Three Scams to Avoid in Tough Times

Many people have lost their jobs in the last few months as the economy falters. Scam artists are still fully employed, however, in good times and bad. So be careful.

“If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is,” says Ralph Evangelista, CPA, of East Brunswick. This is a good time to take extra precautions whether you are spending, investing or simply supplying personal information to anyone for any reason. “Know who you are dealing with,” adds Evangelista. “And it is best to obtain references.”

According to the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJSCPA), the overall threat of being defrauded by a con artist increases during a recession. Money becomes tight and thieves work overtime to get their hands on yours. CPAs caution against these scams – and offer advice on how to avoid becoming a victim of three scams that are on the rise.

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Analysis Says Corzine Budget Leaves NJ $100M Short

 STATE – Gov. Jon Corzine’s $29.8 billion budget proposal relies on revenue projections that are too optimistic, according to a consensus of economic reports used by the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services to analyze it.

David Rosen, the office’s budget and finance officer, told the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee Monday that Corzine’s budget will leave New Jersey with a $100 million deficit instead of the $500 million surplus projected by the governor.

The state constitution does not allow deficit spending, so a revenue shortfall would require additional cuts to a budget that is already $3 billion less than the one approved last year.

Rosen also criticized the governor for not including a larger surplus margin in a year where revenue is extremely difficult to predict due to the bad economy. “You would want even bigger surplus than normal as a hedge,” Rosen said.

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Union Protests Planned Merck Job Cuts

RAHWAY—Members of the U.S. Steelworkers, Local 4-575, staged a protest outside Merck’s Rahway facility in opposition against the company’s plans to cut as many as 178 jobs held by union members.

The union is currently negotiating a new contract with the drug maker. The current three-year contract expires at the end of April.

Jim Conway, the union president, said Merck wants to contract a California-based management service to provide workers who will replace permanent employees. “It’s just an attempt to do away with good-paying American jobs,” he said.

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Don’t Be An April Fool When It Comes To Your Economic Recovery Payment

 By Ellen Zwierzynski, Social Security District Manager in Elizabeth 

No one likes being the target of an April fool’s prank. 

If you’re receiving Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, don’t let anyone fool you regarding your special one-time recovery payment of $250 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. 

To make sure no one does, we’ll state this as clearly as possible:

• All Social Security and SSI beneficiaries who are eligible for the special one-time recovery payment will have their payment issued in May;
• The payment is automatic; no action is required on your part; and
• There are no requests to make, no applications to complete and no fees to pay.

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Students Assess Stimulus Package For Math Challenge

EDISON—Led by math teacher Benjamin Patiak, four students from The Wardlaw-Hartridge School in Edison took part in a 14-hour mathematical modeling competition on Saturday, March 7. 

Christopher Georgevich of Elizabeth, Saheela Ibraheem of Piscataway, Manish Kewalramani of Edison and Sahil Zubair of Scotch Plains competed against students from Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Rhode Island, and local New Jersey schools including East Brunswick High School, Perth Amboy High School, Piscataway High School, Westfield High School, Summit High School and more.

Patiak explained that “the Wardlaw-Hartridge team was charged with the 2009 M3 problem: ‘$787 Billion: Will the Stimulus Act Stimulate the U.S. Economy?’ The W-H team determined which among the elements of the $787 billion package are most likely to produce improvements in employment. They also need to know how quickly these elements would produce results and if there is a need for a second stimulus package.”

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Free Job Training Course

CRANFORD – During the month of April, Union County College offer a free job training course to all Union County residents. All residents over the age of 18 are eligible to participate in this program. The career training course will be available to those who need to support a family, are a recent high school graduate looking for work, or a retiree who wants to earn a small income.

The course “Customer Service and Sales” will be offered from April 6 to May 4 at the Plainfield Family Success Center at Plainfield High School. The course will run Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. This course will prepare attendees for jobs in sales and customer service related positions. As well, the course will help attendees identify their personal skills, improve their resume, and set career goals. Union County College certificates will be distributed at the completion of the course.

To learn more about these free courses or to register, contact Vanessa Torres-Holmes or Joe Oliver at (908) 355-4444. The Plainfield Family Success Center at Plainfield High School is located at 925 Arlington Avenue.

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Five Mistakes That Can Bust Your Budget

Making — and sticking to — a household budget can help you conserve cash and limit your credit needs in tough economic times. There are some traps, however, that can bust your budget quickly, despite your best intentions. The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJSCPA) offers the following advice to avoid making these mistakes:

Mistake #1: Not Having a Budget

When you create a budget, you add up the amount of net salary and other money you expect to receive during the month then total what you need to spend on necessities, such as rent or mortgage, food, transportation, savings and other costs. Once you subtract your expenses from your income, you can save or spend whatever remains. Just remember not to spend more than what is left. If you do, you’ll have to borrow from next month’s budget to cover the overage, setting you back in the future.

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Heeding Criticism, Corzine Restores Property Tax Deduction

 

STATE – Gov. Jon Corzine’s draconian budget proposal has drawn a lot of criticism, but the most controversial component was the plan to eliminate the property tax deduction on the state income tax for most New Jersey residents.

Realizing that his budget had little chance of passing with that proposal intact, last week the Governor announced that he’d restore the tax deduction for residents earning less than $150,000 per year. 

