They DID Say an EARLY SPRING...
Okay, I think I have this freezing COLD thing figured out.
When the groundhog did NOT see his shadow last week, which states (according to legend) that we will in fact, have an early Spring, I'm supposing that to mean we're going to be getting a CONCENTRATED DOSE of winter in stead of that prolonged SIX-WEEKS MORE thing.
Yeah, that's GOT to be it.
We've a Midwest morning in the Summit City with temps (adjusted for the wind chill factor) hovering in the 20s...on the BELOW side of ZERO, that is!
Thankfully, the schools have closed (we want to be able to NOT SEE the kids freezing to death on the corners, right?) and deservedly so.
The city was busy yesterday sending a "road-grader" up and down the ALLEYS to plow the snow out, better facilitating the trash trucks that will be driving down them today...good idea.
I believe it's he FIRST time I have ever seen the city do that since I moved here a dozen years ago.
This IS in addition to the "unknown plow truck" that began coming up our alley after EVERY snowfall, in order to keep OUR alley clear for all the "traffic" that obviously NEEDS to get down it (even though it's NOT a "thru-street"), such as the drug-dealers and buyers.
Sometimes, the free-enterprise system sucks-on-ice, don'cha think?
I know it still beats being awakened around 0300 hours by some loud ass BOOMCAR sitting at the damn corner in sub-zero temperatures, that I got up and lazed REAL well down the whole block as he sped off, daring him to come back to my door (so I could shoot his freaking ass and go back to sleep)!
Anyway, let's keep moving along to stay warm...
Here's that's shaking around town (other than every living creature that has to go outside today).
*** I used to work for the U.S. Treasury Department (Division of the I.R.S.), and I saw my share of waste and mis-management. I also have a conscience, which was a BIG decider in my having to leave the Feds.
When you have to all but memorize the contents of a manual that looks like a medium size city phonebook, you hate to just toss caution to the wind.
But the government LOVES to do such things.
Here's a perfect example of "waste":
(( IRS loses billions to wrongful tax credit - Stephen Ohlemacher AP
WASHINGTON – More than $10 billion a year in tax credits for low-income families go to people who don’t qualify for them, and the Internal Revenue Service isn’t doing enough to stop them, a government investigator said Wednesday.
Using the tax agency’s own numbers, the investigator said about a quarter of all earned income tax credits go to families that don’t meet the requirements.
The IRS has known about the improper payments for years but has not done enough to stop them, said J. Russell
George, the Treasury inspector for tax administration. From 2003 to 2009, improper payments have totaled at least $70 billion, according to a report issued by George. In 2009, between $11.2 billion and $13.3 billion was improperly paid out.
"While the earned income tax credit helps many deserving Americans, it is well past time for the IRS to reduce the amount of improper payments in the program," George said. "The loss of billions of dollars in improper EITC payments annually calls for aggressive and immediate action."
IRS spokeswoman Michelle Eldridge says the agency has worked hard to enforce a complicated section of the tax code. She says taxpayers who receive the credits are twice as likely as others to be audited.
"The IRS is strongly committed to ensuring the accuracy of EITC claims and protecting against improper payments," Eldridge said. "Every year, the IRS conducts 500,000 EITC audits as part of a broader enforcement strategy, and EITC claims are twice as likely to be audited as other tax returns.
"The IRS protects nearly $4 billion in improper claims each year."
The earned income tax credit is a favorite among advocates for the poor, who hail it as one of the nation’s most successful anti-poverty programs. In 2009, 24 million low- and moderate-income working families claimed $55 billion in credits, according to the IRS. Families earn the credits by working and earning wages, but
there are income limits, depending on how many children are in each family.
For 2010, a married couple with two children could make as much as $45,373.
The top credit is $5,666 for a family with three or more qualifying children; $5,036 for a family with two qualifying children.
Several Republican lawmakers said the report released Wednesday shows there are serious problems with the program.
Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, called the report "an absolute indictment on how badly the IRS has handled this."
