Number 500!!!!

After over 6 years, 2 degrees, and many unexplained absences, this is 'blog post #500. Wow.

I have a lot to say about the state of this country, but I am just so sad at this momeny. People are so incredibly dumb. Women who vote against the rights of their sisters. Men who are nasty about a President because he is in a different political party as they are... or has a different skin color.

According to sources Romney's last three commercials are total lies, but only Ms. Maddow's blog has the ability to point that out?  Several friends of mine got into a long discussion (yes, I mean fight) over this "news" on Facebook last night that the Obama campaign took in less than it spent in June. That is technically correct, but it made it sound like the campaign is in debt which is nowhere even close to the truth. And only read the comments if you have a strong stomach.

Akin (Missouri - legitimate rape)... I am not going there. I truly hope he stays in the race and gets clobbered.

There is no reason in this country at the moment. There is no intellectual curiousity. There is only hate and vitriol. Has it always been this way and I was so naive I missed it?

Is there any possibility that we can move toward the middle and become one country again? Do we want that? Can we forgive and move on? Should we even try to forget?

I feel that the future is bleak. Less so if President Obama is re-elected, but eventually another Republican will move into the White House and then what? A depression? An uprising? (That of course is IF there is not an attempt by the Virginia Republicans to start an armed rebellion if the President IS re-elected.)

Race. Equality. Rights. Has it all be for nothing? Are we doomed? Is this country doomed? It isn't 1776 anymore. If we go down, will anyone survive? Or am I being overdramatic? 

So I am sad. And a little scared.

But I truly hope that I am around for another 500 posts... at least.

Econ 101

I took macro and micro economics in the summer of 2008, back when I thought I was going to be an accountant when I grew up. After those classes and Accounting 101, I decided that my future was going to take a different path.* But I took those classes and I received A's in them. But they did not actually stick too closely (I purged them as soon as the classes were completed and grades were in!). So I have a couple of questions from those who may know/remember/understand these things better than I.

If I am a small business owner, is it not true that I will be paying taxes on my 'net' income and not my 'gross' income? (Provided of course that I do not ship any of my income to Switzerland or the Cayman Islands and pay taxes on everything that I should).  So if I get a nice little government aided start up loan and rent a building for a boutique, buy inventory, pay the bills, etc all with that start up loan (making the loan payments, of course) and at the end of the first year, after all bills are paid, I have a profit of $75,000 then that is all I have to pay taxes on, right? Am I correct so far?

So in Year 2, business picks up and I need to hire a cashier for the afternoons. $10/hour - 20 hours/week for some future fashionista after school. And my profit is $100K for that year, am I now allowed to take that almost $11K off the top of my profit? Instead of paying taxes on the $100K that I made (after paying rent, untilities, loan payment, merchandisers), is it not correct that I would pay taxes on just over $89K? BECAUSE AN EMPLOYEE IS A TAXABLE DEDUCTION?

Looking at it even closer, that employee is going to cost me more than the $11K in salary, are they not? Medicare and social security matching? Unemployment insurance and Workers Compensation? So wouldn't it be closer to the truth to say that I would be able to deduct maybe $15K for that ONE employee?

So whether my tax rate is 20%, 50%, or 90% I am not paying taxes on the salaries and benefits that my employees are receiving?

I know that this is simplistic and I know that there are other factors and facts involved, but I am trying to ensure that I have an actual grasp on this subject before I make an ass of myself!

And if you stop by and do not leave a comment explaining why I am wrong, my reputation as an ass will be your fault!

*I have great respect for accountants, because they got through all of those boring classes. Of course they would probably shudder at my adoration of classes like "Beauracy - The 4th Branch" also. It takes all kinds.

Am I the Voice of Doom?

As I sit here in my lovely ranch style home, Lola eating dinner behind me, tomatoes roasting in the oven in preparation for homemade marina, I feel an overwhelming sense of panic. Of dread. Of fear. Serious sick to my stomach terror.

What the hell is happening in this country? What the hell has happened to those whom we have elected to lead us? In less than two weeks this country is going to run out of money, default on our credit and cause who knows what kind of mayhem, but no one seems to be taking this seriously. Certainly not crazy Michelle Bachman. Certainly not most of the Congressional Republicans. Is our President? Will he swoop in at the last minute, invoking the 14th amendment and saving the day? Will that save the day?  Everything I have read says that without spending cuts and increased revenue the S&P (I think) may still take our credit down from AAA to AA. And the plan by the "Gang of 6" has only promised increased revenue in the future. Why not now?

My tax burden is not large.  A lot of that has to do with tuition, of course, because that is all tax deductible, but I would be willing to pay more, why aren't others?

Let's look at how a default will affect ME, personally, as the Average Jane on the street.
#1. DSD is retired Navy with a military retirement that kept us afloat while he was unemployed. What happens without that?
#2. I am a contract employee with the Federal government. Now my contract has just been extended (again) for another 4 months, which means the contract is paid until Thanksgiving, but if there are no active duty or civilians, will I still be able to go in and get paid?
#3. My parents are retired and living off social security. They paid cash for their house and have savings, 401Ks, etc, but they depend on those monthly checks. What will happen to them?

