Pre Obama vs Post Obama Crown Cost

[kappa505]

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Now that Obama has won...... what percentage am I going to have to increase costs for my services in order to offset the taxes I will incur and make the same amount of money every year? I hope that extra 2,000 dollars a year in tax cuts helps the middle class up their social status.

 

[psiyung]

You wont have to increase costs. With a better economy, more patients will come to your office off-setting any increase in taxes you will incur. In fact, I'm willing to bet that most dentists will do better under Obama versus Bush

 

[kappa505]

So I am going to have to work even harder longer to make the same amount of money? That will be the day. Why do you think the rich stay rich....why do you think that so many wealthy don't care about having their taxes increase? They will just fire employees, raise prices, and use cheaper materials. People help themselves, not the govt. Those people that put Obama in office will have tax cuts, which means that they will have more money to give right back to me.

 

[kevin512]

Those people that put Obama in office will have tax cuts, which means that they will have more money to give right back to me.

americans save -5% of their income. these ppl wont have more money but a big screen tv.

 

[OceanDMD]

Now that Obama has won...... what percentage am I going to have to increase costs for my services in order to offset the taxes I will incur and make the same amount of money every year? I hope that extra 2,000 dollars a year in tax cuts helps the middle class up their social status.

We are restucturing our fee schedule a bit. All new patient screenings will include a question about income. Here is a sample for our pfm costs:


PFM high Noble:

Gross yearly income > $125,000/year

$2500.00 / unit


Gross yearly income $60,000 - $124,999

Free / unit


Gross yearly income < $60,000


$500.00 reimbursement to pateint


Oh, and we already plan on cutting our profit sharing on top of a staff salary freeze.

 

[OceanDMD]

How about that stock market. I dont think this has happened in a long time after an election.

 

[Cold Front]

How about that stock market. I dont think this has happened in a long time after an election.

Obama will inherit all the problem Republicans created, so don't try to switch the blame to him, he is not even in office yet.

The economy is already fragile, and will continue to be throughout 2009.

If you went to get historical... the numbers speak for themselves.

When will you stop the blame game and move on? 🙂

 

[OceanDMD]

The blame game will continue for 4 more years.....Bush.

 

[Cold Front]

Crown prices will not change under Obama, that's just a propaganda!

First of all Obama isn't going to raise your taxes in 2009, and he won't in most of 2010, because Bush's tax cuts expire at the end of that year. At current rates, raising taxes on high earners would have little negative economic impact and would bring in more money for the government.

Both Bush and Clinton were simply reacting to fiscal problems (just like Obama is now) created during the Reagan years. Just as any tax increases that Obama implements a couple of years down the road would be necessitated in part by his predecessor's unwillingness to take fiscal policy seriously.

So stop thinking like a dentist on this issue for once, and look at the economic challenge facing the country as a whole. If economy improves at national level, then dentists will benefit from it.

 

[DMDreaming]

Obama will inherit all the problem Republicans created, so don't try to switch the blame to him, he is not even in office yet.

The economy is already fragile, and will continue to be throughout 2009.

If you went to get historical... the numbers speak for themselves.

When will you stop the blame game and move on? 🙂

You are forgetting the most substantial downturn in the recent economy happened in the last couple of years....when the Democrats assumed the majority vote in the legislature.

 

[kappa505]

Obama will inherit all the problem Republicans created, so don't try to switch the blame to him, he is not even in office yet.

The economy is already fragile, and will continue to be throughout 2009.

If you went to get historical... the numbers speak for themselves.

When will you stop the blame game and move on? 🙂

The libs are already lowering their expectations of Obama (keep track of the media), I hope that I still get that Unicorn that he promised me.

 

[kappa505]

Crown prices will not change under Obama, that's just a propaganda!

I will raise the price of a crown at my office, or fire an employee, or use crappy material and not replace for free when it fails. So its not really propaganda

First of all Obama isn't going to raise your taxes in 2009, and he won't in most of 2010, because Bush's tax cuts expire at the end of that year. At current rates, raising taxes on high earners would have little negative economic impact and would bring in more money for the government.

If you think the government does such a bad job, why would you want to give it more power? Or more money?

Both Bush and Clinton were simply reacting to fiscal problems (just like Obama is now) created during the Reagan years. Just as any tax increases that Obama implements a couple of years down the road would be necessitated in part by his predecessor's unwillingness to take fiscal policy seriously.

So....when Clinton supposedly balanced the budget it was really a result of Bush Sr.

So stop thinking like a dentist on this issue for once, and look at the economic challenge facing the country as a whole. If economy improves at national level, then dentists will benefit from it.

