[exelant]

I totally got burnt out on this thread...

Oh Blue, you gotta get out more. Go hang in the newbie thread and give some advice to them. I think you need to build up your post count to a level it should be at considering how long you've been a member. I'm not critisizing you, I think you have more to offer away from the Off Topic section. That's also how I keep from getting burned out. I talked someone through an OS upgrade yesterday and it made my day.

[vinnie_dugan]

Corporate tax in america second only to japan...

hope this helps

[exelant]

I misread a source, the total American tax rate as a percentage of GDP is the lowest in the industrialized world. My mistake.

[vinnie_dugan]

its all good man

[Hi-Definition]

Politicians are amazing creatures; in that their core is really the same. It has to be so in order to survive in such a ingenuine political culture in our nation. This was on such striking display at the political dinner last night in NYC; where both McCain and Obama were attendees. The day before in the debate they're stabbing each other with words; the day after they're killing each other softly with jokes. Amazing how politicans can seemingly turn on/off aspects of human nature that 99.9% of us can't do so.

It was also interesting how each candidate becomes perturbed when the other side's supporters/alignment make disparaging comments...yet when McCain/Obama draw up jokes from those same sour comments on their own accord; they laugh at themselves and with the audience.

Politicans are aliens disguised as humans I tell you; some are simply more fit to lead and have a better approach to the economy, healthcare and foreign policy...than the other aliens do. :-)

[Frawg]

There appears to be some common ground between us Exelant. Seriously though, I get concerned by the notion that a presidential candidate seems to think the rich owes more of their hard-earned money than they are currently contributing. The notion that they are not paying their fair share is nonsense and it is stoking the fires of class envy.

The federal government needs to find a way to live within its means like I am forced to do. Raising taxes in an effort to spread the wealth around is truly an astounding statement to have been made by Senator Obama.

We may have an opportunity to experience this experiment if Senator Obama is elected.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[exelant]

I know we do Frawg. Hi Def made a pretty good assessment of politicians in that they do not seem to be of us -- or this world, lol. I can't see where you live, but speaking of class warfare, you should spend some time in Colorado. In my State, part of the business community and some conservative leaders have brought their covert warfare against working men and women out into the open this year. They have a right to work amendment on the ballot. I suggest there is a class war going on, but it is not just being fought by Unions.

The Unions have been losing this battle since Ronnie fired the Air Traffic Controllers. The government under Republican Presidents has been chipping away at worker rights through administrative means almost completely under the radar. The results are starting to become obvious to even the most partisan. Wages are down, OSHA is ineffective and the NRLB almost never finds in favor of workers. Every benefit from insurance to retirement are dropping, and still we are told we need even more give backs. I am a manager and I do get more when my employees get less. The only problem is that I was once in that work group and see what's going on with a different perspective.

I think the class war was started by the other side and workers are getting blamed for it. D@mned if they do and d@mned if they don't. What upsets me the most is that we have probably lost the best opportunity we have ever had to get workers and businesses to work as a team instead of as opponents. In response to the Right To Work amendment, the major unions have managed to get amendments on the ballot to require just cause for termination and a group insurance requirement for businesses over 200 employees. A shooting war has broken out all because a few selfish ideologues wanted to squash the last remaining unions. The problem is that the proponents of this RTW amendment have come out from behind their rock into the open. They can't say it's all the unions fault, or that we don't need unions anymore. I think it is obvious we do need them now as we did the last time the economy was this bad.

[xxxxpradaxxxx]

What Distinguishes a "Small Business" From a "Large Business"?

Obama says he won't fine the small businesses for Healthcare...

[exelant]

Number of employees. I think 200 is the magic number, but I've seen businesses with 20 called large -- not that I believe that.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[xxxxpradaxxxx]

So it's not decided by the Revenue Generated by the Company?

[Frawg]

I live in the belt buckle of the of the rust belt, Pittsburgh. I'll tell you Exelant, cities such as Detroit, Cleveland, Toledo, Akron, Weirton, Buffalo, and my own beloved Pittsburgh have taken it on the chin when it comes to the work force that used to produce steel and automobiles. I'm not going to suggest that any of the drop in the work force had anything to do with the unions. Here again, the federal government mandated that the steel mills and other manufacturing concerns abide by the standards of the Clean Air Act at the time. When these standards were imposed on businesses, without factoring in the cost or the effect on the businesses, we saw a severe decline in economic conditions, mostly due to plant closings.

But...the environmental groups got their way by lobbying those in Congress at the time and we Pittsburgers are well on our way to saving Earth from global warming. Which, is a crock since man made global warming does not even exist.

As I said in an earlier post, I am voting against every incumbent on my ballot while I hold my nose and vote for Senator McCain.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[exelant]

So it's not decided by the Revenue Generated by the Company?

It is, I guess, lol. I went to the SBA page and typical of the Federal regs, there's a million definitions. I found this chart that I think is as good as any.

A Small Business is one that:

is organized for profit;
has a place of business in the United States;
makes a significant contribution to the U.S. economy by paying taxes or using American products, materials or labor; and,
does not exceed the numerical size standard for its industry.
The business may be a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or any other legal form.

