 Ahrenl
join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA
edit:
May 26th, @09:28AM
| About time... About time this showed up.. 
As far as it only being for long-distance; when sec. Snow announced this, he mentioned that it will most likely be pulled through to local service as well. | |
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 | kjl1977
join:2003-02-20
Bolingbrook, IL
| Re: About time... I wish people in this country would stop protesting about gay marriage and immigration and band together and start protesting how we are continually raped with outrageous taxes like this.
Isn't this the whole reason we separated from England?!? :P | |
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major marco
Res Firma Mitescere Nescit
Premium
join:2003-02-13
Mission Viejo, CA
clubs:
| Re: About time... said by kjl1977  :I wish people in this country would stop protesting about gay marriage and immigration and band together and start protesting how we are continually raped with outrageous taxes like this. Isn't this the whole reason we separated from England?!? :P The only people who care about gay marriage/immigration/abortion are a very minor but vocal few whackjobs. The corporately consolidated media, however, would have you believe it is the entire country that gives a sh*t about those matters when in reality it is just the biblethumpers and other weak minded sheep who want government and religion to merge.
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Choose Net Neutrality Now or Lose It: www.savetheinternet.com
www.spikedhumor.com/articles/28228/Death_Of_The_Internet.html | |
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| | | rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO
 ·Charter Pipeline
 ·Vonage
| Re: About time... said by major marco :said by kjl1977 :I wish people in this country would stop protesting about gay marriage and immigration and band together and start protesting how we are continually raped with outrageous taxes like this. Isn't this the whole reason we separated from England?!? :P The only people who care about gay marriage/immigration/abortion are a very minor but vocal few whackjobs. The corporately consolidated media, however, would have you believe it is the entire country that gives a sh*t about those matters when in reality it is just the biblethumpers and other weak minded sheep who want government and religion to merge. And with that kind of reasoning don't forget to classify all Islamic followers as terrorists.
I question how a single digit percentage of the population can brew a stink about anything -- regardless of left, middle or right.
To get back on topic, a quote from the article:
Originally established in 1898 as a "luxury" tax on wealthy Americans who owned telephones, the federal excise tax on telephone calls is not compatible with today's modern information-age society. Isn't it interesting how public thinking and politicians never change? For all the talk about how corrupt and out-of-touch today's government is, those who don't have always been after those who do. | |
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major marco
Res Firma Mitescere Nescit
Premium
join:2003-02-13
Mission Viejo, CA
clubs:
edit:
May 26th, @03:25PM
| Re: About time... said by rradina :I question how a single digit percentage of the population can brew a stink about anything -- regardless of left, middle or right. How can that "single digit percentage" happen? Two words for you, buddy. Fox News.
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Choose Net Neutrality Now or Lose It: www.savetheinternet.com
www.spikedhumor.com/articles/28228/Death_Of_The_Internet.html | |
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91439306
15,000 Watts of Bass Power
join:2002-10-16
New Milford, CT
edit:
May 26th, @04:04PM
| said by kjl1977 :I wish people in this country would stop protesting about gay marriage and immigration and band together and start protesting how we are continually raped with outrageous taxes like this. Isn't this the whole reason we separated from England?!? :P This is good, but the real dangerous tax is the property tax--a regressive tax based not on income, but on possession of a life-supporting necessity--shelter. With our economy being exported overseas, more people find their incomes insufficient to support a tax rate based on inflated speculated real estate prices. People seeing their taxes increase from less than $100/year to more than $15,000/year because of this inflation are really being hurt more than these piddly phone taxes. If you don't pay your phone taxes, you just lose phone service, but if you don't pay your property taxes, they throw you out on the street.
People, wake up and focus your energy where the real tax evils are being done.
