Other Ray Jozwiak Offerings
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
Want to be happy
Listen here
What would you pay to
Have no fear
Fear of the raptor
Roaming free
Fear of a captor
You or me
Do you fear having your choices
All being taken away
There was a turmoil
We could see
Under the table
Had to be
Way far beyond us
In the fray
We wore the blinders
They slipped away
So many promises made
To a misguided parade of the innocent
Circumstances pushed so many over the edge
Sideways glances directed to drive in a wedge
Want to be happy
Bet you do
Want to be happy
In the things you do
All’s not the same as it used to be
Conscious effort will help us break free
Other Ray Jozwiak Offerings
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
Want to be happy
Listen here
What would you pay to
Have no fear
Fear of the raptor
Roaming free
Fear of a captor
You or me
Do you fear having your choices
All being taken away
There was a turmoil
We could see
Under the table
Had to be
Way far beyond us
In the fray
We wore the blinders
They slipped away
So many promises made
To a misguided parade of the innocent
Circumstances pushed so many over the edge
Sideways glances directed to drive in a wedge
Want to be happy
Bet you do
Want to be happy
In the things you do
All’s not the same as it used to be
Conscious effort will help us break free
Want to be happy
Listen here
What would you pay to
Have no fear
Fear of the raptor
Roaming free
Fear of a captor
You or me
Do you fear having your choices
All being taken away
There was a turmoil
We could see
Under the table
Had to be
Way far beyond us
In the fray
We wore the blinders
They slipped away
So many promises made
To a misguided parade of the innocent
Circumstances pushed so many over the edge
Sideways glances directed to drive in a wedge
Want to be happy
Bet you do
Want to be happy
never blue
Things aren’t the same as they used to be
With some effort we’ll change what we see
Advance toward days of meaning
Seriously living at a different pace
Time will not wait nor stand still
Spend it wisely in spite of
Its tremendous value
Bet minuscule cost
Translate withdrawals
Devising a higher relief
Choose when
Follow through
What made the happy ones happy
Lucky enough make your choice
Connections sharpen
Isolation dulls
Always learn
Pursue your passions
"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence. " -John Adams
(http://www.factcheck.org/2014/04/false-tax-claims/)
". . . Q: Did Democrats increase federal income tax rates in 2014 under Obamacare?
A: No. Tax increases mentioned in a viral email went into effect a year earlier, as part of a budget
"Is this information correct? I have tried to check it out but get terribly confused.
It came as an email from a friend in Colorado.
Viral email: THE FIRST THREE MONTHS!
Happy New Year America
Here is what happened on January 1st 2014:
Top Income Tax bracket went from 35% to 39.6%
Top Income Payroll Tax went from 37.4% to 52.2%
Capital Gains Tax went from 15% to 28%
Dividend Tax went from 15% to 39.6%
Estate Tax went from 0% to 55%
Remember this ‘fact;’ if you have any money, the Democrats want it! All these taxes were passed with only Democrat votes. Not one Republican voted to do these taxes. Remember this come election time. And make sure your friends and neighbors know this info too!
These taxes were all passed under the affordable care act, otherwise known as Obama care."
FULL ANSWER
We started getting dozens of queries about this one about three weeks before tax filing day. It’s nonsense. Some of these figures aren’t accurate, and none of these increases took effect on Jan. 1, 2014, or had anything to do with the Affordable Care Act. And the claim that “not one Republican voted to do these” is false.
Here’s what really happened, and when:
The top income tax rate went back up to 39.6 percent over a year ago — for singles making more than $400,000 a year or couples making more than $450,000. The increase was part of the “fiscal cliff” package that Congress passed on New Year’s Day of 2013.
Capital gains rates also increased in 2013 under the same “fiscal cliff” deal — but not nearly as much as this email claims. For long-term gains (on assets held more than one year) the top rate went from 15 percent to 20 percent (not 28 percent), and also applied to individuals making more than $400,000 and couples earning more than $450,000.
The top rate for dividends also went up to 20 percent (not 39.6 percent) in 2013 as part of the same fiscal cliff package, and also only for those with more than $400,000 individual or $450,000 joint taxable income.
It’s true that the estate tax was once effectively zero percent — but only for people who died in 2010, not last year. The top rate went back up to 35 percent for those who died the following year, and (under the fiscal cliff deal) to 40 percent for those who died in 2012 and thereafter. Furthermore, the rate is still zero percent for any individual who dies this year and whose estate is valued at less than $5,340,000. The threshold for filing an estate-tax return was set at $5 million in 2011, and is indexed for inflation each year.
The claim that the fiscal-cliff tax increases were “passed with only Democratic votes” is false. The deal passed by a vote of 89-8 in the Senate (including 40 Republican votes in favor) and by a vote of 257-167 in the House (with 85 Republican votes in favor). The package made permanent the 2001 Bush tax cuts for all but very high-income earners, avoiding tax increases that otherwise would have taken effect Jan. 1, 2013, when the “temporary” Bush tax cuts were scheduled to expire.
