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Musings
of a Senior Scribe
The
Answer
By Mona Lease
Hi,
all! I left you with the
question - In the movie The Wizard of Oz - "Who said the Wizard was a
wizard?" Answer -
"The
Munchkins." Critical Thinking - With their limited understanding (we
all
have "limited" understanding), the Munchkins reasoned that only
someone with exceptional mental capabilities could "fall from the sky -
from another world." They could not do that. In the end, the Wizard
explains
that he can not get home - his balloon broke. He accepted their praise
and
helped the solve their disputes. Before he left, he introduced them to
the
Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man - A new courage, a new
bravery,
and a new heart. He told them they could trust these "people" and he
had to leave, it was time to go home. Life application - Just because a
person
says someone is this or that, does not make it true. Test it and see.
Side
issue - Remember Dorothy carrying the Tin Man's oilcan in her basket on
her
arm? The Tin Man could have carried it. He carried it with him and set
it on a
stump before he rusted. Dorothy carried it to help him. She judged he
had been
through enough and she could ease that "burden" for him.
And,
chew on this: Boost, prepaid
cell provider, is wholly owned by Sprint/Nextel Corp. It is based in
Irvine,
Ca. It was
originally launched in
Australia and New Zealand; with the target market being urban
minorities (us
Po-Fokes?). At the end of June 2012, Sprint/Nextel boasted 56 million
customers
worldwide. Boost started their Shrinkage Plan roughly 2 years past.
$50.00 a
month plus $3.50 Ohio tax for $53.50 to start. After 6 months, with no
late
payments, the monthly fee drops to $45. plus tax. This continues every
six
months until you reach $35.00 plus tax. It will never go lower. This is
unlimited talk, (cell to any other cell, cell to land line phone),
text, and
pictures (sending/receiving).
The
thing is: 56 million customers
paying $50.00 a month is $2,800,000,000.00. Tax in Ohio is 7%. That is
$3.50 on
$50.00.Now, if 56 million customers are paying $3.50 tax, that is
$196,0000,000.00 in tax dollars. I realize the 56 million is worldwide.
Try
this to get it into perspective - if there are 7 continents, divide 56
million
customers by 7, for 8 million customers per continent.
Ohio
is straight 7% sales tax.
Missouri breaks tax down into - 5.6% use rate, 2.6% for food.
Mississippi has -
Retail tangible personal property taxed at 7%, Farm Tracts at 1%, Farm
Implements are 3%. Kansas is 8.95%. California is up to 8.95% depending
on the
locale. Nevada is 6.85%. Montana, Oregon, Alaska, New Hampshire, and
Deleware
have no "sales tax." You fall into the "user-rate,
wholesale/retail grid." Using
7%
sales taxes should work for our purposes here.
So,
if 56 million people are paying
$196,000,000.00 in sales taxes - A MONTH - worldwide (56 million x
$3.50) 7%
sales tax on the $50.00 a month Shrinkage Plan; dividing the
$196,000,000.00 by
7 (7 continents), should tell us the sales tax generated A MONTH, in
North
America - right? That should give us $28,000,000.00 A MONTH in sales
tax on the
usage of Boost Cell phones in North America. If you buy the money cards
at
$25.00 or $50.00 and do not specify the Shrinkage Plan you are going
minute to
minute, which was 10 cents a minute . If you use 15 seconds you are
billed for
the full minute. The minutes start when the phone starts looking for
the signal
to make the call. If you are in a bad area you are - well you know.
The
point? If we are all putting
our heard-earned dollars together to make Sprint/Nextel #3 on
Newsweek's
"Green List" in 2011; what could we "Po-Fokes" do if we put
our hearts and minds together?
This
one is obvious - if tax
dollars are to go to help build and repair roads, support schools,
protect
wildlife areas, lakes & streams, and a breakdown for the "state
militia" - why and HOW are we "broke?"
Remember
the kiddies and our
service people. Be safe and healthy. Ever Toodles!! MONA
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