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The "unemployment" figures are down bec our country does not count

Posted By: people who just QUIT looking bec they on 2006-02-04
In Reply to:

have gotten discouraged and given up.  So the unemployment figures are very misleading according to a PBS program I listened to this morning.  That sure made sense to me bec all around me I see people being laid off and they sure aren't getting jobs.


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Figures
.
Don’t know where you got your figures but
I make almost $24.00 per hour, so that salary is ok with me.
Figures
My figures were based on your production x 0.03 or 0.04 cents per line which is what most of the major companies pay for VR.  Of course, I don't know what you get paid and it doesn't matter, was just doing the figures based on the AVERAGE pay I know is being offered.  I think 3000 lines per day is pretty much the high end of what most people can produce.  Some dictators lend themselves well to VR and others do not and that slows the production.
my figures were off.....sorry...sm

I went looking for the stats - and these stats I'm going to paste are from the 2000 census - and believe me, things have changed drastically since then....back then I read/heard there were 800,000 cubans in Miami but I think it was Miami-Dade and the stats i just found are Miami only....and 65% of the population are hispanic/latino but that's not just cubans...the 2000 census says total population in miami is 404,000.  I'm disputing that today but new stats (accurate) are a tad difficult to find...but I'm still researching...*laughs*


2000 census info for Miami, Florida:



Population - 362,470



362,470FL (Florida)" src=http://www.muninetguide.com/muninet/images/blend.jpg" width=226>





Latino

65.76% 65.8%





White

11.83% 11.8%





Black

22.31% 22.3%

 


The median age for residents in Miami, FL is 37.7 (this is older than average age in the U.S.).


Families (non-single residences) represent 62.1% of the population.


Median Household Income














Median


U.S.

$50,344


Median

Median


Miami-Dade County

$43,955



Median


Miami

$28,699


2000 U.S. Census data, adjusted for inflation

info gleaned from below link:


http://www.muninetguide.com/states/florida/municipality/Miami.php


when they speak of Miami with the bigger #s I just read at another site - they mean Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach County, total population of all 3 counties is 5.4 million, and all 3 counties comprise South Florida (as I would think/presume Naples and other more SW cities do on the Florida West Coast)....


all very interesting....I'm glued this afternoon to checking this out 


Here's some figures for you to gum on ..
For me, the half cent a line incentive averages out to about $1.75 an hour more JUST FOR THE CMT equates to about $1750 a year on a 20-hour a week job.

The 1 cpl incentive comes to a little more (easier platform and accounts) comes to about $3.80 an hour more and about $3800 over the year for 20 hours a week.

So, it totals about $5500 a year. For me, it's worth it.


I don't know where you got your figures, but you are incorrect.

Self Employment tax is only about 15.3%, which is only a small percentage more than you'd pay with employee status.  FICA and Medicare are already taken into that figure.  As a self-employed person, you get to deduct a bunch of stuff, too, so your taxable income isn't as high as it would be if you were an employee.  Nobody earning $1,000 is taxed at 40%.  You have to earn more than $278,450 as a single person to be in the higher federal tax bracket of 39.6%.  I've been self-employed for over 8 years now.  I've never paid anywhere near 40% in taxes.


BTW, I have a minor in accounting with many years of bookkeeping and tax preparation experience.  If you still don't believe me, check out the Small Business section at the IRS.GOV website.  There is a ton of accurate information there.


I don't know where you got your figures, but you are incorrect.

Self Employment tax is only about 15.3%, which is only a small percentage more than you'd pay with employee status.  FICA and Medicare are already taken into that figure.  As a self-employed person, you get to deduct a bunch of stuff, too, so your taxable income isn't as high as it would be if you were an employee.  Nobody earning $1,000 is taxed at 40%.  You have to earn more than $278,450 as a single person to be in the higher federal tax bracket of 39.6%.  I've been self-employed for over 8 years now.  I've never paid anywhere near 40% in taxes.


BTW, I have a minor in accounting with many years of bookkeeping and tax preparation experience.  If you still don't believe me, check out the Small Business section at the IRS.GOV website.  There is a ton of accurate information there.


Unemployment figures are also down
because the people that have run out of unemployment compensation are not counted in the final tally. Yes, unemployment figures are very misleading.
Also, are these figures before tax/expenses or after? sm
Some ICs might be quoting their pay before taxes and expense deductions, which isn't their ACTUAL pay for the year. If someone has their own accounts and says they bring in $50K per year, that's possible, but probably not the amount they receive free and clear.