The email’s claim about “income payroll tax” is a head-scratcher, since no tax expert we know of uses such a term. Our best guess is that the anonymous author meant to refer to the combined effect of the federal income tax and the Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes, and did not understand how these taxes work. No combination of payroll and federal income taxes would produce a top marginal rate of 52.2 percent, so far as we can figure.
Back in 2008, when Obama was first running for president, conservative commentator Larry Kudlow claimed that Obama’s tax proposals would amount to “a 52.2 percent combined income and payroll tax.” But even that claim was wrong, because of the simple fact that the top marginal income-tax rate applied at that time only to income above $349,701 and Social Security taxes applied only to wage or salary income below $97,500. Any income taxed at the top income-tax rate would incur zero Social Security tax.
And the same is true today: Taxable Social Security wages now stop at $117,000, and the top marginal income-tax bracket doesn’t kick in until $406,751 for singles and $457,601 for joint filers. All of these levels are adjusted for inflation each year.
Having said all that, we’ll note that taxes have gone up for some as a result of Obamacare. The law imposes a 3.8 percent tax on net investment income that applies to people who earn more than $200,000 a year for singles, or $250,000 for joint filers. It also levies an additional Medicare tax of 0.9 percent on wages, salaries and self-employment income for people in those income groups. However, these changes also took effect in 2013, not 2014.
— Brooks Jackson
Sources
Tax Foundation. “U.S. Federal Individual Income Tax Rates History, 1862-2013 (Nominal and Inflation-Adjusted Brackets).” 17 Oct 2013.
Hollander, Catherine. “Here’s What’s in the Fiscal-Cliff Deal.” National Journal. 1 Jan 2013.
Fidelity Brokerage Services. “A taxpayer’s guide to 2013.” 27 Feb 2013.
Ruffenach, Glenn. “Navigating the Dividend Storm; Tax rates on corporate payouts are heading higher for some. Don’t just sit there.” Wall Street Journal. 10 Jan 2013.
Cook, Douglas C. “Current & Historical Federal Estate Tax Structure, Exemptions & Rates.” Cook & Cook law firm website. 17 Dec 2012.
U.S. Internal Revenue Service. “Estate Tax” Web page. 9 Apr 2014.
U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 112th Congress – 2nd Session. “On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 8, As Amended ).” 1 Jan 2013.
U.S. House of Representatives. “Final Vote Results for Roll Call 659.” 1 Jan 2013.
Kudlow, Larry. “Obama’s Big-Government Vision.” National Review Online. 14 Feb 2008.
Social Security Administration. “Contribution and benefit bases, 1937-2014.” Undated Web page accessed 15 Apr 2014.
Internal Revenue Service. “Questions and Answers on the Net Investment Income Tax.” 5 Mar 2014.
Internal Revenue Service. “Affordable Care Act Tax Provisions.”
Internal Revenue Service. “Questions and Answers for the Additional Medicare Tax.”. . . "
Yes, I've left all the sources intact in case you want to read further. Scott Biao (and others) obviously have not burning desire to read much further at all.
. . . to see that our President is firmly focused upon the most pressing issues concerning the citizens of the United States of America . . .
(http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2017/politics/trump-tweets/)
Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump
I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don't watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came..
Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump
...to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year's Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!
Jun. 29, 2017, 8:58 a.m.
(http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/27/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-house-intelligence/index.html)
The House Intelligence Committee, as well as its Senate counterpart, are investigating Russia's alleged attempts to influence the election, including any possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. FBI Director James Comey disclosed publicly last week that the FBI is doing the same.
(http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-cuts-billions-urban-areas-he-vowed-help-n734516)
President Donald Trump is proposing slashing billions in federal funding that helps heavily minority urban communities - just months after appealing on the campaign trail to residents of cities like Detroit, asking "What the hell do you have to lose?" . . . the budget calls for $6.2 billion of cuts to the nation's Housing and Urban Development agency, putting the already strapped federal housing authority under even bigger strain. . .The reductions come in a spending plan designed specifically to keep the president's many promises - "if he said it on the campaign, it's in the budget," Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told reporters Wednesday - and one that advocates say will have disastrous effects in the largely African-American communities that Trump promised he'd "fix."
