A mercenary for the IRS

Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin
Your choice for urban survival resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com



In This Issue:

1. A mercenary for the IRS
2. Hurricane & Tornado emergency prep
3. Soil testing, composting, garden how-tos
4. Commodities data, economics
5. Tools to Survive & thrive
6. Ripples from the Zambezi


Who is successful in America today?
It is the big boys. Everyone else is being crushed.


We sure have Japan in our prayers this week…sure reinforces what I wrote last week about all of the natural disasters and its potential tie-in to 12-21-12!

I was a mercenary for the IRS…

It’s that time of the year again. The annual torture of hours spent hunting for receipts and deductions. When the Internal Revenue Service and income tax on individuals was created, the public was promised the tax “would never affect anyone other than the top one percent of income earners.” We all know how long that lasted.

Under the Obama administration, the staffing levels of the IRS are budgeted to grow by more than 5,000 new agents whose primary role will be to secure more revenue for the government, primarily from small business owners (another dwindling US resource).

I’ve been through several IRS audits and though time-consuming, I came out ahead each time. When notified of a fourth audit, my CPA sent them a letter politely declining the invitation as by then, it amounted to harassment.

In past years in my role as appraiser and property liquidator, I have worked with the IRS, the US Marshals Service, local police agencies and bankruptcy courts. One of my friends at the time called me a ’mercenary,’ no better than those who collect a reward from the IRS when they snitch on fraudulent taxpayer (yes, there is such a program and the compensation is limited to 10% of what the IRS collects). On the whole, most of the personnel I’ve worked with were nice people. But all seemed to have developed self-protective detachment or indifference to the plight of the family or business they had gone after.

One newspaper which had been family owned for generations was hit with a three million dollar tax bill when the father died. Unable to come up with the cash, the business was liquidated, putting 35 employees on the unemployment line. Does this make sense?

--The average family pays over 38% of their total to the IRS, which is more than the average family spends on food, clothing, and shelter combined.

--The IRS has a whistleblowers program designed to help catch tax evaders. In 2005 they paid over $27 million to informants that resulted in nearly $350 million in revenue.

-- The federal government spends about $10 billion per year to pay the IRS’s 114,000 employees.

It’s being reported the IRS is actually an agency of the IMF and is the collection arm of the Federal Reserve. I have no way of establishing those ideas as facts. With respect to the Federal Reserve System, it is a deliberate mystery. It was deliberately designed in 1910 to deceive the public, who were opposed the idea of a central bank. The conspirators who met on Jekyll Island in November 1910 knew this. Many believe the fed bears the sole responsibility for our endless cycle of recessions, inflation and the devaluation of the dollar.

In an essay about his youth, sociologist Robert Nisbet remarked that in the year he was born, 1913, the only contact that most Americans had with the Federal government was the Post Office. Later that year, the Federal Reserve Act was passed in a late session, just before Christmas break. Also in that year, the income tax came into effect. The expansion of the Federal government has been relentless ever since.

My best advice is to always use a qualified tax preparer such as an Enrolled Agent, who has undergone some training. For anything other than a simple return, I would avoid those free preparation services and software.
http://www.irs.gov/taxpros/agents/article/0,,id=100710,00.html

Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/taxes-articles/15-interesting-facts-about-the-irs-363017.html#ixzz1G6rX7Ljw

Finally…there is now a SmartPhone app for taxpayers, called IRS2Go. It allows you to track the status of your refund and more. You can download it via Apple’s App Store or Android Marketplace!

Syracuse professor of psychology Michael Carey received $219,000 in federal stimulus money for a study that examines the sex patterns of college women…now there’s a job the PM would enjoy!



Useful Resources for the Week

For anyone interested in economics, this site is a wealth of information. Looking at the Commodities Data section made my head spin - all the information that they had! And they have a neat application on the right side of the page that lets you help them keep track of commodity data.
I found Country Facts to be an interesting section too!
http://www.indexmundi.com/

The Homeowners Guide
Information about dealing with disasters and home care
A big thank you to Ms. Harris for sending this…she shares the PM site with students!
http://www.homeownersinsurance.org/


Tools to Survive & Prosper
21 Tools and resources in areas of internet privacy, medical, precious metals, banking and more. Free to those who have purchased any of our Poor Man products. Send me an email with ‘tools’ in the subject line and you’ll be sent this report as an attachment. Send request to: PoorManSurvivor@yahoo.com

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According to TrimTabs Investment Research, government handouts have reached a level that is equivalent to 35 percent of all wages and salaries in the United States. Considering the fact that this figure was only 21 percent back in the year 2000 and only 10 percent back in 1960.



Free Gardening Resources-from our friends at the County Extension Office
How to Take a Soil Test
http://www.css.msu.edu/SPNL/
Compost your yard waste - You Tube Videos by Bob Tritten, District Fruit Educator on how to compost
http://www.migarden.msu.edu/migarden/news/item/compost_your_yard_waste
MSU Fruit Resources
http://web1.msue.msu.edu/fruit/
MSU Vegetable Team Website
http://vegetable.msue.msu.edu//
MSU Poultry Team Website
http://web1.msue.msu.edu/poultry


It's also time to start thinking about all of the vegetables, herbs, berries and fruit that you can grow yourself.
If you are new to food gardening, it's easy to learn how to grow and enjoy healthy and delicious vegetables in your backyard. You can save a fortune on food costs and protect yourself and your loved ones from dangerous chemicals and production methods used on store-bought produce. And, you can have vegetables and fruit that tastes better than anything you can buy.
Here's a list of free downloadable how-to-garden books that I found for you:
Download your Free Kitchen Garden Guide Books >>>
( http://www.todaysplans.net/learn-gardening-vegetables.html )


Substitute club soda for the liquid called for in pancake batter to get fluffier cakes.
Club soda is also good to use instead of tap water for your indoor plants-more minerals.

