caulfield12

Eight years after Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy filing signaled the start of the financial crisis, the U.S. has posted the worst salary recovery among developed Group of 20, or G-20 countries, according to executive search firm Korn Ferry's Hay Group unit. U.S. salaries have fallen 3.1% after adjusting for inflation since Lehman’s bankruptcy on Sept. 15, 2008, the study says. That’s the worst among the G-20, which also includes the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and South Korea. America’s poor performance can partly be traced to its preponderance of jobs in low-wage sectors such as retail, restaurants and hotels, and healthcare, says Benjamin Frost, a Korn Ferry product manager. But even within entry-level jobs — a category that includes clerks, call center representatives, carpenters and production line supervisors — the U.S. fares worst, with salaries falling 14.8%. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/0...rowth/89924144/

And here's where Jenks should be sending his "donations" for underpaying on taxes: MIGHT WE WANT TO ADDRESS SOME OF THESE ISSUES FIRST, Mr. Ryan and Mr. McConnell??? Roughly $5.672 trillion of that is intra-government holdings. Intragovernmental debt includes the Social Security Trust Fund (no lockbox!!!), other retirement funds for the military and government employees, and medical trust funds. It also includes cash on hand to fund government outlays. The US Federal Reserve holds about $4.453 trillion worth of US debt (money we owe ourselves, essentially). The Federal "balance sheet." This is not considered intragovernmental debt. Foreigners hold roughly $6.36 trillion worth of US debt (31%). That's more or less $16.5 trillion. That leaves another $4.1 trillion of debt held by US mutual funds, Exchange Traded Funds (ETF's), pension funds, banks, insurance companies and individual US holders. http://www.usdebtclock.org/

In a short letter to the local Telegraph Herald, Rank said, "Congressman Rod Blum in a Dubuque town hall (Monday) night asked, 'Why should a 62-year-old man have to pay for maternity care?' I ask, why should I pay for a bridge I don’t cross, a sidewalk I don’t walk on, a library book I don’t read?" She continued, "Why should I pay for a flower I won’t smell, a park I don’t visit, or art I can’t appreciate? Why should I pay the salaries of politicians I didn’t vote for, a tax cut that doesn’t affect me, or a loophole I can’t take advantage of?" "It’s called democracy, a civil society, the greater good. That’s what we pay for," she quipped. http://www.refinery29.com/2017/05/154527/a...rnity-insurance Why shouldn't the richest Americans and corporations pay the most? If it was not for all of the benefits they've received from the American system (Constitutional democracy), the American military and the American government/public services system (schools/firefighters/police, etc.) WHERE WOULD ANYONE BE? What would the "American Dream" be then? And what developed countries in the world don't have progressive tax systems? Here's a list if you want to investigate further. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_rates

QUOTE (ptatc @ Dec 21, 2017 -> 09:47 PM) Not according to the IRS. Look at the tax revenue collected table on their website. The last data was from 2015. There were 150,493,263 submissions. Only 99,012,731 submissions were considered to have "taxable income" Of those 1,320,338 made 500,000 or more. The tax collected made up 25.1% of all taxes collected. That means 1.3% of the people who paid taxes paid 25% of all tax revenue. If you look at all submissions, that .01% of all people who submitted taxes, paid for 25% of all tax revenue. They may hide a great deal of taxable income but they are still paying a a vast amount more than others. We're talking about two different things. Total percentage of all tax revenue derived is quite different from marginal tax rates for each household. It's back to that overall question of fairness or equity. , Buffett told NBC Nightly News that he pays a smaller tax rate than multiple employees in his office. In 2011, Buffett wrote an op-ed in the New York Times called "Stop Coddling the Super-Rich." In the article, Buffett said that his taxes amounted to "only 17.4 percent of my taxable income — and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office." In 2013, he told CNBC that while his tax rate rose 8 to 9 points more that year, "The differential between me and the rest of the office, not just my secretary but the rest of the office, was greater than that. It'll be closer, but I'll probably be the lowest-paying taxpayer in the office." source: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/st...lower-tax-rate/ And we're not even considering corporations: They're only paying between 10-15%, and that's WITH a 35-39.2% (including state tax) OFFICIAL CORPORATE TAX BURDEN. Imagine what it will be when they cut it by exactly 40%. This tax bill has enough loopholes and "special cases" to drive a Brinks truck through. U.S. companies face the highest official corporate tax rate in the world. But there's a big difference between the rates set out by law and the cash that's actually collected. Large, profitable U.S. corporations paid an average effective federal tax rate of 12.6% in 2010, the Government Accountability Office said Monday. The federal corporate tax rate stands at 35%, and jumps to 39.2% when state rates are taken into account. But thanks to things like tax credits, exemptions and offshore tax havens, the actual tax burden of American companies is much lower. http://money.cnn.com/2013/07/01/news/econo...rate/index.html

