"When he founded Harbor Freight Tools four decades ago, it?s unlikely
Allan Smidt expected it would end like it did this spring, when his own
son had an executive walk him out the door and lock him out of the
building."
Assuming above story is factually correct, this is one of the few times I
approve of post
term abortion ;)
Wes
--
"Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect
government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home
in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller
On Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:43:22 -0400, Wes
wrote the following:
ROTFLSHIAPMP! Megadittoes.
--
It is pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness;
poverty and wealth have both failed.
-- Kin Hubbard
Thank you for the link to jobvent. I hadn't seen that site before.
I spent some time looking at various companies, though, and it appears
to me that most of the people who post there are the disgruntled ones.
In other words, if you have no "axe to grind", why would you go to
"job vent"? The name alone suggests that it's a place to say BAD
things, not good things.
I wonder how long that site has been there and what the trend of
comments has been over the last 5 years or so.
It appears to me that life is getting tougher in this country, so I am
not surprised that more people are looking for someplace to vent.
Many of the comments talk about having to be the "boss's favorite", and
brown nosing, etc.. I wonder what that really means.
The opposites of those comments might be:
"the employee that the boss dislikes the most"
or
"the employee who never does what he or she is told to do".
Bosses are only human. What is wrong with doing what they want done?
What is wrong with training bosses from below?
I know times are tough, and getting tougher, but maybe it IS time to
learn the dynamics of how management is done and how to be the last one
out the door (if you want to).
If you are interested, you might take this link:
This is but one of the ways that a family-owned business can hit the
rocks when control passes from generation to generation. Just because
Mom or Dad or Uncle or Aunt has business skills doesn't mean that Son,
Daughter, Niece or Nephew does.
Excuse me?
Do you have a clue as to what you are talking about?
Transferring money to anyone (such as heir) as a gift, while alive,
subjects them to gift tax, which is very similar (and is designed to
supplant) estate tax.
Getting money from daddy when daddy is alive, is generally taxed the
same way as when daddy is dead.
Um, if I remember right, you do not have enough assets as to pay
estate tax, right? Why are you including yourself into "the rest of
us"?
If, indeed, your assets do not exceed estate tax deduction, they you
or your heirs would not be "paying".
Only one death out of 200, creates a situation where estate taxes
would be payable (per Warren Buffett, I am sure that he is right).
This is an empty argument. Any kind of economic activity has this
nature.
I could hire people to build 20 statues of me. But, while they are
employed to build statues, they would not be doing something more
useful. Or my money could be taxed, and spent by the government to
build 20 missiles, that would be fired at the current enemy of free
world. It is similar in nature also. Just to give you two examples.
I do not believe that resources are allocated correctly, if dynasties
of do-nothings maintain full control of assets that they never worked
to create. I would be OK with replacing "full" with "partial", which is
what estate tax accomplishes. It whittles down those dynasties over
the years.
i
The plus of being able to pass estate to heirs is that it makes people
work harder and to save more.
The minus of this is that resources are given to people based on
something other than merit.
Let's suppose that we are in the business of making widgets. Say, you
are really good at making them, so you make a fortune in widgets. I
am bad at making widgets, lose out in competition to you, and stay
poor. That's merit based. No complaints here.
Now, if your heir gets a lot of money and is a bum, that's not really
a great allocation of resources.
Estate tax is an attempt to balance the pluses with minuses. Some
amout being taxed, still keeps people interested in becoming wealthy,
but curtails to some extent this resource misallocation.
I agree.
Ignoramus18915 fired this volley in
news:crmdnX7peKx1g87RnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:
Ig, the estate tax might have some small effect like that, but that's
hardly its purpose. I would love it if that were actually the case, but
that's a utopian's view.
The real reason for the tax is simply that the government saw a nice, fat
pot to skim from, and decided to take a piece. They new darned well if
they took it from the average working stiff who's widow needs the whole
estate just to buy groceries, they'd have a rebellion.
There were no reasons of societal altruism in establishing the estate
tax. It's just another pork pot. Would that it were as you say.
LLoyd
Lloyd, you may be right about the motivations. You may be more of a
realist than I am. It is a great way to grab some money from the
rich, I agree.
But, I think, the question is, is the effect of that positive or
negative? And I think that at some reasonable level of taxation, it is
positive. Keeps the balance a little bit better.
If the level was too high, it would be negative.
i
If it's a family business, I should be able to do whatever I want with
it. I can give it to my MBA daughter or my pet duck. Benefit to society
is irrelevant - it's my business, not the government's.
Say, you sound like one o' them You-Ro-Peens!
Remember too the reason the tax was removed. Real estate values grow
over time until a family farmer working his inherited section of land
would live hand to mouth and die a millionaire due to land value. Family
farms were going out of the family just to pay the taxes.
In terms of why such taxes were enacted, you're quite right. As for why they
have stuck (on and off since 1797 in the US, and much longer in some
European countries), it's been a common sentiment that heirs have no natural
right to a person's wealth after their death, and that society as a whole
has a stronger claim. In other words, like sin taxes, it's been widely
accepted because most people have agreed that it's fair.
That's been the source of the arguments about it, and other types of
transfer taxes, for hundreds of years. As always with taxes that are not
issued strictly per-capita, a nation's tax structure tends to reflect what
the majority thinks is right and wrong. In a democratic society, going
against that popular opinion can result in one losing the next election.
Now it's a highly contested issue, so it's become one more divisive
political point.
This talk about "family farms" creates a warm fuzzy image in my mind,
of a little farming family with chickens in the barn, growing turnips,
about to lose the barn and chickens, but that is not what is typically
taxed.
Rex, check this out (somewhat dated).
formatting link
``These 440 taxable estates are those for which farm or business assets
made up at least half the total value of the estate. They represent
only 2 percent of all 18,800 taxable estates in 2004.''
``Worth noting is that family-owned farms and closely held businesses
already receive special treatment under current law. '' (I am not sure
if this is true any more)
Feel free to find other numbers, maybe my source is dated.
i
Now that you mention it, I think there was a separate act for family farms.
I won't contest the figures.
My argument is the validity of the tax in the first place.
On Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:21:35 -0500, Ignoramus18915
wrote the following:
Ig, the gov't wouldn't build missiles with it, it would be sucked into
a payout to a fraudulent contractor somewhere in the particular
CONgresscritter's district who would kick back 20% of it to the CON.
The project would be a highway to nowhere, a bridge to nowhere, a
military dock on a closed base in Hawaii, or other somesuch bullshit
thing. Sure a few guys would be working, but it would involve fewer
of them than possible because it's a gov't job and unions are
involved, ensuring the highest possible wages to the worst possible
workers for the grimiest of builders...
The CONgresscritter's portion would then to go Columbia to support
some drug dealer there while supporting the CON's coke habit, to
brothels, to subverted aides and pages (of both sexes), and to the
Mafia, who helps enforce the CON's will in his district.
Just so you know, that's what's happened to the American Way. :(
Vote Democratic; Feed a dealer and Madam Today!
--
To see what is right, and not to do it, is want of courage or of principle.
-- Confucius
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