And just who are you to tell me it's too early to panic? I'll panic when I want.

I think to gather this dataset for what you are talking about would require a highly polarizing event with the opposite result. But lets be honest here, there isn't much of a dataset for the main article.

That is why I'd like to see a slight tax increase on the wealthy while simultainiously a drop on the payroll taxes employers must pay. I'd also like to see corporate taxes cut but only if it includes closing of lots of loopholes. If this was done, pass through organizations and large corporations would see less taxes per dollar spent on labor and this would hopefully spur some hiring. To your point about small businesses(at least pass through ones), the drop in the payroll tax would see the owner's costs decrease, most likely setting off any increase in the total taxes at the end of the day. If that small business was made up of a few partners that had no interest in highering, think small law firms, they would end up paying more but they were job creators anyway. The long of short of it is, if we start now we can make well thought out increases to taxes and decreases to spending. If we wait, we will need to make drastic ones. Unfortunatly, there is no political or public will to make small sacrafices when pie-in-the-sky ideology makes people think it will all fix itself and there will be no hardship.

Remember when you had to recompile your kernel to get sound to work and how long that took on a 486? Ahh... the good old days.

This means the dodgey utility I wrote in high school to give my WarCraft II saved games maximum gold, wood and food will live on forever.

Trade it in! Best Buy has an online trade in program where you can get cash or a Best Buy gift card. I got a $200 for mine. You fill out some stuff online, print a pre-paid UPS label, wait about 3 weeks. Same money you'd get from craigslist, none of the emails for interesting trades. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Electronics+Promotions/Online-Trade-In/pcmcat133600050011.c?id=pcmcat133600050011