For all its tough talk, the Treasury can’t do jack to reign in lenders who are wrongfully denying home owners loan modifications. After seeing reports that some banks were basically modifying no loans at all, Treasury staffers huddled up to talk about withholding payments and levying fines on the baddest of the bunch. Unfortunately, they were told by their own lawyers that they don’t have that power. ProPublica reports, “staffers were walked back by Treasury lawyers, who said the government was only party to a commercial contract with servicers and not acting as their regulator.” [More]
Government Policy
Deduct The Costs Of Your Job Search
By 1.31.11
It’s hard to get a break when you’re out of work, but there are a few tax breaks you do qualify for. Did you know that you can deduct travel expenses for job interviews? The fees you pay to an outplacement firm? And the cost of printing your resume on ostrich ebony paper? A survey of 1,000 adults found that only 1% of them did. While you’re trying to snag a job, might as well catch a few tax breaks along the way. [More]
Movie Pirates Mourn: MPAA Puts The Smackdown On 50 Torrent Sites
By 1.31.11
If you listen very closely, you can just hear the agonized shrieks of torrent site users bemoaning the loss of their favorite movie-providing sites. The Motion Picture Association of America joined forces with Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN to shut down 12 torrent sites in the U.S. and 39 more abroad. [More]
You Deserve A High Five: Consumer Spending Is Up
By 1.31.11
Spend, spend, spend! Buy, buy, buy! That’s what all of you have been doing, especially at the end of 2010, says a new report from the Commerce Department, leading to an uptick in consumer spending which is helping to boost the economy. Good job! [More]
Politician Breaks Into Home, Sues Owners For Injuries
By 1.29.11
File this one under “S” for “shut the front door!” — no, really, shut the front door and lock it: Senator Jim Alesi of New York is very angry that he injured himself after breaking into a home, and is suing the owners, his constituents, as well as the builders of the home. [More]
Track Your Tax Return Status With IRS2Go App
By 1.28.11
The IRS has an official app called “IRS2Go” for iOS and Android that lets you keep track of your tax return’s status after you’ve filed it. [More]
How To Get Free Tax-Prep Help
By 1.28.11 — Updated: 11.21.13
What many taxpayers don’t know when they step into H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt or go to some tax-preparation site is that there are several thousand IRS-approved volunteers out there willing to do the job for free if you qualify. [More]
Your 1099s May Be Tardy This Year
By 1.28.11
Some of your 1099s may be delayed this year because recent changes in the tax law require them to be corrected. They’re supposed to be mailed out by Jan 31 but this year they may not even show up until after the April 18th filing deadline. So what do you do? [More]
Ticketmaster Settles Class Action Lawsuit
By 1.28.11
If you bought a ticket from Ticketmaster between Oct ’99 and May ’10, get ready for some bucks/ticket discounts coming your way. Ticketmaster has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit brought against it in 2003 that alleged the ticket giant’s processing fees were just a “profit component” and didn’t recoup any actual costs of doing business. [More]
Taco Bell Thanks "Meat Filling" Lawsuit Plaintiffs In Full-Page Ad
By 1.28.11
The folks at Taco Bell are letting it be known that they’re going to put up a very public fight over the recently filed lawsuit alleging that its ground beef doesn’t meet USDA standards for being advertised as ground beef. [More]
Guess What? Letting Corps. Make Anonymous Unfettered Political Donations Quadrupled Contributions!
By 1.27.11
A year ago, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations could not be banned from political spending during elections through either independent expenditures from corporations’ general funds or “electioneering communications,” i.e. political ads. Detractors cried out that it would let loose a flood of corporate cash into elections, and they were right. A new Public Citizen report shows that outside groups quadrupled their contributions during the last mid-term election from the previous, and we will never know exactly where a good deal of the money came from. [More]
Avoid The Dread Eye Of The IRS Auditor
By 1.27.11
After The Reaper, second in the line of “those to fear” is the IRS tax auditor. What with his scales and poison fangs and all. But you can dodge his fell gaze if you know the red flags he’s looking for. [More]
Adding Calories To Menus Doesn't Affect Consumption, Study Says
By 1.27.11
Though the move to require menus to sport calorie information was met with applause by health advocates, a new, limited, study of Taco Time restaurants in Seattle says they don’t change what people decide to eat. [More]
Politician Wants Warning Labels On Video Games
By 1.27.11
A congressman figures that if warning labels are good enough for your cigarettes and bug spray, they’re also suitable for your video games. [More]
Woman Robs Girl Scout Of $92
By 1.26.11
A 7-year-old Girl Scout and her mom set up shop selling cookies at a Florida shopping center when a woman in her 30s allegedly decided that she preferred a wad of cash to Thin Mints. Police say the woman swiped $92 and sped off in her car. [More]
Recall Issued For 245,000 Lexus IS & GS Cars
By 1.26.11
Another big recall for Toyota. This time the car maker is recalling a total of 245,000 Lexus IS and GS vehicles in the U.S.because of a possible problem with the fuel pressure sensor installation. [More]
NYC Parks To Get Free WiFi, At A Price
By 1.26.11
New Yorkers are slated to get free wifi in 32 public parks next year, but it will come with a pricetag. Park users will get three 10 minute sessions per month, and after that pay 99 cents a day. The money goes to Time Warner and Cablevision, who agreed to provide the wifi as part of the city agreeing to renew their cable-tv franchises for 10 years. Public advocates promptly slammed the deal as the privatization of a public good. [More]
USPS Shutting Down 2,000 Locations
By 1.25.11
A year from now, you may be driving a little bit farther and waiting in longer lines to do your mail-related business. The USPS set a goal to shut down 2,000 branches and stations in 2011. No post offices are on the chopping block, but the new cuts are in addition to nearly 500 closures that are all ready in the works. The locations under threat of closure are smaller satellite offices that don’t process mail and sometimes don’t have mail carriers. [More]
