There's No Such Thing As Free

Stories like this one make me so angry. It's bad enough that government squanders our tax dollars on unnecessary projects, committees, and waste. I do believe that we should provide help for those who truly are in need...but nothing is free.

People who need services like government housing end up victims to the very system they need. Many of these people in need already feel powerless. Some have mental disabilities. Others physical or psychological. Fighting the bullies who get positions of power over them generally results in a loss for them...and apparently a subsequent gain for the government bullies.

Francine Dorrance, a single mother, was already broke, unemployed, and struggling to recover from a nervous breakdown in summer 2006 when the Chelsea Housing Authority moved to evict her over $276 in unpaid rent.

After a judge approved the eviction, Dorrance became homeless. It would be almost five years before she would again have a permanent address.

But Dorrance’s misfortune was a boon to the housing authority official who oversaw her eviction. Five days after a constable removed Dorrance’s belongings, Jacqueline Matos, a housing manager for the authority, moved into the vacant apartment. Matos still lives there, continuing to pay just $25 a month in rent, a small fraction of what Dorrance paid.

I don't know what the answer is to avoiding these types of abuses. Government is made of humans and humans have seemingly limitless faults. While there are many good people who work in government, there are obviously horrible, bullying people as well. Those people need to be removed from "serving" the people they take advantage of and wield their power over.

You Know It's Your Money - Not a Reward

Tax season drives me crazy...for a variety of reasons. Obviously I hate having to pay taxes. I have always structured our paychecks (when I got a paycheck) so that the government got as little of my money as possible. So many of my former co-workers had the government take out as much as possible so they got back big tax refunds in April.

Watching TV, as I always am, there was a commercial from H&R Block about their program to get people tax refunds. The people acted like they'd won the lottery - jumping up and down and screaming for getting money from "the government."

Oh Em Gee.

It isn't the government's money! It's YOUR freaking money. You didn't win it. The government is "giving" it to you out of the goodness of the system. The government took more than you owed. The government got to use your money interest free!

I would much rather owe the government than have the government owe me. I hate how high taxes are and I hate hearing about the insane ways our money is spent (Snow Cone machines for the TSA anyone?). But better that I have to send the government money than I let the government use my money interest free to fund such stupid projects and more.

My taxes this year will be more complicated than last year. Last year I hadn't made any jewelry sales so I didn't have to do any taxes at the State level. This year I do have jewelry sales, plus Aflac income, plus my husband's salary.

In 2012, Tax freedom day will not occur until April 12. This means you and I are working until that day JUST to pay the government to fund Snow Cone machines. It's insane.

Oh and that whole payroll tax cut that was supposedly extended...the IRS found a work around.

Welcome..."Recapture" tax.

Under the terms negotiated by Congress, the law also includes a new “recapture” provision, which applies only to those employees who receive more than $18,350 in wages during the two-month period (the Social Security wage base for 2012 is $110,100, and $18,350 represents two months of the full-year amount). This provision imposes an additional income tax on these higher-income employees in an amount equal to 2% of the amount of wages they receive during the two-month period in excess of $18,350 (and not greater than $110,100). 

Did I mention this system is insane? I say put out a flat tax based on consumption and be done with income taxes on the federal and state level. Let states have sales taxes. Get rid of property taxes (I bought my property...why do I have to pay additional rent to the government for my land?). Make everyone pay their fair share (rich AND poor). And cut spending to the bone...take care of the poor elderly and the infirm, military, and infrastructure. That's it.

Okay...I think I'm done now. :) Until I have to actually pay my taxes!

The Zombie Apocalypse Approaches

Well, I don't know if there will be Zombies, but apparently the End of the World is Nigh. Mark Steyn is one of my favorite writers. He's witty and makes even dry and depressing read funny.

As mainstream media, and every other media outlet, seems bent to proclaim the end of the world, Steyn has a positive take...

"But, if you’re not in the general vicinity of the world, you should be okay. "

Heh.It's a serious topic. Greece is financial dead and yet Western countries somehow feel the need to prop them up. I say let them go. If the moochers want to riot, lock them up. It's been a long time coming, but there is no more free lunch or free ride. There are consequences to living off the dole...because eventually you run out of other people's money.

Money is not finite but neither does it grow on trees. Yet, we worry about trivial matters.

"On Thursday night, there was a question on gays in the military but none on the accelerating European debt crisis. It is certainly important to establish whether a would-be president is sufficiently non-homophobic to authorize a crack team of lesbian paratroopers to rappel into the Chinese treasury, break the safe, and burn all our IOUs. But the curious complacency about the bigger questions is disturbing."

