whats wrong with this country ?? i'll tell you

Tax his land, Tax his bed, Tax the table,
At which he's fed.

Tax his tractor, Tax his mule, Teach him taxes
Are the rule.

Tax his work, Tax his pay, He works for peanuts anyway!

Tax his cow, Tax his goat, Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.

Tax his ties, Tax his shirt, Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco, Tax his drink, Tax him if he
Tries to think.

Tax his cigars, Tax his beers, If he cries Tax his tears.

Tax his car, Tax his gas, Find other ways
To tax his ass.

Tax all he has Then let him know
That you won't be done Till he has no dough.

When he screams and hollers; Then tax him some more, Tax him till He's good and sore.

Then tax his coffin, Tax his grave, Tax the sod in Which he's laid...

Put these words Upon his tomb, Taxes drove me to my doom...'

When he's gone, Do not relax, Its time to apply The inheritance tax.

Accounts Receivable Tax

Building Permit Tax

CDL license Tax

Cigarette Tax

Corporate Income Tax

Dog License Tax

Excise Taxes

Federal Income Tax

Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)

Fishing License Tax

Food License Tax

Fuel Permit Tax

Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)

Gross Receipts Tax

Hunting License Tax

Inheritance Tax

Inventory Tax

IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)

Liquor Tax

Luxury Taxes

Marriage License Tax

Medicare Tax

Personal Property Tax

Property Tax

Real Estate Tax

Service Charge Tax

Social Security Tax

Road Usage Tax

Recreational Vehicle Tax

Sales Tax

School Tax

State Income Tax

State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)

Telephone Federal Excise Tax

Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax

Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes

Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax

Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax

Telephone State and Local Tax

Telephone Usage Charge Tax

Utility Taxes

Vehicle License Registration Tax

Vehicle Sales Tax

Watercraft Registration Tax

Well Permit Tax

Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What in the heck happened? Can you spell 'politicians?'

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dwinsgames

Tax his land, Tax his bed, Tax the table,
At which he's fed.

Tax his tractor, Tax his mule, Teach him taxes
Are the rule.

Tax his work, Tax his pay, He works for peanuts anyway!

Tax his cow, Tax his goat, Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.

Tax his ties, Tax his shirt, Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco, Tax his drink, Tax him if he
Tries to think.

Tax his cigars, Tax his beers, If he cries Tax his tears.

Tax his car, Tax his gas, Find other ways
To tax his ass.

Tax all he has Then let him know
That you won't be done Till he has no dough.

.................................................. ...........................snip................... .............


Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What in the heck happened? Can you spell 'politicians?'

---

https://c8.alamy.com/zooms/9/cb03e77...ecd/mhteek.jpg

https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...Hw&oe=6244087B

https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/...d9ec42f00.jpeg

Good to see that they've recycled the same old ideas into cartoon form. Back in my day you had to actual read this lunacy...

Wonder how many people can name the figures in the cartoon...I got some of them but not all...Or are they all just fed reserve chairs?

it’s funny how a bigger government makes the wealthy even more wealthy and taxes the crap out of the middle class.

A smaller government reflecting the needs of the middle class and poor is superior to a big government
reflecting the needs of the privileged and powerful.

Robert Reich

What till you find out that Reich also supports a universal basic income, free access to education at all levels, and also thinks taxes are the price we all pay to live in a civilized society.

There's more, but that is just a thumbnail sketch.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mojouw

What till you find out that Reich also supports a universal basic income, free access to education at all levels, and also thinks taxes are the price we all pay to live in a civilized society.

There's more, but that is just a thumbnail sketch.

---

I don’t care about his other alleged positions. What he said above is truth.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Steeler-in-west

I don’t care about his other alleged positions. What he said above is truth.

---

Yeah, its almost as if you can like a certain idea without automatically buying into every single other thing that person ever said. But disingenuously putting words into your mouth is kind of what the left does. Super clever! Except not really.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Steeler-in-west

I don’t care about his other alleged positions. What he said above is truth.

---

Maybe. But Reich does not believe or worked towards the type of "hands off" small government most on here opine for.

