Remember on TV when the gangsters demand money from the store keepers to PROTECT them. Of course the shopkeepers were paying to keep the gangsters from smashing, or burning their establishment. Probably still do. Here is an example of another protection scheme, This one by the upright citizens of a small town in Tennessee. Imagine, if you will, watching everything you own going up in smoke. Now imagine the local firefighters with their trucks and equipment sitting there watching it also. That is exactly what happened in Tennessee. The family in this small town near the South Fulton Tennessee fire department, watched as their mobile home and belongings went up in flame. Why? Once again it was because the home owner did not pay the subscription/protection, fee. We saw this once or twice before. I understand the fire department had to go out of their usual confines to answer the call. They did respond in the event of human peril. Here is the catch. The fire department needs the money to keep it’s facilities and equipment up to date. These fees offset that need. The FD could just charge…..say $150.oo for these outside calls. But then there would be no need for anyone to pay the $75.oo annual fee. I vote for the $150.oo or so per trip charge. After all this is not like it is an everyday thing. Here is my dilemma. As a member of the human race, with the proper training, be able to just stand (or sit) and watch another person’s life belongings, go up in fire. NO! I couldn’t. But apparently the firemen of South Fulton Tennessee, have no problem with this. I guess that will teach the outsiders. Pay Up! or lose it. One last question before I close. I realize it was just a trailer home. But has anyone assessed the fire department a fine for, in my mind, violation of the EPA code. Surely a public minded group like a fire department, is concerned with AIR POLLUTION. Should they not have done their part to prevent this polluted air. That Is How I See It. Views: 336
Tag: Economy
Fair TAX???
As most sport fans know our professional sports players pay Federal Income Tax. They also pay State Tax. However did you know they pay the STATE TAX to the state they earn the money in. Not necessarily their home state. Let’s say a Eli Manning plays a game at Indianapolis. The money he earned for that game is taxed by the state of Indiana. (I can only assume local city, county, etc. taxes are also collected). Can you imagine the tax nightmare? Does he have to prepare a tax form for every state he earns money. Does this include personal appearances also? But here comes the rub. I recently read..Pius Heinz, a German poker player won $8,715,636.oo in the WORLD SERIES OF POKER, in Las Vegas TAX FREE !!!! Martin Stazko of the Czech Republic the second place finisher won $5,433,080.oo. Neither of these men will pay tax on any of this 14 million plus earnings. However third place winner, Ben Lamb a resident of the good old USA will have to pay approximately $1,524,011.oo on his $4,021039.oo Fourth place finisher Mark Gianetti, another USA Citizen won $3,012,700.oo but will have to surrender $1,524,642.oo to the Federal Government. Granted the 2 nd place winner will have to pay taxes in his native Czech Republic. Due to Germany’s tax exempt gambling law, Herr Heinz will pay NO TAXES. That is almost $14 million of U.S. Currency leaving the country, with no return to our treasury. Does anyone else see anything wrong with this? I sure do. This Is How I See It. Views: 893
Government Seeks More Of Your Money
It must be that time of year. Companies are talking of more layoffs. According to news reports the RICH widening their gap between them and the middle class, which must mean the poor are getting poorer. What we have doesn’t buy what it did a year ago. One area I read about is trying to kill itself. Earlier I wrote of a community in Indiana who charges parents for their children to ride to school. And to participate in sports. Now I see they are wanting to raise fees for just about everything, and put new fees on anything they can find. NO wonder people are looking to move away. Perhaps this is an attempt to weed out the poorer class (perhaps including the middle class), and establish a community of upper crust citizens. I just read that Illinois citizens have built the WHITE SOX