Posts by Austin Williams20

Just to throw another layer onto this, let's say I’m already working somewhere else where my employer covers my health insurance and social security contributions, but I also run my own small business on the side. In that scenario, would I really be expected to pay into those same systems twice? I guess it seems like a bit much, maybe.

I stumbled upon this in another comment thread:

Quincy:

That’s precisely why I’m asking. I laid out my specific factors—the low invoice volume, the overhead, the seemingly light workload—so I could get a sense of whether the pricing is actually fair. It isn't my intention to haggle with an accountant, which is why I decided to seek some clarity here on the forum. If there’s a way to secure the exact same service $167 for less, that matters quite a bit to me. Given that on those ten or so annual invoices, I'm already paying $1000 for Social Security and Medicare, plus $333 Chamber of Commerce fees, along with $333 for the accountant itself, I suppose I'm just looking for areas where I can trim the fat.

In what manner does this individual pay their $1000 annual Social Security and Medicare taxes
?
If it is:
Quincy:

For individuals operating as sole proprietors, the base used to calculate Social Security contributions (per the regulations regarding insurance bases for calculating and paying Social Security benefits) is a multiple of the average wage and a coefficient of 0.65, which comes out to $1208. Applying the 19.5% rate to this base results in a contribution amount of $236.

$236*12=8479.32

Quincy:

The bases used to calculate and pay Medicare premiums for specific insured individuals are determined by the Social Security Administration Board based on provisions from Article 51 of the Health Insurance Act, via the Decision on Bases, Calculation Methods, and Payment of Funds for Basic Health Insurance. The rate used to calculate these contributions is 16%. For workers with a high school diploma, the contribution is $173, for those with an Associate's degree $198, for Bachelor's $229, for Master's $259, for Doctoral degrees $272, and so on.

$198*12=$2372

Totaling $5198

What exactly is the Chamber of Commerce, and why would anyone be paying them $333 annually?

Or $333 why pay accountants at all when you could probably just handle the bookkeeping yourself!

So, I’m wondering if it’s actually feasible to set up a sole proprietorship where I don't hire anyone—basically just acting as my own boss—and then essentially opt out of paying myself a formal salary until things get more stable? I suppose I'd also want to know if there's a way to decline participating in Social Security contributions or health insurance coverage, since I really have no interest or need for those right now.

I’m just trying to wrap my head around what the actual physical sensations would be when distinguishing between healthy tissue healing and the onset of gangrene. Is it even possible to tell them apart? I haven't been able to find any clear answers online regarding what a "patient" should actually be feeling or what specific symptoms they should be looking out for.

And I’m calling them out right here in this post

About 54 hours ago, I managed to hack through my thumb tip—basically sliced it horizontally halfway through the nail—getting within less than half a centimeter of the bone. I asked the doctor if they could just stitch the digit back together. During the initial exam about 15 hours later, everything seemed fine; I wasn't feeling any pain, and I could actually still feel sensation in the severed part of the finger. I was told to come back for a follow-up after 48 hours, and everything felt okay yesterday, but then around 5 PM today, this stinging, tightening sensation and pain kicked in, and it hasn't let up since. I’m honestly pretty terrified right now and wondering if this is just the normal healing process or if I’m looking at something like gangrene. Please, I need some quick advice.

Well, yeah, of course I am, you idiot.

Well, obviously I lost my cool; I don't think anyone would have stayed calm in that situation, honestly.

I actually tried to make it work, but then my aunt called over a friend of hers, she showed up, took one look at it, and just flat-out told me it wasn't right.

jadesailor14 said:poor woman 😢is better off
if you just put her in a nursing home
this is honestly horrific

And listen to this idiot, for God's sake—the woman can barely move; all she does is toss and turn, demand things, scream, cry, and deal with incontinence.

But honestly, you're just asking to be insulted.

So, I guess if a doctor can just prescribe something they’ve never even heard of—something that isn't even on the approved medication list here in the US because they haven't bothered to study it—then does that mean any doctor can just prescribe whatever random thing pops into their head, including some fake Viagra? That seems to be the implication from that link you copied because you're too lazy to actually post it myself.

And if anyone here actually intended to help me, they would offer something concrete instead of just dropping these "wise" little remarks and making snide jokes.

As for my behavior, I don't feel the need to apologize to anyone. This is just how I deal with idiots. I mean, unless any of you who claim you want to "help" actually know anything about dealing with a nightmare of a woman—someone who threatens suicide, divorce, and just screams at you constantly; someone who acts exactly like an old hag but without the bedwetting; someone whose presence makes her own children avoid coming home like it's toxic, potentially causing psychological damage that lasts their entire miserable lives; or a boss who has threatened to fire you more times than I can count because you have to run home every two hours to deal with a wife who's been losing it for four years straight...

