not mentioned?

[SmallTown]

Kerry has said that he won't simply pull out of Iraq, but that he does have a better exit strategy. Which means he will continue to fight in Iraq and elsewhere.

Kerry has blasted Bush for having a tax cut while we are at war, that it is simply illogical to do such a thing when the economy is already stressed.

Kerry says we will cut taxes for the middle class if elected.

I'll let you guys discuss.

 

[vraiblonde]

I'll let you guys discuss.

Nothing to discuss. :shrug: That's his whole campaign: "I will do better! I don't know HOW I'll do better but I will do better! Trust me - I have a plan! I don't know what it is but I have a plan!"

 

[2ndAmendment]

Kerry has said that he won't simply pull out of Iraq, but that he does have a better exit strategy. Which means he will continue to fight in Iraq and elsewhere.

His plan sounds just like President Bush's. Train the Iraqis. Of course he says he'll do it faster. How do you train someone faster? Police and defense training takes a finite amount of time. You cannot keep them up late to train them for longer hours and letting inadequately trained people out to try to do the job is letting them out to be slaughtered.

Kerry has blasted Bush for having a tax cut while we are at war, that it is simply illogical to do such a thing when the economy is already stressed.

Having a sub chapter S corporation, I know I am not rich. The number of small business effected many be a little mushy but it is somewhere between 600,000 and 900,000. It is true that small business, sub S, sole proprietorships, LLCs, and partnerships create about 75% of the jobs in the U.S. Hurt them or the owners financially through taxes or forced wages and the economy is hurt not helped. An example: When the minimum wage was raised, the new salary/pay exceeded my budget. The increase in minimum wage was dictated by the feds; fought for by the Democrats. I had to stay within budget or lose money. Logical step, do the same or slightly less with fewer people. I let one person go; back in budget. Did that help the economy? Did it help unemployment? Government and government contractors do not grow the economy. They are a drain on it since all money for government programs, including defense spending, and salaries come from taxes. The only thing that grows the economy are businesses that produce a product or service that is not dependent on government spending.

Kerry says we will cut taxes for the middle class if elected.

The middle class is the largest tax base. Cutting taxes on the middle class creates the largest impact on revenue for the government. The Democrats miss the point that the people and businesses that are the bigger income earners (I am not one of them) are the ones that have the power to create jobs. The guy working for a company has the power to create much of nothing.

 

[Penn]

Nothing to discuss. :shrug: That's his whole campaign: "I will do better! I don't know HOW I'll do better but I will do better! Trust me - I have a plan! I don't know what it is but I have a plan!"

In a nutshell, what vrai said sums it up well. He says he has a better plan, but when has he ever laid even one of them out that makes any sense?

I'm still going to stick with an idea I had heard on the web somewhere, that this whole thing has been a setup. It's been carefully calculated that Kerry will run a competitive race, but someone, somewhere is holding the puppet strings, and the Presidency just isn't his prize to win.

There's a reason he can't or won't tell us what his "better plans" are to date.

 

[vraiblonde]

There's a reason he can't or won't tell us what his "better plans" are to date.

Speaking of which, when some politician says he "has a better plan" to keep people from dying...why doesn't he share it with the President instead of hanging on to it in hopes that he'll become President himself? You'd think if he really "had a better plan", he'd want it implemented right away instead of after he gets elected and settled in.

 

[SmallTown]

Actually, I was pointing out how Kerry said Bush's tax cut during a time of war was stupid, but he plans on having a tax cut for the middle class... even when we are still in war.

 

[Larry Gude]

Consider it mentioned...

Bush has we won't simply pull out of Iraq. We'll see the job through. There's no tea leaves; Bush will continue to battle global terror. Violently.

Bush has blasted Kerry for calling for tax increases which are simply insane as the economy stuggles to improve. Put more strain on it? Absurd.

Bush says he'll cut taxes more...for everybody including those paying most of the freight.

I'll let you guys discuss.

 

[2ndAmendment]

Actually, I was pointing out how Kerry said Bush's tax cut during a time of war was stupid, but he plans on having a tax cut for the middle class... even when we are still in war.

Wow. That is actually a point for the Republicans. Are you feeling well? You are starting to sound more like a Bush supporter.

 

[SmallTown]

Wow. That is actually a point for the Republicans. Are you feeling well? You are starting to sound more like a Bush supporter.

I've said for awhile I think Bush is the lesser of two evils. Plus, I like all the Bushisms

 

[2ndAmendment]

I've said for awhile I think Bush is the lesser of two evils. Plus, I like all the Bushisms

Being a strict constructionist and a Constitutionalist, I also term Bush as the lesser of two evils. It is really too bad that the two major parties have so stacked the deck against smaller parties. It is virtually impossible for a third party candidate to get on the ballot and even harder to raise money or get votes. It is the "wasted vote/money/support/effort" syndrome.

