Your Questions About Business Online Services Social Security
Steven asks…
What has Obama done for America so far?
I mean, besides:
1.American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has created 2.1 million jobs (as of 12/31/09).
2.Ended previous policy of not regulating and labeling carbon dioxide emissions
3.Ended previous policy of offering tax benefits to corporations who outsource American jobs; the new policy is to promote in-sourcing to bring jobs back
4.Ended previous policy on torture; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with the Geneva Convention standards
5.. Launched Recovery.gov to track spending from the Recovery Act, an unprecedented step to provide transparency and accountability through technology.
6.Ended previous practice of protecting credit card companies; in place of it are new consumer protections from credit card industry’s predatory practices
7.Ended previous “stop-loss” policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date
8.Energy producing plants must begin preparing to produce 15% of their energy from renewable sources
9.Established a National Performance Officer charged with saving the federal government money and making federal operations more efficient
10.Established a new cyber security office
11.Expanded the SCHIP program to cover health care for 4 million more children
12.Expanding vaccination programs
13.Families of fallen soldiers have expenses
14.. Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with more than $1.4 billion to improve services to America’s Veterans.
15.Federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research
16.Funds for high-speed, broadband Internet access to K-12 schools
17.Responded with compassion and leadership to the earthquake in Haiti
18.Immediate and efficient response to the floods in North Dakota and other natural disasters
19.. Launched Business.gov – enabling conversation and online collaboration between small business owners, government representatives and industry experts in discussion forums relevant to starting and managing a business. Great for the economy.
20.Improved housing for military personnel
21.Improved conditions at Walter Reed Military Hospital and other military hospitals
22.Changed failing war strategy in Afghanistan.
23.Improving benefits for veterans
24.Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants…) after years of neglect
25.Donated his $1.4 million Nobel Prize to nonprofits.
26.Increasing opportunities in AmeriCorps program
27.Provided tax credits to first-time home buyers through the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 to revitalize the U.S. housing market.
28.Increasing pay and benefits for military personnel
29.Increasing student loans
30.Instituted a new policy on Cuba, allowing Cuban families to return “home” to visit loved ones
31.Cracked down on companies that deny sick pay, vacation and health insurance to workers by abusing the employee classification of independent contractor. Such companies also avoid paying Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance taxes for those workers.
32.Limited salaries of senior White House aides; cut to $100,000
33.Limits on lobbyists’ access to the White House
Here’s one for TheBaron:
34. Be the first president in the history of the United States to force Israel to abide by his orders.
Jere answers:
The last five+ responses are entirely fiction.
Conservatives are deranged.
Good list.
A video summary is here (from months ago, though)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXu-CB1XbO4
Linda asks…
Should I be concerned about plagiarism with beta readers?
When I wrote my first YA novel, I didn’t receive any feedback before submitting it to agents. Big mistake! The second time around, I really want to take advantage of beta readers and critique partners that can be found online. Trouble is, I’m a little reluctant to send my manuscript to complete strangers online. This thing is precious to me. The idea of handing it out to strangers I’ve only met online is almost as scary as the idea of sending my social security or credit card numbers to someone online. How do I find reputable betas? In forums, such as Absolute Write, people list their beta services, but you don’t even see their full name or photo. How do I prevent against plagiarism or other funny business?
Jere answers:
Personally, I wouldn’t hand over a manuscript to a random beta reader online, and I certainly would never post it online. Aside from anything else, if you post it online then publishers won’t like it as the ‘first rights’ that they want have already been used. By posting it online, you have already published it in the public domain.
If you really want to send it to someone, then choose a reputable critique service. I used the below service before and they offered a lot of really good advice. It’s going to cost you, but they’re quite reasonable rates. I can’t see why anyone would ever need your social security number, though, and I’d be wary of anyone who asked.
Http://www.writerseyes.org/
The site does offer other good advice, as well as a free to join writers group.
If you go to a professional company, then I wouldn’t worry about plagiarism- they’re professionals and they aren’t going to risk their reputation and business by doing something stupid.
