July 1, 1992
Murphy Brown and what else?
Dan Quayle is getting bashed over what he said about Murphy Brown`s single motherhood. What is extraordinary and typical is that the media failed to write about the rest of the speech which is remarkable and possibly the Bush/Quayle agenda. He said, the basic cause of our inner-city rot is "a poverty of values directly related to the breakdown of family structure, personal responsibility and social order in too many areas of society. For the poor the situation is compounded by a welfare ethos that impedes individual efforts to move ahead. Unless we change the basic values of society in our inner cities, we cannot expect anything else to change." Over 70% of the children born in inner cities are illegitimate!
Quayle proposed a series of measures similar to those advocated by HUD Secretary and former presidential candidate Jack Kemp:
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Create enterprise zones and include a zero capital gains tax to spur private economic development in inner cities.
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Enable public housing dwellers both to manage their buildings and to buy their apartments.
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Give parents the same choices about how and where to educate their children that rich people have.
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Change welfare rules that penalize marriage and that punish those who save money.
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Strictly enforce payments of child support.
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Encourage more policing by foot patrol rather than by vehicle. These patrols enormously improve a neighborhood`s quality of life.
Most Americans know Quayle is right when he says "when families fail, society fails. Children need love and discipline. They need mothers and fathers. A welfare check isn`t a husband. The state isn`t a father. I know it isn`t fashionable to talk about moral values, but we need to do it."
We`ll see how long and hard the Republican White House pushes these proposals and if the Democratic Congress can rise above the usual election-year posturing to enact them.
Business Bar-b-que
Summer is here and Texans (Ross, George & Ann) aren`t the only ones to bar-b-que. The trick of bar-b-quing is not in the sauce but in whether you can deduct the cost of the shindig. The first thing you must do is keep track of all the costs of this fiesta, from the food and paper goods you just bought at the supermarket to the additional food and spices taken from the pantry to the number of ounces of drinks consumed from the liquor cabinet. Oh yes, don`t forget the mileage (@ 28¢ per mile) to get the vittles either. Next, you need a good reason for the feast, such as you are inviting your accountant or attorney over to discuss personal financial planning or to thank him for a small tax liability or to work out the kinks or to advise on that new business deal you are negotiating. The subject matter must be an immediate propect of business, not just some good public relations (i.e. to show how that refund was spent on a new pool and fence).
You must record the names and business relationship of the guests. The government doesn`t want you to deduct the cost of feeding the accountant`s family, but then you can always argue that the 3 year old didn`t eat much and the girls just eat like birds anyway.
You can estimate the costs if need be, write them all down on a sheet of paper, attach the store receipts and save them for April 15 (preferably February). Oh yes, clean the ketchup off first before you give them to us.
New York Workers` Compensation Law Update
If a New York corporation has two or fewer executive officers who own 100% of the stock of their corporation they may now elect to exclude themselves from coverage under the Workman`s Compensation Law. This could result in the saving of several hundred dollars per year. If you would like us to pursue this election to not be covered by Worker`s Compensation, please call us.
As the world events of the past year have reminded us of the desire of people for liberty and democracy, John Adams, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence urged us to celebrate the occasion with pomp, ceremony and fireworks. Have a safe and happy Fourth.