When I went through Pearson International in Toronto in 1996, I was sent to Immigration Canada by the customs chap. I was questioned as to the reasons why I was coming to Canada (business and pleasure), who was I working with (IBM Steeles) and how long I planned to stay (one week).
Didn't seem at all unreasonable and it only took the Immigration Canada rep about three minutes to wish me a happy time in Toronto and go back to the queue to the chap working customs.
The blighter right in front of me wasn't quite as lucky...he had a big footlocker and of course, the customs chap was awfully interested in the contents. The idiot tried to BS his way round what he was carrying and when the thing was popped open, it wasn't surprising to find well more than the legal limit of booze and cigarettes he'd gotten in the US. Had he been honest about it when he was caught out, he'd probably have gotten off with a misdemeanour and confiscation. As it was, he got hauled away in irons. Interesting thing to see when visiting Canada for the first time but I have to say that the visit itself was fantastic.
And if you ever find yourself in downtown Toronto, I highly recommend the restaurant "Canoe" on the 54th floor of the Toronto Dominion Centre!:)
What I find interesting is that most people understand at a visceral level that their local people are more accessible and yet election after election shows clear trends where voters vote for the President and federal offices and then start tailing off in terms of completing the ballot the closer the offices get to their home!
That's if you can even get people to bother voting which rarely takes me more than a few hours of research before-hand and all of about five minutes at the polling place!
To me, that's bass-ackwards and irresponsible...the local councils are the ones who set the rates and maintain the civil services (perhaps paid through the state for roads, etc.). And the vast majority of the people who complain most about the rates can not be bothered take advantage of the fact that it's awfully hard to blow off someone who is politely engaging you in a conversation in your office whereas phone calls, EMAILs, and snail mails are easily discarded.
Case in point...I got married and had difficulties in actually get the certificate from the county which proved this to any governmental agency that cared. Essentially our paperwork ended up on someone's desk who was away on holiday and got lost in the shuffle. Not only did I get an audience with the Register of Deeds, we had a very good conversation on the process and how to improve it and I got five copies of the certificate for free to boot (and a heck of a story to tell...our certificate was the last one processed that year in our county!). Of course, that's probably the kiss of death because he got voted out the next election but he at least had my vote and had earned it once I had gotten to talk to him after three weeks of utter frustration and futility in dealing with his minions.
I really can't imagine most state assembly members and the federal office holders really feeling like they have to care about the individual citizen any more. The staggering amounts of money and even more staggering amount of issue prostitution one must engage in just to get elected in this country would seem to preclude that. Are we surprised that access goes to those with the biggest wallets?
We certainly aren't keeping them accountable to us!
Unless, of course, you've got pictures of the joker in question with a few goats and jugs of wine or you know someone else high up...and then you too can have access to your government!:)-
That being said, even though our current implementation is hardly friendly to the citizenry (if not outright hostile to basic rights!)...it's often heads-and-shoulders above the rest!
The basic assumption here that the W-2 information goes directly to the IRS is actually incorrect.
Companies are required to submit the W-2/W-3 information to the Social Security Administration who eventually (usually after about 18 months) passes it on to the IRS. These two agencies aren't all that keen on talking to each other because they're jealous of the other agency's power in the government.
So without the federal copy of the W-2 stapled to the front of the 1040, the IRS really wouldn't know what the employer paid you unless the enforcement division were already investigating you on suspicion of tax evasion (i.e. by matching income from bank records, etc.).
I think the difference you're looking for is between explicit agreement and implicit agreement. Credit cards like to pass along the new terms they want to inflict upon you along with the weasel words "use of the card beyond XX date constitutes agreement to these terms". Take a look to see if one of those came along with the transition packages (I know one did when Interpath dumped dialup ISP to Earthlink...ugh!).
In effect, you don't actually have to sign a piece of paper to be beholden to the terms. That's why it pays to examine the fine print very carefully...you may find yourself unintentially agreeing to things you would ordinarily avoid like the plague.
I'm glad it worked out for your father...it sounds like the most effective thing he did was be on the right side of the law. They may well have slick lawyers but the truth is awfully hard to beat unless the side of truth does an awfully incompetent job (a certain legal circus in Simi Valley comes to mind). I'd like to think that even our system of justice (such as it is) does allow the right person to prevail at least some of the time!
