Category: Rants
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The Penny Maxim
Regarding governance, If you cannot do something as simple and obvious as eliminating the penny, you cannot do anything more complicated.
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Democracy Gets What It Deserves; Or, How Five Minutes with the Average Voter …
Suppose two politicians are running for president, and one goes through the farm section and is asked, “What are you going to do about the farm question?” And he knows right away – bang, bang, bang. Now he goes to the next campaigner who comes through. “What are you going to do on the farm…
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The Most Expensive Part on a Southern Californian Car
Riding a very busy southern Californian highway each day for roughly one and a half hours gives one ample opportunity to observe plenty of aberrant and abhorrent driving behaviours. Being on a motorcycle one feels a little more vulnerable than usual and so simple-minded absences on the part of other drivers can become a dangerous…
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On How We Connect Today
If an average person on the subway turns to you, like an ancient mariner, and starts telling you her tale, you turn away or nod and hope she stops, not just because you fear she might be crazy. If she tells her tale on camera, you might listen. Watching strangers on television, even responding to…
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I was walking down the street …
… when suddenly my spectacles’ prescription ran out. So said Steven Wright[1]. I always thought that was funny in an new-way-to-see-it kind of way but as with a number of things that reference US culture — usually The Simpsons — it’s funnier (and in this case, sadder) when you have even more knowledge of the…
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ITIN, you TIN, no TIN
As mentioned previously, one of the main aspects of moving internationally is becoming a part of, and learning new systems. Inevitably, one will encounter the tax system and figuring this one out can be a major achievement. Australian, Dutch and German tax systems were, for me, relatively straightforward. I have pretty simple financial affairs and…