Soot & Ashes Favourite Blogs
PerpWalkWatch - # of Hours New AG Eric Holder Has Let Angelo Mozilo Run Free
Eric Holder and Barack Obama
Failure to
Arrest
Angelo Mozilo
2862 Hours
(countdown suspended 6/21/2009)
ERIC HOLDER - YOU ARE A COWARD
DO YOUR JOB
(UPDATE 6.4.09 - SEC CHARGES MOZILO WITH INSIDER TRADING. YET ERIC HOLDER STILL SITS ON HIS ASS AND DOES NOTHING)
Posts
Comments
58 comments:
Just another Ponzi Scheme
It doesn't have to be a joke. It wasn't a joke for our parents, and our grandparents. Are we that fucked up as a society, that we can't even provide a subsistence-level existence for old people who weren't smart enough to get rich? That would make the U.S. pretty pathetic. Other advanced nations seem to be able to provide for old folks. Is the U.S. THAT Third-World?
(That said, Mrs. Bukko has filed for her SS this year, in the first month she was eligible. Yeah, we're on the older side. Too old for this country-skipping shit. We know she's taking a hit by getting it now vs. future benefit levels, but we reckon it's going to be farked by the time I get to SS age, so might as well get some now.)
63 isn't old
Make it 73
I have to ask the question why is it that when we are talking about poor young people, having to pay for college, that the consensus is that we just suck it up.
But.....
When we start talking about the older generations who have had years upon years to fix this, it has been seen coming for decades, and yet chose to carry on as normal. Suddenly the story is different, we hear words such as generational genocide. We are not talking about killing off the older people, only that they won't be getting big fat checks, money they never earned. If you now say that they indeed paid money into the social security "trust" fund, this is a fallacy also. These people have enjoyed incredibly low rates if taxation, ever since Reagan, these tax cuts funded by raiding SS. Do you remember Al Gores "lockbox", well guess what you guys (in Florida) did not vote for him, and this situation is the natural consequence of the nations ultimate decision to elect Bush into office, which has made this situation an order of magnitude worse.
What will now happen is simply a natural consequence of their action/inaction dynamic. As sure as touching hot metal will burn your hand, not saving for retirement means when you get there, you will have no money.
There is _no money_ to pay these IOUs. Simply saying that the younger generations should slave under the yoke of indentured servitude, so that people who have already had there whole lives can have a long unearned and undeserved.
If the older generations had really expected the younger ones to pay there retirements in perpetuity, then they should have done somethine (say in the 70s or 80s), to provide good quality low-cost (even state funded!) tertiary education. The generation they now expect to pay for their beach condos in Florida, are _crippled_ by excessive levels of student debt.
We could always see about some financial aid (you know government backed loans) for retirees, maybe take their houses/assets as collateral. Kind of like a national "reverse-mortgage"
The boomers better get used to the idea, that their retirement is going to suck, and it will do so because that is what they have earned, and deserve.
Also, positions of power will from now on be filled by more and more bitter genX/Ys, so there will be a major shift, the country will be run for the benefit of future generations, not for the ones who have been.
Is the U.S. THAT Third-World?
On a "net worth" basis, i.e. assets minus liablities the USA is the POOREST COUNTRY ON EARTH.
You know the government is too f*cking big when all anybody ever does is talk about the f*cking government!
I have a dream.
I dream of living in a country where the president is a nameless bureaucrat working in a dull brown building wearing a cheap brown suit that has nothing to do on most days of the year and is rarely if ever talked about or heard from.
I dream of a president that can be of moderate intelligence or even a blithering idiot but is incapable of doing major damage to the country because he is restrained by a system of laws and has severely limited powers. You know, like the US Constitution.
I dream of a nation based on laws rather than a nation of men, rather than a nation of "great leaders".
Is that a crazy dream or what?
-Gonzo
I have been living with my dad making his mortgage payments so he doen't lose his house. So after giving him money for over a year before I moved in and severely lowering my standard of living while his has gone unchanged, I can still keep paying SS so he can collect that too. SS should have never been invented, all it does is keep undeserving people feeling they deserve something just because they are American. The sooner this scam ends, the better. Whose gonna pay for my overbloated lifestyle? Boomers have completely ruined this country. We should have a Logans Run event where when you reach 65, if you don't have any savings, say goodbye so you are not a burden on society.
The social security trust fund! Not to worry, we have a trust fund for social security. It is full of IOUs. It's as good as money.
