Taxes and Terror

The Sub S corporation finally got its act together and sent me the K-1 in March, so for the first time in years we were able to file our 1040 and 540 on April 15th. The joy in the morning, however, quickly vanished when news of the explosions came shortly after noon, Pacific time. Partisan divisions were put aside for a little while. "We are all Americans," said the President.

Many Americans are also angry, but we need to take a deep breath and keep the anger unfocused. It's awfully tempting to fill in the blanks with one's own view of the world and blame one's pet bête noires, about which there is little consensus. Comity was fleeting.

I take back what I said earlier--be angry at those who are jumping to conclusions, especially those who are trying to inflame the situation. Assigning blame to groups is something that should be avoided anyway but is especially egregious in advance of the important facts being known. Patience is a virtue that is singularly lacking in these folks, and they should know better. © 2013 Stephen Yuen

Pipe Dream

We've been lamenting the complexity of our tax system for years, knowing well that venting provides only emotional satisfaction. Tax simplification faces enormous obstacles; nearly everyone benefits from some exemptions or deductions, and removing them in a manner that will be perceived to be "fair" appears to be beyond the reach of our current political actors.

President Bush's 2005 reform proposal was dead on arrival, and the solutions that he listed then are pretty much the same that are being touted today. (Einstein's aphorism bears repeating: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.)

Included on the list of special interests who profit from the current system is the tax preparation lobby (CPA firms, law firms, Intuit [Turbotax], H&R Block, etc.) I just wish that these tax experts, many of whom are intelligent and adaptable to other work, would set aside their narrow economic self-interest and put themselves out of a job by helping to simplify the tax system. Everyone else would be much better off.

Confession: every year for the past 30+ years I've had a modest amount of self-employment income derived from tax preparation services, but I would be happy to see it go away if that meant my clients would be able to do their own taxes. Think of all their (and my) hours that would be freed up for more worthwhile pursuits, like planning, innovation, or even leisure. © 2013 Stephen Yuen

News from New Haven - 3

Donald Kagan (Yale Daily News photo)

The jet-black hair is now white and thinning, and age has softened his angular features. But Donald Kagan's gaze is as clear and appraising as ever. At 81, he's still at the top of his game.

Professor Kagan, the Sterling Professor of Classics and History, is retiring after 44 years at Yale.

“There’s no potent reason,” he says. “It’s just time. I think I’ve done it about enough, and even I’m tired of hearing myself lecture.”

In addition to being the leading expert on the Peloponnesian War, he was named the Jefferson Lecturer ("the highest honor the federal government confers for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities") in 2005 and was awarded the National Humanities Medal. He served as the Dean of Yale College and published numerous works on Ancient Greece.

He has been credited with revitalizing Directed Studies, "an interdisciplinary study of Western civilization," which accommodates 10 percent of the freshman class and is oversubscribed. In Directed Studies the curriculum is coordinated so that, for example, Thucydides, Sophocles, and Plato are studied at the same time in History, Literature, and Philosophy, respectively (at least that's how I remember it).

(By the way, STEM and social-science majors would do well to take a year off from their chosen path and immerse themselves in the liberal arts; they probably will never get another opportunity to do so, and they just may find that a lesson in humanities will stick a lot longer than any math proof.)

Donald Kagan refused to bow to "relevance" or any of the fashionable "-isms" that pop up in the Academy from time to time. For your steadfastness and example we thank you, sir. © 2013 Stephen Yuen
[Update, April 27 - The WSJ covers Donald Kagan's farewell address:

In 1990, as dean of Yale College, Mr. Kagan argued for the centrality of the study of Western civilization in an "infamous" (his phrase) address to incoming freshmen. A storm followed. He was called a racist—or as the campus daily more politely editorialized, a peddler of "European cultural arrogance."

Not so now. Mr. Kagan received a long standing ovation from students and alumni in the packed auditorium. Heading into retirement, he has been feted as a beloved and popular teacher and Yale icon.]

News from New Haven - 2

A term that did not exist when I was going to school---SWUG - Senior Washed-up Girl:

SWUGs are women who don’t bother dressing up for class, or even for fancy parties (though they might still attend them), don’t seek out meaningful (or even just sexual) relationships, spend weekends at their shared homes drinking in the company of other self-identified SWUGs, and feel utter apathy about their personal lives — all at the age of 21.

Confused? A Yale senior who "dabble[s] in being categorized as a SWUG" tries to explain:

Facebook bores her. She uses Facebook to find out different football players’ birthdays and plugs them into an astrology website to test their compatibility. She is compatible with no one.

She’s the girl who promised she would never hook up with someone younger than her but now finds herself texting sophomore boys who unavoidably turn her down. She thinks this is funny. She thinks about getting a vibrator; she may already have a vibrator. It may be better than that sophomore boy.

