Yeah, I know - choosing CRIME as a category may not be apropos - or is it?

Isn't screwing the public a crime? And especially POOR OLD RETIRED BROKE PEOPLE - many of whom are also either sick, suffering with dimentsia, or both!

NOTE:
Corrected a statistical error of mine on 9/09/08.

Class Action Suit

© - Tom Hyland - 8-11-08


Let me be the first to suggest this. If there is an attorney out there who would like to easily earn Millions of Dollars by filing a Class Action Suit against our Federal Government on behalf of Senior Citizens, I would be willing to be the first Claimant.

What if: President Bush, his Administration, the Attorney General, The Internal Revenue Service, the Treasury Department, the Justice Department, and Congress itself - were all GUILTY of either Neglect, Malfeasance of Office, or possibly even known Collusion?

How could anyone raise such a glaring question? Especially an untrained NUDNICK like me? Is this just another crazy rant or rave by the infamous Tom Hyland? Is it just Wishful Thinking?

Let me present my Case:

First of all - what am I talking about? Currently, the recent so-called Economic Stimulus Tax Rebate has been formulated to affect all Retired Senior Citizens in an adverse manner, in effect - CHEATING most, if not all of them out of legally receiving $300.00 EACH!

How so? You may ask. Consider the following Copy and Paste from AARP -

"In March, more than 130 million American households received letters from the IRS, which was giving them general information about economic stimulus payments. The letters also advised Americans that to receive a 2008 stimulus payment, they had to file a 2007 tax return.

As of June, the IRS has identified 5.2 million retirees and veterans' beneficiaries who potentially are eligible for the stimulus payments. Later this summer, the agency will send them a special letter that explains stimulus payment eligibility and how to claim it. The letter will include a sample tax form and an actual tax form that people can complete and mail to the IRS. This will be the second special mailing to reach the older taxpayers.

The IRS says that about 74 percent of this group are accounted for among the stimulus payments it is currently sending.

The IRS has issued 76.1 million payments, worth $63.8 billion, based on 2007 tax returns processed to date. The agency expects to issue 124 million payments to Americans by year’s end. Eligible individuals are receiving up to $600 ($1,200 for married couples filing joint returns) plus $300 for eligible children younger than 17.

You have until Oct. 15, 2008 to apply for an economic stimulus payment.

Taxpayers who have already filed using a 1040 Form to comply with the April 15 filing deadline do not need to do anything more to receive their one-time economic stimulus payments.

People who do not need to file a tax return, but received at least $3,000 from Social Security benefits, veterans benefits, certain railroad retirement benefits and/or earned income in 2007, must submit a simplified version of a 1040A tax form to the IRS in order to receive a stimulus payment. The minimum payment for this group will be $300 for an individual and $600 for a couple filing jointly. The IRS Web site has an online calculator to help estimate your payment."

END OF QUOTE -

POINT ONE - If, by many other reported sources, there are over 78 Million Senior Citizens - why does the government only anticipate paying out this incentive to only 124 Million total citizens by the end of this year? It would seem to me that it would be 78 Million Senior Citizens PLUS how many Millions of other Younger citizens? What is wrong with the MATH here?

POINT TWO - Why did the government REQUIRE that these old people HAD to file a 2007 Tax Return? If most were already on the computer data base, and receiving monthly Social Security Benefits, having already qualified as Legal, Retired American Citizens, and many of which were already on DIRECT DEPOSIT - why not simply PAY THEM THUSLY, thereby saving a bunch of Postal Costs? Too Efficient? Too Logical?

POINT THREE - refer back to the last paragraph of the above citation - “$3,000 from Social Security benefits, veterans benefits, certain railroad retirement benefits and/or earned income in 2007”

Notice the part - “… and/or EARNED income …” - anyone who worked in 2007 and EARNED $3,000 or more gets $600 - but those of us poor slobs who didn’t WORK in 2007, but who did receive $3,000 or more of Retirement benefits only get $300.00 - WHY?

I contend that we Retired folks EARNED every last penny of the meager benefits we receive by WORKING throughout an entire lifetime and PAYING into SSA/F.I.C.A.

In short - WE PAID OUR DUES!
If anything, the amounts should be REVERSED!

Consider this example, copied directly from the IRS website:

"An individual with AGI of $80,000 and federal income tax liability in excess of $600 would qualify for a basic rebate of $600. Because this individual’s AGI exceeds $75,000, however, her rebate is reduced by $250 (the credit is reduced by multiplying the amount of AGI over $75,000 by 5%). The taxpayer receives an economic stimulus payment of $350."

A working person, making $80,000 really NEEDS to get $50.00 more THAN ME! DUH!

This is outright blatant Discrimination against Old Retired people, who need the money much more than those still working!

POINT FOUR - I have been waiting patiently for my measly $300.00 to be deposited into my bank account, but I still have NOT gotten it, although the IRS website said by July 16th - WHY NOT?

Could it be that I have been fighting an erroneous claim for a prior year’s Tax + Interest + Penalties?

According to them I owed $240.00 - which grew to OVER $400.00!

My repeated requests to MEET with a Local Taxpayer Advocate have been ignored - and now I just received a Certified letter THREATENING me with a Levy of Assets!

It could not possibly be because of my Blogs and Articles I’ve been writing for years, complaining about our illustrious government, could it? NAH! I’m just paranoid, right?

In closing, I offer again - I would volunteer to be the FIRST CLAIMANT in a Class Action Suit on Behalf of Retired Senior Citizens.

IS THERE JUST ONE HONEST ATTORNEY OUT THERE?

OR IS THAT TERM AN OXYMORON? © - TKH.