Back from Londontown

Almost 2 years ago I made a decision to leave the only place I ever worked and lived (NJ / NYC area) to move to London for a new job.  It wasn’t an easy decision as I had a good job and had just met the most amazing woman in the world in NYC we are now married :).  I took some personal risk and went outside my comfort zone by moving overseas by myself and it has been the best decision of my life.  While it has been hard at various points, it has taught me so much about myself.  My wife, Katie, has been so supportive and we have enjoyed every second of travelling, experiencing London and of course the large amounts of time spent in the BA lounge. I have learned to love London.  It is a place with amazing history, excellent food (yes there is) and so much to see and do. I love walking around on the weekend and experiencing the pubs, the people and the infectious British way of life.  I still love NYC more than anything, but London has captured my heart.  It is something that is hard to explain in words, but something you need to experience in person.  It is bittersweet that I am leaving and I hope we (Katie and I) will be back at some point.

In the coming weeks, I will be writing short posts on London and my experiences here.

Cheers

DL

Lehman...5 years later

Five years ago, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy.  I walked into work that day and wondered what my future would be. I loved my job, but it didn't matter. The financial crisis was hitting Lehman square in the face.  Soon AIG would almost fail and firms were scrambling just to survive.  It was a surreal experience, seeing the firm you loved go bankrupt.  So many colleagues and friends were put in limbo and many never got their jobs back.  I was fortunate to move onto another firm, but this industry will never be the same.  Some would argue that is a good thing......only time will tell.

100th Entry...Inspiration and Passion

Since I started writing this blog over 15 months ago, my life has changed in so many ways. In the paste, I was often passionate about something but would never follow through. I also was not someone who lived in the present. I would say things like, “I would love writing about politics and current events”, but never would. Then I met Katie, who changed my life. She pushed me to be a better person and to be present in the moment. She encouraged me to follow my dreams and passions. It started with writing this blog and has spilled over to many other aspects of my life. I have moved to London for a job and she is NYC, but we get stronger and closer everyday. Each day I work to be the best boyfriend, partner and now fiancée I can be. We compliment each other and most importantly, she has taught me to be passionate and live in the moment! In the past 4 months, I have disappointed myself by not writing this blog on a regular basis. I will start writing a few times a week starting very soon and this will not stop!

I am passionate about writing and sharing my thoughts, opinions and views with you, my readers.

Cheerio and more to come........

Learning another language...it is about time

After living in London for 5 months and visiting Barcelona for the first time, I have renewed my strong desire to learn another language.  Most of the four years of Spanish I learned in high school has since been forgotten. I will start this month on my journey to learn a second language. Some of my close friends, family and my amazing girlfriend would argue that English is still a work in progress, but I do digress.....:-)

Wish me luck...or...."Desearme suerte"

US Tax Reform must happen!

Fundamental reform of the US tax code is critical for the future of the US and within reach if President Obama and Congress have the will to push it forward. The US tax code currently is thousands of pages of rules with so many loopholes that it is hard for anyone to really understand it. The tax industry generates billion of dollars every year from people trying to maximize their returns and NOT pay taxes. The US government should be finding ways to simplify the tax code. This will encourage people to spend less time trying to avoid paying taxes. My core principles for tax reform, that I share with many members of Congress, are now getting support from both Republicans and Democrats.

Here are the main principles.

First, reduce overall tax rates. This will encourage investment and growth in the US. Lower rates allow people to take home more income and invest their take home pay as they see fit.

Secondly, offset the reduced tax revenues from lower rates. In order to do this, Congress needs to reduce itemized deductions. Simplification of the tax code is the key to generating more revenues, as people will not spend hours searching for deductions and loopholes, but simply pay their taxes. This concept will be extremely tough for higher tax states in the Northeast and California. Residents of these states offset their large state and property tax bills on their federal returns. Doing this offers a huge tax benefit to them and reduces their overall federal tax bill. Although people living in these states will lose the deductions for their state and property taxes, I believe they will benefit from the lower marginal tax rates which will offset a good portion of the increased tax liability. Moreover, it will ensure that the Federal government does not continue to subsidize states that overtax their residents. Higher taxes in California or New York take money directly out of the federal government. We as a nation eventually pay for that cost through higher taxes or unfunded governmental debt.