So I should think like that guy that holds the slow sign at the construction site (the one who's job could be done by a board and some nails). If I thought like him, I would expect that job to be able to raise a family of five, and be able to pay for their school.

Responded in Quote

 

[capisce?]

Everyone who is still in dental school raise your hand. Good work. Now go pick up your ball and get off the playground. You don't belong in this conversation like psiyung because you are clueless to how real world dentistry works. We are maxed out with our patient flow. A good economy doesn't mean more patients in the chair because we are already at capacity.

Cold Front your graph is very pretty. However, I would like to see a graph of stock market gains/losses the 2 consecutive days after an election. The market wants stability. If they felt the presidential choice was stable they would have had gains. Yes the losses reflect the current economic conditions but they are also reflecting the uncertainty that is there with Obama. It may not be fair, but that's how it is.

We won't raise our fees any more than the usual annual increase. I can tell you that once I hit a certain income range, I'll just stop working and spend more time with my family. Why work 8 more hours a week if you are going to pay a much higher amount of tax in doing so.

 

[TucsonDDS]

And the housing market collapse is Bush's fault due to the fact that the Clinton administration pushed so hard for banks to start providing the sub-prime mortgages.

 

[OceanDMD]

Everyone who is still in dental school raise your hand. Good work. No go pick up your ball and get off the playground. You don't belong in this conversation like psiyung because you are clueless to how real world dentistry works.

Cold Front your graph is very pretty. However, I would like to see a graph of stock market gains/losses the 2 consecutive days after an election. The market wants stability. If they felt the presidential choice was stable they would have had gains. yes the losses reflect the current economic conditions but they are also reflecting the uncertainty that is there with Obama. It may not be fair, but that's how it is.

Worst two days since 87'. Two days after an election. Maybe there is stench of capital gains costs. Maybe there is stench of less money going into the market and investments, and more into smokes and weekend budweisers. I dont know. I do know I am nauseated by how left the students ideologies are. I would suggest the peace corp or military rather than small business dental ownership.

 

[TucsonDDS]

PS

I predict that if Obama and his other socialist friends have their way crown prices will be down to $137.29 if all of the proper paperwork has been filed for pre-approval and assuming they don't reimburse $37.82 for a 5 surface amalgam as appropriate alternative treatment (or whatever it is called).

 

[Cold Front]

Cold Front your graph is very pretty. However, I would like to see a graph of stock market gains/losses the 2 consecutive days after an election. The market wants stability. If they felt the presidential choice was stable they would have had gains. Yes the losses reflect the current economic conditions but they are also reflecting the uncertainty that is there with Obama. It may not be fair, but that's how it is.

World markets started to slump back in September, so as our's. Why do you think John McCain lost? because that was one of the factors that hurt his campaign, and Obama's landslide win on election day.

I agree that elections could cause dramatic swings in the market if it is not fully resolved quickly, however, stock markets tend to drop on uncertainty. The market was volatile in the weeks following the 2000 election, when it was unclear whether Al Gore or George W. Bush would be the next president. Between Election Day on November 7, 2000, and the Supreme Court rulings that halted Florida's recount on December 12, the S&P 500 rose and fell by 1.25% every day, on average. The index ended that period down 4.3%. If you want me to fetch you a graph to support this, I can - but that won't change your conservative mentality.

I can tell you that once I hit a certain income range, I'll just stop working and spend more time with my family. Why work 8 more hours a week if you are going to pay a much higher amount of tax in doing so.

Tax laws are written with people like you in mind, they have already factored in the idea of people wanting to work less if taxes goes up. That's why they have progressive taxes, individual pays the listed percentage of income on each dollar that falls within that monetary range. I understand if you were making less than $100,000 today, we would not be having this discussion - but since dentistry gives us better financial situation, we are still doing better than 95% of Americans under the new tax system. We are already blessed, why can't you just let that extra 3% over $250k be used to help the country's problems?

 

[rkamsterdam]

Worst two days since 87'. Two days after an election. Maybe there is stench of capital gains costs. Maybe there is stench of less money going into the market and investments, and more into smokes and weekend budweisers. I dont know. I do know I am nauseated by how left the students ideologies are. I would suggest the peace corp or military rather than small business dental ownership.

Who cares about the market return two days after the election; youre a dentist not a day trader. Its the long term term returns that effect you and your retirement fund, anyhow. And if you took off your partisan googles, youd see that the charts reflect that the democrats have done better on the economy in recent times.

Your nausea exposes your ignorance of the fact that students/young people in general are left leaning; man, you're a dentist but seem very naive of political demographics.