Government Roundup

"No Way Out" of Debt Trap, Gross Says: U.S. Living Standards Doomed to Fail…PM has been stating this for years!
Debt, debt and more mounting debt is plaguing countries around the globe.
In this U.S., states across the country face a collective $125 billion shortfall for fiscal 2012, while Congress is facing a budget gap nearly 10 times that size.

PIMCO founder Bill Gross -- one of the world's largest mutual funds managers, who focuses mostly on bonds -- has previously said that if the United States were a corporation, no one in their right mind would lend us money. For the last decade, we’ve been “relying on the kindness of strangers” to help cover our debts, he tells Aaron Task in the accompanying clip. More at:
http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/%E2%80%9Cno-way-out%E2%80%9D-of-debt-trap-gross-says-u.s.-living-standards-doomed-to-fall-536001.html


Oil Price Shocks and the Recession of 2011?: Ten of the last 11 recessions were preceded by oil price hikes
Ten of the last 11 recessions were preceded by oil price shocks. The price of crude is up about 30 percent over last year. Reason Science Correspondent Ronald Bailey delves into the economic literature in an effort to see if a 2011 recession is likely.

Reason.tv: Cutting Government Spending-An Interview with Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuño
Since coming into power in 2009, Gov. Luis Fortuño (R-Puerto Rico) has cut government spending by 20 percent, lowered taxes and raised the territory's bond status to its highest rating in 35 years - all during a punishing economic climate. Gov. Fortuño sat down with Reason Magazine Editor in Chief Matt Welch to discuss Puerto Rico's turnaround, federal immigration policy, the drug war, education reform, his support of statehood and a possible future in mainland politics.
http://reason.com/blog/2011/03/08/cutting-government-spending-an

Obama is considering releasing some of national oil reserves to ease recent fuel price hikes…why not simply place a hold in the fuel taxes paid at the pump? About 18 cents at the federal level…if states kicked in, that would drop the price about 50 cents a gallon.

Unrepentant Unlicensed Taxi Driver: "There's absolutely nothing wrong with what I do," by Damon W. Root
In his book The Right to Earn a Living , public interest attorney Timothy Sandefur explains how taxi licensing laws are just one of the many arbitrary and unnecessary types of regulation that restrict economic liberty while enriching special interests. Writing today at the Pacific Legal Foundation's Liberty Blog, Sandefur highlights an extraordinary story from Aspen, Colorado where a man named Phil Sullivan just spent over a week in jail for operating an unlicensed taxi. And as Sullivan told The Aspen Times, he refuses to accept the idea that he did anything wrong.


Start seeds in eggshells. Place halves into the egg carton and fill with soil, press seeds inside.
Seeds will draw nutrients from the shells. Once about 3” high, remove and replant. Crush the eggshells and add to your compost pile or garden.


Make Play Clay for Kids
Add together 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar, 1 cup salt, 4 cups plain flour, 1-2 tablespoons cooking oil. Stir well with wooden spoon, then slowly stir while adding 4 cups of water. Cook the mixture on medium in a saucepan until it thickens (stir occasionally). It’s ready when it forms a ball that isn’t sticky. If desired, work in food coloring. Let cool, store in tight container such as an empty coffee can in the fridge.



Parting thoughts…Ripples from the Zambezi

I’ve always been on the anti-authoritarian side of life. (what a surprise). It’s never made sense to me that our schools and society teach freedom and respect for others (diversity) while at the same time dictating every little thing we do, how we behave…control over our lives in the pursuit of happiness.

Our politicians always talk about job creation, then go about setting all imaginable roadblocks. This problem has festered in America for 30 years and it happens elsewhere too such as in Australia.

Mauri Green, an experienced fish processor, was unemployed in his town Esperance and set about doing what he knew best…processing fish. He set up a smoke oven in his garage, smoke fish and began to sell it. His former friend, the health inspector tasted the fish and liked it very much. Then the inspector proceeded to confiscate the equipment on the grounds that Mauri’s garage did not comply with health regulations.”

Not having the money to move his oven to an approved building and was unable to secure the blessing of the local development bureaucrats, he went on the public dole.

This example is from a book called Ripples from the Zambezi by Ernesto Sirolli. If you have a passion for something, you should be successful. Sirolli has set up local economic development programs that actually work, with a minimum of government interference and cost.

If you aspire to create or start a venture to provide yourself with a livelihood, I recommend it…should be required reading for bureaucrats. By the way, this book was a gift from our friend at the County Extension Office, Hal Hudson-Thanks!

The concept is pretty easy. Match aspiring entrepreneurs with those already succeeding in much like an apprenticeship program. We have one here and it’s worth a look at and be sure to look at the Sirolli Inst. Link here: http://www.tuscolaenterprise.com/sirolli.html

Get a copy of the book on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_24?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=ripples+from+the+zambezi&sprefix=ripples+from+the+zambezi

That’s our issue for today…from your fellow entrepreneur, the Poor Man!

"Principio Obstate (Resist from the beginning)."
-- Latin Proverb



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