Lastly, we should eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). This tax was originally supposed to affect a small number of millionaires, but now affects tens of millions of Americans into its complex web. It is archaic and overly complicated.

If these concepts are implemented, I believe, the US will be catapulted into another unprecedented growth cycle with revenues coming into the government at all time highs.

How I am getting along here...

Everyday I grow as a person and I hope you see that in my work. I also evolve my thoughts while keeping my main principles that practical solutions and working together is always achievable. Since I have moved across the pond, my life has changed and it has forced me to grow and change. This is all for the better and I thank the most amazing woman in the world for helping me achieve everything I have in the past half-year. My views on this world have gained more depth and I am looking at issues from a global perspective which should make this blog better.

I hope you will join me this year in this evolution and journey. We will have lots of political debates but also some travel and food reviews.

La dolce vita :)

Sandy...

Apologies for the posting drought but Hurricane Sandy has impacted so many people in the NYC metro area including Southern NJ which experienced devastation it could not imagine. Let us focus on bringing communities back together and repairing all of the damage.  Let us also pray for the people who have passed away in this horrible storm.

Post debate....Mitt finally looked ALIVE and the POTUS looked bored

Well it has been a while here between new posts, but what a better time then post the first POTUS debate.  First, we all know that I have killed Mitt over the past few months for running a disorganized, bad and message-less campaign, but on Wednesday night, he definitely showed up for the gunfight.   BO seemed bored and not ready for the intensity and fervor that Mitt showed.  Mitt over talked Jim Lehrer, who was completely lacked the control of the debate and ran over BO.  I think the POTUS was expecting a discussion when he should have known that this was Mitt's last chance to redefine, his to date, very poor campaign.  BO looked disinterested and frustrated which harkens back to Al Gore and the sighing incident with GWB (http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-october-4-2000/indecision-2000---sigh-language). In these national POTUS debates, people look at body language and the way people are presenting themselves almost equally to content sometimes.  That statement is unfortunate, but like other parts of your life, if you look bored etc, then most people will not listen to you. From a content perspective, this is where the debate to me is so important.  I have urged on this blog that compromise on tax and spending and other issues will be the key.  I have strongly supported lowering tax rates and LOWERING deductions to simplify the tax code. Getting rid of all of these dumb write-offs for people and corporations will encourage people to pay MORE taxes because you can not game the system.  Mitt Romney FINALLY put out some plan that is detailed and recommended lowering raising and cutting deductions.  That is progress but unfortunately without reforms of Medicare and Social Security, the government will still be running huge deficits. 

Whether you like Mitt or not, you have to say he dominated the debate from a presence perspective and from driving the discussion.  I just feel that the POTUS will have to look like he wants the job for 4 more years and fight back otherwise this large lead in those swing states might go up in smoke very fast. 

More content coming.....apologies for the drought and HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Malaise with this election...and no REAL DEBATES!!

Are you not that excited about this election? Is there TOO much coverage with cable news, blogs, twitter etc? I feel like reporters and the press do not have anything new to talk about.  I mean what is going to change in the next 3 months?  That does sound a little jaded I have to admit, but the partisan divide is so great, that both figures are traveling on different sides of the road and don't even look at the middle lane. With so much at stake here, why can these candidates not discuss topics in a civil discourse.  Not scaring people who Paul Ryan wants to end Medicare or that BO is a socialist.  NONE OF THOSE things makes us grow as a country or gets us to the right place.  We need to demand content driven debates that are longer and do not allow our candidates to focus on soundbites.  If anyone saw the recent episode of "The Newsroom" where Jeff Daniels character challenged the prospective Republican candidates played by staffers, that is the way a debate should be run.  Get BOTH sides to not demagogue or not answer real questions.

