Mild Rants

Around three years ago Lennox Industries in Richardson, TX was ordered by a court to pay $6.2 million to settle an age discrimination lawsuit. The settlement was split among 11 former employees who stated that age discrimination was systemic within the organization and tough to combat. These employees ranged in age from 41 to 58. All eleven of the terminated or demoted employees were sales managers. They all carefully documented daily events that pointed to the fact Lennox Industries overtly age discriminated. Most working stiffs have to be happy that the United States has a federal agency like the EEOC to be a watchdog and an enforcer for any work place grievance. However, positions related to sales often experience high turnover irrespective of the age of the salesperson. Young women with nice bodies, but little expertise about a  company's products or services will often outperform an older bald man with a pot belly even though he may be more knowledgeable and skille...

A New Mexico accountant has pleaded not guilty to charges that he committed fraud on the federal and state unemployment insurance system for around $1.3 million. Accountant Jasonn Gonzales of Velarde has been indicted along with another man after ripping off the NM department of  Workforce Solutions by making fraudulent claims  for unemployment benefits. The false unemployment claims appear to have been filed in behalf of citizens in and around the city of Ojo Caliente according to the news blogger Alex Goldsmith.  More details were provided in the state briefs section of your local newspaper. I am not certain if Gonzales helped people file their personal returns, but if he had ever prepared my IRS tax return I would be awful nervous about right now. A guy who would effectively steal $1.3 million from hard working taxpayers would certainly have no compunction about doing a half ass job on personal tax returns. Wilma Hayes, a tax professional at H&R Block,...

How many of us have said things privately that we would be ashamed of if our private remarks were broadcast to the world? Pretty much all of us right? Imagine the many times you have yelled at your girlfriend and said things which you regret including name calling and hateful remarks that you can not take back. Moreover suppose that your five most offensive private conversations were recorded and played back to your boss, your parents, future employers, etc. Also it is likely that at least 1 in 5 Americans have uttered disdainful racist comments in private dialogues that none of their family or friends would ever believe came out of their mouth. Had these private conversations been recorded and widely disseminated, it is likely they would have been ruined for life with respect to prospective employers or with potential future spouses. Multiply all this by about 100 and you arrive at the public Crucifixion of Donald Sterling who made contemptible racist remarks not publicly, but...

I just read a brief article in Science News titled Rise in stress hormone linked to less risky financial decisions . I have all the respect in the world for properly done science, but it is quite obvious that increased stress would make an investor less likely to gamble away their money. Let's face it, day trading, derivatives and the like are just legalized gambling where places like E-Trade win because they charge a fixed fee per trade. I have seen out of control, stressed out craps players at Bally's in Las Vegas who keep betting more and more, but I have to believe that is the exception rather than the rule. According to short article written by Laura Sanders, chronically high levels of the stress hormone cortisol may make people play it safe financially. She melodramatically claims that this has real economic implications. Please forgive  me, but isn't this a big DUHHH. Say it ain't so Big Daddy Duhh!! A study led by John Coates where some subjects were giv...

The word culture gets overused to the point of almost becoming a meaningless word. I was raised to associate the word culture with an ethnic group or perhaps more commonly to the values and mores of a group of people in a particular region irrespective of their skin color. So, even though words are quite flexible in their usage and meaning, I was disappointed to hear the usage "drinking culture" associated with the northern most region in Canada. I mean, there is SO much more to talk about with respect to the Nanavut province. So called "drinking cultures" exist is various spots all over the world. NFL football fans are a "drinking culture" in that sense of the word. Tailgate parties have become a centerpiece of any NFL football game with fans often becoming inebriated before the game even starts! So needless to say, I was little more than miffed after reading about one of the results of the Nunavut Liquor Act Review Task Force : The Nunavut’s des...

I have rarely, if not ever, heard of any political ambitions or interest in running for office leak from the lips of Bill Maher. Why? Bill has way too much fun exposing the ludicrous hypocrisy of the Catholic Church and religion in general. As if that is not enough to keep the talented comedian and political commentator busy, he will take pot shots at the personal lives of anybody including Gwyneth Paltrow. Maher went marginally ballistic when the sexy actress said her divorce was a 'conscious uncoupling'. Bill reacted by stating "even I wanted to jump in the truck, crank up the Lynyrd Skynyrd and shoot up a farmer's market". Certainly Maher was joking about the shooting spree, but maybe Paltrow really meant her divorce was a conscious uncoupling. Let's face it, many divorces are a result of poor communication and years of insensivity OR perhaps we could characterize this process as unconscious uncoupling ! Maybe unconscious decoupling to avoid two consecu...

Did you know your bank is allowed to re-sequence the order of your balance transfers,deposits and dates your checks are processed? If you do not see the costly consequences of this unfair freedom enjoyed by your online bank, then consider the following sequence of transactions. You have an account balance of two hundred dollars with 15 days left before your rent is due. Your rent is $350, so you deposit another $200 to cover your rent with another $50 left over. You pay your landlord the rent with a check, then the next day write a check for your $75 gas bill knowing the check will clear quite a bit later with gas company avoiding a $25 overdraft. Right? WRONG the bank currently legally has the right to reorder the two transactions even though chronologically you should have avoided any penalties or overdraft fees! This means they can can unfairly clear the $75 check first which happened last in time! THEN the check to your landlord  will bounce which could lead to your evi...