Riots and Racists and Looting...OH MY!!!

[geezer]

Re: Riots and Racists and Looting...OH MY!!!

I didn't take risks. I just put in the work. No matter how crappy the job, if I needed to do that to make a living, I did it. Working in a food court (24+ hours on the weekends) in your mid-20's is not glamorous, nor is it fun, but I needed it if I wanted any sort of spending money. My main job barely covered my bills. I worked 70 hour weeks back then between two jobs, so I wouldn't have to now.

That's great, and admirable. I've been there too. What's sad to me is that "My main job barely covered my bills" is becoming more and more common in full-time jobs that require a lot of education and training, while the top earners get an increasingly larger share of the pie. In my company this division is growing with things like this: our health plan was closed a couple years ago, and "replaced by" a 3% raise across the board and the availability of a HSA to put it in. But the health plan was worth 15% or more of some employees' incomes, and perhaps 1% of others. But the 3% raise for all was considered equitable. Not cool, it just increased the chasm in earnings without being tied to real production value.

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Riots and Racists and Looting...OH MY!!!

The step-up in cost basis at death is primarily to avoid an accounting nightmare.

Mom and Dad (say) buy a house together in 1969. Dad dies in 1999. Due to unlimited marital deduction, no estate tax on half of house left to Mom. What is basis at this point?? Mom dies in 2019, say. You are the executor: you have to pay capital gains tax. Good luck funding out (a) what Mom and Dad paid for the house in 1969, and (b) what the "fair market value" of the house was in 1999.

Or Uncle Mookie (say) dabbled in stocks, with a Dividend ReInvestment Program. You are the executor of his estate. What is the cost basis in his stock portfolio?

Imagine you are the IRS auditor assigned to audit the estate tax return. Good luck!

At the very least, give everyone a step-up in cost basis at death to fair market value at date of death, lower the estate tax exemption, and tax most estates at capital gains tax rates (except the ones over the current level, keep that level and those rates as they are).

No thanks. If you can't afford to pay the taxes, then perhaps you should liquidate the estate.

The step up in basis is how the mega rich have hoarded their money from generation to generation. Time for that to change.

I guess I'd be OK with a primary residence being exempted and allowed to step up in cost basis. But stocks? No. And just because you can't find that information doesn't exempt you from the law. Up until recently you were required to keep track of your costs bases.

[FreshFish]

Re: Riots and Racists and Looting...OH MY!!!

I won't pretend to know true poverty. What I can attest to, is that I moved out with $100 to my name, and with some hard work and a little luck, I made a nice living and situation for myself. Am I well off? Not even close. Do I make enough to have a little fun here and there? Yes. I went without a few things for years, to get where I am. Others can do the same, if they are determined enough.

I had my first job outside the home for pay when I was 12. Still have a copy of my first paycheck. It wasn't that unusual either, many of my friends were in similar situations: the idea that people need to work as a routine part of life was deeply ingrained and quite widespread at that time.

and so was the concept of "saving." No matter how little one made, one always set aside a part of it, no matter how tiny, because you never knew when you'd need quick access to ready cash in the future.




The first time I read about a lawsuit maintaining that people had a "right" not to work.... w. t. f. is that? It was really hard to comprehend exactly what point they were trying to prove.

[omahasioux1]

Re: Riots and Racists and Looting...OH MY!!!

I could have sworn that we'd spent trillions of dollars over the past 50 years or so in a "war on poverty." Must have been misinformed. As to giving poor kids an "even shot," send 'em all to Cornell, to major in agriculture (like the hockey players). Problem solved. One of our most pernicious iron triangles consists of beneficiaries of various programs, the congressmen who represent them (the raison d'etre for the Congressional Black Caucus) and the heavily unionized employees and bureaucrats who administer them. Zero motivation to look for more effective solutions. Years ago the National Alliance of Businessmen had a devastating print ad that showed 4 generations of black females from the same family, all of whom were on assistance, none of whom had any realistic prospect of getting off. For the money we're spending, we should get better results.

Well said.

[The Rube]

Re: Riots and Racists and Looting...OH MY!!!

