Marrieds choosing not to have kids

[bulah1]

I think your mom should have "tripped" and dumped the coffee on that witch! I know, I know... two wrongs and all.... But UGH! Some people!

Then she'd probably sue and win... so that's no good either... LOL

----- on another totally off-topic story I wanted to share yesterday, but didn't have time....

I'm going to the gym daily now in attempts to get in shape enough to wear a bathing suit for my upcoming DISNEY vacation in October!! Woo hoo!

Well, not woo-hoo really, but I do drag myself there in attempts to remove cellulite from my thighs... begrudgingly. And if it's not bad enough I'm there in and of itself, yesterday apparently all of the children in the world took over the work-out and pool area of our local Holiday Inn (which is where I'm working out). And for every 20 children it seemed there was only 1 adult. Mind you there are signs everywhere that there are no children allowed on work out equipment, yet they come sit next to me on the bike while I am trying to keep my heart rate in check and start asking me questions about how to work the equipment... fiddling around with it and such. (And also as a side note there are no children above the age of 9 it seemed.) Dude behind the counter is probably 32 and is apparently busy getting attention from some teenage girls chatting away and ignoring there are 8 year olds dangling from nearby weight equipment. THEN... as I moved over to the elliptical trainer... the ball tossing began. And not just any ball - they took one of those friggin' huge workout balls and started bopping it around. About 4 of them tossing this thing around right in the middle of the room!!! Dude behind the couter is still copletely ignoring this... I only got in about 35 minutes of cardio... I usually do about 45, but I was getting way perturbed and couldn't stand it anymore, especially since dip wad instructor wouldn't do a darned thing! I shot him a dirty look and only THEN does he tell the kids to stop tossing the ball. So I go to this little alcove area (very tight quarters) where some weight equipment is, the ball finally rests in it's rightful place, and some free weights. I use the ball to do some crunchers and also do some tricep exercises.... and here come wizzing by on their STUPID roller shoes... (I can't STAND those things) about 3 children. Same kids, the fourth was MIA somewhere. They twirl about and I've had it, so I go to get changed in the locker room. By the time I come out, dude behind the counter is still flirting with girls half his age and the children (no not his "girls" LOL) are now playing a game of "CHASE" through the workout facility. As I sign out two of them bump into me and I yell at the guy - "ARE YOU GOING TO DOOOO ANYTHING ABOUT THIS????" and he actually told the children to quit it. Well one of them was out of the loop on this and as I was heading towards the stairs to leave the facility, one comes ramming into - I flipped... I yelled "YOU WILL NOT RUN IN HERE, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME? I've HAD IT WITH YOU"... I must have looked like some serial killer because the look on the kids face, I swear he almost peed his pants! Sorry but it made me laugh. Where are the parents of these kids, or at very least, the ones who should be watching them??? That place is extremely dangerous for kids to be in running around and using equipment like that. No adults in sight. The rest of the 400 kids all seemed to be in the pool area, and literally 3 or 4 adults in THAT area only. Don't even know if they realized these kids were missing or not. And if they knew, that makes me even more peeved... that they let them go through the weight room like that... not only could they have hurt themselves, they could have had a hefty lawsuit on their hands when one of the kids knocked me over and injured me... Those signs are posted for a reason...

Anyways, that's my venting story.

 

[bulah1]

I am not too sure about that- kids are rude too!

I have been several places with my niece where she is playing (and she has had her BAD moments, will not defend her there! !) but for the most part she is very friendly kid.

Yeah, I guess it depends on how the kid is raised and how little they are still.

My neice is still only a toddler, so she's still in the lovey stage. And somehow despite how (oops I almost wrote a bad word! LOL) "bad" her parents are with her, she still manages to be a little luv bug. Her big brother on the other hand (now about 7) - has the mental capacity of a 5 year old, and I have no idea why. He's a little jerk most of the time, and not that I want to play favorites, but I just don't want to spend any time with him cuz he's an unruley little bugger. Won't listen to a word.

I'm sure you had some idea about what I was originally trying to get at though, hopefully. Just trying to say that it's the environment around kids that tends to affect how they treat others. You see the effects come to fruition as they grow older.

