Financial woes of another state budget could result in more park closures.  An Associated Press  report in Business Week says funding proposed in Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s budget recommendations could prevent a new state park from opening as scheduled and force the closing of other parks.

"We’re going to have to make some tough decisions because we don’t want to thin the soup any more," Johnson said. "It will mean shutting down the parks that don’t have as high visitation so we have the resources to maintain those parks that have higher visitation."

Johnson said the cut would mean the state parks won’t be able to hire maintenance workers, rangers, workers for fee collection stations and other employees needed to run all the parks. Johnson said his office would look at park closures and more limited hours, but he said it was too early to say which parks would be shuttered.

Read the Buisness Week article: Parks chief: La. gov’s budget would force closures.

Update – January 16, 2010: Arizona State Parks to Close 13 more parks by June

According to the Arizona State Parks Foundation, a special session of the State Legislature has cut funding for the state parks system to the point all parks will close. The cuts are part of a $205 million budget reduction to mitigate an estimated $1.5 billion budget deficit.

In an Urgent Call to Action, the foundation is asking for help.

URGENT CALL TO ACTION!
The Arizona State Legislature has acted on House Bill 2001. It eliminates the ability of our Arizona State Parks system to operate. All parks will ultimately close as a result of this action. If you or your children wish to ever visit such extraordinary places like Kartchner Caverns State Park, Tonto Natural Bridge State Park or Tubac Presidio State Historic Park, you must act today. It is our last hope.

Call, email or write (sample letter at right) Governor Jan Brewer and urge her to veto the parks cuts listed in the article below.

Phone: 602-542-4331 or 800-253-0883
Email via Governor’s Contact page at:
www.governor.state.az.us/Contact.asp
Mail: The Honorable Jan Brewer, Governor of Arizona,
1700 West Washington, Phoenix, Arizona 85007

Read more at the Arizona State Parks Foundation website.

This post is being simultaneously published on Exit78 and Haw Creek Out ‘n About

A musical take on cap and tax… er, trade.

day 25

It’s back to work I go — I think.

We should know something soon as the proposed date to start is June 1st.

The contract schedule will be a little different from last time.  I’ll be working about 6 weeks and will then have about 6 to 8 weeks off while the class is involved in activities that do not require my “expertise.” The entire contract for me will be 6 months of actual work.

During the 6 to 8 weeks that I am off — assuming the funding for the contract is actually approved — we’ll be traveling out in the western mountain states.  We had originally planned that trip for July and August, so it’ll be a little delayed, unless the funding  is not approved.

I really do enjoy the work that I’ll be doing under the contract.  It’s the best part of the job that I had before I retired.

The job will help us keep from dipping into our savings for the duration of the contract and we’ll try to pay down a debt or two so that the pension and other income will stretch further when I’m not working.

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, it’s off to work I go…, probably…, maybe.

We’re leaving Harper’s Ferry this morning, heading for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Kansas, October 1938, 1/2 mile from the state line.

15½¢ a gallon for gas!

and, yes, at that time, there was a ½¢ coin still in circulation.

Happy tax day!

I finished our taxes on Friday and they were accepted by the taxing agencies by Monday.  Unfortunately, we had to pay in to state and got a little bit back on federal.  The federal was bumped up a little bit.  We were not eligible for the incentive rebate last year because we sold some stock to keep from losing money and it became taxable income, pushing us up over the limit.  However, the rebate was actually for the 2008 tax year and was “advanced” last years for those who qualified.  Since our income was a LOT lower in 2008, we qualified for it this time.  Unfortunately, it only just balances what we had to pay the state.

Made it to the gym every day except Sunday.

Started November 1, 2008 at 285.6 lbs
Last week = 265.4 lbs.
This week = 263.4 lbs.
Difference = -2 lbs.; -22.2 lbs since starting
Initial goal: 210 lbs.; 54.4 lbs. to go!

See other participants’ results at Blog to Fit – Wednesday Weigh-In.

