Don't forget to vote!

Click the flag pic to be taken to vote.utah.gov for local polling info (blue box on the right - Find my polling place) and issues related to the election. AARP is another good resource. Their site will also tell you by your address what is on your ballot.

Don't forget to take ID (D.L., passport, etc.)

Along those lines, big tax changes are coming in 2011 as many rules are set to expire. A few to be aware of:

	Prepare for tax hikes. Based on current laws, many tax rates will go up in 2011 (although that could change, depending on what the new Congress does). Still, experts say you may want to plan ahead for the higher rates by accelerating income now, and postponing deductions until 2011, depending on your situation. More info here.
	Pay those estimated taxes. A provision that allowed self-employed folks to fudge a little on their estimated payments during the tax year without incurring a penalty has expired. If you've been skimping on your quarterlies, square everything away by the Jan. 15 installment so that 100% of your bill is paid. Here are some other tax changes affecting the self-employed.
	Budget for kid-related expenses. The child and dependent care tax credit will drop in 2011—from $3,000 in day care expenses for one child, $6,000 for two (up to 35% of costs), down to $2,400 and $4,800 respectively, with a 30% cap. Also, the child tax credit is being cut from $1,000 to $500.

A little worrisome for me. As a state employee I haven't had a raise in about three years, our health insurance benefits have decreased and costs increased with more of that predicted. So, our paychecks are shrinking but cost of living certainly is not. We are also losing some of our flex dollar options and they are capping it at a lower annual amount so you can't really depend on tax savings there either. This is part of what is paying for healthcare reform. And, the "tax credits" there are another joke. First, we lose other tax credits so we can be credited for buying our own health insurance, then we can pay for the insurance up front, wait for the next tax filing to apply for the credit, then wait for the tax refund (if there's any left after the raised taxes). That rebate will likely never be seen. Or if it is, it may be like the housing rebate. Jenn and Fred bought theirs last year, applied for the $8,000 tax credit in April and have yet to see the cash. Red-tape seems to have held it up somewhere along the line. Why doe this not surprise me?

We need to unite!

Register today!

Today you can register to vote online! Go here if you have moved since you last voted. You need your name, D.L. number, birthdate and address. If you miss today's deadline you can also print and walk it in to your county clerk's office by October 18th to vote in this year's election. When you vote you must bring photo ID now but the registration is simple.

Freebie of the Day

Click the post title to receive a free pocket copy of the Declaration of Independence.

Young, bold and beautiful!

Be sure to turn off the background music on the right sidebar so you can hear this wonderful presentation of "our song."

Something worth thinking about

Freedom

I checked this with Snopes - thanks, Sheila for sharing this inspirational story.

We rarely get a chance to see another country's editorial about the USA

Read this excerpt from a Romanian Newspaper. The article was written by Mr. Cornel Nistorescu and published under the title 'C'ntarea Americii, meaning 'Ode To America ') in the Romanian newspaper Evenimentulzilei 'The Daily Event' or 'News of the Day'.

~An Ode to America ~


Why are Americans so united? They would not resemble one another even if you painted them all one color! They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations and religious beliefs.

On 9/ll, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the Army, or the Secret Service that they are only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts. Nobody rushed out onto the streets nearby to gape about.

Instead the Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping hand.


After the first moments of panic, they raised their flag over the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colors of the national flag. They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on every car a government official or the president was passing. On every occasion, they started singing: 'God Bless America !'

I watched the live broadcast and rerun after rerun for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey player, who gave his life fighting with the terrorists and prevented the plane from hitting a target that could have killed other hundreds or thousands of people.

How on earth were they able to respond united as one human being? Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone call, millions and millions of dollars were put into collection aimed at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit, which no money can buy. What on earth can unites the Americans in such way? Their land? Their history? Their economic Power? Money? I tried for hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases with the risk of sounding commonplace, I thought things over, I reached but only one conclusion... Only freedom can work such miracles.

Cornel Nistorescu

(This deserves to be passed around the Internet forever.) It took a person on the outside - looking in - to see what we take for granted !

GOD BLESS AMERIC A !!!

Worth remembering and considering

"The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it always to be kept alive." ~ Thomas Jefferson

Common Sense Comments - if Thomas Payne were here.

A pretty good commentary on common sense in this country. I believe in universal health care but it needs to be done privately; not run by the government who can't even run the programs they already have - Medicaid, Medicare, etc. I've seen the stupidity and waste in the way those programs are handled. Remember, I work for the government. I like what we do for the most part, but we boggle these programs with red-tape. Private insurers such as IHC, PEHP, Altius know what is needed and know how to run the program. If we get rid of the gatekeepers by making it universal, requiring "common sense" in the treatment of the "customers" - providers and patients alike, they can make it happen. Yes, government needs to be involved to make it happen, but they cannot be in charge of it.

We do need to be united as a country. I bristle at every statistic asking for "race" or "ethnicity" because I do believe that we will never be equal until we stop labeling every American by their special interest group. In days past immigrants did not want to be labeled by their past - they wanted to be Americans. They even gave up their language of origin and did not teach it to their children because they wanted their children to grow up American. I think a second language is a valuable skill, but it should be treated as such - the second language in this country; not the first - if they are to be American. There needs to be incentives to learn the language as there were in the 1800s.

So here's "Thomas Payne" revisiting Common Sense for our day. Some important thoughts.


On the health care subject, click here to read some local discussion that makes sense.