If you hate paying taxes, then read this.....

[Kay/NC]

I don't fo.low his every word...most.y have heard his line about his secretary paying more taxesmthan he does, then this. Both speak to the problem withnour present economy: There is plenty of money in America, but it is concentrated in the hands of a few.

This was what I heard cosnta toy when we moved to this cow Ty inNC seventeen years ago...that it was so poor. When I looked up the stats on the census data, this county generated way more wealth than the one we moved out of in VA. Overall view there was that we were solidly in the middle, with prospects of progressing. The difference was distribution, with lots of good jobs there, few and far between here.

I won't follow him like a disciple...but, have to say, I agree with the simplicity of balancing the budget with consequences for Congress if we don't.

[kraft-t]

Why do you suppose that would be? Bourdain's pronouncement that he has never had an american born kid approach him to apply for a job in his business?

Then I suppose it is correct to assume that no american born people are employed in the restuarant industry. We frequent many restuarants locally and I can assure you there at lots of american born employees serving my tables. Yes and they appreciate my tip money as well. It's too bad their employer is too **bleep** tight to pay them for the work they do.  Instead those workers have to rely on the generousity of their clientele to receive a living wage.

Don't  you even question the authenticity of his comments?

[kraft-t]

I imagine that nebraska has a lot of petty jealous conservatives that find fault with him. Why? because he is not one of those lock step right wingers. And if he favors improving the tax code, he is a hypocrit because he doesn't just mail in an extra million, as if he could pay the national debt himself.

He is giving away billions to charity but is assumed to have ulterior motives for doing so. I suppose Bill Gates is the same. He could have left it all in trust to his children and grand kids, but your finding fault because he will not leave them penniless.

You don't like Warren Buffet and you making a pitiful attempt to discredit him.

BTW. I suspect there are alot of folks better off financially because they listened to what he had to say.

[Kay/NC]

As usual, you are confused about what I said...you are speaking of servers...then quote was stated about dishwashers and other KITCHEN staff. I made no mention of - since the chef wasn't speaking about - servers.

I don't know how much food preparation you do, or have ever done, buts there is a dividing line between waitstaff and the cooking crew. A lot of people serve tables, act as hostesses, etc., but they do not have the scut chores of food prep and cleanup.

I take the remark of one of the world's best known chefs at face value...if he says he hasn't seen American-born applicants for prep
side positions, then I believe him. He didn't say anything about servers, period. I know who I see going into restaurant kitchens around here, and most are either Hispanic or Asian. Most of them do not share in tips paid at the table, either.

If you would take time to try to understand what people actually say, before you start to try to disupte it, you might actually learn something. If you don't know the difference between prep and service, try to notice next time you go out. Some of the staff stays in the kitchen, and some beings out food to you...not the same people. The ones you never see are the ones I am talking about.

[nwobcw]

   Typical liberals attack the messenger, not the message, when they have no logical response.   As far as kitchen work goes I volunteered to peel potatoes when I had KP.  Easy sit-down work.

[Kay/NC]

I try not to stereotype...but, if you want to argue with me, at least do so on point, not on some tangent off to the side of what I have to say.

[Nebrfarmr]

If what I said in that last post is in any way inaccurate, please point out the inaccuracies to me.

I am not trying to discredit him, he is a financial GENIUS of the highest caliber.

He is not a hypocrate for not mailing in an 'extra million.  What I was referring to, is while saying his taxes are too low, at the same time he has teams of lawyers to find loopholes so he doesn't have to pay as much in taxes. He could very simply just file his income as 'income' and his expenses as 'expense' and pay taxes on the difference, but he doesn't.

Oh, and he DOES have all his money in trusts.  He left several billion in a tax-free trust to his kids, grandkids, etc.  If you don't believe me, look it up.  Each kid will get well over a billion tax-free, from the man who says we need to keep the estate tax.   Tell me how that adds up.  It is easy to get caught up in the headline that says "Buffet leaves Billions to Charity" and not hear about the rest of the story. 

Warren Buffet is actually a likable guy, you should go hear him speak sometimes.  He gives EXCELLENT advice, and probably knows as much or more than anyone alive on finances.  However, make no mistake, when it comes to HIS personal finances, he is a shark of the highest caliber.  He has no problem buying family businesses, breaking it apart, and selling it off piece by piece if it makes him more money that way.  When it comes to business, he is all business.

Bill Gates, I know almost nothing about his charities, and I don't think I ever pretended to.

