How do they expect us to pay for their loss of profit???

[Dooley]

OK, I have to vent. Was watching the news and they were talking about the county government not making their budget - they had a huge shortfall. Like, who hasn't. Anyway, this guy says "We wont have to raise property taxes quite yet, but it may need to happen." What? So, you are going to make your budget goals upon the backs of...all of us that aren't working and are wondering ourselves, how we are just going to make it?? Somehow, we are supposed to come up with some extra cash, to keep you afloat? And you afloat? Oh, and YOU TOO afloat?? How do they figure this will work?? If they charge us more property tax, I will magically just have it there to give them?

 

It burns me up to constantly hear companies talk about raising rates or charging more for services, because they are loosing money. Why oh why cant they understand that no one is buying their product, using their services, using services less or whatever, because so many of us DONT HAVE JOBS. We are trying to figure out how to EAT less, keep our homes, not go bankrupt. But yet a lot of businesses think they will be able to charge us more.

 

Another example. Last year, North Carolina had a historic drought. The water company told everyone to conserve like crazy; they would fine you if you didnt. Well, everyone DID conserve. We did such a great job that the water company started moaning that they were loosing money. THEN, they said because they lost money, they were going to raise the rates!!! Huh?

 

Do you feel me? Am I the only one?

 

How do we, as a grassroots effort, make these money hungry companies know we cant and wont pay MORE. They need to either cut down and streamline, or go bankrupt like everyone else.

 

My dh freelances, and we have no work. We are living off savings, I hope to fine one child to daycare...

 

What is this great nation coming to.

[Jane in NC]

Another North Carolinian over here. My municipality has planned a number of projects based on a revenue assumption that I fear will not be met. You can grumble or you can get involved. I serve as a co-chair of one of the citizen advisory boards in my town. This week I plan on attending a meeting held by a different board--and dragging my teenage son along--so that he can see how decisions are made. Where I live, it is often the developers who turn out for town meetings, not ordinary people.

 

This past week I also had a letter in my town's newspaper questioning whether my town's elected officials are being accountable to the citizens who elected them.

 

I encourage you to get involved and allow your kids to experience democracy in action.

 

Of course, this can raise your blood pressure, but I figure it will be elevated anyway if the elected officials of my town carry on in their usual fashion.

 

I also want to see America working so my suggestion is to buy American whenever you can.

 

Best,

Jane

[cathmom]

Another example. Last year, North Carolina had a historic drought. The water company told everyone to conserve like crazy; they would fine you if you didnt. Well, everyone DID conserve. We did such a great job that the water company started moaning that they were loosing money. THEN, they said because they lost money, they were going to raise the rates!!! Huh?

 

 

Yep, this blew my mind too when I heard it!

[Dooley]

Jane - yes, we get involved - I do write letters, etc. I think my "question" was more grassroots than that. KWIM.

 

You are right about blood pressures being raised either way.

[Nestof3]

I understand what you're saying about the government (more people using gov't stuff equals more gov't money needed), but I am not with you regarding businesses. I don't want to get started on this one.

 

My husband has a lawn business. When gas went up to $4.00 a gallon, he had to charge a small surcharge, then when it went down again, he dropped the surcharge.

 

Fertilizer prices have gone up, should he still charge the same to apply fertilizer but end up with less profit?

 

Unemployment rates are up, that means we pay more unemployment tax (businesses pay unemployment tax -- they are the ones who pay it).

 

Trash bags (which use oil in the manufacturing) have doubled in the last year.

 

So, are you saying that we should just get paid less because what we need to run the business has gone up? All businesses pass on their costs to the consumer.

 

Half of the social security/medicare money collected comes from employers, for example. Imagine if each person had to pay his own social security/medicare each year.

 

We don't just randomly increase prices so we can make a lot more money. My husband doesn't sit down and say, "Ya know what, I want to buy a boat this year -- let's raise prices so we can afford a boat."

 

This is what I see the gov't doing. They just keep throwing more money around and expecting those who are making money to just pay more taxes.

Edited February 3, 2009 by nestof3
added info

[Nestof3]

Oh, and don't even get me started on businesses who cheat on their taxes. Perhaps if more companies were honest, things wouldn't be so bad. I don't know. We have a few customers who actually pay us out of their business account to do their lawn -- like it's a business expense! Then there's a restaurant owner who pays us in money orders so he can avoid claiming his cash.

 

Almost every person we hire to do something around here has us write the check out to his personal account rather than a business account.

 

Then there are people we know who raise animals/farm/etc. as a business and write off all of their supplies, but eat tons of the food.

