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Today's Topics:
1. Re: Fwd: Tax Code Tops 70,000 Pages; ANC Aide Praises Hitler
on Jews; Recession Boosts Beer (Joe Ranzau)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 12:10:44 -0500
From: Joe Ranzau <[email protected]>
To: Fritz Holt <[email protected]>
Cc: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Fwd: Tax Code Tops 70,000 Pages; ANC Aide
Praises Hitler on Jews; Recession Boosts Beer
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Greetings Fritz -
This is absolutely not caving related nor appropriate for 75% of your audience.
Seeing as we self guide this list serve, I humbly request we limit politics to
topics of cave conservation.
I'm willing to walk point by point with you through the semi accurate and
slanted statements in the email offline and without subjecting lots of folks to
our politics.
In the mean time, why not read about your biased source of news from a proudly
biased source...
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/11/business/media/newsmax-a-compass-for-conservative-politics.html
Your crazy yellow bellied liberal friend,
Joe
> On Jul 20, 2014, at 9:44 AM, Fritz Holt <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> As taxpayers, I thought these facts might be of interest to most of us. Fritz
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> From: June Levy <[email protected]>
>> Date: July 20, 2014 at 9:30:11 AM CDT
>> To: Marianne <[email protected]>, Mandy Holt
>> <[email protected]>, Fritz Holt <[email protected]>
>> Subject: Fwd: Tax Code Tops 70,000 Pages; ANC Aide Praises Hitler on Jews;
>> Recession Boosts Beer
>>
>> Interesting
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> Begin forwarded message:
>>
>>> From: "Newsmax.com" <[email protected]>
>>> Date: July 20, 2014 12:34:08 PM CDT
>>> To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
>>> Subject: Tax Code Tops 70,000 Pages; ANC Aide Praises Hitler on Jews;
>>> Recession Boosts Beer
>>> Reply-To: [email protected]
>>>
>>>
>>> Click here to view this email as a web page
>>>
>>>
>>> Insider Report from Newsmax.com
>>>
>>> Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories):
>>> 1. Income Tax Code Now Spans 70,000 Pages
>>> 2. Only Three Nations Approve of US Drone Strikes
>>> 3. Paying Back Student Loans Easier for Large Debtors
>>> 4. South Africa Political Aide: Hitler Was 'Right' About Jews
>>> 5. Beer Sales Surged Since Start of Recession
>>> 6. 'Training Wage' Could Lift Teen Employment
>>>
>>>
>>> Seniors Scoop Up Unclaimed $20,500 Checks? (See If You Qualify)
>>> 1. Income Tax Code Now Spans 70,000 Pages
>>>
>>> "The income tax system in the United States is a sprawling mass of
>>> provisions spread across dozens of volumes and has been called everything
>>> from a 'disaster' to an 'abomination.'"
>>>
>>> That's how the Tax Foundation begins its report "Putting a Face on
>>> America's Tax Returns."
>>>
>>> The report discloses that it takes Americans up to 7 billion work hours
>>> each year to complete the paperwork required by the IRS, and it costs
>>> individual and corporate taxpayers more than $165 billion annually to
>>> comply with the income tax code.
>>>
>>> In 1913, the federal income tax started as four pages of forms and
>>> instructions. Today, the tax code spans more than 70,000 pages.
>>>
>>> A year before the United States entered World War II, excise taxes on such
>>> items as gasoline and cigarettes were the largest source of revenue for the
>>> federal government, followed by Social Security payroll taxes, then
>>> corporate income taxes.
>>>
>>> Today, individual income taxes are the top source of revenue, expected to
>>> amount to $1.38 trillion this year, followed by social insurance taxes
>>> ($1.02 trillion), corporate income taxes ($380 billion), and excise taxes
>>> ($93 billion).
>>>
>>> "Contrary to some claims that high-income households are not paying their
>>> fair share of income taxes, the average tax rate for the top 1 percent of
>>> earners is actually twice what it is for the rest of Americans," the report
>>> states.
