Grumpy Editor

TAX FILING TIME FACES CPA SHORTAGE

Tax filing time is approaching and there is a CPA shortage, notes Grumpy Editor.

The profession that thrives on numbers is now having a problem seeking people to tangle with numbers.

The Wall Street Journal points out 150 college credit hours are required to become a certified public accountant.

The shortage of accountants in the U.S. has firms boosting salaries  and sending work abroad, it adds.

Would-be CPAs need to attend college for five years to amass 150 hours of college credit required to get  licenses.

The Journal cites some in the field say the extra time and expense in schools “are keeping  students from entering the field.”

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FALSE NEWS IS SPEEDY.  A MIT study finds false news online reaches people about six times faster than the truth and falsehoods are 70 percent more likely to be retweeted on Twitter than the truth.

U.S. MOVIE SCREENS DECLINE.  The number of movie screens in the U.S. declines to 39,007 last year from 41,172 in 2019 while the North American count slips to 42,063 from 44,283.

GM OFFERS BUYOUTS.  General Motors is offering buyouts to most of its U.S. salaried workforce and some global executives in an effort to trim costs as it makes the transition to electric vehicles.  GM has about 58,000 salaried workers in the U.S.

WORLD’S OLDEST LIVING DOG IS 30+ YEARS.  Bobi, a farm dog in Portugal, set a Guinness World Record as the world’s oldest living dog --- 30 years and almost 300 days. He is a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo.

WOMAN MARINE BECOMES SERGEANT MAJOR.  U.S. Marines welcome Joy Kitashima as the first woman to become sergeant major of III Marine Expeditionary Force.  She is based in the Pacific.

HAWAII VOLCANO ERUPTION ENDS.  Most recent eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano stops after 61 days, note  scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.  Volcanic activity was confined to the crater’s floor.

CAMPBELL’S SOUP SALES RISE 12 PERCENT.  Campbell's Soup sales rise 12 percent for the quarter ended Jan. 29, topping analysts expectations.  Sales were led by popular brands Goldfish crackers and Pepperidge Farm cookies.

 

 

WILL THE N.Y. STOCK EXCHANGE BID FAREWELL TO NEW YORK?

The New York Stock Exchange warns that it may leave New York City if the state legislature imposes a tax on stock transfers, notes Grumpy Editor.

The tax proposal, which would apply to transfers of stocks, bonds and derivatives, comes as the state  faces a sharp budget shortfall caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“If Albany lawmakers get their way, however, the center of the global financial industry may need to find a new home,” NYSE President Stacey Cunningham warns in an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal.

Cunningham and more than 25 other representatives of the securities industry contact state legislative leaders to caution against a proposal to place a tax on certain financial transactions, including from investment banks and hedge funds.

Democrats behind the bill maintain a tax would help make up for lost revenue and deny that the NYSE would need to move if it were passed.

Cunningham points out that “while New York has remained a center of gravity for the financial industry, many employees of Wall Street firms are migrating to Florida, Texas and other states with hospitable tax policies.”

The NYSE started on May 17, 1792, under a buttonwood tree at 68 Wall Street. Twenty-four brokers and merchants signed the aptly-named Buttonwood Agreement to outline the rules for trading securities. 

First stock listed on this exchange was the Bank of New York.

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U.S. MILLIONAIRES GROW.  More than 8 percent of U.S. adults have assets that put them as millionaires, according to Global Wealth Report 2020 by Credit Suisse.  That’s more than 20 million Americans.

KUDLOW DEBUTS ON FOX BUSINESS.   Former National Economic Council director and Fox News contributor Larry Kudlow is getting a Fox Business show that will air weekdays at 4 p.m. Eastern with an encore at 7 p.m. Eastern.  Fox Business says Kudlow’s show will “feature closing market analysis as well as interviews with major industry leaders influencing Wall Street, Washington and business in America.”

SUPER BOWL VIEWERS SHRINK.  CBS notes Super Bowl LV between the Tampa Bay Bucs and Kansas City Chiefs averaged 96.4 million viewers across TV and streaming.  That’s down from last year’s 102 million across Fox and streaming — and the lowest since 2007. 