Reich has worked under multiple administrations to expand and elaborate the role of government. He simply wants to redirect federal funds to the middle class rather than the corporate class. For instance, no corporate bailouts but a higher minimum wage, strong publicly funded worker training programs, and income assistance to individual workers.

Basically a coastal liberal elite that is coming to deliver the scourge of socialism and redistribution of wealth as a pox on all our houses.

But...the quote out of all context looks bad-ass, right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_Q9ynm2Rfg

A YouTube cartoon...:lol: Funny how those are cool when they bolster your view of things.

https://cdn.quotesgram.com/img/46/99...coln-Quote.png

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mojouw

Maybe. But Reich does not believe or worked towards the type of "hands off" small government most on here opine for.

Reich has worked under multiple administrations to expand and elaborate the role of government. He simply wants to redirect federal funds to the middle class rather than the corporate class. For instance, no corporate bailouts but a higher minimum wage, strong publicly funded worker training programs, and income assistance to individual workers.

Basically a coastal liberal elite that is coming to deliver the scourge of socialism and redistribution of wealth as a pox on all our houses.

But...the quote out of all context looks bad-ass, right?

---

i think your trying too hard to be 'badass' by trying to make this about Reich's biography rather than focus on the message itself. :hand:

for the record there is a huge problem in this country of government putting all the tax and cost burden on the middle class through cost of living increases, food cost increases, gas increases, ridiculous environmental rules, funding illegal immigration, etc. The rich don't care, they'll gladly pay for higher food costs and 7, 10, 15 dollars a gallon for gas in the name of some foreign policy adventure. But these costs hit the middle class hard - the rich like Steven Colbert don't care. Pay more for gas cause your a 'Patriotic American' - what bullshit. And you talk about Corporate bailouts? We've been bailing out the big banks and corporations for 10 years with all time low interest rates and QE gone wild - and that's been causing the stock market to break record after record, benefiting CEO's and shareholders, but doesn't do much for affordable cost of living or interest on saving accounts , all the while the value of the dollar is going to the crapper - that's your government intervention - i could get into NAFTA and shipping jobs overseas but i won't....anyway it goes on and on.

the money you were supposed to get in normal savings interest and savings through affordable cost of living is going to the CEO's, major shareholders, politicians and their lobbyists...

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by steelreserve

Yeah, its almost as if you can like a certain idea without automatically buying into every single other thing that person ever said. But disingenuously putting words into your mouth is kind of what the left does. Super clever! Except not really.

---

Attacking the messenger when they don't like the message...its f****n childish

Don't worry, in another 3 years we'll have another one of those great presidential elections, and after it's over, everything will be magically fixed and your quality of living will improve dramatically :wink02: /s

Actually, nothing will change no matter who wins. The government isn't interested in anything but keeping the status quo going. If you think your 'side' gives a flying fuck about you, you're wrong lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fire Goodell

Don't worry, in another 3 years we'll have another one of those great presidential elections, and after it's over, everything will be magically fixed and your quality of living will improve dramatically :wink02: /s

Actually, nothing will change no matter who wins. The government isn't interested in anything but keeping the status quo going. If you think your 'side' gives a flying fuck about you, you're wrong lol

---

Very sad….but true! Anyone who is truly qualified and should be president, doesn’t want it. I mean really, what intelligent person wants their colon publicly scrutinized for a couple of years, just to end up dealing with the likes of congress and Putin.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Steeler-in-west

for the record there is a huge problem in this country of government putting all the tax and cost burden on the middle class ..............

---

Then stop voting for Republicans. The left has been trying to increases taxes on the upper class for years but the right won't hear of it.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by silver & black

A YouTube cartoon...Funny how those are cool when they bolster your view of things.

---

That's Reich's "view of things".:lol:

^won't disagree with Hawkman's post

Carlin said it best

https://youtu.be/Nyvxt1svxso

Quote:

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Originally Posted by willy

Then stop voting for Republicans. The left has been trying to increases taxes on the upper class for years but the right won't hear of it.