Happy Monday!

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Fix Social Security

We all realize that Social Security is already paying out more than it takes in.  The "concept" that what I pay currently into the system is for me later in my life is a myth.  The current taxes collected pay the current benefits which is fine, if the collections are greater than the payout. So how do we fix this? Some have suggested privatizing as an option (AN OPTION, NOT MANDATORY!!!), but to transition, it would take away too much of the current monies being paid out to beneficiaries.  I do think the plan has some good ideas, but not practical at this point.

The real practical solution I believe is the following:

1. Raise the retirement age.  We are living longer than ever and the system can not afford to pay benefits based on when people lived a lot shorter
2. Raise threshold on the social security tax which a cap that will provide the system with liquidity for years to come.  As much as I hate this, when you have fewer people paying in and more people getting benefits, then this option must be seriously considered. THESE INCREASED TAXES SHOULD BE SET ASIDE AND ONLY USED FOR SS BENEFITS so the Congress doesn't just waste the money somewhere else.

People have suggested reducing or eliminating benefits for wealthy people.  I think that option should be put forth, but will not move the needle much in the scheme of things.

While the above seems like a tax hike or making people work longer, it is a practical solution that would fix a large part of the problem.  Extreme positions on both sides of the aisle will not fix anything, but push the program closer the edge of insolvency.  I am open to BO, JB, MR or PR coming up with something that will pass Congress instead of utopian ideas that will never move forward.

Let's fix things instead of just talking about it!

Infrastructure in the USA!! Something we can all agree on....finally..I hope

I think our infrastructure in this country is falling apart and our politicians need to something about it. When you watch shows, read magazines or travel to other countries, their airports, road, railways and transportation hubs are superior, newer and so much nicer than most of the US.  I am not saying everything in America in horrible, but living in NYC, have you ever been to Penn Station or Laguardia aiport...case closed. So how do we fix this problem?  Well first it takes:

1. Visionary thinking
2. Lots of $$$$$

On the first point, politicians on both sides of the aisle have been arguing over priorities and financing for infrastructure projects for years.  It is a very popular theme to say "Lets build bridges and roads etc", but when it comes down to getting things built (within a reasonable cost structure), it never seems to get done.  We need a person to make a visionary plan that is ACHIEVABLE in the next 20 years for our country!  We must have someone in this country or in the world to do this!

On the second point, the cost is the most relevant point especially with today's deficits.  As an American, I would love to have my government allocate a specific portion of my taxes to these projects and would have no problem paying more taxes if I knew the money was going to there directly.  (NO BRIDGES TO NOWHERE ...had to make that joke)

So why can we not do this America???  Why can we not drive our leaders to rebuild our decrepid infrastructure with a visionary and focused plan.  I am not going to get into union labor and costs etc, but this is more about doing what is right for America.......

Join me today to push our leaders for a solution to this mess.....I think its something we all can agree on.....I hope

Example of Infrastructure madness

NY Penn Station:  If you have been there, no words are needed. One of the largest commuter hubs in the US and its in the basement underneath Madison Square Garden.  The Moynihan station, named after the late Senator from NY, was supposed to be built in the current Post office on 8th avenue but of course that has stalled due to various things, but primarily on $$.  Penn Station should be restored to how it was and people shouldnt have to feel like subway rats on their way home everyday.

Hudson River Train Tunnel: This tunnel was to relieve pressure on Penn Station for Amtrak and NJ trains which currently "share" those tunnels.  Any problem causes massive delays.  The new tunnel proposed was going to cost X and any overruns would have cost NJ taxpayers billions.  I agree with Gov Christie in "cancelling" the project because the overrun costs would have burdened NJ when NY gets all the tax revenue from the commuters, but THAT DOESNT mean we don't try to get this thing built another way? The unintended consequence of not doing this project is that MORE people drive now because the train service is so frustrating

Lincoln Tunnel Helix: You ever drive on this thing?  I feel like I am driving on a mogul skiing competition at the X Games.  Maybe people can get together to fix it....

