GOP Strikes Again. Fuck The Poor

[Appaholic]

How about the cost of occupying two countries half way around the world and the cost of maintaining 700 odd military bases around the globe? Is that stuff on the table or can cuts only be made in programs that benefit ordinary Americans? Ordinary being defined as the 90% of Americans that control less wealth than the top 1%.

Hounder AZ has said many times that Military cuts should be made, troops shouldn't be in those wars and that cuts should be on all areas of the budget.

Yes, AZ has been consistent on this issue.

[clenz]

Who the cr@p you defining as "rich?"

I guess you've never heard of "trickle-down economics." Keep business taxes low and we all benefit.

Anyone or any business making over 200k is rich to him and all the rest of the left wing donks.

To be fair I think a person making over 200k is rich -at least monetarily. Then again I'm making 10 buck an hour so pretty much everyone seems rich to me

[ASUG8]

I appreciate where you are Clenz, but these asshats will spend 250%+ of whatever revenue they receive. It's less about what you make or how much revenue you personally contribute, but more what are you willing to live without. Most of these earmarks and pet projects impact very few of us and need to go the way of the dodo. IMO, let's get our spending under control, pay down the deficit while maintaining infrastructure, then argue about tax increases.

[AZGrizFan]

Anyone or any business making over 200k is rich to him and all the rest of the left wing donks.

To be fair I think a person making over 200k is rich -at least monetarily. Then again I'm making 10 buck an hour so pretty much everyone seems rich to me

[JohnStOnge]

The tax cuts didn't cost the government anything. It kept them from taking $700 billion from the taxpayers. It's our money not the government's!

It is amazing that some people don't get that concept.

It drives me crazy. Progressives have been successful in casting allowing people to keep their own money as giving them something or "spending." Like this past week I've heard the idea that not imposing a huge estate tax on high value estates is a "gift" to the rich. Right. I'm giving you a "gift" because I don't take a bunch of your property away.

The mentality involved is really disturbing.

[89Hen]

To be fair I think a person making over 200k is rich -at least monetarily.

Do you think there can/should be adjustments made to where somebody lives before you put a general number on it? If we made what we made in another part of the country, I might agree that I'd be rich.

This is what you get for $650,000 around here...

[Col Hogan]

To be fair I think a person making over 200k is rich -at least monetarily.

Do you think there can/should be adjustments made to where somebody lives before you put a general number on it? If we made what we made in another part of the country, I might agree that I'd be rich.

This is what you get for $650,000 around here...

And that's the point the Donks on this board and in Congress refused to acknowledge...a married couple with two kids making a combined $275K here in the DC area...or in Boston, Chicago, or a few other areas...is middle class...they are not rich by any standard...because they will spend most of that money on a mortgage...and all the basics that are higher costs here...

[AZGrizFan]

$210,000 gross salary (dual incomes)
- $70,000 taxes
=$140,000 after taxes
- $42,000 mortgage payment on 2,000 square foot home
=$98,000 remaining
-$24,000 put away for kids college (because I'm "rich", my kids don't qualify for student aid)
=$74,000
-$18,000 - 2 car payments (since both of us must drive lengthy distances)
=$56,000
-$26,000 - savings, since I pretty sure the money I've put into SSI will not be there when I retire
$30,000
-$12,000 - Groceries
$18,000
-$12,000 - gas, phone, power, water, sewer, garbage
$6,000 - remaining.

With that $6,000 I have to fund a 401k, buy braces, clothes, life insurance, entertainment, vacations, etc.

Is there some fluff in there? Sure....I could stop funding my kids college funds. i could get rid of a car payment and risk not making it to work because of a breakdown....I could reduce the amount I put into savings (impacting my FUTURE cash availability)...

point being, clenzy, $200,000 is by no means RICH. Do I have a good life? Sure....but I'm hardly RICH. And I'm not willing to make ANY of those sacrifices mentioned above if the government isn't willing to tighten THEIR belts first.

[clenz]

Z...try doing all of that on less than 20K a year...even though I live in a "cheaper" part of the country.

Or when TBH gets a job do all of that on a combined 50K before taxes.

[clenz]

I also understand the COL in different areas of the country, that I completely agree with.

[AZGrizFan]

Z...try doing all of that on less than 20K a year...even though I live in a "cheaper" part of the country.

Or when TBH gets a job do all of that on a combined 50K before taxes.

