Young children believe in fairy tales like the tooth fairy. Despite having no direct evidence of the tooth fairy’s existence, they believe what other children and adults tell them. They are told the false logic that the result they see (money under their pillow) is proof that the tooth fairy exists. We don’t fault young […]
Sometime before 2011 I recognized Stephen Covey’s work as one of the books that most influenced my life in this earlier blog post. There are probably millions of my generation who would say the same. The book came out some years after I finished business school and right around the time when I suffered a […]
Lately I notice that my ability to piss people off is on the rise. This well-honed irritating behavior targets all groups: Democrats, Republicans, conservatives, liberals, environmentalists, capitalists, politicians, community groups, Christians, Jews and atheists have all been offended by my work. Yet, on closer look, I see that it is the collective social response that […]
The best advice I can offer locally to help improve our world: 1. Get a local library card. 2. Get the Libby app for your smartphone or other device. 3. Get on the waiting list to borrow popular titles. 4. Take advantage of audiobooks; most of us have more listening time available than reading time. […]
I’ve been practicing in the employee benefits field for 37 years and I can’t remember being as surprised as I was reading IRS Private Letter Ruling 201833012 released on last Friday. Never before has there been any tax advantage to student loan payments (typically made to an outside financial company) through connection with an employer plan. […]
The tax reform process has triggered uncertainly and angst while final negotiations are worked out. Many groups, including graduate students, have good reason to be concerned. The proposals that passed by Republicans in both the House and Senate change the tax treatment of employer-provided educational benefits. Scholarships that are now tax-free for employees would be […]
OnlineAdviser and OnlineNavigator services end public access for incoming call telephone support. Unscheduled telephone calls will no longer be accepted due to a share rise in scam attempts. Perhaps the most significant career contribution I’ve made to the business world is the establishment of OnlineAdviser and OnlineNavigator nonprofit services that have addressed tens of thousands of consumer […]
I’ve been a huge supporter of ongoing lifetime education. I take, on average, the equivalent of ten continuing education courses in a year along with time set aside for associated readings. I’m not just talking about continuing education for my profession. I’m not talking about the education available in our high schools, unfortunately, or even […]
I’ve written in an earlier bog post about the unprecedented ‘education divide’ where the level of formal education is now the most highly correlated indicator of a person’s political beliefs. Yesterday The Wall Street Journal ran a story about that same phenomenon with a series of findings by the Bowling Green State University National Center for Family […]