Bourke Accounting professionals and Santa Claus have one important thing in common: they both know if you’ve been bad or good. Unlike judgmental Santa, though, if you’ve been bad, Bourke Accounting tax preparers won’t abandon you to your coal-filled fate. If you cashed out your 401(k) early to invest in a remake of Battleship Earth, you won’t hear lectures from your Bourke expert. You will, however, receive advice regarding the implications of that 10% early withdrawal penalty.
Another similarity between Bourke financial geniuses and Santa can be found in personnel. Behind the scenes, Bourke is lucky enough to have top-tier receptionists and assistants who ensure that every process, from beginning to end, runs smoothly. And Santa? Santa has Elf on the Shelf.
In 2005, America was introduced to Carol Aebersold and Chanda Bell’s book, The Elf on the Shelf. This book, which tells the story of Santa’s “scout” elves, comes with a dead-eyed, grinning elf of your very own. The concept is that these elves stalk children and snitch to Santa if bad behavior occurs. One of the cardinal rules for The Elf on the Shelf is that children are prohibited from touching them – to do so will make the elf lose her/his magic (ElfontheShelf.com). Which, in effect, probably means that the elf dies. Charming and fun-filled childhood memories will be had by all, no doubt.
The Elf on the Shelf doesn’t just traumatize children; parents get their fair share of stress, too! You see, each night, the elves return to the North Pole to squeal to Santa about their 2nd grade victims’ behavior. When the elves land back home, they, naturally, land in a different place in the house. Yes, the parents are expected to move the creepy thing each night so that the subterfuge of a traveling, living elf continues. Not only do parents have to move these creatures, but they also have to make it look like their particular elf was actually doing something. Sometimes, the elf is naughty and can be found making angels in piles of flour. Sometimes, the elf is sweet, perhaps offering a small gift to her/his young hostage.
Since the holidays wouldn’t be the holidays without some controversy, mental health practitioners have weighed in on the potential dangers caused by the Elf on the Shelf. One school of thought is that the lie regarding the creature’s autonomy “threatens the trustworthiness of parents” (Childrens.com) and could later damage the parent/child relationship. In addition, these doctors predict that, when children learn the truth, they will forever wonder what else parents have lied about and live with low-grade, continuous suspicion for the rest of their lives.
Another issue is that this game teaches kids to turn off their critical thinking skills and inspires belief in concepts that don’t make much sense (PsychologyToday.com); Dr. David Kyle Johnson goes so far as to blame gullibility as a “contributing factor to the decline of American civilization” (PsychologyToday.com). And you thought it was just a game! These shrinks fail to mention that children will believe that they are under constant surveillance. It seems that possibly creating a paranoid personality disorder isn’t as detrimental as encouraging kids to be gullible. Finally, medical professions worry about the pressure parents might experience when trying to outdo the creativity of their friends on social media (Childrens.com). Seriously, parents could suffer from self-esteem degradation because their elf post didn’t get as many “likes” as their friends’ post.
While sort of menacing, The Elf on the Shelf is just a harmless and sort of cute new tradition. Maybe we don’t need to attach such importance to it; sometimes a creepy doll is just a creepy doll.
Bourke Accounting bookkeepers and tax preparers are just like Santa Claus, but better. Bourke Accounting assistants are just as vigilant as The Elf, but nowhere near as intrusive. If you want prizes for your good behavior this year, visit Bourke Accounting pros and see what they can do for you. We swear we’ll give your Elf on the Shelf ideas more “likes” than your Facebook friends!
Come see us any time. Our number is 502-451-8773 and don’t forget to visit our website at www.bourkeaccounting.com. See you soon!
Written by Sue H.
Like a lot of you out there, we at Bourke Accounting are changing our Thanksgiving plans this year. Most of us will be avoiding the road trips, with tinfoiled casseroles held precariously on knees, and relatives’ crowded tables. None of us made the decision lightly – and we are bummed – but at the end of it, staying home makes the most sense to us.
Officials all across the country are pleading with Americans to rethink their holiday plans. Last Tuesday, Kentucky’s Governor Beshear suggested that the guest list for food-related festivities be limited to people living in the same household (APNews.com). While it’s difficult to uninvite friends and family and break with long-held traditions, it’s important to face the facts: we’re sitting in the middle of a pandemic. The CDC, knowing it’s hard to tell us what to do, does offer advice for those having Thanksgiving as usual. Their guidance includes things like wearing masks the entire time, bringing your own plates, avoiding areas where food is being prepared, social distancing, designating one person to serve food and, if possible, staying outside for the duration (NBCNews.com). Yeah, no, none of that sounds fun.
