The Fiscal Cliff -- Is it time?

Message boards : Politics : The Fiscal Cliff -- Is it time?

Previous · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · Next

Author	Message
Terror Australis Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 14 Feb 04 Posts: 1443 Credit: 185,066,219 RAC: 117,794	Message 1319808 - Posted: 25 Dec 2012, 5:52:37 UTC - in response to Message 1319799. Last modified: 25 Dec 2012, 6:19:55 UTC
	Question TA, how easy is it to emigrate to Australia? Not sure. I was born here, you'll have to contact the Australian embassy. :) BTW. That minimum rate is mainly for unskilled labour (process workers, catering staff etc.). If you have a "skill", i.e. if you have a trade, are technical, medical, an engineer or even have heavy plant tickets you can do much better than that. While researching this, I found out that even our service personnel are better paid than their US counterparts by $5k to $10k PA for equivalent NCO rank. Edit: Thanks to Winterknight for posting that link T.A.
	ID: 1319808 ·

WinterKnight Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 18 May 99 Posts: 6986 Credit: 17,563,656 RAC: 16,322	Message 1319826 - Posted: 25 Dec 2012, 8:11:45 UTC
	Could the name be the reason they didn't call the last vote. http://www.planbonestep.com/
	ID: 1319826 ·

Ex Volunteer moderator Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 12 Mar 12 Posts: 2883 Credit: 1,185,542 RAC: 1,019	Message 1319928 - Posted: 25 Dec 2012, 18:29:27 UTC - in response to Message 1319799. Last modified: 25 Dec 2012, 18:35:51 UTC
	Just thought I'd throw this into the mix. In Australia, the national minimum adult wage is $15.96/hour. Out of this a full time wage earner will pay 19% income tax. Additional to this is a 1.5% Medicare levy. There are no separate state tax deductions. The top income tax rate is 45% which kicks in at $180,000 PA Funnily enough, businesses are still profitable (they must be, US companies are buying them up like ice cream on a hot day) and we have one of the best economies in the western world. Unemployment is just over 5%. So over here even minimum wage earners pay tax and are not living hand to mouth. Therefore, welfare is not such a drain on government finances. T.A. For those of you challenged AU$15.96 is US$16.54/hour. Question TA, how easy is it to emigrate to Australia? If we set that rate would the USA be overrun with immigrants? How many jobs would be sent offshore? Gary, I was going to ask him the same thing. Are you guys accepting Americans?? :-) (I worked many many years at my job before I made that much money.) Edit: My specific trade is in fact on the list posted by WK. Judging by the wife's look when I joked about it, I don't think it would ever happen. :-D ____________ -Dave #2 3.2.0-33
	ID: 1319928 ·

Ex Volunteer moderator Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 12 Mar 12 Posts: 2883 Credit: 1,185,542 RAC: 1,019	Message 1319929 - Posted: 25 Dec 2012, 18:31:11 UTC - in response to Message 1319808.
	Question TA, how easy is it to emigrate to Australia? Not sure. I was born here, you'll have to contact the Australian embassy. :) BTW. That minimum rate is mainly for unskilled labour (process workers, catering staff etc.). If you have a "skill", i.e. if you have a trade, are technical, medical, an engineer or even have heavy plant tickets you can do much better than that. While researching this, I found out that even our service personnel are better paid than their US counterparts by $5k to $10k PA for equivalent NCO rank. Edit: Thanks to Winterknight for posting that link T.A. So.... Where is the right's input on this??? Should we keep the WalMart philosophy going? Here's proof that higher wages could help. ____________ -Dave #2 3.2.0-33
	ID: 1319929 ·

Terror Australis Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 14 Feb 04 Posts: 1443 Credit: 185,066,219 RAC: 117,794	Message 1319946 - Posted: 25 Dec 2012, 19:20:16 UTC - in response to Message 1319928. Last modified: 25 Dec 2012, 19:26:44 UTC
	......Are you guys accepting Americans?? :-) Yes, we take Americans. There is a skills shortage over here and you do speak English (sorta, kinda) :) My wife is American and we came to the agreement that as long as she pronounced Aluminium (Al-yu-min-ee-um) and place names correctly that would suffice. :D T.A.
	ID: 1319946 ·

Sarge Send message Joined: 25 Aug 99 Posts: 8871 Credit: 1,255,743 RAC: 1,309	Message 1319954 - Posted: 25 Dec 2012, 20:08:29 UTC - in response to Message 1319946.
	......Are you guys accepting Americans?? :-) Yes, we take Americans. There is a skills shortage over here and you do speak English (sorta, kinda) :) My wife is American and we came to the agreement that as long as she pronounced Aluminium (Al-yu-min-ee-um) and place names correctly that would suffice. :D T.A. May I say "Foster's"?
	ID: 1319954 ·

