DiabloWags said:

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Anyone with basic financial aptitude nows full well that the stock that is vested by employees and CEO's (in this case Union Pacific) through stock option grants and restrictedr over ONE YEAR is taxed at the LONG TERM CAPITAL GAINS RATE which is currently 20%.

This is opposed to SHORT TERM CAPITAL GAINS (held less than one year) which are taxed at the rate of ordinary income.

A Medicare 3.8% surtax kicks in for any capital gain for an individual over $200,000.

https://smartasset.com/taxes/2021-capital-gains-tax-rates

This is nothing new.
Its basic common knowledge.

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It's not even as favorable as you suggest. When I was an executive officer, most of my compensation was in PSUs, RSUs and options. None of us ever received ISOs that had too many restrictions and was a pain for companies to maintain. I don't know any public company that currently provides ISOs. As such, when an executive exercises options, the gain is taxed as ordinary income. The main tax benefit of options is that it is a deferred form of compensation in that it is not taxed at vesting but upon exercise. RSUs and PSUs are also taxed as ordinary income at vesting since they are delivered as stock upon vesting. The main benefit is that you can pay in shares so that the company withholds shares for taxes instead of you writing a check.

Based on what you wrote, assume the other poster's linked TikTok indicated otherwise. If so, so tired of these Tiktok / Twitter idiots who have never held a real job making up idiotic claims. People who only learn from TikTok and Tweets are a big reason for the dumbing down of America.

Lol

calbear93 said:

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DiabloWags said:

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Anyone with basic financial aptitude nows full well that the stock that is vested by employees and CEO's (in this case Union Pacific) through stock option grants and restrictedr over ONE YEAR is taxed at the LONG TERM CAPITAL GAINS RATE which is currently 20%.

This is opposed to SHORT TERM CAPITAL GAINS (held less than one year) which are taxed at the rate of ordinary income.

A Medicare 3.8% surtax kicks in for any capital gain for an individual over $200,000.

https://smartasset.com/taxes/2021-capital-gains-tax-rates

This is nothing new.
Its basic common knowledge.

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It's not even as favorable as you suggest. When I was an executive officer, most of my compensation was in PSUs, RSUs and options. None of us ever received ISOs that had too many restrictions and was a pain for companies to maintain. I don't know any public company that currently provides ISOs. As such, when an executive exercises options, the gain is taxed as ordinary income. The main tax benefit of options is that it is a deferred form of compensation in that it is not taxed at vesting but upon exercise. RSUs and PSUs are also taxed as ordinary income at vesting since they are delivered as stock upon vesting. The main benefit is that you can pay in shares so that the company withholds shares for taxes instead of you writing a check.

Based on what you wrote, assume the other poster's linked TikTok indicated otherwise. If so, so tired of these Tiktok / Twitter idiots who have never held a real job making up idiotic claims. People who only learn from TikTok and Tweets are a big reason for the dumbing down of America.

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This is Police Terrorism in the form of overkill.

Overkill is “the infliction of massive injuries by a perpetrator by far exceeding the extent necessary to kill the victim.”

57 bullet wounds transcends murder. It’s overkill with the internet to cause terror beyond the victim. https://t.co/4WYHocprtd

— L E F T, PhD ⚫️ (@LeftSentThis) April 20, 2023

The Confederacy state of mind knows no borders. This shit lives inside of them wherever they are. https://t.co/axKLU2cu6b

— L E F T, PhD ⚫️ (@LeftSentThis) April 19, 2023

On my tour last weekend, a photographer gifted me these incredible shots of the Bay Bridge (de)construction process from 2012 and 2014. Mike's not on Twitter, but you can see his work here: https://t.co/JCSlKqInHw pic.twitter.com/aYextCCqrL

— East Bay Yesterday (@ebyesterday) April 18, 2023

calbear93 said:

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going4roses said:

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Lol

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What's interesting is that for most folks these days on both sides, facts and truth are repulsive or unacceptable when it does not fit the narrative. AI or algorithm promoted video or tweet that is easy to digest and already aligned with biases, fueling the rage, raising the heart rate, and vilifying those who are different are much more satiating to an uncurious mind that just wants a villain so that the dull mind can feel better about itself. No good guys here. Just dumbing down of America.

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True.
The bar is terribly low in America these days, even at Bearinsider.

There are people here that have law degrees that continue to show zero basic financial aptitude who cant understand basic capital gains tax law and how billionaires have become billionaires, not to mention MBA's that have repeatedly posted here that the "poor have done better" with inflation.

It's mind-boggling just how dumb this place is at times.
Even by people who have advanced degrees.

DiabloWags said:

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cbbass1 said:

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In other words, the Fed is trying to crash the economy. It's the "killing the village in order to save it" philosophy that we saw in the Vietnam debacle.

It appears to be succeeding.

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1.) The FED is not responsible for increasing economic supply chains. Thats the job of the Administration and Congress.