Ask a friend to look over it too- I have one friend who does the first read through on any novel I finish (she’s a dreadful liar so I can always tell if she’s being honest about it!). I give her a printed copy and she marks any errors or inconsistencies as she reads. It’s another set of eyes to spot any mistakes. Don’t rely soley on friends, though, as often they’ll tell you want they think you want to hear and not the truth so as not to hurt your feelings.
Hope this helped
Michael asks…
How do I go about “registering” to pay self-employed taxes having never filed a tax return before?
I know the old saying is that there are “no stupid questions”, but I can’t help but feel a little naive with this one! I got married and moved to the USA from Scotland in late 2010 and when my wife filed her taxes in early 2011 she listed me as a “dependent” as my green card was just being sorted out at the time and as a resident alien and not being allowed to work there was no need for me to report anything.
Fast forward one year and I now have a Green Card, am legal to work but over the last 8 or 9 months I have been self schooling via the internet the art of website design and various other online production skills while my wife kindly worked. I now feel I have the knowledge to go into business for myself but the one thing that has me utterly flummoxed is the tax system. My business is simply going to be myself so I know it will be registered as a “sole proprietor” business (no employees either) and I have registered the name with the local county clerk but that’s where I get stuck. Having never had to fill in a tax form in my life (in the UK your employer does it) I’m a bit stuck. I *think* from what I’ve read that I just have to add self employed earnings into a standard tax return and I will probably just use Turbo Tax or one of the other automated services to ensure I don’t miss things all over the place but I’m not sure where I should begin… I have not started working or looking for clients yet but am ready to do so. Before I do though…
Do I need to contact the IRS in advance and make myself “known” to them? I assume that I need a special tax identifier or will my Social Security number be enough in this case?
I’m not too clear on when I should file. I’ve read conflicting info on Tax websites (a morass of jargon I can’t follow having never had to do taxes) that indicate that I should file at the standard time (in advance of April), a year from the start of pretty much any calendar month or even every three months! I’ve even seen suggestion that I would have to pay a year’s worth of tax up front “estimated” based on what I expect to earn… I have no idea yet!
If anyone has been there or understands what I’m trying to ask I’d be delighted to hear what you have to say. Thanks.
Jere answers:
You don’t register ahead of time with the IRS, you just report the business income and expenses on a schedule C when you file your return, and include that and a schedule SE with the 1040, the main form. TurboTax should handle that for you.
Doesn’t sound like you have anything to report on your self employment for 2011, the return that will be filed shortly.
If you start making money in 2012, you’ll need to make quarterly estimated payments to pay in what you will owe based on the income and expenses you had for that quarter.. This uses form 1040ES.
Donna asks…
Many questions about divorce, and legal issues.?
I have a friend that is currently going through a divorce. There are many questions that we have about it that we can’t find information online about.
She’s divorcing a guy that has abused her physically, mentally, emotionally, and sexually. They rent an appartment though the Housing Authority of Jackson County (Program that gives low-income people a reduced rent appartment). They are currently co-signers on the lease (One can’t kick the other out). There is a $1000 damage fee they have to pay before they are legally allowed to move out of the appartment (All caused by the husbands violence). The guy has a place to go but won’t, he say’s that he enjoys making her life hard.
Is there any way to get this guy out of the appartment? Is there any way She can move out with out having to pay the damage fee?
He hasn’t ever physically hit her, but he has thrown pans, knives, keyboards, boots, plates, etc. At her. She does not have any proof of this, Bruises/scratches etc. They’ve all pretty much healed. He has choked her before as well.
Is there any way he can be charged with any of the crimes he’s commited with out the physical proof? Would a witness (me) be proof enough?
She is currently on Social Security, and does not have enough money to pay for an attorney. We’ve started to look into free legal services such as, cnpls.org, and the Modest Means program that the Oregon State Bar offers. We haven’t been able to get too much information due to work schedules and business hours of these programs.
Are there any other programs available to low-income residents of Oregon?
She feels very trapped and feels that there is nothing she can do to legally get this guy out of her life.
I will update this question with more details, Laptop battery is too low to complete this at this time.
Thanks
Jere answers:
When he gets violent call the police have him arrested for domestic violence.
