4 ms·

I say "no". We do that in Ontario and it has been such a nightmare because it distorts spending, complicates pst filing, and leads to people splitting up coffee

I say "no". We do that in Ontario and it has been such a nightmare because it distorts spending, complicates pst filing, and leads to people splitting up coffee orders at Tim Hortons into multiple bills (because a "meal" is tax as a luxury if it is above 4 dollars, and no, this was never adjusted for inflation and yes the tax applies to the whole $4.01 rather than just the cent) and other stupid things (never buy 3 muffins at Tim Hortons, you get bumped into the non-meal bracket, but buying 6 gets you the bulk discount AND exemption from the pst because your presumably buying 6 muffins to take home to your kids, rather than stuffing your face with a 3 muffin "luxury meal"). It is so stupid Ontario is doing away with it and harmonizing with the federal GST. It sounds like this is a problem with badly-engineered consumption tax, not consumption tax itself. I generally agree with your proposals. However, I don't think all forms of "social engineering" are bad. We need to make the best possible statement about ourselves as a society and what our values are, and that means cracking down on the tumors. If our rich want to behave like uncultured oil sheikhs, they can move to the desert, give up their US citizenship, and act like assholes all they want; but as long as they're in America, they'll behave themselves. The US has a problem with cultural inversion: the people at the very top of society (George W. Bush, Paris Hilton) are uncultured, mouth-breathing trashbag-fuckers, while (on the inverse) it seems like everyone must know at least one brilliant, cultured, educated people who are struggling to pay rent. This is a morale killer. It also ripples through society; the reason we have a "next-quarter" mentality in business and no universal healthcare is that uncultured trash-fuckers have too much money and power. We've got to do something about it, and preferably now while it can still be relatively legal and bloodless. I think a targeted consumption tax is great because it is completely bloodless. [* "everyone knows" clause in last paragraph edited for correctness]

