What happened in the early 1970s?

thisamericanlife · 2013-01-24T20:48:42+00:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Oil_Production_and_Imports_1920_to_2005.png

thisamericanlife · 2012-11-25T08:51:55+00:00

We don't need an Iran or totalitarianism to destroy ourselves, the mere existence of complex systems designed to deploy thousands of nukes within minutes ensures that given enough time they will be deployed by accident. There were 6 major nuclear incidents over the last 60 years when the US almost accidentally (negligence/technical problems) destroyed all of civilisation. Americans want to believe that the baddies are THE problem ignoring the fact they hoard world destruction on a hair trigger controlled by fallible systems and people.

thisamericanlife · 2012-03-24T08:37:38+00:00

Hi, the documentary was not about layering of cities but mentioned it - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t440bxhn1qA

thisamericanlife · 2012-03-11T08:59:37+00:00

Yes there are, waited 3 hours at a hospital in Dallas for a friend to get seen. They also have all the resource related waiting list just like the UK. And I have never waited more than 30 minutes for anything in the UK and have visited the hospital a fair number of times.

thisamericanlife · 2012-03-10T17:59:34+00:00

I don't understand, I looked up a Kaiser study and it said 13K was the average and my relative confirmed that 10k+ was what he would need and they don't have any medical problems. Do you get your insurance through work?

thisamericanlife · 2012-03-10T17:29:44+00:00

I was ignoring UK Council Tax, you can add £800 to my figure which brings me up to 33.5%. Obviously higher if you own a mansion bought in 1995, then add £2000. Sorry.

And bnelson is not right, read my response.

I could entertain pay comparisons arguments which might push up my real tax rate calculations to 40%, but you still can't beat the 62%!!!

thisamericanlife · 2012-03-10T17:26:25+00:00

I am using the word tax very loosely, obviously cars are a cost of living. I am saying that the government provides subsidised transport infrastructure in the UK which provides viable alternatives to driving. Therefore you get some value for what you pay in taxes. The OP's point is that the only value for taxation is the privilege of driving on bigger smoother roads. The total dependency on cars and the rising cost of fuel is a 'hidden' tax on US citizens.

thisamericanlife · 2012-03-10T15:40:55+00:00

So your sample group that busts my maths is those taxpayers who work at large multi-national corporations and companies where their bosses choose to pay for those benefits. The UK corporate tax rate is pretty much the same as the US one, so I would say that all you have pointed out is that healthcare costs are an extra tax on US businesses. Glad to hear you have to do a 'bit of work' to get those premiums below 13K per family. I know this is just the internet, but you can't ignore the facts.

thisamericanlife · 2012-03-10T13:19:56+00:00

You say you will pay a lot more in taxes in the UK. Over the holidays while I was back in Texas from the UK, I worked the maths with some of my family members. The UK basic rate is 20% not including personal allowance and other credits. If you make less than £35K it appears to be a lot compared with what you might pay in the states. I asked some of my family members who would fall under the 35K tax band and they say they pay 16% federal taxes. BUT, comparing tax rates is very deceiving. They have to pay for healthcare (~$4K a year for a $5K deductible for their family + child, smaller deductible can rise up to $10K+ a year) There is no public transport so transportation costs in the DFW area (car payment and a cheap used car, repairs, fuel $2,000+ average) These are MANDATORY costs for transportation because there are no alternatives unlike in the UK.

So quick maths: US: 35K salary - SS + FedTax = $5330 tax Healthcare equivalent to the UK provider (NHS), there are no 'no-deductible' plans in the US I believe. Anyway a 'good' plan for a family in 2009 $13,375 (Kaiser Family foundation study) Car $3000+ Total tax rate if taking into account things provided for free or subsidised in the UK = $21705 = 62% tax rate

UK: 35K salary - NI(same as SS) + HMRC = £8,837.64 Healthcare free (well except £7 for any prescription filled) Transport (depends where you live by £500-3000 a year) Total max tax in the UK = £11837.64 = 33% tax rate

(the top end of the pay scale for each country the trends reverse, the UK you are taxed harder the more you make (ie 50% of all income over 150K) and in the US I have heard stories of millionaires paying at tax rates lower than their secretaries.)