 

[ObliqueRidge]

i would like to know one thing...out of all you obama supporters on this thread which ones of you are actually working in a private practice right now? Who has 200K in loans and needs to pay them back? The people working at mcDonalds sure don't need the extra dough like we do. Psiyung...you are very very wrong on all of your views. There is no substance to anything you say except theory in general. I go by logic and to me its not very logical to help out the country's problems by taking from certain individuals income. If obama is all about spreading the wealth then why in the world did he hire hollywood to give a 30 minute michael moore documentary on how negative the country is and spend millions and millions of dollars. He should have given that to all the poor people or maybe give some of it to mcCain since he didn't raise as much money as he did....but NOOOOO obama was greedy and kept all his money raised in the campaign....give me a break...this obama guy is trouble for our country...keep an eye on russia my friends..they are getting antsy....did anyone hear his acceptance speach about how gay's and blacks will come together..blahblahblah.....over 90% of blacks voted for obama from what i heard..i don't think we are going the right way in our country...we are going backwards in civil rights if this is the case b.c. voting for skin color is what i thought we were trying to get away from. I dont mean to make this a racial thing, but i think the country spoke for itself on this one. look at the numbers. I am not the one to bite my tongue on this issue b.c. it is so blatantly obvious. guy can't even pass an FBI background check..jeez..thanks for listening..phew..im done😕

 

[diplo123]

Is this a joke? Bush's policies almost caused our banks to collapse. All the money you've made would have been gone in an instant. Our government is in the biggest debt in human history. Eventually that would have caught up, and Mccain would have ended the party.

Obama's plan won't raise your taxes significantly. It will spur prosperity in the middle class, which will mean more people doing cosmetic dentistry and things like that. You should take a breath of relief that mccain lost. our future depended on it.

Everyone who is still in dental school raise your hand. Good work. Now go pick up your ball and get off the playground. You don't belong in this conversation like psiyung because you are clueless to how real world dentistry works. We are maxed out with our patient flow. A good economy doesn't mean more patients in the chair because we are already at capacity.

Cold Front your graph is very pretty. However, I would like to see a graph of stock market gains/losses the 2 consecutive days after an election. The market wants stability. If they felt the presidential choice was stable they would have had gains. Yes the losses reflect the current economic conditions but they are also reflecting the uncertainty that is there with Obama. It may not be fair, but that's how it is.

We won't raise our fees any more than the usual annual increase. I can tell you that once I hit a certain income range, I'll just stop working and spend more time with my family. Why work 8 more hours a week if you are going to pay a much higher amount of tax in doing so.

 

[ObliqueRidge]

Is this a joke? Bush's policies almost caused our banks to collapse. All the money you've made would have been gone in an instant. Our government is in the biggest debt in human history. Eventually that would have caught up, and Mccain would have ended the party.

Obama's plan won't raise your taxes significantly. It will spur prosperity in the middle class, which will mean more people doing cosmetic dentistry and things like that. You should take a breath of relief that mccain lost. our future depended on it.

how much will he raise them (taxes) then?
bush's policies????who has the majority in congress...democrats...who inacted mandatory sub-prime loans..democrats...i dont think you understand the significance of this president...it's veto power and how obama will not use it since he will not need it....
i now understand how little you democrats know about our gov't....you might have a 22AA on your DAT but im sure you have never read our constitution considering you think bush comes up with all of the legislation in our country.

the only reason the republicans are worried now is the simple fact that the democrats might be able to push whatever they want into legislation...not that obama is going to wave a wand and magically make things happen like you think bush did.

 

[DrReo]

not that obama is going to wave a wand and magically make things happen like you think bush did.

Wait, so his campaign was an hoax?!

 

[DrReo]

Is this a joke? Bush's policies almost caused our banks to collapse. All the money you've made would have been gone in an instant. Our government is in the biggest debt in human history. Eventually that would have caught up, and Mccain would have ended the party.

Obama's plan won't raise your taxes significantly. It will spur prosperity in the middle class, which will mean more people doing cosmetic dentistry and things like that. You should take a breath of relief that mccain lost. our future depended on it.

What's in the water in Oregon thesedays?

 

[capisce?]

. I understand if you were making less than $100,000 today, we would not be having this discussion - but since dentistry gives us better financial situation, we are still doing better than 95% of Americans under the new tax system.

Dentistry didn't give me anything. I paid my way through undergrad, studied hard to get good grades, paid my way through dental school, worked hard again, got into a residency, and now am getting rewarded for it.