---

The rich will always find loopholes to avoid or reduce taxes, the dems know it, its all smoke and mirrors for the dems to appear to look good to the public. A flat tax across the board is the fairer way imo, but it will never happen, like bringing manufacturing back, no foreign entanglements, etc...all these things are good ideas that will never happen (See Carlin above)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Steeler-in-west

The rich will always find loopholes to avoid or reduce taxes, the dems know it, its all smoke and mirrors for the dems to appear to look good to the public............

---

BS. We taxed the wealthy a lot higher in the 50s, 60s and 70s. No coincidence that's when America was at it's strongest and blue collar pay was it's highest relatively speaking.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Steeler-in-west

The rich will always find loopholes to avoid or reduce taxes, the dems know it, its all smoke and mirrors for the dems to appear to look good to the public. .............

---

I gotta say more about this because it's incredible anyone would believe it.

Quote:

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91%


In the 1950s and 1960s, when the economy was booming, the wealthiest Americans paid a top income tax rate of 91%. Today, the top rate is 43.4%. The richest 1% pay an effective federal income tax rate of 24.7% in 2014; someone making an average of $75,000 is paying a 19.7% rate.

---

https://americansfortaxfairness.org/...thy-americans/

See that? ^^^ I'm old enough to remember those days.

It's your fault the super rich aren't paying higher taxes. You elect people like Trump, a billionaire, and you back him when he refuses to increase taxes on the wealthy. Wake up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by willy

BS. We taxed the wealthy a lot higher in the 50s, 60s and 70s. No coincidence that's when America was at it's strongest and blue collar pay was it's highest relatively speaking.

---

key word is 'did', yeah, the tax was 94 percent on anyone earning over 200,000 in 1944. the wealthiest billionaires today pay in the neighborhood of 8-10 percent in taxes, far below the average. Dems are ineffective because they are beholden to their sponsors and lobbyists - not much different than their republican brothers and sisters, its a system problem.

tax system is changing yearly to benefit those with a huge amount of money.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by willy

I gotta say more about this because it's incredible anyone would believe it.



https://americansfortaxfairness.org/...thy-americans/

See that? ^^^ I'm old enough to remember those days.

It's your fault the super rich aren't paying higher taxes. You elect people like Trump, a billionaire, and you back him when he refuses to increase taxes on the wealthy. Wake up.

---

yeah and democrats make us pay for illegal immigrants health care and education costs, cancel the keystone pipeline and then jack up gas prices and blame it on Russia :lol:

Moderna and Pfizer donated millions to Biden in 2020. You Wake up

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Steeler-in-west

key word is 'did', yeah, the tax was 94 percent on anyone earning over 200,000 in 1944. the wealthiest billionaires today pay in the neighborhood of 8-10 percent in taxes, far below the average. Dems are ineffective because they are beholden to their sponsors and lobbyists - not much different than their republican brothers and sisters, its a system problem.

tax system is changing yearly to benefit those with a huge amount of money.

---

You don't know what you're talking about. In 1960 anyone making 100,000 was paying 90% on the top end of their income.

"tax system is changing yearly to benefit those with a huge amount of money"

Then tax their ass.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Steeler-in-west

- - - Updated - - -
yeah and democrats make us pay for illegal immigrants health care and education costs, cancel the keystone pipeline and then jack up gas prices and blame it on Russia :lol:

Moderna and Pfizer donated millions to Biden in 2020. You Wake up

---

Asinine, wake the fuck up. It's your own damn fault.

^its way past your bedtime old timer

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Steeler-in-west

^its way past your bedtime old timer

---

Haha, that's all this guy has.

There's no point in beating around the bush anymore. The right isn't too sharp.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opini...?ocid=msedgntp

Quote:

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Low levels of cognitive sophistication may lead people to embrace simple cognitive shortcuts, like stereotypes and prejudices that were amplified by the Trump campaign. Additionally, the simple linguistic style presented by Trump may have appealed to voters with limited education and cognitive sophistication. Beginning with [T.W.] Adorno's classic study of the authoritarian personality, empirical works have linked low levels of cognitive sophistication with right-wing orientations....

Trump's campaign may also have been more attractive to people with low cognitive sophistication and a preference for low-effort information processing because compared to other candidates Trump's speeches were given at a much lower reading level….