owners a new BACARDI restaurant, at a cost of millions. By the way the taxpayers receive no share of the profits of this restaurant. It all goes to the owners of the White Sox baseball team. BUT we all know that movie theaters make most of their money from concessions. I just read that in Washington D.C. The mayor wants to tack on an extra tax for concession. They already pay 10% tax on concessions. As I understand, which is quite high. BUT to add another 5% and raise the tax to 15%…..well isn’t that a little greedy? Not to mention the less people will be able to attend, and may put the theaters out of business. Thus a loss of revenue from the property, and business tax, let’s not forget the current 10% tax on concessions. I think their reasoning is flawed. They intend to use the money to lure movie production companies thus creating jobs. Am I wrong if less people go to the movies because they can’t afford the concessions, there will be more demand for movies to be made. I know now in my town for 2 of us to go to the movies cost about $20 this is more than the average wage. But get this for one medium Coke and medium popcorn add another $20. That is why we have began driving 2o miles to another town that costs us about $12 on a Sunday afternoon, to get in and about $10 dollars for a medium Coke and medium popcorn Oh for the good old days when we had drive in theaters. One night I think it was Monday was carload night. you could take your whole family to the movies for about $2, You brought your own popcorn and Cokes. Yet the concession stand was always crowded with people buying hot dogs, hamburgers, etc. Well I guess it is getting close to Christmas. What better time to lay people off and raise taxes, fees, etc. That Is How I See It. more than between Views: 167
Election Mud
Welcome to the MUDSLIDE. Election time is here. At least local elections. It truly amazes me how these politicians, these public figures, these people with college degrees, who have other people with college degrees revert to a a kindergarten mentality. I apologize to you kindergartners, as you are probably more advanced than these so called leaders, and their think tanks behind them. If you listen to their ads you will learn that each one is a perfect fit to represent you. they have never made any mistakes, or miscalculations, if you will. But their opponents have done NOTHING right. The one I have been listening to in particular, (because one of the candidates apparently has more money than Bill Gates. Every ad is centered on what the incumbent has done wrong. The poor guy must have have been kidnapped by aliens as he has not fulfilled a single promise he made that got him elected. I assume he will be returned after this election is over. Meanwhile I can remember when the other candidate was in office as an assistant for the job she is running for. They didn’t accomplish anything, and did exactly all the wrong things she is accusing the now incumbent of doing. Probably those same aliens grabbed her during her reign and brought her back after her term. The way I see it these alien abductors erase all memory of them being gone, and the being that replaced them returns to outer space. What I would like to hear is WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO. NOW!!! If I vote for you. We have problems both economic, and political, as well as dozens of other smaller problems. What are your plans to ease unemployment, school budget cuts, etc. Perhaps I just miss these positive ads. But it could be that there are either none or very few. Maybe I am so far below your intelligence level that you don’t know how to communicate to me. Or perhaps I am just to poor to understand the ECONOMIC ramifications. Living at or below poverty level. What could I know about economics. Enough of the supposed history of the clients. It’s time to look to the future. The pass is passed. (Although the past performance should be considered), Since you millionaires running for office have nothing in common with me. TELL me what your answers are for the future. What the heck are you going to do to correct these past errors. Apparently you have no ideas on the FUTURE or you could promote them. Not bash your opponent. That Is How I See It have been they have Views: 291
Obama On A Genocide Mission?
