Poll: Obama 'worst president' since World War II

[Keith & Arileidi 437]

8 hours ago, Satisfied said:

You didn’t answer my question.  Do you like paying taxes?  Do you think we should pay more taxes than we do now?

How are your general living expenses going up, other than which has been the norm for the past 100 years?

Actually I did answer your question.. just not with a plain yes or no. 

No one likes to pay taxes, just like no one likes to pay bills. But it is always a necessity. 

 

Whether a person should pay more taxes or not depends on a alot of variables. I have an extremely good job at a fortune 10 company so I can afford a higher tax bill than another who is in a less comfortable situation. 

 

For the general living expenses ... Two come to mind... Rent and health care 

Edit*** add education to that list.. because of Betsy Devos( I'm from Michigan)

Edited June 28, 2018 by Keith & Arileidi

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

2 hours ago, Keith & Arileidi said:

Actually I did answer your question.. just not with a plain yes or no. 

No one likes to pay taxes, just like no one likes to pay bills. But it is always a necessity. 

 

Whether a person should pay more taxes or not depends on a alot of variables. I have an extremely good job at a fortune 10 company so I can afford a higher tax bill than another who is in a less comfortable situation. 

 

For the general living expenses ... Two come to mind... Rent and health care 

Edit*** add education to that list.. because of Betsy Devos( I'm from Michigan)

So you want to pay taxes commensurate with your income, as decided by the federal and state governments (paraphrasing for you, to keep it simple).  Nothing wrong with that. At our income levels, we save money with the 2018 tax changes.  At higher income levels, those same tax breaks save more money, right?  And at lower levels, some people are seeing less of a reduced tax bill.

 

Truth be told, I doubt Trump himself could answer the question “Are you making or losing money as the president”, at least not today.  At his income level, it would likely take a year or more, perhaps several, to see what the ups and downs are each year.  I can tell you every month whether I made more/less/broke even, but my finances are WAY more simple than a billionaires.  

If you make more money this year than last year, I am happy for you.  If Trump also does, good for him.  Neither of you affect my bottom line, so naturally I am more concerned with what happens to my P&L.

 

As to general living expenses going up... doesn’t that happen in every nation?  Hasn’t it been happening since you were born?  Heck, I remember paying 10 cents for a candy bar, and now they are as much as $1.50-2.00?  Gas at 25 cents a gallon?  Milk was... well, you get the point.  Unless you are saying those living expenses have seen an unnatural hike recently that I am not aware of, I think things are pretty normal.  Higher than any of us would like to see, of course.  

[Keith & Arileidi 437]

54 minutes ago, Satisfied said:

So you want to pay taxes commensurate with your income, as decided by the federal and state governments (paraphrasing for you, to keep it simple).  Nothing wrong with that. At our income levels, we save money with the 2018 tax changes.  At higher income levels, those same tax breaks save more money, right?  And at lower levels, some people are seeing less of a reduced tax bill.

 

Truth be told, I doubt Trump himself could answer the question “Are you making or losing money as the president”, at least not today.  At his income level, it would likely take a year or more, perhaps several, to see what the ups and downs are each year.  I can tell you every month whether I made more/less/broke even, but my finances are WAY more simple than a billionaires.  

If you make more money this year than last year, I am happy for you.  If Trump also does, good for him.  Neither of you affect my bottom line, so naturally I am more concerned with what happens to my P&L.

 

As to general living expenses going up... doesn’t that happen in every nation?  Hasn’t it been happening since you were born?  Heck, I remember paying 10 cents for a candy bar, and now they are as much as $1.50-2.00?  Gas at 25 cents a gallon?  Milk was... well, you get the point.  Unless you are saying those living expenses have seen an unnatural hike recently that I am not aware of, I think things are pretty normal.  Higher than any of us would like to see, of course.  

Ehhh.. I pay taxes because it's a bill. 

How much taxes you pay depends on how much money you make. A person with a higher income shouldn't pay the same rate as a person with a lower income. It's about properly spreading equity. 

 

A person in a lower bracket has to pay the same flat fees of society as people in a higher bracket. So every dollar needs to be stretched farther to meet basic living needs. People in higher brackets are using a smaller portions of their income for basic needs and a higher portions as disposable income. 

 

Making more money than previous year depends on a lot of variables: Inflation , annual wages, promotions, geography, and OT. When you pay less taxes you aren't making more money. you are actually making the same amount of money( obviously), but you have more control over the funds. 

