Server Sue works a five-hour shift, ostensibly for $3/hr, and collects $85 in cash tips. The tax rate is 20%.
She reports her tips (honestly) and goes home with $85 cash and a paycheck (or pay stub, or whatever) marked "$0".
She fills out her tax return: gross income $15 + $85 = $100, rate 20%, tax $20, withheld $15, tax due $20 - $15 = $5. She takes $5 out of the jelly jar and mails it to the tax collector.
Did I get that right? Does she pay the $5, or does the Fed "eat the difference"? Does she wind up with $80 for that shift? Or $85? Or some other amount? Note that I'm not asking about other things like the price of postage stamps, or MEANINGLESS distinctions like whether she paid $15 or was not paid $15, or was paid and then charged $15. Did I describe the sequence of events and states correctly?
That's what I thought. It's one reason I tip in cash, no matter how I pay the check.
(Someday my credit card company will call up and ask me why I always tip "$0", and I'll give them my best Scrooge voice: "They think themselves ill-used, I'll be bound!...")
I'm not aware of any wordview/ethical position that says it's OK to not pay people for the work they do.
This might not be the best place to say that.
Anyway, I have a worldview/ethical position in which it is absolutely 100% OK to not pay people for the work they do in some cases. And before you reply, please reflect on the fact that I work hard at my job and you have never paid me. [Note for the logic-impaired: I know that it is not appropriate to expect ottermaton to pay me, I am simply demonstrating the worldview/ethical position in question, and showing that ottermaton's argument requires a great deal work before it can stand on its own, more than I feel like doing today.]
"Huh? Are you implying that this isn't a real situation, that I just made this up?"
No, I was implying that your point was a kind of arithmetical wordplay, whether the situation was real or not.
>But let's be serious again. The server's net income for the evening comes out to $91.32
It doesn't work like that -- more evidence (as if any was needed) that you don't know what you're talking about.
Oh? You said (in your scenario) that the server had "hourly pay" of $2.83 * 5 = $14.15, plus $100 in tips, and had to pay 20% in tax. By my calculation, $14.15 + $100 = $114.15, 20% of that is $22.83, leaving $91.32, but now you add:
Taxes are only taken out of a paycheck. That's why it's called Income Withholding. Servers don't pay taxes into the system. The Fed just eats the difference.
That's news to me, but if it's true then I must correct my figure: the server's net income for the evening is $0+$100 = $100, and once again the fact that none of this is in the form of a check means nothing.
I guess the point was lost on you, so I'll give it another shot...
Sure, you can take another shot, as long as you don't change the scenario.
Let's go on the assumption that the net income would have been $100, [and you contributed $30 of it].
You decide you don't wanna tip. Guess what? You have just removed $30 from that servers net income. Now it's only $70.
No, you subtracted it when you changed the scenario. I added it in the first scenario; I didn't add it in the second, just as if I hadn't dined at the restaurant.
[Personal attacks]... You are refusing to pay someone for work they did directly for you without a middleman... the bargain you made when you walked in the door...[personal attacks]...
Ah, now you're no longer talking about numbers, but principle, which is a fair change to make. But look at how that "bargain" works. I have left tips more that 15% many times, but I've never had a server run after me to give me back the surplus. And oddly enough, the convention is a percentage of the price of the dishes, as if the service has anything to do with that. Still, as long as we are now talking about a matter of courtesy and not of accounting, I don't see much to argue about. (But if that's the point you're going for, you might ease up on the personal attacks.)
"A server works a 5 hour shift... The [wages] for that time worked comes out to be $2.83 * 5 = $14.15... [Tips were] $100. [Tax rate is] 20%. So that server owes the gov't $20 in taxes for the amount of tips made. Which comes out of the payroll of $14.15. Obv, that's a negative number. The server's paycheck comes out to be $0."
So if I want to increase the servers paycheck (which naturally I do), then I should refrain from giving a tip, so that the server won't have such a huge tax bill and can take some of those wages home.
I get it, you made a mildly funny math joke, like "What Happened to the Last Dollar?" But let's be serious again. The server's net income for the evening comes out to $91.32, I'm with you so far, go on...
'I sit in the minority who appreciate the removal of comments from news sites... Trying to wade through that shit to find the one or two decent comments isn't anyone's definition of "a pleasant experience".'
I don't understand. You'd prefer not to read the comments at all? Then why not... refrain from reading the comments at all? If you prefer to read the article and not the comments, you can do just that regardless of whether there's a comment section down at the bottom or not.
I understand if you just can't help but dive into the comment section-- really, I do. But wouldn't it be better to have a browser setting, or a separate page, to remove that temptation while still allowing discussion for those who want it?
"Why does France not make it illegal to bypass the filter?"
Because that would make French citizens the criminals. The major theme of the French legal system is to make foreigners the criminals whenever possible, and logic be damned.
