Basic Economics – Kate McKeon

Can You Afford That?

Not living la vida loca yet? You’re making good money, but it seems to go out the door faster than you can say import beer please? Here’s the real scoop on why you seem to be stuck in economic neutral. Taxes are a big factor, and they impact more than just your take home pay.

Learn why small businesses may not be hiring locally and what your boss really expects from you.

Why You Don’t Belong at Harvard

When it comes to elite school admissions, there’s a game. If the outcome of an elite education is important for your long term development, you need to acknowledge that there is a game and learn what it is so you can choose how you want to play it. For those less inclined toward the elite education path, beware cutting your interest prematurely**.

PART 1: DON’T CONFUSE HOW YOU WANT THE GAME PLAYED FOR HOW IT IS PLAYED.

V&V: Aaron Cohn of Laundry Puppy

This installment of V&V covers Aaron Cohn of Laundry Puppy. He recently sold to FlyCleaner and we caught up around Thanksgiving for a debrief. Down-to-earth and super personable, Aaron is still helping Laundry Puppy clients through FlyCleaner and helping FlyCleaner maximize their investment in him. Acquisition for Talent. Big Learn: You really can do just …

IBM and Canada – Bad Food or Bad Numbers?

IBM recently launched an ad campaign highlighting their work on education, crime prevention and food poisoning reduction . . . okay, really, the interlocking theme is Outcomes for a smarter planet. But they demonstrate those outcomes in the fields of education, food safety and crime prevention among other areas. The graphics are cute, it’s the …

What is Talent

The most obvious expression of talent is that which is shown externally. A fast athlete,the top of the class, MacArthur grants . . . some talent is innate, the rest is cultivated. Can we do better cultivating the good stuff? That might depend – what is our definition of the good stuff? We fixate on …

More Math Education, Less Self Esteem Training

Finances. If you’ve ever struggled with your tax return, wondered how interest rates could stay so low, or tried to explain why raising taxes on employers is actually not conducive to job creation…. We need solid math education now more than ever. We are no longer an agrarian nation yet we teach math like …

It’s all in the NUMBers – Insurance 101

Have you ever tried to figure out your health insurance benefits? What a confounding experience. I spent a little time today reviewing my coverage. As much as I’d like to claim it’s because I’m that organized, but really it’s just because my part time employer recently made benefits available to us. So, why not take …

The Real Robin Hood

Would the real Robin Hood please stand up? “If you don’t stop levying these evil taxes, I will lead the people of England in a revolt against you!” -Robin, Men in Tights, 1993 Mel Brooks made a mildly popular movie to skewer the story of Robin in 1993 – if you love puns, you will …

Obama’s Fiscal Priorities are Skewed

Blinder’s Blinders lead to National Blunders, or Obama versus King Solomon . . . So here’s a question for you: Is it better to give 50,000 people $1 or give one employee a $50,000 job that allows him to contribute to a growing company? Increasing the tax burden on small employers to increase the unemployment …

Laffer’s Laughing

Arthur Laffer recently offered his thoughts on the Unemployment Benefits in the Wall Street Journal opinion pages…. What kept coming to mind is, how are we even having this conversation? And by conversation I mean, how can we look at the empirical evidence concerning unemployment benefits and still somehow draw the conclusion that extending them …

Frenchonomics

I can’t even make this up . . . Students in France are protesting again. A few years ago they protested AGAINST lowering the bar for employers to be able to hire students. Employers wanted to be able to pay less experienced people a lower rate. The minimum benefits an employer has to set aside …

Cost of Education

Friday night my little sisters graduated from high school. Come Fall they are off to college. What better time to reflect on the changing values of a college education. Does it make sense to go to the best school you get into? Is it worth $100k, $200k in debt? It seems to depend on what …

Consenting Adults Part 2

So how is the Federal Government going to save me from myself today? Back to the topic of interns . . . which can mean SO many different things depending on the administration…. For the Obama administration it means legislation. In particular, enforcement of legislation against unpaid internships. Never mind that the Obama political campaign …

Consenting Adults

The Labor Department is out to protect you from yourself. Legislation prohibiting unpaid internships is officially in force. “If you’re a for-profit employer or you want to pursue an internship with for-profit employer, there aren’t going to be many circumstances where you can have an internship and not be paid and still be in compliance …

Basic Economics – Competitive States

My buddy Scott recently sent a gem of a report along. The report was written by Dr. Aurthur Laffer. You may recognize his name from the world of finance and politics. He’s a bit of a supply-sider. Since this marks the 10th pdf uploaded to the site for the sake of sharing, I’ve created a …

Education Issues: Quantity, Quality?

So let’s go for a drive. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to cross the US by car . . . say from Chapel Hill, NC to Berkeley, CA, or Boston, MA to Berkeley, CA or Atlanta, GA to San Diego, CA, you have seen that there are many choices to make along the way. …

Margaret Thatcher – We Must Win

The newsletter this week includes a favorite item from Mrs. Thatcher: “Democratic nations must try to find ways to starve the terrorist and the hijacker of the oxygen of publicity on which they depend.” A few weeks ago the Wall Street journal published an opinion piece worth a revisit. The original piece by Warren Kozak …

It’s Not the Size of (the School Day), It’s What You Do With It.

What would you do if you had another hour everyday? Could you get more done? How would you spend that time? In Chicago, the parents are raising money so their kids can spend an additional 1 hour a day at school. At a cost of $385 per student, per year, that breaks down to $2.13 per hour – the base wage of a waitress.

Getting the Scoop on Entrepreneurship Early

A new program at Milford High School in upstate NY has opened the doors of entrepreneurship to students in grades 9-12. The students are building their own businesses and interacting with local business owners.

This is a brilliant way to encourage growth!

Education Issues: Cuts to Classtime is Unacceptable Way to Cut Costs

Reprint in full from education.change.org >>>>>> One of the highest ranking education officials in America has told Hawaii they’re going in the wrong direction by reducing the number of school days, and that the state and union need to put their personal agendas aside to help their students. Peter Cunningham, the assistant secretary for communications …