“But while we’re watching, “working affluent” is a far more useful and less loaded moniker than “the rich,” which has overtones of dilettantes, poodles, and yachts.”

yeah, just as the “working poor” is a far more accurate moniker than “slackers, the entitled, and the net tax consumers”, you pretentious piece of crap.

god … these people!

“Going John Galt” has become the 21st century “One of these days, Alice…to the moon!”

I don’t care if they go John Galt, go John Wayne or go Walt Disney…I just wish they would fuckin’ GO already. We can’t start missing them until they raus in the first place.

I should really read the whole first page before commenting willy nilly…

Well, you can’t be middle class on less than $500,000 a year. Just ask Chip “My Mother Is Sucking Cocks In Hell” Sulzberger.

Looking at that picture of El Rushbo made me fantasize that if I ever saw his fat ass on the course, I would have to walk up to him and brain him with my driver and yell “FORE” and my driver would be bent in the shape of his head all Looney Tunes like…….

But then I realized that if I did that his anal fistula would probably explode all over me and I would NEVER get the smell out.

Sorry……..

Since when do litigators count among the hard-working with this crowd? I thought they hated trial lawyers. It’s so hard to keep up…

Can we just throw John Galt under the bus, already?

Oooh, you can edit now.

Looking at that picture of El Rushbo made me fantasize that if I ever saw his fat ass on the course, I would have to walk up to him and brain him with my driver and yell “FORE” and my driver would be bent in the shape of his head all Looney Tunes like…….

What a disgraceful idea. Drivers are way too expensive to waste on a piece of human excrement like Rush. Take a tip from Jack Nicholson and go with the 9-iron.

Steve Benen on Fox News polling.

More good news for Republican insurgents.

Lisa Schiffren summed up herself long ago. From her “Diary of a Mad Housewife” in the WSJ, March 21, 2003:

NEW YORK–What a relief that the president has finally decided to start the war. For weeks we’ve been reading about troops twiddling their thumbs in the desert, getting frustrated and anxious. Enough about them. What about us?

We New Yorkers, as everyone knows, are fabulous at really high-stress tasks, like competing with each other to get jobs and make money, or find apartments in an impossible market, or get our kids into schools. But it is not all that easy to sit here, post-Sept. 11, waiting for the next shoe (building?) to fall.

Yes, litigators, bankers, salespeople, and “executives” (whatever the fuck that means) create so much for society, like….um. Whenever this Randian bullshit starts up, it never ceases to amaze that these dopes think they all are railroad barons of the 19th century. Lisa, you are replaceable. I am replaceable. We are all replaceable. If there is demand for a service, it will be met, and you/me will not be missed. Please, I will buy your train tickets to send you all to Galt Gulch. And my guess is Galt Gulch is in some red welfare state that my New Jersey taxes will still subsidize.

Jesus Christ on a Welfare Ticket. The callous disrespect for average working class Americans permeating Schiffren’s screed is really a sight to behold. According to her, the wealthy are wealthy because they “studied while others partied”, rehashing the pathetic wingnut meme that you’re only poor because you didn’t apply yourself. About her favorite rich, the Queen Bitch says: “No group of people contribute more to their community.” Really, Lisa? I guess I’ll tell the teachers at my kids’ school that they’re totally wasting their time busting their butts for peanut pay educating the next generation of Americans.

What, she speculates, will happen when these saints “decide that they don’t want to pay for the excessive, pointless spending that the president finds so compelling”? I’ll tell you what, Lisa: why don’t you stop writing to show your disgust with the moderate tax hike on the top dollar of the top 2 percent of Americans. Really. Go play a round of sympathy golf with a heart surgeon. But stop writing, will you? For the good of the nation. Call it a “write”-off party or something — the boys over at Red State can help you with a kick-ass logo. And once you’re gone, stay gone. That’ll be your single biggest contribution to your community, ever.