She doesn’t need to walk home late at night and chance getting mugged by a New Haven local because she will just sleep on a couch in one of the frats. The late night crew at G-Heav knows to start making her an egg and cheese when they see her stumble through the door, and sometimes they will allow her to dance behind the counter and crack an egg herself. Again, they don’t do this for the young, hot, freshman girls — only SWUGs.

She’s the girl who tells her friends she is going to have a “friendship night.” When they ask what this means she explains she is going to make a guy want her and then turn him down. She gets drunk and wakes up next to the guy she was going to turn down. She knows this will go nowhere, as she has already plugged his birthday into the compatibility website, and their score was a two. She makes up a short lie about a meeting and asks him to leave her room and then goes back to bed. She doesn’t return his texts. She’s a SWUG.

It's too easy to snark that this wasn't the experience that Yale envisioned for its women when they entered the Old Campus in 1969, but a senior letdown is to be expected. Many SWUGs will go on to great achievements, but they suspect--or fear--these are the best years of their lives. In the words of the poet:

For I have known them all already, known them all;
Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;
I know the voices dying with a dying fall
Beneath the music from a farther room.

© 2013 Stephen Yuen

News from New Haven - 1

Appetite suppressants are a popular diet aid, but suppressing hunger could promote autoimmune disease (e.g, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis), say Yale University scientists. The researchers performed tests on mice to analyze the relationship between hunger neurons and T cells, which cause inflammation that can fight infection but can also lead to autoimmune disease.

“We’ve found that if appetite-promoting AgRP neurons are chronically suppressed, leading to decreased appetite and a leaner body weight, T cells are more likely to promote inflammation-like processes enabling autoimmune responses that could lead to diseases like multiple sclerosis,” said lead author Tamas Horvath, the Jean and David W. Wallace Professor of Biomedical Research and chair of comparative medicine at Yale School of Medicine.

The majority of people we know (including us) are trying to lose weight for the familiar reasons. The Yale study suggests that using drugs to relieve hunger pangs may cause more harm than good.

Related note: during Lent, not a coincidence because of our unworldly focus, we read and tried out the FastDiet, during which the dieter "fasts" (daily consumption is capped at 500 calories for women and 600 calories for men) for any two days a week. It's easy to live with because there are no restrictions on the other five days. (Your humble observer stops reading as soon as he sees the phrase "permanent lifestyle change.")

Besides the obvious benefit of dropping 1-2 pounds per week, there does seem to be a bit more mental alertness, though admittedly we're starting from a pretty low base. I'm agnostic about some of the other benefits cited in the book, for example, the body's improved cancer-fighting ability, but there's little downside in trying it. A recommended, quick read. © 2013 Stephen Yuen

Pineapple

Del Monte Gold (Costa Rica), Maui Gold (Hawaii),
Dole (Hawaii)

Two stints at the long-defunct Dole Cannery put me off the taste of pineapple. During two Sixties summers I poured 50-lb. bags of sugar and pineapple syrup into vats and diluted the mixture with water until the brix was correct. The juice was pumped into the main building and piped into each can. The sweet acidic odor of the syrup room wasn't unpleasant, but it took years to expunge the memory of the smell.

We're now mixing fresh pineapple into our smoothies and find that we are enjoying the taste. However, the canned stuff is another story.....

The Mice Get Trampled

The imminent closing of the Drakes Bay Oyster farm has attracted more national attention. Influential supporters and opponents are being marshaled on each side of the issue, and now there's an article in the NY Times.

Under the [Republican energy] bill, the Energy Production and Project Delivery Act of 2013, permits for the nearly 2,000-mile Keystone XL pipeline would be expedited, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska would be opened for gas and oil development, more offshore drilling would be allowed – and the oyster farm’s operating permit would be extended for at least 10 years.

Adding the 21-employee oyster farm, with $1.5 million in annual revenue, to the battles over the multi-billion dollar Keystone pipeline and Arctic drilling does the oyster farm no favors.

Pro-environment politicians and activists who were willing to be flexible in the case of Drakes Bay may now be forced to oppose it because of the other, bigger matters at stake. In a battle of the pachyderms the mice get trampled. © 2013 Stephen Yuen

One Great Woman of History

Margaret Thatcher (10/13/1925 - 4/8/2013), the greengrocer's daughter, refused to bow to her betters in the boys' club. When the state ran everything and its problems seemed ever more intractable, her eloquence and energy reversed Great Britain's seemingly irreversible decline.

But it wasn't only her actions that made her memorable. David Brooks:

She championed a certain sort of individual, one who possessed what the writer Shirley Robin Letwin called the Vigorous Virtues: “upright, self-sufficient, energetic, adventurous, independent-minded, loyal to friends and robust against foes.”