Clenzy...I didn't ALWAYS make $200,000 a year.

When I joined the Navy in 1983 my monthly salary was $527.

[clenz]

This sounds like a fun game to play Z...I want to try

I'll assume TBH gets a job making starting wages in her career. I'll just go with requried bills before I get into the extra stuff.

$50,000 gross salary (dual income)
-$17,000 taxes (using the same % you did)
=$34,000 after taxes
-$12,000 mortgage payment on a 1,000 square foot house
=$24,000 remaining
-$12,000 student loan repayments for TBH and I (because our parents were rich too and didn't qualify for aid...my parents make a combined 45K gross) I'd also bet our payments will be higher than this
=$12,000 remaining
-$3,000 for utilities (garbage, sewer, water, internet, cable, electricity)
$9,000 remaining
-$2,160 for cell phone (we don't have a land line)
=$6,840
-6,000 for groceries
=$840 remaining


That is for the "required" things Z. TBH and I still have gas to get to our jobs, car payments we are going to start taking over on TBH's car, and insurance for the both of us since neither of us have jobs that provide insurance, along with other bills for random house maintenance, vet bills, eye care bills, etc...


200K may not be "rich", but 200k will get you a better life anywhere in the country than 50k will.

[clenz]

$527.00 in 1983 had the same buying power as $1,166.04 in 2010.

Annual inflation over this period was 2.99%.

http://www.dollartimes.com/calculators/inflation.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That isn't too much below what I'm sitting at right now Z...plus you got insurance from it I bet.

[AZGrizFan]

200K may not be "rich", but 200k will get you a better life anywhere in the country than 50k will.

AH, but that's not the argument, is it?

[AZGrizFan]

This sounds like a fun game to play Z...I want to try

I'll assume TBH gets a job making starting wages in her career. I'll just go with requried bills before I get into the extra stuff.

$50,000 gross salary (dual income)
-$17,000 taxes (using the same % you did)
=$34,000 after taxes
-$12,000 mortgage payment on a 1,000 square foot house
=$24,000 remaining
-$12,000 student loan repayments for TBH and I (because our parents were rich too and didn't qualify for aid...my parents make a combined 45K gross) I'd also bet our payments will be higher than this
=$12,000 remaining
-$3,000 for utilities (garbage, sewer, water, internet, cable, electricity)
$9,000 remaining
-$2,160 for cell phone (we don't have a land line)
=$6,840
-6,000 for groceries
=$840 remaining


That is for the "required" things Z. TBH and I still have gas to get to our jobs, car payments we are going to start taking over on TBH's car, and insurance for the both of us since neither of us have jobs that provide insurance, along with other bills for random house maintenance, vet bills, eye care bills, etc...


200K may not be "rich", but 200k will get you a better life anywhere in the country than 50k will.

Problem #1: You will not be in the same tax bracket. Cut that $17,000 figure in half.
Problem #2: Rent, don't buy. You can rent for half that cost.
Problem #3: Eat more mac & cheese, and less steak. You're only feeding 2 people...$500 is high.
Problem #4: $1,000 per month on student loand payments? How much did you two borrow? $300k?

[HI54UNI]

$210,000 gross salary (dual incomes)
- $70,000 taxes
=$140,000 after taxes
- $42,000 mortgage payment on 2,000 square foot home
=$98,000 remaining
-$24,000 put away for kids college (because I'm "rich", my kids don't qualify for student aid)
=$74,000
-$18,000 - 2 car payments (since both of us must drive lengthy distances)
=$56,000
-$26,000 - savings, since I pretty sure the money I've put into SSI will not be there when I retire
$30,000
-$12,000 - Groceries
$18,000
-$12,000 - gas, phone, power, water, sewer, garbage
$6,000 - remaining.

With that $6,000 I have to fund a 401k, buy braces, clothes, life insurance, entertainment, vacations, etc.

Is there some fluff in there? Sure....I could stop funding my kids college funds. i could get rid of a car payment and risk not making it to work because of a breakdown....I could reduce the amount I put into savings (impacting my FUTURE cash availability)...

point being, clenzy, $200,000 is by no means RICH. Do I have a good life? Sure....but I'm hardly RICH. And I'm not willing to make ANY of those sacrifices mentioned above if the government isn't willing to tighten THEIR belts first.

Sending the kids to Harvard?

