Question:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I like Wal-Mart. No union. http://www.unicefusa.org/childlabor/end.html "Perhaps you splurged on a handcrafted carpet, without knowing it was made by a seven-year-old from India, where children are chained to looms for 12 hours a day. Maybe you just bought a soccer ball for your son or daughter, without realizing your gift was produced by five-year-old hands inside a dark and silent factory in Pakistan. Even your more mundane purchases — a leather bag, a shirt, a pair of jeans, or produce from the local grocery store could be the product of child labor. Around the world today, some 250 million boys and girls between the ages of five and 14 are exploited in hazardous work conditions, according to the International Labour Organization. Most of these children live in the developing world, but even in industrialized countries such as the United States, hundreds of thousands of underage boys and girls are at work in sweatshops, farm fields, brothels and on the street." Yeah, unions are really evil.

Are there any stores like Walmart that do not carry items made in this manner? Marsha/Ohio

Response:

Jobs of all kinds have been going off-shore since the late 50’s. First to go was the toy industry, Except for Hamilton, all the other American watch-makers have left. In the end, if the Govt allows them, and in many cases, encourages companies to move 0ff shore they will go, I don’t think it is Wal-Mart’s fault. When I was a child and shopped for toys at WOOLCO or ZAYRES or GRANTS or KMART the stuff in those days was branded made in HONG KONG, JAPAN, TAIWAN, OR SOUTH KOREA. Now it is China, I imagine 15 years from now everything Wal-Mart carries will be made in India. They are just trying to survive in business and doing what they must do. In the end most of these so called manufacturing jobs would have vanished by automation had the factories remained here. In so far as the tech jobs going overseas, I used to work in the field back in 1999-2000 and I, along with many friends have seen our careers implode when the tech economy crashed along with the rest of the economy in late 2000. I don’t know where we go from here but PEROT style economic policies have proven a failure in every place they have been implemented. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I made out like a bandit at the Wal Mart Supercenter’s grocery. Grabbed loads of the Atkins pancake, corn bread, and brownies for like $2.20 each. They had lots of Carbolite suff for half off. Check your Wal-Mart is one place you don’t want to shop at. They are one of the reasons jobs are going over seas – Wal mart forces companies to close US manufacturing facilities and open them up over seas just to keep up.

Response:

YOU get the facts please.  There are nearly 100 unskilled,simple country folks working at the super WalMart next door to where I work in Emporia, VA. They make above minimum wage and have health insurance and other benefits. These people would not have jobs if it were not for WalMart.  Many were able to get out of the welfare/Medicaid cycle when the Walmart opened and provided all these jobs and benefits.

I’m not saying you are wrong, but I would be interested in seeing answers to some of these questions: Of these nearly 100 simple country folk, how many: work full time vs. part time at Walmart? actually have health insurance? were out of work before this Walmart opened? were on welfare/Medicaid before this Walmart opened? Do you have answers to these questions, or is this just mere conjecture on your part? Even if, by some incredible stretch of the imagination, your statements were true, this is only one store and does not tell the whole Walmart story. http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/releases/rel21604.html New Report Details Wal-Mart’s Labor Abuses and Hidden Costs Unaffordable and unavailable healthcare. While 66 percent of employees at large firms like Wal-Mart receive health benefits from their employer, only 41 to 46 percent of Wal-Mart employees do. In 2002, Wal-Mart adopted new policies that force employees to wait longer before having enough tenure to qualify for benefits. Wal-Mart has also shifted more of the cost for health care premiums onto its workers. Wal-Mart even encourages its employees to seek charitable and public assistance for meeting their health care needs. A UC-Berkeley study found that California taxpayers subsidized $20.5 million worth of medical care in that state alone. http://www.flagstaffactivist.org/campaigns/walmyths.html Studies show that for every two jobs created by a Wal-Mart store, the community loses three. Jobs that are retained by a community are merely shifted from local businesses to the giant retailer. In a 1994 report, the Congressional Research Service warned Congress that communities need to evaluate the significance of any job gains at big-box stores against any loss of jobs due to reduced business at competing retailers. The report also pointed out that these so-called new jobs "provide significantly lower wages then jobs in many industries, and are often only part-time positions, seasonal opportunities, or subject to extensive turnover."

Response:

So what?  We live in a global economy.  If you choose a carreer in manufacturing, it’s your own fault if you lose your job to an overseas workers.  

If you think manufacturing jobs are the only ones being outsourced your head is in the sand. And its shortsighted to blame those who work in manufactoring for their own job insecurity. What about all the other industries? Are those workers at fault too? Pretty soon it will be tougher than ever to find any job/career that doesn’t require hands on contact without it being at risk for outsourcing. With the advent of the computer and the decrease in long distance costs it becomes easier every day to have the work done where labor is cheaper. Many corporations including banks, financial institutions and insurance companies are already storing their databases overseas and hiring the people to update them in those other countries. My DIL works for ATT wireless or she did before it was bought out recently – now I guess its Cingulair. She says most of the calls you make to their help desk are answered in India. The list is huge. Have you ever watched Lou Dobbs on the subject?

Response:

Um, Pat, you’ve already made your ultra-right wing views clear in other posts.   I would say it is you who don’t let facts affect you.  You obviously don’t understand that it is the U.S. government’s lopsided NAFTA trade agreement that is making it easy for many American companies to outsource manufacturing jobs overseas, and that’s is giving us a very poor international balance of trade.  If your president would make it more feasible to keep jobs here instead, maybe these companies wouldn’t have to outsource to make their profit.  You can help change it  –  instead of boycotting WalMart (I assume you’re boycotting the other thousands of companies outsourcing?  BTW, are you using any Microsoft software?…  if so, you’re a damned hypocrite) — why not simply vote for a different president this November?

Supporting the war on terror and the war in Iraq makes me ultra-right wing?  Only in your ultra-liberal but claiming to be libertarian mind. NAFTA has nothing to do with Walmart’s exploitation of workers in China and other foreign countries. Walmart does not "have" to ship jobs overseas; they do it because they can make even greater profits by exploiting workers in countries that do not provide adequate protections for their citizens. Having said that, I do believe NAFTA was a mistake and should be rescinded. How’s that for ultra-right wing? IAC, applauding Walmart while bashing the President for "exporting our jobs to foreign countries" is a classic example of your own hypocrisy. BTW, I don’t blame you for deciding you don’t want your posts archived.  I wouldn’t want my posts archived either if they were the kind of irrational ramblings you post.

Response:

I for one *love* WalMart! Get the facts before saying you love wal-mart. See how many jobs went overseas vs. how many wal-mart created.

He does not little little things like facts affect him.  What is really ironic is that he has the nerve to criticize the President for "exporting our jobs to foreign countries" while claiming he *loves* Walmart.  Totally irrational.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – X-No-archive: yes | | I know I shouldn’t go there, but I will because this is perhaps one of | my biggest dislikes:  Our "friend" WalMart. <snip There’s a certain segment of the population that hates to see free enterprise and capitalism work as it’s intended to.  The same people that hate WalMart are usually so jealous of Microsoft’s success that they can’t stand it. I feel that a company that built what is now a global retail enterprise by backing their slogan "Always Low Prices" does a tremendous service to the vast majority of people who can’t afford to shop on 5th Avenue.  Walmart has a wonderful variety of products at a reasonable price.    They also provide a huge job base for many people —  especially older and disabled workers — who would otherwise be unemployable. Sam Walton was an entrepreneurial genius and groundbreaker.  His philosophy towards his employees all being "associates" of the company, making them feel part of something big and getting them excited about their job has been adopted by many of the most successful companies as their own personnel model.  The company I work for, Marriott, is one of them. I’ve read the "Walmart Sucks" bulletin board in the past; it’s a bunch of disgruntled former employees who couldn’t hack following the rules, failed at their jobs and want  to blame the company.  It’s these former employees with their crappy attitudes and lazy-ass work ethics who "suck," not WalMart. I for one *love* WalMart! Of course, I can’t make a post like this without adding that this is IMHO. Many others may have a different viewpoint, and I hope we can agree to disagree with mutual respect. | — Peter website:  http://users.thelink.net/marengo Get the facts before saying you love wal-mart. See how many jobs went overseas vs. how many wal-mart created.

So what?  We live in a global economy.  If you choose a carreer in manufacturing, it’s your own fault if you lose your job to an overseas workers.  Look what happened to textile jobs during the industrial revolutuion in the northern states: companies found it cheaper to ship those jobs to the south, so people in the north had to get industrial jobs, which ended up paying more, which made the north the industrial leader, and improved the northern economy tremendously.  Someone choosing a carreer in manufacturing these days makes about as much sense as choosing to run a horse and buggy store.  Imagine if I opened a small business, and the only way my business could survive was by outsourcing some of the work to an overseas company. If I were not allowed to do that I would not have my business, and anyone I was going to employ locally (such as retail sales people, truckers to ship my products, accountants to handle my taxes) would not have a job with me.  If I am allowed to outsource, then I can afford to run my business, and I can afford to hire local people for the local jobs. — Michelle Levin http://www.mindspring.com/~lunachick I have only 3 flaws.  My first flaw is thinking that I only have 3 flaws.

Response:

I made out like a bandit at the Wal Mart Supercenter’s grocery. Grabbed loads of the Atkins pancake, corn bread, and brownies for like $2.20 each. They had lots of Carbolite suff for half off. Check your

Wal-Mart is one place you don’t want to shop at. They are one of the reasons jobs are going over seas – Wal mart forces companies to close US manufacturing facilities and open them up over seas just to keep up.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – X-No-archive: yes | | I know I shouldn’t go there, but I will because this is perhaps one of | my biggest dislikes:  Our "friend" WalMart. <snip There’s a certain segment of the population that hates to see free enterprise and capitalism work as it’s intended to.  The same people that hate WalMart are usually so jealous of Microsoft’s success that they can’t stand it. I feel that a company that built what is now a global retail enterprise by backing their slogan "Always Low Prices" does a tremendous service to the vast majority of people who can’t afford to shop on 5th Avenue.  Walmart has a wonderful variety of products at a reasonable price.    They also provide a huge job base for many people —  especially older and disabled workers — who would otherwise be unemployable. Sam Walton was an entrepreneurial genius and groundbreaker.  His philosophy towards his employees all being "associates" of the company, making them feel part of something big and getting them excited about their job has been adopted by many of the most successful companies as their own personnel model.  The company I work for, Marriott, is one of them. I’ve read the "Walmart Sucks" bulletin board in the past; it’s a bunch of disgruntled former employees who couldn’t hack following the rules, failed at their jobs and want  to blame the company.  It’s these former employees with their crappy attitudes and lazy-ass work ethics who "suck," not WalMart. I for one *love* WalMart! Of course, I can’t make a post like this without adding that this is IMHO. Many others may have a different viewpoint, and I hope we can agree to disagree with mutual respect. | — Peter website:  http://users.thelink.net/marengo

Get the facts before saying you love wal-mart. See how many jobs went overseas vs. how many wal-mart created.

Response:

What a surprise that a fat hypochondriac doesn’t like to work. You are a great example for your children. The state should take them away.

What a surprise your comments did not bother me. I know what is the truth and what is not. You did not cause me to feel ashamed or guilty whatsoever. Better luck next time.

Response:

Not to fan the flames or anything, but before Walmart rolled out the Low Prices, Always slogan wasnt their slogan Made In America or something along thoose line. This was several years ago of course. Could very well just be confused with another retalier

It was Wal*Mart that had the made in america slogan, it was about 10 years ago.  At the time I was working for Daisy Kingdom, and the owner worked very hard to get her ready-made dresses as well as yard goods into those stores.  The requirement at that time for a product to be sold at Walmart was that 10% of the product had to be produced in a foctory here.  Because the dresses were made in the Phillipines, she made a mini sweatshop on the top floor of the building and staffed it with non-english speaking machine operators who turned out a few hundred dresses a week. None of the above applies to yard goods.  The DK fabrics were from Canada, and most textiles come from abroad so it would have been very difficult to have any kind of comprehensive fabric department stocked only with domestic goods. Back to the dresses, I worked on the retail floor and I remeber how we used to explain the tags on the dresses to confused customers.  The tags read "Daisy Kingdon USA" and when questioned about it we were to tell them that they were *designed* in the USA – upstairs, in fact. brigid

Response:

I made out like a bandit at the Wal Mart Supercenter’s grocery. Grabbed loads of the Atkins pancake, corn bread, and brownies for like $2.20 each. They had lots of Carbolite suff for half off. Check your

Good deal. I don’t buy those things, but I’ll be sure to check out what they have and maybe try a few things. I like Wal-Mart. No union.

Response:

Thanks for letting us know you changed your position. Y’all still don’t recognize sarcasm? perhaps you don’t either.

Ya think?

Response:

I like Wal-Mart. No union.

http://www.unicefusa.org/childlabor/end.html "Perhaps you splurged on a handcrafted carpet, without knowing it was made by a seven-year-old from India, where children are chained to looms for 12 hours a day. Maybe you just bought a soccer ball for your son or daughter, without realizing your gift was produced by five-year-old hands inside a dark and silent factory in Pakistan. Even your more mundane purchases — a leather bag, a shirt, a pair of jeans, or produce from the local grocery store could be the product of child labor. Around the world today, some 250 million boys and girls between the ages of five and 14 are exploited in hazardous work conditions, according to the International Labour Organization. Most of these children live in the developing world, but even in industrialized countries such as the United States, hundreds of thousands of underage boys and girls are at work in sweatshops, farm fields, brothels and on the street." Yeah, unions are really evil.