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Take care,
Mark & Mary Ann Weiss
My Kurzweil Music at: '»www.dv-clips.com/theater.htm
'»www.basspig.com Bass Pig's Lair
'»www.mwcomms.com
'»www.adventuresinanimemusic.com Stereo Feed! | |
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| | t3freak
join:2004-04-11
New Port Richey, FL
| You're not raped with outrageous taxes in the United States. The republic (small "r") has a duty to spread the wealth. Taxes in the US are quite low compared to other industrialized nations. Go to Centeral Europe and see what you pay (all inclusive 18% - 30% last I checked). The majority of people in third world nations (most being dirt poor) don't even have the opportunity to pay taxes because money is never really in their hands. | |
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BIGMIKE
"I do not know with what weapons World W
Premium
join:2002-06-07
Westminster, CA
| The War On Waste
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 29, 2002(CBS) On Sept. 10, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld declared war. Not on foreign terrorists, "the adversary's closer to home. It's the Pentagon bureaucracy," he said.
He said money wasted by the military poses a serious threat.
"In fact, it could be said it's a matter of life and death," he said.
Rumsfeld promised change but the next day – Sept. 11-- the world changed and in the rush to fund the war on terrorism, the war on waste seems to have been forgotten.
Just last week President Bush announced, "my 2003 budget calls for more than $48 billion in new defense spending."
More money for the Pentagon, CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales reports, while its own auditors admit the military cannot account for 25 percent of what it spends.
"According to some estimates we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions," Rumsfeld admitted.
$2.3 trillion — that's $8,000 for every man, woman and child in America. To understand how the Pentagon can lose track of trillions, consider the case of one military accountant who tried to find out what happened to a mere $300 million.
"We know it's gone. But we don't know what they spent it on," said Jim Minnery, Defense Finance and Accounting Service.
Minnery, a former Marine turned whistle-blower, is risking his job by speaking out for the first time about the millions he noticed were missing from one defense agency's balance sheets. Minnery tried to follow the money trail, even crisscrossing the country looking for records.
"The director looked at me and said 'Why do you care about this stuff?' It took me aback, you know? My supervisor asking me why I care about doing a good job," said Minnery.
He was reassigned and says officials then covered up the problem by just writing it off.
"They have to cover it up," he said. "That's where the corruption comes in. They have to cover up the fact that they can't do the job."
The Pentagon's Inspector General "partially substantiated" several of Minnery's allegations but could not prove officials tried "to manipulate the financial statements."
Twenty years ago, Department of Defense Analyst Franklin C. Spinney made headlines exposing what he calls the "accounting games." He's still there, and although he does not speak for the Pentagon, he believes the problem has gotten worse.
"Those numbers are pie in the sky. The books are cooked routinely year after year," he said.
Another critic of Pentagon waste, Retired Vice Admiral Jack Shanahan, commanded the Navy's 2nd Fleet the first time Donald Rumsfeld served as Defense Secretary, in 1976.
In his opinion, "With good financial oversight we could find $48 billion in loose change in that building, without having to hit the taxpayers." »www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/···85.shtml
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
# September 10 - U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld holds a press conference to disclose that over $2,000,000,000,000 in Pentagon funds cannot be accounted for. Rumsfeld states: "According to some estimates we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions."
# September 11 - Almost 3,000 killed in the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, The »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001
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Type "miserable failure" in Google | |
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| | rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO
·Charter Pipeline
·Vonage
| Re: About time... Public corporations are no different. Much smaller scale but the same issue.
Ever been involved in a corporate consolidation effort or merger? Millions wasted because the plan goes way over budget. The extra dollars are reclassified as "follow-up" projects so the original estimate makes budget. All this because an executive decides to "make his/her mark" on the company by moving this/that somewhere else. Wall Street always seems to perceive an immediate benefit. The stock rises and the exec bails after cashing the options. A few years down the road the company is back where it was or worse. | |
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Cheese
Premium
join:2003-10-26
Naples, FL
clubs:
| said by Ahrenl :About time this showed up.. As far as it only being for long-distance; when sec. Snow announced this, he mentioned that it will most likely be pulled through to local service as well. Actually, I got a thing in the mail from Sprint Wireless about this the other day. Someone mentioned wireless and wasn't sure if it would apply, it appears it does, but the settlement, as usual, is weak and not worth the effort. | |
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grcore
Power To The People
join:2003-12-06
usa | but wait... and introduce it as the new "Iraq-War" tax... | |
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N3OGH
It's Biden Vs. the Biscuit. Sarah's hot
Premium
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs | Re: but wait... OH WOW.
