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Showing posts with label Legislation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Legislation. Show all posts

Friday, August 31, 2012

Myth of Man Made Climate Change & Other Draconian Legislation


There is a strong link between an increase in number and intensity of solar flares and global warming. This can largely discredit and override any influence humans may have on the changes in temperature on our planet in recent history. Research tends to suggest that major variations in global temperatures are beyond humanities control; and instead tend to be at the mercy of the sun's activity. Moreover, every couple of million years there is a slight tilt to the planets axis, causing major changes to the climate and structure of the earth. Volcanoes erupt, hurricanes happen and tornadoes take place either more or less frequently. These are natural phenomenon, definitely not man made. Man has not been an inhabitant of this planet long enough to be able to take such arrogant credit for all the wrongs of the world. Not to mention the globe changes: animals become extinct, new species become plentiful, the climate varies, the seas rise, the seas fall, tsunamis happen and the land structures morph. So what else is new?

One of the laws of Nature and Physics is that nothing stays the same, and would we really want it to? For every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction. Matter may change from ice to liquid to gas; but it is never totally destroyed. Organic matter eventually decomposes. The atoms and molecules become further apart as it decays, then are absorbed in the earth, used as nutrients for plant life, which are eaten by animals, and the cycle goes on and on in perpetuity.

However, one digresses. The point is, Nature takes care of herself. No matter how far advanced humanity is now, we cannot make more than an infinitesimal bit of difference to the landscape of this vast Earth we currently call Home. Should we be good stewards of the earth? Absolutely we should; but let us not confuse responsibly disposing of our litter, waste, and oil byproducts as well as keeping endangered plants and animal life off the extinction list with what is currently being proposed by our illustrious leaders in Congress and the Executive office, this being the Cap and Trade bill.

This bill is nothing more than a power grab accomplished through exorbitantly high taxation of energy usage by individuals and big companies alike. This bill if passed will destroy our way of life, as we know it. It will stifle future and present innovations and technological advancements. It will discourage any use of energy and encourage global "spreading of the wealth", or in other words moving nations down to the lowest common denominator in technology, inventions and innovation. What our Government will glean from this is a vastly enlarged government comprised of enlarged bureaucracies and increased tax revenues allowing even more entitlements to be created. This in turn furthers the long arm of Power these self-defined elite in the Government already have. For with every entitlement come more taxes and less money for the individual citizens and states to spend. With every entitlement come more regulations, each monitored and enforced by the Government or delegates of. On a global scale, one might even begin to imagine a one-world order managed by super elite heads of Nations. Why one might wonder was it so necessary to have an international summit to discuss 'Global Man Made Warming', when it has been debunked so recently?

This is even after the massive Health Care Insurance Bill, another massive power grab that will cause increased taxation, bureaucracies and lower quality of health care due fewer resources, increased waiting time and restricted opportunity to see ones physician. Let us not even mention the cuts in Medicare.

However, to return to the subject of Cap and Trade, which lists as a poison, of all things - CO2. CO2 is an element necessary for all types of life to flourish. Its existence is vital in keeping the Earth from becoming a rotating globe of cold rock; for without plants to use the sun's rays to photosynthesize carbon dioxide to oxygen, which in turn promotes a green house effect, the earth would be un-inhabitable. Thus, through plant life the bi-product of CO2 is Oxygen, which all animal-life to one extent or another need to survive.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) describes only the first year of taxes that ultimately will build upon itself in perpetuity under the Cap and Tax bill. Under this Cap and Trade system, the government sets a limit or cap on the total amount of carbon, which will be emitted nationally. Companies will be forced to buy or sell permits to emit carbon dioxide. As time goes down, the cap is cranked down to reduce total carbon emissions and companies will be forced to comply and ultimately die.

The gross domestic product (GDP) is manipulated downward. The sinister premeditated point of Cap and Trade is to hike the price of electricity and gas so that each American uses less. Unfortunately, these higher prices will not be limited to the price of electricity or gas. It will show up in every manufactured good, from plastics, food and cars. Plastic is composed of a bi-product of oil. How many things can you think of that are composed of or wrapped in plastic? Consumers will have no choice but to cut back on spending, resulting in fewer products produced which in turn, results in even higher unemployment as no new jobs will be created, and staff cutbacks on existing ones are made. Companies will eventually move their products over seas, but the result will be the same. Low-income Americans, through necessity tend to devote more of their day-to-day income to energy bi-products such as food, gas to get to work and money for electricity. Thus, they really will be hit the hardest as they have more to lose.

