At my first job out of university I had 25 days/yr off. Business days. No limit to sick days, either.
At my last job before moving here, I had 30 or so.
Cannot fathom a week/year, but peeps here seem to live to work 
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I was one of them in reference to a take away Restaurant. And of course stopped using it as soon as you pointed out that it was pejorative.
I had picked it up from British TV/Moives etc…
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It’s hard to tell if the employer is telling the whole story or not. It could be a combination of factors.
As a general rule, if a portion of a company is not profitable; management will phase it out. As Doordash, Grubhub, etc. existed prior to these layoffs, one can surmise that the delivery component was profitable. And now with the $4/hour increase, it no longer is.
Again, this is just speculation on my part, as I’m using the “accountant” part of my brain.
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Thank you for your very thoughtful comment. I agree entirely your insights, especially American perceptions as the default. I would love to continue this really interesting conversation and point out other issues, such as the huge (income, resources, home ownership, education) inequality in the US that has gotten exponentially worse in the last few decades, and especially the lack of robust social welfare in universal, affordable healthcare even with “Obama care” and affordable child care and support for families.
However, I fear the moderators will shut this down.
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Yes, especially local community colleges. But many people can’t afford the tuition at state colleges.
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On Halloween, benefits in the form of candy and treats should be given solely to the wealthiest children in the neighborhood. It will trickle down to the rest of the children over time.
… couldn’t help myself 
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I have to wonder how many read the original linked story before beginning to comment. My guess is few based on the comments.
It was fascinating to read that tipping started in Europe and made its way over to the US and how setting up concessions to take in tips was a big business. I had no idea.
Tipping is everywhere and no matter what you think there is no way its going away. As the holiday season or what my lovely wife refers to as the holiday extortion period ends, I can look back at what the past month’s holiday “tips” have cost us. Its a substantial amount between doormen, porters, house cleaners, floor staff, parking attendants and more. Ah the joys of city life.
On the Halloween topic, there is a street a few blocks from where I live. The street is but a single block of brownstones. Each is worth much more than your median priced home. The owners on street really get into Halloween and nearly every home is decorated. On the big night, the residents stand on their stoops with literally barrels full of candy handing it out to thousands of children who come to that street from all over the city. This started because a few homeowners decided to do it and over time most of the neighbors joined in. It so popular now that the cops show up to control the crowds. No its not trickle down but its a nice image of some very affluent people who spread a little happiness and candy to people regardless of where they come from for no reason other than they want to.
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There’s a similar street in Baltimore (hugely decorated & popular with ToTers), but likely not as affluent.
I really do love when people go all out decorating for the holidays, especially when it’s entire streets or even nabes participating. Winter days are dark enough and are easier to suffer through with lights & festive decorations.
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This is why I live in a small town in the mountains.
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since graduating, I’ve been in a “salaried” job.
the theory of holiday tipping has a well founded cousin - the ‘year end’ / ‘Christmas’ bonus.
typically, salaried employee ‘raises’ happen at employment anniversaries - but not infrequently companies/corporations will award a “bonus” somewhere near year end and called by various names . . .
is that a tip?
I bake some nice breads for our USPS person - also dash out at 6 AM to present to the trash collection driver/assistant(s).
not a city dweller. no security door person, no one “brings my car around,” no one parks my car . . . my “tip burden” is fairly minimal . . .
but it does point out why head hunters were calling with interstellar size offers for me to take a job / relocate to NYC…
I bake, therefore I am sane - and had no interest in such . . .
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(post deleted by author)
I read the original linked story. 
I was replying to a post that mentioned trickle down economics. 
The thread then took a number of turns or tangents, as almost every thread/conversation tends to do as it grows. Even the food and cooking discussions have posts here and there that have tangential relation to what was for dinner, per se, but fun to read nonetheless. For me, at least. 
The street you speak of reminds me of Old Town Alexandria, where I used to live. Old houses, many row houses, pricey, historical, quaint, though not everyone who lives there is necessarily affluent or, to use a phrase my mom taught me when I was little, “financially independent”. 
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I’m not sure I understand this. Those who are paid primarily in dividends or capital returns (favorite of the titans of the hedge fund world) still must pay at the capital gains rate. Assuming a person making a milllion total comp, they are paying something between 20% and about 24% of their income in federal income tax (dividends are surely liable to pay the 3.8% NIIT, but the capital returns calculation is less certain).
In any event, this is a lot lower than the person also making a million who is paid primarily in salary/bonus/stock grants (all regular income) and who would net out a bit over 33% of their income paid in federal income tax.
This is balanced by those in the lower brackets, who pay far less. The average US income tax rate is something close to 8.5% of income. But for these “average” people, 8.5% can be a big chunk given that all of their income is subject to SSI withholding (whereas it tops out around $170K for the 2 folks described above) and the effects of local income and state sales tax for those in states that have them.
Anyway, it’s complex but the notion that hedge fund folks or those getting their livelihoods from private equity dividends aren’t paying any tax, is kind of a mystery to me.
A common trick is to take out loans on your stored capital. Multimillionaires can finance a comfortable lifestyle on the loans without paying taxes. They can also sell some stock at a loss to balance out or cancel out gains. Accountants have plenty of other tricks.
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Agree, but eventually the chickens come home to roost. Even the “forgivable” loans that a lot of professors (med/law/bnss, often) got still count as income eventually in the amounts originally loaned and/or amounts eventually forgiven.
It may be delayed, but so far as I know, the tax bill it still (eventually) due.
Yes/No?
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Not unless you die before they’re due.
Death is the ultimate tax shelter!
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We all have different desires. In the mountains the air is clearer and the weather crisper but also far less people and places to eat. Its a great to get away from the hustle and bustle.
At the same time being able to get home after work and ask the question to the family what do we want to do for dinner when no one has the energy to cook? Which then leads to a discussion of what to choose among Chinese from Sichuan, Hunan, dim sum (suddenly there are more XLB places than you can shake a spoon at) or the American subvariant, southern or northern Thai, Japanese whether sushi or izakaya, Italian Italian or Italian American, burgers, pizza of at least 4 different brick oven types, Tex-Mex or Mexican, Lebanese Palestinian or Tunisian middle eastern can take a while. That’s just for delivery options off the top of my head. If we’re willing to head out for a 10 minutes walk a whole 'nutter set of options awaits.
Having choices is nice too. But you gotta tip the guy who brings you the food. But how much? Which brings me back to the original linked story. Can’t seem to get away from that.
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If you have the right structures and enough $ to pay for the accountants and lawyers to set it all up, no. In its simplest terms the carried interest essentially transforms labor into capital gains. If you can then generate the passive losses from other sources, its all nets out to no taxable income. There are lots of tax partnerships that are set up which generate very little income but lots of passive losses. Our former president paid next to nothing on very substantial income. Its actually quite straightforward in the world of CRE.
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There was a character in one of the Hitchhiker’s Guide books who spent a year dead for tax purposes.
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