[GoredHusker]

I see several items here that are paid for out of pocket rather than tax money.  Point 1 and 2 are taken directly out of workers paychecks.  It's the mishandling of them by our gov't that has put their sustainability in jeopardy.  Point 3 really makes little sense to me.  Why didn't they just say do not ever take any gov't job?  All gov't jobs are paid via taxpayer money, so why single out the military?  Point 8 is funded by every gallon of fuel we put in our vehicles.  I pay taxes to build all of those highways, interstates, etc. even though the miles I put on my vehicle might very well be in my own pasture, field, etc.  How many people fuel their offroad ATV's using highway taxed gasoline?  With regards to point 11, I don't know how most cities handle garbage waste but around here in our local towns the homeowner pays dearly for monthly garbage pick ups.  In some cases, those in towns pay more for garbage pick up than we rural homeowners pay.  Where's the taxpayer money there?  Point 12 and 13 might mean something to someone living in a city with a lot of manufacturing.  However, it doesn't mean much to those of us out here in no man's land Nebraska.  My drinking water comes directly from my own well.  Where's my tax support?  Point 23 is something I don't understand either.  If I'm cited for a speeding violation, I pay court costs with my fine even though I never go to court.  I could go on, but there's no point in doing so.  I don't have a problem paying taxes.  Taxes are a necessary evil. 

Looking to the future, it's obvious which gov't spending programs need the most attention.  When SS was first implemented, the age to draw was actually higher than the life expectancy.  Now, it is significantly different.  It's quite obvious that one of two things needs to happen.  Either higher SS taxes need to be collected, or we need to raise the age to draw.  Medicare is in the same boat.  We hear all the time where half of the U.S. available workers pay no federal income taxes.  However, we rarely hear that 60% of the U.S. available workers take more in via gov't spending than they pay in via taxes.  With this 60/40 split, it's quite apparent we're now a nanny state.  Can 40% of the workforce continue to pull the wagon loaded with 60% of the workforce?  What happens when we get to only 30% pulling the wagon loaded with 70%?  The S&P downgrade was a lot more about our needing to change direction than anything else.  I still prefer a consumption tax because then everyone has skin in the game.  The more one consumes, the more they pay in taxes.  Is it fair?  Look at the taxes we have now that everyone pays the exact same amount.  Whether one is rich or poor, they both pay the same amount in taxes per gallon of fuel bought.  They both pay the same amount of taxes on phones, cable, etc.  If they both owned the same piece of real estate, the tax would be the same.  They pay the same percentage of sales tax on things.  Put on a consumption tax and scrap the current tax code.  Let the consumer sort out what taxes they want to pay. 

[Kay/NC]

The problem that arises, if you hold off on paying Social Security until a a later age, is that the workers stay in the workforce, holding positions, that are needed for younger workers entering the workforce.  Decisions of policy on when to pay benefits in full, and allow people to continue working without penalizing their benefits by reducing them proportionate to their earned income, has fluctuated over the past few decades, as the jobs market needed or didn't need for people to retire.   

I graduated college in 1975 into a very tight job market.  Mike went from making huge overtime to being furloughed in a matter of months, when things went south.  We've seen early retirement offers and outright severance packages come and go. 

Right now, I do not think anyone knows a good answer for the situation we've gotten into.  We have run out of easy fixes. 

[GoredHusker]

As things stand right now, there's not a lot of people in their early 60's collecting SS that aren't still working.  Maybe, we're transitioning to a period in time where those in school stay there until they get their PHD.  As people tend to live longer, it's a basic fact that they'll tend to work later years in life.  Those who do the prudent thing investing for their retirement may very well still be able to retire in their mid-60's.  Those who do not will see themselves working into their mid-70's.  I don't think the age to draw in terms of SS will have much to do with it. 

In a perfect World, the gov't wouldn't need to collect taxes for SS because people would be investing in their own future retirement.  Unfortunately, this is not the World we live in today.  The old adage around here for farmers was live poor and die rich.  Our urban friends didn't seem to want to live by the same standard.  The old saying what goes up must come down for years didn't seem to apply.  Anyone who honestly thinks agriculture will not get drug smack dab in the middle of this must be very naive.  It was just three short years ago when we saw corn prices go from eight bucks a bushel to below three in mere months.  In the 80's we saw a double dip recession.  I don't know why anyone who follows charts and such would think this time around would end any differently.  Once we drag China down with us just like we did Japan way back when, all bets are off.