IANAL, but I thought this was covered under "inalienable rights"; I have certain rights which I cannot give up even if I want to, so any contract I sign which requires me to give them up is invalid.
To be fair, they're not asking for that power. They're not saying "you two may not exchange notes", they're saying "I won't carry notes back and forth between you".
(Actually, they're saying "I'll carry your notes more slowly than others and charge you more for them", but the principle is "I won't carry them".)
Police lie under oath. Police officers who perjure themselves are rarely punished. Police informants are often paid in drugs or reduced sentences, and will say anything their handlers want to hear. Lab technicians in forensics labs are rewarded according to how much their results help the police, and can falsify results for years -- even at an implausible rate -- without being caught. Police "drug-sniffing" dogs will "react" when their handlers want them to, and are not removed from service for false positives. Warrants are often issued on the basis of all of the above.
If you find yourself on a jury, remember these facts.
I've been asking for years why we don't a control policy at these police-affiliated, District-Attorney-influenced labs:
"You will be analyzing specimens taken from crime scenes and from suspects in custody, but occasionally some of them will actually be control samples prepared by the Public Defender's office. If you return one false positive, your career is over and the Public Defender's office gets your pension."
"The State alleged that Judge Brown had seen and signed the affidavit and the underlying facts and circumstances sheet when he signed the search warrant."
"Bailiff, call Judge Brown to the stand."
"You can't call me to the stand, I'm a judge!"
"Well, the day is young, and you signed a blank warrant..."
On the post: DailyDirt: Leaving A Good Tip...
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Traditionaly here...
This isn't really the place for discussion of rationality and cognitive science, but I might just be able to get an essay out of this thread...
On the post: DailyDirt: Leaving A Good Tip...
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Traditionaly here...
Server Sue works a five-hour shift, ostensibly for $3/hr, and collects $85 in cash tips. The tax rate is 20%.
She reports her tips (honestly) and goes home with $85 cash and a paycheck (or pay stub, or whatever) marked "$0".
She fills out her tax return: gross income $15 + $85 = $100, rate 20%, tax $20, withheld $15, tax due $20 - $15 = $5. She takes $5 out of the jelly jar and mails it to the tax collector.
Did I get that right? Does she pay the $5, or does the Fed "eat the difference"? Does she wind up with $80 for that shift? Or $85? Or some other amount? Note that I'm not asking about other things like the price of postage stamps, or MEANINGLESS distinctions like whether she paid $15 or was not paid $15, or was paid and then charged $15. Did I describe the sequence of events and states correctly?
On the post: DailyDirt: Leaving A Good Tip...
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Traditionaly here...
(Someday my credit card company will call up and ask me why I always tip "$0", and I'll give them my best Scrooge voice: "They think themselves ill-used, I'll be bound!...")
On the post: DailyDirt: Leaving A Good Tip...
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Traditionaly here...
This might not be the best place to say that.
Anyway, I have a worldview/ethical position in which it is absolutely 100% OK to not pay people for the work they do in some cases. And before you reply, please reflect on the fact that I work hard at my job and you have never paid me. [Note for the logic-impaired: I know that it is not appropriate to expect ottermaton to pay me, I am simply demonstrating the worldview/ethical position in question, and showing that ottermaton's argument requires a great deal work before it can stand on its own, more than I feel like doing today.]
On the post: DailyDirt: Leaving A Good Tip...
Re: Re: Re: Re: Traditionaly here...
No, I was implying that your point was a kind of arithmetical wordplay, whether the situation was real or not.
>But let's be serious again. The server's net income for the evening comes out to $91.32
It doesn't work like that -- more evidence (as if any was needed) that you don't know what you're talking about.
Oh? You said (in your scenario) that the server had "hourly pay" of $2.83 * 5 = $14.15, plus $100 in tips, and had to pay 20% in tax. By my calculation, $14.15 + $100 = $114.15, 20% of that is $22.83, leaving $91.32, but now you add:
Taxes are only taken out of a paycheck. That's why it's called Income Withholding. Servers don't pay taxes into the system. The Fed just eats the difference.
That's news to me, but if it's true then I must correct my figure: the server's net income for the evening is $0+$100 = $100, and once again the fact that none of this is in the form of a check means nothing.
I guess the point was lost on you, so I'll give it another shot...
Sure, you can take another shot, as long as you don't change the scenario.
Let's go on the assumption that the net income would have been $100, [and you contributed $30 of it].
You decide you don't wanna tip. Guess what? You have just removed $30 from that servers net income. Now it's only $70.
No, you subtracted it when you changed the scenario. I added it in the first scenario; I didn't add it in the second, just as if I hadn't dined at the restaurant.
[Personal attacks]... You are refusing to pay someone for work they did directly for you without a middleman... the bargain you made when you walked in the door...[personal attacks]...