Airports in NYC area: I have not been to airports in Singapore, Hong Kong or Dubai, but I have "heard" those airports are slightly nicer than JFK, Laguardia and Newark.  These airports are overcrowded and the infrastructure is not world-class.  I know funding has been going to these airports over the years, but why don't we strive for the best airports in the world, not just trying to make them ok.  We can do better America!

Colorado Shooting

This tragedy has hit so many nerves in this country around gun control, personal freedom and how we prevent these types of incidents. This is a horrible incident and writing about it is really hard.  Let me hold off on commenting on gun control and first focus on the victims.  My prayers and thoughts go out to the family and friends of anyone killed or injured.  I can not imagine the feelings they must have about that night and I hope for the recovery of everyone injured.

On gun control, I truly believe in the second amendment rights and with any tragedy, that right obviously seems to either not make sense or it seems like it should be severely limited.  I know it is hard to be rational when such a horrific incident happens, but I think we have to.  I do agree that automatic weapons should be banned or should be severely limited being sold, but the I believe the majority of gun owners are responsible people.  I want our politicians to being so defensive about gun ownership and try to find out why people do these horrible deeds.

The worst part about the guns or the drug war, is that if people want either, they can get it illegally, but that should prevent us (like any other topic) to discuss this rationally and thoughtfully.  I wouldn't punish every gun owner and lump them into this killers group, but we do need to discuss how we can make our laws better and not just add new ones for no reason (see Dodd Frank)

Gay Marriage....I had to say something

I know my blog has been focused primarily on fiscal policy, taxes and an occasional piece on random topics, but I really wanted to write something on gay marriage. This is a very hot button topic that has created thousands of stories, tweets and discussions across the US for years.  I was raised a Roman Catholic, went to church and was an altar boy.  While I am not a "practicing Catholic" anymore, I still believe in God (or some higher being that oversees us all).  That being said, I do not fully understand why people oppose gay marriage.

I truly believe in my heart believe that everyone should have the same rights with respect to getting married.  I hate when people say "well let them get married so they can miserable like the rest of us".  That is such a negative and cynical way to look at things.  Marriage is a sacred thing that I think we all take it for granted.  It is hard work to stay married and work through issues.  I truly do not understand why we would prevent two men or women from entering into something willingly and understanding the consequences etc.

I know people may disagree with me and may even wonder that after reading my blog, how could a "right leaning conservative" believe in this?  Well I would hope people see my blog as someone who wants our great country to get back on it fiscal feet and for people to think of solutions and not just tell us what is wrong.

....But even if you didn't, this is truly what I believe.  I am not going to be writing 20 socially focused blogs each week, but certain topics deserve writing about for my readers to understand my views and thoughts. I know some of my readers may disagree with me, but that is how it goes.  No opinion or belief as long as its reasonable and said clearly should ever be dismissed!

Happy Bastille Day!

Bowles / Simpson for President.....kind of (read below)

We are going off the fiscal cliff and everyone knows it.  Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson spoke this morning on CNBC about the looming fiscal cliff and our leaders just ignor this issue and refuse to sit down and try to work this out.  While not every idea that the Bowles/Simpson commission recommended I agree with, at least they have a proposal that works to solve the problem unlike Mitt and the POTUS.  I would maybe vote for them because what the commission did was a practical and balanced approach.  I may not agree with everything, they at least tried to fix it, instead of just demagoging the issue. The one thing that inspires me to write this blog is to tell my readers how I believe change and consensus is accomplished.  Idea generation and being practical is how things get done. 

The problem with Washington is that to get something done, you have to give something to someone else (a new bridge for their state or tax breaks), when in reality, every dollar we give away to get consensus makes our problems worse.  As Mr Simpson said today "What that means is every single dollar we spent last year on these two wars, national defense, homeland security education infrastructure, high value-added research, every dollar was borrowed and half of it was borrowed from foreign countries. That is crazy. Crazy! It's a formula for failure in any organization."

