thundercleetz

Here is an article from the WSJ on companies moving abroad for tax savings: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-firms-move-abroad-024200566.html

Good post!

No problem with the chart, just not a fan of WP commentary LOL

Interesting chart, I am not too much of a fan of the WP. All I read is how the Republicans pretty much are responsible for the destruction of the world. I already hear enough of the blame game from both parties as it is. I do not care who did what, you are elected and paid very well to fix the problem, so fix it. The last paragraph is what I got the most from the article: I really do not have much faith in our elected officials. To me, it is just a constant blame game back and forward.

Oh I am not doubting the proportions at all. Here's what I am scared of: You have a middle class American making $65,000 in a 25% tax bracket (2012). Bush tax cuts expire, that 25% tax bracket is now 31% (1999) or maybe even higher. So person A goes from paying $16,250 in federal taxes to $20,150. That is $3,900 less in his pocket, which is a lot of money is an economy where the cost of living is very high. Sure getting rid of the Bush tax cuts will yield more revenue from having that top bracket jump from 35% to 45/50/whatever percent, there are two problems with this: 1. The system is still the same, individuals can still put their money into trusts, capital gains taxes are still 15% (I believe so? I think there was talk of raising this as well?), etc. Rich people who have earned their money are smart people, they will continue to utilize all legal aspects of the system for their benefit (as they rightfully should). 2. It might seem like a no brainer for the government to increase the top tax bracket 10/15/20% while the lower brackets increase only 3-5%, but that 3-5% to those individuals will be hit very hard. Now I am not advocating extending the Bush tax cuts, I am just saying if they expire Washington better have something else lined up to keep taxes the same, at the least, for the middle class and the small businesses.

I think we are on the same page crav. I agree with you, corporations hiding their money in the Cayman Islands is without a doubt a problem. All I am saying is fixing this problem is an ambitious undertaking that would take a global initiative, and I do not believe we have the capable leadership to accomplish this. This is a huge source of potential revenue. You have to think if this was an easy fix, politicians from either party would have accomplished this to have a hundred billion at their disposure to spend. Good article, thanks for sharing. This actually directly ties in to Crav's post. With the way the system is, Bush tax cuts or not, the corporations and 1% will continue to find ways to avoid taxes. What I am scared of is if the tax cuts expire, it is the average American and small businesses who will be hurt the most, not the rich who are considered the targets of such a move.

Crav, that is hardly the root of the problem. With the type of budget deficit we have, even if we so-called taxed the rich, it wouldn't even put a dent in the deficit. Even if all income over $1 million taxed at 45% rightfully, it would only put a 10% dent in our deficit (which would be less and less with the projectory our government is spending). You start taxing higher than that and rich people will either stop working or pack up and leave the country, and we will be left with less revenue overall. The real problem is how the fed is printing money like Monopoly paper and spending is out of control. I am not taking sides here, it is something both parties are guilty of. Figuring out our budget is the most important task in Washington right now without a doubt. Pick a reasonable budget and work off of that. More intermediate term goals like making a more efficient tax system and us stop buying up all of China's crappy exports at a manipulated currency rate will free up more discretionary revenue later. The budget needs to be set first.

I think we are on the same page as well, dc. I am not saying anything is right or wrong, I am just being realistic and pointing out a lot of the problems we have today are made more difficult by globalization and we do not currently have the leadership capable to fix them. For myself as the average American, my philosophy is to accept that the condition of the economy now as what it is going to be for the forseeable future. I don't think things are going to get better anytime soon. You're spot on about the numbers. My reference was in regard to public opinion. The population can blame whoever they want for why things the way they are, blame does not solve problems. The blame game has been a very popular topic for both parties since the 2008 and no one is getting anything done. I agree here as well. No consumer wants Monopolies. I already mentioned in my example about the breakup of the Soviet Union how this became a problem. I was simply mentioning that in our global economy today with essentially transparent boarders it is a lot easier for corporations to avoid regulation and domestic taxes. In other words, a lot easier said than done. I agree with you 100% here. Technology, arts, and schools are absolutely where money should be going. Going back to my first post, one reason there is high unemployment is not because jobs are not available, it is America does not have an abundance of skilled laborers in fields of science, math, and technology to fill these highly demanded positions. Once again, completely agree here. America needs to maintain a competitive edge in all fields and we need a resurgence in math and science. Defense spending... I did not mention this for a reason and I do not intend to. I have no idea the type of foreign intelligence we get which causes us to spend the way we do. At this point we are getting beyond comprehendible economic concepts. I am just claiming ignorance on this one. Ron Paul had an isolationist strategy for cutting defense spending. Ron Paul is one of the smartest men on the planet in my opinion, so I trusted his plan. Safety of this country is top priority, I am not smart enough to give an opinion on what we should and should not do here. I will say though, we do give out a lot of foreign aid to other countries... As far as inefficiencies in the government budget, we'll just agree to disagree. Even if they seem minimal, with the range of our government minimal adds up quick. You do not agree that an audit of the fed would not help us in constructing a new, efficient budget plan? How can you construct a budget if you do not know what is efficient and what is not? Health care... I am not opening that topic. It gets too blue and red at that point. I am at the point where we just need to pick something and go with it. Making a half-assed Health Care plan will only make matter worse. All I know is health care premiums are getting out of control and are only going up.