BIDEN IN MILWAUKEE TOWN HALL.  President Joe Biden will participate in a CNN town hall in Milwaukee.  “CNN Presidential Town Hall with Joe Biden” airs tomorrow at 8 p.m. Eastern.

WALL STREET JOURNAL COMBINES WORDS.  The Wall Street Journal is combining words.  Rather than health care, it’s now one word:  healthcare.  Also going to one word is daycare.

AUNT JEMIMA BOXES GET NEW NAME.  Aunt Jemima identifying pancake mix is being renamed Pearl Milling Company starting with packaging in June.  Pearl Milling Company was founded in 1888 in St. Joseph, Missouri.

MOUNT EVEREST GROWS.  Mount Everest now tops the globe at 29,031.69 feet above sea level, according to latest survey results.  That is more than two feet higher than the altitude previously recognized by the government of Nepal.

 YELLOW LOBSTER CAUGHT.  A lobsterman catches a rare yellow lobster off the coast of Maine and quickly names it Banana, then donates it to the University of New England.  The yellow color comes from a pigment in the lobster's shell and the odds of catching one are about one in 30 million, calculates the University of Maine.

L.A. OFFICIALS PLAN TO CHARGE MOTORISTS BY THE MILE

Los Angeles officials, always with grabbing more taxes on their minds, have come up with a nifty (they think) idea: charge motorists more to drive, noted Grumpy Editor.

 

L.A. County politicians claimed they have no choice but to contemplate charging motorists more to drive in efforts to relieve congestion.

 

Terming it “congestion pricing,” among moves being considered are converting carpool lanes to toll lanes, taxing drivers based on the number of miles traveled and charging a fee to enter certain neighborhoods and business districts.

 

The Metropolitan Traffic Authority (MTA) figured getting more drivers off the road would allow freeing up space for better bus service, while incoming billions of dollars in revenue could fund a major expansion of the transit network.

 

But how does charging to drive, with daily commuters motoring to work and others with necessary tasks that require them to get behind the wheel, result in getting more vehicles off the roadways?  For example: How will driving a pregnant woman to a hospital be treated, especially with using a popular road?

 

How will merchants in targeted business districts feel about curbing potential customers?     

 

To avoid road fees, will there be more use of recently-developed flying cars?  That would lead to more flight control personnel.

 

MTA’s board of directors next month will be asked to approve a study and assemble a panel of experts to examine how congestion pricing would work.

 

 

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GANNETT SLASHES JOBS.  Poynter reported Gannett Co., Inc. began slashing jobs across the country Wednesday in a cost-cutting move that was anticipated even before recent news that a hedge-fund company was planning to buy the chain that includes USA Today, Indianapolis Star, Cincinnati Enquirer, Des Moines Register, Arizona Republic and many others.

 

DAILY WHITE HOUSE PRESS BRIEFINGS SHELVED  President Donald Trump directed White House press secretary Sarah Sanders not to hold traditional daily briefings because "most (reporters) will never cover us fairly and hence, the term, Fake News!"  Last press briefing was on Dec. 18.  But there is no lack of media accessibility.  Sanders reminded that "I take questions from reporters every single day." 

 

MOST ADULTS DON'T BUY NEWSPAPERS.  A Rasmussen Reports survey tallied 63 percent of adults rarely or never buy a print version of their local newspaper, up from 57 percent last May and 30 percent 10 years ago.

 

FINE PRINT DISTRACTS WITH APPEALING AD.  A Wells Fargo half-page ad under the headline “Give your money a raise,” with an appealing savings account interest figure, also has 23 page-wide lines in hard-to-read tiny type on “to qualify for this offer...”

 

BRITISH PAPER APOLOGIZES TO FIRST LADY.  The Telegraph newspaper in Britain apologized and paid undisclosed damages to First Lady Melania Trump after publishing a Jan. 19 cover story it said contained many false statements.

