It’s one of those get-togethers where everyone brings some food to
share. (As a result there is ten varieties of potato salad, a half dozen
vegetable dips and five plates of deviled eggs. And it was hot out.) I brought vodka.
It was a mixed crowd. A few local business folks (my plumber was there).
Mostly commuters to the Big Apple. Lawyers, a doctor or two. I met one
accountant. The Madison Avenue types are always a laugh. A number of
Wall Streeters (more women than men). And one blogger.
So I started an argument. It got out of hand. Some spouses had to break
it up. One lady later accused me of pushing the row; I was ‘raining’ on the holiday fun. And anyway, “there were kids around”. What type of example were “we” setting arguing like that?
At one point I found myself in a small crowd of folks. Being the
provocateur that I am, I asked the ‘right’ person what she thought of
Obama’s comments last week about taxing the shit out of those who use
corporate jets.
The response was an unequivocal (and predictable) voice of approval.
This person is a teacher. She knows first hand about the squeeze her
profession is facing. She says:
“Those who fly on these planes have to pay!”
I asked this particular question because I happened to know that one guy
in the mix worked for GECC (and knew a thing or two about aircraft
financing). Another has a wife who makes a decent buck as a ‘Stu’ on
private flights. They jumped all over the teacher.
That husband:
“You think it’s okay to put my wife out of work? So teachers can get a bloated pension?”
The GE guy:
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. Private aviation contributes $150 billion to the US economy. It employs 1.2mm people, most of those are union jobs. This is a success story. And you want to cripple it!”
The teacher looked like she was hit with a brick. But she has supporters. The local Veterinarian comes back with;
“What are you? Tea baggers? (the growing crowd of kids loved that insult) Why do you attack (the teacher). She’s been making a real contribution most of her life!
I guy I don’t know chips in:
I work for IBM. We have a 401 plan, but there is no guaranteed pension for me. Why should there be for a teacher? For that matter, why should a conductor on Metro North get that?
This was great. The IBMer stepped into a trap. He didn’t know that there were many attendees who work on the trains. (The main rail yard is right here in town) So right away it was; Fuck that! and Bullshit! and Fuck you! The poor IBM guy slinked off mumbling something about needing to ‘refresh’ a drink.
The Vet, (who now thought he was on the high ground) rang out:
The Republicans are stupid. We should roll back the Bush tax cuts. Rich people can afford to pay more!
I thought it was time to stir the pot a bit more. So I shook things up.
I knew that the damn Vet was overcharging a bundle tending for the dogs
and cats. So I say:
What’s
rich? And who will pay these taxes you want? This plan will also index
the AMT tax. Anyone with $165,000 of partnership or S-corp income is
going to get hit.
Then I rubbed it in with:
If you own a business and live in a high income tax state and also pay property taxes and have kids you’re about to be whacked!
The Vet, of course, has all of that working against him. He looks surprised and says:
Really?
So I add:
You
can’t move the dial on our problems with more taxes. You have to cut
expenses. If you’re not willing to talk about Social Security and
Medicare you’re just blowing in the wind.
That took things over the top. Those that were AARP eligible looked as if I had farted. Those under 35 gave a Yeah! Or a Right on! So I closed the door on any chance of civility when I asked a young (hot head) who works construction:
“How do you feel about paying Social Security for old people”.
He comes right back with the response I was looking for:
It’s stealing!
That got everyone going. Out of no place there are now 20 are so arguing about one thing or the other.
This story is BS because cops (PIGS) didn't show up, and no one got shot.
great story, wish my fourth had been so memorable.
Very true, but even in "legitimate" uses, there are abuses...
Agreed. In every system there is corruption. The key is to try to find an acceptable balance. Our system is so far out of balance at the moment that it threatens to undo everything that made it great.
just read this and couldn't agree more. maybe the key is implementing good buffers? still wondering why it is that 1% of the population of any given group end up fucking it up for the other 99% (on a micro and/or macro scale).
something's very wrong when that happens over and over and over again.
Taxes are the corrupt, irresponsible spending of other people's money - there are no guidelines, thus a free-for-all - it has always been this way, it will always be that way - perhaps...
That is only true if we lose all control over our government, which we have. A government by the people and for the people, taxes itself in order to pool resources for the common good. I can't build a road by myself, but I can with the help of my neighbors. It's when the government taxes my neighbor in order to give a bonus to Jamie Dimon, that we start having a problem.
Damn Bruce, why didn't you invite me to this pathetic BBQ?!? Then you would have seen some real fireworks go off!!! :)
I love this! Where is the You Tube video?
the smell of burning sulfur so that we cannot
smell the stench of the rotten corpse of the
Republic.
