Taxing Information

Today is a special day for most Americans. It is not a national holiday. Most of us do not know someone who has a birthday today. Today is the deadline for employers to give out W-2 forms. Without these forms, we cannot file our tax returns. We all have the same reaction to the W-2. You get it and can't wait to rip it open. We all love the surprise of seeing how much we actually earned last year. Or did not earn. We focus on the large number, that shows our wages and gloss over the other lines that show who else was a partner in our paycheck. We do not actually know where our money is going. We understand the Medicare deduction and we understand the Social Security deduction. Then comes the grey area of Federal Tax deduction. Somehow, a large sum is deducted and we do not know exactly where it goes. It reminds me of the word "stuff". The federal deduction pays for all of the other "stuff" that our country buys. I think that after all of the hard work we put in, America needs to itemize where our money goes.

Do Over

The other day, a good friend asked me the following question. "If you had the chance, would you want to be five years old again and live life from this day on"? I immediately answered "No". I like where I am in life but there is no way that I would want to start life again in the year 2012. The follow up question was, "If you had to pick a year to be five years old, and live life, what year would it be?" Now, that was a tougher question. After a bit of thinking and calculating, I chose 1945. Here is my rationale for this answer. I would have been born in 1940 and therefore not aware of the hardships of WWII. I would have been a teenager in the mid 1950's. Life was more innocent then. I could have had burgers and shakes at the local hangout. Girls looked like girls. People respected each other. You could walk in the streets and be safe. Dinner was a nightly family event. Mom's stayed at home. Even though I would be sacrificing some of today's conveniences, I think it would be worth it. I would gladly trade an hour of computer time, if it meant that hour would be spent conversing with my children. I would give up fast food dinner for home cooked ones. Video games vs. stoop ball. Simple life. How nice would that be.

Semantics

I love it when people use code words, to describe unpleasant events, to make them look better. This week, a famous Hollywood actress was admitted into the hospital for "exhaustion". Hollywood replaces the phrase "drug use" with the word "exhaustion". The only people that actually suffer from exhaustion, are the ones that do not have time to rest, due to their responsibilities. Today, I am exhausted. I got up early, did errands, went food shopping, made lunch, painted a room, did laundry, paid bills, and it is only 4pm. Six hours to go before bed. By then I will have added making dinner, washing dishes and possibly a second laundry load. I did not have time for a manicure, pedicure, spa treatment, celebrity party and possibly, horseback riding. If actress are exhausted, I should be comatose. Lets call it what it is. Overindulgence, in a privileged lifestyle, where my weekly paycheck is the price of one of their pocketbooks.

Shame On You

Yesterday, someone tried to scam my parents. Although they are old chronologically, they are young  mentally and did not fall for it. Even though they knew things did not add up, they were still quite upset. Here is what happened.... They receive a telephone call saying that their grandson "X" was in a car accident. He was not badly hurt, but he hit the car of  Spanish Diplomat and therefore was going to jail. The man on the phone then puts "X" on the line, and he says, "Grandpa, I am not hurt, but they gave me some medication to calm down, so I sound a little drugged. Please send money to the lawyer to get me out of jail on bond". The "lawyer" then gets back on the phone and says that "X" will be taken to the jail and will remain there for 10 days, among unsavory (yes, he said unsavory) people, unless my parents send $1995 via Western Union. My father says to them "this doesn't sound right, so I am going to check it out" and hangs up. Now, they call "X", but he doesn't answer his cell. It goes directly to voice mail. They then call his house, and he answers. They are now relieved. While they are talking to him, the other people call back. They ask if the Western Union account was opened yet, as "X" was now downstairs in a cell. My father says, "that's funny, I am talking to him now, and he is listening to this conversation". They hang up the line. How horrible of these people to try to extort money from the elderly, by using fear of a loved one being harmed. I am a believer in Karma, so I do not wish bad things on them. The bad things will come naturally and when they do, it will be well deserved.

Full Disclosure?

This week, our Repulican Presidential candidate, was asked to disclose his income tax returns. After much debate about when he would disclose them, he was backed into a corner and had to do it this week. If he waited, things would look suspicious. He decided to only disclose 2010 and an estimate for 2011. My only problem with that, is that in 2010, he knew he would be running for election. I could only think, that if someone is going to run for president, they would be extra careful about their tax return. Prior to 2010, it is anyone's guess, if the returns would look the same as they did in 2010. Now, the plot thickens. It seems that he omitted funds from investment accounts and.....his Swiss bank account. Yes, the American candidate seems to have deposited funds into a Swiss account. How much money do you need to hide, in order to make it worthwhile, to open a Swiss bank account? One thousand, one hundred thousand or maybe one million or more. I can guarantee, that the amount he has hidden, exceeds my total financial worth. I still stand by my belief, that a middle class person needs to run the country. We know the reality of life, in America.

The Pad

I am not the type of person who falls asleep easily. I always envied the people that say that they fall asleep as soon as their head hits the pillow. It usually takes me anywhere from a half hour to an hour to go to sleep. One of the reasons, is that my mind is still racing, while my body is trying to rest. During that time, I think and think, about what happened that day and what will happen the next. Many times, I get ideas for this blog. The idea comes into my head and the story forms. I lay there and tell myself that when I get up, I will remember it. Too bad, that most times I do not. The next day, I try to concentrate on bringing back the stories that I had floating in my  head, all night. Most times, I cannot. I once heard, that comedians think of their best jokes, while trying to fall asleep. Since they also had trouble remembering them in the morning, they put a pad and pen, next them, on the nightstand. Tonight, I will try that and hope that in the morning I did not write gibberish.

One For The Team

I was driving home from work today and as usual, I passed the high school. I saw the football team practicing. They were jumping around, pushing and shoving each other and looked like they were having a lot of fun. On the opposite end of the field were the cheerleaders. They were tumbling and doing stunts. They looked so pretty in their uniforms with their hair tied up, in perfect ponytails. I started to think... which do they enjoy more, playing the game or being part of the team? I really think it is being part of the team. Human nature tells us that people need to be included. You can always toss around a ball or tumble in a gym but doing it alone without the camaraderie of a group, lacks something. We all want to be a part of the group. That is where the fun is.