A Law For All Reasons, Reprise

HE SAYS:

In the news recently there was the incredible announcement that 2012 will see 40,000 new laws that have been enacted by the Federal Government and various state legislative bodies.  I am sure that some of these laws are worthwhile as I am equally sure that some of them are unnecessary but harmless and some may even do more harm than good.

I can now rest my case after I had accused local, state, and federal legislators of over legislating in order to justify their existence to their constituents in “A Law For All Reasons”.   Even though I have not read many of these new laws, I believe it is safe to say that I have been somewhat vindicated in my assessment that year after year more and more laws are being enacted and, eventually, every facet of our lives will be controlled by one law or another.   This is some proof that there is no such thing as overkill when our lawmakers start coming up with laws for all reasons.

In addition to being an intrusion into our daily lives, both the good and bad laws will require the resources of public and private entities to implement them, law enforcement to enforce them, courts and judges to interpret them, juries to decide if those accused of violating them are guilty, and, of course, there will be the inevitable process over time of repealing, revising, or expanding these laws.   These are some of the problems with enacting more and more laws every year.   Each new law is not the end of the problem being addressed, it is just the beginning of a time consuming and costly burden on society that may be justified if the law is worthwhile but is a complete waste of resources for those laws that are useless or harmful.

Unfortunately, not all problems with our society can be solved by simply passing more and more laws and, sometimes, they just become an expedient and illusionary resolution.   Of course, we need laws to put everyone on notice as to the basic rules deemed necessary to make our society function properly.   However, where I think we have gone wrong is that our legislators have come to believe that even if a small but vocal segment of their constituents feel that there is something wrong in our society they must pass a law not necessarily to solve the problem but to ensure their re-election by keeping their constituents happy.

Ultimately, our laws lose their credibility if they are passed in a transparent attempt to satisfy any and all reasons or, worse yet, for no reason.

On Monday, Joe reflects on the fact that we all become just a distant memory in “Just A Picture On The Mantel”.

WHAT DO YOU SAY?

 

Sports Are A Reflection Of Life

HE SAYS:

I always believed that participating in sports, at any level, was an important part of being a well rounded and healthy individual as well as providing many valuable life lessons.  As a child, I played little league baseball and in high school I participated in soccer and wrestling.

When I had my own children, I made sure that they each had the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of being involved in sports.  I took a hands-on approach and coached Matthew and Michael for five years in baseball and coached both Joseph and Julia for four years each in soccer.  I also led by example, as I have been regularly playing racquetball for over 30 years so far and played in an over forty soccer league until I came to my senses after a year of pain.

Matthew and Michael were skilled in both baseball and soccer and in high school also became competitive swimmers on a very successful school swim team as well as playing soccer on a premier travel team and the high school varsity team.   They both played soccer with the Syracuse University soccer club and continue to play soccer in adult leagues.

Joseph has been a highly competitive swimmer since he was five years old and was also on the high school swim team as well as playing soccer for a number of years.   Julia was a very accomplished soccer player and played on a premier boy’s travel team until she was 12 years old and then moved to a premier girl’s travel team as well as playing on the high school varsity team.

I am a very competitive person and always encouraged my children to be competitive as well.  I play to win and do not think that there is anything wrong with the pursuit of excellence in sports or in any other of life’s endeavors.  Despite my strong desire to win, I do not believe that winning is everything nor do I subscribe to the proposition that if you show me a good loser I will show you a loser.  I don’t feel that way because I believe the real lessons to be learned from participating in sports are more meaningful then just winning or losing.

As much as I like to win, I understand that the true lesson of sports is to learn to value the effort, the discipline, and the dedication that sports demand.  I always preached to my children and the many other children that I coached over the years that if you played hard and played fair and after giving it everything you could you still lost that you had nothing to be ashamed of since that is all sports and, ultimately, life require.

The real success you achieve in sports is not just measured by the score but also by the effort, integrity, and pride you bring to the game.   Now, that’s a life lesson that can benefit all of us.

On Wednesday, Joe expresses his belief that 40,000 new laws makes his case that we have too many laws in “A Law For All Reasons, Reprise”.

WHAT DO YOU SAY?

 

Take Back The American Dream, Part 2

This is the second part of a two-part series.  Click here to read the first part.

HE SAYS:

The Occupy movement wants to change the rules as an expedient and self-serving solution to the recession so that they can benefit from those that successfully pursued our American Dream.   There are frightened politicians all over this country preparing to raise someone’s taxes.   If not your taxes this time around, just wait until the Occupy movement gets a taste of blood and goes on a feeding frenzy for more taxes from anyone who has achieved any measure of success.