This is the day that we fill the air with
the sounds of marching bands and fireworks
so that we cannot hear the rattling of our
Chains. If this 4th of July means anything more to you, than a faded memory of what was, then have fun.
+1776
Fine fiction.
I am Chumbawamba.
Sorry I missed that one, Bruce!
And underneath it all an underlying truth; not one of them knows the meaning of the word income.
Liberty my friends. The right to the fruits of your labors. It's unalienable and worth fighting for. Income? Not so much.
This whole article seems like a flash back to holidays with my extended family. Did the world of Norman Rockwell ever really exist?
Bruce, do I have to pay a fee to have you come my next party, or will a lot of vodka suffice?
BTW - who invited the fat lady who gives everyone a parking ticket? That bitch would be out in the backyard under a tree eating potato salad with the dogs begging for food.
Awesome and hilarious Bruce. I love how you nuked the vet. They gouge on vaccines that ae often not needed. In this Obam Depression - people pet's are getting hit hard as the middle class implodes.
Bruce, I loved this post. I have had numerous occasions where I have started this same type of conversation at family get togethers and friend gatherings, and came close to, but did not equal , your results of people falling over and smashing tables. Most times my conversations end when I demand that the lefty / socialist / redistributionists explain to me why I should be allowed to take money from my neighbor, or why they should take it from me and my family ?? The conversations have gone to defcon 5, but never being one to back down to thieves and cowards, I have survived the encounters with many state workers and teachers all who end up tucking tail and running when I start demanding they pay me the equivalent of their pay / time off / benefits.
One of the most ardent tea party members/anti-lefties I know attended public high-school, state college, and state law school, and worked for the federal government for her first year out of school, which experience led to a lucrative position at a private firm. If it were up to her, she would now defund every program from which she benefitted on her climb up the ladder because she has an obsessive hatred of paying taxes (even though she has plenty left over to live an extremely posh lift-styele). "Pull up the ladder, I'm on the life boat!" Perhaps that makes perfect sense to you, but I find it selfish and hypocritical if not downright anti-social. Most of us who have made a comfortable living in this society benefited in multiple ways from the programs you decry, and would consider teachers' wages to be below poverty level.
So . . in your view of things, only someone who didn't go to public school, didn't attend a college that took public money of any sort and hasn't benefitted from government in any way is free to criticize it? Yes, that's an extreme version of your apparent position but can you see how silly that is?
If someone benefitted in some way from a policy that they had no choice about, especially as a child, and they come to oppose it, would you call that hypocrisy? Folly would never change in such a regime as long as it was imposed early enough.
The idea of government programs as unchangeable metaphysical facts is a curious concept. Good luck with it.
There's a big difference between being critical and constructive, and simply being selfish to the point of narcissism. The person to whom I refer is a shining example of how our hybrid socialistic/capitalistic system can turn an otherwise disadvantaged person into a raging capitalist success. Such a person would much more likely have remained a peasant were it not for the opportunities afforded her by socialist policies. I would venture to say that millions of Americans who now make up the middle- and upper middle class, took advantage of public schools to which they were driven in public busses on public roads, where they were taught by public teachers. Don't mistake selfishness with political ideology. Or then again, do. It's what comprises a good chunk of the Tea Party. Good luck with that.
Your world view seems pretty distorted to me. Do you really believe only "socialist policies" give a large number of people opportunities to climb up the ladder??
recipe for martini potato salad
boil diced potatoes, drain and rinse in vodka
open a jar of martini olives, soaked in vermouth, and cut in half,
fold olives and sliced eggs potatoes and mayonaisse together
salt and pepper to taste, or just use pepper vodka
Blech, Right vs. Left fighting, how boring.
Jerry ! Jerry ! Jerry !
+5... I wanna see the Wall Street wives in a hair pull, bra torn, bitch slap fest...
..and jello
For Chrissakes Bruce...
You can't take a Zero Hedger anywhere...
Popping off like that makes you brother-in-law or son-in law material to the hostess...
Nice job, I'm still laughing...
Thanks. It's always nice to have a little entertainment with our commentary, even if only vicariously.
That explains it. We thought we had a thunderstorm pushing through - there was a big, single roaring clap but no rain. Must've been Ms. Mars taking her face plant...
Great story. Indicative of the primal fear that lies just under the surface. Urban warfare is a comin'...
...hope y'all got the right mix of metals stored.
Obama is desperately trying to distract people from his failed policies by scape-goating a group of people. This has been a tactic used by politicans since the beginning of time.
This time, people are starting to wake up to the outrageous pay and benefits of government employees who tend to stir up the class warfare the most. The rich don't pay the salaries of the government workers. The middle class does through high local and property taxes.