The problem comes when people aren't contributing enough, prices of services tend to spike. Poor public utilities and services WILL have a negative impact on the wallet.  (I'm also talking to you Michigan, fix your roads)

 

Gas is not a big deal for me.. I drive a volt <3and charge it at work. So i just about completely avoid gas taxes. A tax I don't agree with but that's another story. 

Anywho... Affordable rent is a huge issue right now. Places that have great jobs tend to have extreme competition for renters, and for some making minimum wage it's impossible to be able to pay rent equal to 30% of their income. 

College is widely considered the best way out of poverty but prices have basically double within the last 10 years essientially making it unaffordable. 

 

DayCare is also a huge expense. 

15 years ago it was viable for 1 parent to work and the other stay at home. In today's environment with relatively stagnant wages and  the over use of temp work, this is not the case. 

 

Averages cost of healthcare has also skyrocketing making healthcare a luxury and leading to huge productivity losses on a macro level. 

 

Did you address all your questions? 

 

[Boiler 46,132]

3 minutes ago, Keith & Arileidi said:

Ehhh.. I pay taxes because it's a bill. 

How much taxes you pay depends on how much money you make. A person with a higher income shouldn't pay the same rate as a person with a lower income. It's about properly spreading equity. 

 

A person in a lower bracket has to pay the same flat fees of society as people in a higher bracket. So every dollar needs to be stretched farther to meet basic living needs. People in higher brackets are using a smaller portions of their income for basic needs and a higher portions as disposable income. 

 

Making more money than previous year depends on a lot of variables: Inflation , annual wages, promotions, geography, and OT. When you pay less taxes you aren't making more money. you are actually making the same amount of money( obviously), but you have more control over the funds. 

The problem comes when people aren't contributing enough, prices of services tend to spike. Poor public utilities and services WILL have a negative impact on the wallet.  (I'm also talking to you Michigan, fix your roads)

 

Gas is not a big deal for me.. I drive a volt <3and charge it at work. So i just about completely avoid gas taxes. A tax I don't agree with but that's another story. 

Anywho... Affordable rent is a huge issue right now. Places that have great jobs tend to have extreme competition for renters, and for some making minimum wage it's impossible to be able to pay rent equal to 30% of their income. 

College is widely considered the best way out of poverty but prices have basically double within the last 10 years essentially making it unaffordable. 

 

DayCare is also a huge expense. 

15 years ago it was viable for 1 parent to work and the other stay at home. In today's environment with relatively stagnant wages and  the over use of temp work, this is not the case. 

 

Averages cost of healthcare has also skyrocketing making healthcare a luxury and leading to huge productivity losses on a macro level. 

 

Did you address all your questions? 

 

Glad you brought things back to Obama.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

Khgklhgklgg

Edited June 28, 2018 by Satisfied

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

6 minutes ago, Keith & Arileidi said:

Ehhh.. I pay taxes because it's a bill. 

How much taxes you pay depends on how much money you make. A person with a higher income shouldn't pay the same rate as a person with a lower income. It's about properly spreading equity. 

 

A person in a lower bracket has to pay the same flat fees of society as people in a higher bracket. So every dollar needs to be stretched farther to meet basic living needs. People in higher brackets are using a smaller portions of their income for basic needs and a higher portions as disposable income. 

 

 

Say WHAT?  Since when, in the US (we are talking about the US, right?) has this been true?  Never has there been a flat tax in America that I am aware of, at least not since I have been filing my returns.

And some people, if in a low enough bracket, pay zero.  Never seen where a person making more than $100K pays zero...

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

9 minutes ago, Keith & Arileidi said:

Ehhh.. I pay taxes because it's a bill. 

Making more money than previous year depends on a lot of variables: Inflation , annual wages, promotions, geography, and OT. When you pay less taxes you aren't making more money. you are actually making the same amount of money( obviously), but you have more control over the funds. 

The problem comes when people aren't contributing enough, prices of services tend to spike. Poor public utilities and services WILL have a negative impact on the wallet.  (I'm also talking to you Michigan, fix your roads)  If you pay less taxes, you take more of your hard-earned money home.  And I think when government gets involved (subsidies, contracts, etc), THAT is when the prices spike.  And yes, Michigan needs some SERIOUS work on their roads.  Terrible!