---

LMAO, Joe’s speeches are incomprehensible, camelas are even worse . But yeah libtards are the smart ones. If you like record gas and food prices, inflation and wars. Trump 2024!

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Im sure the article made you feel smart for a split second. Then you realize you voted for this shit, lol.

https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...Fg&oe=624634B8

Haha, tax the wealthy? Why do that when we can vote in another dumb shit billionaire?

https://media.istockphoto.com/photos...OlhlkCGI8Cw1k=

Nobody's going after the rich, all of our candidates are multi millionaires / billionaires, you really think these guys are going to do anything against their own interests? "come on man" :chuckle:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fire Goodell

Nobody's going after the rich, all of our candidates are multi millionaires / billionaires, you really think these guys are going to do anything against their own interests? "come on man" :chuckle:

---

Another BS excuse from the right.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by cubanstogie

If you like record gas and food prices, inflation and wars............

---

Hey:

https://scontent-bos3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...ZQ&oe=624745E6

https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...Ng&oe=62479BF2

Quote:

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Originally Posted by willy

Another BS excuse from the right.

---

Ask yourself then, has anything changed in the last 20 years as far as how government runs shit? All I see is a bunch of people arguing about which rich cocksucker in office cares about them the most lol. And the answer is not at all, unless you're one of their corporate donors.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fire Goodell

Ask yourself then, has anything changed in the last 20 years as far as how government runs shit? All I see is a bunch of people arguing about which rich cocksucker in office cares about them the most lol. And the answer is not at all, unless you're one of their corporate donors.

---

And who's fault is that? The voters that's who, and most specifically the voters on the right.

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Civil War II?

"A new civil war? Maybe so — but it won't look anything like the first one

Scholar Barbara Walter foresees 9/11-style attacks, and a sustained insurgency, rather than straight-up warfare


...Barbara Walter is a professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego, and one of the world's leading experts on civil wars, political violence and terrorism. She is also a permanent member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has consulted for the State Department, the Department of Defense, the UN and the World Bank. Her essays and other commentaries have been featured at CNN, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. Walter's new book is "How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them."....

This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Donald Trump continues to threaten political violence against his "enemies" if he is punished for his crimes. Michael Flynn, Steve Bannon and other right-wing propagandists are also threatening political violence on a near-daily basis across the right-wing media echo chamber. The FBI and law enforcement continue to uncover potential right-wing terrorist plots. Why are so few people taking these dangers of right-wing violence seriously?

I believe it is human nature for people to not want to believe that they and their fellow citizens are capable of such things. Many people want to live in a world of wishful thinking where life is going to continue to go on in the same way that it always has.

If it is sunny today and you go to work and afterwards you have drinks with friends and then there is the weekend when you get to watch football and it's like that today, your bias is that it's always going to be that way.

People are status-quo biased. They truly believe that the way things are today is the way that things are going to be forever. As a result, many people do not see the warning signs. What is so amazing is that throughout history, violent extremists are often very public about their intentions, what their goals are and what strategy they're going to pursue to achieve those goals. Hitler is perhaps the best example. He wrote and published "Mein Kampf," laying out exactly what he intended to do. If you look at neo-Nazis and other white supremacists here in the United States and elsewhere, they have a book called "The Siege" which details exactly what their plans and intentions are.

The bible of the alt-right is a book called "The Turner Diaries." It lays out exactly how they intend to start a second civil war in the United States. "The Turner Diaries" includes an attack on the U.S. Capitol, and in that book a working gallows is erected outside the Capitol where they're going to bring "traitors" out for trial and then kill them. They're not hiding what they intend to do, and yet throughout history, the people who are at risk have not taken those messages, warnings and manifestos seriously....

At one of Trump's recent rallies, he told his followers to be ready to die to defeat "critical race theory." Michael Flynn recently told his audience he wanted them to "charge machine gun nests" in service to their cause. How do you fit these examples within your model of a second civil war or other massive violence in the United States?