DOG RETURNS HOME WITH TWO PALS.  A Concordia, Kansas, family thought their dog was lost when it did not return home from the back yard.  But the dog did return much later accompanied by another dog --- and a goat.

BERKELEY TO CHARGE FOR DISPOSABLE CUPS.  Patrons of Berkeley, California restaurants and coffee shops who don't bring reusable beverage cups, will need to pay a 25-cent fee for a disposable cup starting next January. The Disposable-Free Dining ordinance also will require eateries to provide takeout containers that are compostable by mid-2020 and to use only reusable plates and utensils for those eating in.

RUNAWAY EMUS CAPTURED IN GALVESTON.  Police in Galveston, Texas captured a pair of runaway emus ---not permitted in the city --- that had been loose after escaping from their owner's backyard.  Its owner said the large, flightless birds were brought in after the death of his mother who owned them at her Houston home.

 

DRUNK ON RUSSIAN PLANE MAKES HEADLINES IN U.S.  Must have been a dull news day when U.S. newspapers carried a story on an intoxicated passenger  threatening the crew of a Russian passenger plane flying from a Siberian city to Moscow, forcing  it to land shortly after takeoff.

CALIFORNIA CONSIDERS FEE FOR TEXT MESSAGING

As if Californians aren't being taxed enough --- with the highest state income tax rate in the nation along with lofty sales and gasoline taxes --- Sacramento wants to charge a fee for text messaging on mobile phones, notes Grumpy Editor.

Funds from that would go to subsidize wireless services for lower income residents.

The proposal, frowned on by wireless industry and business groups, is slated for a vote next month by the State Public Utilities Commission.

Jim Wunderman, president of the Bay Area Council business group calls it "a dumb idea," adding, “This is how conversations take place in this day and age, and it’s almost like saying there should be a tax on the conversations we have.”

Wunderman says he is unaware of any local or national program that taxes texting.

An editorial on the subject in the Wall Street Journal signs off with:  "On the bright side, California's tax on texting should give millennials a lesson in rapacious progressive government."

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WHITE HOUSE PRESS HOLIDAY PARTY SCRATCHED.   President Trump canceled the White House Christmas holiday party for the media, a decades-old tradition that attracted those covering the White House, as well as other Washington reporters, anchors and commentators plus New York media executives who would fly in for the occasion. The invitation-only event grew so large that there were two back-to-back events, one for broadcast outlets and one for print.

HEART TROUBLE CHANGES FLIGHT.  A Southwest Airlines flight traveling from Seattle to Dallas was forced to turn around mid-flight after officials realized a human heart had been left onboard.  The heart was intended for delivery to a Seattle hospital after a previous flight from Sacramento.  In covering the event, media fail to report the exact location of the heart on the aircraft --- in an overhead bin or in the cargo hold.

CBS SELLS TELEVISION CITY IN L.A.  Television City, a 25-acre site on the western side of Los Angeles where many famous TV shows originated, is being sold for $750 million to Hackman Capital Partners.  CBS will continue producing shows at the site for at least five years. CBS originally bought the property in 1950. But since 2008, the company’s primary studio facility has been the 40-acre CBS Studios Center in Studio City with 18 sound stages and more than 210,000 square feet of office space.

WWI WARSHIP SINKING SOLVED.  It took 100 years for the finding, but a mysterious explosion that resulted in the sinking of the USS San Diego just miles outside New York City finally is solved.  The Navy believes the only major U.S. warship to sink in World War I hit an underwater mine planted by a German submarine.  The 500-foot armored cruiser sank in less than 30 minutes on July 19, 1918.

 

VENEZUELA NEWSPAPER STOPS PRESSES.  With a 75-year run, El Nacional, Venezuela’s last nationally-circulated newspaper, published its last print edition on Friday.  It continues with an online version.

 

MONEY MAGAZINE REMAINS UP FOR SALE.  Meredith Corp. continues to seek a buyer for personal finance magazine Money, once part of Time Inc.  One source says the publication is expected to sell for $10 million to $15 million.

