Charging for services

[Carl Root]

Peggy C. Bie wrote:
> 
> The world has changed, and I am appalled.  No wonder people can't afford
> anything.
> 
> Back in my days of being an independent musician I deducted these things from
> my income tax form as business expenses from the money I charged as fees,
> usually ending with no profit on which to pay taxes. 

It is none of my business what your annual net was, but piano
technicians are notorious for being very busy and yet many are still
unable to afford retirement, health care, vacations, etc..  Yet our
ranks are full of individuals who quit an even less lucrative
profession:  'musician'

My income supports a family of four.  Most of my nieghbors have more
disposable income than I do.

> I never dreamed of
> charging customers for my own business expenses.  I thought these were
> deductions to subtract from what I earned.  Now people are terying to charge
> the client, the customer and the student for expenses of running a private
> business.  So now the ethic seems to overchargwe the customer for one's own
> business expenses and don't bother with submitting expenses to the IRS.  I
> can't believe that our nation has become so greedy as to overcharge others for
> ones own business expenses.
> Shock!

The bottom line is simple, really.  What is a reasonable standard of
living for you (or me)?  How do you justify it?  Who provides the money
to support you in your lifestyle?  What do you give them in return?

I find millian dollar bonuses paid to CEOs obscene because I don't think
their time is that valuable even though they may be able to work wonders
on a company that will now be able to stay in the black and provide
thousands of jobs for its' employees.

But I don't know ant piano technicians with obscene lifestyles. 
Financially anyway. :-)

Carl 

 "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." -Anais Nin

Good quote..........