“Given the circumstances, allowing people to maintain their property-tax deduction is the right thing to do and will help ease the pain for those being squeezed the most,” Senate President Richard J. Codey (D-Essex) said.

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Union County College To Host Job Fairs

CRANFORD – On Thursday, April 2, Union County College’s Division of Counseling Services will be hosting a job fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on its Plainfield Campus in the cafeteria at 232 East Second Street. As well, there will be a transfer fair, where current students can learn about transferring from UCC to four-year colleges and universities.

On Wednesday, April 8, the college will be hosting a job fair at its Cranford campus located at 1033 Springfield Avenue. The event will be held in the Victor M. Richel Student Commons from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. This fair is open to all those currently seeking employment, including students and members of the public. Anyone planning on attending should come dressed in the proper business attire and have a resume available that is complete and ready to hand out.

In addition, tables are still available to area business owners who may be interested in attending the job fair to recruit new employees. The table fee is $50. For more information, contact May Kortbaoui at (908) 709-9495 or email kortbaoui@ucc.edu.

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What The Government’s Stimulus Bill Means To You

By Jason Alderman

The 2009 economic stimulus bill President Barack Obama signed into law on Feb. 17, is a whopper, not only in cost ($787 billion) and length (1,070 pages), but also in terms of the vast number of spending and tax-relief programs it touches – everything from multi-billion dollar infrastructure investments to business tax cuts to small increases in unemployment benefits.

Some provisions will take years to trickle down; others take effect almost immediately. Here are highlights of a few programs that could impact you directly:

Payroll tax credit. Workers will receive $400 tax credits for both 2009 and 2010 ($800 for married couples, filing jointly). Unlike last year’s tax rebates that were distributed in lump sums, these credits will probably appear as reduced tax withholding on paychecks, starting around June.

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Finding Health Care Without Insurance

By Douglas H. Kirkpatrick, MD

For many Americans, health insurance provides affordable access to healthcare that allows them to prevent or lower disease risk, manage current medical conditions, and maintain overall health. But for the 47 million people in the US who are living without health insurance, attaining even the most basic care can be impossible. Every 24 minutes, someone in America dies because they are uninsured and cannot get the care they need.  

In 2006, women represented more than 45% of all uninsured people in the US. Thirteen percent of all pregnant women are uninsured, and older women between ages 55 and 65 are 20% more likely to be uninsured than men. Women are more likely to be dependents, making them susceptible to losing health insurance due to divorce, becoming widowed, or because their spouse’s company increases premiums or drops family coverage entirely.   

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Free Job Training Course

CRANFORD – During the month of April, Union County College offer a free job training course to all Union County residents. All residents over the age of 18 are eligible to participate in this program. The career training course will be available to those who need to support a family, are a recent high school graduate looking for work, or a retiree who wants to earn a small income.

The course “Customer Service and Sales” will be offered from April 6 to May 4 at the Plainfield Family Success Center at Plainfield High School. The course will run Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. This course will prepare attendees for jobs in sales and customer service related positions. As well, the course will help attendees identify their personal skills, improve their resume, and set career goals. Union County College certificates will be distributed at the completion of the course.

To learn more about these free courses or to register, contact Vanessa Torres-Holmes or Joe Oliver at (908) 355-4444. The Plainfield Family Success Center at Plainfield High School is located at 925 Arlington Avenue.

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Economic Challenges Have More Families And Businesses Turning To Libraries For Help

By Norma E. Blake

During the past year, over 100,000 New Jersey residents lost their jobs, adding their names to a list that was already well over 200,000. Many families in our state are facing economic challenges, some for the first time. Businesses, both large and small, are closing their doors as their revenue stream is squeezed by a lack of available credit and reduced consumer spending. As families and businesses cut their budgets, they are turning to their libraries to make up for some of those cuts and shave expenditures.

“As a small business owner, in these struggling economic times, every dollar counts,” Lisa Harper of A&L Harper Trucking Co. told us. “I learned that the Burlington County Library subscribes to a database through the New Jersey Knowledge Initiative (NJKI) that I was about to pay a couple of hundred dollars for. Since then, I’ve learned of other resources available for businesses at the library.”

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Freeholders Introduce Lean Budget

MIDDLESEX COUNTY – The freeholders introduced a $392 million budget last week which is nearly $5 million lower than the county’s 2008 spending plan.

Due to the slumping economy, the county will need to raise more money through taxes. The freeholders have cut nearly $10 million from the original spending plan unveiled in March, keeping the tax increase to the 2.5 percent allowed by state law.

“Since unveiling a budget plan in January, the Board of Chosen Freeholders and Middlesex County department heads have aggressively cut operating expenses and salaries and wages to ensure taxpayers receive quality programs and services at prices they can afford,” Freeholder Director Stephen Dalina said.

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Six Ways To Stretch Your Dollar

It’s always a good idea to spend your money wisely, but during tough economic times these smart steps are even more important. The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJSCPA) offers these tips on how to get the most out of every dollar that you spend:

1. Hold on to Change

Every night, set aside the change that has collected in your pocket or wallet. After a month, deposit those coins into your savings account. It’s an easy habit to get into and doesn’t eat too deeply into your budget. You’ll be amazed at how quickly the savings add up.

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