Response:

Not to fan the flames or anything, but before Walmart rolled out the Low Prices, Always slogan wasnt their slogan Made In America or something along thoose line. This was several years ago of course. Could very well just be confused with another retalier

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – X-No-archive: yes | | I know I shouldn’t go there, but I will because this is perhaps one of | my biggest dislikes:  Our "friend" WalMart. <snip There’s a certain segment of the population that hates to see free enterprise and capitalism work as it’s intended to.  The same people that hate WalMart are usually so jealous of Microsoft’s success that they can’t stand it. I feel that a company that built what is now a global retail enterprise by backing their slogan "Always Low Prices" does a tremendous service to the vast majority of people who can’t afford to shop on 5th Avenue.  Walmart has a wonderful variety of products at a reasonable price.    They also provide a huge job base for many people —  especially older and disabled workers — who would otherwise be unemployable. Sam Walton was an entrepreneurial genius and groundbreaker.  His philosophy towards his employees all being "associates" of the company, making them feel part of something big and getting them excited about their job has been adopted by many of the most successful companies as their own personnel model.  The company I work for, Marriott, is one of them. I’ve read the "Walmart Sucks" bulletin board in the past; it’s a bunch of disgruntled former employees who couldn’t hack following the rules, failed at their jobs and want  to blame the company.  It’s these former employees with their crappy attitudes and lazy-ass work ethics who "suck," not WalMart. I for one *love* WalMart! Of course, I can’t make a post like this without adding that this is IMHO. Many others may have a different viewpoint, and I hope we can agree to disagree with mutual respect. | — Peter website:  http://users.thelink.net/marengo

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -There’s a certain segment of the population that hates to see free enterprise and capitalism work as it’s intended to.  The same people that hate WalMart are usually so jealous of Microsoft’s success that they can’t stand it. I feel that a company that built what is now a global retail enterprise by backing their slogan "Always Low Prices" does a tremendous service to the vast majority of people who can’t afford to shop on 5th Avenue.  Walmart has a wonderful variety of products at a reasonable price.    They also provide a huge job base for many people —  especially older and disabled workers — who would otherwise be unemployable. Sam Walton was an entrepreneurial genius and groundbreaker.  His philosophy towards his employees all being "associates" of the company, making them feel part of something big and getting them excited about their job has been adopted by many of the most successful companies as their own personnel model.  The company I work for, Marriott, is one of them. I’ve read the "Walmart Sucks" bulletin board in the past; it’s a bunch of disgruntled former employees who couldn’t hack following the rules, failed at their jobs and want  to blame the company.  It’s these former employees with their crappy attitudes and lazy-ass work ethics who "suck," not WalMart. I for one *love* WalMart! Of course, I can’t make a post like this without adding that this is IMHO. Many others may have a different viewpoint, and I hope we can agree to disagree with mutual respect. | — Peter website:  http://users.thelink.net/marengo

http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/releases/rel21604.html New Report Details Wal-Mart’s Labor Abuses and Hidden Costs Monday, February 16, 2004 "There

Question:

Yes, you can use an out-of-state accountant if you want him to do the books, but if you need an audited statement, you should get someone licensed in your state. The entertainment company is solely own by myself.  I have no plans of giving stock in it away to others … either for cash, employee options, or gifts.  Am I then correct that I do not need an audited statement?

You may or may not need a statement, audited or otherwise. If you are borrowing money your lender may require one.  If you are self financed you might not need a statement at all. You will need tax returns. You would need to mail, fax or email him your bank info, invoice data, payroll information, etc.  If there is a large volume, you would be better off hiring a local bookkeeper and using a CPA to review books and prepare tax returns. I like doing all my communications these days electronically.  Could I just give the accounting firm access to my business’s bank account and such so they can access it over the net?

Possible, however I would suggest that you grant read only access.   This is an "emerging issue". Yes, that’s what I’ve been told by advisors and thus why I’m exploring this. The rules of engagement would then be the rules of the state in which the accounting was being done – the state in which the accountant is licensed and does business. So an accountant in the State of Washington can do the state income tax filing for a Wisconsin business as long as the Washington firm does all its work in the State of Washington, correct?  

That is how I do it.   Jim

Response:

I’m about to launch an entertainment business with an international talk show.  I’ve been working on barter deals with many businesses to keep start-up costs to a minimum.  Basically, I get their services/products in exchange for a plug at the end of the show.  Anyway… What I’m wondering is if accountants for a business must be … or should be … in the state that business is in.  In other words, could an accounting firm adequately handle the books if they’re in a different state?  Or is there some reason why you should only look for an accounting firm within your own state?  State tax laws perhaps?  If it matters, I’m in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Scott Jensen — Peer-to-peer networking (a.k.a. file-sharing) is entertainment’s future. If you’d like to know why, read the white paper at the link below. http://www.nonesuch.org/p2prevolution.pdf

Response:

– {:-) Happy Holidays http://LNGIFTS.home.insightbb.com http://www.QuickInfo247.com/8306069 http://www.GiftWorldNet.com/LNGIFTS http://www.MalakYAH.FreeStoreClub.com http://www.MalakYAH.WebStoreClub.com http://www.Hop.ClickBank.net/?MalakYAH/Surveys2 https://www.paypal.com/mrb/pal=YESQNAXYEGZGE   I’m about to launch an entertainment business with an international talk   show.  I’ve been working on barter deals with many businesses to keep   start-up costs to a minimum.  Basically, I get their services/products in   exchange for a plug at the end of the show.  Anyway…   What I’m wondering is if accountants for a business must be … or should be   … in the state that business is in.  In other words, could an accounting   firm adequately handle the books if they’re in a different state?  Or is   there some reason why you should only look for an accounting firm within   your own state?  State tax laws perhaps?  If it matters, I’m in Madison,   Wisconsin, USA.   Scott Jensen   —   Peer-to-peer networking (a.k.a. file-sharing) is entertainment’s future.   If you’d like to know why, read the white paper at the link below.   http://www.nonesuch.org/p2prevolution.pdf   —   Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.   Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).

Response:

Yes, you can use an out-of-state accountant if you want him to do the books, but if you need an audited statement, you should get someone licensed in your state. You would need to mail, fax or email him your bank info, invoice data, payroll information, etc.  If there is a large volume, you would be better off hiring a local bookkeeper and using a CPA to review books and prepare tax returns. My only out of state clients have their own bookkeepers on-site and they send me their financial statements from which I provide year-end adjusting entries and prepare their tax returns. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m about to launch an entertainment business with an international talk show.  I’ve been working on barter deals with many businesses to keep start-up costs to a minimum.  Basically, I get their services/products in exchange for a plug at the end of the show.  Anyway… What I’m wondering is if accountants for a business must be … or should be … in the state that business is in.  In other words, could an accounting firm adequately handle the books if they’re in a different state?  Or is there some reason why you should only look for an accounting firm within your own state?  State tax laws perhaps?  If it matters, I’m in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Scott Jensen — Peer-to-peer networking (a.k.a. file-sharing) is entertainment’s future. If you’d like to know why, read the white paper at the link below. http://www.nonesuch.org/p2prevolution.pdf

Response:

Yes, you can use an out-of-state accountant if you want him to do the books, but if you need an audited statement, you should get someone licensed in your state. You would need to mail, fax or email him your bank info, invoice data, payroll information, etc.  If there is a large volume, you would be better off hiring a local bookkeeper and using a CPA to review books and prepare tax returns. My only out of state clients have their own bookkeepers on-site and they send me their financial statements from which I provide year-end adjusting entries and prepare their tax returns.

This is an "emerging issue".   A few years ago I would have said that physical proximity was important.  I would not make that statement today. If the accountant is a CPA, s/he must be licensed to practice by the state in which s/he is practicing.  If Mr. Jensen wants to have his accounting done in some state other than the one in which he is located I would argue that he can do so.  The rules of engagement would then be the rules of the state in which the accounting was being done – the state in which the accountant is licensed and does business. If the accountant is an EA (Enrolled Agent) it would probably make no difference at all.  Enrolled Agents are licensed by the Federal Government (IRS). Jim Hudspeth, CPA, CFE

Response:

Would you be able to sign the state tax return if Wisconsin requires its tax preparers to be licensed in Wisconsin?  Curious? That could get interesting. I suppose I would have the same standing as someone with no license at all. And what would that mean?  Potential problems?

It doesn’t necessarily mean anything specific, though it might. Accounting is many things to many people.  We (collectively) do not and cannot all agree on many of it’s more esoteric aspects.  The most we can hope for is some rough consensus on it’s more core aspects. My above response was to "Tippy", a respected regular here whose background is in government.  While I have some small amount of government experience, my background is mostly with people trying to cope with government.  Our views are dramatically different.   Tippy asked me a question that I wasn’t ready to genuinely answer, so I responded with a  polite acknowledgment that he had a point.  If he persists I will answer it.   As to your situation – you have many available choices.  None will be entirely free from potential problems.   Question: When driving the public highway, do you rigorously adhere to the posted speed limit, go with the flow, work to get ahead (just a little), or really put the "pedal to the metal" (and watch for cops)?   An honest answer to this question will tell you much about what you are looking for in terms of accounting help. Jim Hudspeth

Response:

You can use an out of state accountant for any service including an audit. There are no prohibitions on it, however, you will get someone with more knowledge of your states tax laws if you use a local firm.  I’ve been in public accounting for 16 years and have audited many clients located in other states than where I am licensed. Stephen Lewis, CPA

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Yes, you can use an out-of-state accountant if you want him to do the books, but if you need an audited statement, you should get someone licensed in your state. You would need to mail, fax or email him your bank info, invoice data, payroll information, etc.  If there is a large volume, you would be better off hiring a local bookkeeper and using a CPA to review books and prepare tax returns. My only out of state clients have their own bookkeepers on-site and they send me their financial statements from which I provide year-end adjusting entries and prepare their tax returns. This is an "emerging issue". A few years ago I would have said that physical proximity was important. I would not make that statement today. If the accountant is a CPA, s/he must be licensed to practice by the state in which s/he is practicing.  If Mr. Jensen wants to have his accounting done in some state other than the one in which he is located I would argue that he can do so.  The rules of engagement would then be the rules of the state in which the accounting was being done – the state in which the accountant is licensed and does business. If the accountant is an EA (Enrolled Agent) it would probably make no difference at all.  Enrolled Agents are licensed by the Federal Government (IRS). Jim Hudspeth, CPA, CFE In Washington DC, arguably for the purposes discussed here it is a state, you must licensed to do the accounting like almost any profession.  But it is not the same as for a CPA firm, which I discussed earlier. Tippy

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I suppose I would have the same standing as someone with no license at all. And what would that mean?  Potential problems? It doesn’t necessarily mean anything specific, though it might. Accounting is many things to many people.  We (collectively) do not and cannot all agree on many of it’s more esoteric aspects.  The most we can hope for is some rough consensus on it’s more core aspects. My above response was to "Tippy", a respected regular here whose background is in government.  While I have some small amount of government experience, my background is mostly with people trying to cope with government.  Our views are dramatically different. Tippy asked me a question that I wasn’t ready to genuinely answer, so I responded with a  polite acknowledgment that he had a point.  If he persists I will answer it. As to your situation – you have many available choices.  None will be entirely free from potential problems. Question: When driving the public highway, do you rigorously adhere to the posted speed limit, go with the flow, work to get ahead (just a little), or really put the "pedal to the metal" (and watch for cops)? An honest answer to this question will tell you much about what you are looking for in terms of accounting help. Jim Hudspeth

Good analogy !!

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – In Washington DC, arguably for the purposes discussed here it is a state, you must licensed to do the accounting like almost any profession.  But it is not the same as for a CPA firm, which I discussed earlier. To the best of my knowledge Washington DC is one of 54 accounting jurisdictions in the US.  If it’s rules materially differ from the other 53 I am not aware of it. I am licensed in the State of Washington, but not in Washington DC.  To the best of my knowledge, someone from Washington DC (or anywhere else) can come to my office, present me with information and request that I perform accounting services, including attest services, and I am legally entitled to provide them – as long as I do it here.  I cannot "hold out" to practice outside the State of Washington. While I have numerous interstate tax engagements, I have no interstate accounting engagements and have not researched the subject. Jim Doing services out of state might be exception to the regulation. However, I don’t see how anyone can do auditing work without coming on site.  You wouldn’t be breaking State of Washington laws, but coming to DC to do auditing work would be violating local laws.  We find certain non profits have obtained auditing services to do A-133 audits from out of state sources.  The services can not be accepted when detected because it violates the Code of Federal Regulations, which requires adherence to local laws and regulations.  Thus, the non profit would have to eat the costs and get another audit.

I’m sure you are right.   I should have been more specific.  The "attest" I was referring to was review, which does not require an on site presence. Jim

Response:

So an accountant in the State of Washington can do the state income tax filing for a Wisconsin business as long as the Washington firm does all its work in the State of Washington, correct? That is how I do it. Jim Would you be able to sign the state tax return if Wisconsin requires its tax preparers to be licensed in Wisconsin?  Curious?

That could get interesting.   I suppose I would have the same standing as someone with no license at all. I haven’t run into it. Jim

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Yes, you can use an out-of-state accountant if you want him to do the books, but if you need an audited statement, you should get someone licensed in your state. The entertainment company is solely own by myself.  I have no plans of giving stock in it away to others … either for cash, employee options, or gifts.  Am I then correct that I do not need an audited statement? You may or may not need a statement, audited or otherwise. If you are borrowing money your lender may require one.  If you are self  financed you might not need a statement at all.

