We say one thing, then do another

 

Read an interesting article on the Dow Jones Newswire today. Of all of the criticism that Ken Lewis, CEO and former Chairman of the Board at Bank of America, has received, he got a bit of praise from an unexpected source: Barney Frank. Rep Frank commended Ken Lewis’ bold move to forge ahead with Merrill Lynch, and in doing so saving the markets from another fatal blow.

 

 

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said Lewis needs to get credit for acting in the broader public interest by going through with the deal.

“People say ‘What’s the matter with these financial executives? Why are they only thinking of their own narrow interest? What about the public interest?’” Frank said. “That’s what Ken did. It ought to be acknowledged.”

 

Now the shareholders seem to have a different thought, being upset that the public interest prevailed over the interest of the shareholders. Yet as a shareholder, you should also recognize that the public interest is YOUR interest too. And if we want to get technical, the people of the United States, by proxy of the United States Government, have a vested interest as well.

Unfortunately, shareholders look at the world via tunnel vision. Sure, they realize that things are happening, but their only concerns are their shares. I can understand that, I am defensive over my money too. While it is understandable, sometimes we need to take a step back and look at the larger picture. Merrill was perilously close to failing, and probably would’ve declared bankruptcy at the same time as Lehman Brothers. Lehman dying was bad enough, imagine the shockwave of Merrill went too. I highly doubt that the pain would’ve only been doubled; instead, I think we would be looking at EXPONENTIALLY worse issues. In other words, not an outcome we wanted to consider. To oversimplify it, things would’ve gotten much worse for all players involved.

But what would’ve happened if the Merrill deal wasn’t approved? Merrill, just reeling off of its $15 billion loss, would’ve been toast. Since September, Merrill was on life support, and if the bank had pulled the plug, I fear the markets would’ve gone into another painfully fast spiral. Bank of America would’ve been hurt too in the process, so don’t believe otherwise.

Instead, Ken Lewis and upper management did some questionable things, but ensured the deal went through. A large portion of Bank of America’s 1st quarter profits are a direct result of Merrill Lynch, and as the transition and cost cutting measures continue, I believe we will quickly see even more gains related to Merrill. Ken Lewis helped to avoid further disruptions in the market by snatching up Merrill, and provided the best value for the shareholders by getting Merrill before its reputation was marred with bankruptcy. You don’t hear the names Lehman Brothers or Bear Sterns doing business anymore, because those names are worthless. Merrill Lynch does have a longstanding reputation and incredible brand recognition, which is going to prove to be additional value down the road.

I was reading my latest issue of Conde Nast Portfolio, and in it they had a list of the Best 20 and Worst 20 CEO’s of all-time. Names like Henry Ford, Lee Iacocca, Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, John D. Rockafella, and Andrew Carnegie fit in the best, while names like Fuld (former CEO of Lehman), Lay (former CEO of Enron), and Pandit (CEO, Citigroup) filled up the worst 20. So what defined a great CEO over an average one? Most were defined by their innovations, but many were defined by their ability to make tough choices regardless of criticism during difficult times. Its easy to make decisions when things are going good. But when the economy is crumbling all around, and everyone is looking for a decision to be made, those who made those tough decisions and made them work, those were the guys who earned their right to be called a best CEO. I think Ken Lewis has done an outstanding job leading Bank of America, especially during these murky times. Only time will prove this, but I honestly believe that he has equipped the shareholders with the best tools to get through this recession, and to emerge a much more powerful, and valuable, investment on the other side.

Ken Lewis no longer Chairman of the Board

 

That’s right. SEIU won this battle against the board, by getting this proposal through with right at 50.34% of the vote. The recount makes absolute sense now, given the .6% difference. But wow, I honestly didn’t think it would make it. I figured it would be close, but, wow. Coincidentally, this is the first time the by-laws of an S&P 500 company has ever been amended through a proxy vote.

 

The good news is that the entire board was re-elected by a comfortable margin, according to the PR Newswire. Lewis is still the Chief Executive Officer, and given that everything else went through, there shouldn’t be too much disruption in the leadership of the bank. Dr. Walter E. Massey has now replaced Lewis as the Chairman.