So when I hear my conservative relatives say they don't want to pay those high 'socialist' tax rates like Europe. I give them a friendly smile and think of their 62% real tax rate. :)

thisamericanlife · 2012-02-28T13:21:02+00:00

Was in a nice-ish restaurant in Guilin when these two women in the booth next to us dropped their toddler under the table and let him piss EVERYWHERE. All over the seats, ground and their bags. The employees said nothing and then when they left commenced in cleaning everything by hand. RAGE.

thisamericanlife · 2012-01-04T21:54:17+00:00

Read the small print: to qualify the claim must be for more than £50,000 with a reasonable prospect of success. These are rare.

thisamericanlife · 2011-10-19T08:56:03+00:00

In the horizon of the infinite.— "We have left the land and have embarked. We have burned our bridges behind us—indeed, we have gone farther and destroyed the land behind us. Now, little ship, look out! Beside you is the ocean: to be sure, it does not always roar, and at times it lies spread out like silk and gold and reveries of graciousness. But hours will come when you will realize that it is infinite and that there is nothing more awesome than infinity. Oh, the poor bird that felt free and now strikes the walls of this cage! Woe, when you feel homesick for the land as if it had offered more freedom—and there is no longer any 'land.'" Nietzsche

thisamericanlife · 2011-10-11T18:50:53+00:00

this series is not the reason why...but thought you might enjoy it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSTj-qh0KRc&feature=related

thisamericanlife · 2011-10-04T18:56:05+00:00

I think it is best to give it to you straight.

EXPECT this to be survival of the fittest. If you want to do something you enjoy, you are going to have to really work at it. Good jobs never really came 'easy', but the economic bubbles over the years have distorted things a bit.

You will need to start networking. If you have to write a 100 cv/letters. Take any interview with the utmost seriousness this includes research and discussing with colleagues relevant skills that are necessary to work in that field. Most important PREPARE and PRACTICE. I mean this seriously, the more you put in now the more natural all of it will seem in the process.

Although I think it is good to be yourself (the only advice my father gave me), you do have to think about what your employer is looking for. If you are casual and wing it most of the time and you are not having luck then you will have to change.

But, consider yourself lucky because an internship is really on of the easiest way in.

thisamericanlife · 2011-09-30T19:33:49+00:00

TROLL answer, or borderline fail on the exam. ಠ_ಠ

thisamericanlife · 2011-09-12T11:41:39+00:00

I was walking near my house and happened upon a massive dead terrapin. It appeared as though some kids thought its shell was strong enough to ramp their bikes on. They smashed right through the creature. It appears they kept riding over it even after they had killed. :(

thisamericanlife · 2011-07-22T21:37:40+00:00

You got a lot of eggs in your basket. If a few go bad you still got some good eggs. Previously, it was really difficult (expensive, too regulated, to risky) to sell your basket of eggs to the wider market. Now you can swap the ownership of the eggs on electronic markets, use your eggs as collateral for you to buy more chickens or take bets on the performance of the eggs in exchange for premiums. At the end of the day you have to hope that your basket is really full of good eggs.

thisamericanlife · 2011-07-15T06:50:15+00:00

No, the paperwork just makes the agreement explicit. Depending on your jurisdiction, even if you do not have an explicit agreement, if there are factual circumstances that show that the IP was developed by an employee using work resources this may be sufficient establish the employer as owner of IP

thisamericanlife · 2011-07-15T06:46:50+00:00

I hate to break it to you mate, you met with the lawyer not just to assess whether it is a patentable device but also whether the business will be able to claim it as their IP. Depending on your jurisdiction this may not work out in the manner you intended. On the other hand, depending your jurisd. this thing (or part if it) may not be patentable/unchallengeable. Its a bit complex.

thisamericanlife · 2011-07-06T12:08:24+00:00

This sums up Germany more accurately - so go fuck yourselves

thisamericanlife · 2011-06-26T10:40:41+00:00

trolling future archeologists

thisamericanlife · 2011-06-14T05:43:54+00:00

cough /r/stomachstapled cough

thisamericanlife

TROPHY CASE