Category: News and Politics
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America’s values are not my values
On September 11, 2001, I was shocked to learn how some people’s values could be expressed so violently even within our own country. The event changed my view of the world but did not change my core values. Back then I felt that the majority of Americans shared my core values as we collectively denied the haters their…
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The education divide in political leadership
This presidential election cycle, more than any other event or time period in my lifetime, has highlighted the growing divide between people with different levels of formal academic education. The battle is playing out now in my home state and, I think, deserves more discussion despite the obvious risk of backlash. I consider myself to be…
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Understanding the Trump supporter
Four days before the election President Obama delivered a powerful impromptu message about tolerance and respect toward Trump supporters. It took courage to deliver that message even in defiance of the audience that would have sooner booed but the Trump supporter and the President’s defense. I see two basic types of Trump supporters. The first scares…
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Leadership involves politics!
“Where do we want to go in the future? What is our vision? That is politics.” – Bernie Sanders, talking in Philadelphia yesterday to address those who say they are disgusted by the process, don’t want to talk about it, or don’t want to get involved. Sanders focuses on intelligent civil discussion of the the…
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Pennsylvania divided
The election discussion is drawing attention to the widening political divide between my two major client groups. Nate Silver, writing for fivethirtyeight.com says “eastern Pennsylvania is becoming more Democratic while western Pennsylvania is becoming more Republican”. This confirms the trend that I noticed that even seems to be affecting my business practice. This graphic shows the…
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Unregistered charity soliciting public donations
As a small business accountant working with nonprofit organizations I frequently find deficiencies in their accounting or legal filings. Minor oversights are commonplace and I’m pretty good at getting them resolved before they cause too much of a problem. But I’ve never come across such an egregious situation as a multi-million dollar nonprofit organization soliciting…
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Why some people are more likely to end relationships over politics
The divide in political ideology is drawing much attention lately as this election season raises these issues to a fever pitch. Lately I’ve read a series of articles and personal stories describing how people are ending personal relationships over political disagreements. One article reported a survey result that 15% of people reported recently ending a friendship due…
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USA Today takes a strong stand against Trump
I was impressed by the strong clear writing in today’s statement by the editorial board of USA Today. I’ve taken the same position and it feels comforting as more leaders come aboard the “never Trump” movement. USA Today emphasizes that this is the first time that USA Today has taken a stand in a political election. Here…
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Blind trust basics
I can’t figure out if the Trump campaign people don’t understand how a blind trust works or they just hope that the rest of America doesn’t. Blind trusts are usually a great tool for politicians. The basic concept is that the politician is not aware of what company stocks or investments their independent investment managers…
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Clinton Foundation vs. Trump Foundation
Recent news reports about the Clinton Foundation and Trump Foundation allow us to draw sharp distinctions between the two organizations. Starting with the basics, the Clinton Foundation is a properly registered charity that is actually active in attempts to do good in the world. The Clinton Foundation completes required filings and audits. Some transactions reported in this election…