The FED can print up the difference in one afternoon.
Seriously, "we" will probably resort to means testing, ie. if you're flat broke and don't own anything you get some social security, like $1000/month. If you own a house, 401K, stocks, etc. forget it, you're on your own.
As far as Medicaid is concerned, take an Asprin and don't ever bother me again. Old people die, that's what they do.
In the meantime government will probably seize the opportunity to raise social security taxes again so they can transfer some more money to their banker friends.
Corollary: As you near retirement liquidate all your assets and transfer them into something that holds its value and is easy to hide, like precious metals. Chnaces are government will have put an end to any precious metal trade by then to discourge exactly that kind of behavior.
Here's some good reading how the FED and government manipulate our money, pull trillions out of thin air and the possile consequences.
http://www.hussmanfunds.com/wmc/wmc090518.htm
One thing that never gets discussed enough I think is the fact that social security is an INSURANCE policy, right on your paystub it says OASDI.
This means:
Old-Age Survivors and Disability Insurance.
When SS was enacted the average US life expectancy was about 62 for men and 65 for women. It was never intended to pay for _everybody_ to sit around for 10-20 years receiving paychecks from their children. It was meant as insurance against the possibility that one might live an unusually long time.
Now the life expectancy has climbed up to about 74 and 80 years respectively. So why is the retirement age the same, clearly a large number of people (the majority) "survive" into old age. Since life expectancy has increased, why not also do the same for the retirement age. Based on the equation that was used in 1933, the retirement age should now be about 72 years. This is going to happen, get used to idea, and even if as a worker you still have to pay SS, you should also make sure you have enough independent funds of your own that to fund whatever retirement you want. I wouldmuch rather have the opportunity to take the 15% of my income that goes into SS, and put it into my own account, what on _earth_ would be wrong with that?
Yes, I know it's a joke. My mom, born in 1927 told me many times, do NOT count on Social Security. (And I haven't) You know what...I don't want the government to do anything for me...nor do I want them to take anything from me (like my freedom which, frankly, no longer exists). I have Gonzo's dream, too. Is the U.S. too big to fail? Was Rome? No one, and I mean no one is going to bail us out. China's busy making other plans. Isn't that funny...we're going to fail because a communist country is no longer willing to buy our debt.
So then, what are our prospects? I suppose we could export our coal to China. We still have lots of coal that Obama won't let us use. So, we'll have to export it for money while we sit in the cold and dark of the long winter ahead.
12.4% of our gross pay, up to $106,800 this year, more next, is stolen from us at gunpoint. This should make a person VERY wealthy after 40+ years of work, but the money has been stolen by a bunch of politicians, who really need to die.
And,it pretty much stinks that every old person in the US gets healthcare, while millions of children do not. The USA deserves what is coming, I left the country a long time ago and for good.
Bukko,
Would you like to pay me about $500/mo (12.5%) for your entire working life if I promise you a basic retirement safety net? What if you know that my wife and I host parties for our friends everyday out of that funds?
The problem with SS is that it is a government-run monopoly. It's corrupt just like almost everything else that the governments and monopolies touch. If you would like to retire in abject poverty, the way to do it is to give your savings to an unaccountable monopolist. If you would like to see charitable contributions disappear into waste and extravegance, the way to do it is to force all charitable contributions to be made to a monopolist.
Here's the other thing about China from the Daily Reckoning's Ian Mathias:
“Rare earths are critical to all future ‘green’ energy, especially with things like permanent magnets for windmills (not to mention the rare earths that go into those ‘efficient’ light bulbs.) Every large windmill, for example, requires about 560 pounds of a rare earth called neodymium, for the permanent magnet within the turbine system. There’s no substitute for neodymium. People have gone through the entire periodic chart, and only neodymium will work in large permanent magnets.
“The U.S. has NO locale for manufacturing permanent magnets. None. Zilch.”
“The West had better get serious about rare earths or we’re forfeiting the key industries of the 21st century to China.”
The U.S. government will pay every penny they owe to social security recipients. No one will be denied a dime of what is owed them under the rules. Anything else would be political suicide.
Of course a loaf of bread will cost those recipients $50 - the price you pay when you make a deal with Satan.
No_more_free_20_year_vacations said:
'me me me me'
First; I’m young too just started my own family and can relate somewhat to your frustration but in reality it is an extremely selfish way of viewing the world
Wasn’t too long ago when a young lady gave up everything for 9 long months, physically and emotionally, protected your little ass like the apple of her eye.
