Help The Middle ClassNews and Information For The Heart Of America

States May Hold Onto Tax Refunds For Months (USA Today)

Residents eager to get their state tax refunds may have a long wait this year: The recession has tied up cash and caused officials in half a dozen states to consider freezing refunds, in one case for as long as five months.

States from New York to Hawaii that have been hard-hit by the economic downturn say they have either delayed refunds or are considering doing so because of budget shortfalls.

“It’s an indicator of how bad

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U.S. Sales Tax Rates Hit Record High (Forbes)

While President Obama’s push to raise federal income taxes for the wealthy gets lots of attention, the continuing upward creep in the sales tax rates imposed by state and local governments has gotten less notice.

But Vertex Inc., which calculates sales tax for Internet sellers, reports that the average general sales tax rate nationwide reached 8.629% at the end of 2009, the highest since the Berwyn, Pa., company started tracking data in 1982. That was up a nickel …

Gates And Obama Suggest Early ‘Troop Withdrawal’ From Afghanistan A Possibility (AP/Yahoo)

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates raised the possibility Wednesday that some of the U.S. forces involved in the Afghanistan surge could leave the country before President Barack Obama’s announced July 2011 date to begin withdrawal.

Without giving specifics, Gates said, “It would have to be conditions-based.”

Gates made the remarks during a visit to a dust-blown training ground in Kabul …

Building a Better Teacher (New York Times)

ON A WINTER DAY five years ago, Doug Lemov realized he had a problem. After a successful career as a teacher, a principal and a charter-school founder, he was working as a consultant, hired by troubled schools eager — desperate, in some cases — for Lemov to tell them what to do to get better. There was no shortage of prescriptions at the time for how to cure the poor performance that plagued so many American schools. Proponents of …

TERROR UPDATE: Al-Qaida Calls On US Muslims To Attack America (Associated Press)

CAIRO — Al-Qaida’s American-born spokesman on Sunday called on Muslims serving in the U.S. armed forces to emulate the Army major charged with killing 13 people in Fort Hood.

In a 25-minute video posted on militant Web sites, Adam Gadahn described Maj. Nidal Hasan as a pioneer who should serve as a role model for other Muslims, especially those serving Western militaries.

“Brother Nidal is the ideal role-model for every repentant Muslim in the armies of the unbelievers and apostate …

Dems Try To Out Maneuver GOP By Pairing Health-Care And Student Loan Bills (Wall Street Journal)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that health-care legislation, which House Democrats hope to pass by the end of next week, would also include a proposal to overhaul the nation’s student-loan program.

Tying the student-loan and health-care legislation “has always been part of the plan,” Ms. Pelosi (D., Calif.) said.

House Democrats are readying a two-part strategy to pass the legislation. First, the House is expected to vote on a Senate-passed version of health-care legislation. Later, it will vote on a package of changes to the bill, which will …

New Gallup Poll Shows Reasons People Oppose Health Care Reform (Newsweek)

One number in this new Gallup poll on health-care reform caught my eye, because, oddly, it has good news for both sides of the debate. Gallup asked the 48% of people who oppose health care reform about why they’re against the Democrats’; plans. The most popular reason, cited by 20% of people, was a concern that the plan would raise premium prices or end up costing them more. That’s good news for Republicans. It means their talking points are getting through. The notion that the cost of …

How To Save Money On Health Care (CNN Video & Text)

When Heather Staples’ 6-year-old daughter, Sophia, fell and cut her eyebrow, Staples knew her daughter might need stitches. But instead of running straight to an emergency room, Staples took a few minutes to compare prices at nearby emergency rooms.

“I have a high-deductible plan, so I knew that I would be paying for the charges out of pocket completely,” Staples says. “Price was definitely a concern of mine.”

Using a New Hampshire state Web site, she realized the closest emergency room would cost $500 more than an emergency …

Meet The Lone Democrat Who Could Sink Obama’s Health Care (Yahoo!)

Anyone who’s followed the health care debate even casually over the past year has probably heard Rep. Bart Stupak’s name mentioned a time or two. The nine-term Democrat from Michigan is the author of the “Stupak Amendment,” a rider attached to the House health care legislation that would effectively ban most government funding of abortion under the new health care system. …

TALKING POINTS: Where House Dems Disagree With The President On Health Care (USA Today)

WASHINGTON — Some oppose abortion, some are worried about premiums, and some have zeroed in on taxes. But House Democrats do have this in common: They’re all being heavily courted to support President Obama’s health care legislation.