https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/...porate-tax-rate From 1950 until about the middle of the Reagan years, the rate for corporate taxes was very close to 50%. In fact, it was between 50-55% for at least half of that time. (just click on max, like a stock chart to go back to around 1915) Somehow, that "robbing" of the corporations didn't keep America from being the strongest, most prosperous country in the world as the Baby Boom generation was born from 1945-1960.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Dec 21, 2017 -> 07:56 PM) But the highest tax bracket has a higher % to pay than the lower tax brackets. So the rich pay more by % and more by gross amount. By saying "as a percentage of their income" its like saying you want what they have just because they have it. No, they don't, because for the Top 1-2%, the majority of their income is classified as a capital gain and taxed at a much lower percentage than a CEO/executive salary. It's the same exact reason Silicon Valley employees are always fighting for stock options, compared to salary/benefits packages. Being on the right side of a huge IPO offering for a Facebook, Nvidia, Uber, etc., sets your family up for life when you're only in your 20's or 30's. The average member of the middle class, because of the changes in itemization/standard deduction...is MUCH more likely to pay those published rates or higher brackets than previously due to changes in the tax code. Whereas no members of the Top 10% are really paying anything more than their salaries at those higher Federal rates (once again, those salaries being a small percentage of their overall financial assets).

Dear Mr. Jenks: Support with evidence any Fortune 500 corporations paying more than an average rate of 19% in Federal/corporation taxes over the last decade. Support with evidence any of the Top 1% paying more than that same 19-21% for their individual Federal income taxes...due to the majority of their earnings being taxed at 19% due to capital gains/stock options. Nobody's going to pay the government MORE (especially the military-industrial complex, they will donate to veterans' organizations instead). But they will do the following: 1) Run for political office/advocate for fairness/equity in policy 2) Vote 3) Donate to local charities/churches/501c3's 4) Volunteer 5) Start their own organizations. In particular, there's going to be a greater need (the way things are going) that lots of seniors are going to be hurting due to increased health care/prescription medicine costs, potential cuts in Medicare/Medicaid/SS and the fact that their cost-of-living (COLA) increases are not keeping up with the "real" rate of inflation over time. The system is completely gamed against the middle class. With the estate taxes being bumped up to $11 (individual) and $22 (couple) million, and with the fact that your cost-basis gets bumped up to present day values should you inherit significant investment accounts from family members, it's almost impossible to see any way of avoiding 90% of wealth going to the top 1-2% in the near future.

QUOTE (Big Hurtin @ Dec 20, 2017 -> 09:14 PM) I think Warner / Schiff would be a good 2020 ticket All depends on whether Trump is the candidate. Both those guys have increased their visibility since the investigation started...but the political landscape changes so rapidly. Right now, Gillibrand has the hot name because of the current wave of women/sexual harassment stories. And for turning on Bill Clinton, as well as the "pointed" twitter comments Trump personally made about Gillibrand, which only elevated her in the same way "she persisted" lifted Elizabeth Warren another rung or two.

Sherrod Brown seems like a better choice than O’Malley...people are going to be fighting mad (if they aren’t already) when all the effects on tax reform, health care and the attack on SS and Medicare (seniors in general) all start to be felt. He’s going to be better posed to articulate the progressive argument. Trump’s trying to hide as much as possible until at least 2018...but this con won’t hunt.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/20/politics/don...care/index.html Trump is also (not so quietly) claiming he killed ObamaCare (and, yet again, a better system is promised)

Wind River and Loving Vincent (Van Gogh) are both extremely well done films...highly recommended. Best career performance from Renner.

https://sports.yahoo.com/derek-jeter-met-ma...-040141274.html Jeter raked over the coals at meeting with season ticket holders...poor guy has already shed about 50% of his popularity in less than a calendar year.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/trump-as...-090000067.html Trump (always) asks, "How's your 401K"?

