2009-11-18 11:49![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
digitaldiscipline
digitaldisciplineThe twit-sized version:
"Some people wonder why dollar signs make me see red. Wonder no more: http://bit.ly/2bY744"
Taking these in order....
1. Estate Tax: This one is a mixed bag for me. On the larger hand, we've already paid taxes on the money we've made and the shit we've purchased; taxing it again when it is bequeathed to someone else when we kick the bucket is double-dipping. On the smaller hand, exceedingly large estates/inheritances give us things like Paris Hilton. I can't speak for anyone else, but I'd rather have well-maintained highways than trust-fund douchebaguettes. If there's a progressive tax structure for these, I guess that would be the least evil implementation, but not ideal.
This is more a matter of being punitive towards financial success, rather than simple responsibility.
2. Cash for Clunkers: I can't really amplify what the author(s) put. Spending money to save billion-dollar industries while encouraging individuals to assume more debt load, independent of all the waste involved in getting rid of those old cars, even if they're recycled....
3. Low Interest Rates: I remember getting 4-5% on my savings account as a kid. Now, something like that seems outlandish. Way to fuck people out of trying to save money for their future, hedge against a sudden expense or job loss.
4. Devaluation of Currency: Ahh, inflation. By saving the $10 I could have spent on two movie tickets last year, I can now afford one ticket with the $10.14 it has become this year. On the flip side, knowing how to game this system has been good to me, since hard commodities like precious metals are shooting up in value relative to a weakening dollar. Counter-intuitively, buying a static lump of metal that earns no interest sitting in a box has a much better ROI than investing in a CD or something that's designed to increase in value.
5. Debt Repayment: The tax credit for interest paid on the mortgage doesn't suck, but it's tricky to balance where that tax benefit matches our outweighs simply paying off the mortgage itself in terms of paying the interest itself in the long term. The less you owe on your house, the better a position you'll be if and when it's time to sell.
6. FHA Insurance/Subsidies: This one, I'm not sure I can get behind the criticism. Yes, insuring risky homebuyers isn't a fantastic idea, but bigger loans ought to come at a higher interest rate, since if they get defaulted on, that's a whole lot more scratch that's not being recouped.
7. Capital Gains: This one, however, is complete bullshit. Investing isn't work. It's making money off the efforts of others, the only "work" involved is studying to make a wise investment. If you're just trying to make a quick buck by playing the market, you pay for that privilege in the form of Cap Gain taxes. If you're serious about investing in a company for the long term, you don't pay this tax. No sympathy from me for the stock flippers and speculators. When these risk-taking jackoffs pull an Enron or Bear Stearns by getting too smart for their own good, the sane, rational investors ought to be able to have a blanket party for them. I'll bring the blanket and some Cheetos.
8. Student Loan Subsidies: I don't think too many folks assume student loans casually, and they're one of the few debts that even declaring bankruptcy doesn't free you of the obligation to repay, IIRC. So what if my state college education didn't cost as much as an Ivy League degree? I don't have to pay their tuition any more than they have to pay mine.
9. Health Insurance: At this point, I can't even pretend that the author hasn't flown off deep into Right Wingnutville. There's nothing even remotely like "criminalizing" a lack of carrying health insurance even up for discussion. They fail at sarcasm, for one thing, and seem to conveniently overlook the fact that the older, unhealthier insurance consumers probably paid in their share of premiums over the years, even though their premiums may not currently be commensurate with the risks/costs they represent.
10. Why? On this one, I completely agree: "So why does the government do this? Because politicians play to the interests of business, who want you to spend, spend spend."
"Some people wonder why dollar signs make me see red. Wonder no more: http://bit.ly/2bY744"
Taking these in order....
1. Estate Tax: This one is a mixed bag for me. On the larger hand, we've already paid taxes on the money we've made and the shit we've purchased; taxing it again when it is bequeathed to someone else when we kick the bucket is double-dipping. On the smaller hand, exceedingly large estates/inheritances give us things like Paris Hilton. I can't speak for anyone else, but I'd rather have well-maintained highways than trust-fund douchebaguettes. If there's a progressive tax structure for these, I guess that would be the least evil implementation, but not ideal.
This is more a matter of being punitive towards financial success, rather than simple responsibility.
2. Cash for Clunkers: I can't really amplify what the author(s) put. Spending money to save billion-dollar industries while encouraging individuals to assume more debt load, independent of all the waste involved in getting rid of those old cars, even if they're recycled....
3. Low Interest Rates: I remember getting 4-5% on my savings account as a kid. Now, something like that seems outlandish. Way to fuck people out of trying to save money for their future, hedge against a sudden expense or job loss.
4. Devaluation of Currency: Ahh, inflation. By saving the $10 I could have spent on two movie tickets last year, I can now afford one ticket with the $10.14 it has become this year. On the flip side, knowing how to game this system has been good to me, since hard commodities like precious metals are shooting up in value relative to a weakening dollar. Counter-intuitively, buying a static lump of metal that earns no interest sitting in a box has a much better ROI than investing in a CD or something that's designed to increase in value.
5. Debt Repayment: The tax credit for interest paid on the mortgage doesn't suck, but it's tricky to balance where that tax benefit matches our outweighs simply paying off the mortgage itself in terms of paying the interest itself in the long term. The less you owe on your house, the better a position you'll be if and when it's time to sell.
6. FHA Insurance/Subsidies: This one, I'm not sure I can get behind the criticism. Yes, insuring risky homebuyers isn't a fantastic idea, but bigger loans ought to come at a higher interest rate, since if they get defaulted on, that's a whole lot more scratch that's not being recouped.
7. Capital Gains: This one, however, is complete bullshit. Investing isn't work. It's making money off the efforts of others, the only "work" involved is studying to make a wise investment. If you're just trying to make a quick buck by playing the market, you pay for that privilege in the form of Cap Gain taxes. If you're serious about investing in a company for the long term, you don't pay this tax. No sympathy from me for the stock flippers and speculators. When these risk-taking jackoffs pull an Enron or Bear Stearns by getting too smart for their own good, the sane, rational investors ought to be able to have a blanket party for them. I'll bring the blanket and some Cheetos.
8. Student Loan Subsidies: I don't think too many folks assume student loans casually, and they're one of the few debts that even declaring bankruptcy doesn't free you of the obligation to repay, IIRC. So what if my state college education didn't cost as much as an Ivy League degree? I don't have to pay their tuition any more than they have to pay mine.
9. Health Insurance: At this point, I can't even pretend that the author hasn't flown off deep into Right Wingnutville. There's nothing even remotely like "criminalizing" a lack of carrying health insurance even up for discussion. They fail at sarcasm, for one thing, and seem to conveniently overlook the fact that the older, unhealthier insurance consumers probably paid in their share of premiums over the years, even though their premiums may not currently be commensurate with the risks/costs they represent.
10. Why? On this one, I completely agree: "So why does the government do this? Because politicians play to the interests of business, who want you to spend, spend spend."