February 27, 2009 — Watching the evening news, it sometimes appears as though the recession continues to spiral downward toward a mini-depression, if not  worse.

Store closures.

Massive layoffs.

Stocks indexes dropping to levels not seen in over a decade.

Bankruptcies.

Reductions in services.

Nonexistent availability of credit.

Continuing high rates of foreclosures and dropping home prices.

We live in an area that has seemed almost recession proof in all of the economic downturns since we moved here in 1980.  Yet, even here, there are empty stores as well as layoffs, foreclosures and higher unemployment.  On the other hand, there are new homes being built, businesses that are adding on or building new, and a few help wanted signs.

Most of the people we know, both here and elsewhere, are weathering the storm fairly well, though not all.  Quite a few people, including two of my brothers-in-law will have to postpone retirement because of losses in their savings and a nephew employed by Circuit City has lost his job.

So far, we have not been impacted, though we have changed some of our spending habits.  In these trying times, it seems better to be frugal and conserve what we have — just in case.

How are things in your area?  Have you made adjustments because of the economy?

Mini-Depression?

I usually don’t procrastinate on taxes until the very last day – just close to the very last day – and this year was no exception. I was actually almost done with my 2006 tax return a couple of days ago, except for one trifling little detail that could result in $2000 more in taxes than I really think that I owe.

Last year, I took 2 separate distributions from the company savings plan. Neither of them should have been subject to the 10% penalty for early withdrawal. However, on the 1099R form from T. Rowe Price, the code that identified the type of disbursement was a “1″ – early disbursement (non-Roth IRA) with no known exceptions.

The first disbursement was withdrawal of all employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) funds that could legally be withdrawn. The other was withdrawal of all post 1986 after tax money.

Before I can submit our tax return, I need to get a corrected 1099R from T. Rowe Price. Since there isn’t any time left, I’m sending in the form for an automatic extension for my tax return, along with a check for the amount that I believe that I owe. This will give us until October 15 to get the tax return filed and, hopefully, I’ll be able to get a corrected form much earlier than that and will be able to avoid any IRS penalties.

I am certainly glad that we decided not to stay with T. Rowe Price. With the errors and delays associated with the second distribution last year, there was no question about staying with them. The biggest frustration – besides not being able to get the money in a timely manner – was having to deal with a totally different person each time I contacted them.

Next year, I will have to deal with the taxes much earlier – and will probably have get an accountant involved as there is a lot more tax related issues to deal with because of the way I moved my savings out of T. Rowe Price. After that, taxes should be relatively simple again.

If you have company stock in your company savings plan, when you retire or otherwise leave the company, you should be able to elect to receive the stock in shares or in cash. In either case, there will be some tax consequence. If you elect to receive the value of the stock as shares, you will have an income tax liability in the year in which you receive the stock for the average original cost of the stock. When you later sell the stock, it will be taxed as capital gains on the difference between the original cost of the stock and the price at which it is sold, which is termed net unrealized appreciation.

Example: In working for XYZ Company, you have accumulated 100 shares of XYZ stock. Over the years, the price of the stock has risen from $15 a share to $100. The average price paid for the stock was $40 a share. On retirement, you elect to receive the stock as shares. The current value of the stock is $10,000. The average cost basis for the 1000 shares is $4,000, which will count as income for tax purposes for the current year. If the entire 100 shares of stock is sold, the net unrealized appreciation is $6,000 which would be taxed at the much lower capital gains tax rate.

The company stock in your savings plan may be grouped in multiple categories, depending on when it was purchased, how it was purchased and the rules that applied at the time of purchase. When you leave the company, the IRS net unrealized appreciation rules will apply to all of the stock, regardless of how it is categorized in your savings plan.

Disclaimer – I am not a financial adviser or specialist in financial matters. The material in this post is based on what I have learned in my own situation. The financial situations of others will differ. I recommend consulting with a financial adviser. More information may be found on line by searching on “net unrealized appreciation.”