Gen·o·cide [jen-uh-sahyd]: A noun. The deliberate ans systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or CULTURAL GROUP. Since Mr. Obama has taken office it seems he has pinpointed the elderly as the means to balance his budget. Or should I say slant things to his pet projects. What do you do if you want to spend money you don’t have. You eliminate things you don’t need. Divert that money to what you want. That my friends is just what Mr. Obama has done. First on his agenda was to bail out his buddies in the banking, and manufacturing industries. (Rich helping Rich get Richer). To do this he refused to admit the costs of living rises (Medicinal, Utilities, and yes gasoline) . He even wants to change the formula for figuring these costs, because he says they project a false and higher cost of living than is a true cost of living . Therefore not giving the elderly the raises they deserved, since he has been in office. To subsidize his buddies, the elderly have, by not getting a raise for 2 years. Has amounted to between $45 and $90 trillion dollars. That more than paid the trillions given to the bail out effort. These people have paid into this account for 40 to 50 years. It is not their fault the Government gave that money to other Government agencies. (Which fail to pay it back. let alone pay interest). merely a mismanagement of funds. Some of you will think the amount paid in does not equal the amount paid out….HOWEVER… Let us not forget the INTEREST which this money had been properly invested. How many of the people who have paid in never receive a check, because of death. Or just drop out of the system. How much of this money is being spent on people who never paid in a cent. How about planning our own retirement income. I did this. I invested the maximum I could. Two years later it was all gone. My company shut the doors, Not my fault. Due to EMERGENCIES, and the need to get by until I could find another job, (which has been 3 years now). I have no money. The barter system works fairly good but I still have to do without a lot, So you see that doesn’t help either. So how does this relate to GENOCIDE? By denying the elderly people the money needed to exist on. The poverty level is $10,890 a year. If I were to be on Social Security now I would be getting about $13,800 a year. But as of now I would have about $1392 a year subtracted before I get my check for MEDICARE, Which I have also been paying for all my working life. That takes me to $12,408, a year. Now let us not forget we need a supplement insurance. This cost is around $125 a month (according to friends paying it). This is another $1500 gone. Leaving us with $10,908. This puts you at just $18 above poverty level. Now subtract a conservative average of $600 a month for rent or mortgage. There goes $7200. Let’s see, that takes us to $3708 dollars to pay utilities, and buy food, house or renter insurance, life insurance and let’s not forget MEDICINE, Car insurance if we are lucky enough to have one. But then you would not be able to put gas in it. And let’s not forget we have to pay SALES tax on everything. Including our utilities. It seems that Mr. Obama’s plan is eliminate the elderly as quickly as possible. After all they are a drain on his economy. Genocide or what. I see it as an attempt to eliminate the elderly. That Is How I See It. How many people do we have die of starvation or heat, or just plain a lack of compassion by our leaders. more than between find merely find find Views: 180
Parents Must Pay For Bus Ride To School
Franklin Township in central Indiana sold school buses to an independent firm for $1. Now parents of the children in this district have a choice to make. Take them to school, and pick them up. (Which would have been impossible for me as a working single parent). Let them walk in the dark of the morning. Dark because Supreme Ruler Mitch Daniels, deemed Indiana, a state which lines up in the CENTRAL time zone, observe ATLANTIC time (AKA Eastern DAYLIGHT SAVINGS time). Which puts Indiana residents 2 hours ahead of the sun. Thus children walking in the dark to school. Or, PAY about $475.oo a year for the first student in the family, with a discount for other children of the family. From what I read a family of 2 students will pay $900.oo So, the way I figure it the rest of the families students ride for $425.oo each. That means a family who is either living on unemployment, or welfare, or working and earning the minimum wage will really have little choice, but to make them walk, and risk being kidnapped. Hit by a car or truck or/and harmed in some way. Heck it would be a drain on any family. By the time you clothe, and pay at least a couple of dollars for school lunches, extra curricular fees, and book rentals. Plus the BUS fee of approximately $50.oo, per sport, per student participant imposed on them. This all started when the Franklin Township school board decided they wanted more money than was available and wanted to raise taxes. The referendum was voted down. So, it seems to me their reaction, was an immature…We’ll make you pay one way or the other! Other schools, faced the same cost cutting measures, and most have met the cuts needed without any repercussions. The most penalties, school districts have made is a modest bus fee for sports, and extra curricular activities. But in some areas the business people have donated the money to cover those fees. A pride in their communities. Some schools/sports are putting on charity events to cover these costs. These are public schools using tax payer money. What effect will this have on the community? Will people move away? Will business close due to lack of customers, or workforce. With a drop in enrollment also comes a drop in state funds. The formula is so convoluted, I’m surprised a lawyer can figure it out. But the way it seems to me, a smaller school get less money from the state than a larger school. (Which seems a little unfair). Each day or part thereof missed by a student equals a deduction in the amount received by that school. I’ve rambled on too long. What it appears we have here is a very greedy school system which has little empathy with the well being of the community children and a lust for more money. It would serve them right if everyone moved out of their district, (which I know they either can’t or won’t). I believe it is time for the voters, community leaders, and parents, take back the school system. It seems apparent to me the school board has no concern about their students. Will the harm the children face walking to school in the dark. Or the hardship put on families affect the members. Probably not. The only thing that will affect them is a loss of MONIES. Could this happen to your children? Is your community next? That Is How I See It. have been Views: 145
How Expensive Can OTC Medicine Be?
