Thursday thoughts, mindless or otherwise

iluvjamison

I think I'm going to throw a bunch of goldfish in my backyard and call it an ornamental pond.

My first hopeful thot was "Pepperidge Farm" and she's hoping they'll grow ... and then I thot "DANG -- NJ -- she's still got floodwater in her yard".

ugh -- flood stuff is THE worst -- the smell, the mess, the expennse, not to mention the danger and horrific problems for the folks in bad situations.

My best friend is in Binghamton, NY and she works at a nursing home and they all got pulled in last night b/c they're going to have to evacuate all the residents.  This just gets so awful for so many ..my prayers are with everyone still under water problems.

iluvjamison

Are you being evacuated Jen - thousands in PA are.

 

Deb W.

Where's Jackie ?  I didn't think so, but is she anywhere near those fires?

Deb W. 

iluvjamison

Where's Jackie ? 

I'm here, just haven't had anything to say today. lol  It's not possible to say that I'm not near any fires because we've had quite a few around town but nothing very big.  The Bastrop fires are about 100 miles from us.  That's the fire that has been out of control and that they show on the national news.  They are starting to get it beat down.  Last I heard, it was 30% contained.  There is a fire at Camp Bullis, near a very posh subdivision, and some residents were evacuated yesterday.  They are all back home but some were acting like royalty who shouldn't have to deal with this sort of thing. 

Whew, glad you are safe Jackie.  Hope you stay that way.

JackieG

It's not possible to say that I'm not near any fires because we've had quite a few around town but nothing very big.  The Bastrop fires are about 100 miles from us.  That's the fire that has been out of control and that they show on the national news.  They are starting to get it beat down.  Last I heard, it was 30% contained.  There is a fire at Camp Bullis, near a very posh subdivision, and some residents were evacuated yesterday.  They are all back home but some were acting like royalty who shouldn't have to deal with this sort of thing

gosh I'm glad you checked in, Jackie!

I just heard from my friend Rita (I've mentioned her -- she's the one who rescued Tink, and she's the one who helps with the epi dog rescue near Austin).  The fires in Leander have been within a mile of their house -- Rita hasn't had to evacuate but her street was closed & she was told if the wind changed they would ... but another rescue friend of hers/mine literally was a block away from the "moonglow" fire in Levander and both fires there AJ's had to evacuate. 

My heart just breaks for all these folks.  From both extremes -- too much rain, too little -- such loss, such tragedy for so many.  Rita pointed out that one of the biggest problems they're having to cope with is the effect of the smoke on the dogs in the whole area (pugs and any of the bracheocephalic dogs in particular), and of course that also means the whole group of people similarly afflicted with lung/breathing problems). 

If anyone hears of any responsible efforts to help let's post it ok??  These are likely those kinds of situations where money is going to help but probably also food, drinking water, medical supplies?

Callie - I've been seeing and sharing a bunch of links for help with animals on FB. There are pages set up that list people who can help with or need help with evacuation, shelter, etc. I wish I lived closer and could do more.

I had a dental cleaning this morning. Up until the last few years, that wouldn't be a big deal but now that I have a couple of areas of concern, I need some deep scaling and go in every 4 months. One particular tooth is untouchable without anesthesia, so I spend 1/2 the day feeling puffed up and almost drooling - blech!

Another 100 degree day today and again tomorrow. The weekend looks like it'll be a bit cooler though.  

I have a question for anyone that knows. How do states that don't collect state income taxes come up with revenues? I can see that Nevada could do it with gambling and maybe Texas with the all the oil there, but what about Florida, Washington and any other state? Anyone know?

ETA - Jackie - I just read about what happened with Charles at work. I can't imagine what he was feeling but I also can't imagine what you were feeling. There was just a shooting at the IHOP up in Carson City and listening to the 911 calls coming in, you could hear the terror in their voices.

cakana

I have a question for anyone that knows. How do states that don't collect state income taxes come up with revenues? I can see that Nevada could do it with gambling and maybe Texas with the all the oil there, but what about Florida, Washington and any other state? Anyone know?

