Blog #5: Tax E-Filing

I know it’s not tax season, but wouldn’t it be great if it was? Knowing you will get a check in the mail in a couple of weeks or deposited to your bank account? If you don’t already, maybe you should consider filing your taxes online. The trend of e-filing has taken off with great success. I ran across an article from a couple of years ago on NBCNews.com where is talked about how filing your taxes online is the new norm. It’s really easy and you could even submit it on your phone, crazy right? The article also talks about how secure the process is. You can check the progress of when you will get your tax refund. 

The IRS website also touched on how it’s much faster to file since some of the programs such as TurboTax that offer to do the calculations for you. Another cool feature is the audit protection tools that are said to be built in. 

At the same time, it is important that we check the spyware and antivirus setting on our computer as we can never be too careful when submitting confidential information such as a social security number. Taxpayers are of all ages young and old, so of course we still have the old school generations who might prefer to do the hard copy, so the e-filing won’t necessarily work for them. They might subscribe to thing they don’t need which will make the process longer and inefficient. 

At the end of the day if you know that you are not very computer savvy or have a complicated case, you may be better off hiring a professional to do your taxes, or at least consulting an actual person rather than a Q&A section on the program you use.

Are you comfortable filing your own taxes with the help of certain programs like TurboTax? Or is this something you trust a professional taking care of?

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42275764/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/t/tax-season-e-filing-becomes-new-normal/#.UkpEpT8zdL4

http://www.irs.com/articles/the-benefits-of-filing-your-taxes-online

http://www.trexglobal.com/property-management/rental-tax-deductions/other-real-estate-tips/property-managers-landlords-five-good-reasons-to-e-file-your-tax-return

http://www.ehow.com/info_7833033_benefits-disadvantages-filing-taxes-electronically.html

Blog #4: Obamacare: Insurance Marketplace Launching October 1st

Only 5 more days until the "Obamacare" marketplace opens up to the American public. Launching October 1st, Americans will be able to conveniently look up health insurance information, coverage, rates, and purchase insurance online. People who are currently uninsured or insured and want to see what their options are will be able to go to one site to access health insurance companies information. The site states that, "with one marketplace application, you can learn if you can get lower costs based on your income, compare your coverage option side-by-side, and enroll. 

With the online exchange, the Government hopes to enroll an estimated 7 million Americans who are currently uninsured. Once the marketplace opens, people can enroll and purchase health insurance and receive coverage as soon as January 1st, 2014. The marketplace is also open to currently insured Americans who want to see what other options are available to them. 

The government has many online systems available to the public such as; departmental agencies, representative contact information, checking your credit, changing your address, filing your taxes, and many more. Obviously there will be potential technical glitches when the site is officially up and running but I think that it looks user friendly and contains a lot of information about what exactly the marketplace is and how to use it, etc. 

Many opponents argue that the marketplace will give easy access for hackers and will allow the government the ability to violate the privacy of Americans. A toll free number has been provided for people to call in and report fraudulent activity. The Obama administration will also be announcing measures to reassure Americans that they will be protected in the online marketplace.

Check out the link below to see the marketplace:
Health Insurance Marketplace, Affordable Care Act

So what do you guys think? Will be this an effective tool for Americans to access information? 




Sources:
Begley, S. (2013, September 17). Obamacare customers may show up in fits and starts| Reuters. Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News | Reuters.com. Retrieved September 25, 2013, from http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/17/us-usa-healthcare-enrollment-idUSBRE98G13620130917

Felsenthal, M., & Morgan, D. (2013, September 18). Obama administration seeks to bolster U.S. health law privacy| Reuters. Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News | Reuters.com. Retrieved September 25, 2013, from http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/18/us-usa-healthcare-privacy-idUSBRE98H0MC20130918

Health Insurance Marketplace. (n.d.).healthcare.gov. Retrieved September 25, 2013, from https://www.healthcare.gov/what-is-the-health-insurance-marketplace/

http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/science/assets_c/2013/06/healthcare-gov-homepage-thumb-570x348-125912.jpg

Blog #3: E-Governments: Decreasing Entertainment, Increasing Efficiency

       When I first came to Charlotte, I had to register my car at the DMV (Division of Motor Vehicles). Sure I had to wait a couple hours in line, yet the entertainment was worth it. I witnessed an employee act so rudely to a customer that the customer started cursing in words I've never heard, and she started throwing her papers at the employee all while attempting to climb over the counter to fight the employee. Luckily, her husband grabbed her and threw her out the door. She managed to escape him and open the door again to yell some more obscenities to the rest of us, and then slammed the door... except the door had a hydraulic hinge which prevents it from being slammed. That upset her even more.

       Apparently, most people don't find those situations amusing or efficient because we now have e-government which utilizes systems to move public sector services online. E-government, as defined in our textbook, is the use of the Internet and related technologies to digitally enable government and public sector agencies’ relationships with citizens, businesses, and other arms of government. 

