This'n'That; December 16th [Lawsuits;Stocks;Economy;Taxes;Kennedy]

Will Kennedy "Find" Upstate? Upstate New York is defined as any area north of New York City, Southern Westchester County and Long Island. In land mass, that would be a number "far north" of 99% of the state. In population Upstate is 37.5% of the state with a population of 7,121,911 as compared to "Downstate" whose population is 11,864,546. Now, Ms Kennedy [she never changed her name after marriage] is actively "campaigning" for the Rob'em Clinton Senate seat. She's contacted several "High Muckity-Mucks," most notably Time-Warner Honcho Dick Parsons, Civil Unrest Activist Al Sharpton, NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, Senator "Chuckie Cheese," New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and last but probably least, Rep "Geeze-Louise" Slaughter [See a trend here; EVERYONE is downstate with the exception of "Geeze-Louise"]. Where is the experience required to help run the most powerful country on the planet? Do we just "award" positions of authority to American "Royalty?" Now that Ms Kennedy has made her desires public, Governor Paterson will be hard pressed to overcome her public appeal.Who knows? The Governor may rightly opt for substance over "flash" and appoint someone like Erie County Supervisor, Democrat Joel Giambra, Erie County Executive Committee member Mark Poloncarz or State Assemblyman David Gantt . Without "local" representation, Upstate and Western New York State will continue to be either ignored or tossed a cuppla bits of federal pork, enough to keep us quiet while the bulk of benefits goes to "downstate!!" This Guy Understands US Rep Louie Gohmert, Tx., understands the frustrations of the American Taxpayer. The more income governments at all levels take from us, the more they piss away. Rep Gohmert introduced HR 7309 [text below] to exempt all income during January and February, 2009 from any federal taxes, including Social Security. HR 7309 IH 110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7309 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to suspend employment and income taxes for the first two months of 2009, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 9, 2008 Mr. GOHMERT (for himself, Mr. SHADEGG, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. CARTER, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. PENCE, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. SALI, Mr. AKIN, Mr. MCHENRY, Mrs. DRAKE, Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS, Mrs. BACHMANN, Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey, Mr. PRICE of Georgia, Mr. PAUL, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, and Mr. MACK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to suspend employment and income taxes for the first two months of 2009, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SUSPENSION OF EMPLOYMENT TAXES. (a) Tax on Employees- Section 3101 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to rate of tax) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: ‘(d) Suspension- In the case of wages received for service performed during the period beginning on January 1, 2009, and ending on February 28, 2009, the percentage under subsections (a) and (b) shall be zero percent.’. (b) Tax on Employers- Section 3111 of such Code (relating to rate of tax) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: ‘(d) Suspension- In the case of wages paid for service performed during the period beginning on January 1, 2009, and ending on February 28, 2009, the percentage under subsections (a) and (b) shall be zero percent.’. (c) Tax on Self-Employment Income- Section 1401 of such Code (relating to rate of tax) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: ‘(d) Suspension- In the case of self-employment income for service performed during the period beginning on January 1, 2009, and ending on February 28, 2009, the percentage under subsections (a) and (b) shall be zero percent.’. (d) Effective Dates- (1) The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) shall apply to remuneration paid or received after December 31, 2008. (2) The amendment made by subsection (c) shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2008. SEC. 2. SUSPENSION OF INCOME TAXES. (a) In General- Part III of subchapter B of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to items specifically excluded from gross income) is amended by inserting after section 139B the following new section: ‘SEC. 139C. WAGE AND SELF-EMPLOYMENT INCOME. ‘In the case of an individual, gross income shall not include-- ‘(1) any remuneration for service performed during the period beginning on January 1, 2009, and ending on February 28, 2009, by an employee for his employer, including the cash value of all remuneration (including benefits) paid in any medium other than cash wages (as defined in section 3121), and ‘(2) any self-employment income (as defined in section 1402) derived by such individual during such period.’. (b) Clerical Amendment- The table of sections for such part is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 139B the following new item: ‘Sec. 139C. Wage and self-employment income.’. (c) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years ending after December 31, 2008. SEC. 3. FUNDING OF SOCIAL SECURITY TRUST FUNDS WITH REPEALED TARP FUNDS. (a) Repeal of Final $350 Billion Purchase Authority Under Troubled Assets Relief Program- Section 115 of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5225) is amended-- (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (3); and (2) by striking subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f). (b) Transfer to Social Security Trust Funds- (1) ESTIMATE OF SECRETARY- The Secretary of the Treasury (in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Commissioner of Social Security, as appropriate) shall estimate the impact that the enactment of this Act has on the income and balances of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, and the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund. (2) TRANSFER OF FUNDS- If, under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury estimates that the enactment