The IRS said in a written response to the report that the tax credit is extremely complicated to administer.
It noted that eligible taxpayers often have changing incomes that make them eligible one year and not the next. ))
(*rolls eyes*)
Yeah, this must be the MOST successful "anti-poverty" program on the planet...everyone seems to want to get ONTO IT!
You USED to get ONE deduction for EACH dependant (living with you for more than 1/2 the year - used to be less than $1500)...that was it.
And yet here we have about 24 million families who claimed OVER FIFTY-FIVE BILLION DOLLARS.
That's a pretty decent haul when you break that down per family, right?
Most thieves don't net that much whenever they steal something.
Here's the website that explains ALL about the EITC:
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96406,00.html
In essence, the Treasury Dept. has basically said it's fine and dandy to be IN POVERTY (all this time), because "we" will take care of you.
Actually, the "we" they talk about is really YOU (the other taxpayers trying like hell to stay OUT of poverty).
And now, after ALL these years, the IRS says that almost TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT of EITC recipients do NOT qualify for it...astounding!
Hell, I could have told you that by looking at the baby Mommas around my block with all those Bebe's kids following in their welfare-laden wakes.
I mean, how ELSE could you "afford" that 42 inch plasma TV...or that shiny new Chrysler, huh?
WIC and welfare (alone) sure ain't paying for it.
Which brings me to a curious conundrum...
If everybody ELSE pays for all this crap, shouldn't "we" be over THEIR houses taking some of OUR STUFF the hell back?
I mean, it beats having all these dope-dealing "alpha-male" bucks robbing all the DECENT people to supplement this week's baby-mama, right?
It's just a thought.
(but a damn good one, too Bob)
Let charitable organizations take care of the NEEDY...the LAZY can just go to hell.
(they're headed there anyway, so why prolong the trip?)
*** I've been following this police-action shooting trial that;'s going on...lots to think about here.
This is the link to today's article:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110210/LOCAL03/302109982/1039/LOCAL03
Now I didn't know that (then) Officer Bernie Ebetino testified.
He's currently a LT. in the department.
I did my ride-along with him years ago when he was a patrolman...very nice man.
Good people, and a credit to the department.
He dealt with the calls we rolled on in an exemplary manner, and if I would ever need a partner, he'd be in the top three for sure!
And he's not much bigger than I am in stature, but don't let that fool you.
We of lesser stature make up for it in much larger ways..in other words, never underestimate the little guy, kapeesh?
(especially when he's packing heat)
Word to the wise there.
*** Lastly today, we've been so concerned about the goings on in our particular part of our homes, cities and lives, that we often neglect some of the "bigger picture" out there.
We worry about our children's' safety TO school, AT school, and even the friends they might "choose".
We worry about paying the bills, the rising costs of food, fuel, and utilities.
We worry about needed repairs to our houses, our vehicles and even ourselves.
And in all this, we never believe that this concern is wasted.
We care...because we would like our lives to have a lot more "living" in them.
That's not too much to ask, really.
And yet, we're besieged daily by world events, politics, and this almost overwhelming sense of dread from forces outside of our influence.
It's like I said before...none of us can do EVERYTHING EVERYDAY.
Think of yourself as a commander, overseeing your "troops".
Many times, you can't rush into battle...you have to pick and choose your conflicts in order to not only come out the victor, but also to live to fight another day, for there will come another conflict.
Preparedness is part of the equation to successful.
Another part is knowing WHEN to fight, and when to "advance to the rear" (we NEVER retreat).
Think of it as a "strategic withdrawal".
Every day you wake up is another day you can fight the good fight...or stand down. It's YOUR choice.
What you have to know is whether or not whatever conflict comes down the pike is WORTH it.
Someone once said that: "Only fools fight in a burning house".
That's what FOOLS do.
Heroes either exit or rescue those FROM that house.
And who knows...you might be a HERO today...and not even know it.
All it ever takes is making a GOOD decision.
Make enough of them, and it does get easier.
Therein lies the lesson for today.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.