Category Archives: Business

Beware of IRS Scammers

IRS scammersIt is that time again, tax time! Time to report our finances to our favorite uncle – Uncle Sam. Thankfully, this year you will have a few extra days to file your taxes instead of the usual April 15th deadline. Monday, April 18th is the deadline this year due to Emancipation Day. Emancipation Day is a holiday celebrated in Washington D.C. to mark the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln freeing African slaves and their descendants.

Whether you will file your own taxes or head to a professional this year, we want to remind you to beware of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) scammers. They are on the prowl and willing to con you and anyone else out of your hard-earned money. Check here for the official IRS press release.
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The Federal Minimum Wage Debate

federal minimum wageThe federal minimum wage is a body of law that prohibits employers from hiring employees for less than the given hour or monthly minimum wage. The first federal minimum wage was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1938.

The main purpose of the creation of the federal minimum wage was to keep the American workers out of poverty level and increase the consumer purchasing power that will in turn stimulate the economy of the country. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Continue reading The Federal Minimum Wage Debate

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Sweden’s Six Hour Work Day

Six Hour Work DayThe majority of western employees are accustomed to spending more time with their co-workers than with family members. In fact, in the United States, the average employee spends 47 hours in the office each week. According to those who work these long hours, this is an effort to impress their boss while proving their work ethic. However, in most cases, the most they achieve is being completely exhausted when the weekend rolls around.
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Federal Government Shutdown 2015

LATEST UPDATE: Congress has approved the spending budget for fiscal year (FY) 2016! 

President Barack Obama will sign the measure.

(Updated December 18, 2015)


UPDATE: Congress has negotiated a spending bill, but will miss the December 16th deadline. Another stop-gap bill will be needed to extend the deadline. The new deadline will be December 22, 2015.

Today, Paul Ryan announced the House of Representatives will vote on the spending bill on Friday, while the Senate will vote shortly thereafter.

We will start a new countdown once the stop-gap has been approved by the President. 

(Updated December 16, 2015)


UPDATE: The House passed the stop-gap and the President has signed it.

A new countdown has been started.


UPDATE:  Congress will not finalize a $1.15 trillion spending bill by midnight on December 11,  2015. On December 10, 2015, the Senate passed a stop-gap bill to extend the deadline to December 16, 2015. Today, the House will vote. The spending bill has been stalled due to “policy riders”.  If no deal by midnight on December 16, 2015 – the government will shutdown. Stay tuned.

(Updated December 11, 2015)


UPDATE: We decided to start a federal government countdown clock for December 11, 2015.

A budget deal has been approved and the debt ceiling has been raised, but will a shutdown happen on December 11, 2015? It could. Congress has a few weeks to appropriate money for the federal government through September 2016.

With a new Speaker of the House of Representatives (Republican, Paul Ryan of Wisconsin) and opposition to hotly-debatted policy riders in the spending bills, anything can happen. Stay tuned.

(Last update  November 6, 2015)
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