While recently killing time in a local Wal*Mart store. I happened by a middle of the aisle display for abreva. (A cold sore medicine). I remember we once used a product called campo-pehnique, (sorry if I misspelled that), which cam in a small bottle and worked just fine. As I remember it cost just a little more than a stick of chap stick. I was really shocked to see a “discounted on sale” price of $15.12 for a little tube containing .07 oz. I ‘m sure it is a very good product, but come on….$15.12 for 7 hundredths of an ounce. Talk about the price of bottle water being high at about 89 cents (in our area) for a 20 oz bottle. Think gas is high at $3.79 9/10 a gallon. Let’s look at this abreva cost. As you know I am not very good at math so this is just as an example. I think it takes 700 of these tubes to make a full ounce, If I am wrong you can do the following computation with the correct number. Take the sale price, $15.12 per .07 oz X 700 =$10,584.00 an ounce. Note abreva is sold I believe by net wt. So comparing to water or gas we would have to figure the net weight for an ounce of either. For example we know FLUID oz is a measure of volume, and net wt oz is a measure a measure of WEIGHT. The ounce is still an ounce, it takes 16 oz to make a pound. A gallon of water weighs approximately 8.34 pounds. So we are now comparing weight to weight. This means 133.44 oz to a gallon. Now take the $10,584.oo an ounce for abreva, times th3 133.44 oz in a gallon of water. Guess what that would bring the cost of of a gallon of water to $141,232,8.96.oo. A 20 oz bottle of water would cost $11,769.41. So who can complain about 89 cents for a 20 oz bottle of water? It is but a drop in the bucket. If you want to figure this for gasoline. Gasoline varies from about 5-6 pounds, so for our sake here we will use the more prominent estimate of 6 pounds per gallon. means about 96 ounces. 96 ounces times $10,584.oo = (appx) $1,016,064.oo So I ask you is abreva really worth the price you pay? I suppose the answer is yes, if it does what you want of it. But comparatively It appears to me to be WAAAY overpriced. That Is How I See It. more than Views: 171
Legalize Marijuana?
Legalize marijuana or not legalize marijuana. That is the question. We have heard this argument for many years. Does it really matter? I must admit I have never tried it so maybe I fail to see the advantage, or disadvantage here. From what I understand drugs like marijuana have been used in many different rites during the course of our history. The American Indian supposedly used this or a similar drug in some of their ceremonial rites. The tribes of Africa used similar drugs for the same reason. For all I know our forefathers may have participated in this type of rites, or maybe even recreational purposes. Perhaps the medicinal uses were known way back when. I remember hearing of our ancestors, and even royalty abroad having snuff boxes. (And it wasn’t for tobacco snuff). No! I don’t know the answer. What I do know is this. If it is legalized, our Government will be able to get a piece of the action, (money) . The cost will most likely go down. Thus crime created by trying to get marijuana should go down. I suppose these would all be pluses, and I can’t really think of any minuses; other than there will always be those who have no legal claim to buy marijuana. Also if it is legalized, will growers be monitored like the existing drug companies, like Eli-Lily. If it is legalized will insurance companies pay for it. How much more will this cost us, the consumer in increased insurance premiums. And how will it affect hiring practices of business. There is mass impacts involved here. I’m sure more than I can foresee. Finally let me insert my personal observation. People already take legal drugs, illegally. I know of one young lady who stole a doctors prescription pad, and wrote her own prescriptions. This was many years ago, and the doctors signature would be impressed on the sheets below it. Do doctors now take measures to prevent this? I also know of people who will steal a relatives much needed medication out of their medicine cabinet. Without regard to the relatives health. I also know peoples homes are broken into for the purpose of finding legal drugs. Legal or not people will get their hands on them and use them illegally. MOOT POINT. Does it really matter if it is or is not legal. The government will benefit by getting a portion of the proceeds. That Is How I See It. more than involved Views: 209
