Call to Action

Are you as tired as I am of the Federal Government taking so much of your money?

It's never more evident than now during "tax time".

And what irks me every year is that I have more than $60,000 of stock loss carryforward of which I get to deduct only $3,000 a year!

What a joke -- because if I made $60,000 from stock sales in one year, then I would have to report all of it and pay income taxes on my gain. I'll have to live at least 20 more years just to take those losses.

If you too have excessive stock losses, how about writing to President Obama and let's see if we can't start a movement to increase the annual stock loss deduction on our Federal Tax Return to $10,000.

If you agree, please send an email to President Obama and forward this info to all your friends who have suffered stock losses.

Below is an outline you can use. Just fill in your dollar amount & # of years it will take you to use your deduction (your $ loss/$3,000).

You can cut it out below, go to the website and then just paste.

TO PRESIDENT OBAMA:
I would like the maximum stock loss deduction per year of $3000 increased to $10,000 per year in light of all the losses that we citizens have incurred over the past few years. Also that $3,000 maximum stock loss has not been increased for many years.

I still have a loss carryover of over ________________(fill in your amount) from previous stock market crashes. That loss amount coupled with my current losses means I will have to live for more than _______ years just to take my losses. How is that fair when I have had to declare the full amount of gains in one year and pay tax. If we could at least take a deduction of $10,000 per year that certainly would help us retirees.
http://capwiz.com/politicsol/mail/?id=3181&lvl=F&chamber=P

Make A Wish

Retired --- looking for something rewarding to do with your spare time?

Then, how about becoming a WISH GRANTOR for the Make a Wish Foundation? It's a wonderful way to volunteer your time because you don't have to commit to one day a week. They offer free training and pair you with an experienced WISH GRANTOR for your first few visits.

I completed the training a few months ago and went out on my first "WISH" last weekend. It was fun to meet the young man, talk to him about his interests and what would be his fantasy "WISH". He wanted everything from meeting President Obama to playing basketball with Kobe Bryant.

He finally settled on going to the SUPERBOWL......so now it's up to the WISH granting team to pull some strings and make it happen!!

To find a local chapter, go to: http://www.wish.org/

My Right!

We're all entitled to our opinion and I definitely have mine about abortion rights. Now, you might ask why I, a Boomer, should be concerned when I definitely can't have kids.

It's because I'm mad and so tired of this issue popping up every few years when I thought it had been valiantly fought by our generation and settled with the decision in Roe vs. Wade. The Supreme Court issued that decision 36 years ago on January 22, 1973 stating that an abortion is a fundamental right under the Constitution, yet the battle is far from over . See the article about the Rally on Thursday held in Washington: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090122/ap_on_re_us/abortion_anniversary

This basic right needs to be protected for our granddaughters! If not, they will be forced to return to the dark ages of back alleys, coat hangers or trips abroad. After all, if the right to control my own body is again taken away, then what right will be next.

One of my favorite bumper stickers which came out when Bush #41 was President summed up my feelings the best:
BUSH stay out of my bush!