I find it hard to believe anyone makes that much free and clear unless they are working 12 hours a day, every day, and pulling in a significantly high per-line rate. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I base this opinion on the fact that I make a very good line rate, type over 100 wpm for easy accounts I've had for years, and still don't bring in that kind of money free and clear. I come close with my gross income, but after taxes and expenses, it's only about 65% of that! And I work 9-10 hours a day with only one week of vacation per year.

Come to think of it, that's pretty sad when I see it on paper. LOL I'm going to go look for a new line of work now.
Lines per hour - I just do NOT get these figures. PLEASE tell me how you hit these #s
Okay. I have been doing this for 25 years, and am a CMT. I rarely have to reference anything - even meds. If I do, I can find my answer in 30 seconds max.  I type on a super platform, have a great expander and spell check, and type really, really fast - averaging 120 wpm last time I tested.  I have a great account, though I use NO normals or standards.  I simply cannot - accounts are verbatim to the word, and nothing is repeat dictation.  Even Op reports, which are my specialty, all MUST be typed from scratch. I average 200 lines per hour - maybe 250 at best.  I am great at this except obviously not making 1000 lines in 3 hours.  There must be some detail that you guys are leaving out, which, if it makes me feel like mud, must really dash the hopes of those new to the profession.  Is it that you all use normals or standards or copy and paste your own stuff to boost up those line counts? Otherwise, how on earth do you hit those numbers? I'm asking sincerely, cause I used to be SO happy hitting 1200 lines after a 6 to 7 hour shift, but now I feel like a total failure.  I'd rather do this in 3 hours, or I'd rather hit 2000 in the 6 hours.  Is it the macros and standards and normals and all?  I think that MUST be the key, in which case I won't feel bad, because my account simply won't allow that! Thanks for any tips!
I have heard fair figures between $14 to $18
per hour. Good luck!
I realize that, but any average figures?

About 7000, but our income is low 6 figures, so ratio isn't too bad.
s
That's great if I typed with 65 cpl, but my National's line figures
xx
Take the character count divded by 65 and that will give you your line count.
x
it does not count gross lines...I count 37 and it counts 67.
x
Nope, not a higher count. Actually, the count is the same...
I use a word count and not a line count, but because you mentioned it, I ran a few documents using line count, and the count is exactly the same. However, Flashcount has a lot of nifty features.  I like it.  :)
You need to watch your line count. I was working for them and got reports that had line count of 0
You need to watch your line count. I was working for them and got reports that had line count of 0 in them. They did not pay for templates, they would deduct the template even if it was not used and deleted. I notified them and said they could not change it.

So I asked to be put on another account and they refused. I quit.

I was also promised they would have an incentive plan going into place if you type a certain # of lines. Two years went by and nothing.

I was really disappointed in OSI.

They also offered to pay half on joint AAMT, which they failed to do.

I am glad I am no longer there.
This country has....
more safety nets than almost anywhere else on earth.  There are food stamps, WIC, food pantries, missions, churches, etc.  I don't believe there are policies in place to purposely make sure children go to bed hungry.  There MUST be some personal responsibility here.  I don't hear much out of you along that line, just blame. CEOs, big corporations, blah blah blah
what right do we have to tell another country what to do?
x
What Country do you come from?
You don't sound like you come from the USA.
Isn't this the same country that
our young men gave their lives for back in the 60s and early 70s, in order to fight communism, and now is a communist country? These greedy companies would send work to a Taliban country if they thought they could save a buck! They are causing the downfall of the USA.
You have obviously never BEEN to a 3rd world country.
x
R we talking about the same country???
He's cut everything from education to welfare to finanal aid to.....and so on ad nauseum...read a paper now and then.
Most of the people in this country
Are way too dependent on the government to save them and are looking for a free handout. While I have sympathy for those whose homes have been destroyed, I agree that you should have some sort of a back-up plan of water, canned goods, etc., to prepare for an emergency. This is just common sense. We had really bad fires in Arizona this year and I was prepared and ready to leave if I had to and didn't wait around for somebody to come rescue me. People need to be more self reliant and not wait for somebody else to take care of them. The hurricane victims had plenty of time to stock up on canned goods, water, etc., before the hurricane hit. I have relatives in Florida and they had to evacuate, but they had planned ahead and had canned food and water ready for when they came back, as they knew there would be nothing available. I think Kennedy's quote of-- Ask not what your country can do for you-- would be very appropriate in this day and age when everybody stands around waiting for a free government handout. These people would never had made it as pioneers----.
Maybe someone else in another country is typing it?

