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38 Responses to “Free For All: Black Friday Edition”
Thanksgiving and Black Friday have to be the worse days in the entire year to watch cable news. Endless canned stories on cooking turkey safely, crowded roadways and airports, shopping mall lines, consumer product and toy reviews and weather. Makes one wish for the Doc Block.
Cable news yesterday was horrendous. FNC repeatedly ran a story about poor sad charities getting hit by millionaires who apparently will be too greedy to give to if they have to pay a couple more percentage points in taxes. The fact that nobody mentioned the millionaires’ choices in the matter was hilarious.
Then we had the battle over a nativity scene in Santa Monica, CA., which was promoted as a “war on Christianity” instead of what it actually is: A debate about religious neutrality in public spaces. Pander much?
In the debate over religious neutrality in the public spaces, only the heathen win.
Oh, for the days of my youth when freedom of religion was not freedom from religion. Even on Saturday morning TV, a boy or girl could enjoy a spiritual boost:
Jon Gabriel @ExJon
#BlackFriday: The day wealthy whites are applauded for judging lower-class folks who are just trying to buy affordable gifts for their kids.
Hey, Andy, did you enjoy Shannon Bream introducing the next step of Obamacare implementation as “that sucky thing that’s gonna hurt you”? That’s some whiz-bang journalism right there.
Joe, what did you think of the part where the one guy on the right (on Four-On-One) said online sales should be heavily taxed on the federal level so retail stores can be more competitive? They criticize Obama on FOX for being a “socialist” then advocate for “socialism” because not enough store employees were trampled to death today.
I’m beginning to see why there are so many dumbasses in the right wing dumbassophere.
Gosh, CNN is doing a story about how charities might suffer because of changes in tax-laws. Imagine that, people who neither flack for nor irrationally hate the rich actually think that this is a concern.
I never realized that I paid a National Sales Tax at Walmart. Nice try. States can pass a sales tax on online purchases any time they wish. What happened to State’s Rights?
Oh yeah, it’s socialism because they’re doing it for the sole intent of raising prices so retail giants can be more competitive. In the process, they’re screwing people like me who have to shop online because no store carries what I need to do my job.
Outsider, get those facts out of here. They aren’t welcome in American politics — especially when the TEA Party extremists, who want to rob me to pay BP and Walmart, have a seat at the table.
States can pass a sales tax on online purchases any time they wish.
Not exactly. Any state that has a sales tax can require online merchants who have a physical presence within that state to collect a sales tax from the consumer. Merchants that do not have a physical presence with the state, however, can not be required to do so. In many states, including Virginia, the resident consumers are still required to report and pay the sales (or use) taxes even for purchases from out-of-state merchants, but there’s currently no mechanism in place to track such commerce so, in effect, payment of the tax is voluntary.
Some states have entered mutual agreements on interstate online commerce but, because the constitution puts this under federal authority, true reform will require an act of congress.
If you live in Virginia and purchase something from Amazon (a Seattle, Washington-based corporation), technically you’re already supposed to pay the sales tax to Virginia – Virginia just can’t force Amazon to collect it for them, and that’s what the proposed legislation is aimed at correcting.
And here I thought the left would be all about supporting small businesses over the big box guys. Silly me! Politics first… then some sort of confused principle.
So, many hundreds of years after the death of Christ, this guy who can’t read visits a desert mountain every year for twenty years. Each year the archangel Gabriel shows up with a text from God to write down. The guy puts all the messages in a book which becomes the cornerstone of a religion.
QUIZ
——-
1) the guy’s name was _____________________
2) the book is called _________________
3) the religion is _____________________
4) people believing in anything so far-fetched must be part of a ____
If you answered
1) Joseph Smith
2) The Book of Mormon
3) Mormonism (Latter-day Saints)
4) Cult
Al, the problem is, we’re not talking about small businesses. Actually, almost everything I buy online comes from small businesses. This discussion on The Five was about online sales harming retailers. Those people aren’t lining up outside small businesses on Black Friday, they’re lining up outside Walmart and Best Buy.
