Tag Archives: finance

DETROIT: THE “SCARED STRAIGHT” DESTINATION FOR CITY ADMINISTRATORS

banner james carlini - Carlini's CornerBy James Carlini

The city of Detroit is faced with a 50/50 chance of bankruptcy and this should not be taken lightly. Many can criticize what led up to this financial catastrophe, but the more important issue is what can everyone learn from it? Continue reading

Internet Sales Tax Roundtable with Howard Kline, Esq.

Iinternet tax roundtable howard klinenternet Sales Tax Roundtable Hosted by Howard Kline, Esq.

INTERNET Sales TAX ROUNDTABLE

NOTE: Howard Kline’s Radio Show is centered around Commercial Real Estate, but do not let that deter you from listening to this provacative and informative show. Howard put together a steller panel for this talk and it is full of great info for every on-line and brick and morter retailer. Thanks Howard – JW

This is a special show in which we will be discussing proposed federal legislation intended to establish a unified system of taxation of Internet sales.Our featured guests include:

  • United States Senator Michael Enzi of Wyoming, a co-sponsor of the Senate Bill;
  • Betsy Laird, Senior Vice President, Office of Global Public Policy for ICSC;
  • David French, Senior Vice President of Government Relations for the National Retail Federation;
  • Robert W. Wood, Esq. of Wood, LLP, a tax attorney who has written numerous articles for Forbes and specifically, regarding this issue;  and
  • Steven DelBianco, Executive Director of NetChoice, a coalition of trade associations, eCommer ce Businesses, and online consumers;

During this conversation, we will be exploring the reasons why these bills have been proposed, why federal the federal government has gotten involved in, what seems to be state taxation issues, who benefits from this legislation and whose interests will be most negatively effected.

The current legislation before congress includes the Main Street Fairness Act and the Marketplace Fairness Act, while the house has introduced the Marketplace Equity Act.  All three pieces of legislation propose methods of simplifying the taxation of Internet sales process so that Internet retailers may comply with state taxation requirements while avoiding the significant burden of complying with numerous and differing state requirements.

Proponents assert that the legislation does not impose any new tax but merely simplifies the process of compliance of state Use Tax codes, (We will discuss during the show what the difference is between a Use Tax and a Sales Tax).

Proponents also argue that these bills will allow cash strapped states and cities to generate more revenue from Internet sales, which were unintentionally excluded from older sales tax legislation as constitutionally interpreted by the United State Supreme Court.

Detractors argue, among other things that passage of these bills would effectively impose a new tax on, already overburdened taxpayers.

This show is not an endorsement of the proposed legislation, but is an attempt to air out and fully express both sides of the argument so that our legislators and listeners can make the best-informed decision possible.Let your voice be heard and call in, email or tweet with your comments or questions during the live show or listening to the podcast at:

  • Go to www.creradio.com; or
  • Call (619) 393-6492 and dial “1” to be put in the que; or
  • click here
  • Leave Twitter Messages and Comments at @creradio

Howard F Kline

Howard F. Kline, Esq.

Mr. Kline Has been a practicing attorney for over 34 years and a real estate salesperson and broker since 1985. During this time, he has served as General Counsel on four occasions, acted as a principal in his own law firm and has also acted as a partner in a mid-size law firm.

Howard has represented both large and small commercial real property owners and property managers, including but not limited to the RTC, Home Savings & Loan, Wells Fargo Bank Real Estate Trust Services, Mony Real Estate, Principal Life Insurance Co., Rancon Realty and The Santa Margarita Company.

Specialties

Mr Kline primarily represents commercial landlords and property managers in commercial evictions, rent collections, workouts, foreclosures, commercial real estate bankruptcy related matters and lease negotiations. He also handles large post-judgment collection matters referred by the larger law firms who have obtained judgments on behalf of their clients and which firms do not handle post-judgment collection work.

Internet Radio Host of CRE Radio

Commercial Real Estate Radio is a weekly radio show accessible from the web and telephone. The show focuses exclusively on commercial real estate matters and should be of interest to commercial property owners, property managers, asset managers, tenants and vendors of services to these groups. Listeners can participate by calling the show during live shows which are recorded and available as mp3 files and can be downloaded from iTunes.

Listen to internet radio with Howard Kline on Blog Talk Radio

Professor Ann Lee Talks About What U.S. Can Learn from China

Ann Lee ChinaAnn Lee, Senior Fellow at Demos Talks to Us About Opportunities and What the U.S. Can Learn From China

Professor Ann Lee teaches Economics and Finance at New York University and at Peking University as well as being a Senior Fellow at the famous Demos Think Tank.

I have to commend and thank Professor Ann Lee.

I double booked our appointment confusing PST and EST. My wife told me I would do this eventually.

I had my main phone line shut down so I had to do the interview on my cell phone while a Verizon tech fixed my main line and he wanted to give me progress reports all during this interview.

I know little about China compared to Ann so I had to edit out several very stupid questions.

All in all Ann was a trooper and stuck with me even though she had an appointment with CNN right after our call.

Ann please except my apologies for I know this was one of the rougher interviews you had to do this week. Also thank you for your brilliance and insight on these matters.

We are no longer headed towards becoming a global economy. We are well entrenched in it now.As a nation, we have to learn the truth about our world and other nations and open ourselves up to possibility.