 

WEEKLY STANDARD ENDS RUN.  Final edition of Washington-based The Weekly Standard will be published today.  It ends a 23-year run for the conservative publication.

 

CBS ELEVATES MAJOR GARRETT.  CBS News names Major Garrett as its chief Washington correspondent.  He has served as CBS's top White House correspondent. The new title makes him a prominent player in the network's coverage of the 2020 presidential election.

TRUMP SCOLDS CALIFORNIA FOR NOT COOPERATING WITH ICE TO CURB 'CRIME NEST'

President Donald Trump doesn’t hold much hope for renegade California where many politicians --- from Gov. Jerry Brown, on down --- can’t seem to get on the same track, observes Grumpy Editor.

Trump says he’s considering pulling Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers out of California because he feels the Golden State, loaded with Democrat politicians, is giving his administration no help in targeting the violent MS-13 gang, especially in Los Angeles.

“Frankly, if I wanted to pull our (ICE) people from California you would have a crime nest like you’ve never seen in California,” warns Trump.  “All I’d have to do is say ICE and border patrol, let California alone,” adding “You would see crime like nobody has even seen crime in this country.” 

Trump also took a shot at California’s leadership.

“They are doing a lousy management job,” declares Trump. “They have the highest taxes in the nation and they don’t know what’s happening out there. Frankly, it’s a disgrace, the sanctuary city situation, the protection of these horrible criminals in California and other places. If we ever pulled our ICE out and we ever said, ‘hey, let California learn and let them figure it out for themselves,’ in two months, they’d be begging for us to come back.”

The Justice Department has threatened to deny millions of dollars in federal grant money to communities that refuse to comply with a statute requiring information-sharing with federal law enforcement.

 

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THOUGHTS ON GUN CONTROL LAWS.  Americans aren’t convinced stricter gun laws will reduce crime and don’t trust the government to enforce those laws, according to a Rasmussen Reports survey.  It finds 15 percent of American adults say stricter gun control laws increase violent crime, while 39 percent think stricter laws would decrease violent crime. Another 39 percent believe beefing up the country’s gun control laws would have no impact on violent crime.

CANADA COMMITS MILLIONS TO LOCAL JOURNALISM.  Canada’s federal government plans to commit $50 million over five years to support local journalism aimed at providing funding to one or more “independent non-governmental organizations” that will support local journalism in underserved communities.  The investment is being made to help “ensure trusted, local perspectives as well as accountability in local communities.”

STEVE JOBS EARLY JOB FORM GOING TO AUCTION.  A one-page job application filled out by future Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 1973 when he was 18 is expected to fetch $50,000 when it hits the auction block in March.  The form indicates he was seeking employment as an “electronics tech or design engineer.”

CONFERENCE TAKES SHOT AT MEDIA.  First panel of this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxon Hill, Md., took direct aim at the state of journalism in the United States.  Its title:   “An Affair to Remember: How the Far Left and the Mainstream Media Got in Bed Together.”

WOLF TO ROAST PRESIDENT.  Stand-up comedian Michelle Wolf will host the 2018 White House Correspondents Dinner, April 28.  She is a correspondent on “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” and also is working on a project with Netflix for an upcoming comedy show.  

ATLANTIC ADDING STAFFERS.  The Atlantic, one of the nation’s oldest print magazines and profitable for eight consecutive years, is adding 100 staffers (a 30 percent staff increase) as a part of a 12 to 18-month expansion across all divisions, with roughly half of the additio0,s going toward editorial.

NAVY ADDS INCENTIVES.  The Navy dangles new incentives that include allowing first-term enlisted sailors to have their families with them overseas in efforts to entice longer sea duties in Japan, Guam and Spain.

NEW ‘FACE THE NATION’ MODERATOR.  Margaret Brennan made her debut as CBS’s “Face the Nation” moderator yesterday.  She replaces John Dickerson who moved to New York to become one of three “CBS This Morning” anchors.  Brennan worked at Bloomberg News and CNBC before joining CBS in 2012.

