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Post by aquaduct on Nov 14, 2012 23:32:52 GMT -5
I think the frustration is that Bruce already belongs to the 53% that Obama apparently doesn't give a shit about. I know that feeling. Oh I think you're dead wrong, Peter. Bruce is on Medicare and Social Security and, evidently, a pension that may need a federal guarantee. He's a big recipient of big entitlements. Smokin' and playin' golf on your dime and mine. The beating heart of American progressivism, baby. Tim As is the Soundhole tradition (at least as far as I'm concerned), being an insensitive ass doesn't become you. Your fucker won. I get it. I wish him all the best. I really hope he proves me wrong. And I'm one of the very few here who will admit when I'm wrong. Doesn't make it any less nerve-wracking.
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Post by timfarney on Nov 15, 2012 6:30:27 GMT -5
Oh I think you're dead wrong, Peter. Bruce is on Medicare and Social Security and, evidently, a pension that may need a federal guarantee. He's a big recipient of big entitlements. Smokin' and playin' golf on your dime and mine. The beating heart of American progressivism, baby. Tim As is the Soundhole tradition (at least as far as I'm concerned), being an insensitive ass doesn't become you. Your fucker won. I get it. I wish him all the best. I really hope he proves me wrong. And I'm one of the very few here who will admit when I'm wrong. Doesn't make it any less nerve-wracking. Yeah, well, FWIW, it took me a long time to get that direct about Bruce's obvious....conflicts. And it took a whole lot of Bruce's insensitive assiness, not to mention as whole lot of arrogant uninformedness. Doesn't excuse it, but it sure as hell made it inevitable. As far as the rest is concerned, Peter, we'd all have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to be nervous as hell right now. Regardless of whose fucker won. I said it before and I'll repeat it just because I think we need it: We've got a guy in the White House who never has to run again and a House full of critters who desperately need to show some value before they run the next time. And they're not from the same party. This is probably the best scenario we're going to get. Now, we'll make it. Or not. I really hope Obama proves you wrong, too. God knows the "conservatives" proved you wrong. History could repeat itself. Tim
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Post by brucemacneill on Nov 15, 2012 7:39:54 GMT -5
Tim, to me, your point of view makes no logical sense at all. Therefore I must assume you can't possibly really believe it. It's all the same stuff I was fed when I was a kid that has failed worldwide. You can keep saying that things are getting better and everything will be OK and your stuff will work but I see no evidence to back up the claim. I've distrusted Democrats for over 40 years and nothing they have done has caused me to change my opinion of them. They set out to ruin the U.S.A and they're succeeding. You want me to suddenly be happy about that? That makes no sense at all.
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Post by Doug on Nov 15, 2012 8:04:06 GMT -5
The problem with your outlook Bruce is that you still see a difference between the Democrats and the Republicans. I've had both a Democratic president and a Republican president try to get me killed and the bullets coming at me were not a bit different.
You think it's a Democratic problem not a government problem.
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Post by brucemacneill on Nov 15, 2012 8:42:50 GMT -5
The problem with your outlook Bruce is that you still see a difference between the Democrats and the Republicans. I've had both a Democratic president and a Republican president try to get me killed and the bullets coming at me were not a bit different. You think it's a Democratic problem not a government problem. Doug, the bullets fired in my general direction, I prefer to think they weren't personal, all came under Johnson. He wasn't very good at war. His "War on Poverty" has been a complete disaster resulting in more poverty than there was back then and locking blacks into it. It has destroyed the family and the work ethic of the country, not to mention the economy. I'm not a registered republican. I even voted for some of the Democrats in the county here but they've let me down too. They're re-assessing the property here and came a couple of weeks ago to measure my out-buildings so they could add them in. The buildings have been here for 15 years but now, with the economy crashing, I suppose they had to find another way to raise my taxes. This year, my views that something had to be done to stop the bleeding made the Republican ticket the better of the two since the current administration is only promising more of the same. I voted for change.
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Post by Doug on Nov 15, 2012 8:57:54 GMT -5
Voting for Mutt wasn't voting for change. Voting for any Demopublican is voting for status quo.
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Post by factorychef on Nov 15, 2012 9:07:18 GMT -5
I've been retired about 3 years and my wife 9 years. Our lifestyle has improved over that time and still can put money in the bank every month. We don't live beyond our means, we eat well, and have very little stress in our life. We talked about building a new house but can't see it. So we live a life style we want and don't care what other people think. We don't need to keep up with the [ Jones's].
