<p>No, short-term capital gains are taxed as ordinary income.</p>
<p>Sometimes…</p>
<p>Sometimes…short term capital gains are categorized as long term capital gains…even if the trades are done in a day or less…</p>
<p>No, short term gains are currently taxed at the same rate as ordinary income, but they are still treated as capital gains.</p>
<p>For example, you don’t pay FICA taxes on STCG.</p>
<p>I edited my post number 82 to be more precise.</p>
<p>This disaster is the result of the insane relationship between politicians and public sector unions. Teachers, cops, firefighters, prison guards, SEIU etc. , have won life’s lottery. Excellent wages, outstanding benefits and a pension plan that defies comprehension. You have a bloated unproductive workforce who literally answer to no one but themselves and their union leadership. This is the tip of the iceberg. CA , IL , NY, NJ , CT , PA and MA are all facing the same unsustainable promises. I have a friend who recently retired from a local fire department at the age of 56. His pension is the equivilent of a 1.7 million $ annuity. He says its an absolute scandal what goes on in the public sector (pension and disability fraud). CA will do nothing in response to this crisis but try to squeeze students and absolutely refuse to address the time bomb that is public sector pension promises because of the stranglehold that public sector unions have on their state’s politicians.</p>
<p>kinsale . In NJ it is not a union pension. It existed prior to there being any public sector unions. The problem in NJ is that for 15 of the last 17 years the State failed to make their required contribution. In reality at the State level pensions cost taxpayers nothing for 15 of the last 17 years.</p>
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<p>…try to raise taxes. Like bluebayou said, it is just kicking the can down the road.</p>
<p>Bluebayou for Governor!</p>
<p>Public workers in MA are now required to contribute something like 9% of their pay to the pension plan. The state has closed a few loopholes, like end-of-career accelerators.</p>
<p>They claim that by 2040 or so the state pension plan will be fully funded.</p>
<p>I live in California and just began work for the state a few months ago. The high pay, good benefits, etc, are in place for existing employees, but CA has done a great job cutting back on benefits for new hires. We are also now facing a 5% pay cut to help balance the budget.</p>
<p>As a state worker and a taxpayer, I’m in favor of options that cut spending, even if it means I lose my job. The real improvement to the budget, however, is not going to come from a measly 5% pay cut for state workers. </p>
<p>Education already is half the budget. Social services and prisons constitute the rest. With a child in a UC and one soon to apply to college, I hate to see the cuts. But I also know how much fat there is in the current education K-12 spending, and how much waste there is in the community colleges (our tuition is one of the lowest in the country, we could double it, and it would still be cheaper than everywhere else.)</p>
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<p>In a word: BS!</p>
<p>NJ has not made all the contributions because those contributions would bankrupt the state, county and muni govt’s. NJ Gov/State/Muni employees make only tiny pension contributions. NJ which has the highest property taxes in the nation would have to DOUBLE those taxes and even then the pension demands would need the DOW to be north of $25,000 to meet only current demands. </p>
<p>The public sector is paid WAY more, gets WAY better benefits, is un-accountable and demands un-godly pensions compared to the private sector. And they will do anything to defend it. </p>
<p>Greece knows this. Syria knows this. </p>
<p>Both have a powerful minority defending the status-quo. </p>
<p>I pray this does not happen here.</p>
<p>Question for those who advocate yet more cuts in what has already been an all-cuts process: What government services are you willing to give up? Not the other guy’s services. Yours. This is a big, big problem which requires big, big sacrifices from everyone except the wealthy. What are you personally willing to sacrifice that would really hurt?</p>
<p>toblin-nonsense, If the State made the contributions each year they would have been manageable. When you miss 15 of 17 years the carch up amounts get large.</p>
<p>I am sorry you made a poor career choice. Every family member and friend I have that have private sector jobs get paid more and have equivalent benefits than I do.</p>
<p>Speaking from a NJ standpoint, there is really no need for EVERY town to have their own police department,fire dept,etc…some of these towns you could hold your breathe as you drive thru. ;)</p>
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<p>Give us some examples of state services we receive that would really hurt us if cut, and then I will tell you which I would be willing to take a big cut on.</p>
<p>On the same front page of the LA Times with the story of the budget cuts, there was an article on the overuse of 911 services. People call 911 when they have joint pain or want to be taken to the ER to have a prescription refilled and other nonsense. 911 is not a taxi service but changes to the law need to be made so that the paramedics can handle these things without taking the person to the ER. It’s likely a small cut of the entire budget but it is indicative of people misusing ‘free’ services. </p>
<p>But the largest problem is the gold plated benefits to government employees. They need to be cut. The number of jobs needs to be cut. I would not cut classroom teachers, but schools have way too many administrators.</p>
<p>LasMa
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<p>Well…as someone who is middle class, pays their taxes, sent kids to private school (k-12), pays for their own medical insurance and all subsequent co-pays, pays all utilities full freight (no low income discounts) has always worked in the private sector (no gov bennies) it’s kind of hard to give up much. I guess we could give up on the roads which I drive (although those special $$ which get voted for road use so often wind up in the general fund). I could give up easy access to DMV, county planning, local post office, etc. (oh wait, I already give up all of that)somehow I have a sneaking feeling the SSN I paid into will probably be needs tested and reduced, so I guess I’ll be giving up that. </p>
<p>D is currently at a State school. I’d be willing to give up the big bucks athletic/training/gym/pool center which was just built (but I would keep the engineering/sciences building).</p>
<p>I guess when one is not on the dole, it is hard to give up the dole.</p>
<p>Prisons. The US is building more prisons than schools. Jerry Brown wants to reduce school budget but build more prisons. Shows how much clout the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA) has.</p>
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<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/world/americas/23iht-23prison.12253738.html?pagewanted=all[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/world/americas/23iht-23prison.12253738.html?pagewanted=all</a></p>
<p>[World</a> Prison Population 2011 | Harm Reduction International](<a href=“http://www.ihra.net/contents/1055]World”>World Prison Population 2011 – IHRA News)</p>
<p>And (depending on the source) 15 to 25% of those prisoners are illegal aliens, for whom the federal government chips in nothing. This costs California 1 billion per year. </p>
<p>College costs in California need to be adjusted. Students at CCs pay too little. And courses for adults at CC could be dropped unless the fees they generate pay for themselves. I got a brochure from our local community college offering jewelry making classes, flower arranging, tennis, voice, and similar classes for a small fee. Unless that fee pays for the instructor and the associated overhead, there is no need for the state to be subsidizing hobby classes.</p>
<p>Bay and dietz, you are among the fortunate who do not need publicly-funded schools, health insurance, food assistance, housing, utilities, medical care, etc. Not everyone is so lucky. But even you use goverment services.</p>
<p>What about police and fire protection? Are you OK with calling 911 and being told that no one can come to your life-threatening emergency? Are you OK with being maimed by a drunk or texting driver because there aren’t enough cops to enforce those laws? How about the roads themselves, which will become a hazard to your car’s suspension as potholes go unrepaired? Will you drive over a bridge with confidence, knowing that no one is maintaining it? What about prisons to keep criminals off of your street? Courts to see that the guilty are punished? Those are just a few of the things which state government does for you. Which are you willing to give up?</p>
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Are those laws enforced in California? Here in NY if the person committing those acts is an illegal immigrant they are allowed to drive away.</p>