This big government, high taxes, a stimulus bill that did anything but stimulate the economy, the incongruous and blatant disregard for the People's wishes when passing the new Health Care bill behind closed doors through thinly veiled bribery, threats, and an unconstitutional usage of Reconciliation to enact a Bill they otherwise did not have the votes for -- these are some of the things Tea Party people are concerned about. Also, our decreased national security under this current administration: Obama's constant bowing to and apologizing for America to our enemies, snubbing our allies, and signing a contract to disarm our nuclear warheads; while our enemies maintain their own nuclear arm heads, all these things will just be a byline if we pass Cap and Trade and sign the treaty into international and national law. Tea Party protesters have the facts, know their history and are justifiably alarmed at the swiftness and direction our country is being hijacked.

Self appointed policy and trend setters have vilified, and in the process implemented political correctness in our speech and even in our behavior, even as far as in the armed forces to the extent that the Fort Hood massacre prosecuted by a self admitted Muslim extremist and the Christmas Day underwear bomber both are swept under the rug as criminal acts, rather than the first terrorist acts they were, committed on the American homeland since 9/11. The Pentagons answer to the Fort Hood massacre was more political correctness and encouraging more Muslims to enter the armed forces, ostensibly as translators, without profiling or background check, as a show of continued goodwill. Intimidation of Americans through vilification, political correctness and slander appear to be the phrase of the day, especially against Tea Party members and conservatives.

During the initial phase of debate in the House Energy Committee, Republicans offered three amendments to the bill, to be used as a safety net in the quest of not destroying our economy further by initiating a yet untried but potentially devastating change that once implemented would be all but impossible to repeal: the first amendment was to suspend the program while in the implementation phase if gas hit $5.00 a gallon; the second was to suspend the program if electricity prices rose 10% over the year 2009; and the third was to suspend the program if unemployment hit 15%. The Democrats defeated all three, tending to indicate they already had inside knowledge that all these would happen if the bill passed and became law of the land. Britain is already experiencing these effects and they have had the Green program in effect only a few years. This climate bill is likely to be the biggest tax bill in American history. This is unfortunately, saying a lot considering the past 15 months. Americans should be wary.




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Monday, August 27, 2012

Undocumented Worker Legislation - A New Reality For Employers


When Michael Young* received a "No Match Social Security" letter from the Social Security Administration, he discounted it, as he had always done in the past. As the owner of Growing Expectations*, a small landscape design company in Southern California, he was too busy hiring employees, processing payroll and managing his insurance obligations. "I receive letters like this [from the SSA] all the time. I just don't have the time to verify the information they need. So, I usually just disregard them." While this attitude may have sufficed in the past, times have changed.

Growing California Risks

With the firestorm still raging in Congress over the status of illegal immigrant workers, several new regulations have been passed by the Bush Administration to crack down against employers who violate newly enforced laws. As of September 14, 2007, The Department of Homeland Security began increasing enforcement efforts and levying larger fines against employers who employ undocumented workers. The DHS is enforcing its new guidelines for employers who receive "No Match" letters from the Social Security Administration. A No Match letter is issued when tax documents submitted for an employee do not match the information on file at the SSA. In the new guidelines, the DHS states that improper handling of No-Match letters may indicate knowledge by an employer that a worker is illegal, and may lead to civil or criminal enforcement action.

In early July, the Bush administration announced that employers who knowingly employ undocumented workers may be eligible for fines up to $12,500 and a felony prosecution. On the state level, the number of laws against illegal immigrants has more than doubled since 2006, to over 170.

These new guidelines present employers in California with an even greater challenge than employers in the rest of the nation. Consider the following statistics:

o California has the largest unauthorized population of any state-almost 2.5 million, almost a quarter of the nation's unauthorized immigrant population

o The percentage of undocumented workers was almost twice as high in California (6.9 percent) as in the rest of the United States (3.6 percent)

o There are about 1 million unauthorized immigrants in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, almost double the number of any other metro area. In 2004, about two-fifths (41 percent) of California's unauthorized immigrants resided in Los Angeles

o Almost all unauthorized immigrant men work. The employment rates are substantially higher for undocumented male employees than for legal immigrant or U.S.-born men.

o In California, 94 percent of unauthorized men age 18-64 were in the labor force in 2004, versus 84 percent of legal immigrants and 82 percent of native-born men.

