Wealth Inequality (Read 404 times)

jeffdonahue


    What is crapping a brick? We pay @ $20-$30 per $1,000 in WI with Neenah @ $25 per $1,000 of valuation of property.

     

     

     

    I think I used to pay around $45/thousand when I used to live in NH.

     

    Now I live in MA and I still pay about the same total property tax as I didn in NH, but my house is valued 3x as much.


    A Saucy Wench

      What is crapping a brick? We pay @ $20-$30 per $1,000 in WI with Neenah @ $25 per $1,000 of valuation of property.

       

       

       

      yeah...People in Oregon gripe, but when I was in texas I was paying something in the $30-35/1000 range (a fair bit was being in Austin limits).  As opposed to my MIL's house in Indiana where she pays something like $7/1000

      I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

       

      "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7

         

        Actually I think you took it the opposite of what I meant.  I meant that most investors would be best off simply buying broadly diversified mutual funds or index funds rather than trying to pick stocks.   Most people who pick stocks do not beat the market.

         

        Sort of, I guess this is the comment that linked up in my head with what I thought you were saying - "and I can't say any of them seemed to guess the future any better than others in the long run". And I totally agree with what you and Ennay have said regarding diversification.

        When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

          Another interesting visualization.

           

            To make a decent pick takes a fair amount of research.  And if you are going speculative it takes monitoring.  Which is what the 1% do, if they arent Buffet, they hire a real money manager.   I did individual stock picking for a while and I was doing ok but it takes a lot more money to be well diversified and if it isnt your full time job, you can miss some things.   I'll skew one way or the other to be speculative but getting too heavily in one sector is a gamble.

             

            I agree that it takes time and effort to research possible investment opportunities. I disagree that you have to treat it like a full time job though. I would say, on average, I spend 2-3 hours a week. There have been plenty of weeks, that I've done nothing more than check the gains/losses at the end of the week and was done - maybe 5-10 minutes. I have found, through expensive experience, that the less I fret and monitor, the better. It's much better, for me, to buy stuff that I intend to keep for a long time. I do make some exceptions, but the time horizon for these are months, not days or weeks.

             

            I also agree that being too heavy into any one sector is a gamble. As my individual stock portfolio is about half of my total investment portfolio - I'm still close to 20% invested in 3D printing stocks. A little heavy for me, but worth the gamble. IMO the whole stock market is akin to gambling anyway - perhaps even with weighted dice.

            When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?


            Best Present Ever

               

               

              I also agree that being too heavy into any one sector is a gamble. .

              Just ask Lord Grantham.  


              A Saucy Wench

                Another interesting visualization.

                 

                hah...the way the tracts are divided my old starter home is bundled in with the rich folk and my larger home is bundled in with the trailer parks.

                I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

                 

                "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7


                A Saucy Wench

                  Just ask Lord Grantham.  

                   

                  I had a feeling that was a Downton reference.  I havent watched that yet.

                  I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

                   

                  "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7


                  A Saucy Wench

                     

                    I agree that it takes time and effort to research possible investment opportunities. I disagree that you have to treat it like a full time job though. I would say, on average, I spend 2-3 hours a week. There have been plenty of weeks, that I've done nothing more than check the gains/losses at the end of the week and was done - maybe 5-10 minutes. I have found, through expensive experience, that the less I fret and monitor, the better. It's much better, for me, to buy stuff that I intend to keep for a long time. I do make some exceptions, but the time horizon for these are months, not days or weeks.

                     

                    I also agree that being too heavy into any one sector is a gamble. As my individual stock portfolio is about half of my total investment portfolio - I'm still close to 20% invested in 3D printing stocks. A little heavy for me, but worth the gamble. IMO the whole stock market is akin to gambling anyway - perhaps even with weighted dice.

                     

                    Yes, I was never talking day trading.  But I guess once I had kids, I didnt even have the "every week" or even "every month" consistency needed.   I think I could do better now with it but it almost doesnt seem worth it.  Plus I am past the point of high risk that i could do through my 20's and 30's.  I am looking at the very near future of supporting 2 aging parents (separately - both Mothers) which should slide right in to college which should slide right in to retirement.  I no longer have the luxury to take the bigger risks.   Shuddering but starting to tighten things down. 


