Opinion

The 2013-14 New York State budget passed with total spending at $141.2 billion. Overall, we missed our opportunity to create a better state and left things status quo. We missed the chance to make our state friendlier to all businesses and provide real relief for taxpayers. Instead, we extended energy taxes for all residents, while […]

The world is in turmoil. North Korea is rattling its nuclear sword more than usual. The Iranians are speeding up their drive to develop nuclear weapons as the major world powers engage in endless monologue, despite Israel’s warning that the Iranians are only months away. Syria’s Assad has crossed President Barack Obama’s red line by

Have you ever noticed you are governed by a ruling class? This is an elite group. You might liken them to the aristocrats of olde England. The lords and ladies and sirs and muckamucks. These are folks who simply know it is their job to govern us. Does not matter what their qualifications are for

Woody Allen once quipped “confidence is what you have before you understand the problem.” The 10 words sum up what many businesses, including middle-market and small companies, are starting to feel as 2013 brings in broader workplace requirements for employers and hard-line enforcement by government agencies. A few news items to think about: § The

Robin Hood is a heroic, English outlaw known for robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. He and his merry band of rogues discomfited the unscrupulous sheriff of Nottinghamshire, who had dispossessed Robin of his property. The myth has persisted for more than 800 years. Horatio Alger, Jr. wrote more than 100 books

Keep on the lookout for a big tax. A really big tax. I suggest that because a California official recently proposed a tax on emails. That, of course, would amount to a gigantic tax. Gigantic taxes are what politicians are looking for to pay for their out-of-control spending. As you know, they have spent us

On March 5, at a New York City gala, Raymour & Flanigan announced a pledge of $500,000 to the Say Yes to Education Endowment Fund. The gift will be matched by SRC, Inc., which committed $5 million to the program in 2011. The Raymour & Flanigan pledge is the largest received since the match was

What’s up with the U.S. economy? After practically no GDP growth in the fourth quarter of last year and tax increases implemented at the start of 2013, there weren’t many high expectations for the first quarter. Many economists were expecting tepid growth in the key economic growth measures. Instead, recent economic reports have come in

Change. Get used to it at a much greater rate than you ever have had to before. The United States can no longer sit back and live off its past. If you are a U.S. citizen, you should make a strong mental note that there is a large bulls-eye on your back. And who is

On the morning of Dec. 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza fired four bullets into his mother’s head. Nancy Lanza was at home in her Newtown, Conn. residence, lying in bed clad in her pajamas. Lanza then drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School where 456 children were enrolled. At the school, he killed 20 children and