2.) The economy has proven to be quite resilient and is not falling apart as you imply given the recent job growth numbers for January (+504,000) and February +311,000)... not too mention retail sales of +3.0% and consumer spending of +1.8% for January, and a 0.9% increase in wages over the prior month.


https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-consumer-spending-surges-january-inflation-accelerates-2023-02-24/

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I didn't say that the Fed was responsible for easing supply shortages. But by jacking up interest rates, the Fed is making it very costly and nearly impossible for suppliers to invest in increasing production.

Most producers of goods & services today are either a monopoly, or a quasi-monopoly. They have pricing power, meaning that they can charge higher prices without losing sales to competitors. So of course, these producers want their gravy train to continue. Instead of relying on competition between producers to reward increases in production, the Biden/Powell Fed is instead raising interest rates, deliberately increasing unemployment, and in his words, "rebalancing demand" (i.e., reducing Workers' wages & salaries). That is, they're trying to reduce Inflation by reducing consumer demand for goods & services.

That's crazy.

In addition, by raising interest rates & making Workers poorer, the Fed is systematically reducing the demand for consumer products! There simply aren't enough people in the U.S. who can afford to buy cars, appliances, or any consumer products that might not be absolutely necessary. So companies no longer invest in increasing production; they invest in buying back their own shares -- it's a far better ROI for them.

Whenever there's a supply shortage, producers have two choices: they can either

• raise prices & increase earnings, OR;
• invest in increased supply, & increase market share.

IF there's competition, in a healthy economy, the prudent long-term strategy is usually to increase production & gain market share.

BUT, if there's no competition, the way to maximize earnings is to simply jack up prices, take truckloads of money to the bank, and hope that the situation continues. Sadly, with close to zero anti-trust enforcement since the Reagan years, this is where we'll be stuck. Until it collapses.

The Fed's interest rate policy is designed to not only reduce Aggregate Demand, but also to extend existing supply shortages, and lock in extreme profits for manufacturers.

This is not only unsustainable, but it's cruel, and self-defeating. It's a massive transfer of wealth from Worker/Customer/Voters to corporate balance sheets. It's also guaranteed to reduce the primary source of revenue from operations -- which is, ultimately the wages & salaries that Worker/Customers receive in exchange for their Labor.

Anyone expecting Worker/Customer/Voters to vote for more of this idiocy in 2024 is in for a rude surprise, regardless of the party promoting it.

cbbass1 said:

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DiabloWags said:

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cbbass1 said:

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That is, they're trying to reduce Inflation by reducing consumer demand for goods & services.

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Of course they are trying to reduce consumer demand.
This isnt ROCKET SCIENCE.

And because the Fed doesnt get any help from the idiots in Congress, this is literally the only "tool" in their toolbox to bring inflation down.

Duh.

cbbass1 said:

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Anyone expecting Worker/Customer/Voters to vote for more of this idiocy in 2024 is in for a rude surprise, regardless of the party promoting it.

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Your Pro-Labor "buddy" Dajo9 will.
He LOVES BIDEN.

"Jeff Bezos reportedly purchased a $75 million "support yacht" with a helipad to trail his $500 million superyacht.

Meanwhile, Amazon doesn't want workers to organize for better pay and safer working conditions.

This is what oligarchy looks like."

True or false ?

False.

Which parts are false ? Or all of it is lies ?

OdontoBear66 said:

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DiabloWags said:

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False.

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Are you on the pass or fail system....Sure hope dajo, class and the likes aren't your Profs

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I'm on the TikTok system.

Where is the TikTok link ?

Random question

Could he have purchased a 25 million trail vessel and a 125 million yacht?

I'm just asking

going4roses said:

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Random question

Could he have purchased a 25 million trail vessel and a 125 million yacht?

I'm just asking

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Seriously. 75 million dollars for a "support yacht"?!? My regular yacht isn't even worth that much!

going4roses said:

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Random question

Could he have purchased a 25 million trail vessel and a 125 million yacht?

I'm just asking

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No, he could not have.

Wags I was trying lol

dimitrig said:

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dajo9 said:

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Cal_79 said:

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dajo9 said:

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Cal_79 said:

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TandemBear said:

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Cal_79 said:

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dajo9 said:

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I've had a chance to review Biden's budget plan and I support it though it will raise my own taxes. It will help reduce income inequality and be good for the country's finances. It isn't as good as Warren's plan which would tax wealth instead of boosting high end marginal rates.

There are better ways to go about improving America's financial situation from an economic standpoint but the staunch defense put up against taxing wealth means higher taxes on income. I'd rather see lower marginal income tax rates and wealth taxes but this will do as a compromise with the staunch defenders of the tax sanctity of wealth. Until people realize taxing wealth is the way out of this mess, the affluent will continue to be soaked.

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Why is more taxes the default response? Why shouldn't cleaning up or eliminating spending on wasteful and/or ineffective programs that don't work be the first response?

Rather than politicians constantly asking for more, why not better use of what they've already got?

