RangerJoe
Posts: 13450
Joined: 11/16/2015 From: My Mother, although my Father had some small part. Status: offline
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ORIGINAL: Canoerebel Our mall is just a couple of miles down the road. For many years, I've routinely taken my lunch there, purchased a large unsweet ice tea, and read while eating. I resumed doing so last week, after a six-week Covid-hiatus. At first, there was next to nobody in the food court or in line at the vendors. Today was noticeably, remarkably more busy. People are definitely much more active. As best I can tell, there remains a wariness and caution about the wheels possibly coming off. Set against that feeling is an increasing confidence in returning to a more active work- and lifestyle. People are careful and polite in maintaining social distancing and being courteous. All restaurant employees wear masks. Only a few customers do - probably less than ten percent. Nursing homes and assisted living facilities remain on lockdown. I hope I’m wrong and leaving politics aside I honestly feel that there is a strong current of “ contrary for the sake of being contrary” in this country. Folks may put a patriotic face on it but I am truly afraid that said contrary streak is going to get us in an awful lot of trouble this time. This microbe is heartless, mindless, unrelenting and doesn’t give a fig if you are blue or red or white or brown or what courts or Governors or TV pundits or newspapers say. It will stop when the virus says it stops and if we do nothing or little we will reap the whirlwind. Time will prove me right or wrong. I sincerely hope I am wrong I heard, by which I mean you should question, on the radio hourly news update that 50% of Americans are tapping into their retirement savings because of Covid. In addition that 1/3 of credit card holders are getting their allowable credit reduced. I kind of give credence to this considering my background. A small business owner is ineligible for unemployment. Their business value (if impacted by lockdwon) is now approaching 0 if not badly into the red. It simply seems to me that they are damned if they do and certainly damned if they don't. The rational decision is to open up and face the uncertain virus and govt reaction over the certain economic death. The economic damage is incalculable and will not come back fast. We will hit 20% unemployment and anyone that thinks it will come down to anything close to what it was is either selling you something or running for something (if you choose to think there is a distinction). Here is something else under the iceberg of 30 million unemployed. In this country almost all health insurance is tied to your employment. Yes, there is COBRA, but if you are laid off you need to pay both your share and the former employers share of health insurance so almost everyone will do without. So now we have tens of millions of unemployed people and few of them have health insurance. What can go wrong? More than a few economists have stated it will be 10 years or more before we see sub 5% unemployment again. One of the things our country does worst is train people that are transitioning out of obsolete jobs. So now we have tens of millions that are unemployed, uninsured, probably have some significant debt and have to be retrained for a different job. Hope is never a good strategy but once again, I hope I'm not reading the tea leaves correctly. I know nothing about running a small business but I do know a few people that run them. Rule #1 is set up the business so you, the owner, are also an employee. So you can lay yourself off and collect unemployment. Yes, it is a little more expensive in good times, but it is paying big dividends now. Not just for unemployment reasons but also legal liability. Have the company with the sign on the door own the letterhead and not much else. It leases everything else from another company that you also own. You are an employee of the company with the letterhead and all of your employment expenses are now tax deductible, including your solid platinum healthcare which includes dental and optical, not to mention your retirement savings plus the maximum matching funds from the company. When I say that "you" own it, your family members can also own a share. This way the entire family can go to a shareholders meeting at a resort, restaurant, or wherever. You can also hire the children and pay them a wage instead of giving them an allowance. I know the vast majority of the strategies: of ownership, depreciation of assets, leases, renting, family, key insurance, home offices, etc, etc. Incorporated? My business was a C Chapter. Over the years I had attorneys, accountants, tax accountants, financial planners, a board of directors, compliance officers, business & professional groups, etc, etc. etc. Smart. I was telling a neighbor some strategies about setting up his business. He became an independent contractor when Ma Bell broke up. He said something that he wished his attorney and his book keeper would have told him these things.
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Seek peace but keep your gun handy. I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing! “Illegitemus non carborundum est (“Don’t let the bastards grind you down”).” ― Julia Child
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