". . . the budget boosts Defense Department spending by $54 billion (or by 10%); it cuts the State Department by 28% and the Environmental Protection Agency by 25%; it provides $1.5 billion for construction of Trump's wall; it eliminates funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; and it all fails to balance the budget in the process.. . The problem? "It's dead on arrival," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) . . . And what about presenting evidence to prove his claim that Barack Obama tapped Trump Tower? "Let's see whether or not I proved it," he said on Fox News . . . "You looked at some proof. I mean, let's see whether or not I prove it. I just don't choose to do it right now." In fact, the top Republican and Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said there is no evidence<http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/house-intel-committee-still-no-evidence-trump-tower-wiretap-n733886> that Obama did what Trump originally tweeted<http://www.nbcnews. com/news/us-news/trump-accuses-obama-wiretapping-residence-during-campaign-n729056>. "Are you going to take the tweets literally? And if you are, then clearly the president was wrong," Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) said. . ."
. . . now that you have the 'candidate of change'? (changes his mind hourly)
(from http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/11/trump-flip-flops-president-elect-214478)
Obama
“I think president Obama has been the most ignorant president in our history…President Obama when he became president, he didn't know anything. This guy didn’t know a thing. And honestly, today he knows less. Today, he knows less. He has done a terrible job.” (Press conference in Florida, July 27, 2016)
“I have great respect…I very much look forward to dealing with the President in the future, including counsel. He explained some of the difficulties, some of the high-flying assets and some of the really great things that have been achieved.” (White House, November 10, 2016)
Protesters
“Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!” (Twitter, November 10, 2016, 9:19pm ET)
“Love the fact that the small groups of protesters last night have passion for our great country. We will all come together and be proud!” (Twitter, November 11, 2016, 6:14am ET)
Affordable Care Act
“It’s gotta go.”
“I like those [the prohibition against insurers denying coverage because of patients’ existing conditions and a provision that allows parents to provide years of additional coverage for children on their insurance policies] very much.” (Wall Street Journal, November 11, 2016)
Border Wall
“Jeb Bush just talked about my border proposal to build a "fence." It's not a fence, Jeb, it's a WALL, and there's a BIG difference!” (Twitter, August 25, 2015)
“There could be some fencing.” (60 Minutes, November 13, 2016)
On gay marriage:
“If I’m elected, I would be very strong on putting certain judges on the bench that I think maybe could change things…I don’t like the way they ruled…I would strongly consider [trying to appoint justices to overrule the decision on same-sex marriage].” (Fox News Sunday, January 31, 2016)
“It’s irrelevant because it was already settled. It’s law. It was settled in the Supreme Court. I mean it’s done…And I’m fine with that.” (60 Minutes, November 13, 2016)
Clinton
“If I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation. There has never been so many lies, so much exception. There has never been anything like it. We will have a special prosecutor. I go out and speak and the people of this country are furious. The long time workers at the FBI are furious. There has never been anything like this with emails. You get a subpoena and after getting the subpoena you delete 33,000 emails and acid wash them or bleach them. An expensive process. We will get a special prosecutor and look into it. You know what, people have been—their lives have been destroyed for doing one-fifth of what you have done. You should be ashamed.” (Second Presidential Debate, October 9, 2016)
“I don’t want to hurt the Clintons, I really don’t…It’s just not something that I feel very strongly about.” (New York Times, November 22, 2016)
Deportation
“We have at least 11 million people in this country that came in illegally. They will go out.” (CNN-Republican Debate, February 25, 2016)
“What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, we have a lot of these people, probably two million, it could be even three million, we are getting them out of our country or we are going to incarcerate.” (60 Minutes, November 13, 2016)
Generals
“Well the generals under Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have not been very successful.” (Commander-in-Chief Forum, September 7, 2016)
“We have some great generals. We have great generals.” (60 Minutes, November 13, 2016
"Well, I’ll be honest with you, I probably do [know more about ISIS than the generals do] because look at the job they’ve done. Okay? Look at the job they’ve done. They haven’t done the job.” (60 Minutes, less than a minute later)
On Nuclear Japan:
“Well I think maybe it’s not so bad to have Japan — if Japan had that nuclear threat, I’m not sure that would be a bad thing for us.” (New York Times, March 26, 2016)
“The @nytimes states today that DJT believes "more countries should acquire nuclear weapons." How dishonest are they. I never said this!” (Twitter, November 13, 2016)
Electoral College:
“The electoral college is a disaster for democracy.” (Twitter, November 06, 2012)
“The Electoral College is actually genius in that it brings all states, including the smaller ones, into play. Campaigning is much different!” (Twitter, November 15, 2016) “I'd rather do the popular vote.” Says he was "never a fan of the electoral college." (New York Times, November 22, 2016)
Lawsuit
“Trump University has a 98% approval rating. I could have settled but won't out of principle!” (Twitter, February 29, 2016)
“I don't settle cases…I won’t settle because it’s an easy case to win in court.” (Morning Joe, March 3, 2016) “I settled the Trump University lawsuit for a small fraction of the potential award because as President I have to focus on our country” (Twitter, November 19, 2016)
Cimate Change:
“I am not a great believer in man-made climate change.” (Washington Post, March 21, 2016)
“I think there is some connectivity. Some, something.” (New York Times, November 22, 2016)
Paris Climate Agreement
“We’re going to cancel the Paris Climate Agreement” (Policy address in North Dakota, May 26, 2016)
“I have an open mind to it." (New York Times, November 22, 2016)
Torture
“Torture works. OK, folks? You know, I have these guys—‘Torture doesn’t work!’—believe me, it works. And waterboarding is your minor form. Some people say it’s not actually torture. Let’s assume it is. But they asked me the question: What do you think of waterboarding? Absolutely fine. But we should go much stronger than waterboarding.” (South Carolina, February 17, 2016)
“[Mattis] said, ‘I’ve never found it to be useful…Give me a pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers and I’ll do better.’…I was very impressed by that answer… [Torture is] not going to make the kind of a difference that a lot of people are thinking.’’ (New York Times, November 22, 2016)
New York Times:
"Wow, the @nytimes is losing thousands of subscribers because of their very poor and highly inaccurate coverage of the 'Trump phenomena.'" (Twitter, November 13, 2016)
“I have great respect for the New York Times. I have tremendous respect…The New York Times is a world jewel. And I hope we can all get along."