So, if you decide on a very small Thanksgiving, remember that there are a few silver linings involved:
1) You don’t have to cook and clean as much. While most of us keep our houses presentable, not all of us keep things to Great-Aunt Marge’s white-gloved standards. Just think, you won’t have to clean behind the refrigerator or vacuum the driveway this year! Also, with a truncated guest list, you won’t have to spend as much time in the kitchen or be nearly as obsessed with perfection. Finally, you won’t even have to dress up. Depending on your situation, you don’t have to dress at all (Note: cooking devoid of clothing is not recommended)! Although you’ll miss the crowd, this could be the mellowest Thanksgiving of your life.
2) No chance of family squabbles. In these divisive times, the chances that you and your entire guest list lean the same way is highly unlikely. Although you might try your hardest to avoid ideological debates with family, it’s not always possible. Depending on your situation again, this could be the first Thanksgiving without a heated political debate resulting in a table flip. That’s right! You won’t have to scrape stuffing off of the walls because conservative Uncle Bob and liberal Cousin Cindy couldn’t see eye to eye on the election! And if you can’t escape controversy during a FaceTime session, you can always “accidentally” hang up and wait until everyone cools down. To summarize: mellow Thanksgiving.
3) It’s just one year. The pandemic won’t last forever and if we follow the rules today, we’ll all be together again next year. As scary as things are out there, it’s only natural to want to be surrounded and comforted by family. It’s tempting to pretend that everything is normal and forget about everything for a day. However, everything isn’t normal and if we act like it is, someone could get hurt. No one wants to be reminded that we’re living in dire times, especially during the holidays, but we don’t have any other choice. As much as it hurts, we have to alter our traditions this time ‘round and come together by staying apart.
In less than two months, we’ll be able to say “goodbye” to 2020. 2021 won’t be magically perfect, but at least the stigma of ’20 will be left behind. We’ve all sacrificed this year, but someday, hopefully soon, we’ll find ourselves stronger and in a better place. We can’t forget that we still have things to be thankful for.
Bourke Accounting tax preparers and bookkeepers will be thankful when they can shake your hand again. Until that time, your Bourke Accounting pros are available, using a myriad of methods, to ensure that all of your needs are met. Bourke Accounting experts are here for you, even if they’re not holding your hand right now.
Come see us any time. Our number is 502-451-8773 and don’t forget to visit our website at www.bourkeaccounting.com. See you soon!
Written by Sue H.
Technology is a fascinating thing. The advancements in medicine and engineering are stunning enough, but technology affects humble office workers, as well. For example, Bourke Accounting has a brand-new podcast (stay tuned for some really interesting content!). Using virtual conferencing applications, we have the ability to interview people from all over the country with only a few clicks. This capability, as a lot of students know, is also useful during the pandemic and these socially distanced times.
Considering all of the ways that technology improves our lives, it’s hard to admit that it can actively hurt us, too. Oh, sure, we know that looking down at phones all day can cause “text neck.” We are aware that scary people lurk in the corners of the internet (since 2009, there have been over 58 murders connected to Craigslist alone!). We’ve found that Facebook disagreements often lead to uncomfortable family reunions. We’ve even developed self-esteem issues with the constant flood of “perfect” people on Instagram and we’ve witnessed real life gang violence sparked by stupid posts.
Perhaps one of the most insidious, overlooked attributes of the internet is its ability to change our thought processes – it can be argued that the internet is capable of changing our very personalities. Take, for instance, incels. In the late 1990s, a Canadian woman started a website called Alana’s Involuntary Celibacy Project, a site “for those who were struggling to form loving relationships” (BBC.com). What began as a forum for lonely people venting about their bad luck in love quickly turned into something a lot more sinister. This co-ed support forum devolved into a misogynist, racist collection of men sharing some godawful beliefs about women.
For example, these people don’t consider women to be human. In fact, you will rarely hear an incel use the word “woman,” instead they use the turn “femoid.” “Femoid” is used to denote the idea that women are somehow robotic, sub-human (QZ.com) and useful only during their reproductive years (and only if they’re good-looking). In addition, these “gentlemen” feel that they are entitled to intimacy with attractive women and that non-consensual force should be decriminalized (women aren’t human and, therefore, shouldn’t be protected under the same laws as men). Before the creation of this bizarre group, these sorts of men simply and quietly rotted in their parents’ basements, played videogames and impotently hated. Now, they have a body count.
Since 2014, “at least six mass murders, resulting in a total of 44 deaths” (En.Wikipedia.org) have been linked to the incel movement. 2014 saw what was possibly the first publicly incel murder spree when Elliot Rodger killed six people in California. In his 141-page manifesto, distributed before taking his own life, Rodger talked about his “Day of Retribution” to “exact revenge on the society that had ‘denied’ him sex and love” (BBC.com). He went on to examine his absolute loathing for women, “fueled by an intense frustration over his virginity” (BBC.com). After having immersed himself in the incel movement, Rodger decided that the problem wasn’t with him, but with women. The incels now consider Rodger a hero.
