[speaker001:] [Noise] [rattling in background] Well I always think I'm paying too much taxes. How about you?
[speaker002:] Yeah, oh definitely [LAUGHTER]. Seems like,
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER] Although at least Texas doesn't have a state income tax yet. I mean, you know, they keep threatening us that maybe there will be a day that they're going to, uh, [sniffing] enact this I think, uh, [sniffing] the, um, other means of providing income for the state have been dwindling so they keep trying to say we may need a, uh, state income tax [sniffing].
[speaker002:] Yeah, I think that, uh, we probably will have to have, have to, uh, have a state income tax because, uh, Texans don't approve of such things as lotteries, uh, well I, I, come here from New York and New York had a state lottery,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and it really raised a lot of money for the, for the state.
[speaker001:] [Sniffing].
[speaker002:] Uh, although we, in New York we had to pay a state and a city, uh, tax. And it was really a great relief when I got to Texas that I didn't have to pay that city income tax, though.
[speaker001:] Yeah, makes quite a bit of difference in your, uh, well your income level.
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] You know, because other states quite a bi-, a chunk out for, uh, city and state taxes so you're, uh, looking at your yearly salary, it makes quite a difference.
[speaker002:] It sure does ma-, make a difference.
[speaker001:] A little more take home here [sniffing].
[speaker002:] Uh-huh. Do you live in Dallas?
[speaker001:] Yeah, Richardson area.
[speaker002:] Oh, you do?
[speaker001:] Yeah, I work at, well mainly the Expressway Site is where I work [rattling] [sounds like paper].
[speaker002:] Oh, I do too.
[speaker001:] Oh, okay [sniffing].
[speaker002:] Okay, and then, you know too, that, um, taxes are, are less, like if you live in Mesquite.
[speaker001:] [Sniffing] Yeah.
[speaker002:] You know, some people will go shopping in Mesquite at the malls out there, uh,
[speaker001:] Or up to Collin County, somewhere that you're getting out of the, um, Dallas County area because,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] what do we pay, like eight and a half percent,
[speaker002:] Eight point five.
[speaker001:] something like that for the, uh, sales tax.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Which, yeah, that really is pretty high.
[speaker002:] Is it the s-, is it, uh, less in Collin County than it is in Dallas County?
[speaker001:] I think so, although I really, I don't go up there too much, I mean I, I normally just kind of go to Richardson Square Mall, or Valley View Mall just kind of for the convenience, * Looks like 2 slash units or [breathing]. I guess maybe if I was going to buy a car or something,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] maybe I would consider where I was buying it, to try to, you know,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] save a little bit on that sales tax, because on a car that really mo-, kind of mounts up [talking].
[speaker002:] Yeah, it sure did and then once you could deduct at least some of that, um, off, off your income tax and you can't do that anymore.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] It really hit me yesterday, I had, uh, air conditioning service for my car done. And I had a little, little, uh, coupon special that was twenty-two dollars
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] for, um, air conditioning service where they, uh, checked it and ch-, recharged it and put one, one pound of freon in and if you needed another pound of freon they ga-, it, it was like seven dollars and something. And then with the with the twenty-two dollars and the seven something, it all came out to, I, I ended up paying like thirty-four dollars.
[speaker001:] [Thumping].
[speaker002:] And I couldn't believe it and the tax, you know, really hits you. * both kinds of slash error; Should be 2 slash units, I think
[speaker001:] Yeah, yeah that's true.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh. And then, * slash error
[speaker001:] Although I wi-, I wish, you know, overall they'd try the lottery again. When did you first come to Texas? [Dishes].
[speaker002:] Oh, it's been, I've been here for nine years. *slash error
[speaker001:] Okay, well, that's about the same time as me, I came down in eighty-two. * Looks like 3 slash units here to me.
[speaker002:] Really, where did you come from?
[speaker001:] Um, well, Ohio, kind of. My parents live in Ohio. I had lived a little while in Michigan,
[speaker002:] Oh, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] but, you know, basically I went to high school and college in Ohio and lived there [sniffing] uh, more years than I ever did in Michigan.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh. Well, uh, I did visit, uh, Michigan, I visited Kalamazoo once. My sister used to live there.