You and I know just as the Occupy group knows, this influx of tax money will not create jobs, will not reduce the deficit, and will not build equality, but, will be spent as fast as it comes in on an endless list of give-away programs.  The Occupy group has come to expect free resources as they protest, has talked about socialized healthcare, subsidized college educations, and now wants free houses by forcing banks to forgive foreclosures.  Who knows what will be next?

If they get their way, we will have created a society that requires one group, far more than 1% of us, to try ever harder to satisfy the insatiable demands of the group, much less than 99% of us, represented by the Occupy movement.   If you and your family own a business or want to start a business and you achieve any success or you build a successful career, which side of that miserable equation do you think you will be on?

It is no longer possible to be on the sidelines.  If you want to protect the fruits of your efforts, you need to reject the Occupy movement and take action.   To do nothing is to give in to the forces that want to fundamentally change this country in a way that will prevent us from ever again being the home of great opportunity where everyone has the chance to succeed or fail on their own terms.  This is not a struggle between those that “have” and those that “have not”, this is about those that “do” and those that “do not.”

If you own a small business or you are building a successful career, at some level, you still believe in the true American Dream.  It is time to speak up before it is taken away!   As we wait for the long anticipated “Demands” of the Occupy movement, we should start putting together our own list of “Demands.”

I offer no slogans or empty rhetoric, just some basic and simple truths.   I suggest that we demand of ourselves and of our fellow citizens the following:

1.  We should not live beyond our means and then expect to have other people subsidize our lifestyle by increasing their taxes.  We can all support charities and government programs that help the truly needy but no one should otherwise be forced to support anyone but themselves and their families.  

2. We all need to take responsibility for our debts instead of blaming the banks and the credit card companies.

3. Anyone who used student loans to get a college education should own up to this obligation and find a way to pay back the money.

4. We can’t expect to receive free healthcare, or a free college education or any other free benefits as they are not free nor can we expect other people to pay for it for us.   If someone is too disabled to work or to help themselves, then we can all offer help, but, otherwise we all need to provide for ourselves and our families.

5. We all should accept and embrace the realities and benefits of a free and open capitalist society where anyone can have the opportunity through their skills, efforts, and great ideas to accumulate wealth without being accused of being evil or greedy.   It is not unfair as that is how a free and competitive society is supposed to work.

6. We need to understand that if we can’t find a job and/or got downsized, laid off, or let go that the best way to create jobs is by encouraging success and a vibrant small business community.

7. We all need to take ownership of our choices and if things have not worked out as we had hoped we should have faith in ourselves and keep trying.

There is no need to leave the comfort of our homes or abandon our businesses or careers and camp out in the streets.  We can save the American Dream if we speak out, send letters to the editor, send letters and e-mails to our congressmen, post comments here and on social networks, and, generally, voice our opinions loud and clear before it is too late.

If you are concerned about the Occupy agenda, pass this and Part 1 on to other concerned citizens.

Next Monday, Joe uses his personal experiences to suggest that sports provide many benefits and life lessons in “Sports Are A Reflection Of Life”.

WHAT DO YOU SAY?

 

Take Back The American Dream, Part 1

HE SAYS:

I have been self-employed for most of my working life and even though I did not start the United States Federation of Small Businesses, I naturally found it stimulating and rewarding to work with and for small businesses.

Let’s make no mistake about the fact that we all recognize that these are difficult times for small businesses in this country and USFSB, as a small business, is ever mindful of the struggles of its small business members.   USFSB is also not immune to the same economic downturn that is adversely affecting the small business community.

Despite our troubles, we, as small business owners, should find the Occupy movement to be contrary to everything we believe in and strive for.  Even if this movement appears to be less vocal lately, they have not gone away and their banner has been adopted by some politicians who hope to ride their agenda into office.  Sure, we can agree in general terms with the call to clean up our financial institutions and we can support and even applaud such suggestions as to shop locally and spend our money at small businesses in our communities.  Unfortunately, at its heart, the Occupy movement is not about those lofty ideas nor is it even a plaintive cry for help.

The Occupy movement, when stripped of its social equality veneer, represents nothing more than a class war from an increasingly out of control fringe group of underachievers who are mainly fueled by resentment and a sense of entitlement to feed off of other people’s success.  Their movement seems, at times, to be more like an extended riot than a meaningful and productive protest as they try to bring down anyone with wealth and, at the same time, arrogantly demand other people’s money.