 

[Liisa]

Bulah1...

Your story makes me soooo glad we have weight equipment and a treadmill all set up in our basement. The few times I have belonged to a gym, I hated having to wait to get on the equipment I want to use. So now, when I'm working on my run program, I hop on the treadmill, plop a DVD into the player with the TV strategically place directly in front of my treadmill... and I'm a happy camper. Well, as happy as I can be while sweating and struggling to get through my program. But... not dodging children or large bouncing balls. Turns out, I've got it easy!

 

[maddhatir]

bulah1-

you should call and speak to a manager- Not only are the kids annoying, but imagine of one of them got hurt on the equipment- you know their parents would be crawling out of the woodwork to sue the place!

You should put it that way to the manager- make them look at it like, not that you are annoyed, but certainly mention you are, but tell them THEY are the ones who will be liable when someone is hurt!- that kind of scares them sometimes- uttering the word "sue"!

If the manager does not listen- go higher up!

 

[raspberrysharpei]

Hello all (I'm prepared for the flames )
I am hoping some of you can point me in the right direction. (Quick explanation)...I am enrolled in English course, addressing issues of Argument. The requirement is to create a series of argument essays and the instructor suggests to choose one issue that can be used for the semester.

I have located a few books such as "The Baby Boon", and "Child-free & Loving It". (Found them-have not received them).

Does anyone have an opinion that our government may be promoting or encouraging people to have children based on tax deductions, tax credits, etc.

Does anyone have a suggested reading or resource list??

Thanks,
DEE

 

[kennancat]

Hmm - if you're looking for good resources to contrast with those books, I'd try the Albert Mohler letter: http://www.albertmohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2005-06-07
(BTW, just as an aside, DH is Southern Baptist and this letter really chaps his hide. Not all Christians think this way )

I wouldn't necessarily say our government "encourages" child bearing with tax deductions or credits - I think the cost of raising children is nowhere near offset by those decreases. If you can include other countries, I'd suggest looking into the policies that some European countries are experimenting with. I've heard that the Netherlands has a few good examples. I think Japan is another place where the birth rate is seriously falling off and they're starting to panic.

 

[Hixski]

We have a wonderful facility right by our house that has anything you could want in a gym or recreation. I have provided a link so you can see how nice it us. http://www.stpetersmo.net/default.asp?sectionID=24&pageID=10062
We used to belong. USED TO!! We joined in the winter and went in the daytime. Kids were not allowed in the weight or treadmills room. Did that stop them. Noooo, not at all. This place had "field trips" all the time. Of course most of the kids were always where they were not supposed to be.

We finally quit in the summer when all the kids were out of school. They asked why we were leaving. We told them that kids pretty much are in the weight room, the running and treadmill room and everywhere that was for adults only. And nobody was doing anything about it. They kind of gave the lame excuse that so much is geared towards children. We said yes, but they are always where they are not allowed. They said they "try" to keep them out but it is a neverending battle. We said "Good luck, you are losing the battle"

We have a treadmill and some exercise equipment now at home. We don't have to leave and we have a TV smack in front of the equipment. I have a gym where I work too.

 

[Liisa]

We have a treadmill and some exercise equipment now at home. We don't have to leave and we have a TV smack in front of the equipment. I have a gym where I work too.

TV in front of the workout equipment does wonders for my motivation!!! I love watching action movies while I'm working out - there is never really a good spot to stop so I end up doing extended workouts. I am soooo easily entertained!

 

[maddhatir]

We finally quit in the summer when all the kids were out of school. They asked why we were leaving. We told them that kids pretty much are in the weight room, the running and treadmill room and everywhere that was for adults only. And nobody was doing anything about it. They kind of gave the lame excuse that so much is geared towards children. We said yes, but they are always where they are not allowed. They said they "try" to keep them out but it is a neverending battle. We said "Good luck, you are losing the battle"

OH SURE! The last time I checked weights and treadmills were geared towards.....CHILDREN???!

I would have said one or all of the following- it would depend on my mood that day "What the %& are YOU talking about?!" "Do you even THINK before you speak?" "Tell me what THAT means!" "Do I look like an idiot?"

