Oh no, I have no problem saying that I’m a boring, white-collar, well-off stereotype at this point (though I took the Liberal Arts salary curve to get there). Didn’t mean to imply otherwise at all. Background just is set off a bit from here, or reddit, or most of the other forums that match my interest set.
I’m ready to sell out too. Where do I sign?
Apparently I need to sell out too. If this is rich, I’m clearly doing something wrong. I don’t have the triple digit sports car, the McMansion, the jewels, and especially all the hired help to do all the stuff I don’t want to do, like find out where the caulking is leaking in my shower.
As I said, I was purposefully miscategorizing your comments because they were amusing when viewed in comparison to the conversation Strollen and (largely) Nesrie were having.
Neither of us is struggling, though both of us have been there, fairly recently at that. As a whole, Qt3 does very okay for itself. For more anecdata, please check the “how much have you spent on Steam this year” thread ;-)
Damn, where is the like button.
Not being poor doesn’t mean you are rich though. There’s an in-between. How many years can you go without income before it becomes a problem, if you get sick, can’t work… My parents can’t even take care of themselves, and no amount of savings because I’ve had a few good years changes the fact that I have literally no support base, at all.
The rich, typically, can afford to make a mistake and deal with a long-term problem. The middle-class… can struggle with that, maybe or maybe not make it. Poor, often not a chance, recovery is long, if at all.
You may want to try to take me about 95% less seriously than you generally do, Nesrie :)
Well, if I wasn’t as serious of a person as I am, I would probably not be where I am today.
I will probably spend the rest of my life remembering what it was like to almost be a 99er, let go from a crumbling economy, and so much… judgment, during the recession. I still see it.
You just gotta cheer up, buttercup!
If your shower is leaking caulking you have some serious problems. :)
Previous home-owner me would actually believe you. I clearly missed out on home tech 101.
Heh, it’s been a tough start to a new year coming off the back of a rough year itself.
After Congress’ rewrite of the tax code, parents can now use 529 plans to cover tuition not only at colleges and universities, but also at private elementary and high schools. That’s a big, sudden expansion, and it has some experts worried.
“This change allows private school families to put their money through 529 accounts and avoid state income taxes,” says Nat Malkus, who studies education policy at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank. “It is a mess, no matter how you slice it. It’s a change from the federal level that puts a number of states in a pretty tough position moving forward.”
Surprise!
The real benefit, according to the state experts and independent economists NPR interviewed for this story, is for affluent families
Surprise #2!
Lots of states, from Colorado to South Carolina, Michigan to Mississippi, could end up feeling the pinch. One of the few states that won’t, though, is Texas, where the idea began with Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. Texas doesn’t give families an extra break on their income taxes when they contribute to a 529 because Texas doesn’t have an income tax.
http://time.com/money/5093099/529-plans-k12-expenses-tax-bill/
The ‘warning’ is for people in some states that have their own rules about what 529 money can be spent on - they risk having to repay already-claimed state tax credits if they’re not careful. But that is only some states.
For example: The change could reduce New York state’s tax base by up to $3 billion, according to Nat Malkus, deputy director of education policy at the American Enterprise Institute. That would cost the state, which allows a $10,000 deduction per couple, as much as $200 million in tax revenue.
Other states that could take a big hit, Malkus says, include Indiana (which could lose $149 million in revenue) and Illinois ($90 million). All three of the states Malkus cites appear to conform to the federal 529 rules, however, meaning their state legislatures don’t need to act in order for families to get the benefits for K-12 spending.
I don’t know if having the ability to spend 529 money would make people send their kids to a private school, but I could see people who were going to send their kids to private schools anyway using the 529 now as a way to write off some of that expense.
It becomes a vehicle for money-laundering for people with kids in private school. Many (most?) states encourage 529 investing with a tax credit. Those credits are supposed to encourage long-term saving for college, but now you can put income into a 529, claim your state tax credit, then immediately withdraw to pay K-12 tuition.
As an above post indicates many states may not follow the federal lead and not allow 529 money to be used for non-college schooling. If I remember right the only tax deductability of the 529 is the income earned, not the actual putting aside of the money (like for an IRA). So money spent on K-12 would not have time to earn much non-taxable income. Of course didn’t the law change regards how soon you could open a 529 as well?
Although contributions are not deductible, earnings in a 529 plan grow federal tax-free and will not be taxed when the money is taken out to pay for college.
Apparently some states let you write off the contribution, but not the feds.
Yep. That’s where the projected lost $200,000,000 for NY, $149,000,000 (IN) and $90,000,000 (IL) come from. And all that lost revenue is essentially a gift to parents with kids in private school. Even the American Enterprise Inst guy seems a bit alarmed.
The states, I presume, will eventually patch up their tax codes. Hopefully not by removing altogether the incentives for long-term college savings.
The tax cut carnage continues! America is finished!
How do you ignore someone on the new forum software?
Mal’s not worth reading these days. Just nonstop trolling without critical thinking and no actual conversations. I’d really prefer just not to have his one shot and done posts litter my feed.
Self discipline.
Good luck.
The left is a caricature these days: “How can I avoid news and opinions I don’t like or agree with! Help me!”. Sad indeed.