rick888 17y ago
"The US has a problem with cultural inversion: the people at the very top of society (George W. Bush, Paris Hilton) are uncultured, mouth-breathing trashbag-fuckers," It sounds like you are bitter. I also wouldn't put George Bush and Paris Hilton in the same category. "while (on the inverse) everyone knows brilliant, cultured, educated people who are struggling to pay rent." If you are brilliant, cultured, and educated, chances are you aren't struggling to pay rent. If you are, then you aren't brilliant or intelligent. I also would like to hear your definition of "cultured". Some elitist douche that reads a new article on green energy or the middle east is not cultured. "This is a morale killer. It also ripples through society; the reason we have a "next-quarter" mentality in business and no universal healthcare is that uncultured trash-fuckers have too much money and power. We've got to do something about it, and preferably now while it can still be relatively legal and bloodless." You really think this is why we don't have universal healthcare? I really don't want to debate healthcare here, but I have seen it first-hand, and I don't ever want it here in the US. It also has nothing to do with being "uncultured" or "a trash-fucker".
- pw0ncakes 17y ago
  If you are brilliant, cultured, and educated, chances are you aren't struggling to pay rent. If you are, then you aren't brilliant or intelligent. I'm not struggling, but I know smart people who are. Startup founders and people trying to make it in the arts come to mind. Not everyone smart immediately becomes rich, you know. I know you don't understand this, but that's how it is for the other 99% of us. I also would like to hear your definition of "cultured". Those who have the appropriate sense of historical perspective, appreciation for the arts and aesthetics, sense of social justice, and depth of knowledge necessary to be an adequate leader (in business, politics, the arts, etc.) By contrast, we have a world run by snake-oil salesmen and bullshitting rainmakers, while culture is utterly devalued. Hence we have graduates of great colleges busing tables in cafes while mouth-breathing trash-fuckers make big decisions that affect their lives. You really think this is why we don't have universal healthcare? I really don't want to debate healthcare here, but I have seen it first-hand, and I don't ever want it here in the US. Let me guess. You got really sick outside of the US and experienced another country's health system. You chalked your negative experience up to that country's health payment system rather than, I don't know, maybe the fact that getting sick really, really sucks no matter where you are? I have seen US healthcare as well. Poor delivery, long wait times, bad service and high error rates. We have the same problems and potentially life-wrecking bills.
  - rick888 17y ago
    "I'm not struggling, but I know smart people who are. Startup founders and people trying to make it in the arts come to mind. Not everyone smart immediately becomes rich, you know. I know you don't understand this, but that's how it is for the other 99% of us." Art and startups are a huge risk. Many smart people have dumb ideas that will never make money. Art generally doesn't make you money (even some of the most famous artists were poor their entire lives). If those people just got a regular job, they would not be struggling to pay the rent. I'm not saying they should do this, I just think you should stop bitching about it. The world doesn't owe anyone a living. "By contrast, we have a world run by snake-oil salesmen and bullshitting rainmakers, while culture is utterly devalued. Hence we have graduates of great colleges busing tables in cafes while mouth-breathing trash-fuckers make big decisions that affect their lives." They don't need to be. If you are intelligent, you will find a way to be successful. Any great college graduates that are stuck waiting tables have other issues. I read a great article on how today's youth refuse to take jobs because many expect a $70,000 entry-level jobs and when they realize that they won't get paid this much, they decide to move back in with mommy and daddy. It's this sense of entitlement that is ruining the US, not a devalued culture. "Let me guess. You got really sick outside of the US and experienced another country's health system. You chalked your negative experience up to that country's health payment system rather than, I don't know, maybe the fact that getting sick really, really sucks no matter where you are?" Universal health care waters down the entire system for everyone. I would rather have the choice of a good system than be forced into a mediocre one. Pretty much all of the people I know from Canada have come over here for any major surgery. If the universal health care is so much better, why would this happen? "We have the same problems and potentially life-wrecking bills." Universal health care isn't free. It comes out of our taxes. It's also just not a good system. If I saw some form of proof that universal health care will work better for the US than our current system, I will be for it.
michaelkeenan 17y ago
I downvoted for two reasons: first, because of the "everyone knows" comparison of "uncultured, mouth-breathing trashbag-fuckers" vs. "brilliant, cultured, educated people" which is the opposite of my experience. Second, for the tone: "uncultured, mouth-breathing trashbag-fuckers" are the words of a status-seeker, not a truth-seeker. Hacker News is above this.
- pw0ncakes 17y ago
  "Everyone knows" was a bit of a reach. What I meant is that there are so many brilliant, educated people getting short-changed-- often due to malevolent factors like medical bills, student debt, and the calamity that is the academic job market-- that it seems like everyone must know one, but then again, I'm not an authority on "everyone's" knowledge. If society were run by cultured and thoughtful people, we'd have universal healthcare, and we'd have more jobs in the arts and academia. We wouldn't have a society in which more than half of all people are living in fear of losing everything. We can determine by looking at the world we live in, especially compared to the immensity of the resources we have, that the world is either run by (1) incompetents or (2) people with malevolent values and, therefore, a lack of culture. I tend to believe the latter regarding the ruling class.

rick888 17y ago

"The US has a problem with cultural inversion: the people at the very top of society (George W. Bush, Paris Hilton) are uncultured, mouth-breathing trashbag-fuckers," It sounds like you are bitter. I also wouldn't put George Bush and Paris Hilton in the same category. "while (on the inverse) everyone knows brilliant, cultured, educated people who are struggling to pay rent." If you are brilliant, cultured, and educated, chances are you aren't struggling to pay rent. If you are, then you aren't brilliant or intelligent. I also would like to hear your definition of "cultured". Some elitist douche that reads a new article on green energy or the middle east is not cultured. "This is a morale killer. It also ripples through society; the reason we have a "next-quarter" mentality in business and no universal healthcare is that uncultured trash-fuckers have too much money and power. We've got to do something about it, and preferably now while it can still be relatively legal and bloodless." You really think this is why we don't have universal healthcare? I really don't want to debate healthcare here, but I have seen it first-hand, and I don't ever want it here in the US. It also has nothing to do with being "uncultured" or "a trash-fucker".