I did what anyone else could do. No silver spoon in my mouth. Hard work = success. Now I get to share that success with people who didn't work for it. Sweet 👍

 

[DrReo]

i would like to know one thing...out of all you obama supporters on this thread which ones of you are actually working in a private practice right now? Who has 200K in loans and needs to pay them back? The people working at mcDonalds sure don't need the extra dough like we do. Psiyung...you are very very wrong on all of your views. There is no substance to anything you say except theory in general. I go by logic and to me its not very logical to help out the country's problems by taking from certain individuals income. If obama is all about spreading the wealth then why in the world did he hire hollywood to give a 30 minute michael moore documentary on how negative the country is and spend millions and millions of dollars. He should have given that to all the poor people or maybe give some of it to mcCain since he didn't raise as much money as he did....but NOOOOO obama was greedy and kept all his money raised in the campaign....give me a break...this obama guy is trouble for our country...keep an eye on russia my friends..they are getting antsy....did anyone hear his acceptance speach about how gay's and blacks will come together..blahblahblah.....over 90% of blacks voted for obama from what i heard..i don't think we are going the right way in our country...we are going backwards in civil rights if this is the case b.c. voting for skin color is what i thought we were trying to get away from. I dont mean to make this a racial thing, but i think the country spoke for itself on this one. look at the numbers. I am not the one to bite my tongue on this issue b.c. it is so blatantly obvious. guy can't even pass an FBI background check..jeez..thanks for listening..phew..im done😕

Obama gave back 2% of what he earned. Better yet, Bidden gave less than a 1000 bucks.

 

[capisce?]

Is this a joke? Bush's policies almost caused our banks to collapse. All the money you've made would have been gone in an instant. Our government is in the biggest debt in human history. Eventually that would have caught up, and Mccain would have ended the party.

Obama's plan won't raise your taxes significantly. It will spur prosperity in the middle class, which will mean more people doing cosmetic dentistry and things like that. You should take a breath of relief that mccain lost. our future depended on it.

You must have missed my post about being on the playground.

You don't understand how small business works and the effect Obama's policies will have. It's not the same as personal income. Again, it's not your fault that you don't get it because you aren't even in dental school. But don't come on here and preach like you do because you are clueless.

 

[kappa505]

Is this a joke? Bush's policies almost caused our banks to collapse.

Research subprime mortgage crisis. CRA HUD. Look up the foreclosure rate of HUD housing projects and compare it to the national average before the crash, or any year for that matter (also compare the interest rate difference). Look up who blocked legislation that bush was trying to push through congress. Then look up which republican totally predicted the crash of the mortgage giants back in 2003. The economic crisis was actually caused by irresponsible laws, helping irresponsible people.

All the money you've made would have been gone in an instant. Our government is in the biggest debt in human history.

That's because we throw good money at bad investments like social programs, way too much on education, and a bail out that was made in haste because of liberal political pressure.

Eventually that would have caught up, and Mccain would have ended the party.

Yes, it would have been party over and when I say party, I mean the free ride for the freeloaders would be over.

Obama's plan won't raise your taxes significantly.

So then PM with your personal information and I will BILL you, what extra I will be paying in taxes.

It will spur prosperity in the middle class, which will mean more people doing cosmetic dentistry and things like that.

Prosperity, like "I think I will put my tax refund into my retirement account" prosperity or prosperity like "I think that I can now afford to start buying cartons of cigs, and cases of beer" prosperity?

You should take a breath of relief that mccain lost. our future depended on it.

I wish that I could make this laughing face bold. But I cant.....so here is two

...

 

[kappa505]

Dentistry didn't give me anything. I paid my way through undergrad, studied hard to get good grades, paid my way through dental school, worked hard again, got into a residency, and now am getting rewarded for it.

I did what anyone else could do. No silver spoon in my mouth. Hard work = success. Now I get to share that success with people who didn't work for it. Sweet 👍

No silver spoon.......I guess that you are not white.😀

 

[ObliqueRidge]

i propose that we decrease the presidential pay to 0 dollars and give it all to the people!!!!! YES WE CAN! hey, at least this would be change right?

 

[ObliqueRidge]

agreed kappa....nice to hear there are some other level headed people in this country that don't get brainwashed and have a thought of their own. by the way, tomorrow stock will be down again due to the chief of staff rahm emanuel. minimum of 200 points. obviously i'm not a fortune teller...but we shall see

 

[rkamsterdam]

Dentistry didn't give me anything. I paid my way through undergrad, studied hard to get good grades, paid my way through dental school, worked hard again, got into a residency, and now am getting rewarded for it.

I did what anyone else could do. No silver spoon in my mouth. Hard work = success. Now I get to share that success with people who didn't work for it. Sweet 👍

Have you ever considered yourself fortunate to be an american? Where smarts are rewarded and opportunities are available to those who work hard for it. Its the american dream; you're living the american dream. And you certainly deserve the financial success. i dont think anyone is arguing with you here. Have you also considered that its likely your dream would have not been attainable had you lived in another country (south of our border, for instance). I promise you there are harder working, smarter people out there in the third world who dont have such opportunities who arent as FORTUNATE as you because by chance they were born outside of the 1st world. you are LUCKY to be born as an American citizen. And similarly, there are hardworking, intelligent Americans who due, by chance, to there family situations cant afford to go to school for 20 years like you. This does not make them lazy, dumb; it makes them unfortunate and disenfranchised and demoralized and bitter....we need these americans back; our country depends on it.