There is an SBA small business size standard for every private sector industry in the U.S. Economy. SBA uses the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) to identify the industries.

Size Standards (usually stated in number of employees or average annual receipts) represent the largest size that a business (including its subsidiaries and affiliates) may be to remain classified as a small business for SBA�s programs and for Federal contracting programs.

SBA has several general Size Standards. A business in one of the following industry groups is small if it is not greater than the size standard indicated.



Industry Group Size Standard
Manufacturing 500 employees
Wholesale Trade 100 employees
Agriculture $750,000
Retail Trade $6.5 million
General & Heavy Construction (except Dredging) $31 million
Dredging $18.5 million
Special Trade Contractors $13 million
Travel Agencies $3.5 million (commissions & other income)
Business and Personal Services
Except: $6.5 million
Architectural, Engineering, Surveying, and Mapping Services
$4.5 million
Dry Cleaning and Carpet Cleaning Services
$4.5 million



If the size of a business exceeds the size standard for its overall industry group, it may still be a small business for the specific NAICS industry in that group. Some industries have higher size standards than the general one for the industry group. SBA has a Table of Size Standards on its web site.

[exelant]

I live in the belt buckle of the of the rust belt, Pittsburgh. I'll tell you Exelant, cities such as Detroit, Cleveland, Toledo, Akron, Weirton, Buffalo, and my own beloved Pittsburgh have taken it on the chin when it comes to the work force that used to produce steel and automobiles. I'm not going to suggest that any of the drop in the work force had anything to do with the unions. Here again, the federal government mandated that the steel mills and other manufacturing concerns abide by the standards of the Clean Air Act at the time. When these standards were imposed on businesses, without factoring in the cost or the effect on the businesses, we saw a severe decline in economic conditions, mostly due to plant closings.

But...the environmental groups got their way by lobbying those in Congress at the time and we Pittsburgers are well on our way to saving Earth from global warming. Which, is a crock since man made global warming does not even exist.

As I said in an earlier post, I am voting against every incumbent on my ballot while I hold my nose and vote for Senator McCain.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

LOL! We better agree to not discuss environmental regs or the science behind them. I work in the water treatment field and my degree is Environmental Science. Not the BA that trains activists, but the BS that trains the people who do the actual clean-up work. I do have real stories that'll make your hair curl -- and Frawg, don't eat any bottom feeding fish from the Monongahela, Allegheny, or Ohio Rivers.

You live there and must remember that in the old days mom's used to tell kids to stay away from the rivers. It was bad as you know, here's a paragraph from a Clean Water Act brochure about those rivers before 1972 when the Clean Water Act passed over Nixon's veto: "Industrial waste and municipal sewage flowed in massive quantities directly into the rivers untreated. River traffic comprised of barges and steamships jammed the three rivers. The fouled rivers were so polluted that the water often reached temperatures of 130 degrees or more. Steamships could not use Pittsburgh river water in their boilers because the acidity would corrode the metal parts. Cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and other diseases were abundant along the river towns and flooding poured deadly bacteria into the community. Virtually every species of fish died out. What was left couldn't support the natural vegetation the rivers needed for their own survival. People moved as far from the water's edge as they could."

We all know the Clean Water Act resulted in major successes cleaning up American waterways. My fingers will fall off if we move to discussing environmental issues -- that's why I have mostly stayed away from the topic -- to be fair.

[exelant]

General Colin L. Powell endorsed Barrack Obama on Meet the Press this morning.

[JRussett]

That's pretty huge...not a lot of momentum for McCain at all the last few weeks...

[berry me with it]

I think it's safe to say when his campaign started downhill *wink wink*

GO VOTE!!!!

[Hi-Definition]

If any of you can take advantage of early voting..do so. There's no need to absolutely wait until November 4th to vote.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[AmberNyse]

If any of you can advantage of early voting..do so. There's no need to absolutely wait until November 4th to vote.

Exactly!! I went and cast my vote this past Friday!!!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[exelant]

My wife and I have already voted. I have signed up to work the phones next week to get out the vote. My time here debating and getting my thoughts together have helped. I think they are going to give me the people who have said they don't want to vote for anyone. Lol, I think I'm going to get yelled at a bunch, but some of you know me -- mister peacemaker. I think I'll be able to get a few more on board.

[Hi-Definition]

Colin Powell...you're a man of great virtue, resolve and understanding.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[vinnie_dugan]

Obama is a socilaist, through and through.

Bob Barr

Or

Ron Paul

08

Hope this helps...

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[mrlee2k8]

last 15 days of the campaign...hope this thread gets stickied on election day....

[Hi-Definition]

mrlee2k8...who are you voting for? If you've already voted...who did you cast your vote for?

It's ok if you don't wish to share your political choice(s). I'm just naturally curious since you created this thread and since you drop in every now and then w/o really stating any sentiment aside from something of the nature of 'keep this thread alive'.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Chrisy]

Well i cast my vote today!

Florida for OBAMA!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[exelant]

I hope he has a chance to prove you wrong Vinnie.