[HI54UNI]

This sounds like a fun game to play Z...I want to try

I'll assume TBH gets a job making starting wages in her career. I'll just go with requried bills before I get into the extra stuff.

$50,000 gross salary (dual income)
-$17,000 taxes (using the same % you did)
=$34,000 after taxes
-$12,000 mortgage payment on a 1,000 square foot house
=$24,000 remaining
-$12,000 student loan repayments for TBH and I (because our parents were rich too and didn't qualify for aid...my parents make a combined 45K gross) I'd also bet our payments will be higher than this
=$12,000 remaining
-$3,000 for utilities (garbage, sewer, water, internet, cable, electricity)
$9,000 remaining
-$2,160 for cell phone (we don't have a land line)
=$6,840
-6,000 for groceries
=$840 remaining


That is for the "required" things Z. TBH and I still have gas to get to our jobs, car payments we are going to start taking over on TBH's car, and insurance for the both of us since neither of us have jobs that provide insurance, along with other bills for random house maintenance, vet bills, eye care bills, etc...


200K may not be "rich", but 200k will get you a better life anywhere in the country than 50k will.

$2,160 for cell phones? WTF?

[AZGrizFan]

This sounds like a fun game to play Z...I want to try

I'll assume TBH gets a job making starting wages in her career. I'll just go with requried bills before I get into the extra stuff.

$50,000 gross salary (dual income)
-$17,000 taxes (using the same % you did)
=$34,000 after taxes
-$12,000 mortgage payment on a 1,000 square foot house
=$24,000 remaining
-$12,000 student loan repayments for TBH and I (because our parents were rich too and didn't qualify for aid...my parents make a combined 45K gross) I'd also bet our payments will be higher than this
=$12,000 remaining
-$3,000 for utilities (garbage, sewer, water, internet, cable, electricity)
$9,000 remaining
-$2,160 for cell phone (we don't have a land line)
=$6,840
-6,000 for groceries
=$840 remaining


That is for the "required" things Z. TBH and I still have gas to get to our jobs, car payments we are going to start taking over on TBH's car, and insurance for the both of us since neither of us have jobs that provide insurance, along with other bills for random house maintenance, vet bills, eye care bills, etc...


200K may not be "rich", but 200k will get you a better life anywhere in the country than 50k will.

$2,160 for cell phones? WTF?

Holy crap. That one slipped by me.

[clenz]

This sounds like a fun game to play Z...I want to try

I'll assume TBH gets a job making starting wages in her career. I'll just go with requried bills before I get into the extra stuff.

$50,000 gross salary (dual income)
-$17,000 taxes (using the same % you did)
=$34,000 after taxes
-$12,000 mortgage payment on a 1,000 square foot house
=$24,000 remaining
-$12,000 student loan repayments for TBH and I (because our parents were rich too and didn't qualify for aid...my parents make a combined 45K gross) I'd also bet our payments will be higher than this
=$12,000 remaining
-$3,000 for utilities (garbage, sewer, water, internet, cable, electricity)
$9,000 remaining
-$2,160 for cell phone (we don't have a land line)
=$6,840
-6,000 for groceries
=$840 remaining


That is for the "required" things Z. TBH and I still have gas to get to our jobs, car payments we are going to start taking over on TBH's car, and insurance for the both of us since neither of us have jobs that provide insurance, along with other bills for random house maintenance, vet bills, eye care bills, etc...


200K may not be "rich", but 200k will get you a better life anywhere in the country than 50k will.

Problem #1: You will not be in the same tax bracket. Cut that $17,000 figure in half.
Problem #2: Rent, don't buy. You can rent for half that cost.
Problem #3: Eat more mac & cheese, and less steak. You're only feeding 2 people...$500 is high.
Problem #4: $1,000 per month on student loand payments? How much did you two borrow? $300k?

Problem 1. touche
problem #2: wrong. Our mortgage is cheaper than our rent was fucker. Same exact house. We went from renting to buying because it was cheaper.
Problem #3: We aren't eating steak. There is no reason to live off of mac and cheese, which we eat a lot of anyway.
Problem #4: Neither of us qualified for any financial aid period, it is ALL loans. That is 7 years of school for TBH (including 3 years of grad school) and 4 years for me.

