Kiss rocker Gene Simmons may be master of his hard-rock domain, but when it comes to off-the-cuff remarks about the U.S. tax system, he’s, well… you decide. In an interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune (July 4), Simmons, boasting of his wealth, said, ” ‘I have been part of the 1 percent for the past 30 years.’… “What’s it like being part...

This caught my attention on several levels: 1) Having known a few researchers, I always had a high opinion for the level of integrity. They are focused on results, yes, but the right results; 2) Once again we have another example where money – a lot of money – is available, so is the possibility of fraud; 3) The shocking...

September 19, 1968: Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees. The Tigers had already sowed-up the American League pennant and were leading the Yanks 6-1 in the top of the eighth inning when Mickey Mantle comes to the plate. Mantle had not homered for several weeks. He was tied with fellow Yank Jimmie Foxx for third on the list for most...

The stories in this month’s Take could make a zany Mel Brooks comedy if they weren’t, sadly, true. Donald Sterling Redux – The dichotomy that is Donald Sterling – the embattled owner of the Los Angeles Clippers with an intolerant mouth – just gets worse. During one court appearance, Sterling and (estranged/not estranged?) wife Shelly “had a poignant exchange,” The New York Times writes...

Washington politics has become a bad opera – tedious, score-settling bad opera where each side reacts like a soccer player who falls to the ground, grabs a body part and moans loudly so the official will call a foul. On June 16, the New York Times writes that “The Ways and Means chairman, Representative Dave Camp… wrote a letter to President Obama...

There are entrepreneurs and then there are business people who become entrepreneurs by building a business while helping others… at the same time. That’s a thumbnail sketch of Blake Mycoskie, this month’s ethical hero who has given away 10 million pairs of shoes to needy children. And that’s just the beginning, as this profile from The New York Times describes....

“I don’t believe you.” Why anyone, in their right mind, would want to head anygovernment agency in today’s hyper-partisan world is beyond my understanding. Just look at what you have to stare-down when you’re sitting before a congressional committee. On December 23, 2013, John Koskinen was sworn in as the new IRS commissioner after being confirmed by the Senate three days earlier....

After the Supreme Court’s decision on Citizen’s United allowed for nearly unlimited and unidentified donations to political campaigns in 2010, a number of new groups applied for tax-exempt status. On February 16, 2012, Democratic Senators Al Franken, Chuck Schumer, Jeff Merkley and Michael Bennet wrote a letter to Douglas Shulman urging the then-IRS commissioner to investigate social welfare organizations “engaged in a...

To understand the root cause of the scandal at the Internal Revenue Service, context is important. With the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission, corporations and non-profits were permitted to contribute to political campaigns. In the case of certain non-profits, they could donate provided they did not contribute more than 49 percent of their...

My friend Walter is a world class World Cup fan! Walter used to play professional soccer for a time and whenever I talk to him lately, all I hear is strategy. “Look at this guy play a wall-pass (a give and go) just to get more time on the ball if he’s being closed down, or can play the ball...