Why am I so concerned about this? I mentioned earlier that I had points I wanted to address but wasn’t able too. Well, here’s my points:

• As was pointed out during the meeting, “you don’t change captains in the middle of a hurricane or a tornado, and right now we are in a hurricane and a tornado.”
• Beyond the current economic crisis, Bank of America is in the midst of two major transition projects. Countrywide, which is winding down some, and Merrill Lynch, which is just kicking off
• Bank of America, under Ken Lewis, has a strong history of successful integrations of acquired companies into the format of Bank of America. This is achieved by stable senior management, identifying key factors, and ensuring their respective teams are on the mark
• Merrill Lynch is a massive acquisition and requires an all out effort to be realized fully. The success of this project is directly linked with stable leadership.
• Ken Lewis and his team have earned a great deal of respect from a majority of the employees of Bank of America (at least from what I have witnessed from across the country, meeting bank associates in 10 different states, at about 40 or more different sites)
• Disrupting senior management at this time would be a poorly calculated move. We risk devaluing our shares off of a purely emotional move.
• As for the accusations of not looking out for the shareholders, until all of the facts are fully known, we cannot make a sound decision regarding those actions. Nothing is cut and dry, and this is America. Innocent until proven guilty.

What it all boils down to is that the last thing we need to do at this particular moment is to shake things up to the point that we inadvertently hurt ourselves. There is a time and a place for this, and while the shareholder meeting might be the right place, the timing is too soon. We, at a minimum, need to ensure that we can fully realize the potential of Merrill Lynch before we make rash decisions. Ken Lewis has a proven track record of making these acquisitions work, which says a lot about him and his team. These transitions are extremely complicated and time-consuming. Transitions were my favorite projects by the way, the only true challenges I ever saw on the job. I worked on the Print Optimization project for the US Trust transition (which after 6 years of so, Charles Schwabb STILL couldn’t integrate properly), and trained technicians in Chicago for BAND refresh (hardware upgrade) at the LaSalle bank transition. I’ve seen this stuff in action.

Irregardless of my personal experiences, it is well proven that these things are difficult to do, and even more difficult to do right. The current leadership of Bank of America has excelled in the category, and at the current moment, this is the talents we need on board. So we need a wait at least until next year, or the year after that, before we even begin to consider forcing Lewis out. Why cut off your nose to spite your face?

As a footnote, for the record, I am a strong supporter of Ken Lewis. He may not be perfect, but he’s a damn good CEO, and in the world of the biggest banks, BofA may have the highest standards of ethical and moral practices out there. Not saying I agree with everything, but given a corporation with the size and scope of this place, few can compare. Ken Lewis does have a drive to do the right thing, which is why I think he pushed ahead with Merrill. Had Merrill been left hanging in December, the shockwaves through the system would have been tremendous, and may have claimed even more casualties along the way. If the shareholders of the bank have a problem with putting our neck out there to protect all parties involved, then they may need to begin to question their own American spirit. Could the whole thing have been handled better? Probably. Should Ken Lewis has reported the larger than expected losses? Probably. Do I regret BofA buying Merrill? Absolutely not. In the long run, we the shareholders will have a lot to gain through the additional revenue generation of Merrill Lynch. Not to mention the pride and respect for being able to take on the risk to save everyone’s asses.

I guess I do have one other final thought. Some of the individuals who spoke, especially the olders one who were complaining, because it was affecting their retirement. Maybe next time they should read the damned disclosures, and maybe pay attention to the single most common piece of advice about saving for retirement. The older you get, the further away from equities you should be. If you’ve lost $75,000 in retirement because of Bank of America, and you are old enough to be able time to retire (or already retired), then you’ve got WAY too much money tied up in equities. Way too much. So stop your bitching because you refused to read basic, sound advice, don’t bitch because you refused to read a word on the disclosure statements, letting you know the risks of owning equities, that all they can show you is past performance, which does NOT guarantee future performance in any way, shape, or form.