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Are you KIDDING? Look around you! Our roads are falling apart. Our schools look like crap. Bridges collapsing. "Deferred maintenance" is the norm. We underfund the IRS so they can't do their jobs. Cuts, cuts, cuts is what you want?

The private sector has proven it cannot be trusted to pay living wage jobs for the VAST MAJORITY of the population. Running everything "lean and mean" has produced almost endless desperation. I cycled 30 miles in San Jose on Tuesday past endless homeless camps. This is now the NORM. Despite being dead-center in Silicon Valley, yet homeless by the thousands. How does that make ANY sense? All thanks to the attitudes like you that we cannot trust governments to spend money well. I say we fail to trust them enough.

I live in Oakland where so much is crumbling. City jobs are hard to come by. Yet City infrastructure is falling apart. Many of our public spaces are now maintained by volunteer labor. Why? Let's PAY folks needing jobs to do this work and let everyone enjoy their weekends instead. Americans work enough hours on the clock, we shouldn't be asked to donate more hours to work - especially unpaid! We need to be spending BILLIONS a year to restore our city to what it was and could be. And this means thousands and thousands of living wage, secure jobs with full benefits and retirement (even, god forbid, PENSIONS?!!!) packages. THAT'S what gives people prosperity, not cuts, cuts, cuts.

We need FAR MORE GOVERNMENT SPENDING to rebuild this country. From roads and bridges, to National and State Parks, universities, and all the rest. Oh and what about universal pre-school? Who doesn't support this? But let's pay early-education professionals living wages. Gee, what an idea. To actually properly compensate those responsible for bringing your children into the educational environment. (Right now, early education is one of the worst-paid jobs, yet we say we value children.)

If you want to go after "wasteful spending," then fire the ENTIRE private "health" insurance industry and install single-payer health care. That right there saves $1.3 TRILLION dollars every single year. Pre-tax dollars, that works out to about $6k per American and thus $24k per family of four.

If you REALLY wanted to improve efficiency in spending, you'd adopt single-payer. But nope, you'll continue your tirade on public sector spending like it's some huge problem, while leaving the true waste to continue unabated.

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Is it your suggestion that wiser use of our tax dollars is not a good idea? Is it your suggestion that there is no mismanagement of the tax dollars already being collected?

Rather than asking for more and more tax dollars, properly manage the tax dollars already being collected. Why is this too much to ask?

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Love these Reagan era fossils still trotting out the same lines after 40 years of failure

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Seems you have no problem taking and spending other people's money.

What's your opposition to making sure the taxes already being collected are properly managed... BEFORE ASKING FOR MORE?

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As I've said. At the Federal level that's been said for 40 years. It's a failure. I've asked you multiple times to name the programs and dollar amounts you think can be saved. For 40 years, that question goes unanswered as our debt balloons. At this point, it's a joke.

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There is only one answer to the question and that is to cut the budget for the Department of Defense. It consumes almost all of our discretionary spending. There isn't anything else to cut that would make a dent in the budget other than Medicare and Social Security and I think we know which party is subtly trying to kill those.

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The chart used for this discussion is misleading.

The discussion revolves around the U.S. Federal Budget, and how the Federal spending under that Budget is allocated.

The figure is misleading because it contains Social Security and Medicare.

However, the U.S. Federal Budget does NOT include Social Security and Medicare. Both are separate programs, with completely separate administration and funding -- which is apparent if you look at your W-2 or any pay stub.

"Conservatives" use pie charts like this to call attention to what they consider "entitlements", which they deride as excessive spending.

They also point at SS & Medicare in order to distract attention from the "elephant in the room", which @dajo9 accurately pointed out: U.S. Military / "defense" spending.

This "defense" spending is anything BUT "defense". We spend enormous sums of $$$ -- now nearly $1 Trillion/year -- to maintain and expand the American Empire. This Empire provides extreme wealth to a few "defense" & "intelligence" contractors, resource oligarchs, and corporations. However, The Empire provides no benefit for American Taxpayers & Workers. We pay, while the oligarchs & shareholders benefit.

This excessive military spending does NOT result in increased safety for the American People. In fact, it makes us far less safe. American Imperial aggression has brought us to the brink of nuclear war in both Iran and Ukraine.

Unfortunately, there is no sign of sanity among the managers of this American Empire. They continue to push for more war, without restraint, and continue to discuss the use of "tactical" nuclear weapons as if they were simply a somewhat-bigger bomb. An alarming number of U.S. military people and politicians seem convinced that the U.S. can "win" a nuclear war. This is not the case.

Also unfortunately, many of these oligarchs -- many of whom identify as "Christian Zionists" -- believe that we are rapidly approaching the "End Times", and the 2nd coming of Jesus. Many of these same oligarchs have also built extensive bunkers in various parts of the world, in order to survive whatever happens.

If a Christian Zionist builds a bunker, does that indicate a lack of Faith? But I digress....

What they might not realize is that if there is a nuclear war, any survivors will envy the dead.