Self-financed is the way I’m going.  So far so good.  Barter deals are enabling me to go this route. You would need to mail, fax or email him your bank info, invoice data, payroll information, etc.  If there is a large volume, you would be better off hiring a local bookkeeper and using a CPA to review books and prepare tax returns. I like doing all my communications these days electronically. Could I just give the accounting firm access to my business’s bank account and such so they can access it over the net? Possible, however I would suggest that you grant read only access.

I’ll see if my bank has this option. Scott Jensen — Peer-to-peer networking (a.k.a. file-sharing) is entertainment’s future. If you’d like to know why, read the white paper at the link below. http://www.nonesuch.org/p2prevolution.pdf

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – So an accountant in the State of Washington can do the state income tax filing for a Wisconsin business as long as the Washington firm does all its work in the State of Washington, correct? That is how I do it. Would you be able to sign the state tax return if Wisconsin requires its tax preparers to be licensed in Wisconsin?  Curious? That could get interesting. I suppose I would have the same standing as someone with no license at all.

And what would that mean?  Potential problems? Scott Jensen — Peer-to-peer networking (a.k.a. file-sharing) is entertainment’s future. If you’d like to know why, read the white paper at the link below. http://www.nonesuch.org/p2prevolution.pdf

Response:

If you are just looking for an accountant to do your corportate taxes, then it shouldn’t matter.  Any licensed CPA should have access to the state tax laws.

Response:

In Washington DC, arguably for the purposes discussed here it is a state, you must licensed to do the accounting like almost any profession.  But it is not the same as for a CPA firm, which I discussed earlier.

To the best of my knowledge Washington DC is one of 54 accounting jurisdictions in the US.  If it’s rules materially differ from the other 53 I am not aware of it. I am licensed in the State of Washington, but not in Washington DC.  To the best of my knowledge, someone from Washington DC (or anywhere else) can come to my office, present me with information and request that I perform accounting services, including attest services, and I am legally entitled to provide them – as long as I do it here.  I cannot "hold out" to practice outside the State of Washington.   While I have numerous interstate tax engagements, I have no interstate accounting engagements and have not researched the subject.   Jim

Response:

Yes, you can use an out-of-state accountant if you want him to do the books, but if you need an audited statement, you should get someone licensed in your state.

The entertainment company is solely own by myself.  I have no plans of giving stock in it away to others … either for cash, employee options, or gifts.  Am I then correct that I do not need an audited statement? You would need to mail, fax or email him your bank info, invoice data, payroll information, etc.  If there is a large volume, you would be better off hiring a local bookkeeper and using a CPA to review books and prepare tax returns.

I like doing all my communications these days electronically.  Could I just give the accounting firm access to my business’s bank account and such so they can access it over the net? This is an "emerging issue".

Yes, that’s what I’ve been told by advisors and thus why I’m exploring this. If the accountant is a CPA, s/he must be licensed to practice by the state in which s/he is practicing.  If Mr. Jensen wants to have his accounting  done in some state other than the one in which he is located I would argue that he can do so.

That’s good to hear.  I’ve learned that one must contact a lot of companies to get one that’s interested in doing a barter deal (services for advertising).  Being able to look beyond my state would help in doing this … as it did when I went looking for a PR firm to handle the show’s global PR.  I have since received bids from a California PR firm, a NYC PR firm, and a Canadian PR firm to represent the show in exchange for advertising on it.  I’m now hoping to do likewise with accounting firms.  If an accountant reads this and is interested, feel free to contact me. The rules of engagement would then be the rules of the state in which the accounting was being done – the state in which the accountant is licensed and does business.

So an accountant in the State of Washington can do the state income tax filing for a Wisconsin business as long as the Washington firm does all its work in the State of Washington, correct?  This would be ideal as I’m expecting to eventually having to move the show to another state due to certain businesses bidding to get it filmed at their location (thus promoting their locations).  What that next state will be is unknown as it could be one of many.  It could even be a different country.  What I’d like is to be able to do is still keep the accounting firm I have when doing so. Thanks for the advice! Scott Jensen — Peer-to-peer networking (a.k.a. file-sharing) is entertainment’s future. If you’d like to know why, read the white paper at the link below. http://www.nonesuch.org/p2prevolution.pdf

Response:

Question:

Hi Danille; Why don’t you visit the web sights of  the organizations you  are interested in?  You will probably find a wealth of information.  CPA’s are an American accounting organization.  The others are Canadian.  CMA’s are cost, or management accounting orientated.  CA’s and CGA’s are finincal accountants. The CMA web site is www.cma-canada.org. The CGA web site is www.cga-canada.org.  CGA’s do not have full public practice rights in all provences at this time but are quickly winning them as gouvernments become more enlightened and subscribe to the belief that compitition among the different accounting bodies is good for the profession in general and the consumer especially.

Ontario, the last provincial holdout, has now granted public accounting license rights to CMA’s and CGA’s. The only thing needed at this point is for the requirements to be defined. — Stephanie Serba, AICIA Partner, Durham Business Outsource Accounting & Technology www.dbo.ca – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -CGA’s also practice off shore, in places like the Bahamas, for instance, and I believe are training accountants in China. Hello.  I am currently finishing a business degree and would like to obtain an accounting designation when I graduate.  At the moment, I am leaning towards a CA, but was wondering if mabye I should get my CGA, CMA, or even CPA.  Does anyone have an opinion of what designation would be most advantageous to hold?  I do not know many people with designations so if you could share your experiences with me, I’d appreciate it! Personally, I think I would enjoy having my CA the most, but I’m still curious as to what other people have to say! Thanks for your input!

Response:

Hi Danille; After you decide which designation is better for you, you should think about to make the CPA exam too. Lots of companies want to find a person with Canadian designation, and if you have the US designation, this could be a big plus for you. But I don’t know really: why is important in which state you make the CPA exam. Can somebody explain to me? Thanks, Agnes

Response:

Don’t you have to be a resident in the state for which you are writing the CPA exam? If so, then it is impossible to get a CPA designation living in Canada. — Stephanie Serba, AICIA Partner, Durham Business Outsource Accounting & Technology www.dbo.ca

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi Danille; After you decide which designation is better for you, you should think about to make the CPA exam too. Lots of companies want to find a person with Canadian designation, and if you have the US designation, this could be a big plus for you. But I don’t know really: why is important in which state you make the CPA exam. Can somebody explain to me? Thanks, Agnes

Response:

Judged by the creative accounting skandals coming to light frequently, the CFE designation might be what the markets need to help clean them up.  The Association of Certified Examinors even offer a special Canadian section.  You can see for yourself at: http://www.cfenet.com A. Lucien Meyers, CIA, CMA

Response:

Hello.  I am currently finishing a business degree and would like to obtain an accounting designation when I graduate.  At the moment, I am leaning towards a CA, but was wondering if mabye I should get my CGA, CMA, or even CPA.  Does anyone have an opinion of what designation would be most advantageous to hold?  I do not know many people with designations so if you could share your experiences with me, I’d appreciate it! Personally, I think I would enjoy having my CA the most, but I’m still curious as to what other people have to say! Thanks for your input!

Response:

Hello.  I am currently finishing a business degree and would like to obtain an accounting designation when I graduate.  At the moment, I am leaning towards a CA, but was wondering if mabye I should get my CGA, CMA, or even CPA.  Does anyone have an opinion of what designation would be most advantageous to hold?  I do not know many people with designations so if you could share your experiences with me, I’d appreciate it! Personally, I think I would enjoy having my CA the most, but I’m still curious as to what other people have to say!

It all depends on what "market" you are trying to get into. Based on the designations you name, I presume you’re in the Canadian environment, as those designations are pretty characteristic of Canada. Your bias is probably right, from two perspectives. If you plan to stay in Canada, the CA has been "highly credible" for longer than any of the others.  And would certainly be more relevant than the CPA designation. If you ultimately plan to head to another country, it is unlikely that the CMA or CGA designations will be recognized internationally as having the same value as the CA. — http://cbbrowne.com/info/multiplexor.html Customer: "I’m running Windows ‘95." Tech: "Yes." Customer: "My computer isn’t working now." Tech: "Yes, you said that."

Response:

Hi Danille; Why don’t you visit the web sights of  the organizations you  are interested in?  You will probably find a wealth of information.  CPA’s are an American accounting organization.  The others are Canadian.  CMA’s are cost, or management accounting orientated.  CA’s and CGA’s are finincal accountants. The CMA web site is www.cma-canada.org. The CGA web site is www.cga-canada.org.  CGA’s do not have full public practice rights in all provences at this time but are quickly winning them as gouvernments become more enlightened and subscribe to the belief that compitition among the different accounting bodies is good for the profession in general and the consumer especially.  CGA’s also practice off shore, in places like the Bahamas, for instance, and I believe are training accountants in China.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hello.  I am currently finishing a business degree and would like to obtain an accounting designation when I graduate.  At the moment, I am leaning towards a CA, but was wondering if mabye I should get my CGA, CMA, or even CPA.  Does anyone have an opinion of what designation would be most advantageous to hold?  I do not know many people with designations so if you could share your experiences with me, I’d appreciate it! Personally, I think I would enjoy having my CA the most, but I’m still curious as to what other people have to say! Thanks for your input!

Response:

Question:

On Fri, 24 May 2002 18:30:42 -0400, "XSW" <dontmai…@hotmail.com> wrote: >"808" <no…@nowhere.com> wrote in message >news:4g1reu8vtmpud5lim8drngvqq1rl2d3hmh@4ax.com… >>   If you have any more questions about it, ask me. >How much does it teach you about not being shy? Does it teach you how it >would be possible to be less of an unpleasant person (more talkitive, >friendly, etc), because i can’t even picture myself that way.

Well, on E – for me, anyway, YMMV – it sort of shows me what my "true" personality is.  Anything I would want to do but couldn’t due to shyness is possible on E, and once you do it it you get confidence in doing it, even if it was under the influence.   >Would it give me a good example of a better side of me so that i know what to try to >recreate in the future (while not on E)?

Yes, exactly, that’s the #1 appeal of the drug, for me (that and it makes you feel damn awesome) >What about the amount of practice it gives u doing things u don’t usually >do? In other words, is it like alcohol, where u remember it, but it /feels/ >like it never happened….. Or can u say: >"Yeah, i’ve behaved this way already, i have a little practice, so next time >(without e) it won’t be as difficult as it used to be in the past!" >?

E is pretty different from alcohol in that when you’re on it, things don’t seem as "unreal" as when you get drunk.  There have been a few times where I’ve gotten really drunk and did a bunch of goofy shit, but I look back on it and can’t believe it, it seems like it didn’t happen at all.  When I look back at the things I’ve done on E, it all seems more natural. E is not without it’s drawbacks, though…here are some downsides: -Too damn expensive in the US ($20 a pill avg. price).  One dose lasts 3-5 hours if you’re new to it and it’s a decent pill, so it isn’t cost effective at all.  Fortunately, you can really only do it once or twice a month, since it takes your body 2 weeks to replenish seratonin levels.  I only do it once every 4-6 weeks these days, not at all like when I started.  The less you do it, the more special it is, kinda like everything else in life. -Risk of next day/mid-week "crash," where you feel depressed/generally shitty.  I think this is experienced more by ravers who drop then dance 6 hours straight, go home and sleep for 2 hours and wake up unrefreshed.  I also think this is more a mental thing, and many people psyche themselves out into having a crash.  Personally I never got this crash, I tend to feel *better* the week after doing it. There are many precautions to do to combat this, too. -Risk of buying bunk/dangerous pill.  Don’t ever mix different "brands" of pills (i.e. if one pill has MDMA, and another DXM, you’re in for a horrible time) -Illegal pretty much everywhere.  If you’ve never had a drug offense and get caught, though, you’ll only get a slap on the wrist, basically. -Strong psychological addiction in some cases. If you want to know more about it go to www.erowid.org.  Or read the MDMA message boards at www.bluelight.nu.

Response:

Coolcool. Thanx it’s exactly what i wanted to hear =) "808" <no…@nowhere.com> wrote in message

news:s561fukkhuf15jn8d40k8711ufqilrveni@4ax.com… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> On Fri, 24 May 2002 18:30:42 -0400, "XSW" <dontmai…@hotmail.com> > wrote: > >"808" <no…@nowhere.com> wrote in message > >news:4g1reu8vtmpud5lim8drngvqq1rl2d3hmh@4ax.com… > >>   If you have any more questions about it, ask me. > >How much does it teach you about not being shy? Does it teach you how it > >would be possible to be less of an unpleasant person (more talkitive, > >friendly, etc), because i can’t even picture myself that way. > Well, on E – for me, anyway, YMMV – it sort of shows me what my "true" > personality is.  Anything I would want to do but couldn’t due to > shyness is possible on E, and once you do it it you get confidence in > doing it, even if it was under the influence. > >Would it give me a good example of a better side of me so that i know what to try to > >recreate in the future (while not on E)? > Yes, exactly, that’s the #1 appeal of the drug, for me (that and it > makes you feel damn awesome) > >What about the amount of practice it gives u doing things u don’t usually > >do? In other words, is it like alcohol, where u remember it, but it /feels/ > >like it never happened….. Or can u say: > >"Yeah, i’ve behaved this way already, i have a little practice, so next time > >(without e) it won’t be as difficult as it used to be in the past!" > >? > E is pretty different from alcohol in that when you’re on it, things > don’t seem as "unreal" as when you get drunk.  There have been a few > times where I’ve gotten really drunk and did a bunch of goofy shit, > but I look back on it and can’t believe it, it seems like it didn’t > happen at all.  When I look back at the things I’ve done on E, it all > seems more natural. > E is not without it’s drawbacks, though…here are some downsides: > -Too damn expensive in the US ($20 a pill avg. price).  One dose lasts > 3-5 hours if you’re new to it and it’s a decent pill, so it isn’t cost > effective at all.  Fortunately, you can really only do it once or > twice a month, since it takes your body 2 weeks to replenish seratonin > levels.  I only do it once every 4-6 weeks these days, not at all like > when I started.  The less you do it, the more special it is, kinda > like everything else in life. > -Risk of next day/mid-week "crash," where you feel depressed/generally > shitty.  I think this is experienced more by ravers who drop then > dance 6 hours straight, go home and sleep for 2 hours and wake up > unrefreshed.  I also think this is more a mental thing, and many > people psyche themselves out into having a crash.  Personally I never > got this crash, I tend to feel *better* the week after doing it. > There are many precautions to do to combat this, too. > -Risk of buying bunk/dangerous pill.  Don’t ever mix different > "brands" of pills (i.e. if one pill has MDMA, and another DXM, you’re > in for a horrible time) > -Illegal pretty much everywhere.  If you’ve never had a drug offense > and get caught, though, you’ll only get a slap on the wrist, > basically. > -Strong psychological addiction in some cases. > If you want to know more about it go to www.erowid.org.  Or read the > MDMA message boards at www.bluelight.nu.

