Category: News and Politics
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The Real State of the Union
I’ve spent much of my career, now in its 5th decade, focused on addressing the devastating impact of the widening wealth and income inequality gap. I first recognized the problem while working for two Wall Street firms in the middle 1980s. The problem has gotten much worse lately. It is not just an issue of…
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My unlikely ramble into national politics
A reflection on my unlikely journey from neighborhood flood response to construction techniques to national politics. Before 2016 I was not personally active in politics. Yet as a small business owner I financially supported a number of candidates in both parties, typically in small dollar amounts from $250 to $500 per campaign over several decades.…
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Democrat or Republican: still a dangerous fraudster
I supported Van Drew back when Trump was a Democrat fraudster. Now Trump’s a much more dangerous Republican fraudster. Fraud is still fraud. This is not about party politics. Dear Congressman Van Drew: You wrote in a fundraising letter that we “are fixated on one thing and one thing only. Bringing down Donald Trump. I…
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The risks of being a data-driven decision maker
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…
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Update on Gig Workers
The evolving saga of “employee vs contractor”, from the small business employer’s perspective, means that you should revisit the conversation for business planning purposes now. Background In case you’ve been so engrossed with other headlines that you haven’t read any business news: the world of independent contractors, so-called “gig workers” is facing rapid and dramatic…
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I don’t know politics
Lately a lot of people seem to want to talk with me about politics. That’s probably because I am the accountant or treasurer for politicians and politically-connected nonprofit organizations. I am polite when this occurs but really I don’t know anything about the topic and have nothing to contribute to the conversation. I try to…
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I will not be silent on Trump fraud and cruelty in South Jersey
“What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander” – Elie Wiesel I personally saw the cruelty, greed and crimes of Donald Trump ruin families who were my neighbors in the Atlantic City area more than two decades ago. As president of a nearby chapter of…
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South Jersey takes another political hit
For my entire adult life, I recall neighbors and politicians complaining that South Jersey does not get the political attention or support that we deserve, based on our population and financial contributions to New Jersey. One way of improving this, of course, is to build stronger “grass roots” political leaders to represent us in Trenton…
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Small Pennsylvania hospital story illustrates the need for reform
The worst of our healthcare system – and actually our entire economy – is illustrated in this news story of Ellwood City Hospital near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. It is typical of smaller more rural hospital and health care facilities that historically relied on cash flow from wealthy nonprofit donors or government payments to keep its doors…
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Trump v. Vance Supreme Court case preview
Our matter-of-survival national crisis aside, this is an interesting legal case for Constitutional law hobbyists like me. To be clear, I blog on Supreme Court cases from time to time here as an interested hobbyist, not as an adviser and not meant to imply any level of expertise. Accounting Today did a great job of…