Two posts and the whole thing goes political.
Could we stick to the topic people, PLEASE??? | |
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Cheese
Premium
join:2003-10-26
Naples, FL
clubs:
| Re: but wait... said by N3OGH :OH WOW. Two posts and the whole thing goes political. Could we stick to the topic people, PLEASE??? I am sad to say, I think I agree with him and NOT to be political  | |
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wifi4milez
In Need Of Garbage Pail Kids 1st Series
join:2004-08-07
New York, NY
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| This tax is crucial! Before everyone gets all upset, lets think about how important this "tax" really is. If the tax is actually repealed then the Spaniards might win the war! Who knows, we might all be speaking Spanish this time next year!! 
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сумасшедшая обезьяна! | |
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| BosstonesOwn
join:2002-12-15
Everett, MA
clubs: | Re: This tax is crucial! Que mi amigo? | |
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blackjeep
join:2001-07-12
Atlanta, GA | But the way things are going, we may REALLY be speaking spanish by the end of next year! | |
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| | Skippy25
join:2000-09-13
Hazelwood, MO | Re: This tax is crucial! Go stand on the border then. | |
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| | | AquaBlaze
Premium
join:2004-02-02
Encino, CA
| Re: This tax is crucial! said by Skippy25 :Go stand on the border then. Darwin not working fast enough for you?  | |
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| | | | Skippy25
join:2000-09-13
Hazelwood, MO | Re: This tax is crucial! Not sure I understand your reply, but to answer your question: no it's not as the stupid appear to be getting more stupid. | |
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raulgarza
join:2000-05-02
Union City, NJ
| well thanks to idiots like you it looks like i will have go stand there, after spending 18 months in Iraq.
and yes I have s choice, i can become a deserter.
In the army/ national guard for 15 years.
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Optimum Rules!!! | |
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| | | | Raz0r
join:2000-02-01
Vallejo, CA
| Re: This tax is crucial! said by raulgarza :well thanks to idiots like you it looks like i will have go stand there, after spending 18 months in Iraq. and yes I have s choice, i can become a deserter. In the army/ national guard for 15 years. It's the "Nation Guard!!!", maybe it's about time they actually did something and Guard the boarders from all the Invading Illegals coming into this country. I don't care WHO is sneaking into this country, Mexicans just have a much easier time at it, but I want ALL blocked. Get in line and wait your turn to get into the US! | |
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moonpuppy
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD
 ·Verizon Online DSL
| "simple"and "fair" do not belong to the IRS dictionary.... quote:
"So taxpayers won’t have to spend time digging through old telephone bills, we’re designing a straightforward process that taxpayers may use when they file their tax returns next year," said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. "Claiming a refund will be simple and fair."
I'll believe it when I see it.  | |
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RadioDoc
Sortofadog
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11
Chicago, IL | Re: "simple"and "fair" do not belong to the IRS dictionary.... Said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson: "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you".
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Toolmaster of La Grange. | |
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rit56
join:2000-12-01
New York, NY | a start ok now how about the Universal Service fund or whatever that mysterious charge is..... no one knows why it's there or where the money goes... drop it. | |
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shaner
Premium
join:2000-10-04
Calgary, AB
| Re: a start said by rit56 :ok now how about the Universal Service fund or whatever that mysterious charge is..... no one knows why it's there or where the money goes... drop it. Correct me if I'm wrong, (and I know all of you will), but isn't the USF used to subsidize the cost of rural phone service?
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Click this and read. -> »www.actsofgord.com/
»Canadian Wireless FAQ
I'm laying pipe,
all night long,
laying pipe,
to satisfy that woman.