We cannot, as a country, grow out of our current situation by coddling our uneducated, lack minded fear about the other guy. Instead we must take the risk to lean into our fears and embrace all the world had to offer and teach us. – JW

Ann Lee

Adjunct Professor NYU and Peking Univ. Senior Fellow Demos

Ann Lee focuses on issues of global economics and finance, and is writing a book on U.S.-China relations.

A former investment banker and hedge fund partner, she is a frequent media commentator on economic issues. In addition to television and radio appearances on Bloomberg, ABC, CBS, CNN, and NPR, her op-eds have appeared in such publications as The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Businessweek, Forbes, and Worth.

She has been quoted in hundreds of publications and has been an invited speaker at numerous industry and academic conferences.

Ann is also an adjunct professor of economics and finance at New York University and a former visiting professor at Peking University where she taught macroeconomics and financial derivatives.

While she was teaching at Peking University, she also acted as an economic advisor to Chinese economic officials as well as to several large Chinese asset management firms.

She was educated at U.C. Berkeley, Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs, and Harvard Business School.

She is currently a Senior Fellow at Demos, a multi-issue national organization that combines research, policy development and advocacy to influence public debate and catalyze change.

ann lee what can the us learn from chinaBook

What The U.S. Can Learn From China

While America is still reeling from the 2008 financial crisis, a high unemployment rate, and a surge in government debt, China’s economy is the second largest in the world and many predict will surpass the U.S. by 2020.

President Obama called China’s rise “a Sputnik moment”—will America seize this moment or continue to treat China as its scapegoat?

Mainstream media and the U.S.government regularly target China as a threat. Rather than viewing China’s power, influence, and contributions to the global economy in a negative light, Ann Lee asks:

  • What can America learn from its competition?
  • Why did China suffer so little from the global economic meltdown?
  • What accounts for China’s extraordinary growth, despite one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world?
  • How does the Chinese political system avoid partisan rancor but achieve genuine public accountability?

From education to governance to foreign aid, Lee details the policies and practices that have made China a global power and then isolates the ways the U.S. can use China’s enduring principles to foster much-needed change at home.

This is no whitewash. Lee is fully aware of China’s shortcomings, particularly in the area of human rights, She has relatives who suffered during the Cultural Revolution. But by overemphasizing our differences with China, the U.S.stands to miss a vital opportunity.

Filled with sharp insights and thorough research, What the U.S. Can Learn from China is Lee’s rallying cry for a new approach at a time when learning from one another is the key to surviving and thriving.

Key points about the book:

  • Lays out what America can gain by studying China’s approach to politics, economics, finance, education, foreign policy and more
  • Author Ann Lee, a self-proclaimed “tiger mother for the U.S.economy,” has experience on both sides of the Pacific—she has taught in China and worked on Wall Street
  • Counters the trend of demonizing China by offering a rare nuanced view of how Chinese society actually works

Demos

Think Tank

A multi-issue national organization, Demos combines research, policy development and advocacy to influence public debate and catalyze change. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in New York City, Demos works with advocates and policymakers around the country in pursuit of three overarching goals:

  • A more equitable economy with opportunity for all;
  • A robust democracy in which all Americans are empowered to participate;
  • A strong public sector that can provide for our common interests and shared needs.

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NOTE: In the interview I mention SME’s and TVE’s. For clarity I have here the meaning of the acronyms.

SME Small to Medium Sized Enterprise
TVE Township and Village Enterprise

Contact Ann Lee:
Website / Blog
10 Lessons the U.S. Can Learn form China (Huffington Post)
DEMOS.org

Twitter: @AnnLeesays
Facebook AnnLeeSays
Linkedin: Ann Lee

Master Your Debt with Jordan Goodman

Jordan GoodmanMaster Your Debt From Expert Money Man Jordan Goodman

Have paper and pencil ready when you listen in. He’s Awesome!

Master Your Debt - Jordan GoodmanWe managed to catch up with Jordan Goodman, author of 13 books on finance, a regular contributor on CBS, NBC, CNN, CNBC, and NPR among others, and the owner and host of MoneyAnswers.com.

Jordan was preparing for a spot on the TV show, The View with Barbara Walters, when we caught him for this interview. Check the show below.

Jordan just released a new book, on how to become debt free – “Master Your Debt” .

Jordan Goodman is “America’s Money Answers Man” and a nationally-recognized expert on personal finance. He is a regular guest on numerous radio and television call-in shows across the country, answering questions on personal finances. He appears frequently on NBC’s The Today Show, Fox News Network, Fox Business Network, CNN, CNBC and CBS evening news, and a host of other notable radio and television shows.

He is the author of 13 best-selling books on personal finance including Master Your Debt, and Fast Profits in Hard Times. And somewhere in between all of the above, Jordan manages to personally respond to as many email as he can that get sent to him through his website, What’s Your Money Type.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFYxIutMVsA]

JW Najarian and Bob Schecter got to talk with Jordan about the hard times we are in.

Jodan disagrees that these are the worst times and hits upon some of the opportunities that are available, not just in the future, but right now. There is no doubt, Jordan has done the research and come up with some great answers. That’s why he’s known as America’s Money Answer Man. Listen-In, and take notes as he shares some great stuff and terrific insights on:

  • Credit Card Debt
  • Mortgage Debt
  • Student Loan Debt
  • Bankruptcy
  • and Much More

See All Jordan’s Stuff | Most Highly Recommended Resources What’s Your Money Type | Everyone’s Money Book | Master Your Money Type About Jordan E. Goodman | Contact Jordan | Hire Jordan to Speak