A suit and tie affair

 

I just got back from the 2009 annual Bank of America shareholder meeting, which started at 10AM at the Belk Theater, adjacent to the Bank of America Corporate Center. After some confusion as to which line was which (me and several other shareholders ended up standing in line with associates), the theater was full to the brim, and it was standing room only outside of it, watching the meeting live on TV.

 

Right at the end of the 3 board proposals, I managed to get in on the balcony. What a show it was. The speakers were extremely diversified, ranging from pension fund managers, risk analysts, the head of habitat for humanity and the united way, a retired fish peddler, an incoherently slow woman, a 90+ year old man, and the battle between two older Jewish women: one rich, one not. Needless to say, the reactions were diversified as well. Some were accusatory, some quoted Thomas Jefferson (more on that one in a minute), a modified biblical verse, to praise and adulation for the Chief Exec and Chairman.

Let me begin with some of the harsher remarks. At some point, a representative of probably a Georgian aristocrat (who else sends personal representatives?) spoke, addressing with the words and language of Thomas Jefferson. He equated the banks with aristocratic control, with power being in the hands of but a few. Unfortunately, as much of a fan of Jefferson that I am, these comments were well out of place. As another speaker mentioned, Hamilton or Lincoln would be more relevant. Plus I found the whole think a hypocrisy, given the man sent his own personal representative, and it was written and presented with an air of snobbishness.

Then there was our favorite not so rich Jewish lady. More than one person in that audience was ready to disconnect her mike. She would go on and on, go off topic, ask the same questions repeatable, make arguments with false information, etc. She was wearing a shirt that said “Fire them all!!! Kenneth Lewis & the board of directors!!!” She even brought a small sign that read “FIRE LEWIS!!! FIRE THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS!!!” Every single person in that audience was fed up with her, and she was the only one in the entire event (that I noticed) had even been interrupted.

 

To diverge on this lady for a second, I just figured I;d throw in one of Lewis’ responses. She was misreading the proxy statement, accusing Mr. Lewis of lying about his executive compensation. Lewis has a base salary of $1.5 million, plus any bonuses and options he is entitled to. Last year he received $0 compensation beyond his salary. Yet she saw 2008 and $10 million, and went into a fire and brimstone accusation process. Finally after sitting down, THEN coming back up again on the same point, he managed to get her to understand. Then she said he should go ahead and donate it all to charity, but he was too cheap to do that. That’s when he came back “Because of my pledges, I am already donating more than I am made.” +1 for Lewis, -1 for the old lady. The crowd cheered.

 

Yet others were not so tough on him. Some who wanted him out were still thankful for his years of service to the bank and praised him on the assets and talents he brought to Bank of America, although the believe his time has passed. Then there were a number of supports, including one man who told Mr. Lewis to “look behind you, we are all standing there.” Another gentleman asked him to keep standing there amid all of the criticism and attacks, because we need him to lead us out.

The reoccurring theme amongst supporters were the need to maintain leadership during this storm. As one lady, MRS. Davis, an affluent old Jewish lady who told it like it was (and was extremely funny), reminded us that when a ship faces a hurricane or a tornado, it is not the time to ditch the captain, and right now we are facing BOTH a hurricane and a tornado. A little unusual, but still very effective.

I wish I had managed to make it inside in time to speak about the re-election of the board. I have a number of points that I wanted to convey, points that I will post about a little bit later this evening.

Unfortunately, the votes were not totaled by the time I left. Mr. Lewis asked for the results, but was informed that they were still being tallied up. There were rumors floating about Sloan being ousted, and Lewis stripped of his Chairman titled. As of the latest reports, it appears the board may be safe, but they are recounting the votes for Lewis. Too close to call. It doesn’t surprise me, given the LARGE number of people there, and the mixture of attendees.

Once I hear word, I’ll keep you posted.

 

Update: Please check out these videos for some takes on the meeting

Protestors call for Lewis to be fired - notice the first lady they speak with, this was the one mentioned earlier, and was truely a pain to listen too. Upset, but rarely had any facts together

BofA delays release of votes on Lewis

 

Quick apology: this article would have been posted much sooner, but due to technical difficulties beyond my control (batteries died in wireless keyboard), I was unable to finish until now.

