The Untergeek

9-9-9 does not help me

Aaron — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:35:57 +0000

I did some quick math regarding Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan. If you’re not familiar with what this is, he advocates a hat-trick tax change on the number 9:

9% Corporate Income Tax
9% Personal Income Tax
9% National Sales Tax

While I initially thought that a 9% personal income tax would result in me paying less in taxes, I had to rethink. As it turns out, my bonuses (when I get them) are taxed at the 25% rate common to bonus income. However, as I don’t make huge piles of money and have a wife and seven children, it turns out that my withholdings amount to a zero-sum game. I don’t pay any income tax other than that collected on my bonuses (again, when I actually get them). Most of that comes back to me when I do my tax returns.

So, the 9-9-9 plan amounts to an immediate reduction of my personal income by 9%. Not cool. If implemented, it would be little consolation that everyone else would also be in the same boat, or that prices would drop with increased competition. My buying power would be immediately reduced by 9%. If I pay $1000 per month in groceries and there’s a 9% sales tax, my grocery buying is further reduced by $90, which is nearly 3 days worth of food. It goes without saying that there is no way I can be in favor of a tax plan which, for all of its potential, causes me immediate duress and potential financial hardship. We run a tight ship, financially, and this could easily break the bank for us.

I do not doubt that the 9-9-9 plan would cause all kinds of market corrections in the long term. It’s the short term that I worry about. Most of the people who oppose Herman Cain’s candidacy have probably done the math I just showed. I cannot believe that voters who might be as affected by this plan as I would choose a sudden increase in taxes (or a substantial decrease in their buying power) when the short term looks so bleak, never mind how the plan might be a net positive in the long term.

Of course, if you’re paying 18% or more now, 9% looks pretty nice. The question is, “Are there enough voters like that to have people choose this candidate?”

Count me out.

Reawakening

Aaron — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:42:22 +0000

It’s been such a long time since I wrote in earnest, anywhere. So much has changed for me. So many things are different in my life.

I live in Texas now, having spent all but 2 years of my life in Utah. I’ve been here for almost 4 years now and I love it! Texas is home, now. I can hardly imagine living somewhere else.

I work in an extremely challenging and engaging business. Having been a Unix Systems Admin for around 8 years in Utah, I took a position as a Java Application Admin at my current company. The similarities and the differences are striking. I use the standard set of Unix admin tools still on a daily basis. At the same time, I spend a lot more time poring over log files from Weblogic and JBoss JVMs, implementing and creating new ways to monitor and visualize data, and making sure our customers’ apps are running optimally.

I am older and more mature (hopefully). I have discovered that I spent most of my life looking at the world around me with the myopic view of one with symptoms of Asperger’s Syndrome. There has been a shift in me since then. At first, this discovery was like putting on corrective lenses which suddenly brought my past into focus. This was incredibly uncomfortable. They say that hindsight is 20/20, but this experience was more like 20/10 or better. All of my interpersonal mishaps and miscommunications were suddenly plain to me, and I still have painful recollections of something I did or said long ago. The pain is diminished, significantly, from what it initially was. Embarrassment can be a difficult thing for a perfectionist. I’m learning and growing still, however. That’s what really matters.

With that realization, however, come many new opportunities to see the world as it actually is or as it can be. This reawakening is ongoing for me. I have not forgotten my past, nor do I seek to hide from it. The old blog is still around at http://oldblog.untergeek.com with a disclaimer about its meaning as a part of my history. I do hope to convey, however, that my life has new meaning. This is my reawakening.

Coming soon

Aaron — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:49:11 +0000

The rebirth of The Untergeek!