>>>
>>> "While only about 14 percent of taxpayers earn more than $100,000, they pay
>>> the vast majority of all income taxes in America today."
>>>
>>> About half of all tax filers earn less than $30,000 a year — 26 percent
>>> earn less than $15,000, and 21 percent make between $15,000 and 30,000.
>>> Just 3 percent of filers earn between $200,000 and $499,000, and only 1
>>> percent make $500,000 or more.
>>>
>>> Taxpayers earning less than $100,000 a year account for 18 percent of all
>>> income taxes, while those earning more than $100,000 pay more than 80
>>> percent of the taxes.
>>>
>>> Those earning $1 million or more annually make 11 percent of all income,
>>> but pay 23 percent of income taxes, while those earning between $200,000
>>> and $1 million account for 17 percent of income and 32 percent of income
>>> taxes.
>>>
>>> Filers making $30,000 or less receive more back from the IRS than they pay
>>> in income taxes due to the Earned Income Tax Credit and other preferences.
>>> They account for 11 percent of income and minus-6 percent of income taxes
>>> paid.
>>>
>>> Looked at another way, the top 1 percent of earners pay 37.4 percent of
>>> income taxes, the top 10 percent pay 70.6 percent, and the bottom 90
>>> percent pay 29.4 percent.
>>>
>>> The bottom 20 percent of earners receive $8.13 in federal spending for
>>> every dollar they pay in federal taxes. The top 20 percent receive $0.25.
>>>
>>> The Tax Foundation calls the tax code "steeply progressive and highly
>>> redistributive."
>>>
>>> Editor's Note:
>>>
>>> Special: Retire 10 Years Earlier With These 4 Stocks
>>>
>>> 2. Only Three Nations Approve of US Drone Strikes
>>>
>>> People around the world overwhelmingly oppose U.S. drone strikes targeting
>>> extremists in countries such as Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia, a new poll
>>> reveals.
>>>
>>> The Pew Research Center surveyed 48,643 individuals in 44 countries and
>>> asked if they "Disapprove" or "Approve" of the drone strikes. A majority of
>>> respondents in only three nations approve — the United States (52 percent),
>>> Israel (65 percent), and Kenya (53 percent), which has suffered terrorist
>>> attacks in recent years.
>>>
>>> The strongest opposition to the strikes is in Venezuela, where 92 percent
>>> disapprove and just 4 percent approve (some respondents neither approve nor
>>> disapprove) followed by Jordan (90 percent disapprove), Greece (89
>>> percent), and Nicaragua (88 percent).
>>>
>>> A majority of respondents in several strong U.S. allied nations also
>>> disapprove of the drone strikes against extremists, including South Korea
>>> (75 percent disapprove), Italy (74 percent), France (72 percent), Germany
>>> (67 percent), and the United Kingdom (59 percent).
>>>
>>> Not surprisingly, just 3 percent of respondents in Pakistan approve of the
>>> strikes.
>>>
>>> Pew also found that people around the world generally oppose the National
>>> Security Agency's surveillance practices. Asked if they consider U.S.
>>> monitoring of citizens from their country "Acceptable" or "Unacceptable,"
>>> 81 percent say it is unacceptable and just 12 percent consider it
>>> acceptable.
>>>
>>> Sixty-two percent say U.S. monitoring of Americans is unacceptable.
>>>
>>> Asked about monitoring of leaders in their country, 73 percent say it is
>>> unacceptable.
>>>
>>> However, 64 percent of respondents believe that monitoring terrorist
>>> suspects is acceptable, and just 29 percent say it is unacceptable.
>>>
>>> Despite the unpopularity of U.S. spying and its use of drones, overall
>>> ratings for the United States remain mostly popular, Pew reports — 65
>>> percent have a favorable view of America, while 25 percent have an
>>> unfavorable view.
>>>
>>> The lowest favorable rating in the survey is in Egypt, just 10 percent.
