Coronovirus III

[GodFearinGunTotin]

A little levity...

https://www.facebook.com/TheGaryVarvel/videos/1906569926141720/

 

[nonobaddog]

Strep and flu was within 15-30 minutes. Why i was tested for any of this with a known problem aka ear infection I'll never know. Maybe its to get a feel of what's going on. Maybe everyone should head in get tested so they can have a super sample and get us back to work. I decided to leave after the strep test told them to call with flu results. No need sticking around for something they can't fix.

They really need the business right now and those test fees help.

 

[Ingomike]

Wait, WTF does this have to do with the Coronavirus?

The coronavirus horse has been beaten so badly that even the bones are shattered. It's over, stick a fork in it. Get to work...

If if any of you reading this are thinking I hope the 2nd wave teaches him a lesson, you are f**ked up...

 

[JettaKnight]

Get to work...

Yeah, I probably should... I got a pulse density modulation driver to get done today.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Probably been posted already but just in case...

The case of the fish tank chloroquine drinker is being investigated as murder...

https://www.theblaze.com/news/polic...&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=fb-theblaze

 

[HoughMade]

I was raised the same way.

I know people making 6 figures who are complaining because work now means driving 30 min instead of 10 and their gas cost has gone up....

My commute was 45 ish minutes before and 30-35 now thanks to less traffic...and gas is well under $2/gallon (driving a vehicle that gets about 19 highway, you really notice).

Anyhoo, if I was going to to be selfish, I'd say this thing is working out for me....but a lot of people I care about are making less or don't have jobs (my son included). Kentucky is having epic unemployment system backlogs, so he has been without an income for a month...but he won't starve.

 

[Hatin Since 87]

Yeah, I probably should... I got a pulse density modulation driver to get done today.

Don’t forget to add the flux capacitor

 

[dusty88]

My commute was 45 ish minutes before and 30-35 now thanks to less traffic...and gas is well under $2/gallon (driving a vehicle that gets about 19 highway, you really notice).

Anyhoo, if I was going to to be selfish, I'd say this thing is working out for me....but a lot of people I care about are making less or don't have jobs (my son included). Kentucky is having epic unemployment system backlogs, so he has been without an income for a month...but he won't starve.

Agreed. There are a lot of people having a really tough time and the real problems with food etc may come months down the road .

It's also quite realistic to suspect that people currently not having much economic impact will feel it later.

 

[foszoe]

I am the same way from a selfish point of view. I am paid to stay at home for 2 out of every 6 weeks ON CALL, don't have to do anything other than not drink so I can come into work if needed. I have 40 acres to play on so its not like I get bored. I like being at home One of 6 those weeks I am always off so in reality I am home 3 weeks in a row. Of the 2 I am paid to be on call, one is only a 32 hour week. So I usually take 32 hours of vacation and get two weeks off out of every 6. Since I can't do that there is talk of paying out vacation because i can only carry over half my hours. So I am doing what I usually do, except I don't have to burn any vacation. The only downside is I can't haul the camper anywhere for a couple of weeks.

My commute was 45 ish minutes before and 30-35 now thanks to less traffic...and gas is well under $2/gallon (driving a vehicle that gets about 19 highway, you really notice).

Anyhoo, if I was going to to be selfish, I'd say this thing is working out for me....but a lot of people I care about are making less or don't have jobs (my son included). Kentucky is having epic unemployment system backlogs, so he has been without an income for a month...but he won't starve.

 

[Trigger Time]

I'm a flat-rate mechanic, which means I get paid by the job, no draw. I had the option to furlough and take unemployment, or work a reduced schedule. I chose to stay at work and take my chances, keeping a reasonable distance and access to ppe is not an issue in my job. I have no idea how much I might have gotten from public benefits, but there have been days I spent money to be at work. I would rather work for little than take a handout for more. I was educated by my family to believe that this is an important element of my character as a man.

I think benefits should be a last resort. I'll use them when I absolutely need them...and for only as long as I absolutely have to.

A robust social safety net doesn't have to be a funnel for a full-blown nanny state. We can have programs for those who need temporary help without forever marrying them to the sytem. It seems to me, however, that both the bureaucracy and the ideological left have a vested interest in turning it into one. It's simple self-preservation.

I don't doubt Chip's numbers...he isn't one to post poorly-supported or flippant responses. I think it shows a desparate need for institutional reform.

I have very little hope of that from Washington.

I was raised the same way.

I know people making 6 figures who are complaining because work now means driving 30 min instead of 10 and their gas cost has gone up. Others who are advising their family members to take all the unemployment. Its a mentality that believes its a way to get back all the money paid in taxes over the years. Why don't they just help their family member?

I don't think it will stop. The more people in need become faceless because charity has been has been shifted from taking care of your family/neighbor to making the government the middle person.

Amen to both posts.
This is the way it should be. Instead everyone is looking for the largest take for themselves. Republic be damned.
They could truly care less about standing for something or having integrity. But they'll wave their flag on the 4th of July, MAYBE vote, although rarely if ever write any of their elected representatives. And sit at church or yoga class and pretend they are great people.
I'm not saying people in our government aren't corrupt and that the system is perfect. It is not. But if people are always looking for a reason to justify their bad behavior then that's the wrong way to live life.
Rant over.

 

[jamil]

My only hindrance to also calling BS is perhaps $70K is the gross cost to taxpayers, i.e. you have to add in administration costs.


And the $30K cutoff isn't true either. Might have been in the 90's, but today no.

