November 26, 2019 Uncharitable Giving Tax reform, with an unintended consequence of larger standard deductions we each now enjoy, has put a dent in philanthropy. Under the 2017 tax law changes, fewer people get a financial benefit from itemizing deductions on their tax returns — meaning fewer people get a tax break from their donations to charity. The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center estimated 21 million taxpayers

November 5, 2019 This Space Stuff is Getting Serious   Two pieces crossed my desk last week from Peter Diamandis’ Abundance Insider that may change the way I look at space projects. Once relegated to the “no immediate benefit” cubby in my mind, these space projects are happening now, with commercial implications:   NASA’s Collaborating with Caterpillar on Moon Mining Machines What it is: NASA has

October 1, 2019 The Words Don’t Match the Music For more than a year now there has been a drumbeat of recession coming, recession next year, recession likely. I know that a recession is always out there on the horizon, but they really don’t matter until they are happening right now. I’m sorry, but I am just not seeing a recession when I look at the

September 3, 2019 Over-Hyping a Possible Recession The financial media is fretting about an interest rate phenomenon called a “yield curve inversion” in the United States that Bloomberg first reported on December 3, 2018, saying that it means that a recession is imminent. If one happens, it’ll be the most well-announced recession in history. It is true that recessions have often followed yield curve inversions 3-12

August 6, 2019 Elections and Policy Changes With the Democrat debates underway, concerns abound among investors about the election outcome and what victory for Democrats might mean with their proposed radical program changes that could affect health, banking, tech and energy – which are all highly regulated industries. I don’t know what the outcome will be but as usual, I expect to recognize it when I