       To sample, Charlotte’s Mecklenburg Country has its own page referring to e-government where you can pay taxes, rent a park, search the birth index, and watch board meetings (sounds fun).  Our local government describes e-commerce as “electronic customer service.” Just as human customer service has its upsides and downfalls, as does internet-based service. The very first link I clicked on the Char-Meck’s e-government page failed because the host website had been shut down – a clear sign that the county does not routinely update the website. What is better – government employees who are highly criticized for their mistakes or government websites that cannot function unless perfectly coded?

       The Economist ran an article several years ago about the pros and cons of e-government. One of the major cons was how it takes human empathy out of the equation. When a cop pulls you over for speeding, you can explain to him you’re in a hurry to make it to court on time for your last speeding ticket. When it’s done through technology and there are cameras and radars that catch you speeding, it’s hard to argue with. 

       Yet The Economist also points out the cost-benefits and the organizational benefits of e-government. Moving services to the Internet eliminates direct costs such as unnecessary paper work and indirect costs such as the gas and time it takes for citizens to complete a trip to a customer-service related public facility. Technology increases timeliness and organization because all the data can go straight to one source which from there can be analyzed (particularly taxes). E-government has expanded services as well such as being able to look at a map and see where construction is going on. Something much more difficult to find out when you have to contract a public employee. 

From your experience, is e-government better or do you want face-to-face contact? What other pros and cons do you see? Do you have any predictions about the future?

Sources: 

Mecklenburg County Government (2013). Mecklenberg County e-Government. Retrieved from http://charmeck.org/mecklenburg/county/CountyManagersOffice/eGovernment/Pages/default.aspx

The Economist newspaper (2013). The Good, The Bad and The Inevitable. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/node/10638105?story_id=10638105

Blog #2: Privacy from the Government!

          There are definitely some major concerns with people being unsure on how secure or private their activities are when using the Internet, phone calls, text messages, etc. Finding out exactly how the government uses this information, and for what reason, is the hard part. But either way, the ones who use the sources available are also giving them the rights to use it how they would like.

            When signing up for an email account, for example, there is a question that is asking you to agree to their terms and conditions. In that statement explains what all they can do with your information.

            With that being said, if someone wants their information to be more secure or private, there are tools that can be used to do so.

1.     “The Silent Circle”
This is practically a hack proof way to prevent the government from being able to screen your emails, text messages, videoconferences, or phone calls.

2.     DuckDuckGo
A search engine that does not track your searches. Google uses their information on your searches and builds a profile about you.  Unfortunately, some of this information can be looked at from people that can use it against you in an inappropriate way.  DuckDuckGo does not keep track of these records.

3.     MegaFile Storage
This is supposed to be Internet storage specifically for you (50 GB free). In the fine print, it does state that they will use cookies to give to advertisers but it will not personally identify you.

4.     PGP
Also known as Pretty Good Privacy, this is used for encrypting and decrypting emails.

5.     Burner Phones
For private phone logs, this is a prepaid phone that automatically cuts off in 30 days. It has unlimited calls and messages and it can also be paid for by using Bitcoin.

6.     Bitcoin
Making peer to peer transactions securely and privately.

            

Works Cited 

Markowitz, Eric. "EBuilding a Hackproof Network." EBuilding a Hackproof Network. Global Encrypted Communication Service, 18 Apr. 2013. Web. 8 Sept. 2013. 

"MEGA." MEGA. Mega Limited 2013, n.d. Web. 8 Sept. 2013. 

Rouse, Margaret. "Pretty Good Privacy (PGP)." What Is ? Tech Target, Sept. 2005. Web. 8 Sept. 2013. 

Blog #1-The government isn't really spying on us?

Blog #1

Lately there has been a recent buzz all over the news about how our government uses the internet.  The recent information that has derived from the Edward Snowden case has shed some light on the secret operations of the National Security Agency (NSA).  This has led to many American citizens to disapprove of the NSA’s actions; most of these opinions have derived since the mainstream media has caused a wide spread panic and demand for answers.  However, has anyone stopped to think that maybe the news has cut a few important details out?

The NSA uses a program entitled XKeyscore to help them with the day to day operations they carry out.  This program essentially screens every browsing session of all American citizens and collects information and data on your internet usage and habits.  So while you are on your daily Facebook session, XKeyscore is busy gathering information on what pages you “like” and other details about yourself that you are freely releasing into the “free-for-all” world that is the World Wide Web.  This data is then put into a large database and stored there until the NSA needed to gather information.  At this point the NSA would merely submit a query into the database for certain phrases, names, or email addresses to check for any suspect activity.  According to many sources from inside the NSA and the rest of the government, most of the data collected by the screening program XKeyscore goes unused.

So as you can see the mainstream media was wrong to classify the NSA as spying on the American population. The NSA is merely monitoring the information superhighway that is the internet for suspicious activity.  However, the big debate on how the government uses the internet should go back to how much you as an individual believe the government should intervene to help protect the people.  Be sure to analyze the protection versus privacy trade off as you formulate your opinions and release your personal information when you create your next social media profile.

 

Edwards, A. (2013). How the U.S. government uses a vast search tool to analyse 'nearly everything a user does on the internet'. Mail online. Retrieved from < http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2382355/Edward-Snowden-U-S-government-uses-vast-search-tool-analyse-nearly-user-does-internet-documents-claim.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490>