Response:

808 <no…@nowhere.com> wrote in message <news:jqemeusrlcnj5hgn04v9l9h1lg5ai5alc5@4ax.com>… > I guess the same can be said for anything else in life that gives shy > people problems.  Whether it’s asking people out on dates, making > conversation, talking on the phone, whatever, the only thing that will > alleviate our fears of doing these things is practice.  Another thing > I’ve learned on the job is that when you make a mistake, it’s not > really THAT big of a deal.  If you forget a topping on a pizza or > whatever, it’s no big deal because there are hundreds of other > customers who will keep ordering from you no matter what.  I was also > worried about asshole customers, but those are few and far between, > and most people are really friendly.

I like delivery too, more than answering phones.  However, not all is rosy where I work.  Our delivery area includes a bad neighborhood.  So far, I have delivered to that neighborhood only during the day.  I hear from other delivery drivers who deliver there during the night that it’s not a safe neighborhood, as crack addicts wander the streets and gangs surround neighboring houses.  That area is also an area where a driver will get no tip. Good luck, though with the job.  Sometimes you’ll get a good tip, other times you’ll get no tip, which sucks.

Response:

On Wed, 22 May 2002 21:03:23 -0400, "XSW" <dontmai…@hotmail.com> wrote: >the following question is completely off topic, but 808, were u the guy who >was promoting mdma on this ng (a few months back)?

Yes.

Response:

On 22 May 2002 21:56:29 -0700, kilroyb…@catlover.com (Kilroy Bass) wrote: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->808 <no…@nowhere.com> wrote in message <news:jqemeusrlcnj5hgn04v9l9h1lg5ai5alc5@4ax.com>… >> I guess the same can be said for anything else in life that gives shy >> people problems.  Whether it’s asking people out on dates, making >> conversation, talking on the phone, whatever, the only thing that will >> alleviate our fears of doing these things is practice.  Another thing >> I’ve learned on the job is that when you make a mistake, it’s not >> really THAT big of a deal.  If you forget a topping on a pizza or >> whatever, it’s no big deal because there are hundreds of other >> customers who will keep ordering from you no matter what.  I was also >> worried about asshole customers, but those are few and far between, >> and most people are really friendly. >I like delivery too, more than answering phones.  However, not all is >rosy where I work.  Our delivery area includes a bad neighborhood.  So >far, I have delivered to that neighborhood only during the day.  I >hear from other delivery drivers who deliver there during the night >that it’s not a safe neighborhood, as crack addicts wander the streets >and gangs surround neighboring houses.  That area is also an area >where a driver will get no tip.

I’ve had to deliver to some bad neighborhoods, too, but nothing that bad.  I read that pizza delivery is the 3rd most dangerous job in America, after police officer and firefighter.  Fortunately we don’t have to wear those huge signs advertising our store on our car, since those basically advertise to all criminals "I have food and money on me!  Rob me!"   One thing that is weird about our store, is that our delivery area is HUGE!  I work for Magpie’s Gourmet Pizza in Tucson*, so it’s a little different than working for Pizza Hut or Papa John’s since there aren’t 20 stores in town to cover everywhere.  There are 4 other Magpie’s in town, but our store covers pretty much most of central Tucson, which is pretty spread out, and includes everything from the university, to high class neighborhoods, to the ghetto.  Fortunately we get paid 15 cents a mile, to compensate for gas, but with gas being $1.35 a gallon here that’s more than enough.  When the day is kinda slow I look forward to those long deliveries, since they give me time to chill out from the in-store duties, listen to music, smoke a cigarette, and rack up the miles.  Out of all the deliveries I’ve gotten, only one was to what I’d consider a bad neighborhood, but being that our pizza is so pricey that was kind of expected. >Good luck, though with the job.  Sometimes you’ll get a good tip, >other times you’ll get no tip, which sucks.

So far out of the couple dozen deliveries I’ve gotten, the average tip is between $3-4, the lowest tip I’ve gotten so far was .70.  Today I got a $9 tip for a $20 order!  I think maybe tips are high because different types of people order from local businesses than corporate businesses, but I could be wrong. I’m salivating at my schedule for Saturday, since I work from 12 to 8, and don’t have to close.  The busiest day, plus 8 hours of straight delivering, it should be fun. *Voted best pizza in Tucson since 1989 by the Tucson Weekly.  If you’re in Southern AZ come check us out!  The pizza *is* that good, I thought so before I started working there, too.

Response:

"Adrian Boliston" <adr…@boliston.com> wrote in message

news:3CED7A5F.2123FA68@boliston.com… > Trance909 wrote: > > Only 10%? LOL I thought you were supposed to leave 15%. I leave 15%, unless the > > service was terrible. If the food is not the greatest it’s really not the > > server’s fault. > I don’t think the UK has the same tipping culture as the US, where I > suspect staff get a lower basic wage, but they make it up in tips. > I’m all in favour of tipping for good service, but a lot of people over > here don’t bother to leave any tip at all, and will expect 5p change > back if their check comes to

Question:

Hello all, I recently installed a couple of new phone jacks.  It’s a small house so I just ran wire from the interface doo-hickie.  Jacks work fine but when I went to test them with my line tester it said they were reversed polarity. I didn’t wire them wrong and sure enough every jack in the house is reversed.  Is there any reason not  to simply reverse the two wires that lead to the main interface from which all the individual wires run.  I’ve read that reversed polarity can screw up modems, etc.  Any ideas would be helpful. Thanks, Nathan —

Response:

I recently installed a couple of new phone jacks.  It’s a small house so I just ran wire from the interface doo-hickie.  Jacks work fine but when I went to test them with my line tester it said they were reversed polarity. I didn’t wire them wrong and sure enough every jack in the house is reversed.  Is there any reason not  to simply reverse the two wires that lead to the main interface from which all the individual wires run.  I’ve read that reversed polarity can screw up modems, etc.  

It also makes it impossible to dial out.  Sounds like your tester needs to be reversed.

Response:

Reversed polarity doesn’t cause any dial out problems.  I clip onto lines all week long in my job, and make test calls, etc.  Many times I am reversed.  Your modem will work fine too.  It’s not right to leave it this way though, and things are for a reason, though typically you will not see a problem.   If every one in your house is coming up wrong, you can absolutely revers the red and green from the interface box (customer premises side) and you will be just fine and fix your issue. Have fun Chris – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I recently installed a couple of new phone jacks.  It’s a small house so I just ran wire from the interface doo-hickie.  Jacks work fine but when I went to test them with my line tester it said they were reversed polarity. I didn’t wire them wrong and sure enough every jack in the house is reversed.  Is there any reason not  to simply reverse the two wires that lead to the main interface from which all the individual wires run.  I’ve read that reversed polarity can screw up modems, etc.   It also makes it impossible to dial out.  Sounds like your tester needs to be reversed.

Response:

Reversed polarity doesn’t cause any dial out problems.

It does here in NYC.  I discovered it by accident 15 years ago.  If you reverse the polarity, the phone’s buttons won’t generate a tone, of at least it won’t on the old Bell phones. However incoming calls work fine.  I don’t have a clue why it does this but I used it for years in my old recording studio to enforce an "incoming only" phone in the control room.

Response:

I recently installed a couple of new phone jacks.  It’s a small house so I just ran wire from the interface doo-hickie. Jacks work fine but when I went to test them with my line tester it said they were reversed polarity. I’ve read that reversed polarity can screw up modems, etc. It also makes it impossible to dial out.  Sounds like your tester needs to be reversed.

Very little modern equipment is polarity sensitive. The old 2500 sets were polarity sensitive, and would not dial with reversed polarity. In the olden days when touch-tone dialing was a premium service, you could get 2500’s to work by reversing your own service lines – that was often the trick Ma Bell used to force you to pay up for the service. I haven’t run into any phones that cared about polarity in a long time, and while there might be a few high speed modems that care, it’s unlikely. Most equipment doesn’t draw power from the DC on the line as older equipment did (and thus is protected or doesn’t care). Also: Are you *sure* the polarity is reversed? In the bizarro world of Bell, the tip (green) is positive with respect to the ring (red). Between each wire and a good earth ground, green will be slightly positive and red will be about 48 volts negative. (This drops to about 6 volts when a phone is off the hook on the circuit. Hope that helps. — |   See http://www.nitrosyncretic.com for the Heinlein FAQ & more   |

Response:

Reversed polarity doesn’t cause any dial out problems.

Just to show that I haven’t been sniffin’ glue: http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/TELECOM_Digest_Onlin… http://www.ale.org/archive/ale/ale-2000-12/msg00305.html I’m told that most modern phones have a polarity senser to correct polarity problems automatically.

Response:

Very little modern equipment is polarity sensitive. The old 2500 sets were polarity sensitive, and would not dial with reversed polarity.

Yeah, that’s how I tested the polarity when I home ran new phone lines in my house.  I love those old Bell phones.

Response:

Reversed polarity doesn’t cause any dial out problems. I’m told that most modern phones have a polarity senser to correct polarity problems automatically.

In most cases, it’s just a diode bridge to ensure that the polarity enters the phone correctly. And those are only found in phones that draw their operating power from the line, which are increasingly uncommon. — |   See http://www.nitrosyncretic.com for the Heinlein FAQ & more   |

Response:

Also: Are you *sure* the polarity is reversed? In the bizarro world of Bell, the tip (green) is positive with respect to the ring (red). Between each wire and a good earth ground, green will be slightly positive and red will be about 48 volts negative. (This drops to about 6 volts when a phone is off the hook on the circuit.

It’s not so bizarre.  Telephone circuits are typically 48 volts positive ground.  Having a negative potential on the lines reduces oxydation.

Response:

Also: Are you *sure* the polarity is reversed? In the bizarro world of Bell, the tip (green) is positive with respect to the ring (red). It’s not so bizarre.  Telephone circuits are typically 48 volts positive ground.  Having a negative potential on the lines reduces oxydation.

Yeah, sure. The basic elements of telephone signals are probably the oldest "new" technology still in use, and they are bass-ackward and upside down from most newer implementations of similar technology. The polarity of local telephone loops has no real justification; it’s just how it was designed almost a hundred years ago. The bit about reducing oxidation is post hoc. Just like the order of keys on a touch-tone pad. If you ask, you’ll be told that time-and-motion studies proved this layout (key 1 upper left) was somehow easier, faster, etc. Which is BS. It was designed that way because the design devolved to one senior Bell engineer, whose only instruction was "don’t make it look like a desk calculator." (Old-style electric desk calculators were universal on desktops in the 1940s and later. They have the same pattern as modern calculators, with 1 in the bottom left. Bell was concerned that the new touch-tone phones would be confused with calculators or that unfavorable comparisons would be made, hence the design imperative…) — |   See http://www.nitrosyncretic.com for the Heinlein FAQ & more   |

Response:

It does here in NYC.  I discovered it by accident 15 years ago.  If you reverse the polarity, the phone’s buttons won’t generate a tone, This only applies to antiques.

Antiques, maybe.  But two of my antiques are still in service and going strong despite countless drops.  I’ve never had to replace the handset cables, never had to change the batteries, never heard a drop out, click or chainsaw noise.  Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the modern phones I’ve bought since.  Bring ‘em back, I say.

