am I the only one

[dana-tenacity]

NZ median is $44,000 pa, those Ceo's are offset by the 40% on less than $20,000.
We lived in the SF Bay area for 2 years immediately prior to returning to NZ so I can make some comparisons,
I was surprised at the level of taxation in the capitalist US, i was surprised how little you got for your taxes (guess it all goes to the military).
All things considered, and with two teenage girls I think we are financially better off in NZ (health and education big issues).
In the overall quality of life stakes I think NZ by heaps, but it disturbs me to see us steadily slipping.
Buynig a boat you are better off in the US.

[hellosailor]

Joli, that Englishman may have also been surprised at the customs & excise bill he got on returning home. And the VAT due, which is included in boat sales prices in the EU but not here in the US.

David, not to worry about what you see advertised. Remember the US is the home of Hollywood, and many boat ads are about as "real" as Hollywood movies.

Buyer: Why are there barnacles in the settees? Was this boat submerged?
Broker: Oh, not that I know about.

There are bargains and treasure. And, pirates.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

There are bargains and treasure. And, pirates.

This sounds familiar though

i was surprised how little you got for your taxes (guess it all goes to the military).

What was that joke? "if we didn't spend the money on guns and bombs we would just waste it on stuff like Health Care"

In the overall quality of life stakes I think NZ by heaps, but it disturbs me to see us steadily slipping.

What quite surprised me in regard to "quality of life" in NZ was that every town, Village and Hamlet seemed to have a "knocking shop"........whether this still be the case I dunno. I guess it is how yer define "quality of life"...............and "Life expectancy" (for those who are married)

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by dana-tenacity

I was surprised at the level of taxation in the capitalist US, i was surprised how little you got for your taxes (guess it all goes to the military).
All things considered, and with two teenage girls I think we are financially better off in NZ (health and education big issues).
In the overall quality of life stakes I think NZ by heaps, but it disturbs me to see us steadily slipping.
Buynig a boat you are better off in the US.

I'd agree with you... and here's a link in case you are curious where the couple years taxes went. I fear that much of it that vanishes into both the defense and social services side ends up in the hands of crooks, like most governments.

Anyway, here is the link. Click on "view the graph" and you'll have a HUGE poster load that shows where all tax dollars in 2007 went.

Death and Taxes: A Visual Guide to Where Your Federal Tax Dollars Go

It's a huge mess and it takes a long time to load, but that's how the tax dollars are spent over here.

[GordMay]

War, what is it good for? (/w apologies to Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong, & Edwin Starr):
War is good for CEO compensation. The average defense CEO's pay was over $12 million last year, whilst that of a military General with 20 years' experience, made $168,905. The average private, meanwhile, earned $24,278, including extra combat pay.

CEO Compensation ~ Forbes magazine
” The heads of America's 500 biggest companies received an aggregate 54% pay raise last year. As a group, their total compensation amounted to $5.1 billion, versus $3.3 billion in fiscal 2003…”
http://www.forbes.com/2005/04/20/05ceoland.html

How many workers could be supported by Terry S. Semel's $33,380,613 pay package?
33 Nobel prize winners
100 average university presidents
83 U.S. presidents
148 AFL-CIO presidents
309 Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
1308 average workers
3,116 minimum-wage earners

How long would it take to equal Terry S. Semel's total compensation for 2005?
A Nobel prize winner would have to work until 2039 A.D.
An average university president would have to work until 2106 A.D.
The President of the United States would have to work until 2089 A.D.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney would have to work until 2154 A.D.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would have to work until 2315 A.D.
An average worker would have to work until 3314 A.D.
A minimum-wage earner would have to work until 5122 A.D.

[Joli]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Joli, that Englishman may have also been surprised at the customs & excise bill he got on returning home. And the VAT due, which is included in boat sales prices in the EU but not here in the US.



There are bargains and treasure. And, pirates.

True enough but with the dollar in the basement and a large supply of boats to choose from it is a very good time to buy a boat in the US. Regardless of where you buy a boat you will pay a VAT. May as well pay less for a US boat and pay less VAT.

And of course, Caveat Emptor.

[Brent Swain]

When governemtns want advice , who do they ask? The bureaucrats. What advice do the bureaucrats give them? Whatever is in the best personal empire building interests of the bureaucrats .
I was once on the excutive of the attorney general's riding association. I saw him once or twice a month. Bureaucrats were in his face 8 hours a day and paid huge salaries to be there. So who had the most influence? Those who got him elected, or those who are being paid to be in his face.
Pakinson's law rules regardless of justification or lack of it. Rescues are rare enough to be excuses rather than justification. Don't give moral support or creedence to their excuses by repeating them as if they were truth .
Brent

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Joli

True enough but with the dollar in the basement and a large supply of boats to choose from it is a very good time to buy a boat in the US. Regardless of where you buy a boat you will pay a VAT. May as well pay less for a US boat and pay less VAT.

And of course, Caveat Emptor.

VAT? what's that