Good to hear you say that! Hopefully you will stop complaining about how you don't like the results of your choice of jobs.
Profit from sin
- Thread starter arauca
- Start date
Good to hear you say that! Hopefully you will stop complaining about how you don't like the results of your choice of jobs.
Very few states end up turning much of a net profit from "sin" taxes - take gambling: the only reason a place like Las Vegas or an Indian reservation can come out ahead on casino gambling (before the influence on social stuff is quantified, anyway) is that they cater to tourists, who go home - they externalize a lot of the costs to other places.
Underfunding a pension is a lot cheaper in the short run - and back when these things were being decided, you voters were all in favor of cheap in the short run.
Also, a lot of these pension decisions were made before the Reagan era, back when lots of fulltime big company jobs came with pensions and health care and the like. The government is stuck with making good on its promises - private corporations are not similarly afflicted.
You'd have to raise their pay.
Underfunding a pension is a lot cheaper in the short run - and back when these things were being decided, you voters were all in favor of cheap in the short run.
Also, a lot of these pension decisions were made before the Reagan era, back when lots of fulltime big company jobs came with pensions and health care and the like. The government is stuck with making good on its promises - private corporations are not similarly afflicted.
Another elements that is not mentioned, are public sector unions, which negotiate with politicians, as to how to spend money they did not earn. but took by force of law. The democrats, which are favored by unions, use these negotiations as a money laundering scam, where better union benefits always means better donations to their candidates. This is an example of profit by sin.
It never made sense, why there are public sector unions. Why be afraid that the government is ripping you off unless it can;t be trusted. Private sector unions make sense, because the owner of the company should share the booty of profit, if the employees play a critical role in making this extra money. In the case of public sector unions, the two parties in negotiation are politicians and unions, neither of which contribute to making a profit for the tax payers.
If a private sector company was just breaking even or even loosing money each year, the unions don't push. If this happens in government, the public sectors unions still want more from the tax payer for the money laundering cycle. If a state turns a profit, there should be union benefits. I don't think pubic sector unions should be allowed to donate money unless it remains in proportion to party tax receipts. This is how you prevent crime within the democratic party. They can money launder the proportion of taxes by democrats.
KitemanSA
Registered Senior Member
You totally fail as a psychic. (As a psycho, I'll not comment.) I never wanted to be a fireman. And I have ever only wanted to be a police man so I could ticket all those LOUSY drivers out there!
I've always had a technical bent and am a retired engineer.
Ok so I am a lousy psycho. I am a chemist I don't deal with mind, but with matter.
KitemanSA
Registered Senior Member
Then perhaps you should stick to your competency and leave guessing games about childhood fantasies to others.
With jobs you get what you agree when you sign up, and hope it's legally strong enough to prevent changes down the line.
Don't quibble that job X gets a different pay structure to yours, or has a final salary pension scheme whereas yours is a defined contribution scheme... You know what you're getting when you sign up, and you have the option of walking away.
For people not having enough pension from a defined contribution scheme: ever wonder whether you put enough aside every month to enable you to get a decent pension?
Sure, some jobs simply don't pay enough to allow that, and of course all people's circumstances are different, but I was always advised to put c.15% of my salary aside as pension, to give me a pension of roughly 50% of my average salary.
The UK public sector (i.e. the majority of those on defined benefit schemes) always used to have salaries c.15% lower than private workers doing the same job... because that difference went toward funding the pension scheme.
As for profit from sin... who is defining sin?
Don't quibble that job X gets a different pay structure to yours, or has a final salary pension scheme whereas yours is a defined contribution scheme... You know what you're getting when you sign up, and you have the option of walking away.
For people not having enough pension from a defined contribution scheme: ever wonder whether you put enough aside every month to enable you to get a decent pension?
Sure, some jobs simply don't pay enough to allow that, and of course all people's circumstances are different, but I was always advised to put c.15% of my salary aside as pension, to give me a pension of roughly 50% of my average salary.
The UK public sector (i.e. the majority of those on defined benefit schemes) always used to have salaries c.15% lower than private workers doing the same job... because that difference went toward funding the pension scheme.
As for profit from sin... who is defining sin?
I just answered your post just to make you happy , but apparently you are an arrogant grouch.
I don't know why are tou defending the high benefit for the fireman . It used to be a voluntary job of the community, and beside you been an engineer why you defend fireman>
I am not complaining about salary in public sector , I am complaining about the the public workers in the municipalities were the get raises as group and that affects my real estate tax . Teachers union are an other kinds of bastards their salary is high and 60 % of the real state tax get to them Can you immagine school superintendent in a community of about 18000 population getting 250000/ year
Janus58
Valued Senior Member
School superintendents are, at least where I live, non-union as are any school administrators. They definitely do not belong to the same union as teachers since in many states this would violate labor laws. If you have beef with the superintendents salary, take it up with the school board as they are the ones that set this.
You made your choice of jobs; why are you complaining about it now? Bitter and angry is no way to go through life, even if you regret the choices you made. Accept the decisions you've made and go on with your life.
Yes, I can. Education is our future.
I don't have a beef. My real estate tax is frozen I am over 65, the problem is for the new generation coming and they are the suckers like my sons , thank God we are in a fair shape economically, ( my younger son tuition is $37000/year no government aid )
I don't disagree about education , I just bitch the disproportional salaries . This eventually will hit the American export product
Fine by me. These are all non essentials. Those buying them apparently have money to spare. I don't see the problem.
PS - Lottery = A tax on those who are bad at math.
I only skimmed the first page, but didn't see anyone point out that one of the main purposes of "sin taxes" is to coerce people not to commit the sin.
Again, if you didn't like the decisions you made in your life in terms of which jobs you chose, that's your issue.
I am ok I am finished in this world , thank God for prosperity I have over 6 property they produce me more then my pension and SSo, I am happy, I have progressed from $ 3000 in the 1960 to the present and my sons are comfortable , So I am not bitching about my choice at all. My comments are about you guys born in the 1980
Yes, you are complaining that other people make too much money, and that it's "not fair."
BTW I wasn't born "in the 1980."
In addition to the initial circumstances, we should remember that there is no such thing as risk free investment - in any society, any economy, some percentage of even the most sober and responsible investors are going to lose their money. If you add to that the percentage who are robbed (the 401k plans at Enron were simply looted, wiped out), the percentage whose returns did not match inflation, the percentage unlucky in some other circumstance (such as, in the US, medical expenses), you can see that in the US anyway some provision besides "save money for retirement" is going to be necessary - and always has been: old people used to be poor and in hardship as a group, in the US.sarkus said:
As far as getting angry about real estate taxes - I've noticed that the people complaining the most about that are the same ones who voted in the politicians who cut the income and capital gains taxes that used to cover much of that, and blocked cost reductions in medical insurance (the largest single driver of labor costs in the US recently). Were you guys expecting a free lunch, or were you just planning to shut down the schools and fire departments and road crews?