2. Michael Stumo: CPA - Ten Reliability Concerns about Farm Bureau Report on TPP
3. Michelle Seiler-Tucker: The FBI vs. Apple
4. Barry Farber: In Defense of Right-Wing Hysteria
5. Karen Leland: The Candidates’ Personal Brands
Four Ways to File Your Taxes for Free
By Eva Rosenberg, EA
The majority of American taxpayers (70%) are eligible to get their tax returns done for free. Yet only 46 million people have used the IRS’s Free File Alliance service since 2003. And that’s just one of many ways people can file for free. Here’s a look at four of them... [more...]
CPA - Ten Reliability Concerns about Farm Bureau Report on TPP
By Michael Stumo, CEO of Coalition for a Prosperous America
The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) raised concerns about the reliability of a recent advocacy document released by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) purporting to show increased farm income if the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is adopted. The Farm Bureau has been overly optimistic when projecting trade deal results for U.S. agriculture. For the Korea-U.S. trade agreement, AFBF claimed that U.S. agriculture would be a “net gainer” in agricultural commodity trade with that country. However, the opposite resulted. The U.S. net export performance substantially worsened between 2011 (the year before the implementation of the Korea-US pact) and 2015. [more...]
The FBI vs. Apple
By Michelle Seiler-Tucker
At first glance, it seems Apple should help the government with regard to the San Bernardino case, but the issue is far more complicated than this. Let’s start with the business implication: would you buy an iPhone if you knew there was a backdoor into which anyone, not just the FBI, could walk at any time? My answer: no. Millions of consumers would likely feel the same, causing disastrous results for Apple’s bottom line. What about legal precedent? If the FBI wins this case, there is nothing stopping them from walking up to HP or Samsung next week and ordering them to build backdoors into their devices, too. Americans have an expectation of privacy; it’s a right. We are protected against unlawful search and seizure thanks to the Bill of Rights; this document is designed to protect Americans from an overreaching government. The Apple vs. FBI issue is the reason why the Constitution exists! [more...]
In Defense of Right-Wing Hysteria
By Barry Farber
Congratulations to Rush Limbaugh for making a big deal on his big-deal radio show about how Secretary of State John Kerry replied to a congressional hearing panel that questioned him about a terrorist biggie released from Gitmo who popped up recruiting for al-Qaida in the Middle East. Kerry famously replied, “He wasn’t supposed to do that!” As columnist Pete Hamill used to say, “Beautiful!” That dude promised he’d terrorize no more, didn’t he? And if that’s wrong, we have a few more questions. [more...]
The Candidates’ Personal Brands
By Karen Leland
Donald Trump’s seven-state win on Super Tuesday might lead us to the conclusion that bad behavior is good for personal branding, but is it a long-term play for successful leadership or just a short-term attention-getting move? In the case of the presidential election, only time will tell. Regardless, the current political circus does provide a window into an important personal branding lesson for business people — on either side of the aisle. [more...]
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