My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on October 23, 2022

The Federal tax brackets are adjusted each year by the IRS based on inflation numbers in an attempt to stop “bracket creep.” This prices have soared as in September 2022 consumer prices were up 8.2% compared to 2021. It is likely most Americans have not seen that kind of wage increase which means their buying power is reduced and quality of life diminished. An interview with a politician commented that “if you’re living on the same income as last year, with inflation running at 8+%, it is as if you are working one month for free.”

According to an Axios article, the good news (cough, cough) is that …

Worth noting: The jump could have been higher if not for a tax overhaul signed by former President Trump in 2017, the New York Times reports.

• Republicans at the time tied the adjustments to the chained Consumer Price Index, which tends to rise at a slower pace than the standard CPI.
• In September, chained CPI grew 0.2 percentage points slower than the standard CPI compared to 2021.

LINK

  Hm, I don’t hearing many taxpayers cheering with excitement?  #sarcasm

Category: Financial, News, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: axios.com, bracket creep, economy, inflation, tax brackets, tax foundation, taxes

Posted By RichC on October 22, 2022

The answer from NOAA is that it depends on where you live.

The general prediction is for a bit dryer in the south and a bit wetter in the northwestern US and Great Lakes .. but perhaps we should check with the authority? 🙂

Category: Weather | No Comments »
Tags: almanac, dry, noaa, rain, snow, weather, winter

Posted By RichC on October 22, 2022

This content is restricted.

Category: Archive, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: annalyn, babysitting, construction, ellerie, family, halloween, homebuilding, house, lumber, oostra, perrysburg, whitehouse

Posted By RichC on October 21, 2022

With inflation raging and oil prices sky high, opting for the most premium synthetic oil is no longer and option for my aging 2010 BMW X5 35d diesel. I’ve been using Ravenol and usually do my own oil and filter changes and although self-changing the oil on a premium diesel model is still better done at home, but adding 7 or 8 quarts and a filter still costs me $100 for even another European full-synthetic brand – Eurol. Previously, the Ravenol and filter was $86.38, but that same order is now $171.95 (Oct 2022 price bottom right) plus shipping.

After a frustrating few minutes of Internet shopping, diesel focused site, Blauparts, offered a recommended oil for a bit less … plus if I double ordered, it was  another 10% off … plus free shipping. Still $15 more per self-change, but better than $90 more (w/ shipping).

Category: Automotive, BMW, Diesel, Financial | No Comments »
Tags: Blauparts, BMW, change, eurol, inflation, maintenance, oil, oil prices, ravenol, x5 35d

Posted By RichC on October 20, 2022

Now, I’m not quite old enough to have regularly used this kind of service garage air station to fill car tires for FREE, but I have used them AND it still triggers memories: Do you remember the “bump, bump, bump” surging as air  filled the tires?

As I’ve mentioned twice before, one of my first real jobs was as a pump jockey at a Shell Oil service station. I wore the full uniform, did windows and received a 25 cent commission for every quart of oil I sold. At 16 years old I was shock at how many packs of cigarette we had to stock in the overhead bins and then sell to motorists … I want to say it was 50-cent a pack, but can’t be certain as inflation was raging in the 1970s just as it is today. I do know that $2.35 was my hourly wage and that I felt very fortunate to have the after school and weekend job while still in high school. Since I was also a stringer photographer for the local newspaper (usually sporting events), the manager would schedule me around the the high school games.

Looking back, it was a pretty nice job and offered those who preferred “service and a smile” a nice place to fill up and top off.

Category: Memories, Personal, Photography, Photos, TBT | No Comments »
Tags: free air, good old days, memories, old photo, photographer, pump jockey, service station, shell oil, sidney ohio, trigger

Posted By RichC on October 19, 2022

There was a leftover beach flyover video on my phone from our late September – early October Florida vacation so with a private family post creating registered only viewing and the first real cold weather of the season, this makes for an envious filler. I’m looking forward to warm weather and the beach again. Why again aren’t we moving south or going cruising???

