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Comments Posted By funksands

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Monica, like you I’d forgotten that this particular bill was set to begin enforcement this July. That said, I can unequivocally state that I don’t see any possible way, real or imaginary that requiring foreign financial institutions to report the financial assets of US citizens will cause a collapse in the dollar.

Shady investment firm scare tactics aside, forcing disclosure of an estimated $700 billion in offshore holdings is not going to collapse a $17T economy or devalue our currency in any way shape or form.

Switzerland
The UK
Denmark
Canada
Mexico are among several other countries are also implementing their own country’s version of FATCA this month

There are dozens of other countries still in the legislative process of implementation, but have signed on to the agreement in principle.

Not that the bill is perfect, but it is the first attempt to address the very real issue of capital flight of US citizens and corporations to avoid taxes, and like any complex bill needs to be adjusted and tweaked as situations arise.

The Treasury put out a “Myth vs. FATCA” a while back that tried to address these issues. http://www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/Pages/Myth-vs-FATCA.aspx

I think Snopes had a good take on it as well.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/conspiracy/hr2847.asp

COULD it cause some Americans to renounce their citizenship to avoid disclosing their foreign assets? Maybe. Good riddance.

COULD it cause some investment firms to not allow Americans to open up foreign brokerage accounts? It already has.

COULD it be more trouble and cost that its worth? Potentially.

But this is a common theme amongst the ultra-wealthy and their minions: “Don’t do this because it will be so costly and onerous, something terrible will happen. Better to do nothing1”

I’ve heard that refrain before…

» Posted By funksands On July 17, 2014 @ 12:14 pm

Sue, its only fair. Only 3% of scientists deny man-assisted climate change. They should only get 3% of the air time.

» Posted By funksands On July 16, 2014 @ 12:11 pm

Sue, when will the GOP pass tort reform to protect against frivolous lawsuits they file?

» Posted By funksands On July 14, 2014 @ 2:16 pm

Thanks EX! And already signed on!

» Posted By funksands On July 14, 2014 @ 2:15 pm

Kes, when I become emperor of earth I am going to set aside South Dakota for the Palestinians. A hard divorce is the only thing this marriage should end in.

» Posted By funksands On July 14, 2014 @ 2:14 pm

Monica, I know what Vegas would set that line at.

» Posted By funksands On July 14, 2014 @ 11:03 am

Kes, there are really no words to describe how twisted this know has become. I’m tempted sometimes to think that an intervention is needed by outside forces to reconcile this once and for all….then I remember that this is why the problem exists in the first place.

» Posted By funksands On July 14, 2014 @ 11:02 am

In the spirit of the latest of the seemingly interminable conflicts in the Holy Land

» Posted By funksands On July 14, 2014 @ 9:34 am

Signed up for individual health insurance today for myself and my family. Not possible until the Affordable Care Act was passed.

I was forced to keep a job (I liked thankfully) simply because of the group benefits offered. I am uninsurable and my oldest son is uninsurable.

Now I can devote 100% of my time to my long-time self-employment, which is a phenomenal feeling.

Interestingly I didn’t sign up on the exchange, because I found a combo package health/dental/vision/IR policy through Regence that ended up being cheaper than buying health insurance through the exchange and then buying the rest separately.

That said, because of the ACA, as long as my triggering event of separation from my employer is confirmed, they have to insure me.

I’d like to thank the Heritage Foundation, Mitt Romney, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Kathleen Sebelius, Barack Obama for making this possible.

Now let’s work on Single Payer!! 🙂

» Posted By funksands On June 20, 2014 @ 12:11 pm

Mr., that sounds pretty cool. Thanks for the heads-up

» Posted By funksands On June 20, 2014 @ 12:04 pm

Pink, what a great opportunity technology has provided you! Hope you have fun and can duck in to Vox to tell us about your experience!

» Posted By funksands On June 20, 2014 @ 12:03 pm

Sessions, Corker, and Johnson from SD

» Posted By funksands On June 12, 2014 @ 12:48 pm

KT, that is awesome news. Too bad it took so damn long and was only done out of utter shame.

» Posted By funksands On June 12, 2014 @ 11:54 am

Glenn, not to butt in….but…Chromebook is for laptops produced by all the biggies (HP, Samsung, Acer etc) and is designed and specifically built to integrate with everything Google. It’s internet operating system is Chrome (hence the name).

All of the programs on the system will be google programs, with some rare exceptions.

Skype for example is not supported on Chromebook, but they have an alternative video chat system call Hangout that they utilize.

I don’t own one, but I know people that do. Their comments basically boil down to this: If you want to integrate and consume media, its pretty awesome and reliable.

If you need to use a computer for word-processing, video editing or gaming, then it won’t work very well.