Coverage from BofA shareholder meeting

 

I have elected to vote my shares in-person this year at the Bank of America shareholder meeting this Wednesday. I have already voted the bulk of my shares, and needless to say, the dissident holders won’t like me. Either way, nothing like free tickets to a suit-and-tie cage fight between Finger and others against Ken Lewis and the board.

 

I’m not inclined to agree with their arguments that Ken Lewis didn’t do his job by protecting the shareholders. I think he provided them far more protection than they want, plus a long value gem in Merrill Lynch.

With the upper echelons of the money side of the government stomping on his feet, many claim he was only protecting himself and the jobs of the board members. But consider this. Had Paulson and Bernanke done what they claimed they were going to do, what was not to say that they could have used that position to tear apart the bank at the expense of the shareholders. Plus if they had done that, the bank stock would’ve plummeted anyway.

If Merrill had not been purchased, consider what effects that would’ve had on the economy, especially the banking system. When Lehman and Bear died, panicked investors rushed out to sell who they thought was the next to go. Although BoA may not have felt the worst of that pain, the banking sector, and potentially other markets, would’ve crashed. We have not seen another major bank outright fail since WaMu, and if my memory serves me correctly, Wachovia was the closest we came after that. If BoA backed out of Merrill there in December, the nasty cycle would’ve been unleashed again. Who in the hell would want to buy Merrill when one of the largest banks, that is still relatively healthy, doesn’t want it.

Finally, BoA got some long term value out of that acquisition, but the only way we are going to be able to extract that is via a smooth transition. I can vouch first hand for the abilities of BoA to make solid transitions, after being a part of two of them myself (US Trust and LaSalle bank). You can knit-pick micro issues at the execution phase, but overall they do a tremendous job of eliminating overlap, streamlining systems, integrating products, etc. into the new combined units. Countrywide, which I wasn’t a part of, has been a tremendous success, especially with the current refinance market. Many chastised Lewis for this deal too, but it is already paying its dividends, albeit to the government.

Pulling out Lewis and the other senior management at this time would be a grave mistake on the part of these shareholders. If they want to extract the most value of their ownership, then don’t pull away the leaders during mid-transition. Believe it or not, Lewis has earned a tremendous amount of respect within the bank itself. Many employees, many of whom are also shareholders, have an understanding of why they stuck to the deal, and this was even before anything came out about it (many theorized it, based upon the morals of Mr. Lewis).

And I guess, finally, I’m tired of hearing about Lewis being chastised for being an outstanding corporate citizen. By sticking with the deal with his feet pinned, he did a great deal to help our economy out, and in the end, provide a good day for many of the investors such as myself who found new opportunity to own some equity of BoA. This is an outstanding corporation that will continue to churn out profits for many more years to come.

So for all of you BoA shareholders out there, vote against these dissident views. They are held by frantic tunnel-visioned companies, activists by their own name, yet history proves that activist investors are rarely the people we need making decisions.

Graduation looming

After spending the last 3 years of my life battling the fatigue and burnout of maintaining full time employment, full time school loads, a family of your own, and all the added responsibilities of taken care of the house, cars, and finances, one chapter of that is about to end soon. Last Friday I got to thinking “Wow, I’m going to be graduating this summer. Wait a tick, I should have gone by the graduation office last month!” So after a couple of forms, I got my “permission slip” to get my cap, gown, and purple cord (for having a program GPA between a 3.7 and 3.99), I was reading to walk. That evening, it finally hit me again: I’m walking on May 14th, which is just around the corner! Oh my god, I’m almost done!

It’s been a very long, uphill battle, but I think I’ve done good dealing with it. So far I only have 3 B’s, of which all 3 I can contribute somehow to work (they should have been A’s, damnit!). I may not far my best this semester, with everything going on. But I can say I am proud of everything I have accomplished up until now. People can say what they want too, but I could write a book on the difficulties of being a full-time college student while living out the life of a typical middle-class working man. I have heard too many classmates complain about their waitering jobs and such, and I always offer to switch with them. For some reason they always decline.