QUOTE (South Sider @ Dec 19, 2017 -> 11:02 PM) Oh well, now we just hope the Sox throw the most money at him next year and that he's a money talks kind of guy and not another "Gotta play for the Yankees" kind of superstar. Usually, those are one and the same. Most money=Yankees/Dodgers. There are other 30 something veterans (like we're seeing signing with the Warriors or Cavs) who are going to sign with the Yankees/Red Sox/Dodgers/Cubs for less than market value for a shot at a ring, and those might be more helpful pick-ups (the finishing touches around the young core of talent) in the overall scheme of things than overbidding for one or two superstars.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-jr-...-121339858.html Donald Trump, Jr. BEING himself. That Obama cookie looks more like a cross between Abraham Lincoln and LeBron James, with ears that suggest some type of primate thrown in for good measure. Not disrespectful at all... And what's wrong with Jr.'s teeth? Is he wearing one of those teeth whitening strips?

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Dec 18, 2017 -> 10:34 PM) That's all well and good but is it just mere coincidence that he waited til his free agent year to announce he wanted to switch to SS thereby increasing his worth on the open market ? If his knees were great why not switch to SS last year or the year before? The timing is a little hinky for me to not to believe he is just minimizing the health risk factor to increase his value. The reason I mentioned him having 2 bad knees in the first place was because I heard it a few times on the MLB network. Can't remember who kept saying it, maybe Dave Valle. I guess the counterargument against this is that JJ Hardy was the veteran SS and had a pretty firm hold on the position entering the 2017 season. Hardy went from a 91 OPS+ in 2016 to 55 last year. Interestingly, he was only 54 in 2015. Talk about inconsistent.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/50-best...-140008691.html The 50 Best Movies of 2017 The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Incredible Jessica James, Personal Shopper, Gerald's Game, The Meyerowitz Stories, The Beguiled, Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond, Logan Lucky, Good Time and Mudbound are all going into the queue

Star Wars creator George Lucas sought to make the Galactic Empire aesthetically and thematically similar to Nazi Germany and to appear to be fascist.[4] Like Nazi Germany, the Galactic Empire is a dictatorship based on rigid control of society that dissolved a previous democracy and is led by an all-powerful supreme ruler.[5] The Empire, like the Nazis, desires the creation of totalitarian order[6] and utilizes excessive force and violence to achieve their ends.[6] The name of the Empire's main soldiers, the Stormtroopers, is somewhat similar to the name given to Hitler's Sturmabteilung (SA, "storm detachment") paramilitary bodyguards.[5] The visual appearance of Darth Vader in his all-black uniform combined with his devout obedience to the Emperor has allusion to the black-uniformed Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS).[5] The uniforms of Imperial military officers also bear resemblance to uniforms used in Nazi Germany as well as nineteenth-century Germany's ulans (mounted lancers)—who wore a tunic, riding breeches, and boots like the Empire's officers wear—as well as the Imperial officers' cap resembling the field caps historically worn by German and Austrian troops.[4] In addition to Nazi Germany, there was also at least one portion of the Galactic Empire that was based on the Soviet Union, which is the various military personnel and TIE Fighters are flying in formation as Palpatine arrives on the Death Star in Return of the Jedi. In the commentary track for the film's DVD release, Lucas admitted that the ceremony for the Emperor's arrival was inspired by May Day military parades in the Soviet Union.[7] Lucas has also indicated in various sources that the Galactic Empire was largely derived from America during the time of the Vietnam War, and more specifically Richard Nixon's time as President, with it dating back as early as 1973 when he first started working on the first film, with his friend Walter Murch also verifying this to be the case.[8][9] Palpatine's rise to power, and transforming a democracy into a dictatorship has been related to those of Julius Caesar, Augustus, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Adolf Hitler.[10] Palpatine's consolidation of power and declaring himself emperor is like the Roman political figure Octavian (later renamed Augustus), in that Octavian manipulated the Roman Senate as Palpatine did with the Galactic Senate; he legitimized authoritarian rule by saying that corruption in the Senate was hampering the powers of the head of state; he pressured the Roman Senate to give him extraordinary powers as Consul of the Republic to deal with a crisis and he falsely claimed that he would rescind those powers once the crisis was over; and, like the transition of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire, Octavian, like Palpatine, relied on his strong control over military force.[10] Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler in black SS uniform, visiting a concentration camp. Star Wars and History published by Lucasfilm says that Darth Vader's relationship with Palpatine is like Himmler's relationship with Adolf Hitler.[10] Mary Henderson in Star Wars: The Magic of Myth contends that Darth Vader's all-black uniform and his devout obedience to the Emperor is an allusion to Nazi Germany's SS. The power relationship in the Galactic Empire between Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader has been likened to that within Nazi Germany between Hitler and Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, as well as that between Joseph Stalin and the head of the NKVD Lavrentiy Beria, in that Darth Vader is a dictator's main henchman who is completely ruthless in serving his master.[10] wikipedia.com

