Linda Greco Baltimore and Harford County Real Estate

When a friend is in trouble, don't annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it.
Edward W. Howe

I love this quote - a sincere friend will take action.

The New York Post explained to New Yorkers on Thursday how Obama's health care bill will affect them, but they could just as well have picked Alpharetta, Ga., Fallston, Md or any town U.S.A. and the story would still be pretty much the same.


Example One: Combined Income of $1.5 Million
A married couple with a combined income of $1.5 million will pay $716,000 in taxes which is a tax rate of around 57 percent. In other words,if Obama has his way and you make over a million dollars you are going to fork over 60 percent of what you earn to the government for them to decide what to do it with it.



Example Two: Single Person Making $285,000 Per Year
A single worker earning $285, 000 a year will have a total tax bill of $115,254 which represents 40.44 percent of his income. In other words this person will have to give Obama and his Czars 40 percent of what they earn so the government can redistribute it to some one more worthy in their view.




Example Three: Person Making $80,000 Per Year
For someone making $80,000 a year with no health insurance (this is the group that Obama said would not be taxed) will have to pay $28,391 in taxes or 35.48 percent of their income so the Chicago street organizer and his friends can dole it out to their supporters like ACORN, unions and other street organizing groups.



But it is even worse than the numbers above indicate.



The above taxes that we will all have to pay DO NOT...... I repeat DO NOT include:

(1) the new taxes forthcoming under Obama's cap and trade bill,
(2) the tax increases that will automatically happen when Obama allows the Bush tax cuts to expire in 2011, and
(3) the new taxes which will be needed to pay down the massive debt Obama has already created.


The sad thing about all of this is that Obama's single purpose in the White House is to return the nation's wealth to its so-called rightful owners, the people that (1) haven't earned it and (2) the people who haven't tried to earn it.


Obama has decided in his own radical Arlinsky type mind that the so called victims and poor should reap the rewards of others and the people that have made this country work will be sacrificed in order to achieve his Czarist goal.



My great grandparents who worked their fingers to the bone after immigrating from Europe in the 1890s so their family could have a better life must be turning over in their graves in St. Mary's Cemetery in Hazleton, Pa.


Another sickening aspect of this whole financial shell game is the rubber stamp tax and spend Congress.


I didn't realize until the other day that C-SPAN no longer televises legislation being crafted on the floor of the House of Representatives.


All the legislation takes place behind closed doors in the House and then these bunch of government funded pontificators come out on the House floor and debate things they have already decided in secret.


And we sit back and pay for this staged baloney.


Now I know why the American people did not hear a debate on the amnesty bill or the stimulus bill or the pork bill and will not hear it on the cap and trade bill or the health care bill.


It all takes place behind closed doors and reminds me of what the great Ronald Reagan once said,


"Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first."

(side note: In 1989, I had the honor of sitting only a few feet away from President Reagan while listening to him speak at my high school, Fallston High School. His speach about our future and ending the Cold War was awe inspiring and I was truly moved.)



And the last nail in our financial coffin appears to be the State-run media who refuse to report what is going on to the American people. So there you have the problem we all face............

• Our representatives won't represent us
• They give us the shaft behind closed doors and
• The State-run media won't keep them honest

This is exactly the way a country is sold down the river. It happened in Germany and is well on the way to happening here.



If this is not the change you wanted, contact your Senators at:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm



If this is not the change you wanted, contact your Representatives at:

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

The best part of life is having choices to live life to the fullest. Having a plane allows for great freedoms. It's quite a luxury. Just the other day my pilot friend flew my kiddos and me to Tangier Island, Va for the day. We left at noon and we were back by 6:30. We enjoyed a seafood lunch, a walk around town, the beach, and then ice cream before hopping back in the plane.

My philosophy on life...

1. Live life with no regrets ...and of course, never put your head in the sand.

2. Focus on what's important in life.....love, fullfillment, happiness, success, and adventure

3. Face your fears, be true to yourself - have integrity

4. Speak the truth to others, communicate!

5. And, a friend of mine once said that life should not be a merry-go-round, it should be a roller coaster.

My daughter will enter middle school next year! UGH! She will meet new friends and see her old friends come August. Harford County schools begin their school year before Labor Day. Many people choose to relocate during the summer since it's a natural break from school. Moving within a known area is difficult enough, but when a client with children from out of the area is faced with such a big transition I really feel for the family!

As a Realtor, I am not allowed to give my thoughts to what areas have little crime rate or have better schools than others.....yes, that can be frustrating on both sides. I will always tell my clients that I love my community in Fallston of Harford County and my sister loves her community of Bel Air in Harford County! I don't think there is a rule against that! (read between the lines..hmm)

Here's a picture of my daughter and me at her Elementary School graduation - with straight As and an award for tutoring all year! Yes, she wears her hair in her face...and, yes, it annoys me, but not her.

In the past few weeks, students have been gearing up for summer. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of watching my daughter receive a presidential award for academic excellence. This criteria was met by nearly half of her fifth grade class! The criteria: maintaining a 3.5 or better GPA for the past 2 years, scoring above the average range in either reading or math or both on the MSA, and receiving a recommendation from an administrator. How lucky for my community of Fallston in Harford County, to have such a strong class of students! That's amazing!

And, as a note of caution to all parents....in the month of May I witnessed two children being struck in the face with baseball bats unintentionally, of course. One was my daughter. She was standing next to a friend who didn't see that my daughter was behind her when she swung the bat. My daughter's nose was broken. Our neighbor's son was hit in the forehead and knocked unconscious. I had to call 911, he was taken to Hopkins and released late that night. Baseball and softball are a lot of fun, but let's teach the kiddos to be aware of their surroundings.