Category: Values
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After the final no
“After the final no there comes a yes And on that yes the future world depends”. These are the opening lines in a poem titled “The Well-dressed Man with a Beard” by Wallace Stevens, 1942. These lines are often quoted alone; the rest of the poem seem obscure and insignificant to me.
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Discouraged by NJ government corruption
I’ve faced resistance and retaliation stemming from my efforts to expose NJ government corruption and it is taking a toll on my business and personal life. It has been almost 10 years since I called New Jersey State Police in Port Norris to report receiving a death threat by telephone for my actions as a…
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We are all sinners and we are all criminals
It is interesting to note how we are so willing to admit violations of God’s laws (and admit that we are all sinners) and yet so unwilling to admit violating man’s laws (and admit that we are criminals). Yet every one of us, as far as I can see, is guilty of violating at least some…
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GEICO auto insurance craziness
Dear GEICO: I’ve been a long time policyholder and yet I plan to cancel my auto insurance coverage soon. But I thought it might be worthwhile to send this note as a final attempt to appeal to some type of business sanity. In theory, I seem to fit the type of customer profile that your company would…
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A dark day for Christianity
Today we have compelling reasons to be ashamed of elected officials claiming Christian values. Yesterday a group of Christian clergy connected with Moral Movement Tennessee staged a demonstration at the Tennessee state capital. The clergy object to Tennessee state lawmakers claiming Christian values but blocking expansion of health care for the state’s poor under the Affordable Care…
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The scary rise of fascism in 2016 politics
Could the dire issues facing our nation now be any more clear? Remember that it was only a short time ago that Americans feared the impact of having a socialist in its highest elected office. I reflected on this issue on December 12; only 77 days ago. (http://tonynovak.com/cpa/but-hes-a-socialist/). Yet that risk seems mild now compared to…
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The problem with Justice Scalia
I am surprised to learn this week that a large number of my peers have been blessed with the ability to avoid agonizing over the underlying mechanics of the major issues of law that have misguided our country for much of the last three decades. This explains why some may not be familiar with the…
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Devastating impact of education costs
I worked on two personal income tax returns yesterday that serve as examples to further underscore the need for education finance reform. As an adviser I see plenty of these examples in working class families, these two just happen to be the latest. I know that my peers in the tax preparation industry will see…
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Revisiting issues related to online content management
What I learned from plagiarists Yesterday morning I learned that some of my blog posts and articles and even my trademark were being used by unlicensed and unauthorized businesses to promote themselves. It especially came as quite a shock that someone within professional CPA firms would go to my web site, copy an entire article,…
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Unique church employee health plan
I received an interesting telephone call today from a woman who is working or designing an employee health plan for her small employer, a church. I have helped set up benefit plans (mostly the old-fashioned reimbursement type plans that are no longer allowed today under the Affordable Care Act) for many small churches and so…