Text 13510, 77 rader
Skriven 2011-01-08 07:18:54 av Bob Ackley (1:300/3)
  Kommentar till text 13508 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
Ärende: Welcome to the 21st century in a supposedly civilized country
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Replying to a message of Robert Bashe to Bob Ackley:

 RB> Bob Ackley wrote to Ward Dossche on Friday January 07 2011 at 17:26:

 BA>> The problem on this side of the pond is that government (at all
 BA>> levels) is taking between 65 and 75 oercent of people's income - NOT
 BA>> including Obamacare.

 RB> I could see that in Germany, but in the States? Do you meanwhile have
 RB> a 20% sales tax and does gasoline cost $6.85 a gallon (= 3.78
 RB> liters)? That's our situation in Germany.

Sales taxes vary with locality.  Here it's 7%, which is somewhere in the middle
(I
can remember when it was 3% in California - it's about 10% there now).  I've
read
that people in some states pay up to 12%.  According to my computer I paid
about
$1,200 in sales taxes last year (and (1) I undoubtedly missed entering some of
them
so the number's a bit light and (2) doesn't include taxes on gasoline). 
Gasoline was
 - last week - just under $3/gallon here, in some areas (Nebraska, for one)
it's well
over that.  Then the states sting you a tax to register your vehicle - can run
several
hundred dollars a year, the feds hit you with excise taxes on some things, and
the
counties hit you for a grand or two a year in property tax on your house. 
Federal
income tax takes about 25% of one's gross, and most of the states help
themselves
to a good piece of whatever's left (Nevada and New Hampshire don't).  I didn't
include
the miscellameous taxes the government adds to our phone bills, but they
probably
amounted to 2 or 3 hundred dollars last year.  Some states - Nebraska and Iowa
among
them - also assess an annual 'personal property tax' on everything you own
(including
your underwear), at the moment both states have exempted everything except
motor
vehicles and boats (and they can abolish those exemptions any time they want
to).
In Nebraska the county assessor can show up at your door anytime he wants and
demand
entry so he can inventory your possessions (I don't know of any instance of
that happening
but they do have that power).

 RB> Do all welfare people get $438 per person plus housing costs (within
 RB> government-approved limits) per month? Unlimited in time? They do
 RB> here.

I've no idea what welfare recipients get here - and I'm pretty sure the amount
varies
with the localities.  IMO welfare should be limited to housing, food, water and
clothing -
all issued by the government; no cash or debit cards.  Vandalize the housing
and you're
on the street.

 RB> Do you pay $520 a month for private health insurance? That's what my
 RB> bill in 2011 would be if I didn't somehow work around it with various
 RB> government subsidies.

 RB> Is your pension around $900 a month? Mine is.

 RB> Frankly, I think you have it better than you think.

 RB> Cheers, Bob

 RB> -!- GoldED+/W32 1.1.5-0613
 RB>  ! Origin: Jabberwocky System - 02363-56073 ISDN/V34 (2:2448/44)

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