Obama may plan to tax those individuals making over 200k a year; perhaps its not right. Like I said, you deserve your cut for the time you put into your career. But can you take a step back, and look at the bigger picture. YOURE MAKING 200k a year. you're richer than 99% of the worlds population. Can you not live by the ideals that brought you into this profession in the first place: to help others in need?

 

[Istr8nthem]

Obama's plan won't raise your taxes significantly. It will spur prosperity in the middle class, which will mean more people doing cosmetic dentistry and things like that. You should take a breath of relief that mccain lost. our future depended on it.

I just want to clear something up quickly... believing that tax cuts for the middle class and increases for big and small businesses will somehow help our current financial, unemployment, and national debt problems, is a bit backwards. You see, when you tax businesses more and promote government programs which often seem to provide "incentives" to those who do not actively seek employment with hopes of "spurring" the low and middle class, you are actually destabilizing the job market and forcing many businesses to cut costs which only increase price of goods and increase layoffs. This is the opposite of what this country needs at this time. I understand that Bush's tax cuts will continue through 2010, but you better hope that Obama does not immediately roll back to the pre-cut era as our financial situation in this country will continue to be unstable for several years.

I admit, I am a registered republican now that I am out in the real world, but I was, back in undergrad and dental school, much more liberal until I realized how backwards my thinking truly was (I went to a terribly liberal college). Now I am in a very large city where I see how broken some of our government run programs truly are. Medicaid is a farce and I see it being taken advantage of on an hourly basis. My father owns a small business in a small rustbelt city and hires temps to work for him when his business is really busy, and he cannot keep them on the job if he tries even though he pays almost double what they would get at any other temp job. They will work a week, earn $500-600 and then not show up the day after they get their paycheck and continue to take advantage of our broken welfare system. It is truly sad when those who have the motivation, made the sacrifices, paid their dues (hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans) and actively participate (own a business/small business) in what is supposed to be a wonderfully capitalistic country are taken advantage of and forced to increase the money that they pay into this broken system.

Sorry for the rant, but I can't sit here and read some of this nonsense without at least trying to clear the clouds so some can see the light...

 

[kappa505]

Have you ever considered yourself fortunate to be an american? Where smarts are rewarded and opportunities are available to those who work hard for it. Its the american dream; you're living the american dream.

Maybe his "American dream is not the same as yours" His life choices have NOT held anyone back in their own life. We are NOT fortunate to be in this country, it was a CHOICE. You, or one of your great great grandparents CHOSE to come to America because of the potential that they saw for themselves as a result of the way our country is. Rewards hard work, values responsibility, and embraces the right to choose for yourself. Much like I am CHOOSING a profession, so that maybe my grandchildren can benefit from my WISE, CALCULATED choice.

And you certainly deserve the financial success. i dont think anyone is arguing with you here. Have you also considered that its likely your dream would have not been attainable had you lived in another country (south of our border, for instance). I promise you there are harder working, smarter people out there in the third world who dont have such opportunities who arent as FORTUNATE as you because by chance they were born outside of the 1st world. you are LUCKY to be born as an American citizen. And similarly, there are hardworking, intelligent Americans who due, by chance, to there family situations cant afford to go to school for 20 years like you.

Some of us borrowed a grip of money (also called investing in ourselves/taking a big risk) to get to where we are. My family certainly could not afford to send me to dental school.

This does not make them lazy, dumb; it makes them unfortunate and disenfranchised and demoralized and bitter....we need these americans back; our country depends on it.

You make it seem like these people have no choice in life. I would wholeheartedly disagree. Also, they may be at zero balance....but I am severely in the red. I think that I deserve more help than them.

Obama may plan to tax those individuals making over 200k a year; perhaps its not right.

May and perhaps?

Like I said, you deserve your cut for the time you put into your career. But can you take a step back, and look at the bigger picture. YOURE MAKING 200k a year. you're richer than 99% of the worlds population.

This is not the point, who is anyone to say how much or what anyone else should seek. That is certainly not the govts. job.

Can you not live by the ideals that brought you into this profession in the first place: to help others in need?

Did you read his personal essay? I didn't talk out this in mine.

...

 

[rkamsterdam]

...