All while a young man put in extra hours at work and stayed up late nights to prepare a new room with fresh paint and shiny new furniture for your little ass.
Once your little smelly whiny ass came in to our world you immediately began whining for free cheese.
Your mommy and daddy read books they never really cared about on subjects of nutrition and health.
Night and day your mommy and daddy prepared mashed peas and carrots, pampered and wiped your vomit, walked a 2 mile circuit 3-4 times at all hours to your little tummy to burp.
All while your daddy put up with an asshole boss for 11 hours of humility just to bring home that new Tonka truck with the biggest smile, the one that you unappreciatively kicked upon receival cause you wanted an overpriced crappy monster truck instead.
When your daddy got laid-off in the middle of renovating your room to add bookshelves you never even knew, all you did was yell at him for not buying a new car like the other kids dad across the street, Diner was served warm and clean clothing was folded in your drawer ready for the next morning in dry warm home.
Your mommy mustered all her courage sided with you unconditionally yelled at the school principal when you punched that other kid.
Your Daddy never got his dream sports car cause he spent that money on a vacation trip to Disney that you whined for, for years, when arriving there you did nothing but complain the entire time and you still came home with your favorite stuffed animal.
When got that fever and your tummy hurt, your mommy stayed up all night at the doctors office with you cleaned your poop of the bathroom floor and made sure to get your favorite cherry flavored medicine.
Both your mom and dad missed most of the TV shows they liked cause it was your time to entertain yourself, drove you around to all your games and always prepared a healthy snack and drinks that you always whined about.
All their money and savings was spent to prepare you for this world as best as they knew.
You are now smart healthy and educated.
It did not happen on its own
Your elders willingly struggled with love gave it all up just for you and you spoiled little fucking brat want more free cheese?
How bout throw a nickle to those who made you possible?
"Also, positions of power will from now on be filled by more and more bitter genX/Ys, so there will be a major shift, the country will be run for the benefit of future generations, not for the ones who have been."
----------------------
Not so sure how that one's going to actually pan out, given that the rebellious, 'we're going-to-change-the-world' 1960's types are now running the show, and they have become just as piggish as the greedy executives whom they protested against when they were young.
-Mammoth
In other Trustworthy Government news...
The SEC will now be stripped of power(that they never use to protect small investors, but nevermind that.)
"...The proposal, still being drafted, is likely to give the Federal Reserve more authority to supervise financial firms...Heh.
"...Obama wishes to give the fox, who just got done eating half the chickens, formal status as guard over the henhouse..."
-Denninger
Lawless. Nation.
Mom and dad paid in to SS from day one, and drew nice checks when they retired. The only problem that I had was that they didn't NEED them. Having invested prudently, and saved all their lives (nothing except house and cars on time,) in retirement they were pretty well off. I remember that I had to send the amount of her last monthly check back to SS when she passed away, and it was over $1200. She had her SS check automatically deposited into a tax-free T-bill account so she never saw it anyway.
Not to say that mom and dad didn't deserve their SS checks, just ironic considering how many people today have NOTHING except SS to retire on!
Now! Do I believe there will be a stinking dime from SS for me to "retire" on?
I'm not that stupid. I've planned accordingly for years!
============================
On a side note:
Article in the WSJ about how the former big sh*ts from the various lenders are banding together and buying pools of foreclosed homes from the banks for pennies on the dollar. The a$$holes created the situation and made a bundle on the way up, now they are raking it in on the way down.
http://tinyurl.com/o2s8ag
Does injustice never end!
Keith, we really could use the old monthly "thought of the day"/misc thread that we used to have on HP.
Off-topic, but not really...
Out of the five of us who ride in a vanpool, two people have had their hours cut and are now working 4 days/week.
Thus, the incoming funds for Social Security just took another hit, albeit small, but these all add up.
Anyone else out there seeing people getting cut to 4-day weeks?
-Mammoth
Dont dare depend on ss income.Look at it as a bonus if you get it.Invest wisely my friends.
The US has "borrowed" over $4 trillion dollars from the Social Security trust fund. Do you think we will ever pay it back?
Our national debt should be stated at $15 trillion not $11 trillion.
If the government offered the option of opting out of this ponzi scheme in return for the gov't keeping every penny that I've put in to date, I'd be the first to sign up.
Being in the Gen X group, I'm not going to see a dime of this money either way.