 

[MGKrebs]

"An example: When the minimum wage was raised, the new salary/pay exceeded my budget. The increase in minimum wage was dictated by the feds; fought for by the Democrats. I had to stay within budget or lose money. "

I have a question about this, 2nd amendment. I too am a small business owner, (although no longer an 'S' Corp). My thinking is that when the minimum wage goes up, it affects EVERYBODY, ALL companies. Every other company was in the same boat as you, so if you could find a way to do more with less, that would give you a competitve advantage, but the staus quo would be that everybody raises prices a little bit to offset the additional costs. What am I missing?

 

[2ndAmendment]

"An example: When the minimum wage was raised, the new salary/pay exceeded my budget. The increase in minimum wage was dictated by the feds; fought for by the Democrats. I had to stay within budget or lose money. "

I have a question about this, 2nd amendment. I too am a small business owner, (although no longer an 'S' Corp). My thinking is that when the minimum wage goes up, it affects EVERYBODY, ALL companies. Every other company was in the same boat as you, so if you could find a way to do more with less, that would give you a competitve advantage, but the staus quo would be that everybody raises prices a little bit to offset the additional costs. What am I missing?

My problem was a contracting business base. Business was already marginal. The rise in the minimum wage would have been "the straw that broke the camel's back", if I had tried to keep everyone. I eventually closed that operation because I could not make a decent ROI. The competition was much bigger and better capitalized. They had much larger volume.

You are right in that a rise in the minimum wage affects EVERYBODY. THAT is what the politicians miss. ALL businesses wind up raising prices. Since most businesses use a percentage margin basis to compute prices, a rise of $1 in cost, be it labor or something else amounts to a rise in price of $1.43 if you use a 30% markdown method to compute margin. Politicians will argue that not all businesses have minimum wage workers. That may be true, BUT I would venture to say that ALL business have a supplier of a product or service that has minimum wage workers. So the price increase compounds. Another business buys a product that has been affected lower in the chain. Its price has gone up not by $1 but by $1.43, so it raises its price assuming a 30% markdown again, its price raises $2.04. The next step is $2.91, then $4.16 and so on as the cost of the lowest level component ripples up through the chain.

Now a guy got the $1.00 per hour raise. Assume the item he makes takes an hour of time. The cost of the item goes up $1.00 as above but the price increases by $1.43. The guy wants to buy something that uses the product he produces. That product has now gone up $2.04. So the guy gets $1 more but the item he wants now costs $2.04 more.

I ask the proponents of raising the minimum wage. Is the guy ahead or behind? It is all common sense. The problem is most politicians don't have a lick of common sense.

 

[willie]

Many small "S" corps and LLC's have been forced to stretch the rules and put their people on 1099's just to keep the business going. The end result is a bunch of workers not paying FICA and because no withholding, not paying any tax.

 

[2ndAmendment]

Many small "S" corps and LLC's have been forced to stretch the rules and put their people on 1099's just to keep the business going. The end result is a bunch of workers not paying FICA and because no withholding, not paying any tax.

If they are on 1099s, they better pay the tax. It is just that the business is not responsible to withhold it; the 1099 employee is responsible to keep the records, report, and pay the taxes.

 

[SurfaceTension]

.... THAT is what the politicians miss. ALL businesses wind up raising prices.. .

Not the ones that can outsource to cheaper-labor countries...
:silly:

 

[willie]

If they are on 1099s, they better pay the tax. It is just that the business is not responsible to withhold it; the 1099 employee is responsible to keep the records, report, and pay the taxes.

You must know more responsible people than I do. It is the very reason we have to have withholding, some people will not live up to their responsibility. Keno, party time, booze, etc. It all takes priority over taxes after all they have 6 whole months before it's time to pay up. What? Me worry? You can't even start most any small business without a pot full of cash to sustain the business for a year or two mainly because of taxes and insurance much less the FICA, IWIF and additional liability coverage for an employee. Do a survey into the construction business and you will find many, many instances of this. I honestly believe that most business owners would not do this if the government would ease up on small business. Sorry if I get a little incoherent discussing this subject, I just wrote the check to IWIF and am on the way to make the employees withholding deposit.

 

[2ndAmendment]

You must know more responsible people than I do. It is the very reason we have to have withholding, some people will not live up to their responsibility. Keno, party time, booze, etc. It all takes priority over taxes after all they have 6 whole months before it's time to pay up. What? Me worry? You can't even start most any small business without a pot full of cash to sustain the business for a year or two mainly because of taxes and insurance much less the FICA, IWIF and additional liability coverage for an employee. Do a survey into the construction business and you will find many, many instances of this. I honestly believe that most business owners would not do this if the government would ease up on small business. Sorry if I get a little incoherent discussing this subject, I just wrote the check to IWIF and am on the way to make the employees withholding deposit.

I know. "Huh? I have to pay taxes on this? That's not fair." I wish I could treat all employees as private contractors.