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I don't know if calling it sensationalist is reasonable. >This means that M.I.T. graduate students would be responsible for paying taxes on a $80,000 annual sa

I don't know if calling it sensationalist is reasonable. >This means that M.I.T. graduate students would be responsible for paying taxes on a $80,000 annual salary, when we actually earn $33,000 a year. That’s an increase of our tax burden by at least $10,000 annually. Getting by on $28,000/year (taking into consideration 15% in taxes) is really tough. Getting by on $18,000/year is almost impossible. And if they're working 40-80 hour weeks then they hardly have time to do anything else.

benjohnson 9y ago
Solution: don't work for free.
- Sir_Cmpwn 9y ago
  They weren't, though.
AnimalMuppet 9y ago
OK, but by that standard, undergrads are already bankrupt, because they're paying $45,000 per year on a salary of $0. So, yes, I think it's still fair to call it sensationalist. What's actually going to happen is that universities are going to have to pay their grad students more - which they will, because grad students are still a cheap resource for the university. At least, that's what would happen in a reasonable situation. Education often isn't, though.
- Sir_Cmpwn 9y ago
  >OK, but by that standard, undergrads are already bankrupt, because they're paying $45,000 per year on a salary of $0. So, yes, I think it's still fair to call it sensationalist. Well, they probably have scholarships. >What's actually going to happen is that universities are going to have to pay their grad students more - which they will, because grad students are still a cheap resource for the university. Well, they won't be cheap if they have to pay them more! >At least, that's what would happen in a reasonable situation. Education often isn't, though. And it's somehow reasonable to tax discounts like income?
  - AnimalMuppet 9y ago
    > Well, they probably have scholarships. Some do. More have loans. > Well, they won't be cheap if they have to pay them more! Compared to professors? They'll still be cheap - just not as cheap as before. > And it's somehow reasonable to tax discounts like income? Maybe? If I work for a car dealership, and they give me a car as part of my employment there, it seems reasonable to me that the car counts as part of my compensation, and therefore is taxable. If they sell me the car for $1 because I'm employed there, it seems reasonable to me that that "discount" is part of my compensation, and is therefore taxable. On the other hand, if I work anywhere, and my company pays for my health insurance, that is not taxable, and nobody wants it to be. So which is the "normal" case, the car or the health insurance?

benjohnson 9y ago

Solution: don't work for free.

Sir_Cmpwn 9y ago
They weren't, though.

AnimalMuppet 9y ago

OK, but by that standard, undergrads are already bankrupt, because they're paying $45,000 per year on a salary of $0. So, yes, I think it's still fair to call it sensationalist. What's actually going to happen is that universities are going to have to pay their grad students more - which they will, because grad students are still a cheap resource for the university. At least, that's what would happen in a reasonable situation. Education often isn't, though.

Sir_Cmpwn 9y ago
>OK, but by that standard, undergrads are already bankrupt, because they're paying $45,000 per year on a salary of $0. So, yes, I think it's still fair to call it sensationalist. Well, they probably have scholarships. >What's actually going to happen is that universities are going to have to pay their grad students more - which they will, because grad students are still a cheap resource for the university. Well, they won't be cheap if they have to pay them more! >At least, that's what would happen in a reasonable situation. Education often isn't, though. And it's somehow reasonable to tax discounts like income?
- AnimalMuppet 9y ago
  > Well, they probably have scholarships. Some do. More have loans. > Well, they won't be cheap if they have to pay them more! Compared to professors? They'll still be cheap - just not as cheap as before. > And it's somehow reasonable to tax discounts like income? Maybe? If I work for a car dealership, and they give me a car as part of my employment there, it seems reasonable to me that the car counts as part of my compensation, and therefore is taxable. If they sell me the car for $1 because I'm employed there, it seems reasonable to me that that "discount" is part of my compensation, and is therefore taxable. On the other hand, if I work anywhere, and my company pays for my health insurance, that is not taxable, and nobody wants it to be. So which is the "normal" case, the car or the health insurance?