Lisa Schiffren has not been reading or watching her “Golfing with Bill Pennington”, the existence of which proves that golf never went away. There was also an article in the same paper months ago about golfing equipment sellers being relatively sanguine about the economy because hardcore golfers may not buy the most top-of-the-line clubs, but they will buy something. In other words if these folks start taking up golf seriously the golfing sector will benefit and they may want to stay at their former incomes.

Will all these glibertarian asshats just “go Galt” already and shut the fuck up? How can we miss them if they won’t go away?

(I would like to try golf, but it would take a lot of practice to do 18 holes)

“I want you to kill every gopher on the golf course!”

“Correct me if I’m wrong Sandy, but if I kill all the golfers, they’re gonna lock me up and throw away the key…”

btw, who is John Galt?

Dr. Helen’s patients, I mean readers, have ideas on how to go John Galt.

I wanted to start a business that would sell a computer software product over the internet. I would just have customers purchase and download it.

I was wondering if there would be any way to set it up as an offshore corporation to avoid US taxes as much as possible.

Anybody have any ideas?

I have found a very rare corporation that deals in my field of work(bench jeweler). This allows me to have my productivity rewarded with benefits (good health, vision, and dental insurance, optional 401K, education they pay for me to get to advance my skill sets which they then pay me more for, upward mobility, national portability within the company, excellent vacation), and thus I have moved up from being a member of the lower caste in which I was raised (my mother is a looter, ashamed to say: On welfare).

Another option I found here, after tinkering with the numbers, is tactical use of my FSA, or flex spending account. I find that I can, with careful maneuvering, drop a tax bracket with the amount of money I put in my FSA. Thus, I not only get to use my pre-tax money on myself for my personal health and well being (and for my family when I have one), the amount I have chosen to place in said account reduces the amount of money stolen…oops, I meant taxed.

Another tactic that I engage in is sale shopping to forcibly deflate the dollar. I don’t mean 15% off if you spend more than you can afford. More often than not, when I go shopping, I will save more than 50% of the original marked up value of the item.

We will be facing higher sales taxes, property taxes, fees for services, federal and state income taxes and other taxes like sin taxes. If you enjoy wine or alcohol, you may wish to avoid future sales tax and sin tax increases by doing what I did – I determined a reasonable life expectancy and bought a lifetime supply of hard alcohol like bourbon that will last indefinitely in sealed bottoms in my basement – if you do this, buy only liquor in glass, buy the 1.75 liter size for more savings and wait for sales at a store that will give you an additional 10% off per case.

Again she asks

Wolverine!

As a business owner myself, I am looking forward to sucking up some of the business these wankers are going to be turning away. So yes, please, go away already!

Still Galting

Suppose if we all just refused to make our mortgage payment for two months and stored the money in our mattress? Take a Family Leave Act vacay.

….

If enough talented folks just took advantage (maybe that’s the key phrase) of so many free services, signed up for free food from local agencies (easy to do, you’re never investigated. fake a ss number and address and income: free groceries! I worked for a social services agency), sign your kids up for free medical care (You won’t be investigated, see previous) and flood the system with bankruptcy inquiries, and made banks file all sorts of paperwork for foreclosure notices…

Seems a bit untrue to the spirit of John Galt–the affluent trying to take food meant for poor children to convince everyone it’s a terrible idea to try to help people down on their luck.

“…and bought a lifetime supply of hard alcohol like bourbon that will last indefinitely in sealed bottoms in my basement.”

If she’s really serious, she can buy me a lifetime supply as well.

Awesome. “I determined a reasonable life expectancy and bought a lifetime supply of hard alcohol like bourbon that will last indefinitely in sealed bottoms in my basement” Yeah: buying your booze in bulk, that’s sticking it to the man! But what the hell is a sealed bottom? Some sort of gay reference? I prefer my scotch in a bottle, but, hey, different strokes and all that…

signed up for free food from local agencies (easy to do, you’re never investigated

Ah, how stupid and weak and gullible the fools who endeavor to provide food to the needy! F them!