[Dooley]

Hi Dawn, I hear you about raising prices. In normal situations, that is fine. We are not currently in a normal situation. So a different attitude needs to prevail - streamline, cut down, do whatever it takes to keep your business running and make your clients want to keep you on. We are cutting out whatever is not absolutely necessary.

 

I also hear you about businesses that "cheat". I used to be an accountant for major hotels. I cant tell you how many times, for example, a government group would come in and request alcohol to be served at their function (against government regulations!), and the hotel would "hide" that expense inside a room rent charge. Taxpayers paid for this. GRRR.

 

God bless, hope your business makes it through!!

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

Hi Dawn, I hear you about raising prices. In normal situations, that is fine. We are not currently in a normal situation. So a different attitude needs to prevail - streamline, cut down, do whatever it takes to keep your business running and make your clients want to keep you on. We are cutting out whatever is not absolutely necessary.

 

I also hear you about businesses that "cheat". I used to be an accountant for major hotels. I cant tell you how many times, for example, a government group would come in and request alcohol to be served at their function (against government regulations!), and the hotel would "hide" that expense inside a room rent charge. Taxpayers paid for this. GRRR.

 

God bless, hope your business makes it through!!

 

So a different attitude needs to prevail - streamline, cut down, do whatever it takes to keep your business running and make your clients want to keep you on. We are cutting out whatever is not absolutely necessary.

 

"Streamline" means "lay offs" and "cut down" means businesses paying less benefits while requiring more hours from employees. Ask me how I know. :(

 

 

Business owners and employees are working hard just to survive. They are not gouging customers - they are trying to meet their ever-growing bills (utilities and taxes are up a large percentage in my area).

 

K

(whose dh is now working 60-hour work weeks! Gotta love salary+commission jobs!)

[Nestof3]

streamline, cut down, do whatever it takes to keep your business running and make your clients want to keep you on.

 

Honestly, we've always done this. We have never been extravagent in our personal or business decisions. But it is also more expensive to run a legit business -- one where you don't cheat on your taxes, you don't resort to hiring illegals for cheaper pay, you actually pay for liability isurance, workers compensation, pesticide business licenses and applicators licenses, turn in your withholding taxes, etc.

 

Do you know how many lawn businesses aren't licensed to apply fertilizers and pesticides? How many people are paying illegals, etc. How many people do not claim their cash income? I am just asserting that it costs to do things honorably.

 

We are not getting rich on this business. We live more humbly than anyone my husband mows the lawn for.

 

(the following is a general note -- not to you specifically)

 

I have been on the side of employee, and now I am seeing the side of employer, and unless you've done both, I really don't think you have a clear understanding or appreciation for either.

[Melinda in VT]

I understand the frustration with government and utilities.

 

I don't understand the frustration with private businesses. If the business raises rates too high, they will lose customers. If they lose enough customers, they will lower rates or, if costs are too high to do that, go out of business. It's a tricky balance sometimes. People often have champagne tastes and beer budgets. It's easy to get it wrong--to charge too much and lose business or charge too little and not cover costs. It's even harder in an economy where costs are rising (I know in our case, lots of suppliers added fuel surcharges that they have not reduced even though the price of oil has gone down) and lots of potential customers are watching their wallets.

[motherofjoy]

Governments run much like businesses, in that they set their budgets ahead of time, using numbers from taxation and appropriations (local government gets money from the county, county governments get money from the state, states from federal, and so on) that they expect to get. They know they're going to get a certain amount of money, just as a business can forecast a certain profit - within reason. Businesses fail because expected profits don't materialize, but governments provide services that have to be continued, regardless of spiraling costs, like fuel and utilities, that they simply can't forecast. Perhaps a severe winter had caused the road department to spend many times in excess for road clearing than they budgeted for. They still need to clear the roads so emergency crews can get around. Perhaps the locals schools had to spend twice what they were alloted for bus fuel. In any case, you are provided the services of your county during a shortfall, due to rising costs, and now possibly taxes will be raised to cover that shortfall, it isn't that they simply spent out of control and are now punishing you. Governments don't make a profit. They budget from monies they're due to collect in a coming year. It isn't a perfect system.

[Nestof3]

When Virginia Beach announced it had much less in its till than it needed, do you know what they chose to do? They gave all city employees the day after Christmas off with pay.

 

City employees get far more days off than my husband does (he usually works 6 days a week and only takes off Christmas and Thanksgiving) -- and if my husband doesn't work, he doesn't get paid.

 

Another thing about businesses is that they pay many taxes many people are unaware of. I know some people who actually didn't know that employers match ss and medicare on employees! Also, say my husband buys a lawn mower. He pays sales tax (4 % state, 1 % local), then he pays the city business tax on it because he earns money with it, then if he turns around and sells it, he pays tax on the income he made off it.