We are mere weeks away from the midterm elections, and the current debate clearly revolves around that all-American topic: the role of government in our lives. Whether the discussion is framed around health care, taxes, defense, the environment, the economy, or the Department of Education, the question, as I am increasingly seeing it, is not so much how much these … Read More
The Enigma Variations on Extending the Bush Tax Cuts
I am a beneficiary of the Bush tax cuts, as are, probably, most of you. When the cuts were first enacted in 2001, we might have seen our federal taxes drop by hundreds of dollars, or maybe even by a thousand or two. All absolutely welcome tax relief, but was it really? As a response to those tax cuts, and … Read More
Customer Service, or Good Will Hunting
Ask any moderately successful businessperson the secret of their success and the answer will inevitably include the quality of their customer service. Whether in a restaurant or store, with a doctor, lawyer or accountant, or even at the local gas station, a patron will only consider returning if prior experiences are pleasant. The good will that is created is a … Read More
Life After School Portraits
School pictures are as much a part of early fall as colorful foliage, new shoes, and essays on what I did on my summer vacation. They’ve been such a constant, I’ve never questioned their necessity. As a child, I dressed up, combed my hair, put on my prettiest smile, and two months later received a package crammed with disappointment. No … Read More
The 2010 Dead Billionaires’ Club
What do Mary Janet Cargill, Dan L. Duncan, Walter Shorenstein and George Steinbrenner have in common? If you guessed that they’re all dead, that they were extraordinarily wealthy at the time of their deaths, and that their estates will pass to their heirs untaxed by any sort of transfer tax, you’d win the jackpot. They are members of the “2010 … Read More
Changing Times
“May you live in interesting times,” says the old Chinese curse. “May you live in interesting and changing times” may be more germane to our modern era. Our planet is increasingly governed by economic upheavals, and absolute truths are shifting. Nothing is exempt. Indicators that we formerly relied upon as beacons of economic health have become suspect. Unemployment stays stubbornly … Read More
Selling BP
I sold all of my shares in BP on Monday. As moral decisions go, this one was a no-brainer; as a sound investment choice, the decision was not as obvious. Seven years ago, I purchased 25 shares of BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust (BPT) (a wholly-owned subsidiary of BP) for $460. At that time, money was tight in my house, … Read More
Planning for Incapacity
I look at the world through the same eyes I used when I was 15, 25, 35 and 50; it’s my body that’s changed. At 35, I felt too young to be a mother. Now, I’ve finally made my peace with the motherhood gig, but I’m having difficulties dealing with the indignities of middle age. In my mind, I’m ageless—too … Read More
The Art of Coupons
A recent visit to my parents’ home in Massachusetts marked a major turning point in our family history; after fifty-odd years of sitting around the table, devouring the door-stopping Boston Sunday Globe along with breakfast, I was alarmed to discover that my parents had discontinued their subscription. No more news, sports and entertainment mixed in with bagels and lox. And … Read More
Earth Day, 2010
Earth Day, 2010 has come and gone, and with it, the sense of planet-saving urgency that surrounds it. We smugly look backwards at the improvements we’ve made in the forty years since we first marked this day in 1970 and pat ourselves on the back. The air we breathe is cleaner, as is the water we drink, and the gaping … Read More