William Rothamel Send message Joined: 25 Oct 06 Posts: 2145 Credit: 1,088,132 RAC: 9	Message 1320012 - Posted: 26 Dec 2012, 1:23:48 UTC - in response to Message 1319954.
	Very difficult to work in Australia. Work permits very scarce
	ID: 1320012 ·

Intelligent Design Send message Joined: 9 Apr 12 Posts: 2086 Credit: 28,567 RAC: 0	Message 1320014 - Posted: 26 Dec 2012, 1:29:27 UTC
	Inflated cost for a beer too.
	ID: 1320014 ·

dancer42 Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 2 Jun 02 Posts: 340 Credit: 1,074,196 RAC: 1,204	Message 1320098 - Posted: 26 Dec 2012, 10:48:24 UTC
	preamble to the Constitution "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense,[note 1] promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." ====================================================================== congressional oath of office "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God." ===================================================================== This seems to say to me that congress in order to fulfill it's oath would have to fight congress? ____________
	ID: 1320098 ·

Intelligent Design Send message Joined: 9 Apr 12 Posts: 2086 Credit: 28,567 RAC: 0	Message 1320186 - Posted: 26 Dec 2012, 21:47:28 UTC - in response to Message 1320098.
	preamble to the Constitution "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense,[note 1] promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." ====================================================================== congressional oath of office "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God." ===================================================================== This seems to say to me that congress in order to fulfill it's oath would have to fight congress? You would have to find someone who understood the Constitution, first. Then you would have to find someone who understood the oath they took, second. You would think out of the 500 + that are there one would show up. LOL! Not even out of the tea party do we have one.
	ID: 1320186 ·

Guy Send message Joined: 3 Apr 99 Posts: 1231 Credit: 3,501,427 RAC: 962	Message 1320191 - Posted: 26 Dec 2012, 21:57:03 UTC
	Can't "well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office" without first being IN office. The citizens must be involved. Without the citizens, it fails.
	ID: 1320191 ·

WinterKnight Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 18 May 99 Posts: 6986 Credit: 17,563,656 RAC: 16,322	Message 1320233 - Posted: 26 Dec 2012, 23:31:44 UTC Last modified: 26 Dec 2012, 23:34:10 UTC
	Is this the real reason that "the people" are feeling that their income - expenditure figures are out of balance So the question is "If your income had gone up in line with the true rate of inflation, could you afford to pay a few more percentage points in taxes?" N.B. CPI - is a governments way of calculating inflation, which a lot of employers etc. use to calcuate wage and benefit increases.
	ID: 1320233 ·

BarryAZ Send message Joined: 1 Apr 01 Posts: 2480 Credit: 7,682,351 RAC: 7,783	Message 1320245 - Posted: 26 Dec 2012, 23:53:02 UTC - in response to Message 1319946.
	You mean you didn't compel her to 'insert a 'u' here in words like labor? <smile> ......Are you guys accepting Americans?? :-) Yes, we take Americans. There is a skills shortage over here and you do speak English (sorta, kinda) :) My wife is American and we came to the agreement that as long as she pronounced Aluminium (Al-yu-min-ee-um) and place names correctly that would suffice. :D T.A.
	ID: 1320245 ·

WinterKnight Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 18 May 99 Posts: 6986 Credit: 17,563,656 RAC: 16,322	Message 1320286 - Posted: 27 Dec 2012, 1:49:28 UTC
	Maybe the US needs to follow the German model to reduce medicare costs. Germany 'exporting' old and sick to foreign care homes
	ID: 1320286 ·

