California Reaps Google Windfall 61
theodp writes "The SF Chronicle reports that California took in a record $11.3B in personal income tax receipts in April, $4.3B more than it collected last April, attributing a significant chunk of the surprise windfall to Google employees. Fourteen of Google's top execs and directors sold $4.4B worth of stock last year, including founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, each of whom unloaded about $1.3B."
A rising tide lifts all boats (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm sad to think that the government of California would be more likely to squander the cash on pet projects rather than bolstering their ability to help people unable to pay for health care.
Re:A rising tide lifts all boats (Score:3)
Yes. I am interested in hearing more. I wonder if there is anything politically going on in Southern California that makes hosp
Re:A rising tide lifts all boats (Score:2, Funny)
Re:A rising tide lifts all boats (Score:1)
Re:A rising tide lifts all boats (Score:2)
Re:A rising tide lifts all boats (Score:2)
Re:A rising tide lifts all boats (Score:1, Offtopic)
Re:A rising tide lifts all boats (Score:3, Insightful)
You do realize that's why the hospitals are closing, right? They're required to provide healthcare to anyone who "needs" it - all the way from triage to birth to cancer treatment - regardless of whether or not the person can pay. Thus, illegals eat for free.
Re:A rising tide lifts all boats (Score:1)
If a hospital is closed, no one can see the doctor. At least with the doors open, services will still be available for those who need it.
Re:A rising tide lifts all boats (Score:3, Informative)
Re:A rising tide lifts all boats (Score:2)
People walk in to the ED because it's open 24x7, and it's easy to find. Just follow the signs to 'hospital'.
Clinics are not open 24x7 and are harder to find. Also, many many many people just don't "get" what a clinic can do for them. They know that if they have a problem, to go to the ED for 'free' treatment. They don't know (or don't care) about going to a clinic.
Re:A rising tide lifts all boats (Score:2)
Good luck. It'll never happen... until they pull an East Germany and put full time sniper towers every couple hundred yards with orders to shoot to kill on sight. If you think that's a good idea check how it's fared historically.
I'd rather they make health care public (which has been shown to work well) and completely open the borders so that immigrants (which we'll have in any case) can at least get jobs and be productive members of so
Re:A rising tide lifts all boats (Score:2)
You seem to be forgetting that the Berlin Wall was intended to keep people in not keep people out. Sort of an important part to leave out. But then again when you try to invoke fear by using words like "sniper" I don't think facts mean much to your argument.
Re:A rising tide lifts all boats (Score:2)
Re:A rising tide lifts all boats (Score:2)
What is preventing folks from entering the country legally? It is an honest question as I do not know the procedure to do so.
Re:A rising tide lifts all boats (Score:2)
Government mandated quotas: The US only lets a small number of people enter from each country. The number allowed from each country varies, but for many countries it is not enough, so a person from that country would have to stay where they are or enter the US illegally.
Cheers.
Re:A rising tide lifts all boats (Score:2)
Ever since I read this comment by Descalzo, I've been looking for an excuse to link to it.
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=185703&cid=153 27448 [slashdot.org]
Plus, I would disagree with how well socialized health care works.
The comedians in Britain sure critisize it a lot. (I know, I know, comedians aren't exactly an unbiased scientific source, but what the comedians expect people to find humorous is telling.)
One of the main troubles with
Re:A rising tide lifts all boats (Score:1)
Cheers.
Re:A rising tide lifts all boats (Score:2)
Re:A rising tide lifts all boats (Score:2)
No, actually, its not. Immigration has not taken a sharp rise in the last few years to trigger the recent wave of closures; what has risen is the proportion of the population uninsured, which is what has driven up ER costs and consequently closures. Now, one migh
Yay Google! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Yay Google! (Score:1)
(I'm moving there from Pennsylvania, where the 3.07% state income tax is in addition to Pittsburgh's 3% city income tax)
Re:Yay Google! (Score:2)
Re:Yay Google! (Score:1)
Re:Yay Google! (Score:2)
Re:Yay Google! (Score:2)
Re:Yay Google! (Score:2)
Just wait and see if Swanny gets in. All that sponging off of the rest of the Commonwealth that Pittsburgh and Philadelphia do will skyrocket! He'll be funneling so much money to the two southern corners that that 3% city tax will be mandatory for the rest of us just to pay for all the swag you'll be getting.
*Sigh* Sorry if I sound a bit cynical.
Re:Yay Google! (Score:1)
But in PA we already have a governor who's a troublemaking Eagles fan [wikipedia.org], so it only follows that the Steelers have to take their turn too.
Re:Yay Google! (Score:2)
I live in Suburban Pittsburgh. My job requires me to travel on long term contracts out of state. In thos contracts, I frequently pay taxes to the state I am working in. I can tell you from personal experience that Pennsylvania's state income tax compares very favorably to NY, NC, IL, SC, GA, MA, NJ, CT and MN. In fact, PA income tax compares favorably to most states (with the obvious
Re:Yay Google! (Score:2)
The problem with states that have no income tax is that they usually have a high-sales tax...
