It is not often this column takes a position that is at least semi-quixotic, but sometimes one must take a stand and hope that some others join the cause. The FBI is so out of control and counter to what its real mission is that a new agency needs to be formed with new leaders, new personnel, and a revised mission. The FBI is akin to a federal police force, meaning a group of detectives enforce federal laws while working in conjunction with municipal and state law enforcement particularly where criminal activities cross state borders. Recently the agency’s mission has significantly changed. 9/11 was the catalyst the organization’s change. Robert Mueller took over as FBI director on September 4, 2001. To state the obvious, the events soon after were a startling beginning to his career (as the agency’s sixth director). As he stated in his presentation to a House subcommittee on September 14, 2006, “After the September 11 attacks on America, the FBI priorities shifted dramatically. Our top priority became the prevention of another terrorist attack. Today, our top three priorities—counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and cyber… Read More

Americans barely knew nor thought about Ukraine until Vladimir Putin’s Russian forces invaded the country, which then erupted into the largest land war in Europe for at least 75 years. The vast majority of support for Ukraine has been supplied by American, led by folks who just 50 years ago were devotees of the anti-war movement. Let’s take a look. We can pretty much agree that Russia’s actions are barbaric and something we thought we moved past in the civilized world. We can also pretty much agree that Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s elected leader, has been steadfast in his defense of his country. We can also agree that the Ukrainians have put forth a valiant effort to rid themselves of the Russian invaders without asking for America or its allies to supply troops. They have told the world: “give us arms and we will fight and win the war.” There is not much dispute on these points. My concern is that anyone espousing something other than blind allegiance and support to Ukraine is branded as a malcontent and thus misguided. Many elected officials and some members of the press (on both sides) are pointing at these people as traitors to the cause.… Read More

It was entertaining to see the House Ways and Means Committee go through gyrations of why they thought it necessary to obtain Mr. Trump’s tax returns and then their justification for releasing said tax returns to the American public. We know there was at least one overriding reason. The Democrats hate the man and will do anything to tarnish his image. The entire matter is quite humorous while displaying the lengths to which these people will go to concoct things to justify what they do. “The American people need to know,” was the reason given when the tax returns were released to the public. Karen McAfee, the top committee staff person, was unable to enunciate a rationale for releasing the returns and provided the non sequitur “to make sure that the audits start on time.” Enough with the Committee’s malicious malfeasance. Mind you almost no one other than people like myself (a CPA) can decipher tax returns even when they are 30-50 pages long. Why would anyone spend their time looking at a 500-page return? I have clients with twenty investment entities (K-1s). Mr. Trump has roughly 400 investment entities. These returns are nearly impossible to… Read More

Did you ever have a friend that is always a challenge with whom to deal? At times you know why you are friends. But then there is simply too much drama. Every conversation with this friend includes some form of hysteria in their life. Just when you think things have settled down, a new tumultuous event happens. You finally conclude that no matter what you once thought about this person, there is just too much agony to continue the relationship. That is Donald Trump and that is why he cannot be the Republican nominee. Sure, some of the drama around Trump is maliciously created by his political enemies. But too much is self-inflicted. A client recently called with a referral for me. While on the call, I did an internet search of the potential client and included that in the discussion.

I had no idea who Nick Fuentes was before he had an impromptu dinner with President Trump. But I certainly would have known who and what he was before I met with him. This is a perfect example of how irresponsible Trump can be. Kanye West just showed up with a friend and he has a sit down with a former president. If Trump can’t… Read More

After a person shot up a Colorado nightclub frequented principally by LGBTQ people, fingers started pointing. The immediate reaction from the Left of Center crowd was to blame Republicans and rhetorical leaders on whom they rely. Many tied this incident to the deranged person in the Paul Pelosi incident. Someone I have known for many years did just that on an Instagram post. That is when I started a discussion as to why that posting had been done. I wrote to that person, “I am often fascinated when people want to attribute the actions of mentally ill people to a political philosophy. This particular nutcase (in Colorado) tried to kill his mother last year. Seems like someone not driven by any particular brand of hate. Why he went into this nightclub is not worth exploring. He was a sick person who needed to be institutionalized. We should not be debating his motive. Or pointing fingers. “ The person wrote back, “If you close your eyes, turn your head, and plug your ears long enough, you’ll never see what you don’t want to see.” “’Not worthy of exploring’ and ‘We should not be debating his motive’ is what someone says… Read More

2021 figures – compiled by Richard Rider using OpenAI technology

Social Security calculations, including the “bend points”

At what level does your social security (SS) contributions no longer earn you more benefits? In 2021, that annual figure was $117,040.Any SS payments you and your employer paid on income above that amount (up to the $142,800 in 2021) will not earn you a penny more in social security benefits. But almost NO ONE knows about this rip-off of the upper middle class. Most people think that SS is a bad deal for the worker. But for most, SS is arguably a good to GREAT deal – IF you ignore the doomed nature of this Ponzi scheme. See below for details.

In the United States, there is no specific level at which Social Security contributions stop earning you additional benefits. Instead, the amount of benefits you receive is based on the amount of income you earned during your working years, and the age at which you start receiving benefits. But I’ve done the calculations for you.

Under the Social Security program, you earn credits based on the amount of… Read More

Many Americans believe that Thanksgiving is the time to express gratitude. Families go around the Thanksgiving table and talk of what they are grateful for at that particular time. Gratitude is something that should be expressed all year long. And, during the “holiday season,” even a little more. I am truly fortunate to have realized long ago that gratitude is the most important aspect of life. You cannot be genuinely happy without first being grateful. One is most likely unhappy without gratitude. Simple as that. You do not have to be a religiously observant person to understand the importance of gratitude. But I have found that one is more likely to be a religiously observant person if you understand the importance of gratitude. That is part of the reason in our country the “merchants of ungratefulness” are having their day. They tell people that they are taken advantage of by our society, and they divide people into groups – you know all of them. Then they tell the people over and over again that they cannot be happy because of their gender or skin color. This serves to feed only the merchants of ungratefulness as they feed… Read More

There is ample evidence that those who believe the planet is coming to a calamitous ending soon are either cult members or have lost their minds and need significant psychotic drugs. Witness the recent acts by deranged individuals throwing soup on world renown art masterpieces and then gluing themselves to the adjacent wall. These are random delusional cranks, but there is more evidence that some duly elected officials have totally lost their minds over their perverse perception of action needed to save the planet. The Legislature of California is unfortunately a year-round travesty that manages to delve into all areas of our lives because they can due to one-party control. This past session they passed over 1,150 bills of which Gallivanting Gavin signed 997 of them to enact into law. The thought that most California residents will not know of most of these and will likewise ignore the insidiousness of the massive changes seems to escape their understanding what is actually “good government.” One of these new laws caught my attention as being particularly odious. It could only be passed by a group of people completely devoid of any religion other than… Read More