ISLAND DE FANTASIA

Wow...Must be nice to be in one of those Spanish novelas they’re the only people I know, who can be:

Terminally ILL-the 1st day.  

Find A Cure-the 2nd day. 

Die-the 3rd day. 

Return From The Dead-the 4th day.

Find True Love-the 5th day 

Cheat On Their Spouse-the 6th day. 

Get Divorce & Fall In Love Again-the 7th day 

And then start the cycle all over again the following week...No Hombre...I’m going to become a novela movie star so that I can grow my hair, lose a lot of weight and run the pinche Boston Marathon!

BRAVEHEART

Donald Trump announced on Monday that he would of rushed in to save the students and teachers of Marjory Stoneman Douglas HighSchool while the active shooter was on school campus carrying a AR-15 assault rifle “even if I didn’t have a weapon” he said, and yet a huge multi-billion dollar wall is being built at the border because he’s so afraid of us little Mexicans, who only carry a pair of orange clippers and grape pruning shears along with a brown paper sack lunch of Abuela’s homemade burritos of Pappas con Chorizo toppled with “El Pico De Gallo!”

GROWING PAINS-Dilemma In The Highschools PT. II

On Wednesday, February 21, 2018, President Donald Trump announced that he is proposing to   post armed military veterans to deter any potential attackers from our schools, which was about time the Federal government took some type of action considering there had been approximately 239 school-related shootings where 438 people have been injured and 138, who had lost their lives according to the Gun Violence Archives. This proposal, of course, was promptly labeled by many politicians and state officials as “ludicrous” because even though military veterans familiarity with firearms is better than the national average, it would still take multiple troops to fully secure a single school, which easily could become a financial burden for the state’s annual budget and likewise for it’s taxpayers. Some school districts pay approximately $700,000 on yearly contracts to Sheriffs department for their protection, whereas, school districts in Fontana, Hesperia, Apple Valley have Police departments on their own school campus, unfortunately, the downfall to this concept is lack of availability, for example, the San Bernardino City Unified School District had their own On-Campus Police Department since 1973 with only 26 Police Officers, who been serving as “problem solvers”, youth advocates, counselors and school community liaisons for over 49,000 students, which is way out of balanced.

I may not be familiar with the in’s & out’s of all the “Red Tape” involved with the Federal and State distributions from our annual tax proceeds, even though much of it supposedly  contributed to the nation’s public roadways, infrastructures, state-programs and education, I cannot see why we can’t collect a small percentage of these taxes already obtained from major consumer-demand money-making markets, for example-the alcohol and tobacco industry, DMV Fees, Transportation (Gas, oil, tires), Gambling (lottery, on-line gambling) and Marijuana Dispensaries, which should totaled in billions of dollars and experiment using a five-year program with a local school to study its outcome and find out the expenses to maintain, by commencing a checklist, for example, hire ample security or Police personnel the 1st year, 

top-of-the-art surveillance equipment 2nd year, protection devices 3rd year, specialized individuals or unit assigned to monitor “potential hazards” students by checking backgrounds, social media input etc (similar to that of a probation officer), which totals a combination of all-around security measures, but initiated in a timely manner and within the realms of federal and state budget and then conduct a survey if  there were less gun-related incidents or cancel the program altogether...but at least it’s a start, our children are worth the effort!

GROWING PAINS: Dilemma In The Highschools

18 school shootings since January 1, 2018, averaging 3 gun-related incidents per week including the deadly St. Valentine massacre of Parkland, Florida where 17 highschool students lost their lives plus another 14, who were seriously injured, which immensely outweighs the St. Valentine massacre of 1929, where only 7 seven men (mostly mobsters) were murdered in cold blood.  So what is going on?  Isn’t it bad enough that America has to cope with the threatening of international terrorism, lone wolf attacks, drug cartel retaliation, hate crimes, serial killings and gang violence, but now we have to deal with the safety of our own children’s school playgrounds! I don’t know about you, but I would hate the fact that a war zone can actually take place in the realms of my own back yard if things continues this way, which I see as a very high possibility in the not too-distant future!  

So what is the answer?  How can we stop this epidemic from happening again or at least slow it down a little? Many Americans are screaming “gun control” which have to overcome obstacles like powerful organizations and political influence, but there is one interesting fact regarding this objective and it involves the country of Australia, who have one of the lowest school-shooting incidents in the world since 1996 and this amazing feat was accomplished by a national gun-sweep where the state and local governments initiated a buy-back policy and collected approximately 1/5 of all firearms in circulation and enacted a mandated federal law prohibiting private gun sales requiring all weapons to be individually registered to the owner, who have to give a “genuine reason” for needing each weapon at the time of purchase.  (Self-defense did not count) and this movement greatly reduced firearm related homicides by 59%...a little more than half!

