Gig Economy Wont Pay Much in Taxes Unless System Reform

In addition to companies moving overseas, lost investment and general frustration with the tax system itself it can now add lost future tax revenue. According to a study conducted by Bloomberg most of the $2.5 million people earning money from shared services such as Lyft, Airbnb and other services don't pay taxes. They fall under a $20K threshold that don't require companies to report their income at all. Without tax reform this trend is likely to grow.

The government suspects that $194 billion is under-reported every year. As the gig economy grows so will the opportunities to not report the income. People will earn their income from multiple places and these will fall under the reporting threshold. Under-reported income will likely increase as a direct percentage of labor market transitions.

Antiquated systems leave room for mistakes. Financial information can be reported easily ensuring that revenue is adequately represented. It makes no difference if it is 5K or 25K as the revenue can be reported with the same ease. Those that do not meet minimum thresholds simply don't pay but their amount they make from multiple companies  is filed.

As the gig economy becomes increasingly common people will naturally have different small pocket earnings that is difficult to include unless the system becomes more sophisticated. This would mean that the way we view taxation and the kinds of taxes we collect, and on what amounts, would need to change. The same sophistication can be used in better monitoring income from large corporations that skirt reporting requirements.

Researching Companies Before the Job Interview

Job interviews offer you an opportunity to show your skills to a potential employer. They are looking for certain key indicators of your potential. These include job knowledge, communication skills, personality and overall intelligence. Job experience has already been assessed and this is part of what got you to the interview. It your chance to show your character and capacity.

Researching the company helps you to better answer questions the hiring manager is likely to ask.  They want to know what you can do for them so ensuring that you frame all your answers in this way is helpful. It can be difficult to give strong answers if you don't understand the business you are applying for.

Managers are also looking for people who can communicate and elaborate on their skills. Having a strong knowledge of the business and position you are applying for can make a big difference in your communication confidence.

Those who research the company also show that they take the job interview seriously. They took the time needed to understand the company and formulate a strong opinion. Candidates that approach issues that way will likely research topics online as well.

Greater Hiring in Higher Education-Administration Positions Show Big Business

Higher Education is on a hiring track seeking high quality candidates to fulfill their needs. According to an analysis conducted in the HigherEDJobs a .7% hiring increase was realized in the Q1 2016 at 12,500 colleges. Open position advertisements were up 13.7% indicating that future growth is likely.

Administration heavy and faculty light are some of the findings. One of the reasons why this is the case is that college has become big business and bureaucracy is a growing risk. 

As higher education legislation grows so does the need to have lots of administrators to manage the data mills. Administrators have a knack for justifying their own existence. 

A potential problem is that as higher education institutions become top heavy they also become more expensive. More administrators means more layers of management, less innovation, and increasing cost.

Universities should be hiring faculty and removing as many barriers to teaching as they can. This means ensuring that all activities are focused on teaching students. Administrators should be kept at a minimum while faculty should be kept at a maximum.

Stealing from Our Children-Ethics for Sale in the Detroit School System

Over 14 individuals are charged in a scheme to provide kickbacks through vendors and enrich the individuals tasked with helping our children learn. As the school system goes bankrupt the FBI has found over $2.7 million dollars of mismanagement. This is likely only the tip of an iceberg for other coordinated thefts throughout the system. Are ethics for sale?

Ethics is an important part of doing business and create trust with our most important national institutions. Our school systems are a promise to the kids of Detroit that they have a chance to make their way out and into a world of prosperity. Those who profess to be helping these kids have taken their money to buy themselves luxury lifestyles and robbing their hopes.

I have found that ethical violations are violations of the perpetrators personality. People who default on their morality when it comes to money have also defaulted on their higher principles. They failed to develop beyond their own needs and issues and lose control over their capacity for higher order reasoning. They believe their image is more  important than their true selves.

As a person who supports ethics and accountability for those who do wrong, whether they are working within the pension funds, law enforcement, city government, construction, non-profits, or anywhere else, it frightens me that moral reasoning is thrown out the window when its convenient. There is a current debate on whether there should be an audit of the system...I say "lets make it happen".

I would recommend an audit of not only the school systems but also anywhere where significant amounts of money have been funneled with lax accounting, record keeping, high turn over, increased expenses and close associates of businesses. The problem is feasibility. It can be expensive to complete detailed audits of large and complex systems.

Not all audits need to be in depth. Some can scan for problems and mismanagement while others move into depth in places where red flags are prevalent. Cursory audits that focus on areas that received previous complaints, whistle blower cases, increasing expenses, and concerns can help bring to our attention the need to do more in-depth audits. Audits are a feedback loop that hold our administrators and public officials accountable to a higher order than themselves.

Someday we might be able to release all of the documents on a public facing site and let the public do its digging as it feels necessary...open innovation can have its benefits for public accountability.

How Globalization Impacts Our Local Businesses

Globalization impacts everything around it. No business can save itself from globalization. Local markets are heavily influenced by the market forces of change. There is nothing that can be done to save it or change it. The only thing a small business can do is adjust and change their strategy as their market changes. A few strategies seem to work the best.

Companies can either seek to adjust by becoming more competitive through changing their internal structure of find additional value with their current offerings. The strategies the business chooses depends on their model and personal strengths. Sometimes they can do both!

Internal Structure: Investing in operations can help companies function better and become more profitable. Sometimes it is best to adjust the structure to ensure maximum flexibility and innovation while other times it is possible to streamline the operation so that it will become cheaper. Small companies may want to focus on improving their adaptability and responsiveness to the market.

Finding Value: It is sometimes beneficial to move into a niche market, raise warranties, enhance services, improve customer service, or change the nature of the products.  Being local has its advantages in creating higher levels of local value through being more connected to local needs. Narrow the focus but improve the value proposition can be helpful.