Im not gonna respond to your rebuttals. I just wanted to say that I personally think you're in the wrong profession if you're not in it to help others. Additionally, I've travelled to over 20 countries in the world; yes, we are LUCKY, very LUCKY to be born in america.

 

[kappa505]

Im not gonna respond to your rebuttals. I just wanted to say that I personally think you're in the wrong profession if you're not in it to help others. Additionally, I've travelled to over 20 countries in the world; yes, we are LUCKY, very LUCKY to be born in america.

Dentistry is a luxury not a necessity so stop patting yourself on the back for what a good person you are. You are in dentistry for the lifestyle, not because you want to save the world. I know this because I assume that you are semi intelligent and would have been able to think of a hundred better ways to help people, in ways that they actually need....like prevention, and that does not require a very expensive degree.

I haven't been able to afford to travel....must be nice, I just hope that you earned it. Again, luck has nothing to do with the conscience choice to move to America. Our country was created by a whole host of people from different countries that had something in common that made American ideals....other countries can make what we have made. It was a choice, just like we may chose to mess up what we have. Will my grandchildren be LUCKY because there grandfather was responsible? Or will they just benefit from a calculated decision that I made?

 

[DrJeff]

Crown prices will not change under Obama, that's just a propaganda!

Okay, I bet that I'm not going to be much different than any other office when I raise my crown fees each and every year by 3 to 5% - heck, the primary lab I use just tacked an extra $10/unit for high noble alloy crowns due to dramatic increases in the price of prescious metals. Over these 4 years of Obama, just from regular yearly fee adjustments, I'll be charging between $120 - $200 more per unit than I am now. To even suggest that crown fees won't change under Obama just really shows how little a grasp of actually running a business you have🙄

First of all Obama isn't going to raise your taxes in 2009, and he won't in most of 2010, because Bush's tax cuts expire at the end of that year. At current rates, raising taxes on high earners would have little negative economic impact and would bring in more money for the government.

This is where Obama has a scape goat, or a couple of them, and their names, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Those 2 frankly the last 2 years made Bush look stellar, and they're I'd bet going to try and make up for their lack of doing anything these last 2 years, and do it quick.

Both Bush and Clinton were simply reacting to fiscal problems (just like Obama is now) created during the Reagan years. Just as any tax increases that Obama implements a couple of years down the road would be necessitated in part by his predecessor's unwillingness to take fiscal policy seriously.

So stop thinking like a dentist on this issue for once, and look at the economic challenge facing the country as a whole. If economy improves at national level, then dentists will benefit from it.

Frankly, if you're not thinking like a dentists now, you're going to have some serious problems. Times like this may very well require many dentists to change the focus of their practice. I'd bet that they'll be alot less 20 veneer cases walking through the door, and YOU need to react to that

 

[Istr8nthem]

Will my grandchildren be LUCKY because there grandfather was responsible? Or will they just benefit from a calculated decision that I made?

I can tell you one thing... your grandchildren will not benefit as much from your hard work as you would hope if we see estate taxes, inheritance taxes, capital gains taxes, other taxes, taxes, taxes as we see proposed by our liberal friends... You worked very hard for your money, so the government will now tax your money twice. Lovely!

 

[electriksmile]

What's done is done, so get over yourselves! He's our new President and it's done. Why don't those of you who have your doubts take a deep breath and see what happens over the next four years. I mean in all honesty, no one who takes the Presidential office knows what to do 100% of the time, and like most everything else in life, there's an associated learning curve. And for the person who feels that they are more in need of financial help because of all the educational debt, have an open mind and look at it this way, everyone's level of debt is relative to their income, so if a person has 30K in debt, but they are only pulling in 20K-40K annually with a family or other loved ones to care for, say aging parents, that seems just as huge to them as our debt does to us. And please don't assume that their debt is bogus consumer debt like credit cards, some people actually have legit debt (hospital bills, student loans, etc). I really don't understand why so many people are so hot under the collar, every four years or so there will always be a set of people who are not happy with election outcomes, for those of you who have been thrilled for the last eight years, now it's your turn.

 

[DrJeff]

Obama will inherit all the problem Republicans created, so don't try to switch the blame to him, he is not even in office yet.

The economy is already fragile, and will continue to be throughout 2009.

If you went to get historical... the numbers speak for themselves.

When will you stop the blame game and move on? 🙂

And who might I ask you has been head of the house + senate banking + financing committess these last couple of years?? (you know, the sections of gov't that conceptualize, draft bills and the pass the laws on for approval by the Pres) A republican??? Nope, those would be Senator Chris ("I like V.I.P Mortgages from Countrywide") Dodd, and Rep. Barney ("My lisp lets me try and raises taxes without people understanding me" Frank, bot democrats. Both had chances to make changes to the banking system. Did they, NOPE.