Yes, the dumbing-down of our country.
the 5 freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment but can name all the characters of the Simpsons? We need to get off the couch, turn off the boob tube and read a book once in a while. I love my country, but we aren't doing ourselves any favors by being stupid.
Oh like she was fat! That's what's wrong with this country.
And I'm not an overweight angry person....just in case you want to bash. I am actually fit but I don't agree with the mentality about weight in this country. My niece is 15 and a little bit overweight so I'm sensitive to it. What are you, anorexic? Please!
Then we have a problem in THIS country because...

The statistics show that a full TEN PERCENT of American 10-year-old boys are on ADHD medications.  That isn't even counting the girls.  I think when you include the girls the percentage of kids on ADHD medications approaches 20%.  So if it's true that about 3% to 5% of people actually have ADHD (I can buy that), then we are over diagnosing and over medicating way too many kids.  More often than not when I type an office note about a kid on ADHD medications the doctor also mentions some kind of turmoil in the home, i.e. divorced parents, kids living with grandparents.  I once helped out on a field trip for my daughter when she was in 2nd grade and it was like a mobile hospital what with trying to keep up with which kid got what pill at what time throughout the day.  It was ridiculous.


What part of the country are you in?
s
I don't know what part of the country...
you live in, but around here you can hardly get into a restaurant, the malls are FULL of people so that it's hard to park, and the BIG trucks and SUV's just keep roaring past me.  Outsourcing has been going on for 30+ years... People adjust their careers, oro something else pops up that out does somebody else's idea.  Nothing stays the same, you gotta change with the times.  Many outsourced jobs are low skill jobs that Americans want to be paid big money to do... Well guess what, it isn't going to happen.  So get yourself another career.  I've had THREE of them myself.  I've been a nurse, a commercial lines insurance rater (that all went computerized), and now I'm an MT.  What good does it do to sit here in cyber space moaning and groaning about something that's been going on for decades and isn't going to stop no matter how much you complain. 
No, they are on the other side of the country
xx
It's all about greed in this country. sm
We need to figure out how much in the way of tax revenue (from the reduced income of MTs and from the MTSOs) that is lost because of offshoring. That might get someone's attention. They obviously don't care about our privacy.
Has anyone ever moved to another country and kept their job? sm

I want to know this because my fiancee is in the military and will be going to the UK for a few months and I want to go with him but keep my job.  Is this even possible?


Thanks


At least in this country the bad guys can be -
I guess that, as with everything else these days, something really BAD is going to have to happen as a result of offshoring personal info. before anyone will do anything about it.
Seems like everything in this country is for sale
nowadays. Property owned by people who aren't US citizens. Ancient west coast redwoods being cut up and sold to Japan for lumber. And of course good U.S. jobs. And the lesser jobs, the ones are taken by people who have sneaked over our borders. I wonder who is going to pay the country's taxes 20 years into the future.
If you get more per line in your own country, then
That doesn't make sense.
Our Jobs, Our Country
- Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery (or offshoring of jobs), I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.

Abraham Lincoln

- Business underlies everything in our national life, including our spiritual life. Witness the fact that in the Lord's Prayer, the first petition is for daily bread. No one can worship God or love his neighbor on an empty stomach.

- The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people.

Woodrow Wilson

- Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn English or leave the country.

Theodore Roosevelt

- America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

Abraham Lincoln

- Patriotism is easy to understand in America. It means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.

Calvin Coolidge

- A truly American sentiment recognizes the dignity of labor and the fact that honor lies in honest toil.

Grover Cleveland

- It will be the duty of the Executive, with sufficient appropriations for the purpose, to prosecute unsparingly all who have been engaged in depriving citizens of the rights guaranteed to them by the Constitution.

Rutherford B. Hayes

- True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else.

Clarence Darrow

- Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

- The death-knell of the republic had rung as soon as the active power became lodged in the hands of those who sought, not to do justice to all citizens, rich and poor alike, but to stand for one special class and for its interests as opposed to the interests of others.

Theodore Roosevelt

- There are no necessary evils in government. Its evils exist only in its abuses.

Andrew Jackson

- All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to ... remain silent.

Thomas Jefferson

- It is not my intention to do away with government. It is rather to make it work -- work with us, not over us; stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it.

Ronald Reagan, First Inaugural Address, January 20, 1981

- Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.

You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children's children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done.

Ronald Reagan

- The ultimate determinant in the struggle now going on for the world will not be bombs and rockets but a test of wills and ideas-a trial of spiritual resolve: the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish and the ideals to which we are dedicated.