The bottom line, the idiot on The Five said online sales should be taxed in a way that retail is more competitive. Even if you included the sales tax on online products, they’ll still be cheaper. It’s still cheaper for me to buy a movie online and download it to my hard drive off iTunes. It’s cheaper for me to buy computer parts online than it is to go to RadioShack where I’d be paying five times as much.
If you’re going to tax online sales “to make retail more competitive”, you’re essentially using the tax code to punish people like me who shop online because the product is cheaper and I don’t have to use a half tank of gas just to go out to get what I need.
“And here I thought the left would be all about supporting small businesses over the big box guys. Silly me! Politics first… then some sort of confused principle.”
Are you going to tell me most of the stuff you buy online is from a small business? No Amazon? No NewEgg? It’s all personal retailers via a big business like eBay? I find that a little hard to believe.
And while you’re correct (online purchases will almost always cost less, because inventory is centralized, staff is minimal, sales are 24-hours, and there is no need to have multiple locations), there is something to be said about how e-commerce impacts small businesses. Older businesses without an internet footprint simply can’t compete with the low prices and wide selection of an online retailer… the same reason they have trouble with the big box stores.
Imposing some sort of standard sales tax to even the playing field might help keep those small businesses for closing, which could impact the entire economy positively.
As for the politics of this all… call me unsurprised. The left, which moans constantly about the evils of the big box stores, have no problems reversing their views, simply to maintain their anti-FOX crusade. Similarly, they have no problem calling for higher taxes on “other” people… but the moment it looks like it might actually impact them… well, that’s just awful! Can’t have that. I want YOU to pay more, not me!
“Are you going to tell me most of the stuff you buy online is from a small business? No Amazon? No NewEgg?”
Yes. I actually build and repair computers on the side and know what I’m doing. I go through small business outlets because, even though they are discount quality products, they do exactly what I need them to do. The only things I go through bigger outlets like Amazon, TigerDirect and Newegg for are what I put in other peoples’ computers since they’re quality products.
Okay… moving off politics… where do you get that stuff? I want some.
I just bought another 4TB of external memory, and another SSD to upgrade a different PC with. I do most of my shopping at NewEgg and AMZ (Tiger doesn’t impress me anymore). Where should I be looking?
November 23, 2012 at 7:51 am
Apple mini iPad NOT on sale. It is indeed a Black Friday.
November 23, 2012 at 8:15 am
Liberals tricked by Arab Spring nonsense couldn’t have been more gullible:
http://www.france24.com/en/20121123-morsi-protesters-torch-muslim-brotherhood-offices-egypt
Toss today’s Islam into the voting mix, and Democracy becomes a short-lived sham.
November 23, 2012 at 8:58 am
Thanksgiving and Black Friday have to be the worse days in the entire year to watch cable news. Endless canned stories on cooking turkey safely, crowded roadways and airports, shopping mall lines, consumer product and toy reviews and weather. Makes one wish for the Doc Block.
November 23, 2012 at 9:02 am
Not supposed to be watching cable news. Supposed to be watching football quietly seething after fights with relatives.
November 23, 2012 at 10:25 am
Memo to Hannity “hate speech” is not only liberals talking about conservatives.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/22/cop-quits-assassinate-obama_n_2175289.html?icid=maing-grid7|netscape|dl3|sec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D237534
November 23, 2012 at 10:54 am
Cable news yesterday was horrendous. FNC repeatedly ran a story about poor sad charities getting hit by millionaires who apparently will be too greedy to give to if they have to pay a couple more percentage points in taxes. The fact that nobody mentioned the millionaires’ choices in the matter was hilarious.
Then we had the battle over a nativity scene in Santa Monica, CA., which was promoted as a “war on Christianity” instead of what it actually is: A debate about religious neutrality in public spaces. Pander much?
November 23, 2012 at 11:59 am
In the debate over religious neutrality in the public spaces, only the heathen win.
Oh, for the days of my youth when freedom of religion was not freedom from religion. Even on Saturday morning TV, a boy or girl could enjoy a spiritual boost:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfAuKF6jTqE&sns=em
November 23, 2012 at 12:15 pm
I’d rather be dropped off in the middle of Syria than go to a Black Friday sale.
November 23, 2012 at 1:43 pm
You might be safer in Syria too.