Ah, how stupid and weak and gullible the fools who endeavor to provide food to the needy! F them!

Yes! I’m almost crazy with resentment and envy when I watch that naive church group hand out free bologna sandwiches to the homeless behind the library. Those lucky-ducky homeless people don’t have to do a lick of work for those sandwiches. Lots of them seem to enjoy free entertainment too, listening to the voices in their heads.

I can see why you’re chapped, cowalker, especially if the church people are just flinging those sandwiches out willy-nilly, not even running a basic background check on everybody who shuffles through the line! They’re probably being ripped off, to the tune of pounds of bologna, by our nation’s Galtian superproducers. Serves ‘em right.

I e-mailed this hag: “Ms. Schiffren, tell us why moving the marginal rate from 36 to 39 on incomes over $250,000 is so onerous. This is utter bullshit and deep down you must know it. Every dollar one of you ‘achievers’ makes over 250 grand, you keep 61 cents instead of 64. My God, how will you live? You do realize that top rates were 60-70-80 in the ’50s and ’60s, yet somehow we managed economic growth without as much caterwauling from the ‘working affluent’ about the unfairness of it all. And if tax cuts are magic, where were the jobs created by Bush’s $1.3 trillion for the rich — I’m sorry, the ‘working affluent’? Didn’t you tell us Clinton’s tax hike on the W.A. would kill the economy? You were so wildly wrong the scale can’t measure the wrongness. Geezus Christ — I know it’s hard to change a world view but come on!”

I’m reminded of that great story told by Richard (”Nixonland”) Perlstein:

Republicans are different from conservatives: that was one of the first lessons I learned when I started interviewing YAFers. I learned it making small talk with conservative publisher Jameson Campaigne, in Ottawa, Illinois, when I asked him if he golfed. He said something like: “Are you kidding? I’m a conservative, not a Republican.”

bn

The rich irony of the “Galters” plans to take advantage of the very social services they claim to despise is priceless. It’s a shame that a prerequisite for Randians is lack of any sense of irony (or humor), or in face “any sense”.

Wouldn’t that be “working effluent”?

I know, it was low-hanging fruit, but it’s Friday, and I’ve had bronchitis all week.

Oh, that’s easy – they’re DEFENSE lawyers – the people who defend the corporate malfeasers, like the peanut company that ignored salmonella, the manufacturers of dangerous equipment/vehicles, etc. It’s different, y’know, when you work for the ruling class.

Notice they always complain about “trial lawyers” – by definition, plaintiffs’ lawyers. This is one reason they so hated John Edwards.

Just took my documents to the CPA that does my taxes. He is a good friend that was the partner of my late wife. I asked him how the economy looked through the eyes of his small business clients. They are doing a Full Galt Montie. They are laying off early and laying off hard. I don’t think they are Galting because of taxes. They are Galting because business is bad!
Enjoy the GD 2.0

Somehow you feel that Lisa Schiffren’s husband just had to break the bad news to his mistress….

No need to feel it somehow, there’s hard evidence. This NY Times article describes the support group “Dating A Banker Anonymous.” Does your sugar daddy or once-rich boyfriend worry more about his own bottom line than yours? Well, it hurts, and you need to talk to other girls who understand. After all, when “your monthly Bergdorf’s allowance has been halved and bottle service has all but disappeared from your life,” you need to talk to someone who’s been there, who understands.

A Manhattan divorce lawyer — and who would know better — said: “There aren’t funds or time for mistresses any more.”

[N.B.: Click the link. This is not a parody.]

Dating A Banker turned out to be a put-on. The NYT got suckered.

I hope Rush spends more time on the golf links because his heart will know just where to find him when it finally attacks…

And if Lisa Schiffren were my mother, I would be a suicide. No, scratch that. Because Lisa Schiffren is a sour, bitter, humorless, god-bothering scold, I would actually have to commit matricide instead.

And no jury outside of the range of Fred Phelps’ extended family of parasites would ever convict me.