To say that this financial crisis is all about the Bush admin, just shows your lack of an understanding of how gov't works.

 

[DrJeff]

The libs are already lowering their expectations of Obama (keep track of the media), I hope that I still get that Unicorn that he promised me.

My hunch is that during the next presidential campaign, Obama phrase of "nobody making under $250,000 a year will pay higher taxes" will be right up there with Gearge H.W. Bush's infamous "Read my lips, No new taxes"

 

[DrJeff]

We won't raise our fees any more than the usual annual increase. I can tell you that once I hit a certain income range, I'll just stop working and spend more time with my family. Why work 8 more hours a week if you are going to pay a much higher amount of tax in doing so.

That's what my partner and I joked about today. We'll work until we've made $249,999.99 and then take the rest of the year off😉 We'll then tell our patient's to go see the other local GP's for their work so we can spread the wealth around

 

[DrJeff]

Worst two days since 87'. Two days after an election. Maybe there is stench of capital gains costs. Maybe there is stench of less money going into the market and investments, and more into smokes and weekend budweisers. I dont know. I do know I am nauseated by how left the students ideologies are. I would suggest the peace corp or military rather than small business dental ownership.

One of my really good friends from college is a still employed😉 VP for UBS Financial. He's flat out told be that they're expecting the Dow to bottom out somewhere around 5,000 in the next few months😱😱 I really hope he's wrong on this one, but it would be the first time in the 10+ years he's been advising me on my retirement funds that he would be wrong on a big concept.

 

[DrJeff]

Who cares about the market return two days after the election; youre a dentist not a day trader. Its the long term term returns that effect you and your retirement fund, anyhow. And if you took off your partisan googles, youd see that the charts reflect that the democrats have done better on the economy in recent times.

Your nausea exposes your ignorance of the fact that students/young people in general are left leaning; man, you're a dentist but seem very naive of political demographics.

I'd seriously bet that if you polled all dentists that are say 10 years out of d-school, that MOST are now atleast FISCALLY conservative in their views. If you polled the same group about what their views were when they graduated d-school, you'd see that a majority were liberal in their views. I know I sure was. Then I got out of the HEAVILY FEDERALLY SUBSIZED world of higher education and into the "real world" and started running my own business. Trust me, most folks views atleast fiscally, will change when you see how much $$ you contribute annually to the federal gov't, how much abuse and waste of that money happens, and how offensive it is when YOU as someone who has busted their ***** for years to get to this high level of education is targeted as the "bad guy" for making a bunch of $$, and then want to take more of that $$ away from you and YOUR family😡

 

[DrJeff]

Is this a joke? Bush's policies almost caused our banks to collapse. All the money you've made would have been gone in an instant. Our government is in the biggest debt in human history. Eventually that would have caught up, and Mccain would have ended the party.

Obama's plan won't raise your taxes significantly. It will spur prosperity in the middle class, which will mean more people doing cosmetic dentistry and things like that. You should take a breath of relief that mccain lost. our future depended on it.

Just you wait and see about taxes.

 

[HuyetKiem]

What's done is done, so get over yourselves! He's our new President and it's done. Why don't those of you who have your doubts take a deep breath and see what happens over the next four years. I mean in all honesty, no one who takes the Presidential office knows what to do 100% of the time, and like most everything else in life, there's an associated learning curve. And for the person who feels that they are more in need of financial help because of all the educational debt, have an open mind and look at it this way, everyone's level of debt is relative to their income, so if a person has 30K in debt, but they are only pulling in 20K-40K annually with a family or other loved ones to care for, say aging parents, that seems just as huge to them as our debt does to us. And please don't assume that their debt is bogus consumer debt like credit cards, some people actually have legit debt (hospital bills, student loans, etc). I really don't understand why so many people are so hot under the collar, every four years or so there will always be a set of people who are not happy with election outcomes, for those of you who have been thrilled for the last eight years, now it's your turn.

Yup! what's done is done. This could be very good news for some of us, the business owners 😀😀. It will be harder for many new grads to open their own offices in the next several years. Those established dental offices will have no trouble finding associates working for them at all. I'm planning to build the 2nd office in the next 3 years and this is a wonderful news. 👍👍

 

[OceanDMD]

Okay, I bet that I'm not going to be much different than any other office when I raise my crown fees each and every year by 3 to 5% - heck, the primary lab I use just tacked an extra $10/unit for high noble alloy crowns due to dramatic increases in the price of prescious metals. Over these 4 years of Obama, just from regular yearly fee adjustments, I'll be charging between $120 - $200 more per unit than I am now. To even suggest that crown fees won't change under Obama just really shows how little a grasp of actually running a business you have🙄



This is where Obama has a scape goat, or a couple of them, and their names, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Those 2 frankly the last 2 years made Bush look stellar, and they're I'd bet going to try and make up for their lack of doing anything these last 2 years, and do it quick.



