pyoung

52 ms·

451.
by pyoung 15y ago
I do agree with you, but I feel I should provide a slight correction. The claim is that 50% of people pay no federal income tax. They still pay payroll tax, state tax, and sales tax. So when conservatives make the '50% claim' they are be
452.
by pyoung 15y ago
Look up the citizens united case. The supreme court essentially said that money = speech, and therefore, spending money to influence political campaigns and elections is protected by the first amendment.
453.
by pyoung 15y ago
I think he needs to get a new tax accountant. Either that or he is lying, or using some really deceptive stats.
454.
by pyoung 15y ago
I actually think this is a valid point. The productivity gains from the lack of goofing off might not, by itself, cancel out the cost of two programmers, but in concert with the other benefits mentioned, like fewer bugs, it could result in
455.
by pyoung 15y ago
A valid point that was brought up in the discussion on the blog: "I’m surprised no one has asked how the studies accounted for survivorship bias. One could easily imagine that while a certain number of, ahem, disagreeable men, stand out and
456.
by pyoung 15y ago
I am still waiting for someone to make a good argument that effectively counters Buffett's OpEd. 'changing tax laws is going to change capital investment' is not an argument against changing tax laws. Capital investment is affected daily b
457.
by pyoung 15y ago
Anyone who has the imprudence to argue with Warren Buffett, the savviest investor of all-time, is most likely a victim of the Dunning-Kruger effect. If you can't understand why, then you also may be a victim of the same effect.
458.
by pyoung 15y ago
You conveniently ignore the huge wealth discrepancies that allow the mega-rich the ability to derive the majority of their income from investments, rather than payroll. If you read Buffett's op-ed, his co-workers, who presumably make a goo
459.
by pyoung 15y ago
Trickle down? Seriously? Even if trickle down had a positive effect on the economy (which it doesn't), technology tends to have a negative effect on employment anyway. I am all for advances in technology, it increases efficiency, productiv
460.
by pyoung 15y ago
Creating tech jobs does nothing to solve the unemployment crisis. I don't have any stats, but my guess is that the unemployment numbers for qualified tech workers are already absurdly low. Unless these guys are building manufacturing plan
461.
by pyoung 15y ago
Thanks for the link. James is the son of famous economist and author, John Galbraith. A quote I pulled from his Wikipedia page: "The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search
462.
by pyoung 15y ago
He is probably forgetting to subtract what he contributes to 401k and medical and dental plans. If I simply look at what gets deposited in my bank, and what my salary is, it comes out close to the 40% number.
463.
by pyoung 15y ago
I am not sure I agree. The primary difference between pre and post EURO Europe is that, individual EURO countries no longer control their own currency. In times of economic crisis, countries can manipulate their currencies to make their ec
464.
by pyoung 15y ago
I agree that is bad for debt holders, but from a political stand point, it is easier to gradually print money to devalue your debt than it is to default.
465.
by pyoung 15y ago
You cannot compare 'person' and 'business' with government. The government has the ability to print money, whereas the other two do not. The only reason they don't print money to pay off all their debts is because it will result in massiv
466.
by pyoung 15y ago
I don't think de-invest is an actual word, but I will role with you on this. Investors treat U.S. Treasury bonds like cash. A lot of financial transactions are actually done with Treasury notes, because they are considered extremely safe
467.
by pyoung 15y ago
I think the original joke was a million dollars not a billion dollars, but I guess with inflation...
468.
by pyoung 15y ago
It's a little more complicated than that. Treasury bonds are actively traded on secondary markets. The 'price goes down, yield goes up' generally refers to secondary markets. The concern for the U.S. govt isn't the secondary market. It
469.
by pyoung 15y ago
I agree that it seems like a lot of work for little reward. However I think you ignored the fact that the OP made multiple calls that lasted over 6 minutes (in the comments section he also mentioned that the phone numbers he was calling we
470.
by pyoung 15y ago
The concept of transmitting data through light has been around forever. For my undergrad physics lab class in college, my team used a laser to transmit audio. Another team did a similar thing except they hooked it up to computers and sent
471.
by pyoung 15y ago
In the comments section on the blog, someone mentioned that the scammer might be running a call-center for the companies, where they get paid by the minute for their services. I think that would better explain the 6 minute requirement than
472.
by pyoung 15y ago
I can relate to this on one level. I love my job and work crazy hours, but I struggle with burnout regularly, and often need to disengage from work for periods of time in order to recuperate. On the other hand, I am not sure I agree with t
473.
by pyoung 15y ago
I highly doubt vanity is a unique trait of our generation. It has been around forever. Facebook and twitter just make it easier for individuals to demonstrate it to a wide audience.
474.
by pyoung 15y ago
Who knew that 'Live fast, love hard, die Young' would also be a fiscally responsible lifestyle!
475.
by pyoung 15y ago
I totally agree. Buffett is extremely frugal and philanthropic. I think he is driven more by the thrill of business and deal making, rather than the pursuit of money.
476.
Airbnb, rivals may face challenges over rentals(sfgate.com)
11 points by pyoung 15y ago|4 comments