Weekend ponderings
The L.A. Times is reporting that California state tax revenues may fall hundreds of millions of dollars short of projections for April, the largest month for tax collection.
That had me thinking about some letters from the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to a number of state employees in the last few weeks. They got letters accompanying their refund checks explaining why their refunds were smaller than what was indicated on their tax returns. The letters claimed that the FTB was unable to verify the amount of withholding reported on their return with the records at the Employment Development Department (EDD).
Turns out that some of the state taxes withheld from these employee's checks had not yet been reported by the state to the EDD. When some of these taxpayers called the FTB, they found out that the EDD records had been updated and the FTB promised to send the remaining refund amounts to them within two or three weeks.
What happens to the reduced refunds of those who don't take the time to call or write to the FTB? Will their additional refund amounts be processed automatically? People who got physical refund checks got letters accompanying the checks. What about those taxpayers whose refunds were paid out through direct deposit? Were they notified of the reduction in their refunds? Are they aware of what's going on?
* * *
While the Republican-controlled Congress cannot gather the votes needed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, there is one provision they all seem to be in agreement with. They appear to believe that almost all Americans do not need the ACA provision that prevents health insurers from limiting coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
Which Americans do they think should continue to have that protection for pre-existing conditions? Themselves, their families and their staffs and families. And they aren't even ashamed of themselves for doing it.
This would be a good moment to review other laws that Congress feels they should not have to follow while requiring others to comply with them.
Protection for Whistleblowers. If someone turns in the member of the House or Senate they work for, for any reason, they have no protection from retaliation.
Keeping Records in the Workplace Congress has exempted itself from all such provisions, including health and safety records.
The Freedom of Information Act. While government agencies are required to comply with this law, Congress exempted itself along with the federal court system and some areas of the Presidency.
Seems to me the swamp isn't being drained. It is actually being enhanced.
* * *
I wasn't going to get involved with the "Ten Bands and one lie" game but then I saw this from Dave Grohl and it was so awesome, I decided I would give it a try.
So I am going to attempt to list every musical act I've seen in concert. It is a long list since I've been going to concerts since the early 1970s.
Air Supply
America
Art Garfunkel (but not Simon and Garfunkel
Bananarama
Barry Manilow
Berlin
Billy Idol
Billy Joel
Billy Ocean
Billy Vera and the Beaters
Blue Swede
Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods
Bob Seger
Boston
Bruce Hornsby and the Range
Carl Anderson
Cheap Trick
Chicago
Christopher Cross
Dan Fogelberg
Debbie Gibson
Donna Summer
ELO
Elton John
Exile
Expose
Foreigner
Frank Sinatra
Frankie Valli
Gladys Knight and the Pips
Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine
Hall and Oates
Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds
Harry Chapin
Heart
Huey Lewis and the News
James Taylor
John Cougar
John Denver
Journey
K. C. and the Sunshine Band
Leo Sayer
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Men at Work
Metallica
Paul McCartney and Wings
Paul Simon
Prince
Quarterflash
Queen
REO Speedwagon
Rod Stewart
Sammy Davis Jr. & Jerry Lewis
Seals and Crofts
Silver Connection
Starship
Steve Miller Band
Stevie Wonder
Styx
The Bangles
The Commodores
The Doobie Brothers
The Eagles
The Go-Gos
The Little River Band
The O’Jays
The Ohio Players
The Rolling Stones
The Runaways
The Spinners
Tiffany
Toto
Whitney Houston
I've probably missed some but I think this is a fairly complete list. All except one. Can you guess the one that is a lie?
* * *
The origin of the word fratricide comes from the killing of one's brother or sister. These days, when used in a military context, it refers to the death of military personnel by what is often referred to as "friendly-fire." There is nothing friendly about it.
The deaths of two of the Army's Rangers in Afghanistan are being investigated as having been caused by friendly-fire. Sgt. Joshua P. Rodgers, 22, and Sgt. Cameron H. Thomas, 23, died during a nighttime raid in Nangarhar province, the Pentagon said Friday.
Let's hope the investigation finds this to be an unpreventable tragedy rather than an error by whatever "friend" fired on them.
* * *
There is a story in the Los Angeles Times regarding the latest lawsuit being filed against Uber. This one seeks class action status for all drivers in California, claiming that the company is engaged in a scheme to defraud drivers by calculating two fares. One fare that the passenger pays and another, lower fare on which the driver's compensation is based.
Does this lawsuit have merit? Based on what we know about Uber's past behavior, it seems plausible.
