Happy 9th, DG

Amazing the way it adds up...

Nine doesn’t sound a terribly large number, so let me recalculate.  That’s 3287 days, at least 99% of which I’ve posted something on.  There are 4667 posts altogether, some of them piddly and small, others major 1000+ word essays.  I’m not sure precisely how many words I’ve written altogether, but it must be more than two million by now, which is approximately the same length as three Bibles.  And you’ve added 50000 comments...

...innit?

I’ve had Diamond Geezer in my bookmarks since October, 2003, shortly after he began his second year of posting (The link in my sidebar hides under Best London Trivia.), and if you find fascination in Things London (occasionally extending to Things British), you should, too.  Lots of history and geography.  Not much politics (except when the politicians do stupid things like replace the city’s beloved Routemasters with bendy buses - but now they’re getting rid of them, so that’s mostly settled, or do a rather slapdash job of "restoring” his neighborhood tube station).  Excellently written (even natives find out things they don’t know), and quite an achievement.

Highly recommended.

Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 17:56:47 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 190 words, total size 3 kb.

Why government costs so much, cont’d.

J. Russell George (Treasury Dept. Inspector General for Tax Administration):

Individuals who are not authorized to work in the United States received billions of dollars from the IRS last year in a refundable tax credit based on earned income called the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). ... Claims for this credit by these individuals have escalated sharply from $924 million in 2005 to $4.2 billion in 2010.

Those escalating claims tell me the illegals aren’t filing for the credits on their own; somebody has to be "helping” them.  That those somebodies are aiding in fraud against the government ought to interest the feds.  Unfortunately, the Justice Department seems to be too busy raiding Gibson Guitars to investigate.

(Not that it ever would, what with illegal immigrants and the "community organizers” who support them being two major Democrat client groups, and all...)

Via:  TaxProf via Insty

Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 15:33:06 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 150 words, total size 2 kb.