Heh. Again.

So what can we do? Nothing. It's beyond my skills to solve such  massive problems. All I can do is try to prepare my family to live within our means, stock up on necessities, and keep our bullet supply up. After all, when the stuff hits the fan, those who are prepared will be targeted by those grasshoppers who decided to party instead of prepare.

I Love My Incandescent Lightbulbs

It boggles my mind how intrusive government gets in our lives. Instead of letting the markets dictate an Incandescent light bulb burn out.

If CFLs and other light bulbs were so great the market would phase out incandescents automatically. If they gave the same beautiful soft light, if they actually lasted longer (they don't), or cost the same I may be convinced to switch. But until then, the government needs to back the hell up.

Outlawing incandescents has cost America jobs.

"...GE's Winchester Lamp Plant, which the company shuttered in September 2010 after 35 years of operation, citing a "profound transformation" in the lighting business. It was GE's last American plant producing traditional A19 incandescent bulbs..."

For now I'm stocking up.

And I admit...I have bought CFLs. We use them mostly in places that aren't main living spaces - the garage, outside lights, and a few lamps that aren't used a lot. There is one in Marshal's room and as soon as it burns out it's getting replaced. I hate it. It takes forever to light up. 

Once again, government overreaches. Where will it end? When owning an incandescent light bulb is a crime then I guess I'll be a criminal. And I'll definitely support the black market unground light bulb market. *grin*

We Need to Deal with Fraud

As a Recruiting Manager, I get a lot of inquiries for job opportunities. I call each and every one of them back. I'm constantly amazed, though less so now than when I first started, at the number of people who, in this economy, don't call me back.

I can see a few who decided after they applied that they weren't interested. But this is a lot more than a few.

A few months ago I started a log of every single person I call, when I left a message, and what the result of the call was (interview, not qualified, etc). I'm starting to see duplicates now. People who applied a few months ago and never responded who are applying again.

*insert warning bell here* I can't help but think that some of these people are fraudulently applying to continue to get their unemployment. It frustrates and infuriates me because there is very little I can do about it. I can't necessarily prove it.

What I am planning to do is find out who I can send information to at the state. Whether or not they'll do anything with it, I don't know. But I feel like I have an obligation to report these people. It's the state's job to investigate to see if they really are employable and not truly searching for jobs, or if there were legitimate reasons for not responding or applying more than once.

It's not like it's an unheard of phenomenon.

"... as jobless claims increase in this jobless recovery, abuses in unemployment insurance have hit record levels.   States paid out a whopping $16.5 billion to ineligible individuals last year."

My question is, if the government knows that $16.5 BILLION (with a B) in payments went out to ineligible individuals, why aren't they stopping those payments? Is it just an estimate? It seems like a pretty solid number so somewhere people must know who is taking advantage of the system. And it seems like the government is just sort of shrugging "oh well, what can we do?"

"Whether it's intentional fraud, or omitting or misstating information on an electronic claims form is a dubious distinction.   Labor Department officials told The Fiscal Times that the overpayment explosion is more a natural consequence of rising unemployment insurance rolls inundating overwhelmed state systems—not rising fraud."

Isn't omitting or misstating information fraud? What am I missing here? It should be an even bigger priority to reduce and rid the system of fraud in these economically difficult times. It's a form of theft in my eyes - people taking advantage and taking money that doesn't belong to them - possibly preventing others from receiving benefits they are eligible for and need.

I was on unemployment for maybe a full month over a decade ago. I was so paranoid and conscious of every single application and inquiry...I filled out all my paperwork to a T. It's not that hard to do and get correct.

Getting off of unemployment was a huge relief for me too. Another reason I cannot understand people who want to wait to get a job until their unemployment runs out. It seems so dishonest to me.

They Should Have Gone to Costco

Have you seen this? Our tax dollars at work...spending $16 on a muffin and $32 for cracker jacks and candy bars (per person).

.. conference attendees received Cracker Jacks, popcorn, and candy bars at a single break that cost $32 per person, including service charges and indirect costs... [There was also] a "deluxe" ice cream assortment that cost $10 per person including service charges and indirect costs... When one event planner applied an approved 15-percent indirect cost rate to the price of food and beverages at a conference, the cost of one soda increased from $4.84 to $5.57.

Clearly, the people providing these services are friends of politicians. It's the only logical reason I can think of for allowing such outrageous charges for food that can be bought at Costco for less than $1 per muffin. And why do government conferences need to be so fancy? Have a secretary run to the grocery store. Even shopping at Whole Foods they'd spend less than these event planners charge.

