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| 2005/10/11 [Uncategorized] UID:40041 Activity:very high |
10/11 Good Morning!
\_ Hello.
\_ Bonjour!
\_ Hallo!
\_ get yer hands out of your pants
\- I'm not wearing pants. --emk |
| 2005/10/11 [Computer/SW/OS/Windows] UID:40042 Activity:nil |
10/11 Two of the most annoying computer companies get together!
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/12875727.htm |
| 2005/10/11-13 [Reference/Military] UID:40043 Activity:nil |
10/11 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051011/ap_on_bi_ge/spitzer_stun_guns Taser/stun guns illegal in NYC? So much for the duel. |
| 2005/10/11-13 [Reference/Tax] UID:40044 Activity:high |
10/11 "President Bush's tax advisory commission indicated today that it
would not propose replacing the income tax with a national sales tax
or a value-added tax but would recommend modifications in the popular
tax deductions for mortgage interest and employer-provided health
insurance." http://csua.org/u/dp4
\_ What the hell. That whole article reads like "ok, what can we
fuck with?"
\_ Yay, let's make the tax code ten times more complicated than it
already is!
\_ As long as Paris Hilton's accountants can have her pay
almost no tax ... "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED"
\_ "The generous mortgage-interest deduction in the law
[that the commission is proposing to reduce] now helps
rich people the most, leads to larger houses and
encourages borrowing..." Why cut back the deduction?
Because "the commission agreed to recommend abolishing
the alternative minimum tax for individual" and the
commission has "a mandate to develop an overall proposal
for changing the tax system that is revenue neutral."
\_ This doesn't account much for those parts of the
country where you spend 75% of your take-home on
housing.
\_ I have this suspicion that the parts of the country
that spend 75% of take-home pay on housing are
the parts of the country that bitch loudest about
AMT. Of course, reducing the home mortgage
deduction screws one group of people within those
parts and likely rewards a different group, but
that's what the income tax is all about anyway.
Where did you think the offsetting revenue was
going to come from when you MOTD types were
bitching about the AMT?
\_ By not giving the uber-rich tax breaks? Yeah
I know, it's just a fantasy.
\_ Certainly Teresa Heinz and her ilk are
undertaxed relative what I pay (since I pay
the same order of taxes as she does and I am
worth 2 orders of magnitude less). But
you might find out that taxing the uber-rich
yields less money than you think, simply
because there are so relatively few of them.
In the end, to get the big tax bucks, you
have to tax the upper-middle class.
\_ I am worth one order of magnitude less
than Heinz, but I still consider myself
upper-middle class. I consider you
lower-middle class.
\_ You're worth multiple million, and
think you're middle class? Ha.
Check some statistics on the
average wage in the US.
\_ No, no, no. I am worth multiple
TENS of millions. A mere multiple
million still brackets you within
the lower middle class.
\_ You're probably worth 2 orders
less than Teresa Heinz if your
net worth is in the tens of
millions.
\_ Does that mean I am still in
the lower middle class?
\_ Only if you live in Palo
Alto.
\_ At least in: http://csua.org/u/dp7
The cap on interest deduction to $300,000. If
you're paying $300,000 in interest per year, you
*are* the uber-rich.
\_ You misunderstand. The cap of $300,00 is
not on interest paid per year, but on the
principal owed on the mortgage.
\_ Show me where this is the case. I'm
unable to find that anywhere. -pp
\_ Not from where you picked up the $300k,
but earlier in that article "the
current $1 million cap on deductible
mortgage interest should be reduced,
possibly to about $350,000". From
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc505.html
we learn million cap came from "you
can deduct the *interest* [emphasis
added] ... [if the debt] totaled $1
million or less".
\_ ^Paris Hilton^Teresa Heinz
How did she do it anyway?
\_ Well ^X^Y syntax really is short hand for !!:s so,
it was pretty straight forward once she had that down.
\_ Paris Hilton bang bang Teresa Heinz? i likes me
some ultra rich girl on ultra rich girl action.
\_ Teresa has her heart set on becoming the First
Lady. Your chances of her dumping Kerry and
going for some hot girl-girl action with
Hilary are much better.
\_ She stands a better chance of becoming
first lady as Hillary's gf than with Kerry. |
| 2005/10/11-13 [Finance/CC, Transportation/Car/RoadHogs, Recreation/Humor] UID:40045 Activity:high Cat_by:auto |
10/11 "I Can't Afford My Gasoline" (has sound)
http://toccionline.kizash.com/films/1001/178/index.php
\_ Once we hit $6/gallon, those hybrids will start to look attractive,
too.
\_ It's been over $6/gallon in Europe. Cost me 34 Euro for a half
tank of gas on a Ford Fiesta (rental car) 2 weeks ago. Figures
it would cost around $85 for a full tank. And we're taking puny
car.
\_ do you have a choice? how about Ford Ka?
\_ I don't buy cars that chops heads off of cats.
\_ I probably did, but didn't know how to say it in Spanish.
\_ Where in Europe? Get a SMART.
\_ Was in Spain (Madrid), I don't think Avis has SMART; besides
I don't know if I'd fit in it (too tall).
\_ A colleague of mine drives one. He's 6'6", about 250lbs.
He got it because of the leg room. -John
\_ Take the train. |
| 2005/10/11 [Uncategorized] UID:40046 Activity:nil |
10/11 For those who don't follow http://ucb.computing.discussion 27 Oct is Sun Day at Cal - you can register at: http://www.suneventreg.com//cgi-bin/register.pl?EventID=639 |
| 2005/10/11 [Uncategorized] UID:40047 Activity:nil |
10/11 The ultimate bling for your r1c3d out c1v1c:
http://www.shoplaser.com/index.html
\_ What a great way to bring down MPG. |