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!

A SCARY SENSE OF HUMOR

The U.S. soldier told a ISIS follower, "The reason why you people are so violent is because you don't have a sense of humor."

The ISIS follower replied, "Sure I do!"

The U.S. soldier said, "Ok...let's prove it by telling you a joke."

The ISIS follower replied, "Go ahead!"

The U.S. soldier continued, "Ok...let's see...Why did the chicken crossed the road?"

The ISIS follower replied, "It really doesn't matter."

The U.S. soldier asked, "Why's that?"

The ISIS follower replied, "Because I ran the motherfucker over before it can cross it!"

NEWSFLASH

It was announced in the news not to totally depend on your Social Security statements regarding the estimate monthly amount you are to receive when you retire due to the high frequency of complaints from retired U.S. citizens, who were given a completely different amount in comparison to their Social Security statements.  It should also be noted that at whatever age you are to retire, Social Security will only reflect the last 35 years of employment to be calculated for your retirement.  Many of the retirees have complained receiving less than estimated on their statement, so a person might consider an additional retirement program to offset any disappointing surprises, for instance 401(k) or PERS.

HOPES OF FORGETTING

I ran into a old acquaintance of mine the other day, who told me, “Hey Cruzer what you think of all these sexual harassment cases that’s been happening lately...I think it’s a bunch of bullshit...why do the victims wait so long to report it?”  Well, I believe this epidemic of sexual encounters (may it be consensual or nonconsensual) duals with a double-edge sword.  

First of all I would like to give the proper definition of sexual battery 243.4 (A) PC-Any person who touches the intimate part of another while that person is unlawfully restrained by accused or an accomplice and if the touching is against the will of the person touched and is for the purpose of sexual arousal, sexual gratification or sexual abuse, is guilty of sexual battery.  A violation of this subdivision is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, and by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000) or by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three or four years, and if not by a fine exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

On one side of the sword are some of the reasons why sexual harassment cases are not reported in a timely manner and that is-for fear of losing their job or face demotion, for fear of causing a separation or animosity between families especially if the perp (suspect) is related, for fear of being humiliated or criticized by the public and fear of not being credible or believable, which in either case cause a cessation in the apprehension of the suspect(s) until 10 to 20 years later or even at the point of not reporting the incident at all, whereas, on the down side or opposite side of the sword allows the suspect a greater opportunity to commit this hideous act to other innocent victims for an extensive period of time, therefore, I do agree that it is essential to report any type of sexual harassment (no matter how minor) as soon as possible to prevent its continuation, which  outweighs the circumstances regardless of its outcome and believe me I had my share of sexual harassment, sexual battery and sexual exploitation of children cases during my career in law enforcement.  On the other hand, there should be some stern validity behind the accusation and not for the purpose of obtaining a substantial monetary reward or to defamed the accused and harsh punishment or some type of strict discipline should be imposed to those who make such a false claim. 

There was one particular case, which involved a 11-year old girl, who was a victim of a on-going case investigated by one of my junior detectives where she was molested by her Mother’s 34 year old boyfriend.  She had a face of an angel, which reminded me of a little princesses that I had previously seen in a walt disney movie.  She entered my office along with her Mother and she wanted to discussed with the assigned detective about her case, who decided to have this conversation at his desk side, which I instantly disapproved because it hindered her privacy of a very delicate nature and should not be conducted in the presence of other bystanders especially family members like her Mother.  The little princesses began telling the detective she recanted everything she claimed happened to her reason being because she was jealous of her Mother’s relationship with the suspect, so she made up this lie in hopes to separate their prevailing romance.  I noticed the Mother was monitoring every word that came out of the victim’s  mouth very closely and the detective begin to write down notes and started to lecture on the seriousness of filing a false Police report, so at the risk of showing the junior detective of his insufficiency, I had no choice but to interupt the investigation by kindly asking the Mother to wait in the lobby, who immediately protested at my suggestion and reluctantly left my office. 

I then sat next to the little princesses and held her hand between both of mine and told her if there was one person she believes can give her the protection she so desperately needs from everybody else would be me at the same time I silently prayed to God if he can grant me one wish and obtain her confidence in me so that we can find the real truth behind this horrible predicament and guess what....God answered me because tears started to roll down her face and her lips started to quiver as she spelled out the dark appalling facts of this horrendous crime in detail, which matched her original report, but was later coerced by her Mother to renege on her claim in efforts to save her (Mother’s) relationship with her so-call boyfriend (suspect).  After hearing the victim’s story, I made sure I fulfilled my commitment to her by keeping my word as  promised and I marched right into the lobby and placed the Mother under arrest for obstruction of justice, wrote out an arrest warrant on the suspect, who was later apprehended and I, along with CPS, found a safe haven for our little princesses, who guided a sound passage all the way to her highschool graduation. The Mother was released from the county jail after serving one year and she later went berserk, broke into the neighbor’s house and assaulted a female with a kitchen knife.  The suspect served 4 years in a state prison and was later deported to Mexico and banned from re-entering the U.S. 

When I got home that morning, I broke the seal of an unopened bottle of Jose Cuervo and started to watch the early news from the recliner of my living room while my wife and two daughters laid safely asleep in their beds as I took small sips of tequila straight from the bottle.  Thoughts of the little  princesses kept bouncing around in my mind, so much so that I’m embarrassed to say that tears also started to rolled down my face and I remembered looking up toward the ceiling and asking God why such a beautiful and precious little girl should go through such a heinous trial so early in life, but this time God didn’t answer me, so I took longer gulps of the Jose Cuervo and drank myself to sleep on my recliner...with the Hopes Of Forgetting everything the following morning. 

So please if you or someone you know is a victim of a valid sexual assault...don't wait 10-20 years to report it. Let the criminal pay for their crimes NOW and prevent it from happening again.

Hope You Are Doing Well Little Princesses!