- David Wilcox | |
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| | AquaBlaze
Premium
join:2004-02-02
Encino, CA
| Re: a start said by shaner :Correct me if I'm wrong, (and I know all of you will), but isn't the USF used to subsidize the cost of rural phone service? It's supposed to, but it's not. That's why most people lovingly call it the Universal Slush Fund. | |
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| AtlGuy
join:2000-10-17
Marietta, GA
edit:
May 26th, @05:08PM
| Re: what about wireless? You are correct. I just got my first bill from them yesterday, and that tax is on it.
I hope it does apply to wireless, but I'm not holding my breath on that. | |
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bear73
Metnav... Fly The Unfriendly Skies
Premium
join:2001-06-09
Grand Forks Afb, ND
·Midcontinent Commu..
| Google it. USF is an across the board charge to "bring basic phone service to the masses". see link »www.universalservice.org/about/u···service/
There have been numerous threads on the USF here at BBR also... »/nsearch?q=usf
Currently the USF is being used on Katrina relief »www.fcc.gov/wcb/universal_servic···ome.html
There is no getting away from USF, it will likely never be removed. Besides, the first step is removing the Fed Excise Tax in its entirety. After all, the tax started as a "luxury" tax.
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If ya gotta go, Go with a SMILE! | |
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Michieru
zzz zzz zzz
Premium
join:2005-01-28
Miami, FL | . The end of something old and the beginning of something new. Now we got to pay for the war on terror which frankly it's still not over. | |
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bear73
Metnav... Fly The Unfriendly Skies
Premium
join:2001-06-09
Grand Forks Afb, ND
·Midcontinent Commu..
| Re: . Yes, but it would be much better to force a spending reform for the DoD and the Govt in general. I've been in for 12 years now and there is plenty of waste. And it happens for 1 reason. All spending is based on the fiscal year. If it's not spent in that fiscal year, it's gone- pulled back to the Pentagon and Congress. And then Congress gives you less money the following year since you didn't need all that money (apparently). After your budget is decreased after a few years, you are left with next to nothing, and you have a bad year for repairs. Cost shoots up to what you would have had without the cutbacks- but you don't have the money. So you go into the red, or don't fix the equipment. I've seen it go both ways. Then you have folks driving or flying broke shit and getting hurt.
Because of all this, there's a big push every year in the late summer to spend like crazy (fallout money) and you end up with new computers or chairs for 3 years in a row (after all your repairs have been paid for that you went into the "red" for) or other needless spending. If the Congress stopped penalizing the military for not spending money and didn't decrease the following year's budget, then you would see decreased spending as money is returned to the Govt each year. That money could then be returned to some bank account for offsetting the debt, or as a relief fund for disasters or when there is a sharp spike in military spending due to war. Just think if a billion $ per year had been allowed to accrue for the last decade how much better off the country would be. With that money earning interest, the HUGE war spending we've had would be much smaller at this point.
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If ya gotta go, Go with a SMILE! | |
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| | averagedude
join:2002-01-30
Mesa, AZ | Re: . Makes too much sense, so it will never happen. | |
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FiL
Premium
join:2005-08-16
Silver Spring, MD
| yo "Go stand on the border then"
HAHA! Excatly my sentiments to all the wannabe cowboys out here in 'murrikkka.
"So taxpayers won’t have to spend time digging through old telephone bills..."
LMAO. And this way, the taxpayer cant claim credits from the past 100 years. Thats how you keep a lid on money!
Useless taxes ALWAYS win in 'murrikkka. Notice the stressin' of the k's. good. HOLLA! | |
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itsastart
@verizon.net
| Begin by cutting un-necessary taxes/fees The Verizon $29.95 so called "value" unlimited plan adds between $12-16 in taxes and fees. A 3% cut is a start...
What sucks is the way they want you to apply for the retro-active refunds.. it should be the responsibliity of the carriers to know from whom they've collected from and ascertain current address information. | |
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lobsidedtax
@verizon.net | lobsided? weird, one would think they'd ax the complete tax,
huh, local calls are still a luxury?!?
Or, is it a way to give the telcos a "freebie" to start to compete with cableco VOIP?!? | |
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'Spanish American War' Tax Ends
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sign me up! 