SunFox
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When I went through Pearson International in Toronto in 1996, I was sent to Immigration Canada by the customs chap. I was questioned as to the reasons why I was coming to Canada (business and pleasure), who was I working with (IBM Steeles) and how long I planned to stay (one week).
:)
Didn't seem at all unreasonable and it only took the Immigration Canada rep about three minutes to wish me a happy time in Toronto and go back to the queue to the chap working customs.
The blighter right in front of me wasn't quite as lucky...he had a big footlocker and of course, the customs chap was awfully interested in the contents. The idiot tried to BS his way round what he was carrying and when the thing was popped open, it wasn't surprising to find well more than the legal limit of booze and cigarettes he'd gotten in the US. Had he been honest about it when he was caught out, he'd probably have gotten off with a misdemeanour and confiscation. As it was, he got hauled away in irons. Interesting thing to see when visiting Canada for the first time but I have to say that the visit itself was fantastic.
And if you ever find yourself in downtown Toronto, I highly recommend the restaurant "Canoe" on the 54th floor of the Toronto Dominion Centre!
SunFox
What I find interesting is that most people understand at a visceral level that their local people are more accessible and yet election after election shows clear trends where voters vote for the President and federal offices and then start tailing off in terms of completing the ballot the closer the offices get to their home!
:)-
That's if you can even get people to bother voting which rarely takes me more than a few hours of research before-hand and all of about five minutes at the polling place!
To me, that's bass-ackwards and irresponsible...the local councils are the ones who set the rates and maintain the civil services (perhaps paid through the state for roads, etc.). And the vast majority of the people who complain most about the rates can not be bothered take advantage of the fact that it's awfully hard to blow off someone who is politely engaging you in a conversation in your office whereas phone calls, EMAILs, and snail mails are easily discarded.
Case in point...I got married and had difficulties in actually get the certificate from the county which proved this to any governmental agency that cared. Essentially our paperwork ended up on someone's desk who was away on holiday and got lost in the shuffle. Not only did I get an audience with the Register of Deeds, we had a very good conversation on the process and how to improve it and I got five copies of the certificate for free to boot (and a heck of a story to tell...our certificate was the last one processed that year in our county!). Of course, that's probably the kiss of death because he got voted out the next election but he at least had my vote and had earned it once I had gotten to talk to him after three weeks of utter frustration and futility in dealing with his minions.
I really can't imagine most state assembly members and the federal office holders really feeling like they have to care about the individual citizen any more. The staggering amounts of money and even more staggering amount of issue prostitution one must engage in just to get elected in this country would seem to preclude that. Are we surprised that access goes to those with the biggest wallets?
We certainly aren't keeping them accountable to us!
Unless, of course, you've got pictures of the joker in question with a few goats and jugs of wine or you know someone else high up...and then you too can have access to your government!
That being said, even though our current implementation is hardly friendly to the citizenry (if not outright hostile to basic rights!)...it's often heads-and-shoulders above the rest!
SunFox
The basic assumption here that the W-2 information goes directly to the IRS is actually incorrect.
Companies are required to submit the W-2/W-3 information to the Social Security Administration who eventually (usually after about 18 months) passes it on to the IRS. These two agencies aren't all that keen on talking to each other because they're jealous of the other agency's power in the government.
So without the federal copy of the W-2 stapled to the front of the 1040, the IRS really wouldn't know what the employer paid you unless the enforcement division were already investigating you on suspicion of tax evasion (i.e. by matching income from bank records, etc.).
I think the difference you're looking for is between explicit agreement and implicit agreement. Credit cards like to pass along the new terms they want to inflict upon you along with the weasel words "use of the card beyond XX date constitutes agreement to these terms". Take a look to see if one of those came along with the transition packages (I know one did when Interpath dumped dialup ISP to Earthlink...ugh!). In effect, you don't actually have to sign a piece of paper to be beholden to the terms. That's why it pays to examine the fine print very carefully...you may find yourself unintentially agreeing to things you would ordinarily avoid like the plague. I'm glad it worked out for your father...it sounds like the most effective thing he did was be on the right side of the law. They may well have slick lawyers but the truth is awfully hard to beat unless the side of truth does an awfully incompetent job (a certain legal circus in Simi Valley comes to mind). I'd like to think that even our system of justice (such as it is) does allow the right person to prevail at least some of the time! SunFox