Stay tuned to see what happens.
* * *
That had me thinking about some letters from the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to a number of state employees in the last few weeks. They got letters accompanying their refund checks explaining why their refunds were smaller than what was indicated on their tax returns. The letters claimed that the FTB was unable to verify the amount of withholding reported on their return with the records at the Employment Development Department (EDD).
Turns out that some of the state taxes withheld from these employee's checks had not yet been reported by the state to the EDD. When some of these taxpayers called the FTB, they found out that the EDD records had been updated and the FTB promised to send the remaining refund amounts to them within two or three weeks.
What happens to the reduced refunds of those who don't take the time to call or write to the FTB? Will their additional refund amounts be processed automatically? People who got physical refund checks got letters accompanying the checks. What about those taxpayers whose refunds were paid out through direct deposit? Were they notified of the reduction in their refunds? Are they aware of what's going on?
* * *
While the Republican-controlled Congress cannot gather the votes needed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, there is one provision they all seem to be in agreement with. They appear to believe that almost all Americans do not need the ACA provision that prevents health insurers from limiting coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
Which Americans do they think should continue to have that protection for pre-existing conditions? Themselves, their families and their staffs and families. And they aren't even ashamed of themselves for doing it.
This would be a good moment to review other laws that Congress feels they should not have to follow while requiring others to comply with them.
Protection for Whistleblowers. If someone turns in the member of the House or Senate they work for, for any reason, they have no protection from retaliation.
Keeping Records in the Workplace Congress has exempted itself from all such provisions, including health and safety records.
The Freedom of Information Act. While government agencies are required to comply with this law, Congress exempted itself along with the federal court system and some areas of the Presidency.
Seems to me the swamp isn't being drained. It is actually being enhanced.
* * *
I wasn't going to get involved with the "Ten Bands and one lie" game but then I saw this from Dave Grohl and it was so awesome, I decided I would give it a try.
So I am going to attempt to list every musical act I've seen in concert. It is a long list since I've been going to concerts since the early 1970s.
38 Special
AerosmithAir Supply
America
Art Garfunkel (but not Simon and Garfunkel
Bananarama
Barry Manilow
Berlin
Billy Idol
Billy Joel
Billy Ocean
Billy Vera and the Beaters
Blue Swede
Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods
Bob Seger
Boston
Bruce Hornsby and the Range
Carl Anderson
Cheap Trick
Chicago
Christopher Cross
Dan Fogelberg
Debbie Gibson
Donna Summer
ELO
Elton John
Exile
Expose
Foreigner
Frank Sinatra
Frankie Valli
Gladys Knight and the Pips
Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine
Hall and Oates
Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds
Harry Chapin
Heart
Huey Lewis and the News
James Taylor
John Cougar
John Denver
Journey
K. C. and the Sunshine Band
Leo Sayer
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Men at Work
Metallica
Paul McCartney and Wings
Paul Simon
Prince
Quarterflash
Queen
REO Speedwagon
Rod Stewart
Sammy Davis Jr. & Jerry Lewis
Seals and Crofts
Silver Connection
Starship
Steve Miller Band
Stevie Wonder
Styx
The Bangles
The Commodores
The Doobie Brothers
The Eagles
The Go-Gos
The Little River Band
The O’Jays
The Ohio Players
The Rolling Stones
The Runaways
The Spinners
Tiffany
Toto
Whitney Houston
I've probably missed some but I think this is a fairly complete list. All except one. Can you guess the one that is a lie?
* * *
The origin of the word fratricide comes from the killing of one's brother or sister. These days, when used in a military context, it refers to the death of military personnel by what is often referred to as "friendly-fire." There is nothing friendly about it.
The deaths of two of the Army's Rangers in Afghanistan are being investigated as having been caused by friendly-fire. Sgt. Joshua P. Rodgers, 22, and Sgt. Cameron H. Thomas, 23, died during a nighttime raid in Nangarhar province, the Pentagon said Friday.
Let's hope the investigation finds this to be an unpreventable tragedy rather than an error by whatever "friend" fired on them.
* * *
There is a story in the Los Angeles Times regarding the latest lawsuit being filed against Uber. This one seeks class action status for all drivers in California, claiming that the company is engaged in a scheme to defraud drivers by calculating two fares. One fare that the passenger pays and another, lower fare on which the driver's compensation is based.
Does this lawsuit have merit? Based on what we know about Uber's past behavior, it seems plausible.
Stay tuned to see what happens.
* * *
posted by me at 8:27 PM
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