It's not a joke when they deduct hundreds of dollars from my paycheck each month to give to seniors living better than I do, driving nicer cars, and traveling the world. That's real.
As a matter of fact, I do believe if I had just been allowed to keep that money that was taken from me, I would be able to afford to retire already.
Jersey Girl
Bukko : "Are we that fucked up as a society, that we can't even provide a subsistence-level existence for old people who weren't smart enough to get rich?"Yes.
"You know it's a joke, right?"I like to think of it more as government crime.
Sure, I know it's a joke. That's why I moved out of the US 3 years ago and haven't paid a dime into social security since.
Hint, hint- leaving the US means no more state tax, local tax, unemployment withholdings, medicare or social security.
Depending on the locale that could be worth 25% or more!!
Cha Ching baby.
Still have to file federal though and now you have to report the exact maximum dollar amount on any non-US banks where you have more than $10K on any day of the year.
That piece of BS got slipped into the last TARP legislature.
-Mike
"You know the government is too f*cking big when all anybody ever does is talk about the f*cking government!"
I agree. Government positions are service positions to the people of this country. Here is the US we have gone from what our forefathers understood about that to treating someone in office like they are royalty. Our gov at all levels needs a huge smackdown.
As we continue to let the gov buy car companies, this is only going to get worse. Come on keith, you have got to understand that is way beyond Obama's power. One of three things will happe. First nothing happens and he gets away with it setting the tone for generations to come. The second scenario is people let it happen but bitch all day long about it. The third is this shit is going to get old and some sort of a smackdown is coming, and everyone else will bitch that we should be smaking Bush, but bush is no longer in office anymore so Obama will grunt the backhand. This is fine by me, and I don't care as long as this crap stops.
The first or second scenario or a combination of the two will take place.
BTW, Thank You to any Californians out there who voted yesterday. The results were exacltly as I wanted. No on all but 1F. Bastards should get a 50% cut across the board with no chance for raises not even to adjust for inflation for 25 years. This should go for Washington DC as well. They get there retirement cut and no raises, not even to adjust for inflation for 25 years.
Bet our dollar would hold some of its value for awhile.
I collect old age social security; it's real enough to me. My grandfathers collected. My Dad.
Grandma PKK
posted on derringer's site
http://anti-federalist.org/
Not a bad plan but who gets the nukes?
It's no joke when millions of hard-working Americans pay into a system which is being systematically ripped-off by our public service officials - the very people who took an outh to protect the interests of the people - bullox.
The only interests they're trying to protect are their own.
Watch now as the entire house or cards collapes while the greedy sweaty pigs continue to eat at the public service trough - making matters far, far, far worse down the road.
"If the older generations had really expected the younger ones to pay there retirements in perpetuity, then they should have done somethine (say in the 70s or 80s), to provide good quality low-cost (even state funded!) tertiary education."
they also could have made more babies. SS works great as long as the population is grwing with an ever-growing population of young ones to support the collectors.
Reminder to all you young punks
Beware of the laws you put in place that effect the seniors
Unless you figure out how to stop the clock
You are only an eye blink away from being there yourself
California is so screwed right now. Those that do live here are likely to be in complete denial about this fact. But it is a fact.
$42+ Billion Alt-A and option arm loans set to recast in California starting this month (May).
Bottom of housing market won't be seen until late 2010, yet homes in OC are still selling at ridiculous $500K - $600K prices. Suckers.
The state and municipal governments are bankrupt as no one is paying property taxes anymore.
Striking down the Prop 1 B.S. just prevents an impossible situation here from getting any worse. But Californians have all their work still ahead of them. The truth is, the way the state spends money, you either raise taxes, cut expenses or continue to charge it to the graduating H.S. Class of 2012. Raising taxes just got a beat down. Now expenses must be cut (government jobs, education jobs, municipal jobs).
The thing I'm most worried about right now is the impact of unemployment and crime here. It's going to get worse. The next 6 to 12 months will be "very intersting" to say the least.
When the reality of budget cuts hits families, eldery and 9 to 5 ers, don't be surprised to see riots.
But let me include a quick plug for California: Disneyland has some great pre-riot deals right now!
RE: "Also, positions of power will from now on be filled by more and more bitter genX/Ys, so there will be a major shift, the country will be run for the benefit of future generations, not for the ones who have been."
That's why social security will survive; the next generation will want to take over the real economic power; nobody is going to get rich off social security; The fear mongers add things up to make it seem unbearable.
to to contrary, w/o social security, the next generation would have to keep prices low since 1/3 of society wouldn't have money... and the consumer base would really suck.
