Should Congress Set Rules of Tax Preparers? (Unit 4)

A push towards cleaning up the preparation business of taxes was advocated by the Obama administration. In the past few years, tax preparers have drained the U.S. Treasury and taxpayers and the Obama administration has asked Congress to pass a law that will permit the Internal Revenue Service to regulate preparers. In a successful court case, the U.S. Court Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that Congress did not give the IRS the power to require continued education and test taking on tax-return preparers. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives, a Republican who takes part in the Ways and Means Committee stated it is not in their interest to form such a law. Committee Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Dave Camps-R, said the IRS’s request is under appraisal. 

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-03-17/news/sns-rt-us-usa-tax-preparers-20140317_1_preparers-jeff-trinca-irs

Hillary in Race for Kentucky? (Unit 3)

(Jason DeCrow/AP)

Kentucky has been not been known to be a competitive state for presidential candidates to fight over, but recently has been an issue for hopeful presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton is a most favored delegate for the Democratic Party to run in 2016. Kentucky has eight electoral votes and has recently voted for republicans in elections, turning it recently into a red state. Although Kentuckians did not vote for Obama in the 2008 presidential primary, Kentuckians did vote in favor for Hillary Clinton.  Her husband, Bill Clinton won Kentucky in both his presidential, 1992 and reelection, 1996 elections with margins decreasing. There are more democrats registered in Kentucky than republicans, but that does not guarantee that a democrat will win the state of Kentucky in 2016. Although Obama did not win Kentucky in both the 2008 and 2012 elections, this should not dictate the results for Hillary Clinton if she does become the democratic nominee in the 2016 election. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/02/25/can-hillary-clinton-win-kentucky-in-2016/

For Democrats looking to post-Obama era, how populist a future? (Unit 2)

Photo byDan Balz and Philip Rucker

Democrats are now looking towards the future in deciding who will later become their new party leader. Their more moderate political views have not entirely changed their beliefs, only which they strive more towards innovation. Since Obama has taken office, it has raised a question whether the Democratic Party has altered their views to a more liberal standpoint.  A Gallup Poll surveying democrats demonstrated how liberalism has expanded among democrats in 14 years with an increase of 14 percent since 2000. In a poll, that ABC-News had people answer questions ranging from favorable or unfavorable impressions of certain candidates to which candidate they would vote for in the 2016 presidential election. The results showed that most of the surveyors would vote for Hilary Rodham Clinton, but astonishingly, the surveyors would think of themselves as an independent. This kind of surprises me since I would not have had considered some of Americans to be independent but as either democrats or republicans. In the end, the Democratic Party is unsure of whom their next leader will be but I would strongly agree to have Hilary Rodham Clinton be the next democratic leader. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/for-democrats-looking-to-post-obama-era-how-populist-a-future/2014/02/15/8204b4bc-95c4-11e3-8461-8a24c7bf0653_story.html#

Farm Bill Passed After Two Years of Negotiation (Unit 1)

 Photo via Tony Thompson

 The majority won when it came to passing of the farm bill, the vote was 68 to 32. As Debbie Stabenow, who is Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman, stated; there are 16 million agricultural workers who are relieved to have such a bill has been passed, that will last 5 years. This bill will give those agricultural workers crop insurance, which will allow them to protect themselves against nature. Farmers will also be allowed to choose what they will grow but the Agricultural Department will only support some of the plants grown that will be used in the nation's food bank. The Farm bill also adjusts the eligibility of SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which is a Categorical Grant. These new guidelines for eligibility will decrease the amount of money for the program by $40 billion dollars. It is also estimated that the bill will cut about $16 billion of tax payers money. Which i find to be a great thing because now that i work, it hopefully decrease the amount of money taken out of my paycheck. The Farm bill will also monitor how food is packaged & sold, which would give us more information on where our food comes from. Which every consumer should take into consideration because of food-borne illnesses.