Another alternative concerned citizens are suggesting to prevent gun violence in our public schools is to heightened up “security”, but how much is the federal, state and local governments willing to spend on this concept?  And much security is needed to make our public schools fool proof or actually bullet-proof that will guarantee the safety of our children and not interfere with the regular chores of day to day school activities and educational programs? The city of Las Vegas, which has one of the most advanced security systems in the country also known as the “miniature surveillance state”, where it’s casinos spent decades in perfecting their security with the eye in the sky technology that watches everybody and cameras on almost every street corner of hotels, restuarants etc...yet what happened on October 1, 2017 where a sniper sneaked into the Mandalay Bay hotel with a load of semi-automatic weapons and killed approximately 58 innocent bystanders attending a outside concert.  Even the White House itself, whose elite secret service are supposed to protect our very own President, had a security breach when Omar Gonzalez jumped over the fence of the White House on September 19, 2014 and entered through the North Portico door and ran wildly through most of the main floor before being tackled by a counter assault agent.  And these agents are highly trained individuals and yet some are suggesting to train our school teachers with anti-terrorist tactics and carry a firearm?  To what level do we train them to be sufficient enough? So my question remains...how much security is enough security to once again create a safe haven in our schools and at what expense.  Are you the humble taxpayer willing to fit the bill?  How about those unfortunate ones who cannot afford it?

What does seems very possible if this current rate of gun violence continues is the up-lifting of private tutoring, on-line and distant-learning classrooms and independent school studies, which may or may not enhance the student’s intellectual learning process that can easily be more costly for the parent likewise financially beneficial for the qualified instructor.  Many parents may feel taking this route may be a small price to pay as long as we can prevent our children from harm’s way, but what of the student’s social values?  Like attending the Christmas formal, the highschool prom, school sponsored sports events, the athletic understanding behind teamwork, the joys of winning a championship or the disappointments of losing one, the up and down cycle of highschool romances, the personal or inner challenges of your very first fist-fight or speaking in front of a  classroom, which all signifies the normal adolescent process  of a healthy child’s growing pains 

I guess one alternative into replacing the school-orientated social building process is the boys will be able to improve their skills on video games (hopefully none that include firearms) while the girls update Snapshots on their cell phones or mingle on Facebook during their school recess because of the easy accessibility.  Are social values that important? Can parents somehow duplicate school-related recreational activities at home, or replenish them with more healthier choices and possibly open a new specialized field for some consulting firms and counseling service.  For many this is also a small price to pay in exchange for their child’s safety, but will different or unusual behavioral patterns surfaced?  And who be willing to be the guardians or the new dean of schools to closely monitor their activities...you?  Do you have time or the money?  I think if this chaotic disease of gun violence progresses many parents will prevent their children from attending public schools, which may minimized their yearly budget because of the lack of attendance and either closed down the smaller schools or forced them to merge with the larger ones, and school teachers will either lose their jobs due to the insufficiency of state funds or leave to the private sector for better pay.  This theory is, of course,  just pure speculation on my part, but then again what do I know...I’m just a loudmouth rebel without a cause!

PARKLAND HIGH SCHOOL, FLORIDA

MY GOD...ARE HIGH-SCHOOL STUDENTS GOING TO HAVE WEAR BULLET-PROOF VESTS TO SCHOOL!

IT'S TAX TIME...PEOPLE!

Yes... it’s fun time again for us lucky U.S. citizens, who are anxiously waiting for our W-2’s or 4's in the mail so that we can get down to filing and put a large down payment on that “brand new car” or some other major purchase and starting mid-February the IRS will start accepting E-file tax returns to those of you early-birds, who should be seeing some type of transaction (may it be positive or negative) in the next two weeks if you used a checking account as receiver of payment.  

Now some folks get all happy jack whenever they receive a pretty large amount on their tax return thinking that the Federal and State government was more than generous with their tax cuts and paying all that money back that was taken out of your hard-working payroll check during the year, but that is not quite the case!

If you were to calculate everything that was yanked out of your payroll check, for instance, (Fed. State, Medicare, Social Security etc.) you will find that out of the $5000, for ex., that you received by Uncle Sam you had actually paid a total of $7000 plus  that year leaving behind the remaining $2000 or more to our Federal and State government to supposedly pay for our roads, schools, retirement and so on, which is an obligation of every American citizen, so in better words, you over-paid $5000 dollars you could have actually used on something else during that year!

