Will I Ever Be Employed

[5Toes]

My Dad showed this article, and I thought I'd share.

Im not employed yet, due to age, but Im now scared I never will work for anything more then $12 an hour. Seriously where does all this damned money go? China? Barack's stupid vacations?

I want to move to Finland :)

http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748704017904575409733776372738.html

[xwill112x]

With unemployment just under 10% and companies sitting on their cash, you would think that sooner or later job growth would take off. I think it's going to be later—much later. Here's why.

Meet Sally (not her real name; details changed to preserve privacy). Sally is a terrific employee, and she happens to be the median person in terms of base pay among the 83 people at my little company in New Jersey, where we provide audio systems for use in educational, commercial and industrial settings. She's been with us for over 15 years. She's a high school graduate with ...




thats all it will let me read?

[5Toes]

Oh sorry dude. I can get you the rest. Give me a second

[xwill112x]

it got me intrested, then i was like FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUU when i couldnt read the rest. lol

[5Toes]

Meet Sally (not her real name; details changed to preserve privacy). Sally is a terrific employee, and she happens to be the median person in terms of base pay among the 83 people at my little company in New Jersey, where we provide audio systems for use in educational, commercial and industrial settings. She's been with us for over 15 years. She's a high school graduate with some specialized training. She makes $59,000 a year—on paper. In reality, she makes only $44,000 a year because $15,000 is taken from her thanks to various deductions and taxes, all of which form the steep, sad slope between gross and net pay.

Before that money hits her bank, it is reduced by the $2,376 she pays as her share of the medical and dental insurance that my company provides. And then the government takes its due. She pays $126 for state unemployment insurance, $149 for disability insurance and $856 for Medicare. That's the small stuff. New Jersey takes $1,893 in income taxes. The federal government gets $3,661 for Social Security and another $6,250 for income tax withholding. The roughly $13,000 taken from her by various government entities means that some 22% of her gross pay goes to Washington or Trenton. She's lucky she doesn't live in New York City, where the toll would be even higher.

Employing Sally costs plenty too. My company has to write checks for $74,000 so Sally can receive her nominal $59,000 in base pay. Health insurance is a big, added cost: While Sally pays nearly $2,400 for coverage, my company pays the rest—$9,561 for employee/spouse medical and dental. We also provide company-paid life and other insurance premiums amounting to $153. Altogether, company-paid benefits add $9,714 to the cost of employing Sally.

Then the federal and state governments want a little something extra. They take $56 for federal unemployment coverage, $149 for disability insurance, $300 for workers' comp and $505 for state unemployment insurance. Finally, the feds make me pay $856 for Sally's Medicare and $3,661 for her Social Security.

When you add it all up, it costs $74,000 to put $44,000 in Sally's pocket and to give her $12,000 in benefits. Bottom line: Governments impose a 33% surtax on Sally's job each year.

Because my company has been conscripted by the government and forced to serve as a tax collector, we have lost control of a big chunk of our cost structure. Tax increases, whether cloaked as changes in unemployment or disability insurance, Medicare increases or in any other form can dramatically alter our financial situation. With government spending and deficits growing as fast as they have been, you know that more tax increases are coming—for my company, and even for Sally too.

Companies have also been pressed into serving as providers of health insurance. In a saner world, health insurance would be something that individuals buy for themselves and their families, just as they do with auto insurance. Now, adding to the insanity, there is ObamaCare.

Every year, we negotiate a renewal to our health coverage. This year, our provider demanded a 28% increase in premiums—for a lesser plan. This is in part a tax increase that the federal government has co-opted insurance providers to collect. We had never faced an increase anywhere near this large; in each of the last two years, the increase was under 10%.

To offset tax increases and steepening rises in health-insurance premiums, my company needs sustainably higher profits and sales—something unlikely in this "summer of recovery." We can't pass the additional costs onto our customers, because the market is too tight and we'd lose sales. Only governments can raise prices repeatedly and pretend there will be no consequences.

And even if the economic outlook were more encouraging, increasing revenues is always uncertain and expensive. As much as I might want to hire new salespeople, engineers and marketing staff in an effort to grow, I would be increasing my company's vulnerability to government decisions to raise taxes, to policies that make health insurance more expensive, and to the difficulties of this economic environment.

A life in business is filled with uncertainties, but I can be quite sure that every time I hire someone my obligations to the government go up. From where I sit, the government's message is unmistakable: Creating a new job carries a punishing price.

[mrsleeve]

OP. YOu really want to go to Finnland????? Home of the 60+% marginal tax rates including the 22% VAT???? You are taxed to death there, you get a speeding ticket there and the fine is based on your ability to pay, you make dirt you pay 125 bucks, You are the CEO of Nokia you 400,000 bucks. Or any where in between.

While they are still semi free as they have the 2ed highest rate of private gun owner ship in the world behind the US.

Really man shits going to be bad here for a while maybe we will have a lost decade here again. But there will still be much more opportunity here to make your fortune that anywhere else in the world. It will get better you are young (if you not working now) you will be fine. It may be hard to get started but it will get better and come back at some point.

[5Toes]

Maybe not Finland, but I was kidding anyways. I said Finalnd anyways because they have such an awesome motorsport history.

[mrsleeve]

and hot womenz




<-------------------------- Is a Full blooded Finn

[5Toes]

Anywhere in Europe would be fine.

[Fusion]

Start yourself a small business. Whatever. Look around and realize what's missing, what people need, do what you know well and like.
My creed is to do anything possible to never be employed by someone. But that's just me. Not easy, but working out so far.

[xwill112x]

My creed is to do anything possible to never be employed by someone. But that's just me. Not easy, but working out so far.

in one of my classes, thats the number 1 reason not to start a small buisness. i dont know why either.


and mrsleeve- my wolverine durashocks are working out perfect :)

[5Toes]

A business in Europe?

[Fusion]

in one of my classes, thats the number 1 reason not to start a small buisness. i dont know why either.

That may be true, but I was never good at listening to orders and the whole 9 to 5 deal.
I've never been employed.

[mrsleeve]

Anywhere in Europe would be fine.

Home of High taxes and stupid national sales taxes (19-22% VAT) and stupid fuel prices thanks to the 300% taxation on fuel.

Really ask Fusion how it is. I really admire the guy for starting a business in Europe.


I think the reason for not starting a business is more headache for less pay, and you have all kinds of other shit to deal with and you can end up working for less than you think you are


XXWILAIXXAXAACALIDOSCHE: Good I am glad they should do well for you.

[Fusion]

True, about 60% of fuel is taxes/customs and 60% of your payroll is also stolen by the gov't, 30% directly, meaning that you get about 70% of it "physically".
I like what I do, that's probably what keeps me going.

You can of course do offshore accounting and barely legal stuff like that, depends on the business.