My guess is it is a combination of sales tax as well as taxes on business.  We have a state Franchise tax that businesses pay here.

cakana

I have a question for anyone that knows. How do states that don't collect state income taxes come up with revenues? I can see that Nevada could do it with gambling and maybe Texas with the all the oil there, but what about Florida, Washington and any other state? Anyone know?

My guess is it is a combination of sales tax as well as taxes on business.  We have a state Franchise tax that businesses pay here.

boneyjean

cakana

I have a question for anyone that knows. How do states that don't collect state income taxes come up with revenues? I can see that Nevada could do it with gambling and maybe Texas with the all the oil there, but what about Florida, Washington and any other state? Anyone know?

My guess is it is a combination of sales tax as well as taxes on business.  We have a state Franchise tax that businesses pay here.

What is your sales tax at? It's 8.375% for my area. I'm sure property taxes vary and might be higher in states that don't collect.

The reason it's bugging me is my friend in Florida was talking about the cost of living there and brought up it being cheaper to live anywhere there's no state income tax. It got me thinking about how a state functions without it. They still have comparable expenses to consider.

My guess would be higher property and biz taxes.  NH has no income tax and NO sales tax on anything.....

Things are really bad in our area with the rain, Harrisburg or part of it has been evacuated, all power and water turned off in those areas too.  New Cumberland or part of it was evacuated also same conditions.  River will crest sometime tomorrow night or Sat. morning.  It is really bad.  I live in Camp Hill, across the river from Harrisburg, lots of roads are blocked.  Where I live I have no problems with basement water or anything so far, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  I feel bad for those in the surrounding areas though.  Keep them in you prayers the worst is yet to come for them.

cakana

What is your sales tax at? It's 8.375% for my area. I'm sure property taxes vary and might be higher in states that don't collect.

The reason it's bugging me is my friend in Florida was talking about the cost of living there and brought up it being cheaper to live anywhere there's no state income tax. It got me thinking about how a state functions without it. They still have comparable expenses to consider.

Our sales tax is 6.25% state and 2.00% local so 8.25%.  There are a lot of states that add extra state taxes to businesses.  I know TX does.  California's is horrible and NY is too!  The state taxes for businesses are a pain in general because they are all different and all have different rules and some have multiple places to report to.  I guess I say that though because I am used to dealing with the TX state taxes for businesses and when you have to deal with another state, it's always a totally different ballgame than you are used to.  I'm really not sure how high our property taxes are compared to other places but I have heard a lot of people say they are high.  I also know they are now adding an extra tax to our property taxes if you own the mineral rights and have a lease on it maybe...not sure of the details on it though.

cakana

I had a dental cleaning this morning. Up until the last few years, that wouldn't be a big deal but now that I have a couple of areas of concern, I need some deep scaling and go in every 4 months. One particular tooth is untouchable without anesthesia, so I spend 1/2 the day feeling puffed up and almost drooling - blech!

Ughh... I avoided the dentist for 7 years, and I am  paying the price now. I lost a filling, then broke the tooth back in July-August, which resulted in a root canal. I've got another tooth which now feels like it has a pretty good hole in it. I can see spots on many other teeth as well that are probably going to need fillings. I'm going to the dental school on Monday, and I'll find out the damage. Hopefully it's not too big of a financial hit, since I should still qualify as low income (thanks to being able to use income from when I was still  a student, very shortly I won't be).  I saw one of the community colleges does cleanings in their dental hygiene programs, so I think I'll go see them for that.  When the dental school checks my income again, then I'll get insurance and go back to the guy who did my root canal.

Some things (like education here) are substandard -- education always takes a back seat money-wise.  Property taxes are pretty high.  In Florida they have a resort tax -- and individual counties tend to tax things heavily.  It isn't just taxes but taxes on more items -- and there's even a surcharge here on various products - it's like a tax but just added on.