Is it better or to your best interest to owe the Government money or at least break even whenever you don’t pay and receive nothing meaning that you squeezed every dollar you made that year or even used that money for your own benefit before paying the Government at the end of the year? Some people think so!  But then again there are citizens, who prefer to pay or deduct a little extra from their paycheck, so that they can receive back a lump sum at the end of year...kind of a special Christmas gift but in the month of March. You can look at this money technique as sort of a savings-plan depending on the individual’s preference. 

So those of you, who like to break the piggy bank at the end of the year here are a couple of tid-bits you might want to look into if you plan to do your own taxes bearing in mind that I, myself, charge short forms for $25 and long forms for $50+ (depending on the paperwork)...uhm...yeah..ok...(a little free advertisement there)...Ok let’s start with number one.

1) EIC (Earned Income Credit) every Mother with small children knows this one!  If you made $39,617 or less ($45,207 if married) with one qualifying child under 19 years in 2017  (under 24 if full time student) maximum credit can be up to $3,400.

2) Child Tax Credit-Must be your child under 17 years in 2017 maximum credit $1000.

3) Premium Tax Credit (Affordable Tax Care) must complete form 8962 and receive Marketplace medical insurance.  (Cannot claim Health Coverage Tax Credit if using this credit)

4) Health Coverage Tax Credit.

5) Education Credit (Hope/American Opportunity Credit, Lifetime Credit)-Any expenses for ex. tuition, room and board, books, materials & supplies etc. not paid by Pell Grant, scholarships or fellowships or veteran’s education benefits, which are paid to the institution or third party. The student should be receiving a W-2 type form called a 1098T.

If you have any more questions, comments or concerns on income taxes feel free to contact me or text me at (559-940-0068) and I’ll be glad to research for you.  Remember deadline is April 17. if you didn’t file for an extension!

REAL ESTATE INQUIRY

The other day an ole-friend ask me about the housing market because he was thinking of selling his house, which is a two-bedroom home in Hanford and buying a newer and larger home before the current rising prices reaches it's peak.  He was thinking of adding some cosmetic touch-ups to enhance the value of his property and to attract more customers or as we call it (curb appeal).  

I advised him that even though this year the housing market has indeed made a upward climb in pricing along with interest rates and perhaps increase cost-of-living escrow fees there is no for sure time or date when the market will reach its highest point before the decline though there had been dozens of speculations from real estate experts that housing and land prices will spiral up in the years to follow because the central valley is slowly running out of space, which could explain the sudden rise of two-story homes (saves timber, plumbing etc.) but I did informed him of a few options and precaution measures:

1) Careful of lucrative additions to your home to enhance value ( for ex. a swimming pool etc.)  You might not get its full value pending on the potential buyer.  

2) You might think of obtaining legal permits if you plan on adding anything (ex. additional rooms, garage or car-port, storage shed etc.) if you want that piece of property documented on the actual appraisal (legal improvements might also hike up the accessed value of the property, thus, increase real-estate or property taxes if you don't sell the following year.) 

3) Location...location...location matters, for instance, a 1500 sq. ft 3-bd, 2-bth home may be higher in quieter places like Clovis, Dinuba or Kingsburg than Fresno or Visalia due to the lack of housing competition or the same goes if the property is in a high-commercialized area or near a school, shopping center etc. likewise sellers  might not get the same price for their home if selling, for instance, in Hanford because of the bad-tasting water etc.

4) Do some research in choosing a real-estate agent remember there is no charge when you are buying, 6% charge for sellers (or less if I'm your broker...uhm..yeah) well anyway also check on title companies, insurances and so.

Whatever you do just keep or bear in mind of the on-going inflation, rising costs of supply and demand, population explosions (which many speculate can occur with the completion of the high-speed rail and legalized foreign migration) and, of course, the uplifting price of land (or lack of) and its accessories.  

So if anybody reading this blog have further questions or comments on the difficulties and controversial issues of the real-estate market feel free to contact me...remember...Like A Good Neighbor "Cruzer" Is There...yuk...yuk!

It looks like Donald's presidency is getting all "Trumpled" out...the house was issuing tickets for the "State Of The Uniom" address...OOPS...Mr. Sergeant-At-Arms maybe we should proofread our work before handing materials to important state officials...why didn't our nation's head executive find the mistake?  He was probably under the weather..."Stormy" weather!...get it?...yuk..yuk!