Quite simply it's also the corporations that have these politicians by the balls. Politicians start cracking down on this and businesses will pack up business and take it elsewhere, or they will make cuts in other areas of business. Now you're talking about tens of thousands in lost jobs. This is more than a problem in simply America, it would take a global initiative to fix this. This problem is not going to be fixed anytime soon... I think it is a little more difficult than that, but I understand your hypothetical. So tell me crav, what do you think about people who have duel state residencies, with one being in a tax-free state like Florida, and claiming there entire income as being in Florida when it is clearly not true?

No no, I wasn't referring to you at all. I was just speaking about general public opinion in the US. I am sorry if I came off as accusative.

I have felt this way for awhile. I voted in the last presidential election but I regret it (voted for McCain too). I did not really like McCain, but I liked him more than Obama. The only reason I went to the voting booth was to vote for Steven Hudson for Congress (District 8). Even though I knew he was going to lose, I thought he was an extremely intelligent person and had a solid moral compass. I should have just voted for him and left the rest of my ballot blank. From here on out I vowed I will only vote for candidates I fully support. I felt like that about Ron Paul, but since he is out I feel my vote would be a waste of time. What you are describing here is globalization at its finest and it is not going anywhere anytime soon. For something to change on the global level, the world economy is going to have to get a lot worse before it gets better. This problem goes well beyond this country. Capitalists in every country are doing this. If you want a prime example just look to Russia at the collapse of the Soviet Union. The country privitizes their industries to the highest bidders, the oligarchs snatch them all up, monopolize these industries, and then immediately transfer the profits to the Cayman Islands and Swiss Bank accounts. Boom... instant billionaires overnight and any hope of a middle class is gone. So what we need to be doing as a country is identifying wasteful spending (how about finally auditing the fed?), fix the health care problem, encourage small businesses to boost local economies (improve the life of average Americans), and most importantly, fix the balance of trade with China and stop allowing them to take advantage of us by manipulating their own currency. Sure this is the same old jargon you hear all the time, but neither of these candidates has given us a plan with concrete details. It is all poltical speak like "strengthen the middle class", "change", etc. This is why I believe it does not matter who wins, nothing will get done. Not to bring up Ron Paul again, but this guy actually had a plan. Whether or not you agree with it, at least he was able to explain in detail what he would do instead of dodging questions like dodgeballs. It is a shame the presidential election is basically a popularity contest, if Ron Paul was 25 years younger no doubt in my mind he would win. See there have always been the super rich. Twenty years ago no one cared because the general quality of life for the average American was high. Someone like Bill Gates was considered an American hero is now demonized for being rich. Now that the economy is considered poor, the first thing people look to is the super rich as the problem. So going back to your original statement: I work hard and pay the taxes I am supposed to, but what gets me mad is to see huge inefficiencies government. Hospitals are charging $500 for a two mile ambulance ride because they have to cover the cost of those who use an ambulance as a taxi but don't pay. Many hospitals are barely able to operate across the country. The Post Office posting an annual loss in the billions. Government congressmen and senators getting a $100K pension for the rest of their life after only two years of "public service" to their country. You have hundreds of "government agencies" where you have four employees doing the work that any for-profit business would only need one person. I could go on and on. But it seems like an audit of the fed would at least give us a gameplan on how to construct a budget. Because honestly right now, we are going in blind. Globalization is not going anywhere, instead of trying to fight a winless fight against the super rich, there are simple fixes within our own government that would solve a lot of problems.

I know what a disaster! I think the most humorous thing is when they were prosecuting Bonds the government attorney made a rookie mistake and got the case thrown out. What a huge waste of money haha

Haha very true. I guess whatever form of makeshift, intervention capitalism we have now would have been more appropriate.

Haha who knows. I am more along the lines of things were inflated in the past and this is how things are going to be for the intermediate future. So instead of hoping for change just learn to deal with it. I think any revolution or fall from capitalism (similar to the fall of the gold standard) is far off and will be beyond my time here on earth.