Response:

  I recently installed a couple of new phone jacks.  It’s a small   house so I just ran wire from the interface doo-hickie.  Jacks work   fine but when I went to test them with my line tester it said they   were reversed polarity. I didn’t wire them wrong and sure enough   every jack in the house is reversed.  Is there any reason not  to   simply reverse the two wires that lead to the main interface from   which all the individual wires run.  I’ve read that reversed   polarity can screw up modems, etc.  Any ideas would be helpful.   What kind of telephone service drop or lateral do you have? Single pair airiel service drops have a ridge on one side to indicate the ring side of the pair. The terms tip, ring, and sleeve come from the parts of a 1/4" phone plug that was used to connect calls on manual switch boards.  These plugs are identical to the ones to be found on stereo head phones with 1/4" plugs. Multi pair cable will be color coded to indicate tip and ring.  In most service drop or lateral cables to single family residences the wires having a white color with a colored stripe will be the ring conductor. The wire having a solid color with or without a white stripe will be the tip conductor.  The metal cable jacket in underground cabling will be the sleeve or earth ground conductor. Four wire "JK" station wire should have the tip on the green and the ring on the red.  If there is a second line in the station wire the tip will be on the black and the ring on the yellow. The rhyme that outside plant trainees were taught was "the ring is ridged or red, readable to ground, and terminates on the right". "Readable to ground" means that you can measure forty eight volts DC between the ring and earth ground with all instruments on hook. The ring side of the pair should be forty eight volts positive relative to earth ground potential.  The tip side of the pair will be at or close to ground potential.  When touch tone service was first offered it was a premium service for which customers were charged an additional fee. Those customers who did not purchase it had there pair reversed at the exchange so that the polarity sensitive touch pads would not work.  This practice has long since been abandoned but many reversed polarity pairs remain in service. If you have an interior point at which all of your station wires are terminated then the simplest thing is to flop the lead between that point and the NID.  If all of your station wires terminate directly to the NID customer terminals then you will have to reverse them all. — Tom

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    It does here in NYC.  I discovered it by accident 15 years ago.  If   you reverse the polarity, the phone’s buttons won’t generate a tone,   of at least it won’t on the old Bell phones. However incoming calls   work fine.  I don’t have a clue why it does this but I used it for   years in my old recording studio to enforce an "incoming only" phone   in the control room.     The first touch tone phones were made by western electric.  Reversed polarity was used to prevent customers from using touch tone phones on lines that were not paying for touch tone service.  Modern telephones use bridge rectifiers to supply power to the touch pad and are unaffected by reverse polarity. — Tom

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Snip   Just like the order of keys on a touch-tone pad. If you ask, you’ll   be told that time-and-motion studies proved this layout (key 1   upper left) was somehow easier, faster, etc. Which is BS. It was   designed that way because the design devolved to one senior Bell   engineer, whose only instruction was "don’t make it look like a   desk calculator."     (Old-style electric desk calculators were universal on desktops in   the 1940s and later. They have the same pattern as modern   calculators, with 1 in the bottom left. Bell was concerned that the    new touch-tone phones would be confused with calculators or that   unfavorable comparisons would be made, hence the design   imperative…)   The first touch pads were identical to electric calculators.  They sere used by operators not customers. Operators who had secretarial or accounting experience would dial faster than the electro mechanical equipment of there day could handle.  The pad pattern was changed to force the operators to slow down to a speed that the equipment could manage.  My great uncle was working in the office were the redesign was done and that really is the reason. — Tom

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Question:

There are no particular standards specific to the hotel industry, however, FRS15 tangible fixed assets is relevant for the accounting of the actual hotels on the balance sheet and the depreciation charge, which has changed for years ending after 31 march 2000 Get an accounting standards book! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I work for a mojor Hotel chain in the accounting department, perhaos I can help.  What do you need to know? I am a student in Accounting and lately I was assigned to do some research for the hotel industry. Is anyone aware of accounting standards/rules that are peculiar to the hotel industry?  I could like to find some information on this but aren’t sure where I could start the research. Any input will be appreciated! Thanks, HelloMiMi Before you buy.

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I am a student in Accounting and lately I was assigned to do some research for the hotel industry. Is anyone aware of accounting standards/rules that are peculiar to the hotel industry?  I could like to find some information on this but aren’t sure where I could start the research. Any input will be appreciated! Thanks, HelloMiMi Before you buy.

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I work for a mojor Hotel chain in the accounting department, perhaos I can help.  What do you need to know? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am a student in Accounting and lately I was assigned to do some research for the hotel industry. Is anyone aware of accounting standards/rules that are peculiar to the hotel industry?  I could like to find some information on this but aren’t sure where I could start the research. Any input will be appreciated! Thanks, HelloMiMi Before you buy.

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Question:

I wished AMEX’s charges were always the same,but they are not. I have seen them range from 1.5 to 4 %. I wished they would follow Visa, MC’s policy of separating the charge from the invoice amount. Anybody know how to make this happen ? If I’m lucky, the client saves the recap so I can go thru and pick out the fact that a $97 deposit clears a $100 invoice, less discount of course. Mike Lewis, CPA

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -I record such transactions as this: dr amex receivable cr sales (or whatever income account) when amex has deposited to my account I record: dr cash cr amex receivable I know it’s an extra step but it makes my bank rec’s easier.  I just have to keep a rec for the recievable account also. Becky To reply by email send the monky on his way!

Response:

I wished AMEX’s charges were always the same,but they are not. I have seen them range from 1.5 to 4 %. I wished they would follow Visa, MC’s policy of separating the charge from the invoice amount. Anybody know how to make this happen ? If I’m lucky, the client saves the recap so I can go thru and pick out the fact that a $97 deposit clears a $100 invoice, less discount of course.

I never heard of Amex’ discount varying for a customer.  It’s based strictly on the volume of business you do with them and the type of business you are.  I have kept a spreadsheet of AMEX receivable for many years which includes the discount.  The discount I calculate has never been off by more than a few cents, and is usually exactly correct.  The only times it’s significantly off if there is a chargeback or another fee (coop advertising) that is deducted from the payment. On the other hand, I find the visa and master card discount impossible to calculate beforehand.  There are so many miscellaneous fees, your head can swim..  There are extra fees for foreign cards, corporate cards, manually swiped cards and probably a dozen other situations. It is not only impossible to predict the discount in advance (and all these charges should be considered part of the discount), not to mention decipher what is going on from the processor’s statement.  Our 1.7% rate for visa and mc is in reality 2% or more.

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Mike, The reason the discount varies is due to your clients election to be paid in a certain number of days.  The quicker you get your money, the more it costs. Armand Albano – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I wished AMEX’s charges were always the same,but they are not. I have seen them range from 1.5 to 4 %. I wished they would follow Visa, MC’s policy of separating the charge from the invoice amount. Anybody know how to make this happen ? If I’m lucky, the client saves the recap so I can go thru and pick out the fact that a $97 deposit clears a $100 invoice, less discount of course. Mike Lewis, CPA I record such transactions as this: dr amex receivable cr sales (or whatever income account) when amex has deposited to my account I record: dr cash cr amex receivable I know it’s an extra step but it makes my bank rec’s easier.  I just have to keep a rec for the recievable account also. Becky To reply by email send the monky on his way!

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Hello all! I am a senior bookkeeper for a high tech company in Ottawa Canada.    I take care of the entire Accounting department as well as the office administration of the company.   As a company, we accept payments by cash, check and credit cards.   A credit card we accept is American Express.   The problem I have with AMEX is that it can take up to three weeks for the money to actually be deposited in our bank account.   I guess my question is: When I process an AMEX card, should I take advantage of ACCPAC’s  ability to post the Cash Receipt dated two weeks in the future?  What policy or rule of thumb do some of you Accountants or Bookkeepers have? Thank you Yann Brisebois

Response:

I record such transactions as this: dr amex receivable cr sales (or whatever income account) when amex has deposited to my account I record: dr cash cr amex receivable I know it’s an extra step but it makes my bank rec’s easier.  I just have to keep a rec for the recievable account also. Becky To reply by email send the monky on his way!

Response:

Hello, Acc. 101 here, We are being told that you must recognise revenue once a transaction has occured and an increase in asset (or future, as in your case) is more likely than not going to happen. Whether the increase is now or in the future, a transaction has occured with the record being the receipt, therefor you should record it on the day of the transaction. If on balance day the money still hasn’t been credited you should record it as an accounts receivable. I am only just learning so I am most probably wrong!!! (If I am, please set me straight, and I should probably never become an Acc.!!!)

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hello all! I am a senior bookkeeper for a high tech company in Ottawa Canada.    I take care of the entire Accounting department as well as the office administration of the company.   As a company, we accept payments by cash, check and credit cards.   A credit card we accept is American Express. The problem I have with AMEX is that it can take up to three weeks for the money to actually be deposited in our bank account.   I guess my question is: When I process an AMEX card, should I take advantage of ACCPAC’s  ability to post the Cash Receipt dated two weeks in the future?  What policy or rule of thumb do some of you Accountants or Bookkeepers have? Thank you Yann Brisebois

Response:

Thanks for the reply.   I’ll give it a shot.   It’s something I thought of doing but the problem I have is that I don’t know when the deposit will occur.   For example, I process an invoice(create a receivable), send it to the client, the client calls back a week later and gives me his amex number. I process the card and send the deposit slip to Toronto.   Then, two or three weeks later, the deposit is made but I can pinpoint the exact day. When I make my daily deposit, I usually get the balance from the teller, but I don’t know in that if the amount actually went through. Thanks again! Yann

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I record such transactions as this: dr amex receivable cr sales (or whatever income account) when amex has deposited to my account I record: dr cash cr amex receivable I know it’s an extra step but it makes my bank rec’s easier.  I just have to keep a rec for the recievable account also. Becky To reply by email send the monky on his way!

Response:

I record such transactions as this: dr amex receivable cr sales (or whatever income account) when amex has deposited to my account I record: dr cash cr amex receivable

Don’t forget the discount.  American Express won’t (g).  So, the entry when payment is received would be: cash            xxx discounts       xxx amex rec.               xxx The entry could be made instead when you recognize sales.  The discount is a fixed amount, i.e.. 3%,  so you know what to expect. Technically speaking, and I’m probably getting too technical, it would probably be more correct to recognize the discount (expense) at the time of the transaction.  However, since the Amex receipt is received in a short period of time, it’s immaterial.   – glenn susser jersey city, nj

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Question:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Thomas Sowell  "Saving" social security (JWR) — (http://www.jewishworldreview.com) NOTHING SEEMS SO INSECURE as Social Security. However, before we start "saving" Social Security, we need to stop and think about why it needs saving in the first place. Then maybe we can avoid making the same mistakes all over again. Some people blame the problem on the large numbers of "baby boomers" who will be retiring in the next few decades. But why don’t we hear about private annuities that are worried about the number of baby boomers who will be retiring?  Social Security’s problems go much deeper than the size of the generation that is going to be retiring. In fact, Social Security’s problems go all the way back to the beginning — to the way it was set up, to the lies that politicians told about it and to the misconceptions and political irresponsibility that have now come home to roost…

I agree with your basic premise, that retirement funds should be retained and invested by individual future retirees, but that begs the question of what happens to people (and there will always be some) who can’t manage to save anything and become a burden to society in their dotage.  You also omit to tell us how you get from point A, where we are now with about 9 trillion owed to future retirees with funds "invested" in the fraudulent scheme, to point B where you would like us to be with real investments in a sustainable plan. There is also the matter of the politicians who want very much to keep collecting retirement funds so they can buy votes with them.  They keep insisting they *can* save social security; they just need a little more money to do it–say some of the "budget surplus". Baby boomers do matter to the present system.  As originally conceived (before WW2, and before average life expectancies were much more than 65 years), the social security system was to be operated by an *intergenerational* transfer of income.  Fifteen or 20 productive workers (the arithmetic was always a little vague) would each contribute a little of their earnings to support a current retiree.  No fund of any kind was required, the worker pool and the retiree pool would each grow to a stable size, with perhaps some small adjustments required along the way as the system matured. About 15 years ago, however, the trustees figured out something was going very wrong with the plan.  Not only were retirees living much longer, so that the ratio of productive workers to retirees was falling disastrously low, but there was also a coming retiree "bubble", the baby boomers, who would temporarily depress the ratio so as to require politically unacceptable adjustments, i.e. so much of their pay would be taken, the workers would vote the whole system out.  So a commission headed by Alan Greenspan was duly appointed and its recommendations subsequently adopted, with the result that in 1987 we got a modified scheme.  Henceforth more contributions than were actually required by then current retirees would be collected, and the excess would be "invested" in special reserve notes for the benefit of the baby boomers. Unfortunately Mr. Greenspan was quite mistaken about his modified scheme on two counts.  (1) The amount being "invested" wasn’t nearly enough and (2) you can’t do it that way. Reasonable people can disagree about point (1).  Economic forecasting is at best a crude sort of science and the models that predict the shortfall could be wrong.  On the other hand it is the same models Mr. Greenspan used to set up the current system that now predict (with newer data) that it will go bankrupt in about 30 years.  If Mr. Greenspan’s modified system were otherwise sound, prudence would suggest increasing the amount "invested" for the baby boomers’ retirement, just in case the models are right about the shortfall. However, it is beginning to dawn on people that point (2) represents a larger and perhaps quite insurmountable problem.  It is in the nature of money that it can’t be stored very well.  If a few people decide to store cash under their mattresses, the money might get stolen or lose value through inflation, but it would be otherwise tolerable.  If a lot of people decided to take cash out of circulation that way, it would create a currency crisis.  If the Federal government attempted to take workers’ cash contributions and store them in a vault, the money supply would quickly dry up and our economy would come to a halt.  What the Federal government collects *in cash* it must soon spend *in cash*; and, more to the point, what the Federal government must spend *in cash*, e.g. for retiree benefits, it must also collect *in cash*.  No distributing special reserve notes to retirees; the notes have to be sold, i.e. the money borrowed, before any cash disbursements can take place. Now it is just barely conceivable that Congress could have foreseen the issue raised by point (2) and actually invested the retirement funds in something that would have provided a future income stream, say from revenue bonds.  If the excess contributions had been used to build toll roads or bridges, or hydroelectric projects, for example, the future earnings of those infrastructure investments could have generated some future real income (although likely not enough) to meet the needs of the baby boomers.  But instead Congress used the excess contributions to buy votes, i.e. distributed the cash in the form of individual and corporate welfare payments which in turn represented the creation of still more entitlement programs.  Far from solving the problem, Mr. Greenspan’s fix exacerbated it by *increasing* the cash demands on the Treasury once the baby boomers start retiring. So in just 13 (not 30) short years, our Treasury will have to deal with the rapidly escalating crunch that will result when the cash being paid in by current workers will start falling further and further short of that being drawn out by social security retirees–not to mention the money required for other entitlement programs, much which is currently being supplied by excess worker contributions to social security.  If the Treasury attempted to borrow the money, the national debt would climb from 5 to 14 trillion or more, and the resulting interest payments would eat up nearly all revenues (never mind what so much government borrowing would do to the economy).  If Congress attempted to increase contributions sufficiently, the workers would vote to throw their representatives out and replace them with ones who would shut the system down.  And if Congress attempted to cut social security and other entitlement programs enough to eliminate the shortfall, it is likely the beneficiaries of those programs would have the same idea.  At that point extreme political turmoil would be certain, and civil war not impossible. How about it, Wyatt, any suggestions?