Although much of the focus during the health care debate has been on the Senate, a push by Obama for an up-or-down vote on health care later this month has triggered a battle for votes in the

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Apple iPad Tablet. Is It Worth The Hype? (The Washington Post)

For months, the same questions have been bouncing around the computing industry: What will the Apple tablet do? Will it redefine the laptop? Can it reinvent the publishing industry? Could it even — gasp — save print media?

On Wednesday morning, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs made his latest bid for gadget immortality. A crowd of journalists, analysts and invited guests packed an auditorium here to see the thin, bespectacled Apple co-founder unveil the iPad, an 8-by-10-inch, wireless-enabled slab of metal, plastic and glass.

The iPad, due to …

Bloggers Left and Right Agree to Hate Health Care Reform (TIME)

In the snarkier precincts of the left-wing blogosphere, mainstream journalists like me are often called villagers. The reference, so far as I can tell, has to do with isolation: we live in this little village on the Potomac — actually, I don’t, but no matter — constantly intermingling over hors d’oeuvres, deciding who is “serious” (a term of derision in the blogosphere) and who is not, regurgitating spin spoon-fed by our sources or conjuring a witless conventional wisdom that has nothing to do with reality as it …

Word and Office Banned For Sale Starting January 11th After Microsoft Loses Appeal

Word and Office Banned For Sale Starting January 11th After Microsoft Loses Appeal

via Word and Office Banned For Sale Starting January 11th After Microsoft Loses Appeal.

Viruses Hit Facebook & Twitter Taking Over People’s Accounts (New York Times)

It used to be that computer viruses attacked only your hard drive. Now they attack your dignity.

Malicious programs are rampaging through Web sites like Facebook andTwitter, spreading themselves by taking over people’s accounts and sending out messages to all of their friends and followers. The result is that people are inadvertently telling their co-workers and loved ones how to raise their I.Q.’s or make money instantly, or urging them …

Facebook Accused Of Pushing Members To Share Personal Info (Telegraph)

The changes, which were announced last week and are now rolling out across the site, asks users to review their privacy settings, and adjust them to ensure they are only sharing personal information, videos and photos with the people they want.

But privacy campaigners say this “transition tool” is “nudging” Facebook’s 350 million users towards creating more open profiles, with details and information that can be viewed by anyone.

“Facebook is nudging the settings toward the ‘disclose everything’ position,” said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the …

TAX TIPS: Secrets Your Tax Accountant Won’t Tell You (Yahoo!/Shine)

With the April 15 tax deadline looming, we reached out to CPAs to share their frank insights into filing taxes, audits, extensions, preparers and more!

1. We see many disastrous returns prepared by ill-trained preparers. When selecting a preparer, many people shop price and not experience. We don’t like to knock the competition — however, the old axiom, “you get what you pay for” is often true. There are some companies that put their newly hired preparers through a six-week, evenings-only tax course, and then turn them loose …

How to Cut College Costs Before Freshman Year (Mainstreet)

It’s bad enough that tuition for a four-year college can cost north of $100,000 – but that’s all the more reason parents should take a hard look at not just college costs, but also at the cost of preparing for college. With SAT tests, study guides, tutoring and advanced placement exams, not to mention fees for applying to any one of the 3,800 colleges and universities in the U.S., the cash expended just in your hunt for the perfect college can really add up.

What can you do …

13 Great Ways to Live Well On Less Money (MSN.com)

Every dollar you spend has consequences elsewhere in your life. Remembering that will change the ways you spend and save.

Can you remember life before $100 sneakers and $5 coffee, when people actually lived on what they earned and still had a little something socked away for a rainy day?

“People moan and groan about why they can’t make do,” says Michelle Singletary, author of “Seven Money Mantras for a Richer Life.” “But if you look at your lifestyle, there’s …

Why Filing Your Taxes Late May Be A Good Idea (The Wall Street Journal)

Should you skip filing your tax return on April 15?

Eleven million taxpayers do, and it can be a smart move, especially for people with complex returns.

Those who are in the process of converting taxable Individual Retirement Accounts to tax-free Roth IRAs can use an extension to make money-saving moves. Home buyers who haven’t completed their purchases but plan to take either of two generous federal tax credits can benefit by waiting.

A few years ago the IRS streamlined this process. All taxpayers now qualify for an automatic six-month …

Seven Proven Ways to Live A Happy Life (Joyful Days)

There has been a lot of research into how to live a happy life, and these are just some findings I came across.

“Proven ways” refers to generalised results suggested by these studies and until you try each one out for yourself, it remains unproven for you as an individual.

So why not try a few and see for yourself which really lead to a happy life?
1. Believe in something

Some studies suggest that religious people are more than twice as likely as the secular to say they …

Tips For First-Time Home Buyers – 2010 (US News and World Report

2010 First-Time Home Buyers’ Guide – US News and World Report.