Yesterday a 17-year old kid took a gun to school and shot five other kids. Two of those kids have died.
This violent tragedy occurred about thirty minutes away from where I write.
It reinforces the importance of creating a disaster plan and protecting public places from random violence. Between 2004 and 2008 there was an average of 564 people killed at work each year. In 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 521 workplace homicides, accounting for 12% of the total fatal work injuries in the U.S. Unfortunately, workplace and public violence are not isolated events.
Tax filings for corporations and S corporations are due on March 15. The deadline quickly approaches!
The health care tax credit is part of the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010. For small businesses the Act includes a tax credit of up to 35% for the cost of employee health care. I have posted an article about the credit.
The credit has been in place since 2010 and increases in 2014. However, it appears that few eligible businesses are taking advantage of the credit. It was predicted that nearly $ 2 billion in claimed credits would be forthcoming for the 2010 tax year. By the end of 2011, however, it appeared that only $ 435 million in credits had been claimed.
This is a preview of
Don’t Forget the Health Care Tax Credit!
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Read the full post (158 words, estimated 38 secs reading time)
Valentine’s Day is tomorrow February 14, 2012. I thought I would post the day before and mention the holiday so those of you who may have forgotten flowers or chocolate still have time.
It is a tradition without a clear beginning. I was always taught that St. Valentine was a martyr killed for performing Christian marriages in ancient Rome. The date, February 14, being his date of martyrdom. Over time the holiday developed as a recognition of the importance of marriage and bonds between lovers. So, I’m going with that for purposes of this post.
This is a preview of
Happy Day Before Valentine’s Day (Hint…Hint)
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Read the full post (276 words, estimated 1:06 mins reading time)
For Martin Luther King, Jr. Day I thought I would write a quick post about the Civil Rights Movement and its effect on the services afforded to poor urban communities by the financial industry including insurance and banking.
“Redlining” was a process used by financial institutions to exclude investment in particular sections of an urban area. Look at the picture – that is a redlined map of Philadelphia from the 30′s as an example. Overwhelmingly, the excluded investment areas consisted of poorer white, immigrant, and African American neighborhoods. You wanted to build a business, a home, a daycare, or any business in a “redlined” neighborhood chances are that was not going to happen. Not because of your character, credit, or any other reasonable financial reason. Rather, because of a line on a map drawn, most often, because of the color of your neighbors.
Fires are a major risk during the winter holiday season. I have posted an article of winter holiday fire safety tips for your home and business.
In addition to that article there are many places online to seek out fire safety tips and checklists. For example, the National Fire Protection Association has “Project Holiday” on its website. The site features full-size color posters for download addressing candle and cooking safety (most home fires in the United States are the result of unattended cooking) and videos addressing those topics and Christmas tree safety.