Great speech by Ron Paul on the House floor describing what a sorry state of affairs the US is in today:
Current Conditions or Just a Bad Dream?.
-Gonzo
My father was killed when I was 10. My mother/brother/and I all drew suvivor SS benefits. I drew until I was 21. I know that we pulled out more than he ever put in. It did allow me to go to college and have some measure of independence and freedom others of my age did not. In that sense it worked as designed. I would not be where I am now if it hadn't been for SS. I now have a good job (govt ;)) and I pay into it. Like any system there is abuse but I would like to think that somewhere some young man is taking advantage of it to make a bad situation better - then again there are those like my brother...
I have seen others forego their chance at SS when a spouse dies with the promise of more at a later date. One took babysitting jobs and lived a live of bare subsistance. She was diagnosed with lung cancer died 7 days later, before ever collecting a dime.
The other developed health problems that kept her institutionally bound until she died. Mentally she was sharp as a tack, physically she was a wreck. A terrible way to be, broke my heart everytime we would go see her. Every dime went for her care.
The system needs reform - granted. It needs strict rules requiring our leaders to keep their grubby paws off the fund for their favorite pork and against expanding it without comesurate ways to pay for it. But before any of that happens it will fail.
To big to fail - no such thing, just watch. There are going to be all kinds of big things failing in the near future. Shock and Awe.
Now I know where Kweefer gets all his talking points from:
Chris Matthews on the Unequivocal, Undeniable Settled Science of Global Warming.
What a f*cking joke! You call this debate Keith? This is exactly how you approach any argument. Ad hominem attacks and generalizations and attempting to discredit people's beliefs by making tenuous links to anti-evolution, religion and flat-earthers. This is the complete opposite of science Keith!
It's disgusting how you can say it's all a settled science when it is nothing of the sort. Chris Matthews sits there like a disgusting little pompous propagandist troll claiming that anyone who denies man-made global warming is a lunatic or fringe dweller. He makes me sick. This is the same piece of trash that was literally drooling all over Obama and wetting himself any time Obama speaks.
-Gonzo
Randy, A...fuckn...men!
Well said.
Soc Sec has been robbed for years.
The real culprits are not our aging parents, most of whom worked their asses off to give US a better life, played by the rules of their time, can not now depend on what they thought they had(sound familiar?) and ARE now discriminated against in the job market because of their ages.
The real culprits are - well you know.
"...California is so screwed right now...""...State Sales Tax Revenues tell the story. California is absolutely cratering, for example:
Sales taxes were $452 million lower (-50.9%) than last April..."
Yeah, I have known it since 12 or 13 and did what it took to get a good education in order to get a good, somewhat high paying job (joined military to pay for school, put myself through undergrad and prof. school), so that I could afford a modest home and save my money for the future.
I am now 37. I do not have the home thanks the bubble and the assholes running up prices with money that was not theirs. I have saved a some money the past couple years, but they will probably inflate its value away. On top of that, it is hard to save due to student loans and high f*cking rents. Additionally, for some stupid f*cking reason, even though we are all drinking the same beer around this fire, a bunch of you all think that my beer should cost more than yours and/or you all think that your f*cking children, that YOU had when YOU decided to inseminate YOUR ugly f*cking whore wife, are somehow entitled to suckle on my f*cking teet and/or eat at my table. And, now you f*ckers want to take more of MY money, which I alone worked for, and give it to a bunch of wall streeter's and deadbeats?
Eat a d*ck.
"And,it pretty much stinks that every old person in the US gets healthcare, while millions of children do not."
If you are saying we also cut the healthcare and SSN for old people, I am all for it.
If, however, you are using it as a canard to somehow say that I should help you take are of the children YOU decided to have when YOU let YOUR fat ass husband blow a wad in your filthnest, then F you.
"Unless you figure out how to stop the clock"
Sunset provision, dude.
Randy:
You are the brat of your own post aren't you? And, please don't apply your broad brush strokes to everyone, not all of us had the great childhood that you apparently had and are apparently grateful for.
"I would not be where I am now if it hadn't been for SS. I now have a good job (govt ;)) and I pay into it."
My condolences to you and your family, but you have been on the public dole for your just about your entire life.