Pretty ambitious article IMO

Interesting... yeah I like the idea of collecting autographs. So do you prefer having it personalized or just a normal autograph? I have a Manny Machado ball I got autographed when he was in Frederick. I want to get that incased.

Haha he told you that to your face?

I love the trade for Saunders (anyone remember how we traded to trade Tejada to the Angels years back for a package of Brandon Wood, Saunders and Ervin Santana?). It is tough to give up Lindstrom, but we have plenty of capable RHPs out of the pen. Arrieta has similar stuff and should be an adequate replacement. Sure, Saunders has average stuff, but he is a perennial 200 IP pitcher. He will have no problem eating up innings for us down the stretch which will allow us to move to a six man rotation to perserve the arms of Chen and Gonzo who are pitching more innings than they are used to.

Terrible blow for the Steelers to lose DeCastro for an extended period of time.

Preaching to the choir here, believe me I agree. But when your Senators and Congressmen have unlimited life terms, they are going to do everything in the rules to gerrymander and give lobbiests what they want to keep their position. Once again, human nature. People will continue to push the limits as long as politicians put up with it.

Sounds like a smart guy to me. The problem is with the system, you cannot blame the people or companies who use these legal loop holes. It's human nature to take as much as you can get. It's like leaving a cookie on the floor when your dog is out then getting mad at your dog for eating it. You shouldn't have left the cookie out. If you want to control this behavior and do not want this to happen, then fix the system. Eliminate the IRS and make something a lot more simple. Of course, the politicians who receive a $100K+ pension per year after only two years of "service" would never do that. This applies to both parties too. I'm convinced that 95% of politicians are just a complete waste. I'm not pro-Romney nor Pro-Obama just as an FYI, Ron Paul was my guy. I really do not care who wins this election for I do not think anything will get done with either of these candidates.

I agree with papa, I think we are looking at Boldin, Smith, Jones, Williams, Doss, and Thompson with a way to try and sneak Streeter on IR. Doss is too high of a draft pick to give up on after only a year. Williams and Thompson add special teams value, but Streeter and Doss do not. Williams has worked his butt off and improved vastly over the offseason. Thompson has an elite skill set to be an impact returner for us. So the decision comes down to Streeter vs Doss, with Streeter IMO getting a 'redshirt' year. It's a tough decision, because anyone we let go will get snatched up by another team's roster IMO. I do not think we could 'sneak' any of these guys onto the practice squad.

Flacco looked like a completely different QB out there. He is in complete control of that offense. I am so glad to see the training wheels have finally been taken off. The goal-line TD to Boldin was vintage Peyton Manning: extended play action and a quick high release throw to the back of the endzone. Torrey Smith looked AWESOME. You forget how fast he is because he runs so easy, but he can turn it into another gear at will it seems. Joe has a really nice rapport with Smith. He is going have a monster year! Boldin looked good working with Joe as well. Jacoby's timing with Joe is still a little off, but man Jacoby can really fly. Defenses are going to have a hard time loading the box with Jacoby and Torrey on the field. The first throw to Jacoby should have been a touchdown. Jacoby tore past the DBs and Joe placed a pass perfectly between the corner and the safety in the Cover 2 (which btw is a read Joe has struggled with in the past) and it was just out of the reach of Jacoby. Jacoby is going to make some plays for us this season. One more thing, Joe was utilizing the TE a lot, and this was our third stringer. Imagine how good we'll be with Pita and Dickson back. I was really impressed with KO. The guy has a mean streak and is powerful. Even in pass blocking he delivers a powerful punch that shots the defender. It looks like he could be a world-class shot put with explosive hands like that. Great block on the long RR run too.

Haha I had two friends tell me the same thing. Honestly I would rather get the second wild card spot than the first. Sure you get the one home 'playoff' game (it's more like a 'play-in' game akin the NCAA Tournament team 64 play-in), but how devastating would that be to lose that game in the first year as the top seeded wild card? I'll take the underdog role for one game. We've been pretty even with Tampa, and there is no homefield advantage in that dome, so I like our chances. Now going to Anaheim to play the Angels, we lets try and avoid that! I did not expect us to win the Texas series. They are the best team in baseball IMO and they have murdered us on run differential this season. We were lucky to steal one game. Putting the league leader in HRs allowed, Tommy Hunter, against that lineup in that ballpark equals a recipe for disaster. We are in a good position right now. Just need to avoid being swept (for example whenever we play the Angels or play at Toronto) and win as many series as we can. We have a tough schedule, but we have proven we can play with these teams.

People also forget we are waiting for Jason Hammel to come back from injury as well. He will be an enromous boost to our rotation!