I realize that a $16 muffin is small potatoes (so to speak) in the grand scheme of government spending. But I do think it's a symptom of the blatant disregard for watching costs and spending responsibly that most government officials have.

I remember working for the State and not caring one whit about what things cost...the more the better because the more it benefited us as employees.

It's wrong and should be stopped.

My Son is Not a Flight Risk

Stories like this curdle my blood. Government has gotten so big, so powerful, that we little folk are seen to be at the mercy of those wielding the power. It's ridiculous.

And if anyone tried patting down my son I might have a melt down. What if a pedophile got hired as a screener? How am I as a parent supposed to say No and still be allowed on the plane? I'm supposed to allow some pervert (whether I know they are or not isn't the point...my son isn't a terrorist and how do I KNOW they aren't pedophiles using their job to feel up kids?) to "pat down" my son in a potentially invasive manner? Because the government says so?

We are considering taking a trip to Florida next year but the thought of have a cavity search just to board a plane is almost too much.

My husband is an officer and he has less leeway when dealing with potential criminals (i.e. searches / pat downs) than TSA agents do with the flying public. How is that okay?

If Insanity is Contagious Don't Go to California

Because their government is losing their minds.

"Under AB 889, household “employers” (aka “parents”) who hire a babysitter on a Friday night will be legally obligated to pay at least minimum wage to any sitter over the age of 18 (unless it is a family member), provide a substitute caregiver every two hours to cover rest and meal breaks, in addition to workers' compensation coverage, overtime pay, and a meticulously calculated timecard/paycheck."

Seriously!?! At what point do we as citizens rise up and tell government busy bodies to back the "F" off? So if my best friend came over and was going to baby sit my son for four hour while hubby and I went on a date...if I lived in California I'd be required to follow this insane law.

Lovely. First of all, our nanny who watches Marshal every single day doesn't even make minimum wage. We can't afford to pay her minimum wage and we've increased her pay twice in the nearly two years she's watched him. We started paying her what we were paying the previous licensed provider. And trust me, when you break it down to hourly she's getting slave wages.

Thankfully, and blessedly, she is an amazing woman who is like Marshal's grandma. She adores and loves him and gives me all the one to one attention he needs.

But if we were in California, the government would require me to track her time with a time card and pay worker's comp and overtime and...and...and. I wouldn't be able to do it. Nor would I. We ADULTS entered into an agreed upon arrangement. We didn't need the government to dictate how our system worked.

I agree with the premise of the linked article...the goal of this bill is clearly to force parents to utilize institutionalized daycare. I hated having Marshal in daycare. It was horrible for him and he hated it too. He LOVES his nanny and we're paying less than we would to the institutional daycare. He gets the attention he needs and isn't around all the other germ factories. She gets some extra cash to supplement her social security and the company of a darling little boy. It's a win/win.

Marshal at "Miss Anne's" 

Whatever happened to responsibility? Free markets? Why does the government need to dictate how much someone pays a college gal to baby sit? Or a little old lady (she's not that old) to watch my little boy?

Government Promoting Children as Sexual Beings

Since when does the government agree with Pedophiles that "children are sexual beings"? I heard this on the radio the other day and felt sick to my stomach.

Part of the problem I see in society today is that we sexualize children too much already. I see little girls with short skirts and halter tops...which isn't the biggest issue I have...but when they are ACTING "sexy" in those clothes and they're 5, 6, 7 years old...there are issues.

And now the government is endorsing this idea that little kids, children, are somehow "sexual" beings. I agree in the literal sense that each child has a defined "sex" (i.e. male/female) but the idea that kids are "sexual" is insane and dangerous. Pre-teens and teens are obviously crossing over that line from child to pre-pubescent crazy person. But infants? Toddlers?  I don't think so.

Children are human beings and therefore sexual beings. It's hard for parents to acknowledge this, just as it's hard for kids to think of their parents as sexually active. But even infants have curiosity about their own bodies, which is healthy and normal.

Since when does the government hire pedophiles? This could have been written by a predator for a predator brochure (won't even mention the name of the one organization that promotes this filth).
I am admittedly a bit of a prude. People who know me will verify this. I will have no problem talking to my son about sex when he is old enough...but two is not the right time.

It's disturbing to me that the government is even promoting this information at all. Why are my taxes going to fund such a stupid website. Are there truly people out there looking to the government for help raising their children??? If so, HELP! We are in a lot of trouble. There are libraries, books, magazines, free websites, blogs...we need the government paying for someone to write, build a website, and maintain it?

I call BS. Our debt is high enough...let's cut this program now.