Middle Class Dismissed

U.S. Postal Service to cut Saturday delivery

"The U.S. Postal Service is set to announce that it will discontinue Saturday mail delivery in a cost-saving measure that is expected to save the agency up to $2 billion per year. According to the Associated Press, package delivery will continue six days a week, but regular mail will be limited to Monday to Friday delivery. The changes are slated to take place in August. Under the new plan, Saturday delivery to post office boxes will continue and post offices that are currently open on Saturdays will remain open." Continue reading →

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Bulgarian government resigns amid protests

"'We have dignity and honour. It is the people who put us in power and we give it back to them today,' Borisov told parliament, adding that he would not participate in an interim government. Bulgaria has been shaken over the past week by protests that initially were about soaring electricity prices but which have turned into nationwide demonstrations against the right-wing government in general. The clashes left dozens of people wounded and scores were arrested with demonstrators fighting running battles with riot police and vandalising government buildings in the capital Sofia." Continue reading →

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Left In The Dark: Copper Thieves Rob Detroit Freeways Of Light

"MDOT spokesman Rob Morosi said roughly 20 percent of the lights on poles and beneath overpasses on freeways in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and St. Clair counties are dark. 'We are responsible for about 5,500 light poles and also about 5,000 individual lights that are installed beneath overpasses,' Morosi told The Detroit News. 'Right now we’re estimating 1,100 outages to those poles for a number of reasons.' The main reason for many of the outages, according to Morosi, is copper thieves – who are stripping metal from the transformer cabinets." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLeft In The Dark: Copper Thieves Rob Detroit Freeways Of Light

Cops Nab 5-Year-Old for Wearing Wrong Color Shoes to School

"In Mississippi, if kindergarteners violates the dress code or act out in class, they may end up in the back of a police car. A story about one five-year-old particularly stands out. The little boy was required to wear black shoes to school. Because he didn’t have black shoes, his mom used a marker to cover up his white and red sneakers. A bit of red and white were still noticeable, so the child was taken home by the cops. The child was escorted out of school so he and his mother would be taught a lesson. Ridiculous? Perhaps. But incidents such as this are happening across Mississippi." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCops Nab 5-Year-Old for Wearing Wrong Color Shoes to School

The Unsung, But Massive Obamacare Sales Tax Increase That Is On the Way

"In 2014, Obamacare will take effect, with many of the changes set to roll out over the next six months. There are a number of new taxes that the ACA will bring- twenty one to be exact- but the sales tax on the purchase of health insurance is by far the largest. The tax increases that remain on the books will cost taxpayers more than $675 billion over the next ten years. Chief among these will be the sales tax on the purchase of health insurance, totaling $101.7 billion, and making it larger than all the other industry-specific taxes combined." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Unsung, But Massive Obamacare Sales Tax Increase That Is On the Way

New UK wealth tax plan to target ALL assets – including jewelry and buy-to-let homes

"Families will be forced to pay tax on jewellery and other heirlooms under controversial new plans drawn up by the Liberal Democrats. Under the scheme, tax inspectors would get unprecedented new powers to go into homes and value rings, necklaces, paintings, furniture and other family treasures. Householders would be forced to pay a new ‘wealth’ levy on the assets – with the threat of fines for those who refused to let snoops value their possessions. A policy document seen by The Mail on Sunday spells out how the taxman ‘may have to visit homes to test values of jewellery, paintings, etc’." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew UK wealth tax plan to target ALL assets – including jewelry and buy-to-let homes

Rangel wants women to be drafted

"Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) on Friday said he plans to introduce legislation that would bring back the military draft and extend it to women for the first time. Rangel, who has pushed for years to bring back the draft, said the Pentagon’s decision to allow women to serve in combat means that they too should register for the Selective Service. In an interview on MSNBC, Rangel said the draft should be reinstated because the majority of Americans make 'no real sacrifice' when the country goes to war." Continue reading →

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How Big Was the Tax Hike for Everyone Earning a Paycheck?

"The payroll tax paid by workers increased from 4.2% to 6.2% at the start of the year. The regressive tax is paid by everybody who earns $113,700 annually or less. That means someone making the median income of about $50,000 will pay $1,000 a year more in taxes, or a little more than $19 a week. These receipts are supposed to pay for Social Security and Medicare, but they are actually spent along with all other revenues. I monitor the 260-day moving sum of withheld income and employment taxes deposited at the US Treasury. It was $1,791 billion on December 18. It jumped $25 billion to $1,816 billion on January 18. That’s a significant tax increase." Continue reading →

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Millions Improperly Claimed ‘Lifeline’ Phone Subsidies

"The U.S. government spent about $2.2 billion last year to provide phones to low-income Americans, but a Wall Street Journal review of the program shows that a large number of those who received the phones haven't proved they are eligible to receive them. The Lifeline program—begun in 1984 to ensure that poor people aren't cut off from jobs, families and emergency services—is funded by charges that appear on the monthly bills of every landline and wireless-phone customer. Payouts under the program have shot up from $819 million in 2008, as more wireless carriers have persuaded regulators to let them offer the service." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMillions Improperly Claimed ‘Lifeline’ Phone Subsidies