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Post by dickt on Nov 15, 2012 9:29:22 GMT -5
The problem with your outlook Bruce is that you still see a difference between the Democrats and the Republicans. I've had both a Democratic president and a Republican president try to get me killed and the bullets coming at me were not a bit different. You think it's a Democratic problem not a government problem. Doug, the bullets fired in my general direction, I prefer to think they weren't personal, all came under Johnson. He wasn't very good at war. His "War on Poverty" has been a complete disaster resulting in more poverty than there was back then and locking blacks into it. It has destroyed the family and the work ethic of the country, not to mention the economy. I'm not a registered republican. I even voted for some of the Democrats in the county here but they've let me down too. They're re-assessing the property here and came a couple of weeks ago to measure my out-buildings so they could add them in. The buildings have been here for 15 years but now, with the economy crashing, I suppose they had to find another way to raise my taxes. This year, my views that something had to be done to stop the bleeding made the Republican ticket the better of the two since the current administration is only promising more of the same. I voted for change. As a life long Virginian, let me explain things. Counties are required to re-assess real estate at 100 percent of market value. The schedule varies around the state. In Fairfax where I owned a house for 25 years they reassessed every freaking year and my taxes went from $2000 to $5000. In rural counties it's usually on a more relaxed schedule. Unfortunately Orange County where we built had one in 2007, I think, at the height of the bubble. They didn't do it again for four years and our value went down by over 30 percent with the latest reassessment. But, here's the catch: with a reassessment the tax rate is adjusted so that your taxes stay pretty much the same. That is, if property values go down 20 percent in the county the tax rate is raised to "equalize" So even though our assessment went down by a ton, our taxes actually went up a bit under the new rate. In Northhampton County where Willis Wharf is located the last assessment was 2008. They adopted an every two years schedule in 2011. So they are now doing (in Fall 2012) the assessment that takes effect 1/1/2013. It's likely that overall assessments will be down from 2008 and yours is likely to be down too (unless the improvements are major). If yours goes down close to the average of other properties, your taxes will remain pretty much the same. The tax rate, however will go up so they keep collecting the same amount of money. In Orange County where I live the rate went from something like $0.57 to $.072. Northhampton's $0.54 rate will undoubtedly go up. I just checked my old house in Springfield, vA. Tax rate in Fairfax is now up to $1.07 and taxes on my old house are close to $5000. My new house is twice that size and on five acres and the taxes are less than half of that. Anyway, they are not singling you out. Every property in Northhampton is being reassessed and they will be back again in two years. At least your county has an in-house assessor. Ours hires private firms and there are howls about unfairness and sloppy work. I'm only posting this because we are in very similar situations, housing wise. Large house in a poor Virginia county, a few acres of land. Very few "comparables"
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Post by brucemacneill on Nov 15, 2012 9:34:01 GMT -5
I've been retired about 3 years and my wife 9 years. Our lifestyle has improved over that time and still can put money in the bank every month. We don't live beyond our means, we eat well, and have very little stress in our life. We talked about building a new house but can't see it. So we live a life style we want and don't care what other people think. We don't need to keep up with the [ Jones's]. Well, if I had bought the house I was willing to take I'd be OK but the wife wanted this one, she was to be the bread-winner and I let her talk me into it. Now I'm house-poor, insurance-poor and health-care-poor. Running the numbers I can fix the first 2 if I can get out of this house within a year with another, smaller, house and some cash. I haven't figured out the health insurance thing yet because I really didn't know that Medicare still costs you pretty close to what an insurance policy costs and it goes up each year like any other insurance. It never occurred to me that they'd shut down the only hospital within 70 miles of here and fire the nurses to save money first, no unemployment, although that wouldn't have helped much anyway.
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Post by brucemacneill on Nov 15, 2012 9:43:18 GMT -5
Doug, the bullets fired in my general direction, I prefer to think they weren't personal, all came under Johnson. He wasn't very good at war. His "War on Poverty" has been a complete disaster resulting in more poverty than there was back then and locking blacks into it. It has destroyed the family and the work ethic of the country, not to mention the economy. I'm not a registered republican. I even voted for some of the Democrats in the county here but they've let me down too. They're re-assessing the property here and came a couple of weeks ago to measure my out-buildings so they could add them in. The buildings have been here for 15 years but now, with the economy crashing, I suppose they had to find another way to raise my taxes. This year, my views that something had to be done to stop the bleeding made the Republican ticket the better of the two since the current administration is only promising more of the same. I voted for change. As a life long Virginian, let me explain things. Counties are required to re-assess real estate at 100 percent of market value. The schedule varies around the state. In Fairfax where I owned a house for 25 years they reassessed every freaking year and my taxes went from $2000 to $5000. In rural counties it's usually on a more relaxed schedule. Unfortunately Orange County where we built had one in 2007, I think, at the height of the bubble. They didn't do it again for four years and our value went down by over 30 percent with the latest reassessment. But, here's the catch: with a reassessment the tax rate is adjusted so that your taxes stay pretty much the same. That is, if property values go down 20 percent in the county the tax rate is raised to "equalize" So even though our assessment went down by a ton, our taxes actually went up a bit under the new rate. In Northhampton County where Willis Wharf is located the last assessment was 2008. They adopted an every two years schedule in 2011. So they are now doing (in Fall 2012) the assessment that takes effect 1/1/2013. It's likely that overall assessments will be down from 2008 and yours is likely to be down too (unless the improvements are major). If yours goes down close to the average of other properties, your taxes will remain pretty much the same. The tax rate, however will go up so they keep collecting the same amount of money. In Orange County where I live the rate went from something like $0.57 to $.072. Northhampton's $0.54 rate will undoubtedly go up. I just checked my old house in Springfield, vA. Tax rate in Fairfax is now up to $1.07 and taxes on my old house are close to $5000. My new house is twice that size and on five acres and the taxes are less than half of that. Anyway, they are not singling you out. Every property in Northhampton is being reassessed and they will be back again in two years. At least your county has an in-house assessor. Ours hires private firms and there are howls about unfairness and sloppy work. I'm only posting this because we are in very similar situations, housing wise. Large house in a poor Virginia county, a few acres of land. Very few "comparables" Well, Dick all I know or care about is that I bought in January 2007 and my 2007 tax bill was $1150, pretty livable. The one I paid last week was $1650 and the assessor came with his measuring tape and added 5 outbiildings to the description. The woman who did the reassessment in 2008 noted all the buildings but ignored them I guess. I suspect the assessment won't go down and you're right, they'll adjust the rate to make up the money. Incidentally, my home-owner's insurance has doubled in the past 5 years too as has my car insurance although the cars get older and should be cheaper to insure IMHO. In any case, with the price of food and gas doubling, cigarettes doubling just to throw that in, the low cost of living that brought me here isn't so low anymore and I can't just go out and make some more money like I used to. It's a good thing there isn't any inflation.
