Bad day ...

I remember dealing with $.27/gallon, and the gas dropped a nickel, so our rate dropped $.03. And it took four months to rise again.

 

I think wage freezes are a huge insult and distasteful. If businesses can't afford to reward employees for hard work, then close shop.

 

I may be way off on this, but I believe this is how milage works.

You submit said milage. They pay you. At the end of the year, the company adds up everyones milage and submits that to the US Government via taxes. They get paid the milage rate (which was 51 then 58.5 for the last six months of the year).

So basically, by offering .28 cents, they are making profit on it because they are submitting 58.5 cents.

It is now 55 cents per mile. So if you were smart, you would keep all milage and if you can (not sure on this), submit your own come tax time. Make the money back you deserve.

 

Yeah, but you have to itemize to do it.

 

You can also itemize the difference between what the company pays you and the rate the government plays. Just keep records.

 

That works only IF you itemize your taxes.

 

Still dumb. Even if you had enough deductions to write off the entire 55 cents per mile, you only receive a tax credit for your bracket. Say you're in the 28 percent bracket, you'd get back roughly 15 cents per mile. So, unless your company is reimbursing at less than that, you might as take the reimbursement. You could write off the difference, though. But unless you're driving thousands and thousands of miles, it's not worth it.

 

Colbert,

You don't seem to be bucking up very well!

 

Yes, it's much better not to have a job than to have to work and not get a raise.

 

Maybe it will help to think of our industry as not so much in crisis but simply shortening the time frame of our jobs and altering the terms of employment.

Used to be, newsroom folks could stay virtually for their whole careers, occasionally get promoted and count on modest annual raises.

Now we're all on minute-to-minute contracts, with compensation negotiable unilaterally and mostly downward (and workloads negotiable unilaterally and mostly upward).

Otherwise, see, nothing has changed.

 

As everyone stated, this is true.

I was also stating why the newspapers are doing this (keep lowering the milage). It is an easy way for them to make money at the end of the year!

Glad my company goes with the US Gov't rates. Probably the only thing we have left.

 

When it comes to mileage...at least you receive it. There are countless (non-journalism) companies in this depression who employ individuals, who use their own cars and gas, and do not pay a cent in mileage to go along with the 8-12 dollars per hour they pay in wages.

Sure, you're getting screwed, but a vast number of Americans are getting screwed even worse than you are.

Take it how you will.