 

Gas is not a big deal for me.. I drive a volt <3and charge it at work. So i just about completely avoid gas taxes. A tax I don't agree with but that's another story. So because you are taking a freebie from someone else, you’re happy to avoid paying the taxes that help repair the roads you are complaining about above?  That seems counterintuitive and very self-serving.  What about your neighbors who cannot take “free” electricity from someone like you do?

Anywho... Affordable rent is a huge issue right now. Places that have great jobs tend to have extreme competition for renters, and for some making minimum wage it's impossible to be able to pay rent equal to 30% of their income.   Great jobs and competition for renters should not be in the same sentence with minimum wage, period.  Besides, people would be much better served buying than to be throwing their money into the black hole of renting.
 

College is widely considered the best way out of poverty but prices have basically double within the last 10 years essientially making it unaffordable. In my personal experience, college has had zero impact on getting out of nor staying out of poverty.  Zero impact.

 

DayCare is also a huge expense. Has always been so.  So is having kids in general.  That’s why families shouldn’t even consider having kids until they are older, more settled and able to afford them.  But of course, you cannot tell young people how to live their lives.  That might offend someone.

 

15 years ago it was viable for 1 parent to work and the other stay at home. In today's environment with relatively stagnant wages and  the over use of temp work, this is not the case. 15 years ago?  I disagree.  Maybe 30.  Or more.  But not 15.

 

Averages cost of healthcare has also skyrocketing making healthcare a luxury and leading to huge productivity losses on a macro level.  Yes, this is constantly rising, and probably at a rate higher than economic growth.  I blame BCKing. (Can I get an amen? )  Though I will add a personal note... when I was young and dumb, and we got pregnant, I did not have insurance.  So I talked to the doctor who would deliver our son, found out about how much it was going to cost us, divided that amount by 8 months, and paid that amount to the hospital in advance each month.  Had to work 60-65 hours sometimes to make enough to do so, but when we showed up to drop the lump of little human into the doctors waiting hands, our balance was already zero. . 

 

Did you address all your questions? You did a great job.  I appreciate your input, and really hope this edit comes out right.  My editor really messed up on quoting you in my last post, not sure what is going on. 

 

 

[Keith & Arileidi 437]

30 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Glad you brought things back to Obama.

Sure... 

I am disappointed that Obama didn't follow through with his free community college plan. 

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

12 minutes ago, Keith & Arileidi said:

Sure... 

I am disappointed that Obama didn't follow through with his free community college plan. 

How does one provide that for free. Who pays the salaries of staff, utilities etc?

[Boiler 46,132]

3 minutes ago, Nature Boy Flair said:

How does one provide that for free. Who pays the salaries of staff, utilities etc?

Volunteers?

[Unidentified 2,930]

1 hour ago, Nature Boy Flair said:

How does one provide that for free. Who pays the salaries of staff, utilities etc?

Government through taxes?

[Keith & Arileidi 437]

1 hour ago, Nature Boy Flair said:

How does one provide that for free. Who pays the salaries of staff, utilities etc?

The same way every other private school operates.

 

1 hour ago, Boiler said:

Volunteers?

this is possible too.. I can think of a system where professionals volunteer their time to teach as repayment back in the system.
It can also be an online w/ in-person labs for science classes.
large corporations can donate money/supplies or create unique curriculum geared towards  training future employees.

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

10 minutes ago, Keith & Arileidi said:

The same way every other private school operates.

 

this is possible too.. I can think of a system where professionals volunteer their time to teach as repayment back in the system.
It can also be an online w/ in-person labs for science classes.
large corporations can donate money/supplies or create unique curriculum geared towards  training future employees.

Private schools are funded by the people that go there, in most cases

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

Not to get off topic of the tooth fairy and free college myths, but here’s another poll for y’all to consider...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/06/27/civil-war-likely-voters-say-rasmussen-poll/740731002/

And for the record, this one is recent enough to keep me from getting yelled at, I think.  BCKing, am I good on this one?

[bcking 3,157]

47 minutes ago, Satisfied said:

Not to get off topic of the tooth fairy and free college myths, but here’s another poll for y’all to consider...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/06/27/civil-war-likely-voters-say-rasmussen-poll/740731002/

And for the record, this one is recent enough to keep me from getting yelled at, I think.  BCKing, am I good on this one?

As long as you don't refer to it as if it's 50 years old or something wacky like that.

 

Masquerading an old poll as new is always going to be worse than a new poll being considered old.

Edited June 28, 2018 by bcking