Ah yes, bootstrap conservatism in a nutshell.

You remind me of my Godfather, who tells me constantly I just need to take risks and everything will go great. No, that's why they call it a risk. Because for some people, it doesn't.

I didn't take risks. I just put in the work. No matter how crappy the job, if I needed to do that to make a living, I did it. Working in a food court (24+ hours on the weekends) in your mid-20's is not glamorous, nor is it fun, but I needed it if I wanted any sort of spending money. My main job barely covered my bills. I worked 70 hour weeks back then between two jobs, so I wouldn't have to now.

[unofan]

Re: Riots and Racists and Looting...OH MY!!!

Others can do the same, if they are determined enough.

Ah yes, bootstrap conservatism in a nutshell.

You remind me of my Godfather, who tells me constantly I just need to take risks and everything will go great. No, that's why they call it a risk. Because for some people, it doesn't.

[The Rube]

Re: Riots and Racists and Looting...OH MY!!!

Nail hit squarely on the head with this simple statement. It's a huge problem, and it's getting worse exponentially. The other thing that makes me sad is that income has less and less correlation with effort, or even with production. It will not end well.

I won't pretend to know true poverty. What I can attest to, is that I moved out with $100 to my name, and with some hard work and a little luck, I made a nice living and situation for myself. Am I well off? Not even close. Do I make enough to have a little fun here and there? Yes. I went without a few things for years, to get where I am. Others can do the same, if they are determined enough.

[geezer]

Re: Riots and Racists and Looting...OH MY!!!

Poverty isn't about being below the median. It's about the standard deviation being too large.

Nail hit squarely on the head with this simple statement. It's a huge problem, and it's getting worse exponentially. The other thing that makes me sad is that income has less and less correlation with effort, or even with production. It will not end well.

[Kepler]

Re: Riots and Racists and Looting...OH MY!!!

Right. In your world, everyone should be above average.

Poverty isn't about being below the median. It's about the standard deviation being too large. But thanks for summing up why you and your party do nothing about it -- it's not that you're uncaring, it's just you guys are bad at math.

[GrinCDXX]

Re: Riots and Racists and Looting...OH MY!!!

Right. In your world, everyone should be above average.

It gets more clever every time you use it.

[FreshFish]

Re: Riots and Racists and Looting...OH MY!!!

Or we could do something about poverty.

Right. In your world, everyone should be above average.

[FreshFish]

Re: Riots and Racists and Looting...OH MY!!!

I'm fine with an estate tax and elimination of the cost basis step up (I couldn't think of the term for it ).

The step-up in cost basis at death is primarily to avoid an accounting nightmare.

Mom and Dad (say) buy a house together in 1969. Dad dies in 1999. Due to unlimited marital deduction, no estate tax on half of house left to Mom. What is basis at this point?? Mom dies in 2019, say. You are the executor: you have to pay capital gains tax. Good luck funding out (a) what Mom and Dad paid for the house in 1969, and (b) what the "fair market value" of the house was in 1999.

Or Uncle Mookie (say) dabbled in stocks, with a Dividend ReInvestment Program. You are the executor of his estate. What is the cost basis in his stock portfolio?

Imagine you are the IRS auditor assigned to audit the estate tax return. Good luck!

At the very least, give everyone a step-up in cost basis at death to fair market value at date of death, lower the estate tax exemption, and tax most estates at capital gains tax rates (except the ones over the current level, keep that level and those rates as they are).

[Kepler]

Re: Riots and Racists and Looting...OH MY!!!

In the Show Yourselves threads, both of them posted pictures of their families. Neither of them married women who could be confused as Swedish.

I wasn't referring to the person. I was referring to that great new Fox game, Wail For Whitey.

Also: there's a Show Yourself thread? I am so on that...

[St. Clown]

Re: Riots and Racists and Looting...OH MY!!!

Likely. I miss many things.

In the Show Yourselves threads, both of them posted pictures of their families. Neither of them married women who could be confused as Swedish.

[Kepler]

Re: Riots and Racists and Looting...OH MY!!!

You're missing something here, Kepler.

Likely. I miss many things.