Wages or Taxes?

Raising the minimum wage is a good idea but it would only apply to a percentage of wage earners. There is another solution that would apply to most people: raise the standard income tax deduction to $40,000 or more. This would benefit more people than an increased minimum wage alone. While the Federal budget isn’t balanced now, limiting capital gains deductions could adjust for lower revenues.

Everyone who buys a domestic product or service pays for someone’s income tax, which is built into the price or cost. Imported goods and services should pay a tariff of 35% to adjust for their non-payment of income taxes, Social Security, and Medicare. While the laws can’t and shouldn’t prevent sending jobs offshore, they can adjust for these losses.

Ronald A. Sobieraj

The Value of American Citizenship

March 4th’s edition of the Amboy Guardian had a full page congratulatory ad proclaiming the 100th year (1917-2017) of American citizenship for the Puerto Rican people. American citizenship is an honor for most of us and coveted by many.

On July 2, 2010 Puerto Rico passed a law invalidating all Puerto Rican birth certificates. This occurred as a result of a discovery in 2009 by ICE of a Dominican crime syndicate involved in identity theft in Puerto Rico.   All Puerto Rico born Americans had to apply for new secure birth certificates. Some were able to have their new birth certificates electronically processed while others like my elderly parents whose birth certificates were weathered and faded, had to physically make the trip to Puerto Rico and go through the ordeal of bureaucracies before receiving new birth certificates.

Tens of thousands of birth certificates, social security cards and driver’s licenses were stolen from churches, schools and government agencies where sometimes multiple duplicates of these documents were kept.  An estimated 5 million Puerto Rican Americans were affected on the island as well as 1.5 million here on the main land.            The syndicate sold documents to Dominican illegal aliens in Puerto Rico and the illegal alien Dominican population living in PA, NJ, NY, CT and New England. Documents were distributed to the Southern Border States mainly Texas and California where Mexican, Central and South American illegal aliens purchased these documents. According to the investigating agencies these documents sold for up to $10,000 and were used to illegally obtain passports, licenses, and other government and private sector documentation and benefits. Approximately 40 PERCENT of the passport fraud cases investigated by the DOS State Diplomatic Security Services in the years surrounding the theft had involved birth certificates of people born in Puerto Rico. These stolen documents were used by illegal aliens to apply for credit cards, drivers’ licenses, social security benefits and welfare payments etc. Puerto Rico born citizens continue suffering from the effects of this identity theft. ICE agents are still recovering Puerto Rican documents from criminal illegal aliens in virtually every state

In Alaska alone, one case involved an elaborate scheme by Dominican illegal aliens and conspirators involving identity theft, tax fraud, cocaine trafficking and money laundering. Stolen Puerto Rican identity documents were used to commit these crimes. The proceeds of these crimes were deposited in numerous banks throughout Alaska and then wire transferred in $5000 increments to the Dominican Republic to the tune of $25MILLION. www.justice.gov/usao-ak/pr/defendants-sentenced-25-million-tax-fraud-and-drug-conspiracy

www.justice.gov/usao-ak/pr/multiple-defendants-sentenced-international-money-laundering-conspiracy.

So, if you think possession of a social security card by an illegal alien is just a victimless crime that doesn’t merit deportation, think again.

Mirian Montalvo

Which One Will I Choose?

I was always of the belief that when you are in charge of people you should lead by example. I always had a disdain for the, “Do as I say, not as I do” mentality. Like the parent who lights up a cigarette, then tries to teach their children about the evils of smoking.

When you lead by example the people in your charge will do their best to follow your lead that is, of course, if they are good followers.

Wanting to be a good follower myself, I found myself in a dilemma. Which law should I ignore? What law should I disregard because I don’t agree with it?

I didn’t want to ignore any federal laws because as everyone knows, “the feds don’t play,” and I don’t look good in handcuffs. I did some digging into federal laws and what I found was this. If a person or persons comes into this country illegally and gets caught, he/she gets sent back to wherever it is they came from and can’t come back for 3 months. A second offense and they can’t come back for 6 months. However if you aid and/or abet this person or persons, either by helping them cross the border, or giving them “sanctuary” to avoid prosecution, and you are convicted, you get 2 years in the slammer. Not for me brother.

After some soul searching I came up with one that I decided I could ignore because I don’t believe in it. It’s only a local ordinance but I don’t have an army of lawyers at my disposal so I don’t want to do anything big.

The law in question is the one that doesn’t allow a person to put a garbage can, chair, or anything else in the street to save a parking space that you spent 2 hours shoveling out after a snow storm. It really is unfair that anyone without a driveway has to dig their vehicle out, go to work, and come back to find some self-serving, inconsiderate SOB has taken the spot you broke your hump to clear. If that doesn’t work out, I’ll leave my vehicle where it is and call Uber. They are on time, I don’t have to share with 4 or 5 other people, and it’s not that much more expensive, (oh, the things you learn when there are no cabs to be found) and I’ll be able to save my parking space legally. I’ll just have to find another law to ignore so I can remain a good follower.

Joe Bayona