Scam Alert – IRS Scam Calls and Texts are on the Rise

by | Sep 30, 2022 | Taxes

I received a text message from the IRS this week, “threatening” to levy against my assets if I did not call a number immediately.  Of course, it was a scam – my phone flagged it – but I also routinely get voice messages on my landline threatening the same thing, including repeated threats of arrest if I don’t call back right away.

If you owe money to the IRS, your first encounter will not be a phone call or text message.  It will be a letter explaining what the IRS thinks you have done and telling you how to respond.

Never give out personal information or financial information over the phone.  If someone demands payment “right now,” tell them so send you a letter (but don’t give out your address), and you will give it to your attorney to handle.

Call your attorney or tax preparer if you have any questions.  Sometimes it’s legit – but phone calls and text messages demanding payment are SCAMS.

Are You a Farmer or a WWOOFer?

by | Jun 30, 2022 | Agriculture, Insights, Voices

WARNING – POLITICAL CONTENT AHEAD.  Read at your own risk.

I subscribe to Medium to hear from a wide variety of “layperson” voices.  There is the occasional thoughtful and insightful writer, and today’s selection is from Chris Newman.  This author has several thoughtful articles from an ag perspective and is worth the read.

The most recent installment is In the Wake of Roe: What Farming Can Teach Us About Political Action

The author compares the day-to-day commitment of farming with the tourist mentality of WWOOFing (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms).

On the political left, you have people who are “flash in the pan,” who show up to the protests, who blow up social media, and who talk at length about what’s wrong with the right – but they cannot get a cohesive, consistent, and enduring message to stick long enough to effect change.  These are the WWOOFers:  They have a good message and good hearts, but they can’t seem to maintain any kind of effective organizational structure after the protest.  The author suggests that they get no help from the leadership, because the leadership of the left is more concerned with maintaining power than in coordinating forces to effect change.

On the political right, you have people who are committed to the long haul of their conservative cause, and use long-term strategies and deep and consistent involvement to gradually move the needle in their direction.  These are the “farmers” of the political world.

We’ve seen this for years – the Obama “Birthers” that Would. Not. Give. Up. on their message – even after President Obama was no longer in office.  Now we have the “Election Denier Influencers” who are gaining traction at the grassroots level and bullying local officials into listening to their message.  (See:  Republicans Push to Recruit Election Deniers as Poll Workers Causes Alarm, from Guardian, and the NPR Podcast for June 30, 2022:  Election Denier Influencers).  These folks don’t give up, don’t quit, and are intent on moving the needle, even more.  They are taking action that produces results.  They are not protesting in the streets (well, except for that one time), they are voting in every election, they are recruiting people to run for office, they are attending local government meetings and they Don’t. Give. Up.

The left is appalled, mortified, and probably a little scared at the slow, but steady, forward momentum of the faction of Election Deniers.  They should be appalled, mortified, and a lot scared.  There is a reason that Trump got into office, and there is a reason that the Election Deniers are gaining momentum, and might have more to do with the method than the message.