Ryan - I apologize if I sounded as though I was accusing you of trying to game the system. The scenario you painted is entirely legal - just as legal as someone paying zero percent Fed income tax on "qualified" dividends from stocks.
cpa- thank you for that insight - I have never worked thru the Medicare numbers and don't know how much of Medicare is actually paid for by the Medicare tax and premiums.
re my lawn guy - he bought the business a long time ago and works like a demon. He charges by the area and complexity of the mowing (basically an hourly rate that I never understood but I pay about 5K/annum for his services) He is good and would like to expand. He thinks there are a lot of guys who are employed who dislike their jobs but don't dare quit because of health insurance that they can't get on their own.
Unemployment around us is nowhere near 9%. It's more like 3-4% and those 3-4% are slobs. Lawn man told me that he's tried hiring a few of those and they don't pitch in and work but stand there and watch him do the heavy lifting. The unemployed around here are those who don't want to work and you won't find local liberals disagreeing.
But Lawn Man's story is anecdotal and I'm sure there are many anecdotes that disagree with his! But thanks for the comments.