Can you tell, I have no tolerance for LAME excuses!

 

[maddhatir]

Hello all (I'm prepared for the flames )
I am hoping some of you can point me in the right direction. (Quick explanation)...I am enrolled in English course, addressing issues of Argument. The requirement is to create a series of argument essays and the instructor suggests to choose one issue that can be used for the semester.

I have located a few books such as "The Baby Boon", and "Child-free & Loving It". (Found them-have not received them).

Does anyone have an opinion that our government may be promoting or encouraging people to have children based on tax deductions, tax credits, etc.

Does anyone have a suggested reading or resource list??

Thanks,
DEE

Hey! How about cheking into WHY 90% of MY taxes are paying for schools!

I am not a breeder- I should be EXEMPT! I should get somekind of reward, not punishment.


ETA- ready for this- MY taxes for 2007 were= 5030.76 ! YES! I have a small 1200 sq foot rancher on less than 1/2 acre lot.

now- out of that 5030.76.........3268.88 went to district and regional schools! I AM SO FREAKING SICK OF THIS! I would rather they INCREASE the amount they put towards the Farmland/Open Space portion than the schools. But no, they only take 84.59 for that! ....and keep knocking down our trees!

 

[Hixski]

Hey! How about cheking into WHY 90% of MY taxes are paying for schools!

I am not a breeder- I should be EXEMPT! I should get somekind of reward, not punishment.


ETA- ready for this- MY taxes for 2007 were= 5030.76 ! YES! I have a small 1200 sq foot rancher on less than 1/2 acre lot.

now- out of that 5030.76.........3268.88 went to district and regional schools! I AM SO FREAKING SICK OF THIS! I would rather they INCREASE the amount they put towards the Farmland/Open Space portion than the schools. But no, they only take 84.59 for that! ....and keep knocking down our trees!

Yikes!!! Your taxes are scary!! Our taxes are somewhat high for the midwest because of highly rated schools and all the amenities our town has. That being said our taxes last year were $2231. That is on a 1400sq ft ranch. My parents pay even more than us because they live in St. Louis county. They have a 50yr old, 950sq ft ranch. Our house is in the county outside of St. Louis county.

We also get to pay another tax for schools called personal property tax. You pay that on cars, motorcycles, etc. Basically on any type of vehicle you own. That usually runs another $500 or so a year.

I think people should pay taxes for schools prorated on how many children you have. If they want to still stick it to people that don't have children, fine, but we should pay less than someone that has kids. And someone that has one child should pay less than someone that has 5 children. But as we know nobody would ever vote that tax in. So we all continue to pay for everyones elses children whether we have them or not. I feel for older people that are retired having to still come up with taxes for schools when they haven't had a child in school in probably 30 years. Now that is sad.

 

[maddhatir]

Yikes!!! Your taxes are scary!! We also get to pay another tax for schools called personal property tax. You pay that on cars, motorcycles, etc. Basically on any type of vehicle you own. That usually runs another $500 or so a year.

Tell me ABOUT scary!!! They are coming around this fall to reassess the homes in our county- b/c they have not done it in a very long time-- and to add to that, we are putting on the addition!

I am scared to death to see what our taxes our going to be for 2008! I would not be surprised if they would be up to almost 7000.00!

Now we do not have to pay any "personal" taxes. We just pay the tax when we purchase it- and that's it.

In a different county- this was just all over the news- they DOUBLED the taxes for that county-- all at once! It was sad to hear the stories of the elderly who can barely pay their property taxes now- and now to double them! What is wrong with this state!? There you go again, the elderly have no reason to be paying school taxes!

 

[kennancat]

Paying taxes for schools has never been an issue for me. I think that's because I grew up in an area of Florida where we had a lot of retirees who would *^%$& and moan about the taxes and how everything was so much better up north (no, I don't why they moved to Florida either ) I always felt like even though they lived here, they weren't concerned about the quality of life or personally invested in seeing the community thrive. All their grandkids went to school back home in the Northeast, so if Florida schools needed money, too bad; they didn't care. I think that's why I've always been supportive of my money being used to pay for education - it builds a quality community in the long run, and that's better for all of us.

