Today you hear a lot of discussion about elites. What exactly is an elite? TheFreeDictionary.com defines an elite as “a group or class of persons considered to be superior to others because of their intelligence, social standing, or wealth.” Note that the definition uses the term “considered” but doesn’t say who is doing the considering. …
In 2018 the Supreme Court ruled on South Dakota vs. Wayfair, Inc. “in which the court held by a 5–4 majority that states may charge tax on purchases made from out-of-state sellers, even if the seller does not have a physical presence in the taxing state.” Well even though this quote is directly from Wikipedia, …
The Supreme Court Got It Wrong on States’ Authority to Tax Out-of-State Retailers Read More »
I start this article by stating up front that I am an immigrant. I point out that I am an immigrant so those who read this article do not think that I am some American just out to bash immigrants. I think as an immigrant I can comment on the behavior of my fellow immigrants. …
Man on the Hill Thinking vs. Of the People, By the People and For the People Read More »
Recently the personal finance site Motley Fool asked me to answer some questions related to refinancing mortgages. Following are my responses. When should someone consider refinancing their mortgage?The simple answer is whenever the savings in interest rates reasonably offset the closing costs of a new mortgage. However, there are other reasons to refinance even if …
We hear a lot these days about income inequality. There is even a website call inequality.org. I have written previously about income inequality in my article “The Real Story on the Income Gap” (Manahan, 2021). If you haven’t read that article, you should. The purpose of this article is not to explain the reasons for …
Why Can’t Average People Invest Like the Rich or How to Solve the Income Gap Read More »
What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Below is the description from the United Nations website: “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the …
The United Nations Got It Wrong – Security is Not A Right Read More »
A colleague of mine and I were having a discussion on whether the United States was founded on Christian principles. He insists it was not and points to the First Amendment which states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof….” We know that the United States …
Illegal immigration, and the status of illegal immigrants (or undocumented workers if you want to be politically correct), is a divisive issue on the American political landscape. One group wants to provide all sorts of benefits to illegal immigrants and a path to citizenship and the opposing group wants to deport many of those same …
Should the Government Force Businesses to Enforce Immigration Law? Read More »
I Googled the search term “bad companies.” Other than one result that was for the rock band Bad Company, the leading search results were about companies that according to the various authors are “bad.” The headlines include: The 18 Worst Companies in America, the 20 Worst Companies in the World to Work for, 10 Most …
Many companies have transitioned from storing documents in filing cabinets to storing documents electronically. The process has both positive and negative repercussions. On the positive side, filing cabinets take us space, and as the number of documents grow the documents must be put into storage boxes, labeled, and then stored somewhere. For paper heavy companies, …
How to Store Electronic Files so You Can Find Them When You Need Them Read More »
Michael Manahan is an author, financial strategist, consultant, and professor. He has been featured and quoted on the financial websites Yahoo Finance, WalletHub, MoneyGeek and The Motley Fool for his advice on personal finance his work with the Polk Institute, and he is the host of Biz Rap podcast. He is the co-founder of the Polk Institute Foundation. His publications include “The Secrets to Raising Capital,” “The Key to Landing a Job – The Interview” and “The Secrets to Job Success.” Mr. Manahan served as chief financial officer for three publicly traded companies, has started and owned seven small businesses, and as an advisor has worked with more than 150 management teams. As a teacher of finance and accounting at California State University Dominguez Hills, Mr. Manahan is educating the CEOs and CFOs of the future.