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Why I'm donating $150/month (10% of my income) to the musl Libc project (2019)

andrewkelley.me

81–90 of 175 posts

Re: Why I'm donating $150/month (10% of my income) to the musl Libc project (2019)

#81
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But he will also qualify for a higher SS payout since his income is higher, if my understanding is correct.

Never really thought about it. I’d love for someone with knowledge to weigh in on this: Does it ever make sense to pay more SS tax, based on a present-value analysis? I guess it’s really three questions: 1) For each dollar to SS taxes, do I expect to get more than a dollar from SS in the future? 2) Same question as 1, but inflation-adjusted future dollars. 3) If the expected return is positive, does it beat reasonabl…

After the first "bend", the ROI for SS tax is super-duper low. If you're working for 35 or more years, this would be ~12k/year in 2021 dollars a year. Thus, if your income will put you over the poverty line, paying more unnecessary SS tax past that won't help very much. (I'd put a number on the ROI, but it depends on how old you are.)

It's not very hard to make a spreadsheet to play with numbers if you want. I'm considering retiring soon, decades before eligibility, and I've enjoyed playing with the numbers, as I have the opportunity to contribute more or less in the coming years fairly easily.

Re: Why I'm donating $150/month (10% of my income) to the musl Libc project (2019)

#82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, thank you for sharing this. I was not aware of Every.org until today. I checked out the platform just now and am delighted. I love that it is a 501(c)(3) and that it is crystal clear with the promise to remain that way. We desperately needed something like this. I also love that you will mail checks to organizations even if they do not sign up for electronic disbursement. However I will sign up ZSF now of course…

Ok sounds like I can go ahead because you will accept from every.org and you do not plan to publish an address to accept donations directly? I'll match other HNers donations of as much as $100 to a total of an additional $1000. Not sure how to substantiate every.org donations but maybe I'll take HNers at their word. EDIT: scoreboard as of 22:20 UTC: $400 out of $1000 to be matched: easymuffin, slimsag, tav, _hl_. Bec…

Is that conditional on donating via some cryptocoin? I'd be up for donating a well-deserved $100 (can't really afford much more right now sadly) but prefer traditional methods.

Re: Why I'm donating $150/month (10% of my income) to the musl Libc project (2019)

#83
post #16

Consider joining Giving What We Can - an international community of people who have pledged to give at least 10% of their income to causes that they think are most effective at eliminating what they think are the world's biggest problems. (I'm a proud member for 10 years). https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/

I like the first half of the idea (donating 10% of one's income) but I feel strongly against their definition of "effective" and "biggest problems". This typically happens when someone multiplies a tiny probability by an infinite value like "time till the heath death of the universe". In particular, their top four recommended charities are managed by "Effective altruism funds", with the 3rd best-ranked charity spendi…

It's not always that random (not saying it couldn't be). GiveWell, the best known research outfit, publishes their process: https://www.givewell.org/how-we-work/process

Peter Singer (who also runs The Life You Can Save), has lots of thoughts about why one should go with "effective" altruism instead of always donating to your local charity, and I would say they are worth listening to.

Re: Why I'm donating $150/month (10% of my income) to the musl Libc project (2019)

#84
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok sounds like I can go ahead because you will accept from every.org and you do not plan to publish an address to accept donations directly? I'll match other HNers donations of as much as $100 to a total of an additional $1000. Not sure how to substantiate every.org donations but maybe I'll take HNers at their word. EDIT: scoreboard as of 22:20 UTC: $400 out of $1000 to be matched: easymuffin, slimsag, tav, _hl_. Bec…

Is that conditional on donating via some cryptocoin? I'd be up for donating a well-deserved $100 (can't really afford much more right now sadly) but prefer traditional methods.

No, it's not. Donate to ZSF directly or via every.org and I'll match it.

Re: Why I'm donating $150/month (10% of my income) to the musl Libc project (2019)

#85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He could show them W2's from the current employer.

Has anyone (OK, any SW dev in the US) ever done this? I've been in the industry for almost 30 years and no prospective employer has ever asked me what my salary was.

I’ve had a few recruiters ask me. I don’t tell them anymore.

Re: Why I'm donating $150/month (10% of my income) to the musl Libc project (2019)

#87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He could show them W2's from the current employer.

Has anyone (OK, any SW dev in the US) ever done this? I've been in the industry for almost 30 years and no prospective employer has ever asked me what my salary was.

They've always asked me. But they've never asked for a W-2 to prove it.

Re: Why I'm donating $150/month (10% of my income) to the musl Libc project (2019)

#88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the poster was probably asking why anyone would tell a future employer this information. Employers should pay what they value the position at, not what someone else was paying for it.

Would you refuse an employer that wanted a past W2 as a non-negotiable?

Yes.

Re: Why I'm donating $150/month (10% of my income) to the musl Libc project (2019)

#89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shameless self plug - if Zig or Andy doesn't comment here, you can still donate crypto to Zig via their profile on every.org - https://www.every.org/zig-software-foundation-inc edit: we charge no fees since our ops are supported by our donors - the only fee that gets taken out is that charged by our brokerage for selling the crypto

Wow, thank you for sharing this. I was not aware of Every.org until today. I checked out the platform just now and am delighted. I love that it is a 501(c)(3) and that it is crystal clear with the promise to remain that way. We desperately needed something like this. I also love that you will mail checks to organizations even if they do not sign up for electronic disbursement. However I will sign up ZSF now of course…

Thank you for such a kind comment, and I'm glad we can support your and the foundation's work! I've just shared this with my team, it makes everyone's day when we get feedback like this <3

Re: Why I'm donating $150/month (10% of my income) to the musl Libc project (2019)

#90
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never really thought about it. I’d love for someone with knowledge to weigh in on this: Does it ever make sense to pay more SS tax, based on a present-value analysis? I guess it’s really three questions: 1) For each dollar to SS taxes, do I expect to get more than a dollar from SS in the future? 2) Same question as 1, but inflation-adjusted future dollars. 3) If the expected return is positive, does it beat reasonabl…

After the first "bend", the ROI for SS tax is super-duper low. If you're working for 35 or more years, this would be ~12k/year in 2021 dollars a year. Thus, if your income will put you over the poverty line, paying more unnecessary SS tax past that won't help very much. (I'd put a number on the ROI, but it depends on how old you are.) It's not very hard to make a spreadsheet to play with numbers if you want. I'm cons…

FWIW, given my history and current payout schedules and that I die at 85 (when actuarial tables say I will) and counting the employer portion of the SS tax as tax paid and assuming I retire very soon, SS tax payed by me has a 1.4% real rate of return.

That being said, SS has some benefits that make it more attractive than other investments with that return (in that it's an inflation-indexed annuity backed by the US government), especially when mixed with my other investments.

Still not a fantastic deal for me and it will only get worse in the likely event I get more SS income over the years, but like all welfare programs it isn't meant to help someone in my current situation. Part of getting into my current situation was benefiting from welfare when I was part of a household wasn't in such an amazing situation financially.

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