Covid 19: The Next Six Months

[S_Wirth]

We received our first Moderna vaccines this afternoon. We used our ink pens to sign one paper each. Very efficiently run operation. Next shots on 4/1/2021.

[cwcdesign]

Great news Swirth!

My friend and I got our 2nd Pfizer today - much quicker than first shot. The nursing student who gave us a first shot (didn't feel it at all) did a better job than the school nurse who gave it to us today 😁 so it hurts a little more at the injection site. I asked and was told ice is better than heat, can take Tylenol, drink lots of water and take things easy.

[kimbob]

Yay to everyone who got vaccinated. More vaccine came in so I was able to sign up my husband for tomorrow and myself for Sunday for our first Pfizer shots. 3 weeks later the 2nd. Very happy and grateful!

[kimbob]

Mom got her 2nd moderna shot at 11 am today. 🥳 So far no side effects.🤞 she just had a glass of wine and fell asleep with her tv on. 😂

[aaronatthedoublef]

FWIW I went to Costco the other day and it was the first time in a long time that there were no limits on toilet paper, paper towels, and Clorox wipes.

[BakerAunt]

Pre-pandemic, I used to get excellent deals on Scott bathroom tissue at CVS. I'd wait for the special to run every five or six weeks, then stock up. (My husband rolled his eyes--until the pandemic struck.) CVS must print ads far in advance, because even 5 months or so later, they were still advertising specials but had no Scott in stock.

A year into the pandemic, the deals are not back, although I recently used a CVS coupon to get a somewhat better deal on a 12-pack. The quality of the Scott tissue seems to have changed; I think it is more like the commercial paper. Note: we use this brand because in my husband's house in Texas, it helped with the wonky plumbing (although having the plumber address the problem solved that). When we bought our house here, it was on sceptic system, and Scott is recommended for sceptics. After a year, the sewer conservancy was established, with each house having a grinder. We decided to stick with what we know.

[chocomouse]

Just back from my grocery shopping trip, once every two weeks, at the old folks shopping time of 7-8:00, a 25 minute drive from home but the nearest decent grocery store, not a "beer and gas" place. Today's bill was $124. I admit there was not much that I use on sale this week, although I did buy 2 sirloin strip steaks on sale for 5.99/lb. Last fall, I was paying around $100 for this bi-weekly trip, and last summer I paid around $80. My social security did not go up to help cover those costs!! And my stimulus check isn't going to last long at this rate!

[Mike Nolan]

Of course the government will tell you inflation is under control. But with politicians, you want to pay attention when they start hand-waving, because their other hand will be picking your pocket.

I have to say I'm really worried about these 'wealth tax' ideas, not that I give a fig about whether Jeff Bezos has to pay it, but because the two largest pools of individual wealth in this nation are homes and retirement funds like IRAs and 401-K's.

I already pay around 2% of the cost of my home in real estate taxes every year, the largest chunk of which goes to the school district, where 80% of the budget is payroll.

[kimbob]

I would say the wealth tax is probably unconstitutional. I don't know about you but we don't have assets in the millions so I'm not worried about it. They're talking about people with 50 million in assets. They should concentrate on closing loopholes. When millionaires and billionaires pay less taxes than the middleclass or no taxes at all there is definitely something wrong.

[BakerAunt]

I received my second shot of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine today. In two weeks, I should have as much immunity as it affords. My husband and I are considering whether we want to do a short trip in a month or so and visit a couple of state parks. We would still keep our masks and hand sanitizer at the ready.

[skeptic7]

I think the wealth tax is a good idea, the last tax laws made the very rich pay less a lower percentage of their income than the working class. Also more of the tax dodges are possible if you are wealthy.

[Mike Nolan]

The truly wealthy have always had access to many ways to shield income from the taxman, that's a large part of the reason why the tax code is several billion words long. And that won't change any time soon, neither party is interested in upsetting their big donors.

When I was taking my business law course in grad school, our professor (a CPA as well as a lawyer and accounting prof) had us go look up a number of laws. One of them was one passed before 1950 (it was still on the books) that had to do with exempting certain one-time payments from taxable income.

This particular part of the tax code has only ever been used once, by Louis B. Mayer (of MGM), who reportedly made a large donation to get it included.

I'm all for finding ways to tax billionaires, I'm just concerned that it won't really work, and that they won't stop there. As I noted before, the two largest pools of wealth in this country aren't the stock holdings of the billionaires and millionaires, they're the homes we own and our retirement plans. And certain politicians are already eyeing taxing IRAs and 401-K's.

The Wall Street Journal had a story today citing a study that concluded the very wealthy have been far more successful in shielding their income from taxes than anyone thought. How? Through the tax code.

[BakerAunt]

I had more side effects from my second Pfizer shot than I had from the first one. My arm was very sore, and I had difficulty shaping the rolls I made on Saturday. (I'm right handed, but I opt for the shot in the right arm since I must sleep on my left side.) I had chills and aches and pains throughout the night, loss of appetite and some nausea the next day. I spent most of Sunday on the couch drifting off to sleep. I am feeling better today but will still take it easy.

My husband received the Moderna, and his side effects after the first was nausea and tiredness but after the second, just some tiredness. He worries that not having more side effects means "it's not working." However, I pointed out that the vaccines likely affect people in different ways, just as the illness does. I think that accounts more for the difference in response than which vaccine we each received.

Whatever the side effects, I will endure them rather than contracting the illness or giving it to someone else.

[Mike Nolan]

We have our second doses scheduled for this Friday, I'm hoping neither of us have much problems with it. The first round went smoothly.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Taxes are interesting. If you are wealthy enough and can hire the right lawyers and accountants you can live lavishly and avoid taxes.

I know some multi-millionaires who have put all their assets including things like houses and private planes to non-profit foundations. They then rent the assets back but the foundations have all the wealth. They also do some good and spend money on worthy causes but it's a way to keep massive assets tax free unless/until we want to tax non-profits.

I've tried to set his up with our house but have yet to find anyone who will/can do this. Guess you need to be Bill Gates to do this.

And Mike is right, the middle tax is going to be hit because as much as the billionaire class has, it's spit in the ocean compared to the trillions in debt we're running up.

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