The best and worst thing I did do though was to get a job that required thinking for most of the day. My second job back, I was a mindless drone, entering in serial numbers and information all day long. Thinking was an occasional benefit, but the job bored me to hell. Then my contract was ended, and I picked up my last job. All of a sudden I’m thinking, planning, troubleshooting, etc. all day long. Sometimes working 60-70 hour weeks. It grinds away at you, especially when you are already shot.

My other main set back came from this same job. Last spring I was taking the same courses I am taking now, when my work did a 180, and I went from potential day trips to travelling cross country. I had to withdraw, which hurt in many ways, and also cost me my chance to graduate last fall, 1 semester ahead of when I drew up my plan back in the summer of 2006. I lost one and paid it back with two. Ugh. I have one course to take this summer, a hard one too. The second calculus based physics, 4 nights a week for 8 weeks. Everyone who took it last summer told me it was a 2 month marathon.

Either way, I can taste this it is so close. I spent most of this semester always playing catch-up, between all of the extreme stresses at work, the stresses at home, the stresses financially. But now it has hit me, and I’ve been catching up quick.

Either way, I’m almost done, and for the first time in my life I get the chance to “walk.” Nothing like that to get you going. Now all I need is to hear back from UNCC regarding my application to transfer.

New post coming

I’ve been sooooooo slack on this site lately, I need to kick myself in the ass. Somehow I lose my job and now I have no freetime?! I don’t know. I’ve been busy trying to get caught up on that to do list that I started back in 2006! And it is 2009 now!

Anyways, I just wanted to post to say that I’m going to have a damned good post for you tomorrow. I better, at least.

The Parking Citation From Hell

 

I am proud to say that I have never received a parking citation in all my years of driving. Well, at least I know that. Park It! Charlotte and Law Enforcement Systems apparently have a different opinions. Yet what it comes down to is incompetence – and potentially illegal behavior – by the very people who are paid by our taxes.

 

So a little history. In November, 2006, my wife totaled her car. Yes it was her fault, no she wasn’t hurt, and yes I believe the other person was.  She ran a red light and T-boned a minivan at 50 MPH. Her Camry was totaled, although behind the front fenders you would never know. The minivan’s frame was literally bent in. So piece of advice, forget the Dodge Grand Caravan, but the Toyota Camry.

Insurance handled most of everything, but we had to turn in the tag prior to getting our payout. Which we did, at the DMV Tag location on Independence Blvd. in Charlotte, NC. The one beside BJ’s for those who know it. Got our receipt, got our check from the insurance company, then went on about our business.

So why is a totaled car from 2006 relevant mid-2009. Apparently the tag was “improperly” handled after turning it in. In March of this year, I received a letter from the Charlotte parking authority, affectionately known as Park It!, stating I was past due on a parking citation, and that I owed $35. Seemed suspect, so I checked all of the tags at my house. Nothing matched. Checked all of my parents tags, nothing much. Even glanced at the ones in the neighborhood, yet none even matched the first two letters.

So I called a family friend who is a Deputy Sheriff and asked her to run the tag. It was for a 2005 Camry, and listed as being owned by State Farm. Interesting that it would be the car that was totaled and owned by our insurance company. So I called Park It!, told them I wanted to appeal. At first she said that it was too late to appeal since it was past due, but after I explained the situation, she agreed and said that they were going to take care of it on their side, especially after she ran the tag, and sure enough, it was listed as State Farm as the owner. Ironically, the vehicle was a Nissan, not a Camry. Is this suspect?

So I thanked the lady and began to worry about why that tag was floating around still. So I put it on my to do list to find that tag receipt and contact the NC DMV License and Theft Bureau. Well, I forgot. Or should I say it moved lower and lower on the list. Until today.