EDIT: These numbers are based on dad, mom, and three kids.
Being a tax dude, I really only know about that in this respect, and the EIC starts to taper out above $24,800, but doesn't hit $0 till $55,950.
And the max EITC is $6557, and in order to get that, you actually do have to work and have earned income.
And looking at the tables, I see that SNAP (food stamps) limit is almost $40K.
I think unemployment can get you $20K a year, but that has time limits (1/2 year, IIRC).
I suppose health insurance (Indiana HIP) would be another source, but I'm not sure about the $$.


Where the really money is to be had is [scamming] SS disability. There all sorts of rural towns where a factory closes and there a spike in the disability claims right after.


You say it's by design, but actually, it's an unintended consequence of good intentions; to which the road to hell is paved.


Wait, WTF does this have to do with the Coronavirus?

About the disability angle, I had no idea what a racket that was until I sat in a grocery store parking when my son was maybe 3 or 4 while my wife was in the store. I parked near construction of a new theater because my son was fascinated by construction equipment. So then some dude saying he was the foreman drove up and accused me of taking pictures, and demanded to see my camera. I told him I didn't have a camera and even if I did it was none of his business. He was very insistent, and I asked him why he was harassing me, and told him if he didn't stop I'd call the police. So then he said that one of his guys was worried about being filmed. I told him my son likes construction and I'm just sitting here waiting for the wife to bring the groceries out. He finally left. It did not occur to me what was happening until a friend at work suggested that it was probably someone on disability and was afraid of someone filming him working.

So anyway. Corona. Just to keep it relevant.

 

[chipbennett]

Why can't they wean them off? Never have the political will?

How do you accomplish such weaning? As long as income is $30K or below, the government supplements up to about $70K. As soon as income is above $30K, all government supplementation ends.

The system is designed to decentivize getting off of government assistance. There is almost no way to overcome that $30K - $70K income gap.

The only solution is to change the entitlement system to go from a cold-turkey cutoff at $30K to a phased-out cutoff up to $70K. The two problems with that are a) opposition to the appearance of spending more money on entitlements (even though it would actually be less, since more people would be facilitated to get off of government assistance), and b) the backlash when people really understand how much is actually being given out per person/family as entitlements.

 

[chipbennett]

Got a link for the $70k a year figure? Because that really sounds like unmitigated BS to me.

Not off hand, and it's been years since I've looked at the actual numbers. I'm sure it would be easy enough to google it, if you want to challenge my ballpark figures.

Are you really surprised that a family of four gets $70 in income and benefits through government assistance?

 

[HoughMade]

On another note...

This morning it occurred to me that at the beginning of this there was a lot of talk about how long Anne Frank was in the attic. Now there's a lot of people who are more like those who ratted her out to the Nazis.

 

[JettaKnight]

How do you accomplish such weaning? As long as income is $30K or below, the government supplements up to about $70K. As soon as income is above $30K, all government supplementation ends.

The system is designed to decentivize getting off of government assistance. There is almost no way to overcome that $30K - $70K income gap.

The only solution is to change the entitlement system to go from a cold-turkey cutoff at $30K to a phased-out cutoff up to $70K. The two problems with that are a) opposition to the appearance of spending more money on entitlements (even though it would actually be less, since more people would be facilitated to get off of government assistance), and b) the backlash when people really understand how much is actually being given out per person/family as entitlements.

I've already shown that's not true.

 

[chipbennett]

My only hindrance to also calling BS is perhaps $70K is the gross cost to taxpayers, i.e. you have to add in administration costs.


And the $30K cutoff isn't true either. Might have been in the 90's, but today no.

EDIT: These numbers are based on dad, mom, and three kids.

I did say a family of four, not a family of five.

Being a tax dude, I really only know about that in this respect, and the EIC starts to taper out above $24,800, but doesn't hit $0 till $55,950.
And the max EITC is $6557, and in order to get that, you actually do have to work and have earned income.
And looking at the tables, I see that SNAP (food stamps) limit is almost $40K.
I think unemployment can get you $20K a year, but that has time limits (1/2 year, IIRC).
I suppose health insurance (Indiana HIP) would be another source, but I'm not sure about the $$.

So, you're more or less confirming that my ballpark figures from years ago are still accurate. Thanks.

The precise numbers undoubtedly have changed from when I last looked at it. The underlying point remains: there is a huge gap, often nearly impossible to overcome, from the standard of living on government assistance to an equal standard of living on one's own income. Maybe the cutoff is closer to $40K now - but I'll bet the government-provided income and benefits have increased commensurately, as well. Maybe that gap is still around $40K. Maybe it's less. Maybe it's more. But the gap is very real, and very challenging to overcome to families who are income earners within the gap range.

Where the really money is to be had is [scamming] SS disability. There all sorts of rural towns where a factory closes and there a spike in the disability claims right after.


You say it's by design, but actually, it's an unintended consequence of good intentions; to which the road to hell is paved.


Wait, WTF does this have to do with the Coronavirus?

People who make more money sitting at home not working, thanks to unemployment and the pandemic UE supplement, than they would if they return to work.

 

[nonobaddog]

Not off hand, and it's been years since I've looked at the actual numbers. I'm sure it would be easy enough to google it, if you want to challenge my ballpark figures.

Are you really surprised that a family of four gets $70 in income and benefits through government assistance?

That $70K claim needs to be backed up or doubted - one or the other.

 

[chipbennett]

I've already shown that's not true.

You've made a distinction without difference, that proved the point I was making.

 

[chipbennett]

That $70K claim needs to be backed up or doubted - one or the other.

Feel free to doubt it, then?

I'm not getting dragged into the minutiae here. I gave ballpark figures last researched years ago. I don't care if the bounds of the gap have shifted. The point of the comment is that the gap is very real, and very problematic.

 

[d.kaufman]

Costco now requiring masks to shop at their stores

https://komonews.com/news/coronavir...olicy-requiring-all-guests-to-wear-face-masks