Forums >Off the Beaten Path>Wealth Inequality
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.
Yeah, that was really the main theme of why I mentioned property taxes higher in states with no sales tax. --- They are going to get their tax money in some form or fashion. :-)
Kind of reminds me of the Grocery stores, versus the Navy Commissary here in VA. Tax rate on groceries is about 4% here out in town. The prices on most things at the Commissary are pretty much equivalent to the prices on groceries you will find at wal-mart. --- Yet everyone runs to the commissary to shop saying "there is no sales tax on the groceries bought at the commissary!!" And that is true. However the commissary does charge a "4% SURCHARGE" on all items bought. 4% is 4% I would think. But folks will drive out of their way to pay a 4% surcharge (that goes to the national level government) to avoid a 4% tax (that would support the city and state). Boggles me why anyone would make effort to do that. "Low education shoppers" perhaps? :-)
The Plan '15 → /// "Run Hard, Live Easy." ∞
Kind of reminds me of the Grocery stores, versus the Navy Commissary here in VA.
It is actually worse than that.
Food purchased for home consumption is taxed at the reduced rate of 2.5 percent (1.5 percent state, 1 percent local). - VA Dept. of Tax
Surcharge is applied to the total value of each commissary purchase because the Congress has mandated collection of surcharge (currently 5 percent) to pay for commissary construction, equipment and maintenance. - commisaries.com
Come all you no-hopers, you jokers and roguesWe're on the road to nowhere, let's find out where it goes
Since we're talking about investing and wealth.... you may enjoy this link.
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#1: Do what I can do
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Great Link. And a question directly from that article concerning the USA / Zimbabwe comparison: The article states that the USA is following the same policies that Zimbabwe did, but why would the fed knowingly follow a policy similar to Zimbabwe?
--Is it because they know we are already in a bear-trap and are merely printing money to buy time + put off the inevitable?
--Also, why has inflation remained low, even though all this massive money-printing is going on in the USA and globally?
As to the chart showing how recent stock performance is not a reflection of a true recovery, but merely mirroring the beginning of QE2, QE3, QE infinity, I agree. --- I am currently 100% invested in stocks and have been since '08. But--- when the time comes that the fed seriously talks about turning off the tap, I plan to move at least 50% or more from stock based mutuals into Corporate or other stable bonds at that time. Maybe 2013 is a good year, perhaps 2014. But you have to figure that when the Fed finally cuts off the tap, it will have some long lasting negative results. (Well, positive long term in that the fed finally stops drugging the system, but negative short to mid term to the markets).
Great Link. And a question directly from that article concerning the USA / Zimbabwe comparison: The article states that the USA is following the same policies that Zimbabwe did, but why would the fed knowingly follow a policy similar to Zimbabwe? --Is it because they know we are already in a bear-trap and are merely printing money to buy time + put off the inevitable? --Also, why has inflation remained low, even though all this massive money-printing is going on in the USA and globally?
Surely you recognize the difference b/w the US and Zimbabwean economies? Without a 17 page econowonkian explanation...what the fed is doing with QE (buying mortgage securities with new money) does not lead to inflationary expectations, and therefore does not lead to significant inflation. Why? Because the USD is a default safe haven currency - markets don't believe the fed could ever "print" enough money to make the currency valueless. Given the size of the US economy, what the fed is doing with QE is infantismally small compared to what Zimbabwean govt. did (which was actually physically print new higher and higher denominated currency after disasterous "land reforms" led to basically zero output economy, no faith in the value of the currency, and complete collapse of everything). The two situations are so fundamentally different that the comparison is nonsensical.
LOL, that's Fox News for you. The primary takeaway from that chart is that monetary growth lagged the stock market by 3 months in 2011. Bernanke may be a great hero or a great villain, we won't know for sure for another 20 years, but the alternative, cutting liquidity and balancing the budget, you know, that didn't work very well in 1930.
People seem to forget that the world was on the cusp of another great depression. And Fisher's comments, taken out of context, are more towards the fact that companies are refinancing or taking on debt in order to do stock buybacks or make acquisitions, rather than hire employees or increase wages. Companies don't have to increase wages with unemployment at 8% +/-, even though productivity and margins are very high.
Anybody see today's jobs report? 7.7%, 236,000 jobs added. It is a slow grind but things are moving. The USA is neither Japan nor Zimbabwe. Stay invested for a while longer.
LOL, that's Fox News for you.
No, that's actually not Fox News. In fact, I bet the author doesn't think too highly of Fox News, but that's just a guess.
Bernanke may be a great hero or a great villain, we won't know for sure for another 20 years, but the alternative, cutting liquidity and balancing the budget, you know, that didn't work very well in 1930. Anybody see today's jobs report? 7.7%, 236,000 jobs added. It is a slow grind but things are moving. The USA is neither Japan nor Zimbabwe. Stay invested for a while longer.
Bernanke may be a great hero or a great villain, we won't know for sure for another 20 years, but the alternative, cutting liquidity and balancing the budget, you know, that didn't work very well in 1930.
--Fully agreed. Had we tried "Austerity" or "budget balancing" or "letting the banks fail because it costed too much to bail them out" in the 2008 timeframe, I think we would be living in a different America today. --- An America in much, much worse shape, and in a perpetual downward spiral. (like Greece now, but worse because the world economy was not much affected as greece sank.... If the USA goes down, the world might have gone down with it in a panic because the USA's financial sector is so large a piece of the syatem). --I'd even argue that the possibility existed that if the US banks an Financials had been allowed to fail, the panic would have gone global and resulted in a series of businesses collapsing, a run on the (bankrupt) banks, and a series of dominoes falling that would have ended only in anarchy. I personally think we came very close to 'loss of faith' in the system,and very close to a rapid and disasterous collapse.
---I am surprised that inflation has not taken hold with all the money-printing, but I fully agree the other option would be much worse.
--And in other news, on the Jobs report, I was pleased to see that Jobs report this morning. And note as well, government roles are shrinking, it is the private sector jobs providing all the job gains, so even better news. The US economy is in a slow recovery, but a stable and sustainable recovery. I'm all in, at least through mid-2014. :-)
The author at least thinks highly enough of Fox News to quote one of its frequent commentators and publish one of its charts. That's not a guess.
Runners run
Fair point... I wasn't thinking when I responded. I didn't realize the charts were from Fox. Oops.
spam
Good Bad & The Monkey
Hey Roger, that video is linked in the first post.
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby
Um, yeah. Roger is a spammer who just needed to insert some words before linking to a site selling predatory payday loans.
Oh ye of little faith.
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