If her predecessors stood for consensus and the endless negotiation of interests over beer and sandwiches, Thatcher stood for steadfast conviction on behalf of the national good. An admirer of the free market, her companion goal was to restore the authority of the state, and she was willing to centralize power to do it. [snip]

Today, bourgeois virtues like industry, competitiveness, ambition and personal responsibility are once again widely admired, by people of all political stripes. Today, technology is central to our world and tech moguls are celebrated.

The lady gave as good as she got, but, after 11 years of political conflict, as David Brooks wrote, "Thatcher had exhausted the country."

The calming salves of distance and time allow us, two decades later, to appreciate her leadership even more. R.I.P. © 2013 Stephen Yuen

Simplicity Isn't Simple

Complexity permeates our lives. This phenomenon has been attributed to a host of factors, including changing technology, lawyers, and conflicting objectives. Some of us may be knowledgeable in specific areas---for example, computers, income taxes, or medicine---but it's impossible for anyone to navigate all important facets of modern life without professional help.

We yearn for the apocryphal simplicity of yester-year.

But there is nothing simple about simplicity, and achieving it requires following three major principles: empathizing (by perceiving others' needs and expectations), distilling (by reducing to its essence the substance of one's offer) and clarifying (by making the offering easier to understand or use).

Alan Siegel and Irene Etzkorn ("Simple: Conquering the Crisis of Complexity") say that progress toward simplicity may be attained through the application of three principles: empathizing, distilling, and clarifying. Of the three, empathy is the most important.

Rx for simplicity: Target's prescription bottle

An example of empathy in action is Target Pharmacy's prescription bottles, which Deborah Adler redesigned by putting herself in the shoes of her grandparents.

Rearranging the small type on the typical prescription label, Ms. Adler put the information in a logical order, giving prominence to the things that people most need to know at the moment they are reaching for their medicine. She divided the label into two parts, separated by a thick black line, and placed the critical information, such as the name and dosage of the medication, at the top, with everything else relegated to the bottom.

Ms. Adler next considered the shape of the bottles. The wraparound labels on conventional round bottles were difficult to read, so she designed a flat tube-shaped container that stood upright on its cap, with plenty of room for a large, flat label that could be read easily at a glance.

We find that Target's bottles are easier to read, open, and store than the medicines from the two other pharmacies we use. Like Google's home page, Apple's iPhone, and Amazon's one-click shopping, they're islands of simplicity amidst oceans of complexity. Let's hope that these examples will multiply and prevail in a world of confusion. © 2013 Stephen Yuen

Out of the Bottle

What is this?

What it's not:

1) Prototype of Darth Vader's helmet;
2) Magnified photo of microscopic organism;
3) Bowl of cottage cheese after a kitchen accident.

Wrong Career Choice

Hope they disinfect stuff that's recovered
(Examiner photo)

It's almost a relief to take a break from all the horrific violence in the news to read about a one-man Bay Area (nonviolent) crime wave [bold added]:

A “smooth-talking” thief has reportedly been posing as a customer at various businesses across the region and distracting employees in order to swipe cellphones and tablets off desks.

The thefts have been going on for weeks, but their extent wasn’t realized until the South San Francisco Police Department reported to the media about five incidents there and three in Burlingame.

We shouldn't make too light of this guy, because stealing a laptop or cellphone with sensitive personal and business information can be very damaging to the victim. And "in Daly City, according to police there, he went so low as to rob an employee of an assisted living facility."

Nevertheless, one can't help but wonder at his choices.

“He goes in, engages in long conversations and tries to gain their trust,” [Det. Mike] Garcia said. “He’s a real smooth talker, and apparently looks very clean cut.”

What's he doing ripping off iPads? He could have been very successful in marketing or politics. © 2013 Stephen Yuen

Renaissance in Rail

At the office: a post from 2003

Railroads have been operating in the United States for 200 years, and their demise has been predicted since the advent of the Interstate Highway System. Decaying infrastructure, very unreliable schedules, inflexible union work rules, costly maintenance---the list of problems seemed endless a few decades ago.

Now,

Welcome to the revival of the Railroad Age. North America's major freight railroads are in the midst of a building boom unlike anything since the industry's Gilded Age heyday in the 19th century—this year pouring $14 billion into rail yards, refueling stations, additional track. With enhanced speed and efficiency, rail is fast becoming a dominant player in the nation's commercial transport system and a vital cog in its economic recovery.

To industry veterans "speed" and "efficiency" are not adjectives often associated with railroads. But economics (cost versus other modes of transportation) and technological innovation (not only in equipment, but probably more so in communications and information processing and analytics) have led to a renaissance in rail.

It doesn't happen all the time, but second chances do occur in business. The hopeful lesson: if one can manage to just hang on long enough (e.g., Apple, Mattel, Wells Fargo, Ford), it is possible to recapture a place in the sun. © 2013 Stephen Yuen

Especially Popular

The Internal Revenue Service now e-mails Tax Tips to anyone who wants to be put on the list. Its latest missive, Get Connected to the IRS With Social Media, looks like it will be especially popular:

IRS2Go. IRS's free mobile app gives you your refund status, tax news updates, IRS You Tube videos and also lets you request your tax records. IRS2Go is available for the iPhone, iTouch or Android mobile devices.