Perhaps we just need to think as the Empire as the simplistic stand-in for the crumbling Soviet Union/USSR during that same exact time period. Of course, that would make America the "Resistance" and not the underdog. But it's seemingly clear they (the Empire) represent something like a mixture of Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia during the Cold War period. Their relative/comparative effectiveness when you line them up against the Star Wars villains is up for debate, of course. Maybe we all need to return to Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth... Remember the iconic Apple advertisement from back in the day with the storm troopers....representing authoritarianism and conformity? Subtract than initial 10 minutes from the movie and the ineptitude wouldn't be so resounding.

https://thinkprogress.org/corker-kickback-s...889f4e/?ref=yfp “Corker Kickback” sends Republicans scrambling ahead of tax bill vote http://theweek.com/speedreads/743952/sen-b...ll-now-supports On Saturday, Corker insisted he had not known about the "Corker kickback" before he switched his vote. On Sunday, he asked Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) for an explanation. "The suggestion was that it was airdropped into the conference without prior consideration by either the House or the Senate," Corker said. "Because this issue has raised concerns, I would ask that you provide an explanation of the evolution of this provision and how it made it into conference report. I think that because of many sensitivities, clarity on this issue is very important."

“Women should not be allowed on juries where the accused is a stud.” ~Rush Limbaugh, 1994 List of 35 Undeniable Truths “We’re not sexists, we’re chauvinists — we’re male chauvinist pigs, and we’re happy to be because we think that’s what men were destined to be. We think that’s what women want.” ~Rush Limbaugh, claiming that women want men to be assholes, April 15, 2004 “What is it with all of these young, single white women? Overeducated- doesn’t mean intelligent.” ~Rush Limbaugh, insulting educated women, March 6, 2012 “I think this reason why girls don’t do well on multiple choice tests goes all the way back to the Bible, all the way back to Genesis, Adam and Eve. God said, ‘All right, Eve, multiple choice or multiple orgasms, what’s it going to be?’ We all know what was chosen.” ~Rush Limbaugh, making another degrading comment about women, February 23, 1994 “They’re out there protesting what they actually wish would happen to them sometimes.” ~Rush Limbaugh, on women who protest against sexual harassment, The Rush Limbaugh Show, April 26, 2004

This seems like one of those situations that the deadline has to be a better payoff for BALT: 1) His stats last year were so pedestrian compared to prior years, he was within 0.7 of Yolmer...the Orioles HAVE to be expecting a statistical rebound 2) What matches are there right now from the contending teams (that have a surplus of minor league talent they're willing to part with) where they desperately need to overpay to get him right now? 3) Which of those teams is willing to play him at SS and risk an injury, thus POTENTIALLY getting nothing back in return at the deadline if they can't sign him long-term (and odds are incredibly high against an extension NOW just because of #1, he has to be betting on himself rebounding offensively and playing SS at a high level defensively AND staying healthy) and he gets hurt.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Dec 17, 2017 -> 08:42 PM) I think about 100% of your comment here is wrong. This movie was a pile of s***. Had it been good, it would have been well-received. See Force Awakens, The. I didn't like it (see prior comments above). I'm just trying to explain the disconnect. TFA was basically a remake, but at least that was well done, for what it was....getting the franchise back on track after the 3 misfires in the middle.

One thing's for sure...young kids today (mostly) love these movies, but for those who were born in the 60's or 70's and grew up watching the original trilogy in the theatres, there's just no way they measure up. Part of it's due to advances in technology (CGI/IMAX) making it so hard to blow everyone away (see Avatar). The other aspect is that the original cast has become so mythologized in their 1977-1983 "selves" that nothing can ever beat the novel experiences of seeing those films...how amazing they were because they were so different from anything we'd ever seen. And then there was the action figures and TIE fighters/X-wings and merchandising and Happy Meals...the first movie that was marketed in that way and became so ingrained in the culture. Now, seemingly every action movie is over commercialized and merchandising tie-ins might be equally important to the box office gross.

Apparently Culberson helped to push it over the top...not that he’s a young prospect, but he should be right in the middle of his prime.