http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVAhr4hZDJE
I hope you enjoy this video clip as much as I have. It is getting pretty hard not to get political any longer. As an American I feel our freedoms are being taken away slowly but methodically. It is kind of like the cooking of the frog. Put a frog in a pot of water, and ever so slowing keep turning up the heat. The frog will not jump out, but continues to get comfortable until it is finally cooked. As an American, I do not intend on getting comfortable and slowly loose my freedom. ARE YOU???????
]]>Your paycheck is the cornerstone of your livelihood – protect it.
As a business owener, self employed, or an employee, what would you do if your ability to earn a paycheck STOP? What kind of impact would that have on YOU or your FAMILY? Visit http://www.DIAwareness.com and then ask yourself those questions above.
Are you currently covered under a Disability plan? If not, why not? If you are, would you share why you felt it important to purchase that protection?
May is Disability Awareness Month, is your paycheck PROTECTED?
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EVERY CITIZEN NEEDS TO READ THIS AND THINK ABOUT WHAT THIS JOURNALIST HAS SCRIPTED IN THIS MESSAGE. READ IT AND THEN REALLY THINK ABOUT OUR CURRENT POLITICAL DEBACLE.
Charley Reese has been a journalist for 49 years.
545 PEOPLE–By Charlie Reese
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them..
Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The president does.
You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes.
Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits….. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red ..
If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it’s because they want them in IRAQ
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation,” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power..
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.
Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees…
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.
What you do with this article now that you have read it……… Is up to you.
This might be funny if it weren’t so darned true.
Be sure to read all the way to the end:
Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table,
At which he’s fed.
Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.
Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for peanuts
Anyway!
Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.
Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.
Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.
Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.
Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his butt.
Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won’t be done
Till he has no dough.
When he screams and hollers;
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He’s good and sore.
Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he’s laid…
Put these words
Upon his tomb,
Taxes drove me
to my doom…’
When he’s gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax..
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Sales Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service FeeTax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.
What in the world happened? Can you spell ‘politicians?’
I hope this goes around THE USA at least 100 times!!! YOU can help it get there!!!
GO AHEAD – - – BE AN AMERICAN!!!
Here is another web site to keep up with where Health Care Reform is going. Although it may have come to a grinding halt for now. The web site is http://www.thehill.com
I want to thank my good friend Lewis Ingles for giving me this information so I could share it with you.
Free free to share any information you may come across as well.
]]>What are your thoughts regarding this? Let us know.
]]>How do you feel as an American that your congressmen would not have the same level of benefits as we do, theirs would be better?
]]>EBIA article from 07-02-2009
COURT FIXES EMPLOYMENT TERMINATION DATE BASED ON TIMING OF ELECTION NOTICE, REQUIRING LONGER ACTIVE COVERAGE FOR EMPLOYEE
[Jennings v. D.F. Crane Const. Corp., 2009 WL 1405167 (W.D. Ky. 2009)]
The employee in this case was away from work for a month and a half, due to medical complications following elective surgery. While he was away, the employee remained in regular contact with his manager. He also incurred significant medical expenses, which were reimbursed under the employer’s health plan. When the employee later called his manager about returning, he was told that the project he had worked on was finished and that his services were no longer needed. The employer subsequently notified the plan insurer that the employee had been terminated when he first left work, and the insurer retroactively terminated coverage and obtained reimbursements from the employee’s medical providers. A few weeks later, a COBRA election notice was sent to the employee that informed him for the first time that his employment (and active health plan coverage) had terminated when he first left work. The employee did not elect COBRA, contending that his active coverage should cover the prior expenses because he had not been terminated that early. When the providers sued the employee for the expenses, the employee sued the employer and insurer to obtain reimbursement.
The court rejected the argument of the employer and insurer that the employee should have elected COBRA when it was offered. Rather, noting that COBRA required the employer to provide an election notice within 44 days after a termination of employment (since the employer was also the plan administrator), the court held that ERISA restricted the employer’s ability to “back-date” the termination. Counting 44 days back from the date the employee received the election notice, the court held that the employee’s termination of active coverage could not have occurred any earlier. As a result, the employee was entitled to coverage of the disputed medical expenses, less any copayment or premiums owed as an employee under the plan.
EBIA Comment: We think other courts would have dismissed the employee’s claim because he failed to elect COBRA within 60 days after it was offered (even though the election notice was late, relative to the date the employer said the employment termination occurred). We also disagree with the court’s analysis because we don’t think that either COBRA or ERISA restricts an employer’s ability to fix the date of a termination of employment. Nevertheless, the court was clearly disturbed that the employee had not received earlier notice of the effect his absence would have on his health coverage, and it reached for a remedy. As a result, the case is yet another example of the need for clear policies regarding leaves of absence, including their impact on COBRA. For more information, see EBIA’s COBRA manual at Sections VII.L (”Special Issues:
Leaves of Absence”).
Contributing Editors: EBIA Staff.
]]>The IRS has issued Notice 2009-46, requesting comments on several proposals to simplify the substantiation rules for employer-provided cellular telephones and similar telecommunications equipment (”cell phones”). Cell phones are “listed property” under Code Section 280F, a classification that triggers strict substantiation requirements. If those substantiation requirements are met, business use of an employer-provided cell phone can be excluded from income as a working condition fringe benefit under Code Section 132(a)(3). If business use is not properly substantiated, however, the unsubstantiated business use (as well as all personal use) is treated as a taxable fringe benefit. Under the “listed property” substantiation rules, employees must, by adequate records or sufficient evidence corroborating the employee’s own statement, prove the amount of each expenditure, the amount of each business use, the date of each expenditure and use, and the business purpose of each expenditure or use.
To deal with the practical difficulties posed by the current substantiation rules, the IRS has suggested three alternative substantiation methods for cell phones. The IRS anticipates that an employer could choose to adopt one or more of these methods under a written policy requiring employees to carry cell phones for business and limiting their personal use.
- under one method, all use would be deemed business use if an employee had another cell phone for personal use during working hours, or if personal use of the business phone did not exceed a “minimal” amount designated by the employer (the minimal amount could be defined, for example, by reference to a number of minutes or by types of permitted personal use).
- Under a second method, employers would assume a specified percentage of business use–the IRS proposes 75% business use and 25% personal use.
- Under a third method, employers would use statistical sampling techniques–similar to those available for establishing the amount of certain meal and entertainment expenses–to measure the amount of personal use.
Comments on these proposals, and other suggestions for simplifying the substantiation rules, will be accepted through September 4, 2009. Comments are also requested on the methods currently being used by employers to determine the fair market value of employees’ use of employer-provided cell phones and on what simpler methodologies, if any, might be appropriate.
EBIA Comment: As the IRS has previously acknowledged, the “listed property” substantiation rules–especially the requirement that an employee prove the business purpose of each business use–are difficult to satisfy in the context of employer-provided cell phones. Notice 2009-46 represents a welcome first step toward making those substantiation rules more manageable. While this is encouraging news, employers should remember that, until substantiation guidance is actually issued and becomes effective, there are no special simplified substantiation methods for cell phones (as there currently are for employer-provided vehicles), so full compliance with the “listed property” substantiation rules is required. For more information, see EBIA’s Fringe Benefits manual at Section II.E.4 (”Employee Business Expense Reimbursements: Cellular Telephones”).
This whole article was taken from the EBIA web site as you can see from their comment. It would be great to hear how your company deals with this issue.
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