Today I got a letter from Law Enforcement Services, stating that I owed $35 for that citation, and failure to either pay or contact them by 5/11 could result in one of the following:

• Having my vehicle towed
• Having wheel-locks installed on my wheels
• Taken to court

Although personally I would love to see the car get towed, the agency is potentially screwing around with my credit. But I’m now fuming because this supposed “taken care of” situation is now being taken care of by a collection agency. I contacted them, explained the situation, but now they need paperwork. Apparently collection services aren’t paid to do their homework, only to collect. So now I was forced to find that damned receipt, which I have. I’m faxing it in the morning. If they try to collect again then we may be seeing each other in court – maybe someone will let me borrow some Armani vampire fangs

NC DMV License and Theft Bureau will also be hearing from me tomorrow, as I try to get some investigation as to why in the hell a tag that was legally turned in 2 years ago is being used. Park It! is also getting a copy of the receipt as well and a stern warning not to contact me again regarding this tag. I will not respond to any requests for payment, they have their sufficient proof. I’m also going to be sending in a complaint on the unprofessional methods by which this is handled. Once I had provided enough proof that the ticket was not supposed to be for me, and I was told that they were going to take care of it on their end, I should have NEVER received that letter from the collection agency.

And finally, I still want to know how in the hell they got my name in the first place. The tag was registered to State Farm, yet I’m the one who has had the headache.

So a word of advice to anyone turning in your tag. Hold on to that receipt for a long long time. You never know when some crook in the DMV is going to ensure your old tag ends up on the back of another car.

Three amazing shots

 

Wow, a finish straight out of the movies. Three shots ended the hostage situation off the coast of Somalia. Sure, we see it in the movies all the time. But in real life, the stakes are real, and the challenges tremendous. Just imagine hitting a moving  target 75 feet away at night, while you are moving too. Sure, a number of people might be able to hit the broad side of  a barn in those conditions. But three one-shot kills, each to the head? Big round of applause is due to those SEALS. Watch out for this hostage situation on the next release of SOCOM!

 

The good news is that there are only a bunch of heroes in this story, and the only fatalities were to the bad guys. First, hats off to that captain. If anyone deserved to be saved, it was him. Giving himself up to the pirates to protect everyone else was a huge gamble. But it paid off in freeing his men, even though he made the risk for himself that much worse. Want a hero? That’s a hero.

But he wasn’t his only one. Hats off to the Navy for keeping the pirates in check and doing everything in their power to keep the Captain, Richard Phillips, alive, and to keep the pirates from taking him into Somalia. And those SEALS who fired those 3 shots? Just amazing.

But now that we are beyond this situation, we need to start finding ways of preventing it. Sure, we could TRY and patrol every square inch of sea out there, but that is impossible. All that leads to is having the Navy show up AFTER a ship has been taken. No, we need a better alternative. So let’s take a page out of history here.

The Marine Corps was founded to serve as an infantry unit aboard naval vessels and was responsible for the security of the ship and her crew by conducting offensive and defensive combat during boarding actions… (Wikipedia)

That’s right, we need to bring in the Marines. Or at least a civilian form of them. If the ship is a part of the Merchant Marines, give ‘em the Marines. If it is a ship who transports goods between the U.S. and other nations, make it a requirement that in order to transport goods to the U.S., it must be guarded by a well-trained security group that has been given the OK from the U.S. government.

If we are going to protect our cargo ships from pirates, then we need men on board who are trained to detect and repel such an attack.

And maybe we need to consider some form of joint UN action in Somalia to alter the landscape of a country that breeds the need of bold pirates to get by.

All I know is that Captain Jack Sparrow must be disappointed in these Somali pirates. He would’ve gotten away.

Charlotte featured on Gangland on History Channel

It about floored me. Looking through the guide, I saw Gangland: Hidden Valley… I knew what it was immediately. HVK, Hidden Valley Kings. The dark reality for thousands of people living in the Hidden Valley community. I cannot claim to be expert on them. But it was a daily part of life, especially during high school. My high school was about 1 or 2 miles away from the Valley, and we did have members there. As for the community? I’ve never come closer than passing by it on Sugarcreek or playing tennis at the Sugarcreek Rec Center. I know better than to get myself shot. Yet it was a man in a motel right behind a Valley that nearly cost it for me 9 years ago. Piece of advice: Never have a dad of  friend (who you’ve never met) of a friend ride with you so you can go buy booze. Especially if they are living out of a cheap motel in the ghetto. You might end up like me, feeling a glock in your side and being told to drive into some bad spots in North Charlotte so he can collect his funds, one way or another.

