pollardsvision

The model? The Democratic Party doesn't have much to model success for a good chunk of our lifetimes. 2 Presidents in 4 decades. Clinton was a young moderate. Obama was a young moderate. The right will disagree on the latter, but certainly not the woke left. You talk to a Bernie guy for any length of time, and they'll make Obama out to be Reagan. So, the Democratic Party has been getting crushed in the EC for decades, and the only success has been with young moderates. I'm not sure how that model points to an 80 year old Progressive. To find a true progressive winning the WH, you probably have to go back 90 years, and it took the Great Depression to pull that off. And I might even argue the VA state races as a model is exactly the opposite of what we need. What happened in VA is that NOVA and the coast took over the state. The state as a whole is incredibly divided, and the rural areas are mad and defiant. VA can swing without appealing to rural voters. A Presidential Election cannot.

For most. But there are some that really only see it as an investment vehicle. Withdrawals for reimbursements for medical expenses can be drawn during a later tax year, and there's currently no limit to what "later" means. So, you can pay current medical expenses out of pocket, keep good receipts and records, then say, 20 years from now, go ahead and take the withdrawals to reimburse. So, you pay for the medical expenses, but still get the tax-free growth from having it invested long-term.

I've never been to one and certainly don't get it, but as we all get busier, pretty much any reason to get together, shoot the ####, and have a few cold pops is a good one.

Your mother sounds like she was a very wise woman, and her advice is fitting here. Hang in there. I think you're right that now is the time you have to consider how much you'll allow her poor choices to effect you. But just keep being the most positive influence you can be. She'll find her way. For young women, as long as they don't fall in love and procreate with a total dirtbag, they can buy themselves a lot of time to find their way.

Chuck Bartowski.

Cocktail for sure. I don't get the dry roasted thing. Preferring dry roasted makes about as much sense as preferring baked potato chips over fried.

I really don't care for OJ. Or any juice. Or really any beverage other than beer, water, coffee, and whiskey. But back when I did drink it, I liked pulp. It was a nice reminder that a few years prior, before it was processed to hell, stored in some silo, then mixed with sugar, it was indeed at one point, an orange.

I was going to ask if you lived the sort of neighborhood where you could get away with shooting them, but I guess so. Given that your town actively doesn't want to help, I really only see 3 options. You do the trap/neuter game if you've got the time and money, find somebody else to do the trap/neuter game, or pretend they are raccoons on your front steps.

Call me a lib just doubting Trump, and maybe this was the right thing, but I'm sorry, the guy from The Apprentice is now in charge of what could end up being a War. I'm clueless and nervous. I'm nervous just as I would be if Kim Kardashian* had launched some attack in Asia (btw, China and North Korea must be loving this, now that our resources are drained for another decade or so). *Sorry, what are Trump's credentials that outpace hers?

From the sound of it, if there's something you wanted, you could buy it (this is FBG's, afterall). Giving is always the most fun way to spend money. Outside of the expensive dinner with buddies (great idea), most anything else is probably something that would end up in the way. Laying $1000 in the hands of someone that desperately needs it would easily bring you the most joy. Or put it in the IRA of your favorite young person. Giving $1000 is fun. Giving the first $100,000 of someone's retirement seems like a whole bunch of fun.

70% of rich families lose their wealth in the 2nd generation. Not sure why, but the responses in this thread made me think of that.

Definitely agree with the bolded (don't disagree about the education part, I just think there are ways to do that affordably). I don't wrestle with how I feel about "you basically need to have X kids and both parents have to work". Basing the number of kids you have based on your income outlook? What's wrong with that? In fact, that might be the single most important lifelong financial decision one can make (when to have kids). The most assured way to be impoverished is to have a child at a very young age without a dependable partner. But generally speaking at a range of economic levels, folks need to make some sort of rational decisions when it comes to family planning (or lack of). And both parents working isn't some hardship. Just plain hard work? I'd say $13 an hour is very attainable for someone with minimum skills that's willing to work. I'd also say 60 hours a week isn't some horrible thing (I work more than that for far less than $13/hour). That's $3100/mo pretax (assuming 2 jobs, so no overtime). About $2500 a month take home. Again, I'm talking minimal skills, just plain "hard work". A single person can do just fine with $2500/mo. $1500 should easily be able to cover housing/utilities/food (obviously not talking high COL areas). I agree, healthcare costs are a pretty big wildcard (whether they've got employer benefits or not, but even without, this person would get a subsidy). Call it $300/mo for a single youngish person. So, $500-800/month for additional lifestyle expenses or (hopefully) savings goals. Again, this is the worst case scenario for a super-low skilled healthy single person. Now, you throw in a partner/spouse/family and things get different. Any partner income coming in to play here changes this equation dramatically for the better (again, assuming there's some reasonable family planning). No, this isn't always "fun". I'm not sure that's much of a factor. I suspect I'm not the only person that grew up in a household where watching what my parents had to do to keep the bills paid didn't look much like "fun" (though a heck of a lot of joy, love, and contentment). I totally agree about healthcare, though. Folks shouldn't go broke over it, especially being something largely out of their control.

This is obviously a very complex issue. One in which I have no idea what the answer is (not even confident enough to even vote in this poll). OTOH, I think rich folks should pay more taxes. I'd love to see single payer healthcare, etc. For the most part, I'm a liberal on these issues. OTOH, anecdotally, I'm amazed at how many people can get by with no work ethic at all. Stacked as the deck may be, you can get by in this country with low-skilled jobs if you are willing to work. If you get married, you need to pick a partner that'll work (from what I see, so many fail to demand that qualification in a partner). You probably don't need to have 6 kids working in a low-skilled job. Probably best to avoid car payments on a new truck. And of course, live on a budget. Working in the restaurant business might have me jaded. I see so many people that either make enough money, or have the ability to make enough money, for a comfortable living blowing it with poor decisions and taking little responsibility for their own circumstances. These issues likely aren't even really related, just my thoughts. No, we aren't doing enough for those that truly need help. No, we shouldn't cut safety net programs just because some abuse them. Yes, politically, it's going the wrong way and the rich will certainly just keep getting richer. But I have my "get off my lawn" side that just wants to tell some people to stop whining and go to work. It's possible to make it in this country if you're willing do so.

Yeah, and really as Hagen mentioned with jewelry, it's only smaller stuff that may have value (like guns). Anything that takes up space (furniture, appliances) can routinely be found for free for anyone willing to haul it off. Heck, most of the furniture and appliances in my house (which is comfortably furnished and has 4 fridges not counting the one I just gave away) were either free or came with the house. One of these days I might upgrade the couch (which was free). My concern is not the cost of a new one. It's the PITA of getting rid of the current one.

To me, the phrase implies domination. Back when we used to play spades and hearts that was always a term that would be thrown out whenever someone had some momentum and a few cold beers in them. Walking the dog as in taking the lead. In general the human with the leash in their hand takes dominion over the dog. Phrase could also be implied to mean making someone you're b-word, as the kids might say today.