to "not a sheep"

The messages you are viewing are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select the boards given in left menu

Just because you haven't run across it before doesn't mean the IRS hasn't seen ir or other MTs haven't seen it.  Rah for you for using the basics needed to access work for free so far (does that hurt you or help you), but it does not not mean you don't have to pay to access the work now or in the future.  So what if you worked in 3-plus platforms without having to pay for it and so what if you did not have to pay for it in the past.

I love the tax deductions I get.  Get real and take advantage of the tax benefits of having to pay to have a job.  This is something the true independent contractor or employee has been paying as a cost of business for years.  Why are should you get special treatment?  Suck it up and pay for it or get out of the business and quit discouraging future MTs from working. Think about what programmers working for (example) IBM, tax preparers, independent writer, productition-based pharmacy tech or any other IC or employee gets to claim for deductions - don't Postal Service employees get to claim their uniforms?.  Ask a tax attorney or accountant or even the IRS web site if you don't believe what I say, but suck it up and act like a grownup.

Got uniform expense? Got equipment expense? Got lots of other expenses? Claim it on your tax return. If a future MT should be discouraged about taking classes to enter the profession, it should be based on real concerns like not finding an employer willing to mentor with a liveable wage, not because expenses that are tax deductible that you say should not be a personal expense encourage it.  If you want to work as an employee, go for it, and then (if you are smart) claim non-paid expenses as a tax benefit. 

never had a nosebleed, never willl.  'bout you?

You mentioned in your post, I've seen damned little willingness on the part of many MTs to be flexible about their shifts or workdays. Everyone wants to work 9-5, M-F. This, even while they complain about the line rate when most companies offer rather handsome differentials for working evenings and nights.

If you used to make 14 cpl working Monday through Friday, 9-5, how willing would YOU be to work until 11 p.m., the only time to spend with your kids when they get home from school, for a meager quarter or half cent increase in line pay?  Even with these handsome differentials (what a joke) MTSOs are still only paying 8.5, 9, or 10 cpl!  And you whine that the MTs aren't professional because they don't want to give up their lives for that...compared to the 14 cpl or more they used to get???  Sure the doctors still dictate over the weekends and nurses still handle care over the weekend, but they are paid quite a handsome salary.  If you want dedication, skill, and experience from domestic MTs, PAY FOR IT!!  Don't whine that American MTs aren't out there. 

in a thread about another MTSO?  So full of BS.  We're not stupid; just underpaid.

seriously, they know that a significant number of new hires (particularly when the experience required is low) are not going to work out ... they need a constant supply of warm bodies to ensure the work get done ... Welcome to labor relations USA-style. There is no good-faith social contract. More and more companies see their primary purpose in existence as maximizing profits. Keeping their clients, if not happy, mollified, so they don't leave is job #2.  We may not even be in the top #5 concerns