Winter Aches and Pains
Allan Rolnick, CPA 2022 is drawing to a close, and it can’t come soon enough for some folks. (We’re looking at you, Elon, Kanye, and Don.) Winter’s chill is creeping south, ski resorts are opening throughout the north, and turkeys are looking over their shoulders. This is traditionally a great time of year for taking […]
Please Listen Carefully as Our Menu Options Have Changed
Allan Rolnick, CPA When was the last time you called someone’s customer service number and found an actual person at the other end of the line? Did it feel like winning the lottery? We’re not talking about ordinary voicemail here. We’re talking about those endless phone tree menus that have gotten so frustrating that there’s […]
Tax Breaks to Get Charged Over
Allan Rolnick Actor Tyler Perry made his fame and fortune playing a pot-smoking, gun-toting, G-d-fearing granny who takes no foolishness. Perry’s signature character has appeared in 11 plays, 5 TV series, 11 movies, and even a cartoon. She certainly won’t win Perry any Best Actress awards. But the movies do make bank. Together, they cost […]
Tax Breaks to Get Charged Over
Allan Rolnick, CPA On September 21, 1893, the Duryea brothers road-tested the first gasoline-powered American car. They never could have guessed how their horseless carriage would define the 20th century. Automobiles transformed our landscape into a patchwork of strip malls and suburban cul-de-sacs. Detroit’s “Big Three” supported an apotheosis of blue-collar employment that let a […]
Falling for Taxes
Allan Rolnick, CPA October is here, and Sunscreen Summer has faded into Pumpkin Spice Fall. Leaves are turning yellow, temperatures are turning cool, and shirts are turning plaid. Children are dreaming of costumes and candy corn. (It’s OK, they’ll outgrow the candy corn part.) We’re all celebrating with bonfires, hayrides, cheerful pumpkins, and more. And […]
Who Cares?
Allan Rolnick, CPA When Covid broke in early 2020, it was clear that our economy would catch the virus. So Washington did something they’re actually pretty good at: finding new and creative ways to throw money at the problem. The stimulus payments we all love and remember were the first and most obvious example. These […]
Billionaires Behaving…Benevolently?
Allan Rolnick, CPA On September 29, 1916, John D. Rockefeller became America’s first billionaire. (That was a day after crude oil prices jumped by 10 cents/barrel and Standard Oil of New Jersey stock hit $2,014/share.) Now we have almost a thousand of the Gucci-clad fat cats buying Senate seats and monopolizing prime properties in Nantucket […]
Keep Calm and Carry On
Allan Rolnick, CPA The death of Queen Elizabeth II at age 96 last week is truly one of those moments that marks the passing of an era. The longest-serving Queen’s reign lasted through 14 prime ministers and fully 30% of our own country’s entire history. She was best-known for keeping calm and carrying on with […]
I, Robot
Allan Rolnick, CPA It’s just a matter of time before artificial intelligence surpasses humankind. (Scientists working to find signs of intelligent life in space might do well to try scaring it up here, first.) What happens when Skynet becomes self-aware? Will it trigger a global nuclear war to eradicate mankind? Will our robot overlords treat […]
Cheers
Allan Rolnick, CPA Governments have love-hate relationships with the activities they hit with so-called “sin taxes.” These include drinking, smoking, and the stuff that’s just been legalized in some states – weed. On the one hand, none of it is really good for you. On the other, cigarettes and alcohol are genuinely addictive, and we […]