It's not a joke Keith. It is outright THEFT. Every two weeks, the government takes out about 7.5% from our paycheck. And they promise us a retirement benefit. As soon as the steady stream of money comes in, Uncle Sam spends it and replaces it with I.O.U.'s. And one day when it comes time to make on those promises, they will tell us "sorry, but we don't have the money because of the economic crisis".
And this is all the fault of guess who? US THE VOTERS WHO SIT BY AND DON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
People like Ron Paul, the Libertarian party, etc... offer real solutions. Yet the majority will vote for one of the two parties because of some illogical excuse like "oh, I don't want to waste my vote", "but they can't win, so I have to vote for Obama or McCain", etc...
Nimesh it's 15%.
Your employer matches the 7.5%.
If you're self-employed, you pay the 15%.
@ Anon 12:12
My condolences to you and your family, but you have been on the public dole for your just about your entire life.Perhaps. I gave back by being in the military for 10, I was there for for Desert Storm. I bailed after that for a variety of reasons. I worked as a civilian for a few years then used my military experience to land a govt contractor job, then sacrificed more money for more stability and better benefits (primarily healthcare). Don't believe the sweeping generalizations about govt workers.
I make no apologies for my choices much like many on this blog make no apologies for their shorts, longs and gaming the system one way or another.
I don't like what is going on in the world any better than many on this blog.
Yes, there is some irony in that.
That being said, like many here, all I can do is the best I can to take care of me and mine. We are all living in 'interesting times.'
Disclaimer - the crack about my brother earlier. Time and a good woman and family have turned him into a business owner and upstanding member of his community. Between he and I we have paid back much more SS than we drew with the very real possibility like everyone else of not getting anything out when it is our turn. Such is life.
Randy,
People lived to old age for thousands of years before SS came along. The average life span before modern time was dragged down by high infant mortality and children dying young. A mature adult lived a "seculum" of about 70 years since the time of Etruscans; that's before the Roman Republic! Somehow people managed their own advanced age, without government.
The real reason why FDR came up with SS was because he inflated away the life savings of the elderly when he debased the dollar from 1/20 ozt-gold to 1/35 ozt-gold! That's like having your life time savings cut by 40%, as bad as the stock market debacle last year, but done overnight by government command!
Without the 15% taken away by the government, the father in your example could probably have afforded his dream car, several times over, plus a retirement on his own terms. Assuming the person also pays 15-20% income tax and 5-10% state tax, not collecting that 15% SS tax would have made the take-home pay increase by 25-30%! What SS does is impoverish the workers, and make them dependent on the government for retirement. Their life savings will also be inflated away by the same government.
What's even more pernicious is the breakdown of family values. Parents used to have the incentive to raise productive children, because children were an important component of their retirment portfolio. With SS, the children will be paying for other people's retirement instead! Any wonder why parents have been raising brats for the last few decades? Parents who dared to encourage their kids to live a life of keeping up with Jones or fighting principles after their own kids punching other kids used to run the risk of losing a big part of their own retirement portfolio due to children going bankrupt or ending up in jail . . . under SS, who cares . . . the both the children and the elderly are wards of the government.
Watch now as the entire house or cards collapes while the greedy sweaty pigs continue to eat at the public service trough - making matters far, far, far worse down the road.If this house of cards does collapse into a violent bloody revolution, our elected federal reps will be looking over their shoulders for the rest of their hopefully short lives. This is too big of screw up to let them off with a prison sentence. Behead em.
i get no money from social security as i paid nothing into it...but i also get nothing for the hundreds of thousands in capital gains taxes i paid? sh*itty stuff........
63 is a normal old age death number where i come from...life...
Sales taxes were $452 million lower (-50.9%) than last April..."Really like to see March's numbers and how they compare to last year's. How many big ticket items were purchased in March prior to the tax hike that came April 1?? I know if I am buying a $60K automobile and can save 1% on the sales tax by buying a day early, I am on that like pitbull on a porkchop.
Anon May 20, 2009 11:51 PM:
That education didn't serve you well. It certainly didn't make you any better at dealing with reality.
I'm 2 years older than you. No education, but blessed with natural ability and high intelligence.
No student loan, half a house paid for with less than 10 years to go, 30% saving rate, top quartile earner, and sure as hell a lot less bitter than you.
So what did all that education get you, exactly. Sounds like you bought the Big Education line.
IMO the more of an independent thinker a person is, the less likely they are to let life and themselves beat them down. Formal education discourages independent thinking. JMHO.
Its a tax in entitlements clothing.
It isn't a joke. It's a tax. It always has been.
Post a Comment