His policies by Design were meant to fail.............haven't got that yet?.
I've got a 100-sack of pre-'64 quarters that says Hussein loses it (publicly) within the next 6 months.
It's gonna be something like this...
http://www.killerclips.com/clip.php?id=96&qid=1026
All's well that ends well. I expected it to end like all the stuff blowing up in Needful Things. The "Hall of the Mountain King" scene. This will have to do:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UL_veFXw1Q
Best shit I've read all week! Smiles all around =)
The truth will set you free.
Defined benefit plans are by definition, fraudulent. You can not define a benefit in a future which you do not know.
The corporate jet discussion is lame. My small business went through an audit with the federales and they questioned every $100 meal. I kid you not. It was extortion. I thought to myself during this process,"how can big corporations expense corporate jet flight, as if it is the same as sitting in the C section of Southwest, and I am being scrutinized over why I spent $100 on dinner?"Private jet travel is unfairly subsidized. I have nothing against private jets. I've used them (others paid), but the taxpayer shouldn't be stuck with the bill (expensed). I think the reality should be a mileage deduction. You can walk, take southwest or spend $5000 an hour in your private jet....but the deduction is the same.
It is a legitimate beef.
Given that most stocks have returned losses the last 10 years does it really make sense to argue that CEO's time is really valuable? They would have lost more if they had travelled coach?
On pensions. Obviously, defining pensions as un or underfunded, points that they don't pencil. Therefore, lets be honest and state the problem. They were frauds. So lets just do a simple NPV of the contributions and known returns. Cut some checks. Good luck. We can do this for social security and medicare, too.
Of course, this will never happen because those benefitting from the fraud love the truth, but only if it does no financial harm to them. Until we rise above this, we will bitch without end and the truth will finally be felt. Via the currency.
Greece will show the way. They will get ditched by the euro, left with their own currency, and the fraudulent pensioners will be paid in crappy greek currency. This is not new. It has happened many, many times.
How about we eliminate the deductions for interest and taxes on the tax return? Then the money saved can be used to shore up Social Security. I bet there would even be a big surplus!
Great post on social security, Bruce. I like the way you made me aware that I should get used to the taste of dog food in a humorous way! I almost didn't realize that effectively doing away with social security was the whole point.
It was a mixed crowd.
Where I come from, (Manhattan), that means tops and bottoms.
Here's a pie chart for all you economics types;
http://www.trevorhoppe.com/blog/images/sfmhtopsbtmsover.gif
I don't know whether to laugh or cry that the mainstream media has so brilliantly defined the debate in this country, that no one is suggesting the obvious -- end all of our foreign wars/occupations, dismantle the police/surveillance state (which would no longer be needed after ending all of our foreign wars, and then levy significant taxes on imports from places like China and U.S. companies that build plants there. Give tax breaks to companies who build plants here. It may not solve the problem completely, but it beats the debate over whether to tax jet owners or dissolve pensions for teachers.
If it's not complex, it cannot be a good approach.
I think even many normal people subconsciously believe that nowadays.
Mainstream media loves their banker.
Bruce, that was great. Kinda hard for the country to come together without the shit flying when there are so many different views on what is going down. Lets just keep watching Europe. For what occurs there is just starters for what will hit this country. With 2 or 3 exceptions the whole continent is bankrupt.
Half my kingdom to have someone like Mr. Jefferson lead us. So sad what has happened here.
Happy holiday Tyler.,
I wonder what our US soldiers are thinking about "independence" day while occupying foreign soil.
Hannibal,
I am vexed as hades, that our young men and women leaving school cannot get gainful employment, and are in droves signing up to be killed, for a paycheck.
This is some pitifull shit.
Yes, and the "poverty draft". My son just graduated from college and is headed to Graduate Skool. His buddies cannot afford grad skool and cannot get any decent jobs.
For those who believe that Social Security caused this mess, seems like way too many, why? How? Social Security created trillions in tax breaks. Now that those who benefitted the most must pay some interest to balance the books, they hire the media to lie. Krasting is basically a tool, a propoganda product.
So you're full of crap and don't read.
I have advocated a means test for SS for the past three years. Google me on that. That would come out of my pocket. You don't know what I believe in.
No one from the media hires me. But they read me.
By the way, SS does not create tax breaks. It is a tax on payrolls.
You sound "old" Oldmanagain. Doesn't become you.
Who said anything like what you claim? People are upset that their money was ill used, that the system is not what it was supposed to be, that it's technically a ponzi scheme. That anger arises organically, naturally. It's not manufactured by anyone no matter how much you may wish it to be so.