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Want to save social security? Here’s how. Quit worrying about it, let it die on the vine, put some bucks aside out of your paycheck and stop hoping someone will save you. Or call Kervorkian. Anyway I can do it without surrendering 15.3% of my income for the next 40 years?  (Don’t bother telling me OASDI is only 12.4%, I realize that). Just let us opt out, with a small surrender tax to pay for current retirees and people over 50. One of the most enjoyable things about being 65 is watching the younger generations make the same dumb mistakes, the same stupid assumptions, buy the same political scams and fall for the same societal gimmicks and not having a clue as to what is really going on. The fun is seeing that look on their faces, when the truth finally hits them. The OldTimer — Coda Software, Limited

The problem with social security is that if had an unsound method of funding.  Benefits for retirees were paid out of current income( FICA taxes ).  Just so long as the current workforce was at least the same size( moneywise ) as those receiving benefits, then this system worked.  In fact, as the working population was always larger than those receiving benefits, the extra income was used to pay for those unfunded mandates( disability and survivor benefits ). Now, we see that the working population is declining, and in fact, we don’t have enough income to pay for current expenses.  The whole thing collapses in 2032, because benefits will exceed income.  This scenario was never envisioned.  When Social Security was enacted, the shortcoming of a working population smaller than those receiving benefits was most likely never considered.  But it happened. Social Security can be saved, but not bu dismantling it.  First of all, the fund has to move to a money growth program.  That is done by investing in market instruments, not in giving loans to the Treasury, as is done presently.  By investing in market instruments, you build equity and growth in capital, so the growth in money funds the benefits.  The President proposed that on a limited scale in his State of The Union Address.  That’s the first step. Second Step.  Take the current surplus, sell the T-notes.  That will likely produce a defecit, as accounting gimmicks are all that produced a suprlus, but it will give cash back to the system.  Invest that in market instruments and use the proceds to pay current benefits. Third Step.  Model your investment structure by hiring private managers, as do the large State Pension Funds, which have been investing in this manner for over 30 years, and have consistently produced a profit. By so doing, we can create and fund annuities which will yield the largest rate of return that can be gotten anywhere.                       Alan

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – [...] Want to save social security? Here’s how. Quit worrying about it, let it die on the vine, put some bucks aside out of your paycheck and stop hoping someone will save you. Or call Kervorkian. One of the most enjoyable things about being 65 is watching the younger generations make the same dumb mistakes, the same stupid assumptions, buy the same political scams and fall for the same societal gimmicks and not having a clue as to what is really going on. The fun is seeing that look on their faces, when the truth finally hits them.   Sounds like two bitter, angry conservatives that want to spew their venom at anyone who will listen.   I’m just glad that I’m not like you. You don’t have the self-assurance to be like me.  Those of your ilk require the acceptance of others before you can accept yourself. I suggest you see someone about your ego problem. OldTimer is right, IF SS is there fine, but I’m not counting on it.  He said he was HOPING that it would die. That isn’t the same thing.  And is he also right about how "fun" it will be when people who have invested their whole lives in Social Security find it broke? Does that sound "fun" to you? I’ll be just fine.  That’s all that counts, right?

You’re catchin on. One of the most enjoyable things about being 65 is watching the younger generations make the same dumb mistakes, the same stupid assumptions, buy the same political scams and fall for the same societal gimmicks and not having a clue as to what is really going on. The fun is seeing that look on their faces, when the truth finally hits them. The OldTimer

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – [...] Want to save social security? Here’s how. Quit worrying about it, let it die on the vine, put some bucks aside out of your paycheck and stop hoping someone will save you. Or call Kervorkian. One of the most enjoyable things about being 65 is watching the younger generations make the same dumb mistakes, the same stupid assumptions, buy the same political scams and fall for the same societal gimmicks and not having a clue as to what is really going on. The fun is seeing that look on their faces, when the truth finally hits them.   Sounds like two bitter, angry conservatives that want to spew their venom at anyone who will listen.   I’m just glad that I’m not like you. You don’t have the self-assurance to be like me.  Those of your ilk require the acceptance of others before you can accept yourself.

 I suggest you see someone about your ego problem. OldTimer is right, IF SS is there fine, but I’m not counting on it.

  He said he was HOPING that it would die. That isn’t the same thing.   And is he also right about how "fun" it will be when people who have invested their whole lives in Social Security find it broke? Does that sound "fun" to you? I’ll be just fine.

  That’s all that counts, right? . . . . . . . . . .

Response:

Want to save social security? Here’s how. Quit worrying about it, let it die on the vine, put some bucks aside out of your paycheck and stop hoping someone will save you. Or call Kervorkian.

Anyway I can do it without surrendering 15.3% of my income for the next 40 years?  (Don’t bother telling me OASDI is only 12.4%, I realize that). Just let us opt out, with a small surrender tax to pay for current retirees and people over 50. One of the most enjoyable things about being 65 is watching the younger generations make the same dumb mistakes, the same stupid assumptions, buy the same political scams and fall for the same societal gimmicks and not having a clue as to what is really going on. The fun is seeing that look on their faces, when the truth finally hits them. The OldTimer

– Coda Software, Limited

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – [...] There are all sorts of sound financial institutions through which ordinary Americans can put their retirement money into the creation of real wealth, without having to pick individual stocks themselves. The time is long overdue to let them do it. The whole history of Social Security shows how important it is to keep politicians’ hands off that money. Want to save social security? Here’s how. Quit worrying about it, let it die on the vine, put some bucks aside out of your paycheck and stop hoping someone will save you. Or call Kervorkian. One of the most enjoyable things about being 65 is watching the younger generations make the same dumb mistakes, the same stupid assumptions, buy the same political scams and fall for the same societal gimmicks and not having a clue as to what is really going on. The fun is seeing that look on their faces, when the truth finally hits them.    Sounds like two bitter, angry conservatives that want to spew their venom at anyone who will listen.    I’m just glad that I’m not like you.

Actually, it sounds more like the voices of experience.

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – [...] There are all sorts of sound financial institutions through which ordinary Americans can put their retirement money into the creation of real wealth, without having to pick individual stocks themselves. The time is long overdue to let them do it. The whole history of Social Security shows how important it is to keep politicians’ hands off that money. Want to save social security? Here’s how. Quit worrying about it, let it die on the vine, put some bucks aside out of your paycheck and stop hoping someone will save you. Or call Kervorkian. One of the most enjoyable things about being 65 is watching the younger generations make the same dumb mistakes, the same stupid assumptions, buy the same political scams and fall for the same societal gimmicks and not having a clue as to what is really going on. The fun is seeing that look on their faces, when the truth finally hits them.   Sounds like two bitter, angry conservatives that want to spew their venom at anyone who will listen.   I’m just glad that I’m not like you.

You don’t have the self-assurance to be like me.  Those of your ilk require the acceptance of others before you can accept yourself. OldTimer is right, IF SS is there fine, but I’m not counting on it. I’ll be just fine.  When the time comes though, people like you who are dooming the SS system by refusing to question the idiocy of the current system, will be hard up because you had faith in those who wanted only another term in office and were willing to promise anything to get it. Get a calculator, do the math, don’t trust anybody else’s numbers, not mine, not Clinton’s, not Lott’s and then come back and tell me what you think that tax rate will have to be in 2040 to pay SS recipients. -ooo-0^0-ooo- Wyatt Wright The heights by great men reached and kept, were not attained by sudden flight. No.they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward through the night.

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Thomas Sowell  "Saving" social security (JWR) — (http://www.jewishworldreview.com) NOTHING SEEMS SO INSECURE as Social Security. However, before we start "saving" Social Security, we need to stop and think about why it needs saving in the first place. Then maybe we can avoid making the same mistakes all over again. Some people blame the problem on the large numbers of "baby boomers" who will be retiring in the next few decades. But why don’t we hear about private annuities that are worried about the number of baby boomers who will be retiring?  Social Security’s problems go much deeper than the size of the generation that is going to be retiring. In fact, Social Security’s problems go all the way back to the beginning — to the way it was set up, to the lies that politicians told about it and to the misconceptions and political irresponsibility that have now come home to roost… I agree with your basic premise, that retirement funds should be retained and invested by individual future retirees, but that begs the question of what happens to people (and there will always be some) who can’t manage to save anything and become a burden to society in their dotage.  You also omit to tell us how you get from point A, where we are now with about 9 trillion owed to future retirees with funds "invested" in the fraudulent scheme, to point B where you would like us to be with real investments in a sustainable plan. There is also the matter of the politicians who want very much to keep collecting retirement funds so they can buy votes with them.  They keep insisting they *can* save social security; they just need a little more money to do it–say some of the "budget surplus". Baby boomers do matter to the present system.  As originally conceived (before WW2, and before average life expectancies were much more than 65 years), the social security system was to be operated by an *intergenerational* transfer of income.  Fifteen or 20 productive workers (the arithmetic was always a little vague) would each contribute a little of their earnings to support a current retiree.  No fund of any kind was required, the worker pool and the retiree pool would each grow to a stable size, with perhaps some small adjustments required along the way as the system matured. About 15 years ago, however, the trustees figured out something was going very wrong with the plan.  Not only were retirees living much longer, so that the ratio of productive workers to retirees was falling disastrously low, but there was also a coming retiree "bubble", the baby boomers, who would temporarily depress the ratio so as to require politically unacceptable adjustments, i.e. so much of their pay would be taken, the workers would vote the whole system out.  So a commission headed by Alan Greenspan was duly appointed and its recommendations subsequently adopted, with the result that in 1987 we got a modified scheme.  Henceforth more contributions than were actually required by then current retirees would be collected, and the excess would be "invested" in special reserve notes for the benefit of the baby boomers. Unfortunately Mr. Greenspan was quite mistaken about his modified scheme on two counts.  (1) The amount being "invested" wasn’t nearly enough and (2) you can’t do it that way. Reasonable people can disagree about point (1).  Economic forecasting is at best a crude sort of science and the models that predict the shortfall could be wrong.  On the other hand it is the same models Mr. Greenspan used to set up the current system that now predict (with newer data) that it will go bankrupt in about 30 years.  If Mr. Greenspan’s modified system were otherwise sound, prudence would suggest increasing the amount "invested" for the baby boomers’ retirement, just in case the models are right about the shortfall. However, it is beginning to dawn on people that point (2) represents a larger and perhaps quite insurmountable problem.  It is in the nature of money that it can’t be stored very well.  If a few people decide to store cash under their mattresses, the money might get stolen or lose value through inflation, but it would be otherwise tolerable.  If a lot of people decided to take cash out of circulation that way, it would create a currency crisis.  If the Federal government attempted to take workers’ cash contributions and store them in a vault, the money supply would quickly dry up and our economy would come to a halt.  What the Federal government collects *in cash* it must soon spend *in cash*; and, more to the point, what the Federal government must spend *in cash*, e.g. for retiree benefits, it must also collect *in cash*.  No distributing special reserve notes to retirees; the notes have to be sold, i.e. the money borrowed, before any cash disbursements can take place. Now it is just barely conceivable that Congress could have foreseen the issue raised by point (2) and actually invested the retirement funds in something that would have provided a future income stream, say from revenue bonds.  If the excess contributions had been used to build toll roads or bridges, or hydroelectric projects, for example, the future earnings of those infrastructure investments could have generated some future real income (although likely not enough) to meet the needs of the baby boomers.  But instead Congress used the excess contributions to buy votes, i.e. distributed the cash in the form of individual and corporate welfare payments which in turn represented the creation of still more entitlement programs.  Far from solving the problem, Mr. Greenspan’s fix exacerbated it by *increasing* the cash demands on the Treasury once the baby boomers start retiring. So in just 13 (not 30) short years, our Treasury will have to deal with the rapidly escalating crunch that will result when the cash being paid in by current workers will start falling further and further short of that being drawn out by social security retirees–not to mention the money required for other entitlement programs, much which is currently being supplied by excess worker contributions to social security.  If the Treasury attempted to borrow the money, the national debt would climb from 5 to 14 trillion or more, and the resulting interest payments would eat up nearly all revenues (never mind what so much government borrowing would do to the economy).  If Congress attempted to increase contributions sufficiently, the workers would vote to throw their representatives out and replace them with ones who would shut the system down.  And if Congress attempted to cut social security and other entitlement programs enough to eliminate the shortfall, it is likely the beneficiaries of those programs would have the same idea.  At that point extreme political turmoil would be certain, and civil war not impossible. How about it, Wyatt, any suggestions?