>>>
>>> Editor's Note:
>>>
>>> Warning Signs of a 'Silent' Heart Attack
>>>
>>> 3. Paying Back Student Loans Easier for Large Debtors
>>>
>>> In a seeming paradox, Americans with low levels of debt due to student
>>> loans can face significantly more financial hardship than those with much
>>> larger debt loads, an education expert disclosed.
>>>
>>> "A borrower with $10,000 in student debt could be in much worse shape than
>>> one with $60,000," says Andrew Kelly, founding director of the Center on
>>> Higher Education Reform at the American Enterprise Institute.
>>>
>>> The reason: Those with higher debt levels were more likely to have finished
>>> college with a degree and therefore were more likely to land a good job,
>>> while those with low levels frequently did not continue their studies and
>>> did not get a degree.
>>>
>>> Student loan debt in the United States stands at more than $1 trillion, a
>>> threefold increase from a decade ago, according to The New York Times.
>>>
>>> But Kelly, in an article for Forbes, cites research showing that while debt
>>> loads have increased, borrowers were paying about the same percentage of
>>> their income toward monthly loan payments in 2010 as they were in the early
>>> 1990s.
>>>
>>> He also points to other data showing that the probability of experiencing
>>> financial hardship was not directly related to the amount of debt owed.
>>>
>>> "Instead, the incidence of financial hardship was highest among individuals
>>> with low levels of debt (less than $5,000) and those with some college and
>>> no degree. High-debt borrowers were often the least financially troubled
>>> (because they'd gotten more education)."
>>>
>>> Kelly noted that a report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
>>> last year found that borrowers who defaulted on their student loans
>>> actually had a lower average balance compared to those who were actively
>>> repaying.
>>>
>>> A major problem related to student loans is that they encourage college
>>> attendance no matter the cost, the college, or the program, leading the
>>> government to subsidize failure.
>>>
>>> Kelly observes: "About 37 percent of loan disbursements in the Stafford and
>>> Parent PLUS programs (loans for undergraduates) in 2012-2013 went to
>>> colleges with six-year graduation rates that were 40 percent or lower.
>>> That's a lot of loans to people whose chances of finishing a degree are
>>> worse than flipping a coin."
>>>
>>> Editor's Note:
>>>
>>> How Commonly Used Lab Tests May Confuse Your Doctor – and Miss Many Thyroid
>>> Health Concerns…
>>>
>>> 4. South African Political Aide: Hitler Was 'Right' About Jews
>>>
>>> An aide with the African National Congress, South Africa's ruling party,
>>> has drawn sharp rebukes from Jewish groups for an outrageous Facebook post
>>> praising Adolf Hitler for the Holocaust.
>>>
>>> Rene Smit, a social media manager with the ANC in the Western Cape
>>> province, posted an image of Hitler with the comment: "Yes, man, you were
>>> right!"
>>>
>>> Below Hitler's face were the words: "I could have killed all the Jews, but
>>> I left some of them to tell you why I was killing them."
>>>
>>> The South African Jewish Board of Deputies wrote to the ANC's
>>> secretary-general to protest the post, The Jewish Daily Forward reported.
>>>
>>> Wendy Kahn, director of the Board of Deputies, called the post "appalling
>>> and upsetting to the Jewish community" and said the ANC should "distance
>>> itself from such comments and say it would not work with that volunteer
>>> again."
>>>
>>> According to the Guardian newspaper, a spokesman for the ANC in Western
>>> Cape, Cobus Grobler, said Smit is "not employed by the ANC" and "she
>>> assisted in our recent election campaign. Anybody can help us as a
>>> volunteer."
>>>
>>> Smit later said, amazingly: "I remorsefully removed [the post] immediately
>>> once I became aware that it is inappropriate and offensive."
>>>
>>> Smit's original post came just days after ANC Deputy Secretary General
>>> Jessie Duarte posted a statement on the ANC's website comparing Israel's
>>> treatment of the Palestinians to Nazi war crimes.
>>>
>>> "As we move toward the month of August and are reminded of the atrocities
>>> of Nazi Germany, surely we must ask the people of Israel: Has the te
>>>
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