What will happen to us all?

I firmly believe that if the elderly, military, military retirees, etc do not get paid, we may be in for a revolution. I have a really bad feeling about this... luckily my bad feelings are normally just indigestion, but I've never had indigestion that lasts this long.

Why are those in Washington screwing around with our future?

Hot and Tired and Annoyed!

We had a lovely day of cloudy, raininess yesterday, so today's high humidity and temperatures have sucked the energy right out of me.

Things are bad. Really bad. The Republicans picked up their toys and went home over the fact that the Democrats & President Obama want to raise taxes on those poor, starving millionaires in order to raise a couple of dollars toward the debt. Fine. Boehner & Cantor are rolling in cash and don't want to pay more. But WHY is it that POOR people think this is ok? People who are just getting by? People who aren't white?

Do these people think they are going to win the lottery and then they won't want to pay taxes on their millions? Do these people think that the "Christian" conservatives care about them one little iota?

Do I think that the President's latest pronouncement on raising taxes on the rich is something that he is going to stand behind? Or will have cave (again) like a poorly built house of cards?

I love the man, I really do, and I can list an incredible amount of things that he has done that has benefitted this country and the people in it, but if he had stood his ground about the tax cuts last December, maybe we would not be entering another dip in the recession that will not end.. although it has been over for TWO years.

DSD and I are doing ok, but things are tight everywhere. And I cannot imagine where we would be without his retirement and Tricare benefits. He is now on daily medication and I meet with a surgeon tomorrow to schedule surgery for an umbilical hernia. What if I weren't covered? Would I just suffer?

I have not talked to my friend about her mom in a couple of weeks. Last I heard there was a meeting scheduled with an oncologist and the mom said that she may opt out of treatment. My friend said that treatment would probably only give her another 12 months, but 12 months is a loooooong time if you are thinking about losing your mom.

Stepdaughter, son-in-law, and the grandchildren will be here in 10 short days! I'm taking the entire week off to spoil all of them. Beach, pool, snorkeling, sand castles, shrimp boil... all the things the Florida Gulf Coast is famous for! (So y'all can stop doing that rain dance now!)

You Can Take Your Reform And...

 This story was on the local news last night. Apparently Florida is going to tell D. C. to shove their Medicaid dollars if they (D.C.) doesn't want to play by Florida's rules. I hope those who elected Scott are happy. I also hope those who didn't vote are happy. I knew it was going to get bad, but....

On the radio this morning (NPR) which the righties also want to de-fund, had a nice story on the Medicaid Reform proposed by Florida Senator Don Gaetz. It is supposed to be unveiled this morning, but the little I got off the radio made my head explode.

Apparently Senator Gaetz (Republican) believes it is ok from the government to stick its nose even further into the business of the people of this state.  According to the news story linked to above, "and provide incentives to stop drinking and smoking."  Hey, great, providing incentives is great, right? But the story goes on to quote the Senator saying, "We say in the bill that we expect them to be engaged in a smoking sensation program that’s medically directed.”

We EXPECT.  We DIRECT.

Do you know what this means? The Florida poor will be required to stop smoking, stop drinking, and lose weight or they will forfeit their medicaid.

I was very pleasant to the young man on the phone in the Senator's office, it's not his fault his boss is a jerk. I explained that this was unconstitutional because government does not have a right to make these demands, and he explained that the Senator felt this would save money for the state. I asked him how the Senator felt about abortion, because requiring women to bring unwanted, unloved children who couldn't be afforded into this world cost a lot also. He shut up.

This is such a slippery slope and this cannot be allowed to happen. People should want to be healthy. People should want to stop smoking, and lose weight. But allowing government to MAKE them will eventually mean allowing government to make other decisions for them.. for us, which includes who to marry, how/when/what to reproduce. Where to work. Where to live.

I also called my Florida Rep, just to tell her that I was against this bill, if it ever gets to the House. I have to go write Gaetz and explain myself further.

Wow, I am MAD. And really a little scared.

Thanks for Nothin'

A story on NPR today made me think of one of my favorite childhood stories, "The Little Red Hen." I am not going to tell it here, so if you don't know the story, do a quick Google search on it. But according to the fine folks at All Things Considererd, Americans WANT new, safe, bridges and roads, but not if there is going to a $0.02 gas tax.  They want Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. They want their children to have quality education.  But they don't want to PAY for it. And they don't want it cut!!

What do they want to cut? Foreign aid. All that money sent to Africa to help with A.I.D.S. education, and all that money that was sent to Haiti, and all the money sent to..... how much will that save us? It amounts to less than 1% of the total budget.

How about we make corporations pay their share? How about we tax all income, including capital gains taxes? How about we PAY our fair share?

I am game. Due to the tuition I pay for myself and BabyBoy, DSD and I are getting back a really stupid amount of money. Our total tax bill is probably less than $2,000. Sad. That's not going to go very far.

Why don't we start making our veterans pay into their own retirement? Why don't we make Congress?

Not I, said the duck. Not I, said the pig. Not I, said the cow. I guess I will do it all myself then, said the little red hen, and she did.