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 :(

The boss bounces in today and delivers our pay statements...He says, "Keith, take a look at your pay statement, there should be a little extra in it for you."

So's I takes a look......and I see a $500 bonus.....and I also see where $300 of it went to taxes......"Gee thanks boss, what's that for?"

"That's for your quality work and your great attitude", he says..."And I've put you in for a much bigger award once your UPS idea gets operational."

I kinda shake my head and say, "That's really nice of you, but just reduce it by 25% and send it straight to the government for me .... that way it will save me money at the end of the year!"..."You guys will save 25%, and I'll save a few bucks on my taxes."

He kinda looked at me funny..........I guess I can show him the math next tax season, maybe he'll understand it then.  :D  :(

I feel like uncle sam just stole my birthday presents, you know what I mean?

Ah yes! The old "bonus tax"--I learned about that the hard way too; don't feel so badly!

Yes I do Keith.  What maddens me as much, is how so much of this money ends up squandered, and how little takes care of those of us HERE in the US,  that can use it, retire and live the "American Dream", afford decent medical care, and still have a savings, etc.  OF course when a disaster strikes our country such as last years hurricane season, and some of you down in the Gulf area get hammered, where's adequate disaster relief ?  FEMA ? etc.  This is a wealthy country, isn't it...

Sorry,  I get carried away with some of this stuff... Where does OUR tax money go when WE need it ?  Those of us that pay into the system that is ?

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Forget FEMA!...I saw first hand how FEMA wasted millions on themself, then gave away millions to people who didn't rate it.....I gave over a thousand  bucks straight to Red Cross after the hurricane hit cause they were the only ones actually TRYING to direct $$ to the folks in genuine "need"....Then there was my hurricane roomie who lived off me for almost a year...but that's another sad story I'd rather forget....funny how I haven't heard a peep out of him since he finally moved back to New Orleans.

Where does our tax money go?...I just saw where a tiny little one redlight town near me got a 15K Federal grant to prevent litter.....Yep, the $$ is intended to be used to educate their public about litter abatement.......You could visit each of them in that town in two hours and simply tell them not to litter the area...and you could do that with 5 gallons of gas in 8 hours.

Sorry to hear that Keith. I look at it this way. At least I made more than I paid on taxes. I mean I don't like paying taxes but I don't mind it if it's spent well. Imagine socialistic countries like Sweden, Denmark and UK (well, semi socialistic). Half their population supports the other half. I mean their top level federal tax is over 55%. However, they provide free education through college, socialized medicine, public transportation, etc. etc.

If our government does well with our money, I wouldn't complain too much about the taxes. However, coming from California where we contribute to the federal coffer more than any other state in the union, what we get from the federal government is pathetic. California ranks bottom on education, middle of the road on roads (bit of pun here).

Well, enough rambling, just be happy they didn't take them all.  LMAO

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Seize the day and SING!!!

Yep Eben,  I won't get too into this, however I share the same feeling.  When it comes to elderly care, people having to deplete their savings to be able to afford assistance with certain medical and boarding expenses. No chance of an American Dream anylonger.  Difficulty retiring after a life of working and paying into the system. When disaster relief falls short because of how our money is getting squandered in places it's questionable as to whether or not we should be to begin with; However,  all along WE see little financial benefit from a system we pay into.... It's maddening.  We should easily be able to afford healthcare at least.  ALL of us that pay into a system.

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Other countries are doing it.

Sadly, it seems these days that one half of the country is supporting the other...having excess numbers of children seems to be an entitlement these days...no, you don't have to worry about how you are going to support them and bring them up with some quality of care...just keep having them, somebody else will foot the bill.  Having worked in the health care industry for a number of years at one time one of the reasons things have escalated to the point they have is that people ABUSE the system as well.  If you don't have to pay for anything out of pocket, people have a tendency to show up at the doctor's office, the ER or the urgent care center with the slightest of scratches on their elbow demanding medical care.  Things like this have done their part in skyrocketing medical costs.

Good point. Another part is the insurance premiums doctors have to pay due to malpractice cases. A lot of those cases are for a free ride. I can't say how many but there should be a way to make the ends justify the means.

Having a sig other in the legal profession Chuck, I can tell you that the court systems are just OVERLOADED with frivilous litigation of all kinds...it has reached a point where parties are FINED for wasting the courts time with such nonense.  I think this is a good thing.  From observation, I think many outrageous claims made by people about some wrongful act or negligence have turned into stereotypical material and are just laughable anymore. You know, you can only have so many runs of mice in the tubs of chicken, priests molesting you some 26 years ago, person tapping you on the shoulder and giving you whiplash cases, etc. before it all just gets played out and the credibility of these accusations gets a bit more than attenuated...

Absolutely,  People do take PC too far. People just do exploit things..  There are always too many that can, and will exploit a system, so those that really do have grounds for defense, and a reason MOST would deem feasible cause to prosecute end up losing out.

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Up there they are probably citizens.....They get better care than I do as a vet....

The thing lacking in so many of these cases is GOOD SOLID evidence...an anology would be the claim that a monster lurks in Loch Ness.  You can only speculate over so many fuzzy photos and videos and third party stories before, finally, even after decades, one just does not believe anything they hear--even if in their hearts they really wanted to believe the facts were true!

Exactly, I still want to believe something is there but I have seen no real proof.

Ok, now I'm sad. I must sue somebody because I don['t think I can work, ever, because of this new empty spot in my sole. Until now I believed Nessy was there. What next, no Chessy, no Champ? My hopes are dashed, my dreams are gone. What's left to live for?

MichaelJayKlein, consider yourself served.

Actually Chuck, since a child, I've been keenly interested in cryptozoology and "the unknown".  Lord knows how many books I've read over the years on the subject, because deep inside, a part of me really wants to believe there are things out there we don't know about (and you'd have to be pretty limited to believe we know EVERYTHING), something exciting.  My favorite "personal" movie is "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".

So true, I loved that movie. Now I'm addicted to mashed potatoes. I sueing Speilberg.

-Doesn't matter, it's all taxed the same at the end of the year as income and you will get some of that back more than likely.

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Who loves ya baby?

This is a reason I've always felt it wise to make certain you have a decent accountant who isn't just trying to get an hourly rate, and nothing more..  Taking certain deductions, exemptions, etc.  Can be a GOOD thing, writting certain things off, etc.

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

I seriously doubt it.....Last payday they withheld a total of 1400 bucks...FED tax, SS tax, medicare, state tax, ect...That's 2800/month!.....I want that sleeze I'm supporting with my taxes to get their butt over here and cut my grass and haul the trash!...NOW!

who is this guy named FICA that keeps taking money out of my checks?