Think about the Occupy movement’s motives and tactics.   Part of their agenda is to disrupt the economy so that they can impinge the profits of the very capitalists they want to tax.   This is indicative of the irrational goals of a movement that wants to eviscerate the free enterprise system in order to improve the plight of workers; however, if they succeed just where will these liberated workers find jobs?   History has taught us that every country and ideology that killed free enterprise in the name of worker’s rights has failed.   As a small business owner and part of that free enterprise system, do you really think that you will be better off if the Occupy movement is successful?

Whether or not you are rich and even if there is no chance that your taxes will be affected, if you are a small business owner you should view the Occupy movement with its calls to redistribute to themselves the wealth that has been generated by the efforts of others as a perversion of the American Dream that you are pursuing.   This is more than just about raising someone’s taxes.   This is about whether or not we are going to continue to be a free, open and competitive society that values the inspiration, enthusiasm, and desire that drives people to strive for success.

Our country was built on the belief that the perseverance and entrepreneurial spirit of small business owners with their desire to be independent and self-reliant as they pursued success and created a better life for themselves and their families from their own efforts and ingenuity was the embodiment of the American Dream.   It is this willingness to stake your future on your own efforts and abilities in a free and competitive society that made this country great and helped us lead the world in innovations and progress.  We became the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world because we valued and encouraged the risk takers in pursuit of success.

As a small business owner, you are the heart and soul of that American Dream.*   Even though every large and wealthy business started out as someone’s small business, being a small business owner is not just about the accumulation of wealth.   The real motivation to start a small business is the value you place on the opportunity to be able to go as far as your talents will take you and to be in control of your own destiny.   Even if you fall short, there is the pride and satisfaction in making the effort.

As small business owners, it is time to turn away from the Occupy movement and its efforts to remake America into its own lackluster and nihilistic image.  It is time to once again embrace the ideals that made this country great in order to prevent the American Dream from being taken hostage by those who want to destroy it while they prosper from the success of others.

The Robin Hood image of stealing from the rich and giving it to, in this case, the not so poor Occupy movement may be a romantic notion in the movies but in real life it is abhorrent. Whether at gun point or through the power of the ballot, to demand someone else’s money is still highway robbery.

* It was reported, on January 6, 2012, that small businesses took the lead in job creation in December adding approximately 155,000 new jobs.

In “Take Back The American Dream, Part 2″ to be posted on Wednesday there is a call to action and Joe’s list of suggested Demands in anticipation of the Demands to come from the Occupy movement.

If you are concerned about the Occupy agenda, pass this on to other concerned citizens.

WHAT DO YOU SAY?

 

Bullies Are Cowards

HE SAYS:

Bullying has always been a part of life and was something of a rite of passage for many young victims of the school yard bully.   However, bullying has become a far more sinister and devastating problem with the immediacy and expansiveness of cyber bullying.

When I was young, a bully had limited and sporadic opportunities to harass and intimidate his victim.  I was never the target of a bully because I learned very early in life that bullies are cowards and will only seek out those they perceive to be vulnerable and weak.   The best way to deter a bully was to make it clear that you were not afraid and that you would fight back if necessary.

That has all changed with the onslaught of relentless and overwhelming bullying that can be accomplished remotely any time of day from anywhere by using the Internet as a weapon.  There is no fighting back because the bully is able to attack his victim instantly, constantly, and without recourse on a worldwide forum where his accomplices can also mercilessly pile abuse on the intended victim until their victim is emotionally beaten into submission or worse.

To be sure, bullies are still cowards and I would venture to say that they are even more of a coward when they use the Internet.   At least, in the past, the bully confronted his victim face to face and there was an opportunity to put the bully in his place.   Today’s victims do not have that ability to confront their bully and can only sit helplessly by as the torment continues unabated and unchallenged.   It is no wonder that many of these victims lose hope and some seek out the final escape.

I have suggested in “The Wussification Of America” that we should not let hurt feelings become our next national crisis; however, I also agree with those who feel that cyber bullying is, in fact, a national dilemma that needs to be stamped out by imposing harsh civil and criminal penalties on these cyber bullies.

The days of stopping the bully in his tracks in the school yard are gone.   We must, as a society, stand up for these victims and find a way to stop the cowards that hide behind the Internet.      

On Monday Joe starts a two part series on why small business owners should reject the “Occupy” movement in “Take Back The American Dream, Part 1″.

