector/4794196871/Here’s a partial list of the how much they accomplished in the West with roughly half inflation adjusted dollars that we spent on the first bailout.
http://livingnewdeal.berkeley.edu/map/category.php
Look at it and weep when you realize how badly we’re being ripped off today.
We should have a list 4X as big as the Berkley list. We need a list 4X as big as the Berkley list.
Instead, we’ve lined the pockets of campaign contributors on both sides.[/quote]
You might be confusing bailout and ARRA. They are two different things.
Man, those guys who did the WPA works had some class or what? I looked at some of the projects that were done with those funds in San Diego from the list you provided. Did not realize Presidio park and county building were built with those funds.ParticipantHaven’t you all heard of the new research conclusions about various factors of success in school? Researchers have found that it is not culture, ethnicity, teachers or class size that determines success at school.
Apparently it all came down to how much parents were involved with their kids education. It was found that performance improved by 94% when parents took time off at great personal cost to ask their kids simple questions like “how was school today?”, “are you current with your homework?”, “do you need help with studies?”.Who would have ever made the connection between involved parents and success at school? Amazing.
Participant[quote=briansd1][quote=rockingtime]went to school in India where class size in high school was 60+, very high academic standard and quite disciplined.[/quote]
American teenagers, especially in the lower social-economic rungs, are disrespectful and out of control. Teachers and administrators can’t control them. Suspension doesn’t work. They should bring back caning of misbehaving school children.[/quote]
Wow, we went past the race and quickly zoomed to “socio-economic” stuff. Or is this a code word for black folks?
May 11, 2012 at 1:05 PM in reply to: OT: So much for paying their fair share of taxes…. Facebook co-founder gives up U.S. citizenship… #743594Participant[quote=flu]Sounds like dodging taxes to me…[/quote]
What could be more patriotic than that these days?
ParticipantIs that it? I find it hard to believe. Maybe the estate tax returns whose basis IRS used are very different from living people’s return.
Maybe people do take some of their wealth with them when they die. -
AuthorPosts