BUFFET’S MEDIA GROUP CUTS POSITIONS.  Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is cutting jobs in its newspaper empire because of declining advertising revenue.  BH Media Group is reducing staff by 148 employees and not filling 101 vacant positions, representing a total of about 6 percent of its workforce.  Buffett’s hometown newspaper, the Omaha World-Herald, is eliminating 43 positions. 

Harry Reid's 'cliff' remarks trigger drop in stock market

Business writers and editors now have to keep a close ear on what Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) says, after his downbeat "fiscal cliff" remarks near the close of the stock market yesterday were credited with sending it to the lows of the day, observes Grumpy Editor.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, after being in and out of positive territory, tumbled 89.24 points to 12878.13 at the close.

In connection with negotiations between Democrats and Republicans, Reid said, "They talked some happy talk about doing revenues, but we only have a couple weeks to get something done. So we have to get away from the happy talk and start talking about specific things.

"I'm extremely hopeful and I do not believe that the Republicans are going to allow us to go over the cliff," continued Reid, adding he hoped Republicans can agree to tax-rate increases and that Democrats were happy to deal with entitlements.

The tax-rate dispute is the central obstacle to an agreement that would prevent the U.S. from plunging off the fiscal cliff, a convergence of an estimated $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts.

With key financial matters, media focus on comments by Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, at speeches and especially after Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings.

Bernanke's messages, after being digested, often send the stock market south.

But now, Reid will probably have more business writers at his press conferences.

Now, about that much-cited $3,600 in Obama tax cuts

Two days after the presidential debate, most media continue to overlook a fuzzy monetary line repeated by President Barack Obama over the past few months, points out Grumpy Editor. 

In the debate with Mitt Romney, the president again mentions that he cut taxes for middle-class families by $3,600.  Period. 

That figure is trumpeted a lot lately on the campaign trail. 

Yet, that $3,600 may be news to many taxpayers struggling to pay bills.  That’s because there is an asterisk linked to that amount. 

The “I’ve cut taxes” line extends to an appearance on CBS’ “60 Minutes” last month as viewers heard Obama declare, “Taxes are lower on families than they’ve been probably in the last 50 years. So I haven’t raised taxes. I’ve cut taxes for middle-class families by an average of $3,600 for a typical family.” 

In a July 14 speech, similar to many on the campaign road, the “cut taxes” line comes out:  “That’s why I’ve cut middle-class taxes every year that I’ve been president --- by $3,600 for the typical middle-class family." 

Not mentioned, however, is that the $3,600 figure pertains to “a typical family making $50,000 a year” --- with special forms filed with the IRS along with tax returns. 

As a White House website explains: 

"A typical family making $50,000 a year has seen their taxes cut by $3,600 over the last four years, $800 in each of 2009 and 2010 due to the Making Work Pay tax credit and $1,000 in each of 2011 and 2012 due to the payroll tax cut." 

The IRS describes the “Making Work Pay tax credit” on its website: 

“In 2009 and 2010, the Making Work Pay provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided a refundable tax credit of up to $400 for working individuals and up to $800 for married taxpayers filing joint returns. Most wage earners benefited from larger paychecks in 2009 and 2010 as a result of the changes made to the federal income tax withholding tables to implement the Making Work Pay tax credit."

But claiming the credit required workers to file Schedule M with their tax returns.

IRS lacks Olympic spirit, slaps high tax on U.S. winners

Many publications, in their heavy coverage of the 2012 Olympics in London, are missing how the Internal Revenue Service is “licking its chops” --- cheering especially for more U.S. gold medal winners --- so it can collect hefty taxes, notes Grumpy Editor. 

Under U.S. tax law, winning athletes must add the value of their Olympic medals and honorariums to taxable income. 

The IRS slaps a 35 percent tax rate on winners. 

That’s pretty rough on some athletes who are teenagers and still going to school. 

The U.S. Olympic Committee awards athletes $25,000 for gold medals, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze.

Americans for Tax Reform Foundation calculates a gold medal winner will pay the IRS up to $8,986, while silver medal winners face a tax up to $5,385 and bronze medal winners are nicked with a tax up to $3,502. 