WHAT DO YOU SAY?

 

A Perfect World

HE SAYS:

One day I awoke to find myself in a world that had accomplished complete and absolute equality.  There were no distinctions or barriers of any kind between people.

The workplace was truly a level playing field in which everyone’s worth, value, and wages were equal.  As you would expect, gender, race, nationality, sexual orientation, and age did not matter.   It was also of no consequence if you were physically fit or completely disabled.   More impressive was that no distinctions were made based on level of education, intelligence, effort, skill, or experience.  All jobs were considered of equal importance, there was no concept of white collar, blue collar or even, no collar.   In short, everyone was treated completely equal.   It is true that in this world there were no longer skilled professionals, scientists, artists, or athletes to name a few specialized but now antiquated professions but that is a small price to pay for total equality in the workplace.

There were no political, social, or religious groups, clubs, or organizations.   No one banded together, formed alliances, created affiliations or did anything that would cause anyone to be excluded for any reason.  Since it proved impossible to provide everyone with an advanced education, in the interest of equality, all colleges and universities had been eliminated.   This was a world that had no institutions to get in the way of complete equality in all aspects of daily life.

There was also total equality in all social encounters.  There was no longer any need nor would it have been allowed to develop a circle of friends or acquaintances to the exclusion of anyone else.  The notion of personal preferences did not exist since this was an all inclusive world.   No judgments or distinctions were made regarding anyone’s physical appearance, behavior, or station in life.   There was no longer any consideration given to being rich or poor, good or bad, industrious or lazy, strong or weak, neat or slovenly.  In social settings, as with all other aspects of life, a person’s abilities, interests, and personality were all disregarded.   Even your personal hygiene or lack thereof was irrelevant.  It did not matter if you did not bathe, groom, or engage in any personal hygiene.   Everyone was completely equal in this world.

They still had a custom of people pairing up as couples; however, since they did not allow any inequality in the way that people would choose a mate, everyone was randomly assigned someone to be their life partner.  This assignment, being completely random, was not based on either person’s gender, race, nationality, sexual orientation, age, or any other physical, mental, or emotional attributes since everyone was deemed to be equal.

It was indeed the perfect world.   Oh, one more thing, since it was no longer necessary or desirable, everyone in this world had long since lost the ability to see, hear, speak, or have the sensations of touch, taste, and smell.   There was truly nothing left to interfere with total and complete equality.

On Wednesday, Joe looks at the dangers of cyber bullies in “Bullies Are Cowards”.

WHAT DO YOU SAY?

 

Give Them What They Want

HE SAYS:

Whenever you are offering anything to the public, the most basic and effective strategy is to give your customers or audience what they want.   This is true whether you are in the world of entertainment, journalism, or business.

My blogs are both a product I create in order to entertain and inform my audience and a way to benefit our members in order to advance my business.  With that in mind, I spend some of my time looking at the efforts of other bloggers to see what works and what may be of interest to people.  As you can imagine, there are millions of sites and topics to choose from in the blogging world.  There are, of course, very serious bloggers writing about politics and business as well as those that write about more personal topics such as hunting, fishing, gardening, remodeling their homes, or the movies and books they like.

If you can name it there is someone out there blogging about it and, much to my surprise at times, everyone seems to have an audience.  I have already expressed my opinion in “The Blog Blog” about my lack of understanding over the popularity of shows or even blogs about such mundane subjects as pawn shops or repairing cars but they have large audiences so what do I know about what people want?   In fact, there are times when I am not even sure of what I want.  I watch the Food Network, for example, on a regular basis but even as I am watching I sometimes ask myself why in the world would I care to watch other people cook or eat?

One thing I have noticed is the extreme popularity of anything involving cute babies, cute kids, cute animals, or cute anything for that matter.  There are blog sites that I have found that have very large audiences even though they offer nothing more than pictures and stories about cute things.  I suppose the attraction is that these images and descriptions give us a fleeting moment of relief from our cares and worries and that alone may be all that we really want.

So, under the premise of if you can’t beat them join them, here are some cute pictures of my son’s dog Enzo at the dinner table.

Enzo made for a wonderful dinner guest at our Christmas Eve dinner even if he was a little short on conversation.

On Monday, Joe returns to a more serious topic with his opinion as to what the world might be like if we were to create too much of a good thing in “A Perfect World”.

WHAT DO YOU SAY?

 

Why?

