My last company let me go at 67. I suspect a policy of age-ism, but I don't care. I have most of the toys I want and the government pays my bills now, out of a portion of what they swindled me out of for the last 50 years.
And my tax rate has dropped to nearly nothing.
In other words, I'm retired, and no longer own an alarm clock.

Maduro who? LOL

He’s doing everything I wrote above. Please elaborate on your accusations. A stupid war is when we don’t try to win like all of Clinton Bush and Obama wars. If you can’t see the difference , you are like the looney left. Brainwashed to react emotionally.

The excursion is virtually complete. In a week or 2 this will be forgotten like Maduro’s extraction.

I have mixed thoughts on a protracted war with Iran, but allowing such a regime to virtually strap on a nuclear suicide vest is out of the question. Death means very little to such fanatics. Trump finally did what should have been done a long time ago. Let them have the death they crave so much, but prevent them from exporting it to the rest of us.

Many ex-pats are using it now. It does work for US citizens.
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/inter...
"If you are a U.S. citizen or a resident alien of the United States and you live abroad, you are taxed on your worldwide income. However, you may qualify to exclude your foreign earnings from income up to an amount that is adjusted annually for inflation ($107,600 for 2020, $108,700 for 2021, $112,000 for 2022, and $120,000 for 2023). In addition, you can exclude or deduct certain foreign housing amounts.
Foreign-earned income: Foreign-earned income means wages, salaries, professional fees, or other amounts paid to you for personal services rendered by you."

It would be great if that were true. Trump's cabinet is as corrupt as the Dems, and he is getting us into stupid wars.

The first step was the capital gains tax they enacted 3 or 4 years ago.

But there are still 7 states without state income taxes: AK, NV, WY, SD, TX, TN, FL. And NH doesn't tax wages but does tax interest and dividends.

This will not work for US citizens unless they give up their citizenship. And in that case, you get nailed with the exit tax also called FATCA.

Thank you my friend. I just finished removing a debit card from my account because someone in Seattle used my number on Amazon. I don't have an account with Amazon. The bank has refunded the transaction to me, sending a brand new card. The old one is cancelled. This little irritation is part of my pessimistic outlook, the remainder is because the world and half of our own country wants what we have, but is trying it's damned best to make sure that WE can't have it.

OUC's latest IN THE MEME TYME MAGAzean 3/30/26 EDITION: Last Stand cont. gives a rundown on some good optimism.

We're in a hell of a bind. There are a hell of a lot of stupid people out there. Stupid, lazy underachievers who think they have a right to the fruits of our labor.

That’s what the media wants you to believe. We have a substantial number of brainwashed souls who only react emotionally to the fake news. Wait till those lying traitors in the media go down, it’s already starting to happen. I understand your pessimism, having all the fraud and abuse exposed
makes most folks angry. The thing is none of it is new , been going on for decades It’s just newly revealed and called “The Qreat Awakening” and until a problem is exposed it can’t be fixed. Peace to you.

How do we get rid of a tax no one in their right mind wants? We don't. As long as the royalty rule in Congress, we have no say. Where are those controls built into the Constitution? Gone, quietly removed a bit at a time so that it all looks as normal as it's ever been. If the sheeple have no clue as to how things actually work, nothing will change. If all the "free" goodies keep coming, so many will plant themselves firmly and no amount of momentum will ever move them from that spot. Call me pessimistic, but I prefer the term objectivist. Facts say our country is nearly a lost cause because there are too many deniers and too few realists.

"This legislation is the first step into implementing a State Income Tax for everyone." Absolutely! The original federal income tax was a "tax the rich" scheme supposedly not for the average working man. Look at it now!

The struggle is real. It's just not the struggle of the younger generation.
They are in a rough position. Not knowing enough to be valuable, and such a bleak/unknown future..
I am not sure I would have went into Computer Science if I was in high school now.

Anyways, Dr. Chris Martenson (Peak Prosperity) has a book on the various Forms of Wealth. it's worth reading.

At this point, you've crossed the line from needing income to get what you want, to getting other ASSETS
that have value for you without being taxed to death.

Just require your boss pay you 1/4 your salary, using the face value of pre 1964 silver coins :-)

And, yes, I would figure out my next businesses based on assets I wanted to acquire.
We are lucky to be where we are. Yes, it was lots of hard work, and a minimum number of stupid decisions...

Interesting. What I've done the past few years is acquire some rental property to 1-have some write-offs, 2-generate income, and 3-hedge inflation. In my lifetime, real estate has been pretty steady, albeit with the occasional ass-kicking. As you point out...If you're working and making a good amount of money ("work income") you're really screwed. I'll be "having the talk" with my boss, explaining that I have to work less. I think this is crazy. The option is that I start a business to produce losses and writeoffs. But, in that case I could easily find that I'm working even more for less wealth. It's a weird circular zone, like a whirlpool. Honestly...This is unsustainable. Something's gotta improve here...

I agree with all that...

That's right! I know Washington as a state without income tax. The liberals ALWAYS want to put income tax into effect in states that don't have income tax. I've heard some REALLY STUPID arguments about that here in NV. My first engineering job out of college was in Washington - Boeing.

Washington State is proposing a tax on high earners. The state aims to implement a "Millionaire's Tax" that would impose a 9.9% tax on household income exceeding $1 million per year. This tax is expected to affect less than 0.5% of Washington residents and is projected to generate approximately $3 billion annually, with the revenue anticipated to start flowing into state coffers in 2029.

Legislative Process - Lawmakers have a 60-day session to draft the law, which has already gained support from Governor Ferguson. The tax is part of a broader strategy to address income inequality and stabilize state revenue.

Implementation Timeline - The tax is set to take effect on January 1, 2028, with the first returns and payments due in 2029
. This initiative marks a significant shift in Washington's tax policy, as the state has historically avoided broad-based income taxes.

We, The People, have told them, "No" many times in the past.  This legislation is the first step into implementing a State Income Tax for everyone. It's really unfortunate that many voters in this state just don't get it.

The best slave to own is the one that denies they are enslaved. End the FED. The GOAT DJT is building a parallel economy to replace them. That’s why they try to lawfare him in everything. The writing is on the wall. Gold will destroy the FED.
Unleashing our energy , tariffs to level the playing field , cut Govt embezelment. End needless regulation, bring back manufacturing. 50+ years of killing our economy by 1,000,000,000.cuts is over.

Your rate is ~30-35%. Capital gains is 25%. The barrier to getting to where you can just subsist off your investments is high!
Flat rate, and NO deductions would be minimally fair, and end this.

The power to tax is the power to destroy. Unfornutately this has been interpreted to mean the populace must excersise control over the taxing oligarchy to ensure a fair tax. The idea to prevent the federal government from taxing the people is that it prevents the destruction of the people. Giving an uncontrollable entity the power to do something ensures it will and you will never control it. Eliminate the Federal Reserve and the power to tax directly by the federal government or remain enslaved.

I've required assistance with my taxes about 4 times in 60 years. My biggest surprise was when I cashed out my investment accounts and discovered the 20% the IRS skimmed from the top wasn't enough to cover my total tax burden for that year.

Now that I'm retired, I've put my withholding under control, to ensure a minimal return, which leaves me with more to spend throughout the year. My only tax bill is my state income tax, and that's manageable.

I've rarely ever fretted over taxes. Maybe it's because I'm NOT wealthy.

This is about a reason~~ka-ching!~~why this is my least favorite time of the year despite having a birthday and relatives to take me to a restaurant to cheer me up for a day or two.
Now getting past a certain date in April does make me feel poorer yet like a happier dog freed of its leash.