There are simple ways to stay ahead.

You make X amount while you work.

Your lifestyle should fit X amount.

You don’t spend beyond the X amount of what your money allows and you learn to save.

When you lose your job as could happen to any of us, you take your unemployment benefits and start looking for something RIGHT AWAY.

THEN if you have to dig into your savings to survive, then do it.

He was not talking about losing his job and anyone reading that would have understood what he meant.

Moving ahead, I am tired of trying to explain the tax code to you. You’re in a world that believes that poor people pay high taxes and rich people pay none. So tax the businesses more so they cannot provide work and give EXTRA money to the poor that they don’t already pay as it is.

Well, you’re about to witness what that thinking is going to bring you.

11 of my small business clients are out of business this year. More than a few others have all fired all but 1 or 2 employees.

“Rich people” who own real property, business ventures, and interests are losing all their assets. Assets that they’ve invested millions in through employment they gave to others or money required for licensing, overhead, etc. GONE.

There’s nothing we can do now. So, you’ll be thrilled to know people who pay no income tax and living on welfare will now get the tax cuts that a business could have used to give someone their job back.

Robert, your sources are weak when it comes to tax statistics and your horrible interpretation of the tax law is not going to be enough to undo what this package is going to do for years to come.

We’re swinging so far one way that the damage is going to be irreversible and ONLY the strong (the type John was describing to you) are going to survive.

And for those relying on the government and who will be working government jobs as a result of the stimulus: if they thought Bush’s Patriot Act was intrusive on their private life and choices, they aint seen nothing yet.

I’m going to find Mr. King and beat him to within an inch of his life.

That probably won’t happen, because, as it turns out, suicide rates go up when conservatives are in power, and go down when liberals are in power…

That’s great, John. I’m very proud of you. But if you think you are the norm you are wrong. Also, I would think you of all people wouldn’t appreciate someone telling anyone what to do with their money, but if you want to keep playing devil’s advocate, that’s fine with me. What’s not fine with me is the fact that you still fail to see how sometimes, things are out of our control. We lose jobs. We lose homes. We don’t all have the luxury of getting paid a decent enough wage to have a saving account with money in it. Over the last eight years, savings have gone down to an average of negative five percent. Negative, John. And average. So, you managed to do better than most, congratulations. But please refrain from looking down your nose at the downtrodden, because you don’t know everyone’s circumstances. And try as you might, generalizing people as broadly as you do only serves to display your ignorance.

Who said anything about living under socialism? You can’t set up an argument just so you can tear it down. By the way, the way you keep talking leads me to believe that you don’t actually know what socialism is. It’s when the government controls the means of production of a nation. Since that hasn’t happened, nor is it anywhere near happening, I suggest you keep your straw men to yourself.

“The whole thing reminded me of Atlas Shrugged. When Francisco D’Anconia’s copper mines were nationalized without compensation he destroyed them.

When my employer attempted to take my creation without compensation I did in effect the same thing.”

While that’s certainly your right to do so, it’s an incredibly childish attitude to have. That whole scorched earth thing doesn’t really do anyone any good.

Yes he did. Here’s what I said:

“Really? Let’s see if your definition alters at all when you lose your job and you have to live in your car until it gets repossessed”

Here’s how John responded:

“Hell would have to freeze first before that ever happened Robert.”

“And yes, this is why small businesses and corporations should have received more tax cuts in this bill. That’s the only thing we could do to improve spending and employment.”

Are you kidding me? 40% of this thing is already tax cuts! I don’t think there should be any tax cuts in there. Want to know why it doesn’t work? When taxes go down, particularly on the middle class, yes, it provides a very temporary stimulus, because the middle class by and large spend 100% of their income. But in the long run, it only forces wages to go down to meet that tax cut. For example: let’s say my employer pays me $100,000 a year, and my tax rate is 50% (these are just made up, round numbers, mind you), my take home is $50,000. If the government comes along and cuts my tax rate to 25%, it’s almost like I’m getting a $25,000 a year raise, right? Well, over time my employer is going to drive down my wage so that my take home is equal to that $50,000 a year he knows I am willing to work for. Either that or he’ll fire me, and turn around and hire someone for $75,000, knowing that the bottom line is still going to be $50,000 a year. I suppose it’s smart business to do that, but this is why tax cuts don’t work in the long run. On the flip side, tax cuts for the rich doesn’t do squat to stimulate an economy, because rich people spend only a fraction of the money they have.

Robert

Yes and the Book of the Month Club did a survey. Atlast Shrugged was named as the second most influential book. The Bible was number one.

Not bad for a crazy old bat.

Robert, I recommend you read her non fiction book The Virtue of Selfishness. It’s a great read. It’s a easy read too. It’s quite an eye opener. I keep it on my bookshelf right next to The Fountainhead.

If you did not find her vision of America under socialism frightening then you are a real masochist if you desire to live that way. I don’t.

When I was fresh out of college and on my first job, I bought a new computer for my home. I had a college grad job with college grad pay and I wanted a computer.

On my own time and on my own computer I created a Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet to help me track and manage my workflow. I was able to improve my project efficiency by 20%.

My boss took notice of my very efficient output and asked me my secret. I showed her what I created.

She thought the entire company should adopt my spreadsheet system. She asked me to submit my idea as a process improvement.

I submitted it. The higher ups like it. They wanted to adopt it company wide.

Since I developed this on my own time and using my own resources, I wanted a licensing fee of $39.95 per user. Since the company employed over 4,000 users of this system and it could improve efficiency by 20%, the company was getting it for free.

I was told to go pound sand and turn over my spreadsheet for free!!!

I quit on the spot. Give it away?

The whole thing reminded me of Atlas Shrugged. When Francisco D’Anconia’s copper mines were nationalized without compensation he destroyed them.

When my employer attempted to take my creation without compensation I did in effect the same thing.

I did not write that either. I guess I have fans.