Well, actually, Bea Frum attained the age of bat mitzva (a daughter of the commandments), which means she is a woman in the eyes of Jewish Law. And, Bea gave a wonderful drash (commentary on the scriptures), as part of her assuming the mantle at our Orthodox synagogue. (The National Synagogue, under the expert leadership of Rav Shmuel Herzfeld and Maharat Ruth Balinsky Friedman.)
Continue reading And, a child shall lead them…
Most of you know that I routinely interface with the IRS (Internal Revenue Service). That effort is taxing my clients double or triple- because the IRS is keeping me on hold for 20, 30, 40, and 60 minutes routinely. Thankfully, there is a purported dedicated line for tax professionals, but even that outlet is being decimated. So, those waits ensue- and my clients are billed unnecessarily. Moreover, the IRS was never responsible for the advice they gave taxpayers over the phone- but now the quality of this advice is worse than ever.
Continue reading A lesson on “how not to”….
This was not good news. To me, this was on the same plane as the Citizen’s United decision, which meant that the average Joe no longer has an equal voice in any election, because now big money controls it all.
Continue reading It ain’t Switzerland anymore!
On April 17th, Gallup published the results of its most recent poll. The results of that poll indicated that Americans consider owning a home among the best investments for their cash. This was about the same result Fannie Mae (National Housing Survey) declaimed.
Continue reading Home, sweet home?
I have a friend who wanted to start a business for years. But, I- and a few other of my fellow advisors- knew that he was not a prime candidate for the kind of business he envisioned.
Continue reading Entrepreneur-building
So, before my children (and grandchild) woke up on the first day of Passover (the seder ends pretty late), I was reading my Washington Post and drinking my coffee. (I had already finished the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal.) And, then I read the piece by Catherine Rampell. I could not let it sit unanswered- but since it was the first days of Passover, I had to wait until the intermediate days to respond.
Continue reading Tax rate truths and lies
A few drops of ink changes the world. I know it seems hard, but if you think about it, you will see. Having just finished a month laden with holidays, it’s easy to use biblical references first.
The Ten Plagues. Dam, Tzfardaya, Kinim.. In English: Blood. Frogs. Lice. Wild Beasts. Pestilence. Boils. Hail. Locusts. Darkness. Slaying of the First-born. Continue reading 7th day of Pesach
In America, we haven’t built a new petrochemical refinery in years. which is why when one of them gets shut down (hurricane, accident at the plant, a blocked waterway), fuel costs rise in a heartbeat.
Continue reading And, you thought we had some big ships…
I’ve often said that I learned how to raise my children by choosing to the the opposite of what my parents did. (And, having had all of them here this past few days to celebrate Pesach reminded me how great my children are, but that’s only anecdotal…) Now, research is indicating that those choices I made pay off.