Frankly, if you're not thinking like a dentists now, you're going to have some serious problems. Times like this may very well require many dentists to change the focus of their practice. I'd bet that they'll be alot less 20 veneer cases walking through the door, and YOU need to react to that

This is exhausting. I feel like I am trying to rationalize with winnie the poo.
I didn't know that not only would Obama solve all our problems, but enable me to keep my fees where they are.

 

[DrJeff]

This is exhausting. I feel like I am trying to rationalize with winnie the poo.
I didn't know that not only would Obama solve all our problems, but enable me to keep my fees where they are.

Ocean, and I'm sure that you'll agree that Obama's proposed tax rebate checks will more than cover what our office staff will look for in yearly wage increases/benefits🙄

Likewise, I'm sure that the various companies that we buy supplies from for the office won't raise the fees they charge us for those materials. The towns that our offices are in I'm sure WON'T raise property taxes. It's just so clear, since Obama got elected, trends of yearly increases in the costs of many goods and services just won't happen anymore🙄

 

[rkamsterdam]

I'd seriously bet that if you polled all dentists that are say 10 years out of d-school, that MOST are now atleast FISCALLY conservative in their views. If you polled the same group about what their views were when they graduated d-school, you'd see that a majority were liberal in their views. I know I sure was. Then I got out of the HEAVILY FEDERALLY SUBSIZED world of higher education and into the "real world" and started running my own business. Trust me, most folks views atleast fiscally, will change when you see how much $$ you contribute annually to the federal gov't, how much abuse and waste of that money happens, and how offensive it is when YOU as someone who has busted their ***** for years to get to this high level of education is targeted as the "bad guy" for making a bunch of $$, and then want to take more of that $$ away from you and YOUR family😡

I'm not going to argue with you on this point because I think its valid. You only prove this: that deep down everyone is selfish. Perhaps, its human nature. While, we're in school we're liberal, once we get out in the real world; we're fiscally conservative. it only makes sense.

But i'll tell you one thing. If i'm EVER bitching about my tax burden for the income I make over 250k a year; I, personally (note i said personally) feel as though i should be ashamed of myself because I belong in that fortunate, albeit earned, group that has to worry about such a thing. I've seen with my own eyes human suffering throughout the world (loved ones included) and trust me, dr jeff, our worries are trivial in perspective; and if an increased tax debt causes me to lose sleep, I've lost my grasp of the big picture.

 

[capisce?]

Have you ever considered yourself fortunate to be an american? Where smarts are rewarded and opportunities are available to those who work hard for it. Its the american dream; you're living the american dream. And you certainly deserve the financial success. i dont think anyone is arguing with you here. Have you also considered that its likely your dream would have not been attainable had you lived in another country (south of our border, for instance). I promise you there are harder working, smarter people out there in the third world who dont have such opportunities who arent as FORTUNATE as you because by chance they were born outside of the 1st world. you are LUCKY to be born as an American citizen. And similarly, there are hardworking, intelligent Americans who due, by chance, to there family situations cant afford to go to school for 20 years like you. This does not make them lazy, dumb; it makes them unfortunate and disenfranchised and demoralized and bitter....we need these americans back; our country depends on it.

Obama may plan to tax those individuals making over 200k a year; perhaps its not right. Like I said, you deserve your cut for the time you put into your career. But can you take a step back, and look at the bigger picture. YOURE MAKING 200k a year. you're richer than 99% of the worlds population. Can you not live by the ideals that brought you into this profession in the first place: to help others in need?

You made my point for me. This can only happen in America because this is a country where your hard work can lead you to success. If you remove the incentive for hard work (high earnings) and spread the wealth like a socialist society you are no longer America.

No one paid for school for me. I did it all on loans. So no I don't feel bad for *most* of our country because they could have done the same thing.

 

[rkamsterdam]

This is exhausting. I feel like I am trying to rationalize with winnie the poo.
I didn't know that not only would Obama solve all our problems, but enable me to keep my fees where they are.

I'm sorry but you come across as extremely condescending; typical for dentist, right?

Ocean, did you not read the headlines? The democrat won. If you think liberal views are irrational, you're accusing the majority of Americans as irrational; and surely you didnt mean that. Just face it, your economic views are in the minority as with all the rest the conservatives on this board. History will prove who's right in the end, making this conversation and many immaterial. It just seems so silly for you to resort to name calling when YOU are apparently the one in the wrong on this issue according to national consensus.