One of the challenges that violent extremists have is how to expand their base of support. If they don't expand their support base, they just remain fringe movements forever. One way is to provoke a harsh government response. Let's say that there are peaceful protests, but then there are provocateurs there who try to get the police to open fire or to bash a few heads. Violence entrepreneurs will use those actions as evidence that the police or the government or the opposition are evil and intent on crushing them.

That tactic is often successful in radicalizing at least some portion of average citizens. It pushes them towards the extremists. Donald Trump is what I would describe as an "ethnic entrepreneur." He and his loyalists want to regain power. He is an autocrat. Trump has no interest in ruling democratically. But Trump is not going to get that power back without the support of the average white American. This means that Donald Trump has to convince them somehow that his is a worthy cause to defend.

How many people, in terms of a whole population, does such a movement need to take over society and impose its will on the public?

There is not much data on that question. Research suggests that perhaps 3% of the population is necessary to challenge whatever leader or group is in power. That is a quite small percentage, but if there is 3% of the American population out in the streets in a sustained way, it is actually enormous. You do not need a lot of people to start a civil war that's going to be incredibly costly to the country as a whole. All they would need are a few militia groups who are effective at targeting infrastructure and shutting down the economy............."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opin...sedgntp&cvid=ceaf96e4dd544bbd825456c679a2ab 20

Tax the super wealthy:

Quote:

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Biden proposes new minimum tax on billionaires, unrealized gains

Biden's billionaire tax would reduce deficit by $360B over next 10 years

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https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics...budget-request

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by willy

And who's fault is that? The voters that's who, and most specifically the voters on the right.

---

Both sides are at fault. Obama froze our pay for 3 years because of the financial crisis, and basically kept it frozen during the biggest market recovery since ever (I consider a 1% raise to be jack shit), he was no friend of the middle class. Not a single banker got jailed over 2008, dude was a corporate pawn.

Sure, the republicans are bought off. I look at the parties like this. The democrats will give you a nice feel-good song and dance and stab you in the back. The republicans will stab you but they'll let you know it's coming lol.

For the record I have no love for either party, which why I've always either been not voting or voting for a 3rd party

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fire Goodell

Both sides are at fault. Obama froze our pay for 3 years because of the financial crisis, and basically kept it frozen during the biggest market recovery since ever (I consider a 1% raise to be jack shit), he was no friend of the middle class. Not a single banker got jailed over 2008, dude was a corporate pawn.

Sure, the republicans are bought off. I look at the parties like this. The democrats will give you a nice feel-good song and dance and stab you in the back. The republicans will stab you but they'll let you know it's coming lol.

For the record I have no love for either party, which why I've always either been not voting or voting for a 3rd party

---

Well, I certainly agree that both sides have a lot to answer to.

https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/...78758d18c.jpeg
https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/...80738b78b9.png

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fire Goodell

Both sides are at fault. Obama froze our pay for 3 years because of the financial crisis, and basically kept it frozen during the biggest market recovery since ever (I consider a 1% raise to be jack shit), he was no friend of the middle class. Not a single banker got jailed over 2008, dude was a corporate pawn.

Sure, the republicans are bought off. I look at the parties like this. The democrats will give you a nice feel-good song and dance and stab you in the back. The republicans will stab you but they'll let you know it's coming lol.

For the record I have no love for either party, which why I've always either been not voting or voting for a 3rd party

---

How does the President freeze anyone's pay? Are you talking about federal government employees? Private sector?

I'm too dumb today to follow your comment, and I'm sure it is worthwhile. So I thought I would ask.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mojouw

How does the President freeze anyone's pay? Are you talking about federal government employees? Private sector?

I'm too dumb today to follow your comment, and I'm sure it is worthwhile. So I thought I would ask.

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Federal employee, I've been since 2009. It was a good transition since military time counts toward retirement

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fire Goodell

Federal employee, I've been since 2009. It was a good transition since military time counts toward retirement

---

Got it. Yeah in that case y'all got screwed.

I feel you on that point. Statehouse keeps slashing pay pool here. They've kept doing merit and retention evaluations -- just haven't been able to fund the raises. Always nice to get a promotion with no raise.