Random Politics & Religion #00

More money in fraud from the banks, IRS, to the government.

And now IRS has a bigger headache (thanks to Obamacare) with less people to check these things (again, thanks to Obamacare), so that's why ID theft is going to be prevalent this year.

I just don't understand why the average American gives a damn

I "get" all of that. I just...meh. I'm talking a few steps removed I guess. Even beyond why people bother watching nightly news anymore because it's an outdated mode of information conveyance... Why do people let themselves be spoonfed beliefs like that? I guess it's just "easier"...

I don't think people realize that they're being spoonfed. I'm not calling you out per se, but I've seen plenty of people who take in spoonfed propaganda but accuse others of doing the same. Maybe people just don't realize that propaganda is still propaganda even if they believe in it?

The bigger issue with that is that they are taking the spoonfed propaganda and either not understanding it or not questioning it correctly.

Not reading between the lines is a skill that's not being taught in most school systems (as there isn't a test associated with it) and it is a skill being lost in today's society. Which is sad and dangerous because it creates people like Lordgrim who cannot figure out for the life of him that he is replacing one spoon with another.

I don't think people realize that they're being spoonfed. I'm not calling you out per se, but I've seen plenty of people who take in spoonfed propaganda but accuse others of doing the same. Maybe people just don't realize that propaganda is still propaganda even if they believe in it?

What I find even more intriguing is the tendency nowadays to place the burden of proof on the one arguing against the claim instead of the one making it. I can't count the number of times in these forums alone that I've been told that the facts are out there and I just have to "look them up", only to discover that I can't find them anywhere but it's still all my fault for not doing hours of digging to verify somebody else's calim.

I remember once, in a galaxy far, far away...

That students used to be taught to cross-check their references and materials when making a claim... any claim, and most particularly, bold claims when trying to form an argument or debate topic.

What I find even more intriguing is the tendency nowadays to place the burden of proof on the one arguing against the claim instead of the one making it. I can't count the number of times in these forums alone that I've been told that the facts are out there and I just have to "look them up", only to discover that I can't find them anywhere but it's still all my fault for not doing hours of digging to verify somebody else's claim.

Not sure if you are serious or not...

The money is being taken away from IRS to a 3rd party using somebody else's name. IRS "thinks" (which is always a laugh) that the money was refunded to the person on the account. The person has no idea what's going on. The 3rd party gets the money and disappears until the next person is targeted.

There are 2 known and used scams involving ID theft with the IRS: EITC fraud and Estimated Payment fraud. Both are easy to catch, both require a little thought process by IRS, both that IRS fails to catch.

EITC fraud: Fraudster filed an EITC credit return using 3 children as dependents, those dependents are either not on the first page of 1040 (go figure, a process check!) or using fictitious SSN (go figure, another process check!). The IRS issues a refundable credit to the person who's address changed or bank account is different from before (usually both at the same time, which should be an obvious red flag) and doesn't bother to check previous records. This happens mostly when the taxpayer waits until the last minute to file.

Estimated Payment fraud: Fraudster obtains information of a taxpayer who pays estimated quarterly tax payments of large sums and filed a zero-tax-due or a greatly reduced tax-due return and gets the refund back (again, at a different address and/or bank account). IRS doesn't check historical records to verify the type of investments or the amounts historically reported (fraudsters generally do not have prior year tax returns, so they don't know the historical interest/dividends/capital gains amounts, nor any carryovers, which should also be a red flag, especially in the case of capital loss carryovers), they also do not check on any K-1s issued (if any at the time of the fraudulent filing, generally because the business returns haven't been filed yet, another red flag!), or even compare the fraudulent return against the previous return. In most cases, they don't even verify if the W-2 information is entered in (another red flag), but the tax withheld is already credited in the taxpayer's account, so not only do the estimated tax payments get refunded, but the W-2 withholdings do too!

And now IRS has a bigger headache (thanks to Obamacare) with less people to check these things (again, thanks to Obamacare), so that's why ID theft is going to be prevalent this year.

Banks still get there money. IRS/government goes after the banks (fines) to get their money. And a lot more than if they went after the individual. If they caught these people they would be fined (good luck collecting) and sent to jail. Why do that when you can just fine somebody like HSBC a few billion instead?

What you are talking about is something completely different.

But yeah. There are people -- here, but everywhere else too -- who just regurgitate standard points for issues ad nauseam because that's all they've ever paid attention to; what they've been told.

Your beef is with the IRS not doing their jobs properly, mine is with the regulators doing the same, and usually worse.

/naps

See the reason we have elected officials is so we don't have to think all the time !

The Indian government is "extremely disturbed" by the treatment of a 57-year-old grandfather from that country who was severely roughed up by police while walking in a suburban neighborhood in Alabama, a spokesman said Friday.

Syed Akbaruddin, a spokesman for India's External Affairs Ministry, said the government took the incident "very seriously" and was in contact with the U.S. mission in New Dehli.

The government also will contact officials in Washington and Alabama, Akbaruddin said in response to reporters' questions in New Dehli about the treatment of Sureshbhai Patel in the city of Madison.

"What we will communicate is that we are extremely disturbed," he said. "This is a matter of concern for us, and India and the U.S. as open pluralist societies need to address these issues and find ways in a mature manner so that these are aberrations and are not the norm."

Madison police officer Eric Parker was arrested and is being fired after Patel was slammed to the ground and injured while visiting relatives in the town. An attorney for Patel said the man suffered partial paralysis in the incident but hopes for a full recovery.

The officer has not commented publicly and court records are not yet available to show whether he has a lawyer.

Police stopped Patel while he was walking on a sidewalk in his son's neighborhood on Feb. 6. Patel's attorney, Hank Sherrod, claims the man was accosted because of his dark brown skin.

Patel, who suffered injuries including partial paralysis of his legs, has filed a federal lawsuit claiming his civil rights were violated. The suit seeks an unspecified amount of money.

Dashcam video and audio recordings of emergency dispatch calls released by the Madison Police Department showed that a man called police complaining that an unfamiliar man was walking in the neighborhood and peering toward garages.

Police arrived in patrol cars within minutes. Video shot from inside one of the cruisers shows two officers approaching the man on the sidewalk and attempting to talk to him.

With country music playing audibly on the car's radio in the video recording, two officers approach the man on foot.

"What's going on, sir?" asks one of the officers. "You're what? India?"

Police pepper the man with questions about what he is doing and where he is going, but any answers are inaudible and someone on the recording is heard saying, "no English." Patel appears to try to walk away and one of the officers warns: "Do not jerk away from me again."

One of the officers, neither of whom is identified, then slams Patel face-first into the ground less than 90 seconds after the confrontation began.

"He don't speak a lick of English," one of the officers says as another officers arrives at the scene.

What I find even more intriguing is the tendency nowadays to place the burden of proof on the one arguing against the claim instead of the one making it. I can't count the number of times in these forums alone that I've been told that the facts are out there and I just have to "look them up", only to discover that I can't find them anywhere but it's still all my fault for not doing hours of digging to verify somebody else's claim.