Category: News and Politics
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Southwest NJ ranks far worse in home foreclosures than any other part of the U.S.
RealtyTrac reports “New Jersey foreclosure activity increased 27 percent from a year ago, boosting the state’s foreclosure rate to the nation’s highest foreclosure rate: one in every 171 housing units with a foreclosure filing during the quarter — more than twice the national average of one in every 404 U.S. housing units with a foreclosure…
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How to provide premium health care planning advice
This post is just an idea, an incomplete thought, a business observation with no clear direction or conclusion. I have no good answer to the headline. For my entire 30+ year working career as a financial adviser I’ve focused on the theme of keeping your personal health in focus as a core of personal financial well-being. Everyone knows…
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Three truths about the lottery
The first truth is that the lottery is an effective and successful method of taxation. The lottery system is well described as a regressive tax on people who are not good at math. And what an effective tax system is has been. Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. had lottery ticket sales of $277…
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Last minute tax relief efforts in NJ and PA
I was honored tonight to have been asked by the health care policy lobbyist Keven Kuhlman for NFIB to help prepare a last minute lobbying campaign to appeal for tax relief to the harsh 2015 small business penalties under IRC 4980D. I prepared six letters for Pennsylvania and New Jersey lawmakers. Kuhlman has a morning…
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The delicate issue of professional snobbery
An administrator for a small trade association invited me to participate in a panel discussion on issues related to the Affordable Care Act as it affects the small businesses of the member firms. The brief biography of the other invitees was underwhelming. The offer was extended by telephone where I had no time to prepare a…
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Does Giving Tuesday make you feel a bit uncomfortable?
Today is designated as “Giving Tuesday”. By now most people understand how this relates to public media frenzy following “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday”. Where do you stand? Does the concept of Giving Tuesday and all the media coverage today leave you feeling a bit uncomfortable? If so, I suggest that this is because you…
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So you call yourself a scientist?
A personal reflection on confronting the ethics failures of scientists The manipulation of scientific research that is designed to support a political or financial goals is increasingly becoming a headline issue. Underlying the headlines is the realization that we have an embarrassing and harmful ethics crisis within the scientific community. I grew up in a scientifically focused…
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“We should try to keep them out”
In his 2002 book The Myth of Rescue author W.D. Rubinstein wrote: “In July 1938 (several months before Kristallnacht) Fortune Magazine, as part of its quarterly survey of American public opinion, asked ‘What is your attitude toward allowing German, Austrian and other political refugees to come to the U.S.?’ The results were as follows: We…