Penny Auctions
Is this worth the price. This will be a very short blog. As I haven’t bid on anything. Nor do I know anyone who has. You see the advertisements. I won such and such for only $5. I may be wrong. So check it out yourself, Let me know if you see this the same way I do. This is how I understand it works. 1) Items you bid on will only go up 1 penny from bid to bid. 2) You have to pay for the right to place a bid. I think it amounts to something like 50 cents a bid 3) If you win an item you remit that amount. You will receive your won item in X days. To put this on a local level we are more familiar with. Say you go to your local auction house. When you sign in and get your bid card, you will be asked how many times do you want to bid tonight? I don’t know. It depends on the item. Then you are told it will cost you 50 cents every time your bid is accepted. And we will proceed in 1 penny increments. So you buy 20 bids for $10. Now let’s say you open the bid for 1 penny. The auction house has just made 50 cents on an item. The item is probably worth, say $30. If it is like most local auction houses there will be at least (for demonstration purposes) 5 bidders. Yippee You Won it for only $20 dollars, but you used all your 20 bids. Guess what you just paid $30 for it. But in penny increments, I think (Mind you I’m no Mathematician, so I could have my figures wrong), about 2000 bids. It appears the to me the auction made about $1000.oo on that $20 dollar item. One Item I looked was a $100.oo gift card. The item was paused. For reasons unknown to me. But $4.66 for $100.oo gift card is a great deal. However the Auction company has made $233.00. So even if the Auction house paid $100.oo for this gift card they have still made $133.oo gross profit. I don’t know how they secure the items, they sell. But I imagine they sell thousands of items a day, and the winner probably does get a good deal, just like the advertisements say. Provided they are wise enough to figure the timers, and when to bid. Oh yes they have timers. Usually set for 3 minutes. (Anyway that is what I gathered from the site I visited to write this. If no one bids during that 3 minute period the high bidder wins I didn’t understand the PAUSE function though. Any how as long as you understand how it works, go for it. You might get a good deal. That Is How I See It. they have Views: 104
End of Smartphones?
With the announcement by Verizon of the end of the unlimited data plans, on the heels of AT&T and T-mobile’s announcement of the same. This leaves Sprint as the lone major carrier still offering unlimited data. The big draw of the SMART PHONE, is the unlimited data plan. Instead of unlimited they propose you pay by the GIGABYTE. I suppose most of you know exactly how many gigabytes you and your family will use each month. I’m not that smart. It is sort of like when you go to a pre-pay gas station for a fill up. You have to guess how much your tank will hold. I can’t guess that close. So I don’t buy my gas there. For me it will be the same if I have to make a guess of how many gigabytes my family and I will use during any given month. We rely on this plan for a lot of things. But do we use 2 gigabyte. or 10 gigabyte a month. Like I said in an earlier post “I HATE CHANGE”. This move only complicates my life. If it comes down to having to guess how many gigiabytes I use I will just go back to using my cell phone for phone calls. I did that for many years, and I can do it again. Of course it will be harder on the teenagers, on my plan. But think of the money I’ll save. At least $1200.oo a year. So shall we lay to rest our smart phones? YES!!!! I will. I don’t need my life anymore complicated. As for those of you who are so addicted to your phone, may your wallets get deeper so you can pay the higher cost involved. But you can fight this by doing what I will do and “Just say no!” To a pre-pay per gigabyte plan. If everyone does this. Guess what the companies will most likely do. That Is How I See It. Views: 412