For those of us here in Charlotte, we know who the Hidden Valley Kings are. We can remember the gun play at Eastland Mall back in 2005, which tipped the scales on the mall’s demise. We remember hearing the next day about the retaliation down N Tryon, with guys shooting at each other in cars. Hell, I remember my boss, Tony, told his wife to go to the Dillard’s at Eastland instead of driving all the way out to Carolina Place. She was at the mall entrance to Dillard’s when the shooting started. I also remember she waited until she drove up to our work before she reamed him a new one.

And then I kept seeing this cat Lil’ Sweet. Back when I still had a job, I kept seeing him uptown by the bus station, trying to hustle CD’s with the “Rude Boyz.” I’ve listened to some of his stuff on YouTube, not my style but at least we know what he’s rappin about. I ain’t gonna knock him for credibility.

I really did enjoy watching this episode. Not that I like my city and my old stompin grounds being smeared in blood on national tv. I’m glad to see that the gang problem here is getting the attention it deserves. We watched for years as the cops denied there was even a gang problem, even though I knew a lot people who were in gangs. If the HVK hadn’t stepped outside the Valley with reckless violence, we probably would’ve been caught sleeping with the MS-13 came into town. So at least those murders weren’t in vain.

I am also glad to hear that Hidden Valley has slowly been working itself back to being a relatively safer community than it was. You can read up on the update at the charlotteobserver.com.

The Insufferable State Tax Refund

 

Before I begin, I must note that I personally received my North Carolina State refund after about 5 weeks by in March. My parents though are a different story.

 

They submitted their tax returns back in mid to late February… Almost eight weeks later, and all the North Carolina Department of Revenue can say is that it has been received and is in process. When they contact a real person, they send them to the website, which gives them the same answer they get on the phone.

All year long we pay taxes. Most of us allow the government to hold on to more than their fair share, since having the IRS wanting to collect in April makes no one happy. When the IRS is due, they can make your life a living hell by garnishing your wages, levying tax liens, putting you behind bars. Who wants that?

But who can we turn to when the IRS owes us money? Apparently no one, unless you can afford a very good lawyer, and in the middle of this recession, half the lawyers I’ve ever met couldn’t even afford to hire themselves. We try to make a lot of noise, but inside Raleigh, no one is listening. They are too busy trying to slice up budgets, force teachers out of schools, redirecting lottery funds from education to the general budget. Bev Perdue promised change in the state seat. Guess what, we got it. Things have changed for the worse. At least I can say I didn’t vote for her.

Some may argue that there shouldn’t be a huge rush for the refunds to come through. Some people may be able to swing it waiting longer. I didn’t sweat 5 weeks, I was employed and could go by a while without it. But what about my parents. My dad’s retired, living off his retirement and social security, and is unable to work. He spent 30 years in protection of this county, and upholding the laws of this state. My mom is a bus driver, who is scared to even note down her overtime with the lay-off slicing all around her. And with the prospect of no summer-school, this will be the first summer in years she will have to find some way of earning money for those 3 months. After many good years, now they can barely afford to even get by.

So how did honest, hard-working American’s, who had nothing to do with causing the recession or the budget deficit, get shafted. All they are doing is asking for their hard-earned money to be returned to them in a timely manner, so that they too can afford to pay their bills. Yet the state can’t even give them a straight answer as to why they haven’t received it.

If the tables were turned, the IRS would already be assessing interest and penalties, along with garnishing wages. Why can’t we get a two way street here. Maybe we can send them a bill every month, for the total amount of 1% interest and additional penalties? Like that would happen.

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  • Mark Hurd: Who Will Hire the Ousted Hewlett-Packard CEO? September 4, 2010
  • Lights, Camera, Groceries!: Tesco Supermarket Turns Film Producer September 4, 2010
  • Toyota: New Car-Safety Issue Hits Company After Recalls September 4, 2010
  • Study: Young, Single, Childless Women Earn More Than Men September 4, 2010

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  • The Cost of Bernanke's Failure-Aversion September 4, 2010
  • Hurricane Earl, And Other Threats to Insurers September 3, 2010
  • Will the FCIC Report Be a Whitewash? September 3, 2010
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