state of the union address

i watched the state of the union address by president bush yesterday. it was really two separate speeches, with the first focusing on domestic policies and the second part trying to convince the american people (and the world) that it is a just cause to go to war against iraq. as far as the domestic policies are concerned, i am not sure if the no taxation on stock dividends is a good plan. granted, for corporations, double taxation is not fair (and acts as a deterrent for companies to give dividends). under this plan, it would provide greater confidence in the stock market and to ensure that the companies' profits are "real" (no cooking the 'books' because corporations need to earn a profit and pay taxes on it before investors can benefit from this plan). but, it is also true that the beneficiaries of this plan would primarily be the affluent. i believe they already had a boost by moving forward the tax rate reductions scheduled for later years to this year (and while they are indeed in the highest tax bracket, they also have tax breaks...)

and really, the average person out there don't invest (or don't have the money) to invest in stocks, so you tell me who'd benefit most under this plan?

while i was listening to the speech, i couldn't help taking note of the $ dollars amount associated with Bush's proposals. they are all in the millions and billions! my question is, how would those programs be financed? through higher taxes? (wouldn't that also defeat the purpose of moving tax reductions forward?) higher deficit? are we not in a recession right now? (and obviously, with the downturn in the economy, the govenment won't receive as much revenues as the internet boom years). is a war with iraq not looming in the near future? how does he plan to finance the homeland security plan? there are lots of questions, but not enough answers...

Posted 10:51 PM by hiu k.

dental, taxes

i always get weirded out by the gaps between my teeth after a dental cleaning. i feel like my teeth have been pried apart. don't get me wrong. It's a good cleaning; it's just a funny feeling. the results of the dental cleaning? good, clean, shiny teeth, of course ! ;) actually, i have a 'potential' cavity (ha! it could be worse). one of my wisdom teeth is partially 'impacted' (heh). i know the reasons why it should be removed (mostly for preventative measures). i've also read the pros and cons of the procedure, with the cons obviously being the complications that might arise from the oral surgery. my concerns with wisdom teeth extractions aren't with costs or the pain (or that i may become un-wise - heh, ok, not funny), but whether it's a matter of necessity. my wisdom teeth are not causing pain, problems, nor discomfort, so besides preventative measure, why should i fix things that aren't broken? (when ironically, 'fixing' it might create pain, or worse, unexpected complications !)

on an unrelated note, with the help of my darling sister, I (or she, rather) helped finished my 2002 tax filings. i haven't earned much this year (I was working part-time while i was finishing up with my degree and had a gap between graduation and my first full-time job), but i am getting a tax refund. actually, to phrase it more accurately, i am getting 'some' refunds from the money withheld for taxes from my paychecks. since i don't qualify for any tax credit, i am getting back some money from ...me 'technically'. boy, do i feel rich now. don't you just love uncle sam? ;)

by the way, i am typing in lowercaps because my fingers are too lazy to hit the 'shift' key. ;)

Posted 10:36 PM by hiu k.

I wrote this on 1/10/2003. I don't want to continue it now 1/22, yet I do not want to delete it altogether, so it will stay as it is - incomplete.

A New Year

It's a New Year. I don't feel this way, yet it doesn't mean that everything is good and clear even though life is moving along in a routine more or less. I am still confused - what direction to take, what I should do. I've read about people who are in the fourties and still don't know what they want to do, but while uncertainties are what makes life interesting (or bitter, happy, or sad), I don't really want to find myself still lost and confused when I've lived my life. You know, I want to be able to move toward a goal...

Posted 9:03 PM by hiu k.