If the American people think you can maintain tax cuts, expand health care for all, fight wars and expand spending on infrastructure and education AND maintain a budget deficit that is reasonable,  I will seriously want to examine their brain.  It is just not feasible and to be honest, it's downright lying to every American. 

We are at the cliff and who knows when we fall off, but with the current leaders we have, they wont make any changes until everyone is about to jump.......

PASSION = THIS TOPIC FOR ME!!!!!

Taxes...A love hate relationship

Taxes are the one of the most divisive topics we in America. Everyone pays them and yet we all hate them, even though they support our nations infrastructure, military, health care etc. I want to continue this discussion on taxes because I do not think Americans discuss the topic honestly. We always just say "the rich need to pay more" or "we need more money, so let's raise taxes on all people". Both of those comments make sense to most people, but the waterfall impact in this economy would be pretty harmful unless those ideas are enacted with comprehensive spending reform. I have written before about class warfare and the problem I have with it. I think we should reward people for success and not make people feel like they are being punished. But that being said, why can't our leaders in Washington actually realize that putting band aids over this problem with our deficit, by playing the tax the rich or middle class tax hike game is such kindergarten politics. Can our leaders possibly discuss ways to make the tax code more efficient, which will bring in more revenue. People spend more time avoiding paying taxes than paying them.

Rhetoric is at an all time high on the governments long time financial health and taxes are a huge part of that problem. Why cant we have a REAL discussion where we propose practical solutions to the tax code instead of just saying they are too high or low? Why don't we address the core issues of the over complexity of the tax code? Why don't raise taxes on everyone to make the budget deficit smaller? Why don't we have a 1040 that is one page long so people spend more time paying taxes instead of avoiding them?

This topic will be on the front page for the rest of the year and I will continue to delve deeper into it in the coming weeks and months.

Living in the moment and my thought evolution (vacation edition)

As I gazed up at the Bay Bridge in San Francisco yesterday, while the weather was 62 and sunny and absolutely magnificent, I couldn't help being a little philosophical about the topic of this posting. Let me take you through my thought progression here and then I will make try to make my larger point. We all have been taught by our parents, friends and even colleagues at our jobs to think about the future and the plan ahead. That could relate to our 10 year plans for work or a retirement plan or planning to have a family. We see our politicians speak the same way with regards to balancing the budget or fixing a program like social security (I have a 5 year plan etc etc). Plans are great, wonderful and amazing things that should be recognized, cherished and applauded for their vision and forward thinking, but.....a lot of my blog discusses looking forward and making big plans to solve issues we face, but I couldn't help think of the following yesterday....

Living in the moment is not such a narrow concept that I always thought it was. I thought it was easier to think forward and the to say "watching that sunset is nice, but imagine when we own a house here in 10 years and watch that sunset every night". I think that thought above is amazing in both the moment and forward sense, but I know my mind always focused in the forward and forgot how special the present is. Living in the moment could mean to some people being irresponsible or acting out something that could hurt you in the future. That is not what we are discussing here although it is interesting that our political leaders often act like they ONLY live the the moment with certain irresponsible spending or other policy decisions (that will have to wait for another posting).

Sometimes it takes an event or a very special person to come into your life to make you look at things differently. This is not meant to be a life lesson, but purely something that I hope shows my readers that my views may lean a certain direction, but my mind is open to change and thought evolution.

I think we all should cherish that sunset or embrace that dinner with friends or breath deep and suck in that fresh air while overlooking the ocean or like me yesterday enjoying that sun as is it glistened off the bay, but understand that your can live in that moment and ALSO plan and look forward. I am learning that now and it is making me a better person and hopefully a writer for this blog.

My goal with this blog is to have a discussion with my readers about large issues that impact us and come up with practical solutions for these problems, but since I was on vacation, I thought it was important to share how my thought process is constantly evolving.....

Good morning east coast......and have a great day!!!

Passion!!!!

I have written many issue-focused pieces in the last few weeks, however I wanted on the day before we gained our independence to speak to a subject that someone very special in my life made me realize it's the one, if not the most important thing...PASSION!