[AZGrizFan]

$210,000 gross salary (dual incomes)
- $70,000 taxes
=$140,000 after taxes
- $42,000 mortgage payment on 2,000 square foot home
=$98,000 remaining
-$24,000 put away for kids college (because I'm "rich", my kids don't qualify for student aid)
=$74,000
-$18,000 - 2 car payments (since both of us must drive lengthy distances)
=$56,000
-$26,000 - savings, since I pretty sure the money I've put into SSI will not be there when I retire
$30,000
-$12,000 - Groceries
$18,000
-$12,000 - gas, phone, power, water, sewer, garbage
$6,000 - remaining.

With that $6,000 I have to fund a 401k, buy braces, clothes, life insurance, entertainment, vacations, etc.

Is there some fluff in there? Sure....I could stop funding my kids college funds. i could get rid of a car payment and risk not making it to work because of a breakdown....I could reduce the amount I put into savings (impacting my FUTURE cash availability)...

point being, clenzy, $200,000 is by no means RICH. Do I have a good life? Sure....but I'm hardly RICH. And I'm not willing to make ANY of those sacrifices mentioned above if the government isn't willing to tighten THEIR belts first.

Sending the kids to Harvard?

Well, if I wanted to I'd have to do it on my own, since they'll never qualify for student aid, right?

And that's only $12,000 per kid...and I got a late start on their college funds.

[HI54UNI]

$210,000 gross salary (dual incomes)
- $70,000 taxes
=$140,000 after taxes
- $42,000 mortgage payment on 2,000 square foot home
=$98,000 remaining
-$24,000 put away for kids college (because I'm "rich", my kids don't qualify for student aid)
=$74,000
-$18,000 - 2 car payments (since both of us must drive lengthy distances)
=$56,000
-$26,000 - savings, since I pretty sure the money I've put into SSI will not be there when I retire
$30,000
-$12,000 - Groceries
$18,000
-$12,000 - gas, phone, power, water, sewer, garbage
$6,000 - remaining.

With that $6,000 I have to fund a 401k, buy braces, clothes, life insurance, entertainment, vacations, etc.

Is there some fluff in there? Sure....I could stop funding my kids college funds. i could get rid of a car payment and risk not making it to work because of a breakdown....I could reduce the amount I put into savings (impacting my FUTURE cash availability)...

point being, clenzy, $200,000 is by no means RICH. Do I have a good life? Sure....but I'm hardly RICH. And I'm not willing to make ANY of those sacrifices mentioned above if the government isn't willing to tighten THEIR belts first.

I thought you were driving a Corolla? What's the other car, a Bentley?

[clenz]

This sounds like a fun game to play Z...I want to try

I'll assume TBH gets a job making starting wages in her career. I'll just go with requried bills before I get into the extra stuff.

$50,000 gross salary (dual income)
-$17,000 taxes (using the same % you did)
=$34,000 after taxes
-$12,000 mortgage payment on a 1,000 square foot house
=$24,000 remaining
-$12,000 student loan repayments for TBH and I (because our parents were rich too and didn't qualify for aid...my parents make a combined 45K gross) I'd also bet our payments will be higher than this
=$12,000 remaining
-$3,000 for utilities (garbage, sewer, water, internet, cable, electricity)
$9,000 remaining
-$2,160 for cell phone (we don't have a land line)
=$6,840
-6,000 for groceries
=$840 remaining


That is for the "required" things Z. TBH and I still have gas to get to our jobs, car payments we are going to start taking over on TBH's car, and insurance for the both of us since neither of us have jobs that provide insurance, along with other bills for random house maintenance, vet bills, eye care bills, etc...


200K may not be "rich", but 200k will get you a better life anywhere in the country than 50k will.

$2,160 for cell phones? WTF?

That may be a little high, but the average bill for the month is about $150

[HI54UNI]

Sending the kids to Harvard?

Well, if I wanted to I'd have to do it on my own, since they'll never qualify for student aid, right?

And that's only $12,000 per kid...and I got a late start on their college funds.

I started the month after mine were born. One of the best things I ever did. The kids better appreciate it when the time comes. Otherwise I could have a bigger boat.

[free7694]

$2,160 for cell phones? WTF?

That may be a little high, but the average bill for the month is about $150

Good lord, get a better plan. We've got a family plan with 5 lines, unlimited texts and 150 mbs of data for only $120.

[CID1990]

I love how everybody's finances are everybody's else's business.