Reed Young Send message Joined: 23 Feb 06 Posts: 122 Credit: 81,383 RAC: 0	Message 1320555 - Posted: 27 Dec 2012, 22:04:52 UTC - in response to Message 1319416.
	You're just being dishonest, not clever. Oh yes, great idea, I should have thought of that. If George Walker Bush lowered the rates then why doesn't Barack Hussein Obama II simply raise the rates? After all if the President can lower rates, then he can raise them. Because as we all know, the political cost of lowering taxes (however foolish) is always exactly the same as raising taxes (however prudent). Not sure if you intended irony or not. It's always much easier politically to lower taxes (even if they don't need to be lowered) than to raise them (even if they badly need to be raised, as they do now). I've let this fester for a while. I restated what you said, Bush set rates, and even pointed out plainly the president setting rates. You missed that twice. No, I just refused to feed you, troll. As everybody with a basic understanding of U.S. government knows, it is the responsibility of Congress to "levy" taxes. However, the President's "bully pulpit" allows significant input to the process and therefore, to setting tax rates. You have willfully misconstrued my words to pretend that I have implied that Presidents set tax rates solo. I said no such thing, and you know it. I take for granted that people debating public policy are intelligent and well-informed enough that referring to "the Bush tax cuts" will not cause people to believe that Presidents set taxes alone. Everybody knows Bush initiated those tax cuts, despite the fact that they could not have taken effect without Congress. And everybody knows that it's "always much easier politically to lower taxes (even if they don't need to be lowered) than to raise them (even if they badly need to be raised, as they do now)." So now it has come time to flat out ask you, why is Obama talking to Boehner if the President sets rates? Because the President doesn't. Are the rest of your observations as astute? You exemplify the average conservative voter's dishonesty. ____________
	ID: 1320555 ·

Gary Charpentier Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 25 Dec 00 Posts: 10558 Credit: 5,266,479 RAC: 6,469	Message 1320571 - Posted: 27 Dec 2012, 23:03:13 UTC - in response to Message 1320555.
	I take for granted that people debating public policy are intelligent and well-informed enough that referring to "the Bush tax cuts" will not cause people to believe that Presidents set taxes alone. I don't. It is obvious the press doesn't and plays that up. So do the politicians when they address the voter. If you don't see that ... ____________
	ID: 1320571 ·

Sarge Send message Joined: 25 Aug 99 Posts: 8871 Credit: 1,255,743 RAC: 1,309	Message 1321092 - Posted: 29 Dec 2012, 2:24:34 UTC
	Bad move?
	ID: 1321092 ·

Gary Charpentier Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 25 Dec 00 Posts: 10558 Credit: 5,266,479 RAC: 6,469	Message 1321108 - Posted: 29 Dec 2012, 3:48:48 UTC - in response to Message 1321092.
	Bad move? He's got new tax revenue coming, it burns a hole in his pocket, same as when the credit card company raises your limit. Well, you may be responsible, unlike much of America that is in debt above the head. ____________
	ID: 1321108 ·

msattler Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 9 Jul 00 Posts: 34718 Credit: 355,272,083 RAC: 379,665	Message 1321116 - Posted: 29 Dec 2012, 4:16:29 UTC - in response to Message 1321092. Last modified: 29 Dec 2012, 4:20:46 UTC
	Bad move? Of course it is a bad move, but hardly surprising. As it has become increasingly apparent that those elected to serve us, once elected, consider themselves above us. It's time to take away their privileges. Service, and I repeat, service to the populace in the government is supposed to be an honorable duty to one's country and countrymen, not a way to live off of the fat of the land. Our politicians, from the President on down, need right now to be stripped of their gold plated pensions and their gold plated health care packages. They were not awarded these perks by the Americans they are supposed to represent....they voted them in for themselves over many years. They need to be knocked down to the level of the people they were voted into office to represent. Everything in their pension programs......gone. It gets sent into the social security trust, and they have no more right to it than the people who paid the taxes for it. Health care......well, they have every right to the wonderful Obamacare programs coming soon. And that's the only right they should have. Every lawmaker should be bound to abide like all the citizenry by all the law they pass upon the citizenry. That's what the biggest problem this country has right now.......is the complete and total disconnect between those who we elect to govern us, what they propose to do when campaigning for election, and what they do after we have elected them. There is no worse stink raised than by that of an arrogant politician. And that is all we have left in Washington these days. ____________ ****** "Ask not, what your kitty can do for you. Ask what you can do for your kitty." As it is kitten, so shall it be done.
	ID: 1321116 ·

msattler Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 9 Jul 00 Posts: 34718 Credit: 355,272,083 RAC: 379,665	Message 1321125 - Posted: 29 Dec 2012, 4:38:12 UTC Last modified: 29 Dec 2012, 4:40:20 UTC
	And ya know.........? The more I sit and think about it the angrier I get. They sit up their in their ivory, protected towers and pontificate at each other across their party bridges about what should be. None of them has any worry if the bridge falls into the abyss. None of them. The taxpayers shall always be there to shore up their bridge. So they think. The end of this nonsense is coming sooner than most of them realize. At least I am sure of it. ____________ ****** "Ask not, what your kitty can do for you. Ask what you can do for your kitty." As it is kitten, so shall it be done.
	ID: 1321125 ·

Previous · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · Next

Message boards : Politics : The Fiscal Cliff -- Is it time?