November 23, 2012 at 1:43 pm
Jon Gabriel @ExJon
#BlackFriday: The day wealthy whites are applauded for judging lower-class folks who are just trying to buy affordable gifts for their kids.
See, Joe, he’s not all bad.
November 23, 2012 at 3:20 pm
Watching FOX since MSNBC is off for the weekend. Dana Perino is a pinhead. Even as a co-host, she’s nothing more than a spokesperson for the GOP.
November 23, 2012 at 3:42 pm
I can now see why the overwhelming majority of my conservative friends, who watch FOX News all day, have such a difficult relationship with reality.
November 23, 2012 at 4:31 pm
Hey, Andy, did you enjoy Shannon Bream introducing the next step of Obamacare implementation as “that sucky thing that’s gonna hurt you”? That’s some whiz-bang journalism right there.
November 23, 2012 at 5:36 pm
Fair and Balanced.
November 23, 2012 at 7:43 pm
Joe, what did you think of the part where the one guy on the right (on Four-On-One) said online sales should be heavily taxed on the federal level so retail stores can be more competitive? They criticize Obama on FOX for being a “socialist” then advocate for “socialism” because not enough store employees were trampled to death today.
I’m beginning to see why there are so many dumbasses in the right wing dumbassophere.
November 23, 2012 at 7:56 pm
Gosh, CNN is doing a story about how charities might suffer because of changes in tax-laws. Imagine that, people who neither flack for nor irrationally hate the rich actually think that this is a concern.
November 23, 2012 at 7:57 pm
You two sound like a pair of catty old gossips. No much of anything too muster a good yawn though.
November 23, 2012 at 7:58 pm
Move my comment above Laura’s, Spud.
November 23, 2012 at 8:08 pm
“One side observation rarely noted in public: Charities love high tax rates. Higher tax rates provide a bigger incentive for donors to give: At a 36% tax rate, $10,000 contribution saves the donor $3,600 in federal income taxes; at a 39.6% rate, it saves $3,960.”
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/11/19/why-obama-pushes-higher-rates-vs-deduction-limit/
November 23, 2012 at 9:18 pm
How is that socialism, Andyosphere?
Online retailers have a different tax rate than retail stores. Is pushing for consistency “socialism?”
November 23, 2012 at 9:21 pm
I never realized that I paid a National Sales Tax at Walmart. Nice try. States can pass a sales tax on online purchases any time they wish. What happened to State’s Rights?
November 23, 2012 at 9:22 pm
Oh yeah, it’s socialism because they’re doing it for the sole intent of raising prices so retail giants can be more competitive. In the process, they’re screwing people like me who have to shop online because no store carries what I need to do my job.
November 23, 2012 at 9:26 pm
Outsider, get those facts out of here. They aren’t welcome in American politics — especially when the TEA Party extremists, who want to rob me to pay BP and Walmart, have a seat at the table.
November 23, 2012 at 9:29 pm
On the whole, which are the most obnoxious, atheists or vegans?
November 23, 2012 at 9:33 pm
Athiests, hands down.
November 23, 2012 at 9:48 pm
States can pass a sales tax on online purchases any time they wish.
Not exactly. Any state that has a sales tax can require online merchants who have a physical presence within that state to collect a sales tax from the consumer. Merchants that do not have a physical presence with the state, however, can not be required to do so. In many states, including Virginia, the resident consumers are still required to report and pay the sales (or use) taxes even for purchases from out-of-state merchants, but there’s currently no mechanism in place to track such commerce so, in effect, payment of the tax is voluntary.
Some states have entered mutual agreements on interstate online commerce but, because the constitution puts this under federal authority, true reform will require an act of congress.
If you live in Virginia and purchase something from Amazon (a Seattle, Washington-based corporation), technically you’re already supposed to pay the sales tax to Virginia – Virginia just can’t force Amazon to collect it for them, and that’s what the proposed legislation is aimed at correcting.
November 24, 2012 at 9:34 am
Bingo, Al. You win a cookie.
And here I thought the left would be all about supporting small businesses over the big box guys. Silly me! Politics first… then some sort of confused principle.
November 24, 2012 at 10:51 am
The Left are against anyone who sells something. If you had a decent society, everything would be provided by the government.