Ronald Reagan
It depends on the country.
I worked for Club Med for a few years in the 80s and worked closely with the European-born French, Spanish/Mexican and Germans. The Spanish people are truly grateful when you merely attempt their language. The Germans are pretty helpful if you make a mistake but they all know English as it is required in school. The French, however, are very strict. I found this when I worked with the Club Med administration in the Caribbean, Mexico, and especially in Paris. I took four years of French in high school, know French diction pretty well, but was still corrected with Every mistake I made, and several times (in all countries) was told to not even try if I couldn't speak it perfectly. That is my experience, and I'm allowed my opinion as it has been proven in many countries. My point about the Indian MDs is that they were not trained here, or they would have been corrected in their use of some English. Some of it can also be legally misinterpreted. There was actually a "medical" school in St. Lucia in the Caribbean (next to Club Med). Many Americans attended it. They couldn't get into the mainland-based medical schools. It also used to be hard for foreign-trained doctors to practice here. My point was that it's a shame that we have to suffer with these doctors, not just us but those poor patients.
Good to see you too Country MT. I have OCD...

usually under pretty tight wraps, but today, not so much.  Going through a stressful time with a friend and, well, any sort of stress does me in.  So, whenever I have days when my name is all over the board, that's one of those days that I lose control of my OCD.  I'm hovering today, checking in often, just itching to say hello to someone, anyone, to help ease the mental and physical burden of what has transpired in the past few days.  Blech.  I hate it when I get like this, as I'm sure others do, but I can't help myself.  Could be worse I guess.  I could be like one of those poor people who cut or something. 


I'm sorry, what was the question now? 


My old country homes
In my home in Iowa, I have Hughes Net and seemed to do okay with it, although, as noted, lag times are a bit more than true broadband/high speed. At my SO's home in Missouri, it comes from some rinky-dink company called Midwest Data Center, although I'm sure they must get their feed from somewhere else. Again, for general surfing there is only a minimal lag time between page loads. However, when working via a VPN, I have had prolonged waits during anything that involves swapping data with the outlying mainframe. This would be cc's, demographics, and final saves on ExText and a couple other proprietary sites I've used. Being production oriented, if you get a lot of short 1-3 minute reports, the wait times really start to add up paycheck-wise. I'll also note that I've had very little trouble with audio files, although, again, a 25 minute report is going to take a bit longer to download than a DSL customer is used to. There have been a few VPNs over the years that I was not able to connect to at all and had to use my standby dialup; however, somehow they for the most part self-corrected in the last six months or so and now I can go pretty much anywhere I want to stick my little VPN. Hope this helps!
Which is why this country will lose its
xx
What part of the country...?

if you do not mind my asking.  I live in an expensive part of the country myself on the west coast. 


I was asked to find comparable rates. 


 


Thanks again.


It is a free country here, you know!
Everyone here complains! So get over it!
s/l "Louiss" country?
Just getting back into MT after a 3 year break.  Seems to be the nonmedical terms that get me!  lol  This patient has lived in Thailand and is from "Louiss"  "ou" as in loud and "ss" as in kiss, accent on 1st syllable.  Any ideas?
yea we have it great in this country
just wait for the election and see how great it is after that
Working in another country?
Hi all, I've been an MT for over 5 years and hubby and I are casually throwing around the idea of spending a year or so overseas, ideally Scotland. Are there any companies out there that allow you to work from out of the country? I don't even know what all work visas, etc. I would have to get or if I could consider it more of an extended visit and still work for a US company, but didn't know if I would have to search for companies local to the country we'd be temporarily relocating to, or whether there were any that worked with outside of the US MTs that weren't in India. Any ideas on this?

Any info is appreciated. It may never happen, but I'd like to research it if I know where to start. Thanks!
I live out in the country and

I initially could only have satellite out here in BFE.  It cost me 60 bucks a month for mediocre service.  It was faster than dial-up but still not very fast.  You have to deal with the weather.  I went through Hughesnet and they have a broadband fair access thing where they only give you x amount of broadband per 24 hours and if you exceed that, your internet is so slow you might as well be on dial up and that lasts for 24 hours until your account rejuvinates itself.  It was such crap. 


We recently got AT&T out here.  We get local phone, unlimited long distance, and DSL internet including wireless throughout the house for like 65 bucks a month.  Way faster than Hughes.net ever was even on a sun shiny day with no clouds in the sky. 


We literally saved ourselves 50 bucks a month going through AT&T for our phone and internet services.


What part of the country
Just wondering. 
it really depends on where in the country you are located
if you are in NYC or Long Island, the amount is never less than $100. Further north of NY can go about $50. If it's a close relative you go higher in $$.
I'm not sure of anywhere else.
It's a free country. She can work where she wants UNLESS..SM
If there's some kind of contract that says she can't work anywhere else, then that might be a problem. Otherwise I just can't see anything legally wrong with it unless it can be proved she's sharing private information. I agree - I'd stay out of it completely.