I'm rich

2-14-02 | farmall

[farmall]

My wife and I are both public school teachers. We both teach additional day and after school classes. We both teach summer school and I have another job as a security guard. Combined total we earned @ $119,000 in 2001. IRS has already taken @ $19,000. It looks like they want another $ 3-5,000 on 4-15-02.

[Steakumm]

Sounds like most of us pay more taxes than Jesse Jackson

[higgmeister]

Nah, just try living within your means. It works for us and, with only one of us bringing home the bacon, we're not even as rich as you.

That'll do it!  Just don't ever strive to better yourself.
Drop out of High School.  See if the second lane is
going to be open at the Car wash today.  Better yet,
just check tomorrow.

At one point in your life you had no means.  Should
you have just starved yourself and decreased the
surplus population?  Should your neighbors have just
stoned you when you tried to get on the school bus.

The Tribal Chieftain probably had to throw rocks at
your distant ancestor to ever get him to come out of
the cave.

[scottiewottie]

Filthy pigs! You should be taxed more. One of you should quit your job, and you both should be made sterile. How dare you take two jobs for your household and make all that money! Selfish people like you should not be able to breed. </sarcasm

[VRWC_minion]

Does anyone suggest 25% tax on $120,000 income is too high?

The marginal rate is far higher. Its the marginal rate that influences behavior. But then you knew that didn't you.

[farmall]

thanks for the tips. i want to go back to school at devry in their 1 yr it program designed for working people. hopefully, one day

[NittanyLion]

yep, $8000 a month is real hard to live on

Envy is very unbecoming.

[Sloth]

So is asking for pity.

[newgeezer]

If nothing else, you certainly have a unique perspective on "living within your means."

[OldFriend]

Glad to hear it.......sorry for jumping to conclusions when I saw you were teachers. You are a rare minority but sorely needed if there is to be any hope for the future.

Now stop working so hard and take time to enjoy the flowers!!!

[biblewonk]

After reading that I completely forgot what we were talking about.

[VRWC_minion]

doesn't seem they have.

But they did.

[Too_Bad]

Here's what to do. Beat the IRS at their own game.

Or, quit working, convert assets to long-term munis and never pay income or payroll taxes again. That strategy has worked for me for the last 30 years.

[Pablo64]

I agree that it is criminal that the government grabs that much of anyone's income, but my initial thought was about how much debt you are carrying compared to your net (don't need to tell me, it's none of my business). Your net (what Uncle Sam so graciously lets you keep </sarcasm) is still three times our family's gross income (were a family of only 4). Makes me wonder if I even want to try and make more money. If it means having to work as many jobs as you do, I'll pass.

We need real, and meaningful tax reform, but I don't see it coming anytime soon.

Best to you, and keep plugging away. Hopefully you will be able to find a way to shelter some of that income and hang on to more.

[NittanyLion]

So is asking for pity.

I'm not sure this poster was asking for pity. Seems the outrageous amount of taxes he pays (really, that all of us pay) are a source of outrage for most and an appropriate topic for this forum.

[Mad Dawgg]

The Dirty Little Secret that The Dems never tell ya about is "ANYONE who has more money than you is RICH!"

[farmall]

i'll have to figure out the debt/net ratio. forgot one thing, since my wife and i are both public school teachers we pay @ $450.00 a month to send our last of 4 kids to a private school. the others went private as well and are out on there own now. this affects my net since i pay double for my kids schooling

[Praxeologue]

The marginal rate is far higher. Its the marginal rate that influences behavior

I agree. That's why there should be a flat tax. Post-flat-tax, however, farmall would still pay roughly the same tax.

farmall didn't gripe about the dis-incentive, though. He didn't like paying 25% of his income in federal income tax, a level that I think is reasonable.

[Mad Dawgg]

"Your reward - should you survive - is that you get to drive around in a 10 year-old minivan with peeling paint. Good Luck!"

HAH WRONG! Our MiniVan is 11 years old! ;-)

(But we did have it painted recently!)

[johniegrad]

What in the hell possessed you to put your income in print here?