November 24, 2012 at 10:57 am
We pledge allegiance to our Norquist… until it becomes stupid:
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/top_republican_senator_ditching_CiePq6ZU8sklvWDxaeapbJ
November 24, 2012 at 4:24 pm
Zurawik, Hagman, and the best movie ever made. I appreciated the observations on how hard television used to be, and how Hagman worked at making it look easy. A different time, and all that.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/z-on-tv-blog/bal-remembering-larry-hagman-20121124,0,1187473.story
November 24, 2012 at 6:08 pm
Well, Buck. We’re in a fine pickle this time.
November 24, 2012 at 6:27 pm
So, many hundreds of years after the death of Christ, this guy who can’t read visits a desert mountain every year for twenty years. Each year the archangel Gabriel shows up with a text from God to write down. The guy puts all the messages in a book which becomes the cornerstone of a religion.
QUIZ
——-
1) the guy’s name was _____________________
2) the book is called _________________
3) the religion is _____________________
4) people believing in anything so far-fetched must be part of a ____
If you answered
1) Joseph Smith
2) The Book of Mormon
3) Mormonism (Latter-day Saints)
4) Cult
you might be named “Joe”.
November 24, 2012 at 7:36 pm
Al, the problem is, we’re not talking about small businesses. Actually, almost everything I buy online comes from small businesses. This discussion on The Five was about online sales harming retailers. Those people aren’t lining up outside small businesses on Black Friday, they’re lining up outside Walmart and Best Buy.
The bottom line, the idiot on The Five said online sales should be taxed in a way that retail is more competitive. Even if you included the sales tax on online products, they’ll still be cheaper. It’s still cheaper for me to buy a movie online and download it to my hard drive off iTunes. It’s cheaper for me to buy computer parts online than it is to go to RadioShack where I’d be paying five times as much.
If you’re going to tax online sales “to make retail more competitive”, you’re essentially using the tax code to punish people like me who shop online because the product is cheaper and I don’t have to use a half tank of gas just to go out to get what I need.
November 24, 2012 at 7:38 pm
“And here I thought the left would be all about supporting small businesses over the big box guys. Silly me! Politics first… then some sort of confused principle.”
I am. What kind of idiot speak is that?
November 24, 2012 at 9:45 pm
Even FOX News Watch, which used to be a good show, is an outlet suggesting every other mainstream media outlet is part of the Benghazi cover-up.
Everyone at this network has completely lost their minds.
November 25, 2012 at 6:35 am
Andyosphere
Are you going to tell me most of the stuff you buy online is from a small business? No Amazon? No NewEgg? It’s all personal retailers via a big business like eBay? I find that a little hard to believe.
And while you’re correct (online purchases will almost always cost less, because inventory is centralized, staff is minimal, sales are 24-hours, and there is no need to have multiple locations), there is something to be said about how e-commerce impacts small businesses. Older businesses without an internet footprint simply can’t compete with the low prices and wide selection of an online retailer… the same reason they have trouble with the big box stores.
Imposing some sort of standard sales tax to even the playing field might help keep those small businesses for closing, which could impact the entire economy positively.
As for the politics of this all… call me unsurprised. The left, which moans constantly about the evils of the big box stores, have no problems reversing their views, simply to maintain their anti-FOX crusade. Similarly, they have no problem calling for higher taxes on “other” people… but the moment it looks like it might actually impact them… well, that’s just awful! Can’t have that. I want YOU to pay more, not me!
Get it now?
November 25, 2012 at 7:57 pm
“Are you going to tell me most of the stuff you buy online is from a small business? No Amazon? No NewEgg?”
Yes. I actually build and repair computers on the side and know what I’m doing. I go through small business outlets because, even though they are discount quality products, they do exactly what I need them to do. The only things I go through bigger outlets like Amazon, TigerDirect and Newegg for are what I put in other peoples’ computers since they’re quality products.
November 27, 2012 at 8:32 am
Okay… moving off politics… where do you get that stuff? I want some.
I just bought another 4TB of external memory, and another SSD to upgrade a different PC with. I do most of my shopping at NewEgg and AMZ (Tiger doesn’t impress me anymore). Where should I be looking?