[quote]Seems fairly simular to me. But you may have a few more taxes lumped on. Sole Trader [/quote] Well, you learn something new all the time, or at least I do. Everyone I know with a business is incorporated because it lets them pay less tax. But apparently 75% of Australian businesses have no employees (probably largely sole traders). I'm surprised there's so many very small businesfol
[quote]Most U.S. businesses are sole proprietors 72.6% 1997 . Sole proprietors are taxed through the owner. So it doesn't really matter if its corporate or personal taxes.[/quote] Okay then, I guess that's a key difference between the US and Australian systems then. Any business, no matter the size, is taxed as a corporation in Australia rather than as the
[quote]Natuarly no mention of his new leg was seen in Americas papers or the main stream media as it would go against Bush as the monster, it might actually show Bush and his right on decision to detain some terrorist was GASPPPPPPP!!!!! the right thing to do!! Well now the left and its supporters the MSM cannot have that can they?[/quote] I'm not across this story, but which news outlet did release the information about his artificial leg?
[quote]The problem I'm trying (but failing) to communicate is that to business owners, their equivalent of a 401K and non-essentials are hiring new people (investments) and laying off non-essential personnel (non-essentials). There's no malice or spite involved. [/quote] I'm not trying to suggest there is. However I didn't pick up that you were talking about corporate taxes rather than personal taxes. I thought you were talking personal taxes and the way they aff
[quote]But at the end of the day, people get up and go to work first and foremost to trade their labor/abilities for other things that they want.[/quote] I guess so, but then you look at the truly wealthy and this doesn't appear to be the case. I'm not sure if you're at this stage yet, and really it's none of my business, but eventually you will reach a level of wealth where you don't make much of your money from actually working. You're mostly just reaping the rewards of investments.
[quote]No. A job is a means to an end. I work so that I can earn money to support my family. Pretty much like everyone else.[/quote] In actual fact then you're not like everyone else. There's a study cited here http://www.accel-team.com/motivation/ (I couldn't make a link for some reason) which ran from 1945 to 1965. What it discovered was that while security was the highest factor in work motivation (and therefore presumably money for the family), advancement, the type of
Would you work harder and pay a higher tax rate if you could be Sir Bradley of Michigan? What I'm getting at in a roundabout way is that there is more to the pursuit of wealth than wealth itself. Status and pride can be effective motivators. If you think the rich don't get enough in exchange for their taxes, perhaps the US needs to make better use of soft motivators in convincing the well-off to part with their cash. That way you could modify your conversation to say that, in
Fascinating article and discussion. The study of semantics suggests that a word's power is merely that which you give it. So if you use a word like 'the infinite' to refer to your definition of divinity, you're no less restricting and idolating it than a good Catholic might by calling it God. It's our minds that need expanding, not just our words. The more words we know to use, the better we express our beliefs, but more importantly the more fully we can hold our beliefs. But
[quote]No, that is communism (hence the root). Democracy (or more precisely a republic) is not that. The government is tasked with providing for the common welfare, not creating it.[/quote] Government is simply the name for the system of organisation all human societies use. Representative government is a system which incorporates the views of most citizens. As a result I really don't see why you consider it unreasonable to say that a system where government follows the views of
[quote]how exactly does one go about doing that without taxes? Robbery comes to mind.[/quote] Government ownership of resources and rents are another, as seen in the Middle East and Africa.
[quote]Did you listen to what you wrote? Because it's two different arguments. It would not be evil for the local community to come together to support this woman, that's called charity. It would be evil for the government to force you alone, not your neighbor, or your neighbor' neighbor to support this woman.[/quote] We live in democracies. The government is the community. It is the embodiment of the pe
There's one way to stop it - don't think about it. It's easier than you might believe. It's always been my coping mechanism for terrifying future events. You don't have to dwell on them, and if you choose not to - ie every time you think about it, change your mind - the sickness will magically disappear as time passes.
Mr Williams' example is ludicrous, and as such it's impossible to effectively argue for or against it. No one is (or at least should be!) arguing that socialism will ever result in a grass-maintenance system for private citizens. When you can find me someone who believes that anyone should be forced to pay for someone else's lawn to be mowed, then I will consider Mr Williams' argument to be of any interest whatsoever. Ridiculous examples are never persuasive and only interesti
I really, really hope we get to see some creativity in right wing satire in the next few years. The stuff produced during the Bush years was unforgivably bad. The unavoidable disasters of the new era will hopefully inspire some funny rightwingers, rather than just bitchy ones.
[quote]The problem is not that the auto makers CANT make good cars.... Look at the SUVs. They lived off those cars for god knows how long. So it IS possible for them to make cars that people want. The issue is that the overhead to make those cars with the same bells and whistles are so high compaired to the Japs cars that it just didnt or dont make sense . Overhead on such forgien cars adds only a few hunderd to the sticker price.... where a GM or ford car has to have thousands added to the s
I say they should let them close. Americans make terrible cars. Only Ford has halfway decent models, and even then that's mostly from their European outfits. Let them go and then everyone can enjoy the benefits of good, reliable Asian and Euro cars.
Great article, sodaiho!
I'm with you JillUser - tool = dick. That's the only way I've heard it used as a slang term. Brad's version is for those who speak English right proper. I always get irked by people who use words like irregardless, that sound good but aren't actually words. The public service is full of it.
[quote]then why was Sparta mandating men to have heterosexual realtions for procreation (the men prefered the men )[/quote] Sparta a) was a part of Greece, not Rome and b ) had an institutionalised system of pederasty. It's different once again to gay marriage. The gay marriage movement is not asking for the legalised and systemic rape of young children, but the recognition of relationships between voting, tax-paying adults.
[quote] The fact that the institution of marriage has survived over 3000 years as we know it today is in itself a powerful testimony to the necessity to its preservation. [/quote] So has spousal abuse. Not everything that is old or established is good. Tradition can be a to
[quote] Your inability to imagine gays rioting leads me to believe you've bought into the stereotype of gays as little more than effete, flamboyant and feminine males, far too concerned about breaking a nail than they are with human rights as they percieve them.[/quote] Maybe a little bit. But they're (probably) less than 10 per cent of the population and militant gays even fewer. You really need some critical mass to get a riot going properly. Otherwise it
Is it Mexican? I've only ever had it at Chinese restaurants. It's still great though, wherever it's from!
[quote]They are very angry. They expected a different outcome after dumping bucket loads of money into this. I can only imagine how bad it would have been had Obama lost. Riots were expected and promised.[/quote] I know you consider gays to be slightly worse than serial killers, but really, I couldn't imagine gays rioting. I would be very surprised if they had it in them.
Do you have a link to age-based stats? I imagine most young people would earn in the 0-30k mark, and they traditionally vote for left wing causes. Age is a major factor in conservatism and I wonder just how much it has to do with those figures.
[quote]Hmm. Just want to be sure that nobody knows what crimes the death penalty applies to, or make sure that it applies occasionally to traffic tickets and occasionally to murder. Sounds like Mao's or Saddam's approach.[/quote] The uncertainty is only supposed to apply to the advisers; the regular people have fixed laws, so that their natural immorality is curbed. Han Fei Tzu was no idiot, but he was definitely an odd one. You should have a read - most translations are q
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