The tax exclusion is the result of collective bargaining at some point in the past. I have no idea when that occurred but my wife, who was a NY state employee, was told that unions made salary and other concessions in return for the exclusion. I have no idea which side came out ahead.
One of my sons and his wife view themselves as living paycheck tp paycheck but they do contribute enough to their retirement plan each month to get their employers match. I have no idea if they are saving enough to have a comfortable retirement. However, my point is simply that we shouldn't assume that everyone who says they are living paycheck to paycheck isn't also putting money into a retirement plan.
Our CCRC requires a large entrance fee that is 80% refundable when you die or leave the community. It also only admits applicants with assets that it thinks will make it unlikely that they will live long enough to run out of money. And, if you run out of money to pay your monthly fee the CCRC can deduct money from your entrance fee. The CCRC also assumes that you will be able to make a partial payment with your SS income for as long as you live. Thus the CCRC only picks up the tab if you live past the point where your entrance fee is exhausted. Of course, the CCRC does gradually loose the income it was earning from investing your entrance fee if it has to be used to cover your monthly fees.
You still seem unable to offer an explanation for why some people create their own hardships. What are your criteria for making the distinction between those who face hardship through no fault of their own and those who create their own hardships? For example, in which category would you put someone with slightly below average intelligence who was raised by spendthrift parents?
As I've said before in response to your numerous similar posts, you seem obsessed with criticizing those with excessive credit card desbt as irresponsible without ever making an attempt to understand the underlying causes of their excessive credit card debt. Do you have an opinion as to what causes "irresponsible" financial behavior? You clearly won the lottery on intelligence and conscientiousness. Unfortunately, the same is not true for empathy. Have you ever asked yourself what aspect of your personality causes you to obsess so much about the poor financial behavior of others?
Why do you think some people who could raise themselve up fail to do so? I suspect you think it is solely their fault. However, that explanation fails to make any effort to understand why someone would choose to remain poor and unsuccessful. It also ignores such things as research on identical twins reared apart that found that the personality trait of conscientious, which includes plan unless, goal setting, has a heritability of 45%-50%. (Conscientiousness subtracts include achievement striving, planfunless, dutifulness, competence, and self-discipline.) You also ignore enviornmental factors such as having spendthrift parents. While you brought yourself up from a very modest childhood, your clearly won the intelligence lottery and I suspect to also won the genetic portion of the conscientiousness lottery.
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The tax exclusion is the result of collective bargaining at some point in the past. I have no idea when that occurred but my wife, who was a NY state employee, was told that unions made salary and other concessions in return for the exclusion. I have no idea which side came out ahead.
Post: The best state to retire? Take a close look.
Link to comment from September 7, 2026
One of my sons and his wife view themselves as living paycheck tp paycheck but they do contribute enough to their retirement plan each month to get their employers match. I have no idea if they are saving enough to have a comfortable retirement. However, my point is simply that we shouldn't assume that everyone who says they are living paycheck to paycheck isn't also putting money into a retirement plan.
Post: A bleak picture for retirement in the future?
Link to comment from September 7, 2026
Our CCRC requires a large entrance fee that is 80% refundable when you die or leave the community. It also only admits applicants with assets that it thinks will make it unlikely that they will live long enough to run out of money. And, if you run out of money to pay your monthly fee the CCRC can deduct money from your entrance fee. The CCRC also assumes that you will be able to make a partial payment with your SS income for as long as you live. Thus the CCRC only picks up the tab if you live past the point where your entrance fee is exhausted. Of course, the CCRC does gradually loose the income it was earning from investing your entrance fee if it has to be used to cover your monthly fees.
Post: Percentage that “age in place”
Link to comment from September 4, 2026
You still seem unable to offer an explanation for why some people create their own hardships. What are your criteria for making the distinction between those who face hardship through no fault of their own and those who create their own hardships? For example, in which category would you put someone with slightly below average intelligence who was raised by spendthrift parents?
Post: This would be a great posting on a web site with the name “HaughtyDollar.”
Link to comment from September 1, 2026
As I've said before in response to your numerous similar posts, you seem obsessed with criticizing those with excessive credit card desbt as irresponsible without ever making an attempt to understand the underlying causes of their excessive credit card debt. Do you have an opinion as to what causes "irresponsible" financial behavior? You clearly won the lottery on intelligence and conscientiousness. Unfortunately, the same is not true for empathy. Have you ever asked yourself what aspect of your personality causes you to obsess so much about the poor financial behavior of others?
Post: This would be a great posting on a web site with the name “HaughtyDollar.”
Link to comment from September 1, 2026
Why do you think some people who could raise themselve up fail to do so? I suspect you think it is solely their fault. However, that explanation fails to make any effort to understand why someone would choose to remain poor and unsuccessful. It also ignores such things as research on identical twins reared apart that found that the personality trait of conscientious, which includes plan unless, goal setting, has a heritability of 45%-50%. (Conscientiousness subtracts include achievement striving, planfunless, dutifulness, competence, and self-discipline.) You also ignore enviornmental factors such as having spendthrift parents. While you brought yourself up from a very modest childhood, your clearly won the intelligence lottery and I suspect to also won the genetic portion of the conscientiousness lottery.
Post: The Lottery of Birth
Link to comment from August 22, 2026