Quit worrying about things you have no control over. Save your money. Look out for number one. Fuck the rest. Live free, have fun, die happy. Whatever happened to personal responsibility? Trust me. The helping hand is at the end of everyones’ arm and when the handouts stop, they will find it. One of the most enjoyable things about being 65 is watching the younger generations make the same dumb mistakes, the same stupid assumptions, buy the same political scams and fall for the same societal gimmicks and not having a clue as to what is really going on. The fun is seeing that look on their faces, when the truth finally hits them. The OldTimer

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – [...] There are all sorts of sound financial institutions through which ordinary Americans can put their retirement money into the creation of real wealth, without having to pick individual stocks themselves. The time is long overdue to let them do it. The whole history of Social Security shows how important it is to keep politicians’ hands off that money. Want to save social security? Here’s how. Quit worrying about it, let it die on the vine, put some bucks aside out of your paycheck and stop hoping someone will save you. Or call Kervorkian. One of the most enjoyable things about being 65 is watching the younger generations make the same dumb mistakes, the same stupid assumptions, buy the same political scams and fall for the same societal gimmicks and not having a clue as to what is really going on. The fun is seeing that look on their faces, when the truth finally hits them.

   Sounds like two bitter, angry conservatives that want to spew their venom at anyone who will listen.    I’m just glad that I’m not like you. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Thomas Sowell "Saving" social security (JWR) — (http://www.jewishworldreview.com) NOTHING SEEMS SO INSECURE as Social Security. However, before we start "saving" Social Security, we need to stop and think about why it needs saving in the first place. Then maybe we can avoid making the same mistakes all over again. Some people blame the problem on the large numbers of "baby boomers" who will be retiring in the next few decades. But why don’t we hear about private annuities that are worried about the number of baby boomers who will be retiring? Social Security’s problems go much deeper than the size of the generation that is going to be retiring. In fact, Social Security’s problems go all the way back to the beginning — to the way it was set up, to the lies that politicians told about it and to the misconceptions and political irresponsibility that have now come home to roost. Private insurance companies aren’t panicked about the annuities they are going to have to pay to baby boomers because insurance companies operate in an entirely different way from Social Security. Insurance companies take their customers’ premiums and invest them to create real wealth. Later, the earnings from that wealth can be used to pay annuities or life insurance benefits whenever they become due. For example, if an insurance company uses its customers’ premiums to build an apartment complex, then the rents coming in from those who live in the apartments can be used to pay the annuities or insurance benefits owed to those whose premiums built the buildings. The size of the previous generation or the next generation doesn’t matter. The reason it matters under Social Security is that there has never been any real wealth created. The government has simply been robbing Peter to pay Paul. This worked great when the baby boomers were paying into the system and their money was being used to pay benefits to a much smaller generation that was retired. Now it has become obvious to everyone that this game will not work any more when the huge baby boomer generation itself retires. There will not be enough people working to pay them all the benefits they were promised, unless Social Security taxes are raised by huge amounts or the government welches on its commitments to the retirees. The biggest lie about Social Security is that it is some kind of "insurance." But, unlike insurance premiums, Social Security taxes create no wealth. They are spent when they get to Washington, just like other taxes. Paper transactions create the illusion of a Social Security "fund," but there is no corresponding real wealth created — no factories, farms or railroads. The basic principle of Social Security is the same as that behind illegal pyramid schemes run by con men. The first people to put their money into pyramid schemes get repaid handsomely from the money received from others who join later. That is what attracts still more suckers and enables the con men to rip them off. Since the first people to join the Social Security system were from the relatively small generation of the 1930s, their later retirement benefits were easily paid with the money received from the much larger baby boom generation. So long as the pyramid keeps expanding, things are great, but eventually the pyramid stops expanding and those who joined last get left holding the bag. That is why pyramid schemes are illegal and that is why Social Security is now in trouble. It is not because of some demographic fluke. It was a demographic fluke that kept it from collapsing before now. It was the deceptions and irresponsibility of politicians that got us into this mess. If you think the way to get out of it is to let politicians continue to guide Social Security in the future, then you have missed the point completely. Investing the public’s retirement money in the creation of real wealth is an essential part of any permanent fix. But, if that means letting politicians throw their weight around in the stock market, then this is truly putting the fox in charge of the hen house. There are all sorts of sound financial institutions through which ordinary Americans can put their retirement money into the creation of real wealth, without having to pick individual stocks themselves. The time is long overdue to let them do it. The whole history of Social Security shows how important it is to keep politicians’ hands off that money. -ooo-0^0-ooo- Wyatt Wright

Want to save social security? Here’s how. Quit worrying about it, let it die on the vine, put some bucks aside out of your paycheck and stop hoping someone will save you. Or call Kervorkian. One of the most enjoyable things about being 65 is watching the younger generations make the same dumb mistakes, the same stupid assumptions, buy the same political scams and fall for the same societal gimmicks and not having a clue as to what is really going on. The fun is seeing that look on their faces, when the truth finally hits them. The OldTimer

Response:

Thomas Sowell  "Saving" social security (JWR) — (http://www.jewishworldreview.com) NOTHING SEEMS SO INSECURE as Social Security. However, before we start "saving" Social Security, we need to stop and think about why it needs saving in the first place. Then maybe we can avoid making the same mistakes all over again. Some people blame the problem on the large numbers of "baby boomers" who will be retiring in the next few decades. But why don’t we hear about private annuities that are worried about the number of baby boomers who will be retiring?  Social Security’s problems go much deeper than the size of the generation that is going to be retiring. In fact, Social Security’s problems go all the way back to the beginning — to the way it was set up, to the lies that politicians told about it and to the misconceptions and political irresponsibility that have now come home to roost. Private insurance companies aren’t panicked about the annuities they are going to have to pay to baby boomers because insurance companies operate in an entirely different way from Social Security. Insurance companies take their customers’ premiums and invest them to create real wealth. Later, the earnings from that wealth can be used to pay annuities or life insurance benefits whenever they become due. For example, if an insurance company uses its customers’ premiums to build an apartment complex, then the rents coming in from those who live in the apartments can be used to pay the annuities or insurance benefits owed to those whose premiums built the buildings. The size of the previous generation or the next generation doesn’t matter. The reason it matters under Social Security is that there has never been any real wealth created. The government has simply been robbing Peter to pay Paul. This worked great when the baby boomers were paying into the system and their money was being used to pay benefits to a much smaller generation that was retired. Now it has become obvious to everyone that this game will not work any more when the huge baby boomer generation itself retires. There will not be enough people working to pay them all the benefits they were promised, unless Social Security taxes are raised by huge amounts or the government welches on its commitments to the retirees. The biggest lie about Social Security is that it is some kind of "insurance." But, unlike insurance premiums, Social Security taxes create no wealth. They are spent when they get to Washington, just like other taxes. Paper transactions create the illusion of a Social Security "fund," but there is no corresponding real wealth created — no factories, farms or railroads. The basic principle of Social Security is the same as that behind illegal pyramid schemes run by con men. The first people to put their money into pyramid schemes get repaid handsomely from the money received from others who join later. That is what attracts still more suckers and enables the con men to rip them off. Since the first people to join the Social Security system were from the relatively small generation of the 1930s, their later retirement benefits were easily paid with the money received from the much larger baby boom generation. So long as the pyramid keeps expanding, things are great, but eventually the pyramid stops expanding and those who joined last get left holding the bag. That is why pyramid schemes are illegal and that is why Social Security is now in trouble. It is not because of some demographic fluke. It was a demographic fluke that kept it from collapsing before now. It was the deceptions and irresponsibility of politicians that got us into this mess. If you think the way to get out of it is to let politicians continue to guide Social Security in the future, then you have missed the point completely. Investing the public’s retirement money in the creation of real wealth is an essential part of any permanent fix. But, if that means letting politicians throw their weight around in the stock market, then this is truly putting the fox in charge of the hen house. There are all sorts of sound financial institutions through which ordinary Americans can put their retirement money into the creation of real wealth, without having to pick individual stocks themselves. The time is long overdue to let them do it. The whole history of Social Security shows how important it is to keep politicians’ hands off that money. -ooo-0^0-ooo- Wyatt Wright The heights by great men reached and kept, were not attained by sudden flight. No.they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward through the night.

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Question:

 If you use Quickbooks Pro 5, you can keep your books on the cash and accrual methods.

Response:

Actually, that is the problem I have with it.  You can keep your book on cash AND accrual at the same time.  While there may be a way around this I have yet to find it.  That is one of the main reasons I use Peachtree. Scott – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – If you use Quickbooks Pro 5, you can keep your books on the cash and accrual methods.

Response:

I am working on bookkeepping for a synagogue. We want to use a cash method of accounting rather than accrual method. How do we book billing for dues using the cash method? I know I can debit the a/r, but what is the offsetting entry. I can’t credit income, since we don’t have the cash yet.

Response:

You don’t book dues when you bill them under the cash method.  The idea of the cash method is you book money as income only when you receive it.  So you won’t have any accounts receivable.  Just when money comes in, you make an entry:      Cash                        100             Income                        100 If you have accounts receivable, you’re not using the cash method. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am working on bookkeepping for a synagogue. We want to use a cash method of accounting rather than accrual method. How do we book billing for dues using the cash method? I know I can debit the a/r, but what is the offsetting entry. I can’t credit income, since we don’t have the cash yet.

Response:

The first response to this questions is correct.  However, I would suggest that you accoint for dues with the following entries. Entry to Record Sending of Dues Bills Dr. Dues Receivable    Cr. Deferred Dues Income Entry To Record Colection of Cash Dr. Cash   Cr.  Dues Receivable Dr. Deferred Dues Income   Cr. Dues Income This method will allow you to keep your accounts receivable on a computerized system (Quickbooks, Peachtree), monitor collections and monitor the amount of dues revenue uncollected. Hope this helps. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am working on bookkeepping for a synagogue. We want to use a cash method of accounting rather than accrual method. How do we book billing for dues using the cash method? I know I can debit the a/r, but what is the offsetting entry. I can’t credit income, since we don’t have the cash yet.

Response:

I am working on bookkeepping for a synagogue. We want to use a cash method of accounting rather than accrual method. How do we book billing for dues using the cash method? I know I can debit the a/r, but what is the offsetting entry. I can’t credit income, since we don’t have the cash yet.

there is no accounts receivable using cash accounting. if you want billing and collection of dues, this is accrual accounting.  What accounting sofware package are you using?

Response:

I am working on bookkeepping for a synagogue. We want to use a cash method of accounting rather than accrual method. How do we book billing for dues using the cash method? I know I can debit the a/r, but what is the offsetting entry. I can’t credit income, since we don’t have the cash yet. there is no accounts receivable using cash accounting. if you want billing and collection of dues, this is accrual accounting.  What accounting sofware package are you using?

13 column paper probably.

Response:

Deferred Income or credit a/r and remember that the schedule will not reconcile with the trial balance.  Better yet use a seperate database program to handle "dues" etc and post to the accounting system only cash reciepts

Response:

I am working on bookkeepping for a synagogue. We want to use a cash method of accounting rather than accrual method. How do we book billing for dues using the cash method?

Any non-profit, no matter how small, (and any religious group falls into this category) should use proper fund accounting, but an approximation can be done in Quicken.  Set up several "companies": the regular operating expenses and regular donations stay more or less as they are, and endowments, building funds, and the like become separate "companies". Quicken can handle investments fairly well. The pledges and dues go into yet another "company", in which theses non-enforcible obligations can be treated as uncollected assets for convenience. Martha Brummett, E.A. Denver CO

Response:

Question:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Unfortunately, Netcom does not care. Countless people have lodged complaints against Steve, apparently to no avail. Feel free to contact Netcom, but don’t be surprised if Steve doesn’t disappear. And, BTW, he already has other accounts. I don’t know if he’s used them here or not. Hi Lisa,         What you say is generally true if the notes are addressed to the tend to be fairly responsive.         Again, it’s best to include a full message (headers intact) which detail what an overall waste of food & oxygen a particular user is (with regard to this newsgroup, uv korse).  ;) stress this enough…*with headers intact*), and we’ll see ol’ SBA vanish in short order.         …and if she shows up under another account, well, I’ve been around far more persistent types than Steve…  Boursy, Jeff "SpamKing" Slaton and Dr. "Kook of the Year" Grubor come to mind…         Now back to the wedding schtuff!  8D -Jay

Jay, when are you going to learn that forcing people to leave a newsgroup by whining to their postmaster about unpleasant opinions isn’t going to work?  If you had done a tiny bit of research into NetCom’s Terms of Service (http:www.netcom.com/netcom/ncterms.html), you would have discovered that they don’t give a flying flip about opinions expressed but specifically classify abuse as "spamming, pyramid schemes, chain letters, flooding and unsolicited email" (as defined in Section 7.0 Abuse of Services).  Since Steve has not engaged in spamming, a pyramid scheme, or chain letters, those certainly cannot be attributed to him.  He cannot be accused of flooding the newsgroup since a DejaNews query indicates many other people who post far more than he does and with far more lengthy, off topic posts.  The only way people can nab him is when he sends unsolicited email.  *Then* the recipient should send a copy of the But NetCom is not going to pull his account because he said things people don’t like on a newsgroup.  People who throw tantrums to postmasters about things people say are generally viewed as bratty, immature people who need to get a life and stop restricting the free speech of others by use of force.   I suggest people do the "delete key boogie" by sticking your tongue out at the offending poster,do a spin in your office chair, wag your butt at the poster and hit the delete key.  Ahhh, don’t we all feel better now? Btw, no fair comparing Steve to the Spammer Hall Of Fame since he has not done that.  Spamming  multiple newsgroups will get your account pulled.  A more comparable comparison would be to Tom Evans who harrassed and trolled this newsgroup last year and who was nearly impossible to get rid of. Jeanne – Just casually waiting for Steve to email her so she can pounce on him *legitimately*. ***** Knowledge is power and ignorance is not bliss. *****

Response:

Really?  Have you gotten positive feedback from Netcom?  This has not been – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -my (or others’ judging from news.admin.net-abuse.misc where Netcom appears to be universally hated!) experience with them at all.  It took over three I got a reply and all they said was, "We’ll montior the situation."  And this was when Steve was posting his charming "virginity testing" and other vulgarities!  Now that he has cleaned the language up (relatively), regardless of how annoying he tries to be, I doubt Netcom will take much notice. MJ (who did however notice an annoying number of unsolicited e-mail ads maybe they sell addresses?!

