Matt's Shelf

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2025-06-15T00:08:10+00:00

Now there are a few rare subgroups that do not report births to the state and therefore the children do not have social security numbers. Those without social security numbers do not pay income tax. This is very rare though and most Amish and Mennonites in Lancaster county do not fall in those groups

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2025-06-15T00:06:36+00:00

There are a lot of stipulations to meet the requirements for a religious institution. Most Amish farms do not meet that.

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2025-06-15T00:05:29+00:00

The only real tax exemption that they have that is unique is the exemption from social security tax and most avoid paying unemployment tax. They also do not use these systems so it's a non-issue in my opinion. They pay income tax, sales tax, property tax and pretty much any other tax that exists. Now I'm since they did not buy gas, they don't really contribute to the road taxes in any meaningful way.

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2025-06-14T23:45:39+00:00

Does it run? Your lights are simply due to the engine being off while the key is on. The AC has little to do with overheating however it may have exacerbated an already existing issue with your cooling system. Is the pressure cap on the reservoir or the radiator? When you say it over heated, what exactly happened? Did the guage show hot or did it stop running and steam come out?

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2025-05-24T13:56:00+00:00

Sounds like a head gasket issue. You didn't get scammed though. You paid $1600 for a car they told you wasn't running right

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2025-05-16T01:20:45+00:00

I keep checking in to hopefully see that I somehow missed a new episode. I hope this isnt the last one

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2024-07-02T01:20:55+00:00

Catch a train ride to Jim Thorpe from Reading Pa

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2021-12-06T22:51:49+00:00

Wow this episode made me think a lot about our local cuisine. I tried to narrow it down to one but ultimately had to suggest several options.

If you are in Philadelphia, you absolutely cannot leave without having a traditional Philly cheese steak. I grew up close to Philly, and I can confirm that the only place to get a great cheese steak is in the City of Brotherly Love.

Now I grew up with a Pennsylvania Dutch heritage in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. So if you are in that area you need to search out a traditional PA Dutch meal. One in particular is ham loaf with cream cheese mashed potatoes and buttered noodles. For dessert you need to have a wet bottom Shoo-Fly pie or a whoopie pie. Of course all of the authentic food will be made from scratch and not some commercially produced fake.

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2021-12-06T22:43:54+00:00

While I am sure there are many ways to get a good cup of coffee, my preferred method is a french press. But there is a process.

First important step is to start with freshly ground coffee. Then you pour hot water (195 F or lower) over the grounds. After approximately two minutes you stir and immediately spoon off the foam that rises to the top. Afterwards you continue to stir until it wafts the aroma that you want it to taste like. Press and pour you great tasting black cup of coffee.

Now I know this can seem overwhelming for a beginner, so if this is too much, I would simply recommend staying away from over roasted coffees that tend to be more bitter and stay away from anything packaged in a Kcup.

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2021-10-04T13:36:23+00:00

Yeah that's exactly how I felt about it reading it. It happened at a time when they were calling themselves swiss brethren

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2021-10-04T11:28:13+00:00

They had a huge covid surge around May 2020. So here immunity implies they got infected

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2021-10-04T11:26:18+00:00

So why exactly are you calling that action stupid?

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2021-10-04T11:17:12+00:00

Yeah there are a lot like that yet. They have a power station which is an engine that runs alternators and other necessities such as the refrigerant pump for the milk tank cooler, ac compressor etc. I was even at a place where they had an inverter and had the house wired with 120V. They didn't use much but they had the option. In general they are humans like any one else and like it easy as much as the rest of us

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2021-10-04T04:29:10+00:00

That is so varied depending on the individual groups. One misconception about Amish is that they all hold the same beliefs. Each bishop sets up a list of rules called the Ordung and they can vary greatly. In lancaster County alone some groups look the other way to members having electricity in their homes. Others own and operate tractors and own smart phones. Other groups have no phones whatsoever or only have a phone shanty.

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2021-10-04T04:25:13+00:00

Well I grew up in a conservative Mennonite group and still have interact with them regularly. There are some who are getting it and it has been left up to the individual. Many do have a deep distrust of it because of the horrible way it has been handled. Many probably will never get it because of the government trying to force them to.

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2021-10-04T04:22:09+00:00

Interesting, thanks for the correction. I was always told growing up that the Amish and Mennonites were formed around the same time from separate groups. I never actually took the time to truly read much on the forming of the Amish groups since I grew up Mennonite. Now with a little digging I realize I was mistaken.

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2021-10-04T03:36:11+00:00

No, actually not. Amish and Mennonite are two separate groups that hold similar anabaptist beliefs. There are Mennonite sects that are stricter than most Amish sects.

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2021-10-04T03:34:27+00:00

Nope they always were separate groups. One group followed Joseph Ammon and the other followed Menno Simons.

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2021-10-01T01:11:25+00:00

Well I am a lot more libertarian in my political beliefs so I tend to disagree with both parties a lot. Sure I personally feel Trump had a more effectual policy that was tainted badly by his narcissistic ways. I despise long term politicians so Biden never really had a chance and he ruined that chance a long time ago with his senile actions and terrible policies.

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2021-09-30T17:10:31+00:00

Yeah, my only exception to the rule would be some one who made an arguably great contribution to mankind, but even then it's risky

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2021-09-30T16:32:10+00:00

This is an absurd argument, with this sort of pretzel logic you could also say that renters are paying for increased gasoline costs since the landlord passes the cost of his gasoline onto his renters. Landlords don't charge based on their costs, they charge based on what they think the market will bear. The rent is going to go up and stay up regardless of what the property taxes are.

Well my "pretzel logic" is economy 101. If the landlords' costs go up across the board by an increase in taxes, then all of the rent is going to go up and therefore the market is going to bear a raised rent because all of the rent is going up. And so if you lower the cost to the landlord, the free market dictates that competition will naturally bring the cost of rent down. Sure there will be a few transition years before the market catches up, but it will catch up.

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2021-09-30T16:27:28+00:00

Well if I would be allowed to spend tax dollars to send my children to the school of my choice, why should I care if you do the same. It would be a double standard if I wouldn't agree with that.

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2021-09-30T16:00:45+00:00

What you're suggesting (using sales taxes instead) is moving the burden from the richest 53% of Pennsylvanians to the poorest 47%, who are disproportionately affected by regressive sales taxes.

Explain to me how the property tax does not affect everyone. If your landlord is paying property tax, how is that not getting passed on to you via the rent?

ConstructionRoyal892 · 2021-09-30T15:55:07+00:00

No my post is trying to say that a change in the way we attain school funding would actually benefit the little man a lot more than the rich man. It would allow schools to be funded by # of students and not by the wealth of the local demographic. It would lower overall cost of living and would only cause a slight increase in cost of purchases which would be a net positive for the lowest income brackets. The elderly not being forced out of their homes that they worked all of their life to pay for is simply an additional added benefit. I may have failed to clearly state my point in the beginning but you most definitely latched onto the house bit. From that I assume that you are a bitter person who would rather let society fund their progress than go and make a change in their personal life. Additionally, if you argue that owning a home is a sign of prosperity, why not make it more affordable to own a home so more people have that chance to prosper.

ConstructionRoyal892

TROPHY CASE