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That's the spirit, damn the torpedoes, full gripe ahead! Is it working?
Look, if Islanders can't figure out how to elect effective local pols that care about the Island and who will work to make it matter to it's own geographic area and NYS, what makes you think DC will care about dinging you with an extra 2K?
The problem is that the school boards are accountable to no one at the local or county government level. They are little independent governments and cross over the other polictical boundries.
I was being some metaphorical in that if we got shoved off a cliff we'd die, but you could survive getting thrown under a bus. I know that this is just the beginning of the end. Wait till all the NObamacare stuff kicks in.
See your W2 this year its going to have the "cost" of your employer health plan on it for "informational purposes", line 12, code "DD". Wait till someone gets the idea to start taxing that as income.
It already appears on my "personal wealth" statement - what the company pays for my healthcare counts in my "overall compensation".
We seem to be spitting into the wind on these discussions... whether we want to address the big picture or not, the real question is how you judge the greatness of a country. Some think this is determined by how much they have, their toys, possessions, etc - others believe that a country should be judged on how safe, healthy, and educated their citizens are... somewhere in there lies the real answer and until then we'll continue to slip down the world order.
Why are Long Island's tax burden moot? And yes, people have let them soar because they aren't unified past their school districts. And even that is questionable.
Thanks Captain Obvious. Unfortunately it's tough to topple the govt and enact sweeping tax revolution in time to save my 2%. Some of us are trying to make change around here instead of tucking tail and running (actually I'd tuck tail and run but I have no more equity and can't sell...lol). It's uber-difficult in the land that fears change, technology, business, youth, traffic, development, affordable housing, etc etc. But you know all that. Not gonna feed you anymore on this one. We're on the same side but you just want to fight! I can dig that.
Its not the extras most people used it on... it was to pay for the increases in the prices of things we need to live.... like food, gas, oil, utilties, you know basic essentials. Since almost no one is getting even cost of living raises, but the price of everything went up. Do the math.
I apologize for repeating myself but:
How did you live before the tax holiday went into effect in 2011? More was taken out of your check and you made do with what you had always netted prior to the tax holiday.
If you were never given the tax holiday to begin with, you would have had to have balanced your budget differently to accommodate the increased prices you mentioned. We were told that the tax holiday is temporary. Why people forgot this and incorporated it into their budgeted spending is beyond me.
On one hand, we have Pequa who had cited the tax holiday stimulated the economy; on the other, you are stating that people did not use it on the extras, but instead to get by with increased costs and in the absence of raises.
Which is it?
If people used it to buy new furnishings, appliances, dine out, take a vacation, put a deposit on a car, spruce up their home -- yes, it would stimulate the economy.
If people used it to pay for basic essentials such as food, gas, oil, etc., how could that have possibly stimulated the economy?
How do you create economic growth when you just gave a 2% tax increase to everyone?
Restoring FICA to 6.2% for employees was not an increase. You had a temporary decrease. It is now back at it's normal level -- where it should have returned to 1/2012.
Just wondering, how will having that much less in their paycheck affect most Long Islanders? Are the day to day expenses that much where that $5.50 a day will be missed?
Smokers think nothing of shelling out more than that for a pack of cigarettes.
Froufy coffee drinkers pay as much for a fancy Starbucks beverage.
What I don't get is why people didn't see this as a temporary situation and save that money?
Most of my bills are due MONTHLY. So $5.50 per day X 30 days per month = $165 per month. YES, Ill miss it! Thats my LIPA bill. Another $165 from my wife, thats my car insurance bill. Cant play with the numbers.
How did you pay for these things before the payroll tax holiday?
How did you live before the tax holiday went into effect in 2011? More was taken out of your check and you made do with what you had always netted prior to the tax holiday.
If you were never given the tax holiday to begin with, you would have had to have balanced your budget differently to accommodate the increased prices you mentioned. We were told that the tax holiday is temporary. Why people forgot this and incorporated it into their budgeted spending is beyond me.
On one hand, we have Pequa who had cited the tax holiday stimulated the economy; on the other, you are stating that people did not use it on the extras, but instead to get by with increased costs and in the absence of raises.
Which is it?
If people used it to buy new furnishings, appliances, dine out, take a vacation, put a deposit on a car, spruce up their home -- yes, it would stimulate the economy.
If people used it to pay for basic essentials such as food, gas, oil, etc., how could that have possibly stimulated the economy?
People dont have much control over basic necesseties in life. Gas is priced as what it is. YOu need to get to work/school/etc.... Food costs are what they are, up higher than 2 years ago.
For me, I used the tax holiday to cover basic needs in absence of raises or cost of living adjustments.
You're assuming about $50K pay check. Thats just about poverty living on LI. More livable in Suffolk but next to near impossible in Nassau.
If we make an assumption that a family of 4 makes $100K a year and gets paid bi-weekly, thats about $100 less a pay check (give or take), or $200 a month. With the price of gas these days and the costs of food going up, oil going up, taxes going up, $200 less a month to take home is a BIG hit. Thats just to live and not do anything other than hermit in your house.
Something has to give and its going to be anything extra thats not in the above "living" categories.
Economic growth is fueled from increased spending, you cant increase spending by giving people less to spend.
They gave you more to spend when we were granted the tax holiday. How would you have lived if you weren't granted the tax holiday?
How did you pay for these things before the payroll tax holiday?
Things cost less 2 years ago and most people have not had a raise in 2 or 3 years plus. Just inflation alone without actual price increases explains a lot.
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I can dig that.