(from https://offbeatenglish.wordpress.com/2013/05/13/life-quotes/)
". . . Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today. ~James Dean
As you grow older, you’ll find the only things you regret are the things you didn’t do. ~Zachary Scott
And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years. ~Abraham Lincoln
I’m less interested in why we’re here. I’m wholly devoted to while we’re here. ~Erika Harris
You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it.~Charles Buxton
You live longer once you realize that any time spent being unhappy is wasted. ~Ruth E. Renkl
You may delay, but time will not. ~Benjamin Franklin
If you wait, all that happens is that you get older. ~Larry McMurtry, Some Can Whistle
Minutes are worth more than money. Spend them wisely. ~Thomas P. Murphy
Begin doing what you want to do now. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand, and melting like a snowflake. ~Marie Ray
Whether it’s the best of times or the worst of times, it’s the only time we’ve got. ~Art Buchwald
If you woke up breathing, congratulations! You have another chance. ~Andrea Boydston
Life is always walking up to us and saying, “Come on in, the living’s fine,” and what do we do? Back off and take its picture. ~Russell Baker
Every second is of infinite value. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
We are always getting ready to live but never living. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
You only live once; but if you live it right, once is enough. ~Adam Marshall
Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons. ~Ruth Ann Schabacker
Don’t ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is the special occasion. ~Author Unknown
When one has a great deal to put into it a day has a hundred pockets.~Friedrich Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human
Every day of our lives we are on the verge of making those slight changes that would make all the difference. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic’s Notebook, 1960 . . ."
My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
“I am both happy and sad at the same time, and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.”
― Stephen Chbosky
“I am tired of people saying that poor character is the only reason people do wrong things. Actually, circumstances cause people to act a certain way. It's from those circumstances that a person's attitude is affected followed by weakening of character. Not the reverse. If we had no faults of our own, we should not take so much pleasure in noticing those in others and judging their lives as either black or white, good or bad. We all live our lives in shades of gray.”
― Shannon L. Alder
“When you don't know where to start,
just go to a place you miss so much.”
― Toba Beta
“I just want to be someone, to mean something to anyone…”
― Charlotte Eriksson
“After a long silence, Dodge cleared his throat. "I think I speak for all of us when I say, 'Huh?hat”
― Frank Beddor
“sometime hate is just confused love!”
― Omar Tyree
“I freely admit I'm confused. I'm a confused and troubled individual but at the same time...Its Free! ”
― Craig Ferguson
“I do not understand this analogy," Mencheres muttered.”
― Jeaniene Frost
“I've never been lost, but I was mighty turned around for three days once.”
― Daniel Boone
“It’s really very difficult to understand a woman – actually it’s not she but he who is confused”
― Amit Abraham
She/He
Recorded live at the compound by OHO November 2015(Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak)
My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
(from http://www.nbcnews.com/business/careers/why-men-least-pretend-work-longer-hours-n369731)
(A survey of) ". . .3,042 Dutch male workers . . . asked about their personal situations, how many hours they worked and how many hours they thought their peers worked on average. Men who thought they worked fewer hours than their counterparts were found to be less happy than those who thought they worked more, regardless of their working time or income. According to the report's authors, this phenomenon, called "conspicuous work," occurs when "the individual derives status from working more than his peers, which increases his utility." The report states: "In many social groups, an individual can indeed increase his status by telling everyone that he is very busy, preferably even more than others around him. Symmetrically, he can lose status if he has less to do than others." Apparently this phenomenon only affects men. Marion Collewet, one of the report's authors, told CNBC by email: "The patterns of conspicuous work which we identify for male workers cannot be found for female workers in our data.". . ."
OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak. Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com
My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
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