pw0ncakes 17y ago
If you are brilliant, cultured, and educated, chances are you aren't struggling to pay rent. If you are, then you aren't brilliant or intelligent. I'm not struggling, but I know smart people who are. Startup founders and people trying to make it in the arts come to mind. Not everyone smart immediately becomes rich, you know. I know you don't understand this, but that's how it is for the other 99% of us. I also would like to hear your definition of "cultured". Those who have the appropriate sense of historical perspective, appreciation for the arts and aesthetics, sense of social justice, and depth of knowledge necessary to be an adequate leader (in business, politics, the arts, etc.) By contrast, we have a world run by snake-oil salesmen and bullshitting rainmakers, while culture is utterly devalued. Hence we have graduates of great colleges busing tables in cafes while mouth-breathing trash-fuckers make big decisions that affect their lives. You really think this is why we don't have universal healthcare? I really don't want to debate healthcare here, but I have seen it first-hand, and I don't ever want it here in the US. Let me guess. You got really sick outside of the US and experienced another country's health system. You chalked your negative experience up to that country's health payment system rather than, I don't know, maybe the fact that getting sick really, really sucks no matter where you are? I have seen US healthcare as well. Poor delivery, long wait times, bad service and high error rates. We have the same problems and potentially life-wrecking bills.
- rick888 17y ago
  "I'm not struggling, but I know smart people who are. Startup founders and people trying to make it in the arts come to mind. Not everyone smart immediately becomes rich, you know. I know you don't understand this, but that's how it is for the other 99% of us." Art and startups are a huge risk. Many smart people have dumb ideas that will never make money. Art generally doesn't make you money (even some of the most famous artists were poor their entire lives). If those people just got a regular job, they would not be struggling to pay the rent. I'm not saying they should do this, I just think you should stop bitching about it. The world doesn't owe anyone a living. "By contrast, we have a world run by snake-oil salesmen and bullshitting rainmakers, while culture is utterly devalued. Hence we have graduates of great colleges busing tables in cafes while mouth-breathing trash-fuckers make big decisions that affect their lives." They don't need to be. If you are intelligent, you will find a way to be successful. Any great college graduates that are stuck waiting tables have other issues. I read a great article on how today's youth refuse to take jobs because many expect a $70,000 entry-level jobs and when they realize that they won't get paid this much, they decide to move back in with mommy and daddy. It's this sense of entitlement that is ruining the US, not a devalued culture. "Let me guess. You got really sick outside of the US and experienced another country's health system. You chalked your negative experience up to that country's health payment system rather than, I don't know, maybe the fact that getting sick really, really sucks no matter where you are?" Universal health care waters down the entire system for everyone. I would rather have the choice of a good system than be forced into a mediocre one. Pretty much all of the people I know from Canada have come over here for any major surgery. If the universal health care is so much better, why would this happen? "We have the same problems and potentially life-wrecking bills." Universal health care isn't free. It comes out of our taxes. It's also just not a good system. If I saw some form of proof that universal health care will work better for the US than our current system, I will be for it.

michaelkeenan 17y ago

I downvoted for two reasons: first, because of the "everyone knows" comparison of "uncultured, mouth-breathing trashbag-fuckers" vs. "brilliant, cultured, educated people" which is the opposite of my experience. Second, for the tone: "uncultured, mouth-breathing trashbag-fuckers" are the words of a status-seeker, not a truth-seeker. Hacker News is above this.

pw0ncakes 17y ago
"Everyone knows" was a bit of a reach. What I meant is that there are so many brilliant, educated people getting short-changed-- often due to malevolent factors like medical bills, student debt, and the calamity that is the academic job market-- that it seems like everyone must know one, but then again, I'm not an authority on "everyone's" knowledge. If society were run by cultured and thoughtful people, we'd have universal healthcare, and we'd have more jobs in the arts and academia. We wouldn't have a society in which more than half of all people are living in fear of losing everything. We can determine by looking at the world we live in, especially compared to the immensity of the resources we have, that the world is either run by (1) incompetents or (2) people with malevolent values and, therefore, a lack of culture. I tend to believe the latter regarding the ruling class.