HE SAYS:

There was a campus legend when I went to Syracuse University that a Philosophy professor posed an essay question to his students as their final exam.  The entire exam was simply one question, Why?   This, of course, perplexed the students who went on to write long and involved answers trying to find meaning to this question.   The legend goes on to say that the student who received the highest grade answered the question just as simply, Why Not!   This is not true, I am sure, but, I wish that it were.

Why, to me, is the most important and most elusive of all questions.  In journalism you are taught that every good story consists of five key elements, Who, When, Where, What, and Why.   We all want to hear the factual details, but, ultimately, the most fascinating part of any story is, Why?   Why did it happen?  Why did he do it?   We spend our lives trying to figure out the answer to why things are the way they are without ever really finding out.   Life begins and ends as a mystery.

Why, you may ask, do I seek the answer to a question that can never be adequately answered?   I don’t know other than, Why Not.

So, while it is appropriate to ask why this past year was so difficult for many of us, why not strive for a better new year even if we don’t have all of the answers.

WHAT DO YOU SAY?

 

Don’t Give Your Business To The Tax Man, Part 2

This is the second part of a two-part series. Click here to read the first part.

HE SAYS:

As was stated in our last post, a Family Limited Partnership (FLP) can, under the right circumstances, be a very effective estate planning strategy for the transfer of a family business to the next generation; however, it is not something anyone should pursue without careful consideration.

One of the most important steps in forming a FLP is determining the value of the business.  The fact that most small businesses are not very liquid allows the valuation, for purposes of the FLP, to be discounted by as much as 35% to 45%.  The premise is that the value of only a part of the business can be reduced based on the fact that very few people would buy a partial interest in a privately owned family business which does not have a ready market for resale.  This creates the advantage of allowing the business owner to transfer, through the use of the annual gift tax exclusion, interests in the business to his/her children at a faster rate due to the discounted value.

Perhaps, the biggest advantage of a FLP is the applicable tax rate.   Because the income of the FLP is not taxed at the partnership level but is passed through to the individual partners’ personal tax returns, the applicable Federal tax rates for the FLP are based on the individuals’ Federal income tax rates rather than the higher rates generally applicable to trusts.

It must be pointed out that the IRS, in an effort to prevent abuses, has issued regulations that affect FLPs.   In order to qualify for the pass through taxation rules, the FLP must meet the following requirements:

• the partnership must be bona fide and each transaction must be entered into for a substantial business purpose;
• the form of each transaction must be respected under substance over form principles; and
• the tax consequences of each partner must accurately reflect the partner’s economic agreement and clearly reflect the partner’s income.

Since this is a very complicated area of the law, it is highly recommended that you consult with a knowledgeable Accountant, Certified Financial Planner and/or Attorney who specializes in estate planning before you take any action.

WHAT DO YOU SAY?

 

Don’t Give Your Business To The Tax Man, Part 1

HE SAYS:

Regardless of where you stand on the debate over whether or not the Federal Estate Tax should be repealed, this tax raises issues that should be of concern to everyone who has worked hard to build a successful small business in the hopes that the business will provide security for their children for many years into the future.  The inevitability of death and taxes can shatter your hopes and dreams.

Upon your death, the “fair market value” of your business will be included in your estate and in 2011 can result in a Federal Estate Tax of up to 35% (plus a NYS Estate Tax of up to 16%) of that value, after the exemptions and assuming no unlimited marital deduction to a spouse is available.  Since most small businesses usually represent the largest asset in an estate and generally do not have large reserves of cash, many families find that they have to sell the business in order to pay the estate tax on the business.

Even if you believe that the real value of your business is not high enough to worry about the impact of estate taxes, it has been my experience that the IRS usually determines the “fair market value” of your business to be higher then the price you might actually be able to sell it for since the “fair market value” is a theoretical accounting value and does not necessarily reflect the real value of the business after taking into effect all of the variables in the marketplace.

Unless and until the estate tax is repealed, this dilemma will continue to plague the hard working owners of small businesses and their families.   The only practical solutions presently available are sound estate planning strategies.

One such estate planning strategy is the Family Limited Partnership (FLP).   A FLP is set up in the same manner as any other partnership.  The business owner transfers the business to the FLP, names himself/herself as the general partner with a very small ownership interest and gradually transfers the remaining interest in the business to the children as limited partners.   The general partner makes all the decisions, including under what conditions power and money will pass to the children, while the limited partners hold most of the equity.

In the next installment, we discuss the benefits and possible pitfalls of a Family Limited Partnership.

WHAT DO YOU SAY?