December is here, and for millions of college football fans, that means following their favorite coach to a New Year’s bowl game. In Birmingham, Alabama’s Nick Saban is reeling from the Crimson Tide’s last-second loss to arch rival Auburn in this year’s “Iron Bowl.” In Columbus, Ohio State’s Urban Meyer is celebrating 24 straight victories […]
“Cyber Monday” Tax Planning Puts Taxes on Sale
The holidays are here, and millions of Americans kicked off the season with “Black Friday” shopping. Braving the crowds and the cold, facing scorn from family they’ve left behind, they lined up at obscenely early hours (or ducked out of Thanksgiving dinner before the pumpkin pie was even served) to save $20 on a DVD player […]
That’s a Lot of Gravy!
Back in 1621, a group of hardy Pilgrims sat down for a three-day festival of thanksgiving to celebrate surviving plague, starvation, cold, scurvy, Indian attack, and all the other obstacles that made life in the “new world” so delightful. They feasted on game birds, flint corn, venison, eels, shellfish, and native vegetables including beans, turnips, […]
What’s In A Name?
In Shakespeare’s most recognized tragedy, the star-crossed lover Juliet asks “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Now, that may have been true back in Juliet’s day. But is it still true now in today’s era of celebrity branding? Here’s the deal. Back in […]
#Windfall
Psychologists agree that the ability to concentrate is key to achieving our goals. But today’s high-tech world is full of distractions, from thousands of cable TV channels to millions of internet sites, with smart phones constantly within reach. Some experts say our attention span is actually shrinking. So should it be any surprise that Americans […]
Death and Taxes and Zombies
Law reviews are scholarly journals focusing on legal issues, usually edited by students at a particular school. America’s law schools currently crank out hundreds of different reviews, which means there aren’t a lot of topics that haven’t already been covered. (Chief Justice John Roberts once said “Pick up a copy of any law review that […]
Touchdown, IRS?
It’s Week Nine of the 2013 football season, and millions of Americans are following every play. The Kansas City Chiefs are still undefeated. The New York Giants have finally won a couple of games. And playoff races are already starting to take shape. So, what does any of this have to do with taxes? Today’s […]
Voting With Your Feet / Sir Richard Branson’s Story
It’s safe to say that people don’t like paying taxes. America was born out of a tax rebellion, and Americans have resisted every variety of tax ever since. Some of them even go as far as renouncing their American citizenship to avoid the tax man. Expatriation sounds like an awfully big step just to pay […]
Story Problems for Grownups
Back in grade school, you did all sorts of math problems. You started out with drills to learn your basic addition, subtraction, and multiplication. You learned long division (ugh). You moved on to fractions. And all along the way, as part of your teachers’ efforts to convince you that it all matters here in the […]
Try Looking in the Couch Cushions
People lose things all the time. Usually it’s no big deal. We misplace our phone, keys, or sunglasses – then they show up an hour or a day later, or we replace them. Sometimes it’s more serious. We lose money in a stock or a mutual fund – then we make it back over time. […]