of this Act has a negative impact on the income and balances of any of such funds, the Secretary shall transfer from the general revenues of the Federal Government such sums as may be necessary so as to ensure that the income and balances of such funds are not reduced as a result of the enactment of this Act. SEC. 4. IMMEDIATE TERMINATION OF TARP PURCHASE AUTHORITY. (a) In General- The authorities provided under section 101(a) of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5211), excluding section 101(a)(3) of such Act, shall terminate immediately upon the enactment of this Act. (b) Rule of Construction- The termination under subsection (a) shall apply to any authority of the Secretary of the Treasury under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 to purchase preferred or other stock or equity in any financial institution. (c) Conforming Amendment- The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 is amended by striking section 120 (12 U.S.C. 5230). Some Banking Stocks While Wall Street's "big boys" are "coming apart at the seams," smaller regional banks in most areas of the U.S., are holding fairly stable; of course there's the normal rises and falls in the stock prices so you have to do the due diligence on each stock. [This site doesn't allow/support the blogger to make charts, s-o-o-o-o....the stocks will be listed in this order Name,Symbol, Recent Price, Dividend Yield {%}, Hq Address] A point to ponder..... Some of the stocks have astranomical dividend yields!! When considering an investment in one of these, be aware that chances are good that the institution will lower the rate and payout to a more reasonable level. ***Capitol Federal Financial; CFFN; $42.90; 4.6%; Topeka, Ks. ***Central Virginia Bankshares; CVBK; $5.55; 8.8%; Powhatan, Va. ***Fidelity Southern Corp; LION; $2.86; 80.6%; Atlanta, Ga. ***LSB Financial Corp; LSBI; $13.92; 7.2%; LaFayette, La. ***New York Community Bank; NYB; $11.80; 8.6%; Westbury, N.Y. ***Teche Holding Co; TSH; $24.63; 5.6%; Franklin, La. ***Popular, Inc; BPOP; $5.99; 5.4%; San Juan, PR. ***Irwin Financial Corp; IFC; $1.28; 37.8%; Columbus, In. ***Preferred Bank; PFBC; $6.40; 6.6%; Los Angeles, Ca. Another point to ponder: A while back I got a piece of spam that had an interesting subject so I opened it. What I found was an offer of FREE stock tracking software from http://www.marketbrowser.com/ . I downloaded it and after wandering through it, found that I could set up and navigate it fairly easily. One can create as many folders [each containing nine stock screens] as one wants. In the initial screen, the top row has to be indices from a pull-down menu [like the DJIA, federal unemployment rate, etc], while in subsequent folders, all screens can be stocks. Largest Class-Action Lawsuits; 2008 By filing a class action lawsuit, individuals or small groups can act on behalf of a larger group to seek justice. Many class action lawsuits have been filed in 2008, combating bad business and false promises. Comcast-Internet giant Comcast has been involved in a class action suit regarding its promise of service since early 2008. Gilbert Randolph LLP filed a class action suit against Comcast in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in February 2008. The complaint alleges that Comcast's promises to provide the "fastest Internet connection" and "unfettered access to all the content, services, and applications that the Internet has to offer" are false because Comcast impedes access to peer to peer (P2P) applications. When it comes to P2P applications, Comcast isn't exactly the forgiving type. According to the complaint, Comcast sends "reset packets" which tell the transmitting computer to stop sending data. Tribune Co.-On September 16, 2008, several former and current Los Angeles Times employees filed a lawsuit against the newspaper's corporate parent, Tribune Co., and its chief executive, Sam Zell, contending reckless management is destroying the value of the company. The lawsuit seeks damages on behalf of employees of The Times and Tribune Co., which owns a variety of newspapers, television stations, and other assets, including the Chicago Cubs baseball team. [From: http://www.legalzoom.com/ ] Economy Continues To Tank -- U.S. consumer prices fell in November at the fastest rate since 1932, the darkest days of the Great Depression, the Labor Department reported Tuesday, as prices for energy, commodities and airline fares plunged across the country. The U.S. consumer price index fell by a seasonally adjusted 1.7%, the department reported, the biggest drop since the government began adjusting the CPI for seasonal factors in 1947. But on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI fell by 1.9%, the biggest decline since January 1932, at the nadir of the Great Depression. Energy prices declined by a seasonally adjusted 17%, the most since February 1957. Gasoline prices plunged by 29.5% in November, the most since the government began keeping records in February 1967. The CPI data is one of the last pieces of the economic puzzle that the Federal Reserve will have to mull before its announcement about interest rates later Tuesday. The policy-making Federal Open Market Committee is almost universally expected to cut its target for overnight interest rates to 0.5% from 1%. Over the past year, overall consumer prices have risen by 1.1%, down from their peak of 5.6% in July. Core prices have risen by 2% in the last 12 months. Prices for certain goods rose in November, even as the overall number fell. Medical care prices, for example, climbed by 0.2%. They are up 2.7% in the past year. Also, food prices rose by 0.2% in November. Falling transportation prices contributed to the overall decline. Those prices dropped 9.8% in November, the most in 61 years. They are down 8.9% over the past year. Within transportation, new vehicle prices fell 0.6%. Airline fares, meanwhile, dropped 4%. In a separate report on Tuesday, the Commerce Department said that housing starts fell by a whopping 18.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 625,000, the lowest since the department began keeping records in 1959. [From: http://www.marketwatch.com/ ] Til Nex'time.............