[speaker001:] Oh, okay [sniffing].
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] [Sniffing] But you know, when we first came down here, I really thought this place was somewhat backward, I mean, I was just shocked that we couldn't shop on Sunday.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Remember that? [Sniffing] [dishes].
[speaker002:] That's true, I tell you what hit me the first year I was here, uh, Christmas eve in New York there used to be stores open, the department stores wouldn't close, uh, * There seem to be several slash units in this turn that were not parsed that way
[speaker001:] [Sniffing].
[speaker002:] well I'd say they closed maybe eight or nine o'clock, department stores, on Christmas eve.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] But, uh, there were stores that you could go to, uh, you know, like discount stores and stores down in the village and just all over the place where you could go to and you could shop until like twelve or one o'clock that night and that was like, that was really the only night they were open that late, but it was Christmas eve.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And when I came to Dallas, I thought I was going to do that Christmas eve and I couldn't find hardly anything open,
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] after five o'clock in the afternoon.
[speaker001:] Were you shocked like, oh no, I'm stuck I need to buy stuff.
[speaker002:] An I was, oh, I was, I really, I really was stuck [LAUGHTER]. And I think Target was the one that stayed open later than any, anybody else. And, uh, I was able to pick up a few things in there, but, boy I was, I was really shocked.
[speaker001:] [Sniffing].
[speaker002:] And then another shock I had [LAUGHTER] well, when I went to, um, to buy a slice of pizza [LAUGHTER],
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and found out that I had to buy the whole pie.
[speaker001:] Oh, few places now seem to do it by the slice but,
[speaker002:] Yeah, now, but they, back then they didn't.
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] When I first came, no. Anyway,
[speaker001:] Well the, the, uh, there was other things too, I mean, I think it's taken us Yankee's influence down here,
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] to get them to, uh, come to the, you know, the correct decade here and century. Um, I couldn't believe that you could have open containers of beer, alcohol, whatever,
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] in the car!
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] [Talking] [Background voice says, that's not the subject] I mean, you could always, um, uh, be careful about that back then because,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] uh, you know, if yo-, if a cop stopped you then you would, um, you know, get arrested or what not.
[speaker002:] Yeah, and talk a
[speaker001:] And people would just drink openly.
[speaker002:] talking about alcohol and beer, look at the taxes on that,
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] and the taxes on a package of, of cigarettes. I used to smoke, you know
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and, uh, that would have been enough to, to make me, me give them up. The price of them now, but I gave them up a couple years ago because I had some sinus problems.
[speaker001:] Oh. W-, I don't smoke, so I don't really know what the,
[speaker002:] Well,
[speaker001:] taxes are and stuff on it.
[speaker002:] Well they're like two, or, I, I believe they're hitting two dollars a pack now.
[speaker001:] Um.
[speaker002:] A little bit, a little bit more in some places.
[speaker001:] So you end up about paying about twelve dollars for a pack and two dollars of that is taxes.
[speaker002:] Uh, well, I believe it's a little more than twelve dollars for a carton, * slash error
[speaker001:] Huh.
[speaker002:] I think it's maybe thirteen or something.
[speaker001:] Gee.
[speaker002:] Um, because I remember we went to, to Oklahoma to th-, this bingo place. This Choctaw Bingo, uh, a couple weeks ago and somebody that went with me bought a carton for, uh, ten dollars and something and they really thought they were getting a big discount.
[speaker001:] They're cheaper there?
[speaker002:] Well because, it's, you know, the Indians, I don't think they pay tax.
[speaker001:] Oh!
[speaker002:] In, in Oklahoma.
[speaker001:] Oh, I got you, okay.
[speaker002:] And, uh, it was a Indian, well it's a bingo hall for the benefit of the Indians there.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh [rattling].
[speaker002:] Although I didn't see very many Indian people in there [LAUGHTER]. There were just bus loads of people that come from everywhere else to play that bingo because it's, it's, the stakes are higher and payoffs are bigger and so forth.
[speaker001:] Well how did you do?
[speaker002:] [Sigh] I won a dollar [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] A dollar, oh well, but you had fun playing, right.
[speaker002:] Yeah, I had fun, uh, a couple on the bus won some money. One, one guy won t-,