Reply #25: the problem isn't so much his expenses themselves, but the fact they left themselves no cushion

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any two-income family has the problem of daycare/nanny expenses, unless they have free family help (not a possibility for many two-income families). and relative to what their combined income must be (something like half a million), a cost of a lawn service above the cost of buying and maintaining lawn equipment is trivial.

the real problem is, as usual, is the biggest after-tax expense, housing. they chose to imprudently max out on what they could buy, as so many people are encouraged to do, in the hopes that the future would sort itself out favorably enough.

had they bought a house that was only slightly more modest, they would be saving a few thousand a month, and would therefore be able to afford higher taxes (or higher interest rates, for that matter!)

buying a house that locks you into saving only a few hundred a month out of something like a half million dollar annual income is just nuts and hardly the fault of anyone proposing to increase taxes.


finally, note also that the return of the higher taxes in 2011 WAS ALWAYS PART OF THE LAW! it's not as if it should come as any surprise. there was 10 years' warning! there has been more warning on this change in tax rates than any other at any time in history.


personally, i make more than 93% of the country, and i understand his perspective; i'm not remotely rich the way most millionaires, multi-millionaires, and billionairse are. but i bought a house that permits me to save more than this bitter fool can and he surely makes more than double what i do.