...if you actually knew what that was like, maybe then I'd get actual advice instead of just crap from empty-headed windbags.

Anyway, goodbye. I don't have the time or the energy for fools and their nonsense, and I certainly don't have the patience to go back and forth with lesser beings.

If she had wanted heroin, I probably could've gotten it easier than this damn medication.

So just, honestly, fuck off. You and your government can go to hell.
You're all exactly the kind of people this country deserves.

Good grief

First off, how on earth can a doctor be allowed to prescribe something that isn't even on the approved medication list?

And second, you can honestly just go screw yourself with all that lecturing about my grandmother having osteoporosis, being mentally unstable, and needing me to wipe her ass every time she goes. I really don't need your "expert" opinion on my life.

She wants this specific damn medication, and if it kills her, that's on her. It would actually make things easier for my kids—what they have to deal with because of her constant screaming day in and day out, and what I have to do by rushing home from work every two hours because she'll end up pissing and shitting the bed, or the floor, if I don't change her damn diapers.

Besides, why the hell should I care if some bureaucrat tries to stop me from getting a certain drug? I don't give a damn whether it's this specific medicine or just a plain old aspirin. I pay for that idiot's salary through my taxes, just like everyone else pays for the entire damn healthcare system, and people are paying for your damn job. If you're working for the government, then the public is paying you, so why the hell do you get to lecture me or tell me what medications I can or can't buy?

If I were living in a place where things actually worked, I wouldn't just be able to order this medicine; the mailman would probably deliver it right to my grandma's door with a smile.

So, just back off with your "smart" little comments.

Angela Wright said:Importing medications that haven't been approved in the US isn't allowed.
Sure, someone could try to smuggle them in, but if you get caught, the consequences are pretty brutal.
The only legal way to buy a drug from abroad that isn't registered here is if you have a valid prescription from a doctor. In those cases, it goes through an emergency import process where you still have to deal with sales tax and customs duties. And honestly, you might be waiting for up to three months.

Seriously, this is just awful, considering what kind of place we live in. Are you absolutely certain about that? So, I guess what you're saying is that if a specific medicine isn't available or approved in America, there is zero way to get it anywhere without breaking the law.

And nobody seems to be making a fuss about it. It’s honestly terrifying.

It feels like some corporate suits at big pharma companies and government bureaucrats are using backroom deals to fix prices and strip away the freedom of citizens—people who are literally paying for their salaries with their own taxes—just so they can manipulate us like this.

If that’s really how it works, then honestly, screw the law and screw this country.

I was wondering if it’s actually illegal to bring these kinds of medications into the US.

Look, I’m not trying to be difficult or anything, but let’s say you open your trunk—and people love to make jokes about that part—only to find a box containing 120 capsules of some unverified drug that isn't even approved for the American market. Apparently, one of its side effects is triggering menstruation in women who are well past that stage of life. I guess I'd just end up sitting in a county jail while my grandmother loses her mind over what happened to our family.

So, my grandmother has osteoporosis and she’s insisting on getting this specific medication from Canada—apparently because some lady she knows swore it worked wonders for her—and now she’s making our lives a living hell at home over it.

I’ve spent time calling the post office, Customs, and the FDA, and it turns out it’s basically impossible to order medication from abroad unless it's on a very specific approved list (not just stuff from companies with government contracts). From what I gathered from Customs, if a package arrives and they can't tell if it's a medicine, a supplement, or just some cleaning supply, they'll hold it, call you for a receipt, and if it's flagged as an unapproved drug, they won't release it to you. The post office told me that receiving meds sent via mail from overseas is strictly prohibited. On top of that, the FDA basically said that buying drugs online is illegal here in the States.

We asked the other woman how she managed to get those meds, and she mentioned her son, who works on cargo ships, picked them up in India before he boarded his flight and just brought them home personally.

Now, here is what I’m actually trying to figure out, because my grandmother is driving me absolutely crazy: would it be possible to set up a P.O. Box in a different country, maybe somewhere else in the European Union, assuming they follow different regulations and don't have the same customs hurdles? Could we have the meds shipped to a P.O. Box there, then drive across the border myself to pick them up and bring them back to the US?

I really need to know if that’s considered illegal—specifically, is it against the law to buy a medication in the EU that isn't on the approved list for the US market and then personally carry it back into the US for private use?

The price of this medication is honestly brutal, but I don't mind paying whatever customs fees are necessary if it means I can finally get my grandmother off my back.

Thanks.