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I'm not really sure yet why all employers don't offer per diem to travelling salaried employees.
So I'm researching it. My example uses a fictional employer "Acme" and an employee "Wiley Coyotee".
I also use easy numbers, $20 per hour (or $160 a day) and a per diem rate of $80 per day.
The per diem rates are much higher. See IRS Publication 1542
Please Note: The per diem is not on top of the $160 a day, it comes out of it.
The way I understand it:
- If Acme pays $160 per day, and offers per diem using the non-accountable plan
Both Acme and Wiley pay Fica taxes on only $80 a day.
- If Acme decides not offer per diem, they still pay $160 a day.
Plus, Acme pays 7% extra in Fica for the non-taxable per diem they decided not to offer.
In this case, both Acme and Wiley would pay almost $6 a day (or $1,500 a year) extra in taxes.
Wiley he has to pay a tax guy to go through his reciepts to categorize them as allowable or not.
- I'd think using per diem, everybody would save on taxes. But I'm not a tax guy.
Set up might be a small pain, but I don't know.
It should be something an employer can set up in Quick Books.
Quote: To create a non-taxed per diem payroll item, follow the steps in this Knowledge Base Article.  However, you should be aware that not all per diem paid to employees is tax free.  The deciding factor is whether you are using an accountable plan (where the employee submits receipts for expenses paid) or a non-accountable plan (where a flat rate is paid to the employee and no accounting of the money spent is required). See  quickbooksgroup.com.
I've only seen the non-accountable plan implemented, which is a no-brainer.
The down side of it is, the employee appears to make $10 an hour.
Unemployment benefits, disability, and the income figures decrease.

In a grandoiese way, I believe those "employers" who do NOT offer per diem, do not have the worker's welfare in mind. There are those, who care and in addition, will offer other extras such as a medical and/or dental plan. Maybe even a 401K or profit sharing of some sort. In the end, those who do offer the few extras, abeit with a small cost, can do much better business. Why? Because if the workers have the choice of working for two different firms to get a job somewhere, assuming the basic payrate is reasonably close, they'll choose the one with the "extras". This is an example of what makes the subject of "economics" so much more complex and less of a science, than an art. Studying how these things work. HOWL!!!! 

Recently, I wrote a note about the Olympian Casino in Washington. Now I can't find where I got that information from. OOPs. I usually post in the wee hours of the morning.

<= Our Christmas Tree, aye.
This year, it will just have to do.
Thanks so much! I really miss you guys.
Being in an unfamiliar place during the holidays is always tough.
You know that Christmas works backwards
Its the most depressing holiday of the year.
But I've got more memories stored up from this last year than most people get in a life time.
Thanks for being part of them and Merry Christmas to you all: 
Becky, Sonny, Rod, Reese, Jesse, Peter, Susan, Preacher Scott, Gma, Jennifer, Dustin, Paul, Robert, Emily, Renee, Jonathan, McKinzee, Jess,  Ricco, Jeffree, Mikey, Andy, Ashley, Tim, Jari, Loff, Lewis, Jerry, Jennette, Chuck, Charles and Renee, Ida, Allen, Cheryl, Kelly, Tass, Emilio, Cyrus, Paula, Mark, Frank, Ruth, Warren, Lisa, David, Leann, Kevin, all the people at Fourth Street Live, all the people at Kentucky Towers, all the people we hung with at the Pub and TGIF Fridays, Don, Curtis, Erich, MS. ===> Thankyou ===>
To those who are in heaven now: 
My Dad, Squirt, Rob, Mom, Dave, Grandfather, Skip, Uncle James, Jim, Chris and Chris, I'll never forget you.
You all touched my heart.
And at sometime, you gave me joy this year. You guys are GREAT!!!

I'm not happy in Seattle.
I hate the cost of this apartment.I hate the cost of cigarettes and food.
I hate the bus. I hate having to pay to park everywhere. I hate driving in this city.
I hate that cops police the streets, and not the sidewalks.
I don't like the people here, they're unfriendly. I hate that bums can get away with anything.
I think their entertainment sucks.
I didn't like rushing into this contract. I didn't like taking a pay cut after I started.
I didn't like having to take out an insurance policy for $300 to work here.
I don't like the people at work. They have no manners, are nosey, and they are introverts.
I don't like the nature of my job. You only get noticed when things don't work, and nothing every works.
I don't like having the training I've had for this system. I am not using any of my skills.
I don't like the vagueness of this job. I have no clear job description.
AND THAT...is a lot of things to dislike.
I like the scenery at times. I like that Renee is right up the road. I like the view from our apartment.
So, thats it...I'm looking to get out of here.
-2m

Don't be so hard on your self.
We all have days where we would like to tell the world ,our loved ones, and even our children, to go for themselves and leave me alone.
Strong people who know you, know it's only a bad day in some cases a bad couple weeks. We will forgive and move on!
If we can come back when all is calm and talk about it, then it all is forgiven.
You have made it through the hard stuff. Sit back and catch your breath..
Have beer on me :-)

4 moves in three weeks have made me palid.
I've had to push myself to the limit, I haven't been feeling well, I'm tired and confused.
52 hours of driving, rushing through moving, and finding an apartment have all made me feel very cranky. My atm/credit card being hi-jacked didn't help either. I'll feel much better when I have some cash.
But none of these are an excuse for my bad attitude.
I've been distant, obtuse, in a very bad mood, and now I'm paranoid for good reasons.
I love you all. I'm just exhausted.