                    I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

                     

                    "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7

                      Oregon:  I was shocked in 1992 when I had to pay income tax on my college workstudy income and part-time pizza delivery job, even though it was well-underneath the federal standard deduction and personal exemption.

                       

                      The top 1% don't buy mutual funds.

                       

                      They may own stocks, but concentrated in just a few companies, particularly the one that they have founded and/or are leading.  They will have the bulk of their liquid assets (usually at least a few million) managed by a wealth manager/private banker.

                       

                      Most are in limited partnerships:  hedge funds, venture capital, private equity, real estate.  $2M in assets excluding primary residence is the qualification threshold but most have $10M+ and invest $1M+

                       

                      I think a reasonable goal for most of us here (the little people that pay taxes) is to have a home that is paid for, no other debt, and enough in retirement accounts, pensions or other investments where the annual payout (i.e. 4% of retirement account) is at least as much as the social security income.  If that is not enough, then it requires a lot more risk, like starting your own business, developing real estate, etc. etc.


                      A Saucy Wench

                        Oregon:  I was shocked in 1992 when I had to pay income tax on my college workstudy income and part-time pizza delivery job, even though it was well-underneath the federal standard deduction and personal exemption.

                         

                         

                        Yeah, when they say 9% they mean 9%.  The allowed deduction limit is very low.  But there is always the kicker.  Roll eyes

                        I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

                         

                        "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7

                          The weight in the dice is beta.  High beta stocks have done very well in the past few years, obviously.

                           

                          IMO the whole stock market is akin to gambling anyway - perhaps even with weighted dice.

                            On the "house paid for, and "4% return on savings to match social security income", I am there.  Not bragging, or certainly never intend to, just really happy about how I have been able to do that, and not even on that great a salary! (Gubment).  But the car I was driving 15 years ago was an 1,100.00 1973 volkswagen superbeetle, so I made sacrifices for over a decade in order to put saving first.  --- I kind of miss being able to see the road pass by through the holes in the floorpan as I drove along.... Big grin

                             

                            On the property tax rates, my only comparison between what I am used to and the NH / VT / northeast area is a real world scenario.  My house here in VA is about a 220,000 house, and I pay about $1,900 a year in property tax on it.  (that bill comes at christmastime every year... perfect... ) My in-laws have a house in Vermont that is very close to price as mine as far as market value/assessment of the home and they state their house property tax is in excess of $5,000 a year.

                             

                            --I thought statemaster.com had statistics on average property tax rates in each state, but cannot find.  But here is more on property tax rates by state. http://www.tax-rates.org/taxtables/property-tax-by-state

                            The Plan '15 →   ///    "Run Hard, Live Easy."   ∞


                            an amazing likeness

                              On the property tax rates, my only comparison between what I am used to and the NH / VT / northeast area is a real world scenario.  My house here in VA is about a 220,000 house, and I pay about $1,900 a year in property tax on it.  (that bill comes at christmastime every year... perfect... ) My in-laws have a house in Vermont that is very close to price as mine as far as market value/assessment of the home and they state their house property tax is in excess of $5,000 a year.

                               

                              --I thought statemaster.com had statistics on average property tax rates in each state, but cannot find.  But here is more on property tax rates by state. http://www.tax-rates.org/taxtables/property-tax-by-state

                               

                              As a generalization, we pay higher property tax rates in the small NE states (ME/NH/VT) because the other common tax sources (sales, income) aren't significant in these small population, rural states. The overall tax loads aren't that different, just the source is skewed to property taxes.

                              Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

                                 

                                As a generalization, we pay higher property tax rates in the small NE states (ME/NH/VT) because the other common tax sources (sales, income) aren't significant in these small population, rural states. The overall tax loads aren't that different, just the source is skewed to property taxes.

                                 

                                True.

                                 

                                And since VT and ME have some of the highest percentages of real estate comprised of vacation homes (many of which are owned by people from MA, CT etc.) it makes sense to shift the burden to property tax. Whereas MA (with high relative incomes and a significant pool of people form NH and other states working in the state), it makes more sense to get more of the revenue from state income tax.

                                 

                                If you're into that sort of thing, there's lots of interesting info HERE.

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