Source: "The Characteristics of Unauthorized Immigrants in California, Los Angeles County, and the United States". By: Randolph Capps, Karina Fortuny

It is clear that the new laws will have a greater impact on California employers than on employers in any other state.

HR Outsourcing - A Hope For California Employers

The average small to mid-sized California employer faces the greatest risks posed by the new regulations. While large corporations typically have the infrastructure in place to address No Match letters and make the proper employment decisions, small employers are less equipped to tackle these newfound liabilities. The risk of non-compliance is substantially greater for them than with their larger counterparts.

Over the past decade, a visible trend has been emerging in the small and mid-market business sector in the area of Human Resources Outsourcing. Small employers recognize their limitations when it comes to compliance in the areas of employment liabilities and human resource policies, and the new undocumented worker laws will continue to help this trend gain momentum.

In an HR Outsourcing relationship, the employer engages the services of a professional firm and hands over many aspects relating to the management of their employment responsibilities. These areas can include:

• Labor law compliance

• Employment administration

• Management training and development

• Employee health benefits

• Risk Management

• Insurance services

• Recruiting

• Payroll and Tax services.

In some instances, only specific, select functions are outsourced. In other situations, organizations see the value in outsourcing the entire human resource package and entrust the HR Outsourcing firm with all the functions.

CPEhr - A California Compliance Expert

One such firm is CPEhr, one of California's oldest and largest independently owned HR Outsourcing and Professional Employer Organization (PEO) companies. Founded in 1982, CPEhr has over 25 years of experience assisting California-based employers in human resource and labor law compliance. In response to the new undocumented worker regulations, CPEhr has begun offering customized services to help small employers comply with the new laws and avoid non-compliance penalties.

With years of experience dealing with the SSA and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), CPEhr creates and implements aggressive I9 and employment verification policies, responds to No Match Letters and corresponds with the SSA and INS on its clients' behalf.

Peter Escalante, a Human Resources Consultant with CPEhr, summarizes CPEhr's compliance process. "First, we check all employee files for valid I9s and confirm they are stored in a separate folder, away from their personnel file," explains Escalante. "Then, if a client gets a notice from the SSA, they forward them to CPEhr. We check the letter against their information on file, and if the information is incomplete, we request completed documentation. If they didn't have them we would have recommend terminating the employee if they could not provide the proper documentation in a timely manner."

CPEhr recommends that all employers have an undocumented employee policy included in their Employee Handbook. In it, the employee acknowledges that if their Social Security Number is challenged by the SSA, they have 30 days to produce valid documentation, or be fired. This type of involvement by the employer is extremely valuable, says Escalante, when faced with an investigation or fine by a governmental agency.

"If an agency finds the employer to be proactive in any regard, they will be more forgiving and typically reduce the severity of the penalty," he notes. "The government realizes employees have rights and employers can't just fire them. They are understanding of employers who have policies in place and show an effort to cooperate."

Only time will tell precisely how the new legislation and its enforcement will impact the California business climate. However, in the interim, employers must take a proactive role in addressing the new responsibilities. While the process may be complex, it is their good fortune that HR Outsourcing firms such as CPEhr are here to help them through it.




Ari Rosenstein is the Director of Marketing at CPEhr, a Human Resources Outsourcing firm and Professional Employer Organization. Founded in 1982, CPEhr provides Human Resources solutions to over 15,000 work-site employees nationwide through high-touch and customized service models. With corporate headquarters in Los Angeles, CPEhr is one of the largest, privately held Human Resources Outsourcing and PEO firms in the state.

CPEhr provides business leaders peace of mind through their team of experts in the following key areas:

- Human Resources Administration
- Employment Compliance
- Employee Benefits
- Risk Management and Workers' Compensation
- Payroll and Tax Administration
- Management and Employee Training
- Recruiting Services

Download our free HR white-paper: "Preparing for the Rebound" and learn how HR Outsourcing supports clients so they can focus on their key business goals - reducing personnel overhead, cutting employment risks, and improving employee job performance.