How did you like the Renton Fly's Electronics? That one is on what used to be the Boeing 707 plant and I lived in a really nice apartment about a mile away from that Fly's. But long before the Fly's was there. I was there from April 1998 to September 1999. HOWL!!!! I had been to the Fly's in a suburb of Portland, OR though, in 1999. Double HOWL!!!

Interesting. I wonder if Boeing only gave up part of that plant. I was under the believe they sold the whole plant, and that Fly's was only part of a larger commercial endeavor there. Boeing still has a number of other plants in the area, of course. Someday I'd like to visit the Puget Sight again, and visit my old apartment in Renton, where I worked in downtown Bellevue and the health club on the Bellevue/Redmond border, right next door to BillyCo (Microsoft).

What a life! Too much too quick.
I can't begin to describe the feeling in my back.
But that's the bad things.
The good things that have happened so far.
We got moved in Friday, but everything was such a mess. We needed junk furniture.
But Seattle doesn't have any Walmarts. There's a KMart 6 miles away, which in Seattle Speak equals 1 hour.
The traffic is a killer here. I'm ready to learn the bus system at any time.
Why not be chauffeured around while I read the paper?
I hopped into the roof Jacuzzi yesterday morning at 6:30am,
and found a really cool cell phone. I called "Dad".
He told me daughter lives in my building and gave me her address. I tried, it was early, but eventually she called me.
I came up, and she answered the door in her T-Shirt and underwear (who does that?). I about fell over. Her eyes were a red as eyes can get, but she had a pretty smile, and said thank you.
Later, we went shopping at a Target.
It was 6 stories tall, with a parking level on each floor! When you want to go to the next floor with you card, you take the escullator. It has a cart escullator in the middle...very different.
Everybody we met was friendly, and more than willing to tell us everything they knew about Seattle.
That about says it, everybody in Seattle is very friendly.
Today, Becky went to the jacuzzi with me.
Her hair turned GREEN!!! Its a pretty color of green though.
We were supposed to get internet, phone and cable today, but nobody was here to let the cable guy into the electric room.
We'll have it by Wednesday.

Another tough day!
Five hours of sleep. Had to get renters insurance, they wanted to rewrite my auto insurance and my house insurance for Seattle, which would take me days of effort to spring back from. sheesh.
We got our apartment.
So we had to move all our stuff downstairs, again, and pack up the truck. Its cold and wet out there.
I am so tired.
We will have moved the equivilent of 5 moves, and driven 52 hours, in 12 days.
We've been apartment hunting every day and every night.
And to top it all off, my credit card info was stolen from one of the places we used it at, enroute.
What a week I'm having!!!

Jimmy. Did you say you were pooped? Like this kind of "poop"? I hope not... http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/07/rhino.poop.ap/index.html

Good Luck. I'm sure you will make the best of it!

I've got my patches and some food.
Life was good, until we got back to the truck.
We couldn't get in it. The people on both sides parked 2 inches away. It was mindless.
There were plenty of spots open in the parking lot.
I've noticed that a lot of people walk mindlessly straight at you on the sidewalks. 
There's always plenty of room. It keeps happening everywhere. A lot of these people are sleep walking.
I didn't think driving to the store was tough at all.
Matter of fact, I like driving in Seattle, even downtown. You have to watch for pedestrians, bicycles, other cars, and one way streets. SO, you take your time, and slowly make your turns.

I'm glad you made it safely. Give it all a chance. it may be great this summer! but hurry up and get your ass back to Louisville! 

Make it work Jimmy. It is what you make it. Howl!!!! Just behave yourself and don't go skinny dipple in the company pool, like you like to do on your first day on the job.

Two moves in one week is a lot of action.
I've had to push myself to the limit, I haven't been feeling well, I'm tired and confused.
But none of these are an excuse for a bad attitude.
So, if I've been distant, or obtuse, please accept my sincere apology.
I meant to accomplish so much when we got here.
But, Monday, I had to get that insurance, talk to my CPA and get prescriptions written.
Tuesday, I picked up prescriptions, did some shopping, and tried to relax.
I didn't visit like I'd planned too.
After driving 32 hours straight, driving around town is the last thing I want to do.
Driving around town with everything I own in the back of the truck is scary too.
I love you all. I'm just exhausted.