(more…)

Category: Aviation, Personal, Photos, Travel, Video, Weather, Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: beach, cold weather, delray beach, filler, florida, flyover, project, vacation

Posted By RichC on October 19, 2022

This content is restricted.

Category: Misc, Personal, Photos, Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: annalyn, cart, drew, drying, ellerie, family, granddaughters, grocery, homebuilding, katelyn, king lumber, lumber, property, tarp

Posted By RichC on October 18, 2022

As a former GOP VP hopeful would say, “You betcha.”

In catching up on my Tax Foundation reading, one of their recent emails highlighted what internationally we have seen in off and onshoring is that businesses go to where they are treated best. It most often has to do with a companies lowest cost of doing business which includes the tax bite where they chose to locate.

Individuals are no different … especially with remote working arrangements, pandemic shutdowns, economic bust and boom cycles and avoiding the heavy hand of local and state government, from restricting personal freedom to taxation; it sure looks to impact interstate migration.

A glance at this 2019 state population map in a Tax Foundation article by Katherine Loughead, highlights a trend. “Americans pack up and move from one state to another.” Each year the IRS releases migration data showing movements of income taxpayers based on changes in their mailing address and data highlights what most of us instinctively know: People prefer lower taxes and less bureaucratic intrusion in their lives.

More Americans Moved to States with Lower Taxes and Sound Tax Structures

With this in mind, one observation from the 2019-2020 IRS migration data is that a strong positive relationship exists between state tax competitiveness and inbound migration. Overall, states with lower taxes and sound tax structures experienced stronger inbound migration than states with higher taxes and more burdensome structures.

(more…)

Category: Financial, Misc, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: data, government, katherine loughead, local, map, migration, population, state, tax foundation, taxes

Posted By RichC on October 17, 2022

This content is restricted.

Category: Music | No Comments »
Tags: la bomba, los lobos, mp3, music monday, musicmonday, ritchie valens

Posted By RichC on October 16, 2022

It’s simple: between the Federal Reserve spewing out more than $4 trillion in cheap money over the past year, and Congress signing off on “relief” packages totaling an unprecedented $3 trillion, there is too much money chasing too few goods.

..

Inflation will only get hotter if Biden and congressional Democrats press ahead with even more grandiose spending, attempting to insert the federal government into every nook and cranny of Americans’ lives.

From The Hill (7/15/21 – @LizPeek) back in the summer of 2021

For those who are unhappy with political leadership in the United States, the midterm election couldn’t be more critical. We’ve had rising inflation since President Biden took office in January 2020 and with Democrats in full control of the House and Senate, our political leaders have driven our country to the brink of crisis in every area they touch. Spending is out of control as they shovel tax dollars into pet projects and buying of votes and even once fiscally responsible Democrats are blindly going along with the  progressives leftists in their party. Our country has overnight given up energy independence for the green agenda, gone soft on crime by attacking law enforcement and border patrol. They entice millions to illegally cross our southern border thwarting US immigration law and send billions of taxpayer dollars overseas, to their union buddies and are forgiving student debt without addressing the cost (or educational quality) of a college education.

Now it would be great to believe that just voting Republican would solve the leadership problem, but we’ve all been there and disappointed before. On the other hand, if we don’t change course right now and put someone else in charge, it is clear Democrats aren’t planning to change course … and we’re not even talking about the pitiful foreign policy under the Biden administration.

I’m doing my part and voting absentee this November … yes, a straight Republican ticket. There is not a Democrat I can trust to think independently or disagree when the party leadership is off track. I only hope that “when” the GOP take control that they stick to their “Commitment to America” agenda like Newt Gingrich did with President Clinton back in the 1990s. Let’s save America!

Category: Politics | No Comments »
Tags: absentee, america, biden, commitment, contract, democrats, election, inflation, leadership, midterms, polls, Republicans, survey, voting