I think MJ is right. Netcom DOES NOT care. If you guys think Steve has posted some off-color comments here (and you’re right), it would absolutely curl your hair to read some of the stuff he’s posted in other newsgroups.  He’s not going anywhere, unfortunately, at least as long as he stays with Netcom. Lisa

Response:

You should subscribe to: alt.its.my-way.or.no-way.

Steve, it sounds like you should subscribe to alt.its.my-way.or.no-way. Rebecca (& Bruce) 9/15/96

Response:

Unfortunately, Netcom does not care. Countless people have lodged complaints against Steve, apparently to no avail. Feel free to contact Netcom, but don’t be surprised if Steve doesn’t disappear. And, BTW, he already has other accounts. I don’t know if he’s used them here or not.         What you say is generally true if the notes are addressed to the tend to be fairly responsive.

Really?  Have you gotten positive feedback from Netcom?  This has not been my (or others’ judging from news.admin.net-abuse.misc where Netcom appears to be universally hated!) experience with them at all.  It took over three got a reply and all they said was, "We’ll montior the situation."  And this was when Steve was posting his charming "virginity testing" and other vulgarities!  Now that he has cleaned the language up (relatively), regardless of how annoying he tries to be, I doubt Netcom will take much notice. MJ (who did however notice an annoying number of unsolicited e-mail ads they sell addresses?! Mary Jane N. Shroyer          "Results!  Why, man, I have gotten a lot of Dept. of Microbiology          results.  I know several thousand things Oregon State University        that won’t work." Corvallis, OR                                   Thomas Edison

Response:

My fiance and I have talked about it, and have decided that we do want to go through pre-marital couseling. We also have recently had some serious intimacy problems, and feel like we need an unbiased, and trained third party to intervene.  My question is this:  Where do we find a good pre-marital counselor for not too much $$?  I would love to go to our preacher, but there are a lot of issues surrounding that which will prevent us from going to him with this.  I think it would be easier to be completely honest with someone we do not know. However, we are both po’, and cannot afford $100/ hour sessions.  Any suggestions? Thanks much, Joanna Joanna Schmehl Accounting Economics and Finance The University of Texas at Dallas

Response:

: completely honest with someone we do not know. However, we are both : po’, and cannot afford $100/ hour sessions.  Any suggestions? : Thanks much, : Joanna hi joanna. if you are affiliated with the univ. of texas, you may be able to get free counseling through the school’s "mental health" (or whatever they call it there) services. i’m a grad student at the univ. of penna, and we have a huge "counseling service" here (read: we penn students crack easily! *grin*). they offer "couple counseling" as one of the many items on the mental health menu. these services are free for students. i don’t know about staff. my fiance and i hope to go. it just seems like a good thing to do (even after 4.5. years of living together). good luck! francy (and ben)

Response:

My fiance and I have talked about it, and have decided that we do want to go through pre-marital couseling. We also have recently had some serious intimacy problems, and feel like we need an unbiased, and trained third party to intervene.  My question is this:  Where do we find a good pre-marital counselor for not too much $$?  I would love to go to our preacher, but there are a lot of issues surrounding that which will prevent us from going to him with this.  I think it would be easier to be completely honest with someone we do not know. However, we are both po’, and cannot afford $100/ hour sessions.  Any suggestions? Thanks much, Joanna

Joanna: A former housemate of mine when I lived in Boston is a therapist.  At the agency she worked for at the time, they accepted many clients on what is called a "sliding scale" fee.  This basically ignores their normal rates, and charges based on the clients ability to pay. Usually, a service-oriented organization like Family Services Association (I’m sure there are many others) or even a community Mental Health organization (please– absolutely no offense intended) might be able to steer you in the right direction.  You can generally find them in the phone book. A private practicing therapist might also be willing to work on a sliding scale, but that’s not quite as likely. Good luck, JB They say that in the end true loves prevails But in the end true love can’t be some fairy tale To say I’ll make your dreams come true would be wrong But maybe, Darlin’, I could help them along               -Bruce Springsteen (I Wanna Marry You) Jon Boroshok  http://www.tripod.com/~jonboroshok http://members.tripod.com/~jukebox/engage

Response:

My fiance and I have talked about it, and have decided that we do want to go through pre-marital couseling. We also have recently had some serious intimacy problems, and feel like we need an unbiased, and trained third party to intervene.  My question is this:  Where do we find a good pre-marital counselor for not too much $$?  I would love to go to our preacher, but there are a lot of issues surrounding that which will prevent us from going to him with this.  I think it would be easier to be completely honest with someone we do not know. However, we are both po’, and cannot afford $100/ hour sessions.  Any suggestions? Thanks much, Joanna Joanna Schmehl Accounting Economics and Finance The University of Texas at Dallas

Check out counselling services available at the University… maj We Apologise For The Inconvenience.

Response:

My fiance and I went through our (Catholic) church’s Evenings for the Engaged classes.  Although it was a group session, with 3 other engaged couples and 2 "sponsor" couples, it was very helpful.  You may also try your church’s other resources.  When I first met with our church’s wedding coordinator, we had the choice of going through the Evenings for the Engaged or Engaged Encounter weekend (non-denominational).  She also gave us brochures of local marriage counselors.  If you aren’t comfortable (and I don’t blame you, I wouldn’t be either) talking with your priest, just ask him if there are other people associated with the church that could help. Hope that helps. Jennifer September 28, 1996

Response:

our rabbi told us after talking with him on several occasions that pre-marital sounseling is most helpful for couples with problems communicating.  also, it provides an opportunity to discuss household set up (financial, physical, etc) and an arena to discuss children, etc.  we had already discussed this many times, and our rabbi agreed that pre-marital counselling would probably be low-yield for us. sheri

Response:

writes: our rabbi told us after talking with him on several occasions that pre-marital sounseling is most helpful for couples with problems communicating.  also, it provides an opportunity to discuss household set up (financial, physical, etc) and an arena to discuss children, etc. we had already discussed this many times, and our rabbi agreed that pre-marital counselling would probably be low-yield for us. sheri

Why anyone would seek out a Rabbi for anything is beyond my personal comprehension.  They are shallow, narrow-minded and arrogant. Steve

Response:

steve, you and i have been through this before.  go bother someone else.  from your post, it sounds like you are the rabbi you describe.  i can see how any benefit of having a rabbi is beyond your level of understanding.  now, i know you can be nice (you were when you emailed me directly), but this is going nowhere, so please go consult another newsgroup. sheri : Why anyone would seek out a Rabbi for anything is beyond my personal : comprehension.  They are shallow, narrow-minded and arrogant. : Steve

Response:

writes: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -steve, you and i have been through this before.  go bother someone else. from your post, it sounds like you are the rabbi you describe.  i can see how any benefit of having a rabbi is beyond your level of understanding.  now, i know you can be nice (you were when you emailed me directly), but this is going nowhere, so please go consult another newsgroup. sheri : Why anyone would seek out a Rabbi for anything is beyond my personal : comprehension.  They are shallow, narrow-minded and arrogant. : Steve

Shari, This was uncalled for.  You gave an opinion and I gave an opinion.  Why should I leave this group just because you and some other yentas don’t like my opinion?  These groups are for an exchange of ideas.  You should subscribe to: alt.its.my-way.or.no-way. Also please do not publicly state that I am nice.  It will ruin my reputation. Steve

Response:

Why anyone would seek out a Rabbi for anything is beyond my personal comprehension.  They are shallow, narrow-minded and arrogant.

ah…nothing like a snotty generalization about a few hundred-thousand people to shed light on a subject.

Response:

Hi folks,         Just a quick note to pass along some vital information:         To notify Netcom of the consistent and persistent disruption of this e-mail address:         In this note, cite how long you have been witnessing the disruption by this user.  Include also a copy (with all headers intact) of one of SBA’s most recent notes.           Judging from past experience, Mr. Alpert will either quickly mend his ways or forfeit his account per Netcom’s terms of use.  If the latter event comes to pass, keep all records of this matter so that the next ISP Mr. Alpert chooses will soon know that he is both a problem user and a threat to their reputation.  In time, he will find it rather difficult to get a connection to the Internet.         And it will be nobody’s fault but his own. Sincerely, Jay D. Dyson Administrator Alt.Wedding Home Page    (    (   .–="There’s always time for a good cup of coffee."=–. _______    ))   ))  | Jay D. Dyson – Administrator, Alt.Wedding Home Page |  ====<–.  C|~~|C|~~| |—–= http://www.point-2-point.com/altwedding =—–| |    = |-’

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi folks,    Just a quick note to pass along some vital information:    To notify Netcom of the consistent and persistent disruption of this e-mail address:    In this note, cite how long you have been witnessing the disruption by this user.  Include also a copy (with all headers intact) of one of SBA’s most recent notes.      Judging from past experience, Mr. Alpert will either quickly mend his ways or forfeit his account per Netcom’s terms of use.  If the latter event comes to pass, keep all records of this matter so that the next ISP Mr. Alpert chooses will soon know that he is both a problem user and a threat to their reputation.  In time, he will find it rather difficult to get a connection to the Internet.

Too bad Jay that I have an opinion that you don’t like.  Netcom doesn’t censor opinions.  However if you do write them make sure you tell them that I think you are a net-nazi asshole. Steve

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: Why anyone would seek out a Rabbi for anything is beyond my personal : comprehension.  They are shallow, narrow-minded and arrogant. : Steve NOW THAT’S NOT A WILD GENERALIZATION… (heavy sarcasm) Get a life already! julie

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – writes: steve, you and i have been through this before.  go bother someone else. from your post, it sounds like you are the rabbi you describe.  i can see how any benefit of having a rabbi is beyond your level of understanding.  now, i know you can be nice (you were when you emailed me directly), but this is going nowhere, so please go consult another newsgroup. sheri : Why anyone would seek out a Rabbi for anything is beyond my personal : comprehension.  They are shallow, narrow-minded and arrogant. : Steve Shari, This was uncalled for.  You gave an opinion and I gave an opinion.  Why should I leave this group just because you and some other yentas don’t like my opinion?  These groups are for an exchange of ideas.  You should subscribe to: alt.its.my-way.or.no-way. Also please do not publicly state that I am nice.  It will ruin my reputation. Steve

Because your "opinions" are racist, thats why. No one minds hearing your thoughts on subjects, but keep your racist offal to yourself. By the way, are you getting married or just tormenting this NG? Can’t imagine anyone marrying you!–(my opinion! :^o )

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Unfortunately, Netcom does not care. Countless people have lodged complaints against Steve, apparently to no avail. Feel free to contact Netcom, but don’t be surprised if Steve doesn’t disappear. And, BTW, he already has other accounts. I don’t know if he’s used them here or not.

Hi Lisa,         What you say is generally true if the notes are addressed to the tend to be fairly responsive.         Again, it’s best to include a full message (headers intact) which detail what an overall waste of food & oxygen a particular user is (with regard to this newsgroup, uv korse).  ;) stress this enough…*with headers intact*), and we’ll see ol’ SBA vanish in short order.         …and if she shows up under another account, well, I’ve been around far more persistent types than Steve…  Boursy, Jeff "SpamKing" Slaton and Dr. "Kook of the Year" Grubor come to mind…         Now back to the wedding schtuff!  8D -Jay    (    (   .–="There’s always time for a good cup of coffee."=–. _______    ))   ))  | Jay D. Dyson – Administrator, Alt.Wedding Home Page |  ====<–.  C|~~|C|~~| |—–= http://www.point-2-point.com/altwedding =—–| |    = |-’

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Maybe no one would have to censor your "opinions" if you could manage it your self. These negative remarks aren’t constuctive, they are just hurtful.   Didn’t anyone ever teach you that if you can’t say anything nice you shouldn’t say anything at all?

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Hi folks,    Just a quick note to pass along some vital information:    To notify Netcom of the consistent and persistent disruption of this e-mail address:    In this note, cite how long you have been witnessing the disruption by this user.  Include also a copy (with all headers intact) of one of SBA’s most recent notes. Judging from past experience, Mr. Alpert will either quickly mend his ways or forfeit his account per Netcom’s terms of use.  If the latter event comes to pass, keep all records of this matter so that the next ISP Mr. Alpert chooses will soon know that he is both a problem user and a threat to their reputation.  In time, he will find it rather difficult to get a connection to the Internet.

Unfortunately, Netcom does not care. Countless people have lodged complaints against Steve, apparently to no avail. Feel free to contact Netcom, but don’t be surprised if Steve doesn’t disappear. And, BTW, he already has other accounts. I don’t know if he’s used them here or not. Lisa

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