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Post by dradtke on Nov 15, 2012 9:46:47 GMT -5
I've been retired about 3 years and my wife 9 years. Our lifestyle has improved over that time and still can put money in the bank every month. We don't live beyond our means, we eat well, and have very little stress in our life. We talked about building a new house but can't see it. So we live a life style we want and don't care what other people think. We don't need to keep up with the [ Jones's]. You guys eat very well.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2012 9:57:20 GMT -5
All of this discussion, as well as having a 5 year old around the house, just supports my plan to work until I'm, oh, 97.
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Post by aquaduct on Nov 15, 2012 10:27:42 GMT -5
All of this discussion, as well as having a 5 year old around the house, just supports my plan to work until I'm, oh, 97. I'm shooting for immortality. It's the only way I'll catch up.
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Post by Fingerplucked on Nov 15, 2012 10:31:53 GMT -5
All of this discussion, as well as having a 5 year old around the house, just supports my plan to work until I'm, oh, 97. That's pretty much the plan I'm on. I don't know if I'll make it to 97, but laughing at the guy who thinks $1650 is a high tax bill helps keep me young.
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Post by brucemacneill on Nov 15, 2012 10:37:04 GMT -5
All of this discussion, as well as having a 5 year old around the house, just supports my plan to work until I'm, oh, 97. That's pretty much the plan I'm on. I don't know if I'll make it to 97, but laughing at the guy who thinks $1650 is a high tax bill helps keep me young. Go ahead and laugh but if you ever face retirement and work through those programs that say how much you'll need saved, believe the highest one not the lowest one. First one I tried said I needed 4 million so I tried some others and got it down to 1.5million. At the time, I could account for that so I made a decision. Now I'm back to needing 4million but there's nothing I can do about it now.
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Post by Supertramp78 on Nov 15, 2012 10:37:14 GMT -5
I'm planning on inventing a machine that captures conservative anxiety and anger and converts it into electricity. I'm gonna be rich.
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Post by aquaduct on Nov 15, 2012 10:46:46 GMT -5
I'm planning on inventing a machine that captures conservative anxiety and anger and converts it into electricity. I'm gonna be rich. No you won't. Your boy in the White House will tax it all.
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Post by Supertramp78 on Nov 15, 2012 11:07:42 GMT -5
I'm planning on inventing a machine that captures conservative anxiety and anger and converts it into electricity. I'm gonna be rich. No you won't. Your boy in the White House will tax it all. no problem, let him tax it at 50% if he wants to. that would just generate more raw materials for the machine. BWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
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Post by Rob Hanesworth on Nov 15, 2012 11:30:56 GMT -5
$4 million required for a couple to retire? I am calling B.S.
Thousands of people are enjoying reasonable retirements with far less.
(I was going to hope someone else would post this, but what the hell, I'll take the flack.)
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Post by brucemacneill on Nov 15, 2012 11:54:02 GMT -5
$4 million required for a couple to retire? I am calling B.S. Thousands of people are enjoying reasonable retirements with far less. (I was going to hope someone else would post this, but what the hell, I'll take the flack.) Rob, that was what the first retirement planning program I ran said, to maintain my lifestyle I needed 4million bucks. Since I hadn't made 4 million bucks in my entire life I went looking for other retirement planning applications. The one at my credit union said I needed 1.5 million and based upon the net worth calculation it said I was good to go, so I went. Incidentally, it said I would need $400,000 to cover medical expenses and that may be true too. I don't know yet. I didn't write the programs so I don't know how they do their calculations but one basis is claiming that you need to account for 80% of your last income. trouble is I'm not sure how they calculate inflation and stock market and housing market crashes but I suspect they don't and I also expect they assumed that pesky 10% return on investments they used to talk about but don't anymore. At the time, a $248,000 annuity would get you $1000/mo for life of the longest living of you or your wife. You won't find that anymore either 'cause the insurance companies can't even guaranty themselves 5% return. Things changed fast.
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