Ah, now you're no longer talking about numbers, but principle, which is a fair change to make. But look at how that "bargain" works. I have left tips more that 15% many times, but I've never had a server run after me to give me back the surplus. And oddly enough, the convention is a percentage of the price of the dishes, as if the service has anything to do with that. Still, as long as we are now talking about a matter of courtesy and not of accounting, I don't see much to argue about. (But if that's the point you're going for, you might ease up on the personal attacks.)
On the post: DailyDirt: Leaving A Good Tip...
Re: Re: Traditionaly here...
So if I want to increase the servers paycheck (which naturally I do), then I should refrain from giving a tip, so that the server won't have such a huge tax bill and can take some of those wages home.
I get it, you made a mildly funny math joke, like "What Happened to the Last Dollar?" But let's be serious again. The server's net income for the evening comes out to $91.32, I'm with you so far, go on...
...Oh, was that it?
On the post: Fox News Anchor's Suit Over Toy Hamster Likeness Results In Hilarious Point-By-Point Hasbro Rebuttal
your witness
On the post: The Trend Of Killing News Comment Sections Because You 'Just Really Value Conversation' Stupidly Continues
Re:
I don't understand. You'd prefer not to read the comments at all? Then why not... refrain from reading the comments at all? If you prefer to read the article and not the comments, you can do just that regardless of whether there's a comment section down at the bottom or not.
I understand if you just can't help but dive into the comment section-- really, I do. But wouldn't it be better to have a browser setting, or a separate page, to remove that temptation while still allowing discussion for those who want it?
On the post: The Drug War Is Creating Problems Too Big To Fix
Re: Re: Re: Re: failure to test
On the post: French Regulating Body Says Google Must Honor Right To Be Forgotten Across All Of Its Domains
the magic words
"But that would be absurd--"
"JUST DO EET!"
"All right, there, it's done."
"Eh? But you 'ave not removed zem from zee othair domains!"
"Well no, you have authority over--"
"To 'ave zem down on google.fr but steel up elsewhere, zis would be absurd!"
"Yes, we know, we--"
"Because, you see, someone can use one of ze ozair domains."
"Yes, we know, we do this for a living, and--"
"Take zem all down! Everywhere! JUST DO EET!"
"You want your law to apply throughout the world?"
"Mais non! We 'ave not said zees! We 'ave asked only zat you who are offering service 'ere observe our law."
"Your law, which you're telling us to observe around the world?"
"Yes... Non! Oui! JUST DO EET!"
On the post: French Regulating Body Says Google Must Honor Right To Be Forgotten Across All Of Its Domains
Re: Some issues I have with this
Because that would make French citizens the criminals. The major theme of the French legal system is to make foreigners the criminals whenever possible, and logic be damned.
On the post: French Regulating Body Says Google Must Honor Right To Be Forgotten Across All Of Its Domains
Re: Re:
What if Venezuelan law can? Google Inc. has presence in Venezuela, doesn't it?
On the post: FCC: Sorry, No -- Net Neutrality Does Not Violate ISPs' First Amendment Rights
Re:
On the post: FCC: Sorry, No -- Net Neutrality Does Not Violate ISPs' First Amendment Rights
Re:
(Actually, they're saying "I'll carry your notes more slowly than others and charge you more for them", but the principle is "I won't carry them".)
On the post: Confidential Informants: Inherently Trustworthy Until They're Not
Re: Re: Re: “Westcott had a gun (a legally-owned one) which he raised...”
On the post: Mother Of Daughter Who Committed Suicide Sues Amazon For Facilitating The Purchase Of Cyanide From A Third-Party Seller
Re:
Citation needed. And some definitions; by "charges", do you mean "accusations", and by "warranted", do you mean "true"?
On the post: Confidential Informants: Inherently Trustworthy Until They're Not
instructions for jurors
Police lie under oath.
Police officers who perjure themselves are rarely punished.
Police informants are often paid in drugs or reduced sentences, and will say anything their handlers want to hear.
Lab technicians in forensics labs are rewarded according to how much their results help the police, and can falsify results for years -- even at an implausible rate -- without being caught.
Police "drug-sniffing" dogs will "react" when their handlers want them to, and are not removed from service for false positives.
Warrants are often issued on the basis of all of the above.
If you find yourself on a jury, remember these facts.
On the post: The Drug War Is Creating Problems Too Big To Fix
failure to test
"You will be analyzing specimens taken from crime scenes and from suspects in custody, but occasionally some of them will actually be control samples prepared by the Public Defender's office. If you return one false positive, your career is over and the Public Defender's office gets your pension."
On the post: Narcotics Team 'Loses' $294,000 In Seized Cash Because It Omitted The Location To Be Searched From Its Search Warrant
Judicial Fantasy #8
"Bailiff, call Judge Brown to the stand."
"You can't call me to the stand, I'm a judge!"
"Well, the day is young, and you signed a blank warrant..."
On the post: Body Cam Footage Clears Police Officer Of Bogus Sexual Assault Allegations
Re: Re: Re:
Next >>