» Posted By funksands On June 11, 2014 @ 8:36 pm

E-Cat, E. Wayne Powell took 42% of the vote from Cantor in 2012, so maybe there’s a snowball’s chance for the Dem…maybe

» Posted By funksands On June 11, 2014 @ 8:25 pm

Wiser, what’s interesting about this guy is that he’s just another crackpot libertarian who was given a $500K grant by the man who now runs the CATO institute to teach economics at a college that was given $22 million by the Koch Bros.

Academic? Thaaat might be stretching it.

» Posted By funksands On June 11, 2014 @ 8:22 pm

Monica, I’ve heard variations on that joke, but you tell it well 😉

» Posted By funksands On June 11, 2014 @ 8:21 pm

KT, this man is one of the 100 stupidest humans alive. Of course this is just a personal view, I’m not psychological statistician.

» Posted By funksands On June 5, 2014 @ 8:09 pm

S, someday they will drown in all of their crushed myths.

» Posted By funksands On June 5, 2014 @ 4:27 pm

On January 1st 2013, the Washington State minimum wage became the highest in the country. What happened?

[img]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BpKmQyHCYAARqiN.jpg:large[/img]

» Posted By funksands On June 3, 2014 @ 11:10 am

The 80th Anniversary of the Strike that Freed Minnesota from Tyranny

“Most Americans consider Minnesota to be a liberal State. In 1934 Minnesota and many other States were controlled by the “Citizens Alliance.” The Alliance was that era’s business party, but it also had a network of paid informers who were (or posed as) workers, and a militia that the State would deputize and give law enforcement powers to so that they could attack union strikers with impunity. Workers who sought to organize unions were identified by the paid informers, fired, and banned from employment by any Alliance members. When strikes occurred the Alliance would use its network of informers to identify workers who could be bribed or coerced into breaking the strike. Minnesota was an organized police state dedicated to preventing unions and reserving exclusive political power to businessmen. “Free press” was a fiction – the Alliance organized advertising boycotts of papers that were even mildly sympathetic to workers. The Alliance boycotted firms that made concessions to workers. The Alliance also made it easier to create and maintain the cartels that Adam Smith warned about. The Alliance was so extreme that when Minnesota’s Governor Floyd Olson proposed a State program of unemployment insurance the Alliance denounced it as the “ultimate socialistic control of life and industry.” The Alliance feared that the program would reduce its stranglehold on workers.”

http://neweconomicperspectives.org/2014/06/80th-anniversary-strike-freed-minnesota-tyranny.html

» Posted By funksands On June 2, 2014 @ 12:13 pm

Hi ConDem. I think you know what they are trying to do. They are cashing in. Nothing personal, but the site has been monetized to its full potential

» Posted By funksands On June 1, 2014 @ 6:23 pm

Dbos, that’s pretty impressive! What a great experience to be able to do that!

» Posted By funksands On May 31, 2014 @ 8:55 pm

Dbos, welcome back! What was the best stop in your travels?

» Posted By funksands On May 31, 2014 @ 1:39 pm

CADawn it can’t happen fast enough. We’re looking at an entire generation of college grads with very little disposable income. That isn’t good for an economy that is made up of 67% consumer spending.

» Posted By funksands On May 29, 2014 @ 11:07 am

INSANITY!

I have to vent!

I have a client that is a periodontist. He just bought a new dental practice.

He’s living with his mother (also a client) and is looking to buy a house. He has good credit and enough money for the down payment

She is being forced to co-sign on his home loan AND come up with more money if he wants the house!

Why you may ask?

Because he has $600,000 in SCHOOL LOANS.

You want to know why the housing market is going to struggle for the next 20 years? Because kids are trading a mortgage for a student loan payment.

Hopefully he gets it paid off before he has to start paying more money for healthcare!

Sheesh

» Posted By funksands On May 28, 2014 @ 4:06 pm

Kes, is the mind of this man so small that he can’t imagine a world where his rights and their dead kids can co-exist? Rhetorical question obviously.

» Posted By funksands On May 28, 2014 @ 7:58 am

Smot, good luck with this. I’ve been reading your updates, if not commenting, and there’s got to light at the end of the tunnel soon!

» Posted By funksands On May 27, 2014 @ 10:55 am

Food for thought:

Surpluses Depression
1817-21 1819
1823-36 1837
1852-57 1857
1867-73 1873
1880-93 1893
1920-30 1929

Hmmmm

» Posted By funksands On May 27, 2014 @ 10:54 am

Pink, I was down in Australia at the end of 2012. I remember reading the papers and thinking to myself: “They won’t really elect Rick Perry as Prime Minister of Australia will they?” By the time I left I was beginning to think they would!

Hopefully this cretin’s time is brief. BTW I loved the video you posted of Abbot getting skinned alive by Gillard! 🙂

Our Congress should work this way…

» Posted By funksands On May 23, 2014 @ 9:48 am