• Passion is the foundation of almost every successful venture, relationship or career.
• Passion allows us to work harder and smarter
• Passion makes us feel there is purpose to what we are doing
• Passion MAKES IT ALL POSSIBLE

When tomorrow rolls around and we are all watching fireworks, having BBQ's and hanging with family and friends, try to remember the people who fought for that right! They were some of the most passionate people to ever walk this Earth. They fought against all odds to gain our independence and wrote documents that frame how our lives and government is run today. Let us not ever forget what they fought for and remember that it all started with the PASSION to be free!

Happy Independence Day!

Here is a big one...Tax debate

We all hate taxes.  No one likes paying them and we talk about them all the time.  Local, State and Federal plus other excise and sin taxes.  I want to focus on that part of what many people call "paying your fair share", but let's first frame the discussion. We have a huge problem with our deficit.  Its growing at an unsustainable rate and no one wants to really deal with it.  Both sides have provided plans but neither have a chance to pass any Congress.  The focal issue within those plans are taxes.  Dem's will say rich people will solve the issue (WRONG), Republicans said tax rates are fine and we need cut spending (WRONG).  When people talk in absolutes like this, it poisons the discussion. 

We need to do something similar to the Erskin Bowles type plan (Debt Commission). It was the only compromised plan that anyone has ever submitted and it tried to deal with issues and COMPROMISE!  When people discuss paying their fair share, I think it is an extremely posionous and negative.  I would pay more taxes, if our leaders decided to cut ONE thing from the budget, or really reform a broken agency or even raise taxes across those sacred cows....the middle class.  Yep I said it.  I think when 50% of the nation pays NO taxes, its fair not to focus on the top 5%, but the other 45%.  Why cant we talk honestly about this topic instead of saying, "lets just tax the rich".  Let's tax everyone and make changes that really address the problem of our debt etc.

My plan would be a simpler tax system with less tiered rates and minimal deductions.  Make it simple to fill out and you would eliminate everyone who "cheats" on their taxes.  Of course this would make government less important and put HR Block out of business (haha). 

Class warfare is poisonous and downright hurtful.  We are a great nation who prides ourselves on being successful and forward thinking.  Constantly saying people dont pay their fair share or the "rich are this or that", doesnt help.

Let's do better everyone.  I will pay more taxes, if this nation and our leaders agree to grow up and solves problems instead of complaining how hard they are to solve!

Until next time America......

Regulation

Regulation is always a touchy subject with people. When things go bad, people want more of it. When things are good, the regulation laws never seem to fully protect our society from things like Madoff or the financial crisis or the housing debacle. PLEASE DO NOT THINK I AM AGAINST regulation. I am fully for sensical and appropriate regulation of most sectors. Like many of my columns, I stress a balanced approach to solving issues and with regulation, that approach is 100% required.

I deep down believe that any business or enterprise that wants to get around regulation can and will. The Financial industry did and Dodd Frank will improve things at the margins, but with a global economy and large banking centers outside the US, it is hard for me to believe that Dodd Frank and other laws will prevent another crisis. This topic came up last night (see my morning posting "Musings from the corner bar seat") and I was totally portrayed as I didnt want any regulation. That is far from the truth. I do know that regulation in the financial industry will help, but will never prevent a major meltdown.

A very smart gentleman pointed out something to me last night that and I have had time to think about more today. I do agree with his premise that the Glass Steagal repeal was a huge moment in the financial industry and probably was a caused of alot of the issues around the financial crisis. A lot of people would prefer that banks just keep your money and make loans. That is the way it used to be. Now JP and Citigroup are so large and intertwined with banking, trading and investing that you never know what could go wrong (see 2008). I think that argument has validity to break these enterprises up, but we also have to remember how important (everyone is sighing right now) these companies are to the market and overall.

I think we need to get the best people in government (regulators or legislators etc). That is how you solve problems. Get the best and brightest!

More to come.....