Noting this, some Washington lawmakers are coming to the rescue to exempt U.S. medal winners from paying taxes on their Olympic achievements. 

Sen. Marco Rubio, (R., Fla.) last Wednesday introduced such a plan in the Senate, calling for a tax code overhaul “to aggressively fix ridiculous tax laws like this tax on Olympians’ medals and prize money.” 

In the House, cosponsoring a bill seeking to exempt U.S. medal winners from paying taxes, are Reps. Mary Bono Mack (R., Calif.) and G.K. Butterfield (D., N.C.).

"Only the U.S. tax code can turn the 'thrill of victory' into the agony of victory,” they declare in a statement. 

 

‘Little bird out of the blue’ tells Sen. Reid about Romney

In a variation of the vintage expression, “a little bird told me,” Sen. Harry Reid this week said he learned via an out-of-the-blue telephone caller that Mitt Romney paid no taxes for 10 years, notes Grumpy Editor.

The unsubstantiated “revelation,” nevertheless, grabbed much print space and broadcast time. 

Other than Reid saying the call came from “an investor in Bain Capital,” the private equity firm cofounded by Romney, there was no way to determine the authenticity --- or even if there was a call to the Senate majority leader. 

The Nevada Democrat told the Huffington Post, “Now, do I know that that’s true?  Well, I’m not certain.” 

Reid has said without more disclosure by the Republican presidential candidate, Romney “couldn’t be confirmed as dog catcher.” 

A Romney spokesman said Reid’s charge was baseless and below the belt. 

Talk show host Rush Limbaugh yesterday suggested interrogation of Reid by the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

After making his charge, Reid challenged the media --- rather than utilizing his large staff or Senate investigators --- to dig into Romney’s finances. 

Then the senator added the fuzzy (and perhaps revealing) line:  “What if he (Romney) has paid no taxes, like I am saying he hasn’t.” 

Meanwhile, as a test to see how “easy” it is to contact Reid with a tidbit, try a call to his Washington office at (202) 224-3542.

 

U.S. population grows, wolf enters California, radio talk show replays, Kodak stock sinks, among year-end events

Catching up on some year-end events that Grumpy Editor feels some folks (and editors) may have missed --- 

+ The Census Bureau’s projected U.S. population going into 2012:  312,780,968.  The agency also calculated one birth is expected every eight seconds and one death every 12 seconds in the U.S. 

One would think that with more people contributing to the federal pot, taxes would be lowered much like a going-away office party in which the more participants involved mean less contributions per person toward an outlay for a gift. 

+ A dopey year-end Verizon Wireless move to yank $2 a month for online or telephone payments from each customer lasted a day before the pickpocket idea was shelved.  The “convenience fee” plan immediately triggered a lot of grumbling and complaints from users of Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodaphone Group Plc. 

It followed the bad PR Bank of America received two months earlier when it attempted to impose a $5 monthly fee for debit card use. 

+ Associated Press got excited when a lone gray wolf crossed into California from Oregon.  That warranted an eleven-paragraph report, noting the animal --- wearing a global positioning system collar since February --- had wandered more than 300 miles from its original location.  Last gray wolf spotted in California was killed in 1924. 

+ Radio listeners during the holidays heard much of “best of” (the upscale name for repeats) talk shows.  What talk show hosts and their syndicators seem to forget is that radio is hailed for immediacy.  Year-end airing of such things as preparing for Thanksgiving dinners and other “upcoming” events that have long passed is just plain stupid. 

Guest hosts should be used to keep the focus on current events in a fast-moving world.  It’s an opportunity, too, to develop fresh fill-in talent at microphones. 

+ The stock of once-booming Eastman Kodak Co. closed 2011 at 65 cents a share, compared to the year’s high of $5.85.  The struggling image and printing company’s stock sold for about $30 a share on the New York Stock Exchange as recently as mid-2007.  Its last dividend was in December, 2008. 

Three Kodak directors resigned in December as the company works on shoring up an eroding cash position.

Year-end observations conclude tomorrow.