And in the short term, better rated public schools make the value of my house go up

 

[Muushka]

I agree with you. I feel that education is an investment for the future of (fill in the blank..neighborhood, town, state, country....). But I do have a problem with the tax dollars not being spent properly, cries for more money, children knocking on my door asking me to buy something to support their school or people at work selling tickets to something or candy bars. Oy.

 

[maddhatir]

Sorry IMO- not a 3268.00 $$ YEARLY investment

There are schools in other states that are JUST as good as NJ schools and their residents do not pay HALF of what WE pay in NJ

If those states can provide a great education for LESS! so can NJ! I am sure the NJ teachers would beg to differ, maybe they make a bigger salary up here?

I still believe taxes should be on a "scale"

ETA- and just b/c I decide to put on an addition and my taxes go UP......does that mean little Johnny is NOW going to get a better education than BEFORE I put my addition on.......mmmm. Doubt it!

 

[momomonster]

I really don't mind paying for schools even though I don't have and will never have children. An educated populus is good for everyone. What bugs me is that I pay for the schools when the PARENTS get the extra deductions and credits.

Seems unfair that we CF pay MORE for using LESS/FEWER services. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

 

[maddhatir]

I really don't mind paying for schools even though I don't have and will never have children. An educated populus is good for everyone. What bugs me is that I pay for the schools when the PARENTS get the extra deductions and credits.

Seems unfair that we CF pay MORE for using LESS/FEWER services. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Sure- if I were paying a fraction of what I pay every year in taxes- maybe I would be all for....education too !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


When I tell people from other states how much we pay- they want to die!


I found this interesting, from an article about NJ residents not being able to afford to live in NJ anymore---

Some residents said they prefer to support the NJ SMART bill. Under NJ SMART, which stands for save money and reform taxes, half of education funding would come from income taxes instead of property taxes.

“I’d rather see an income tax because if you make a lot of money, you pay more taxes and when you make less money, like when you retire, you pay less,”


and this headline from CNN: New Jersey and New York homeowners face the highest property taxes in the United States


NO! I am sorry- this is a REAL problem! Right now, I cannot be so generous with my tax money b/c I am worried about some kid's education!!!!
I am sure other NJ residents, who can't afford to keep their homes b/c our taxes continue to go up and some have just DOUBLED, would agree with me!

Oh- how nice it would be, if our paychecks went up as much as our tax increases!

 

[momomonster]

I feel yer pain, maddhatir, I really do. Public education funding needs a total overhaul in my opinion. Keeping it local only acts to reinforce the class system because poor area schools are funded poorly and wealthy areas are funded well. SO much for a level playing field.

Here in my area those over 62 are exempt from a lot of property taxes with the assumption people that age do not have kids in the public schools. Well, folks are having kids later and later, so it's entirely possible to be 62 and have several kids in the system. They're getting a break for no good reason! Who has to take up the slack? ? ? Me!

Our house has been reappraised higher for the last two years and we've appealed both times successfully.

P.S- Totally OT- Have you seen Dead Man? It's my favorite movie of all time (but I am weird, so YMMV) and Johnny plays the main character. He's so sweet in it.

 

[maddhatir]

P.S- Totally OT- Have you seen Dead Man? It's my favorite movie of all time (but I am weird, so YMMV) and Johnny plays the main character. He's so sweet in it.

Thank god for being OT! I hate talking about taxes

No- I have not seen it. I do, however, have plenty of still pics FROM the movie-

I really should just sit down and order every one of his movies from Deep Discount all at once.

I did just see The Man Who Cried for the first time about a month ago.

 

[kennancat]

But I do have a problem with the tax dollars not being spent properly, cries for more money, children knocking on my door asking me to buy something to support their school or people at work selling tickets to something or candy bars. Oy.

Totally agree with you there - I do sometimes wonder if education would be more successful if it were run more like a business than a nonprofit. I think a lot of money goes in to it without seeing the results we should be seeing for that kind of investment. I certainly have no problem with expecting the schools to spend my tax dollars wisely!