In California we actually get an income tax and a sales tax. Maybe they'll take the windfall and lower the sales tax? Yeah, right. Sorry, I'm old enough to remember when the sales tax was only 6%.
Re:Yay Google! (Score:2)
When my wife (who grew up in Florida) complains about PA Taxes, I remind her that we could always move to California. That usually shuts her right up. :)
Actually, PA has a 3.07% flat-rate income tax and a 6% sales tax (Philly and Pittsburgh have an additional 1% in sales tax). But, no sales tax on grocery-store
Re:Yay Google! (Score:1)
Sales taxes might be regressive, but they do not discourage savings like income taxes do.
I prefer paying sales taxes with no income taxes in the state of Washington. But not everyone likes that system.
Most people in Oreg
Re:Yay Google! (Score:2)
Here [taxadmin.org] is a list of states and their sales tax policies on food. Those without an asterisk tax the sales of food. As for clothing, I do know that Pennsylvania does not have a sales tax on clothing. I don't know of any other state that does not tax clothing, but I am sure that there are others.
Sales taxes might be regressive, but they do not discourage savings like income taxes do.
But, who can afford to create savings
Re:Yay Google! (Score:1)
Changing politics? (Score:5, Insightful)
Of course, a few billion dollars is chump change to the entertainment industry. There's a long way to go.
Re:Changing politics? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Changing politics? (Score:1)
Re:Changing politics? (Score:3, Informative)
That depends. You can break it down a bit. IIRC, the music industry makes about 1-2 B$ a year in the US. It was speculated that Google, Microsoft and Yahoo, when combined, have enough cash on hand to just buy the music industry.
Re:Changing politics? (Score:1)
And see more software patents (Score:1)
That way the politicians there will start introducing legislation backed by folks like Google and not folks like the RIAA.
Did you mean to say that lobbying for expansion of the scope of software patents is preferable to lobbying for expansion of the scope of copyrights?
Re:Cost of living... (Score:2)
Re:Cost of living... (Score:2)
He would've been better off sitting on the first one for five years before buying the next one to slowly build up a rental empire. That's how a
Re:Cost of living... (Score:3, Insightful)
I own a home in San Francisco and no, I'm not making five times your median income. You can live quite nicely if you don't have to go out and buy whatever shiny new gadget is being advertised on TV. I own a car but rarely drive since public transportation gets me where I want to go. I spend roughly $20 / month on gas. In Ohio, $20 might last a week driving from one mall to another to do my shopping. You just re-prioritize your spending is all.
Re:Cost of living... (Score:2)
I own a car but rarely drive since public transportation gets me where I want to go. I spend roughly $20 / month on gas. In Ohio, $20 might last a week driving from one mall to another to do my shopping.
So you only spend $5/week on gas in SF instead of $20/week on gas in Ohio. But how much do you spend per week on public transportation in SF? I pay about $5+ to BART every weekday. That's $100+/month.
Re:Cost of living... (Score:2)
$45 per month for a FastPass, but that's a minor point. The real issue is managing your money. Factoring in my reduced tax bill from itemizing deductions for interest payments, I am actually paying less for housing now than when I was renting. People who complain that they can't afford to buy a house either can't manage their money or expect to live in Pacific Heights.
Re:Cost of living... (Score:3, Interesting)
There is, incidentally, a surprisingly healthy million dollar home market in Ohio suburbs. The reason is because people who are moved by their companies from housing markets where there is a bubble, need to put the equity they have (500k+) into their next home to avoid capital gains.
I've been wondering a lot about this lately, and I think that a certain amount of income differentials are becoming unjustifiable. There's one large company with a
Will Arnold Claim a personal victory? (Score:3, Interesting)
'A' will happen if the legislature and Governor use the windfall responsibly and pay off huge amounts of existing loans (there's probably 20 billion or so still outstanding) cutting them by a 3rd or more and making them manageable debt instead of out-of-control debt.
'B' will happen if they simply add an additional 6 billion or more to the existing spending budget for next year, with the hopes that somehow this will happen again in the next year or two, essentially throwing away the opportunity to be responsible.
I'm hoping for A obviously and hoping that Arnold is the one to do it.. he preached fiscal responsibility all through his campaign, he better stand up and enforce it or get thrown out trying to, no matter what they say about him (Arnold won't give money to education, he wants to pay off those fat-cat loan companies instead, think about the children!).
Re:Will Arnold Claim a personal victory? (Score:2)
He did try to enforce a lot of it, but California voters turned him down (wrongly, in my opinion) with the recent ballot initiatives.
Great now the state can pay it's debts (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Great now the state can pay it's debts (Score:1)
That just about settles it doesn't it?
Re:Great now the state can pay it's debts (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Great now the state can pay it's debts (Score:3, Funny)
That's alright, we never paid you back our world war 1 debts. [bbc.co.uk]
Monorail! (Score:1)
What about 'em people from Redmond? (Score:1)
In another *unrelated* news; Microsoft has lobbied for a "Law Against Defection" in Washington