Chairman Reports

When most people are elected to Congress, they undergo a transformation. Before they arrived in D.C., they were people more like us and most. Read More.

We constantly hear about the top 1% or top 10% of Americans as politicians work to divide our country, pitting one group of constituents against another. My sister-in-law reminded me recently that all too often, government policy is based on how it affects the top 10%. The remaining 90%, many of whom are honest, hard working Americans doing the best they can to provide for themselves and their families, are ignored. Read More.

When politicians are asked why they ignore the fact that an income tax punishes production and hard work, they never answer the question. When they are asked if people will work harder if they get to keep more of what they earn, they ignore that question too. Read More.

Diogenes was a Greek philosopher who died in Corinth in 323 B.C. He made a virtue of poverty and was famous for carrying a lantern as he went through each town he was visiting “looking for an honest man.” This is what the painting above is showing. Read More.

The following article was written by the newest member of our Advisory Board. Professor Kendall earned his Ph.D. in economics from North Carolina State University, is Professor of Economics and Finance at the University of Virginia's College at Wise. He was Dean of the School of Business at St. Edward's University in Austin, TX and Chief Economist for Empire Funding Corporation, also of Austin. While a senior economist with RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, Dr. Kendall led numerous applied economics research projects conducted for FDA, EPA, and USDA. David and his wife Laura Ann make their home in the scenic mountains of southwestern Virginia, along with Puff, Bunny, Bella, and Penny (cat, dog, dog, and rabbit). Read More.

As I sat and visited with one of my accounting firm’s partners at a recent conference, the conversation migrated to the FAIRtax. He lamented how the uber wealthy’s progeny can live lavishly and their existing wealth hardly gets taxed at all. He did not think that it was fair for “trust fund” kids to be able to live an unproductive life without something (i.e., taxation) motivating them to become productive members of society. Read More.

It is perfectly natural for people who are solidly committed to a particular political position to have a hard time understanding how anyone could possibly hold an opposing view. When faced with opposition, they often react with disbelief and consider that opposition to be not only unfair but illogical. Read More.

We have often wondered why people who appear to be reasonably intelligent when you meet them can do some insanely crazy things and still insist that they are acting in a logical and sane manner. Some of the recent actions taken by our “Leaders” have provided some insight into understanding what is really happening. Read More.

The recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act has many provisions to which many of us may object, but the $80 billion to the IRS is particularly upsetting. Read More.

Throughout history, employers have wanted to make as much profit as they can and employees have wanted to earn as much income as they can. It’s just natural that each side would have its particular point of view, but successful employers and successful employees know that they have to work together and compromise. Read More.

Deep down something in our humanity strives for steadiness, stability, continuity and catharsis. Unfortunately, we humans get ourselves into messes so easily and we often end up with disorder, confusion, bedlam, and disarray. Read More.

In 2021, the “confidential” tax returns of thousands of wealthy taxpayers were leaked and made available by propublica.org. While there was some public outcry, many of the more liberal pundits and liberal media outlets actually applauded the leak. Read More.

Every responsible parent wants a good education for their children because they know that means more future job opportunities.  Many parents choose a place to live based on the quality of the public schools.   Read More.

Of the 70 million Americans now receiving Social Security and Medicare benefits, few of them read the Summary of the 2022 Annual Reports published by the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees. Read More.

Merriam-Webster defines the term recession as a period of reduced economic activity. In technical terms, a recession is generally considered to represent two consecutive quarters of economic decline, as reflected by GDP. First quarter 2022 GDP decreased at an annualized rate of 1.5% according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Read More.