Then or now get a restraining order, sometimes they call it an order of protection and that should keep him away.
Good Luck!
Robert asks…
My dog is almost 2 months late for her next dose of heartworm meds. What will happen?
The only reason this happened is because the vets here in TX have got together and they are now getting a sweet deal on shots and meds.
I took my dog to the vet to get her check-up and heartworm meds.
We ended up with a bill for $140 and were told to come back in 30 days for her next heartworm meds dose!
They said that the way they do it is to have us come in each time for her meds. So we would have to pay approx $25 for one dose of heartGuard and $45 for an office visit. $70 a month for 1 heartworm dosage.
I have called around to various types of vet clinics and gone online to try to order the product myself. However, once you get online, you still have to have your vet send the orders to allow you to purchase online. And vets do not want that. It kills their business. Their excuse? “We (vets) don’t know for sure just what the efficacy of those drugs are.” This ws the response I got from several vets. The others encouraged me to come in as they would not make me only get 1 dose at a time. They would sell me 3 doses, the first one to be given at the clinic. The 3 doses for her weight (56 pounds) is $69 through the vet. Plus the office visit which varied from $40 – $57.
I certainly do not want my dog to get heartworms. Fortunately, mosquitoes are not out yet where we live. I just cannot afford this. I am disabled and in a wheelchair. I cannot work and live off of my Social Security. And my dog is my service dog.
I am SO stressed out about this. I will be making a bit more money starting June 1 when school is out and I begin summer tutoring. But will she be safe ’til then?
Thanks for your help.
Jere answers:
L am NOT in your country but in mine anyone who has a service dog and is disabled gets a huge amount off their vet bill.Contact Social Services and see if they can help as l am sure it would be the same in the USA where l suspect you live.
L work for a vet and can assure you none of the vets in this practice would dream of charging you this and the heart worm injection if not a puppy is one shot a year which costs all of around $25 depending on the weight of the dog.There is no consultation fee involved in one shot.If you are going in every year to have the dog’s usual boosters for parvo,distemper and kennel cough plus the heart worm l am shocked at this outrageous price.Ring every vet in your are aand compare all the prices and ask and do not be embarrassed that you are disable and have a service dog.
The other people to contact is the crowd that rain service dogs and get their views on this as l am sure they will be able to help in some way.l do not know if you are in a rabies area as those shots are not cheap and we do not rabies in my Country so know little re this.
Enquire at the Vet Association re this issue as you are being seriously overcharged and also some rescue shelters have vets who charge little to nothing for services rend ed so try that.
If l go into a vet and say l want a blood test and nothing else all l pay for is a blood test although some will try and hit you for a consultation and since walking in the door is a consultation?
Keep trying to find the injections for heart worm online everywhere even in the most unlikely places and l would get onto a Dog Forum and pose this question as few vets go onto this site l can assure you..
The cheapest way to give heart worm medication is the old fashioned one tablet per day and in my Country it is bought in Supermarkets and l know an awful lot of people who still stick to this regime as it is really really cheap so check on this as well as these tablets are not expensive at all and if you cannot get them cheaply as they c ome in packs of 50 or 100 l can get it for you and send it to you and will NOT charge postage but the actual cost of the tablets form the Supermarket and again believe me it is cheap and you put it into your dog’s food or shove it down his throat if you can with a piece of meat EVERY DAY of the year not just in mosquito season and that way you have coverage all year round and not up for a potential blood test before you start the course again if you fail to give your dog heart worm tabs in Winter.
L am still reeling in shock and cannot believe the cost to you on a pension.
As for your qquestion will the dog be safe till then l do know in your Country some people only heart worm in summer which is stupid.In my Country 2 months without heart worm medication means a blood test before any vet or anyone will allow this dog to resume the medication although just asked my Employer and his answer was if the dog has been continually on heart worm for years and has missed two months than he would feel the dog has enough anti bodies to be clear so in his opinion he thinks it would be OK to sstart re giving the tebs or injections but it is your decison as for me l w ould personally have the blood test as l take no chances,but that is me
Powered by Yahoo! Answers