YouTube. IRS offers video tax tips on a variety of topics in English, Spanish and American Sign Language.

Twitter. Tweets from @IRSnews provide tax-related announcements and daily tax tips. Tweets from @IRStaxpros offer news and guidance for tax professionals. Tweets from @IRSenEspanol have news and information in Spanish, and @RecruitmentIRS provides updates for job seekers.

Podcasts IRS has short audio recordings that offer one tax-related topic per podcast. They are available on iTunes or through the Multimedia Center. Transcripts of the Podcasts are also available.

Tumblr. IRS Tumblr is a microblogging platform where users can access IRS tax tips, videos, and podcasts. The IRS uses Tumblr to share information about important programs. Tumblr can be accessed from your browser, smartphone, tablet or desktop.

Who wouldn't want to "friend" the entity that knows everything about them financially and medically (the IRS is gearing up to audit compliance with Obamacare)? If the masses not only accept but embrace the inevitable, they will be much happier.

O cruel, needless misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother. -- Orwell, 1984

© 2013 Stephen Yuen

Afternoon at Half Moon Bay

Fish and chips (Flickr, lfstewart)

We pointed the car west to Half Moon Bay. The first stop was Barbara's Fish Trap, a very popular seafood house in Princeton-by-the-Sea. Barbara's Fish Trap has the no-frills ambience of the fishmonger's restaurant. It doesn't accept credit cards, the fish is very fresh, and there's a wait for a table even at 2 p.m. on a weekday. The fellow in front of us said that he always comes to Barbara's when he visits from Riverside, 434 miles to the south.

Yes, the price of the saddle is $3,000.

We ordered the fish- or calamari-and-chips, and the food tasted as good as it looked. The hot, crunchy crust married with a moist, tender interior rivaled the best Japanese tempura. We shared an appetizer of clam chowder in a bread bowl. Dipping chunks of sourdough into a thick mixture of clams, spices, and celery (but no cream, the chowder is ideal for the lactose intolerant) is the quintessential experience on the Northern California coast. Four fish entrees, clam chowder, three soft drinks, tax, and a 16% tip cost an even $100.

Our next stop was the Half Moon Bay Feed and Fuel store on Main Street. Live chickens were on display in coops close to the sign "The Best Place to Pick Up Chicks."

On the front door was a Romney-Ryan sticker. Inside, scattered among the feed and livestock paraphernalia, were politically incorrect signs and cards. A moosehead was mounted over the front door. The sensibility of the store in these parts is, to say the least, unique.

Prices, except for a few outliers like a $3,000 "show saddle," compared very favorably to those in the closer-in suburbs. We picked up some supplies for our guinea pigs. A large bag of grass was $5, a fraction of the cost online or at PetSmart. When we complained to the owner that alfalfa was mixed in with the grass (calcium in alfalfa can cause bladder stones in small animals), she promptly instructed the workers to fill a new bag from the pristine bales outside.

Half Moon Bay Feed and Fuel is on historic Main Street.

Our final stop was the New Leaf Community Market, an organic-food chain that is slowly expanding into the Bay Area, though it's unlikely that we'll have one on the Peninsula any time soon. The prices were equal to or less (in some cases much less) than Whole Foods, so we bought three shopping bags (recyclable, of course) full of groceries.

I was in Half Moon Bay just over a year ago for a charity function. We won't wait as long for our next visit. © 2013 Stephen Yuen

She'll Never Be the One to Throw You Out

At each of the five employers I've had during my career there were office moms:

The office mom is shorthand for a figure in many offices: the colleague who remembers everyone's birthdays and brings in cupcakes. She has Advil and tissues in her desk drawer. She knows your significant other is all wrong for you—and will say so. [snip]

Apropos of the company business, baby showers, engagement parties and birthday celebrations are officewide parties, replete with champagne, handcrafted decorations, ornately decorated cookies and tiered cakes.

Observations from my own experience:

1) The office mom does not arise spontaneously from the organizational ether. Management often wants to evince a caring touch and sets aside some funds for birthdays, employee anniversaries, etc. in the belief that celebrations boost employee morale. Executives ask secretaries, administrators, and/or human resource staff to be the unofficial office moms (often there is more than one). Personally, I've only seen women in that role.

2) It used to be that younger women could be office moms. Nowadays they view it as a gender stereotype that would derail their careers. Older women seem to be more relaxed about donning the mantle.

3) The office mom rarely is in a power, i.e., hire-and-fire, position. Like real moms, she'll never be the one to throw you out. © 2013 Stephen Yuen