Technology is a wonderful thing, but we must use common sense when using it. Getting all of your news from one source, allowing others to influence you or delving into antisocial ideology out of resentment all have real world consequences. Some parts of the internet seem designed to cultivate hate and we have to fight against this in the name of decency.
Bourke Accounting bookkeepers and tax preparers use technology, but they stay far away from violent subcultures. Your Bourke Accounting pro is willing to attend virtual meetings with you, but they don’t venture down scary rabbit holes of deep web conspiracy forums. Your Bourke Accounting expert is calm and levelheaded in business and in reality – come visit Bourke’s sane corner of the world!
Come see us any time. Our number is 502-451-8773 and don’t forget to visit our website at www.bourkeaccounting.com. See you soon!
Written by Sue H.
If you’ve spent any time with numerically gifted people, like you’ll find at Bourke Accounting, you’ll notice that they have one universal commonality: they can’t stomach clutter. Unsurprisingly, detail-oriented bookkeepers and tax preparers can’t help that their meticulous natures cross over to the physical. For example, Bill, our fearless leader, nonchalantly checks out our desks each morning. His subtle assessment goes unnoticed until he asks, offhandedly, if you can remember what the surface of your desk looks like. The mathematically inclined like order, pure and simple.
If, out of the blue, Bourke Accounting experts were forced to downsize to smaller homes, they could easily make the transition. However, this is not the case for most of us (normal) people and sadly, getting good at downsizing fast is just what many across the country are attempting to do right now.
In July, CNBC predicted that the coronavirus could lead to up to 40 million Americans losing their housing – which is four times the amount seen during the Great Recession (CNBC.com). Besides the devastation of losing dream homes, this housing catastrophe is also capable of making the pandemic worse; keeping a strict social distance regiment when moving in with family is difficult. While trading a familiar home for a more affordable, scaled-down version is also difficult, it doesn’t have to be the traumatic experience many expect. Although it may be hard to believe, a move, forced or not, could lead to a better life.
One positive aspect to downsizing is letting go of unneeded items. A lot of us tend to include the same boxes of “treasures” with every move we’ve made since high school – most of the time we never even get around to unpacking these things. When you’re moving, you ought to critically look at this stuff and question if you really need to move it again. For example, reading all of your essays from grade school is fun the first time, but how many times do you need to examine your younger self’s take on Sounder? No one is suggesting that you throw away the quilt your great-grandmother made, but not everything in your boxes has such sentimental value. As Chuck Palahniuk wrote, “The things you own end up owning you. It’s only after you lose everything that you’re free to do anything.”
Another good thing about downsizing is that when you decide to let go of an item, you can then reduce your environmental footprint by donating it to someone in need (Home Builders Insights, Issue 2). Your donation could be the finishing touch on a first apartment or give a needy family a feeling of security and home. Never underestimate the power of a good toaster, guys.
Finally, downsizing offers absolute proof that “things” are just that and nothing more. You are not a blend of high-end appliances. Rather, you are a unique entity that is worth more than the aggregated value of your toys. Downsizing or not, it’s a good idea to go through your closets once a year in order to let go of the past. If you haven’t worn or used something in the last 7 months, chances are that you won’t and you also won’t miss it if it’s gone.
Streamlining your environment, whether by choice or by necessity, is difficult. If you keep a positive outlook and acknowledge that some changes, while hard, can mean favorable outcomes, maybe it won’t seem so bad. We can either stoically hang in there or cry in the corner. As we learned in diapers, tantrums very rarely get anything accomplished.
If you want to see some uncluttered offices, stop by Bourke Accounting. Bourke Accounting reps know that a clean workspace makes work, well, easier. Bourke Accounting bookkeepers and tax preparers keep things organized so that they always know what’s going on. Talk with a Bourke Accounting pro and see how their love of order can benefit you.
Come see us any time. Our number is 502-451-8773 and don’t forget to visit our website at www.bourkeaccounting.com. See you soon!
Written by Sue H.
Back in the day, before Bill joined Bourke Accounting, he lived in the city of New York. Recently, he spoke about getting his first apartment in Manhattan. While it was only a block from the subway, it wasn’t nice. Bill described it as a dark, ground floor, roach motel of a place in a questionable area. The rent, $2,050 a month, was a lot more than he wanted to pay, but he considered himself lucky for having found it. After avoiding break-ins and muggings for two years, Bill received a notice from his landlord. When he re-signed the lease, his rent would be increased to $2,500. He couldn’t believe that this could be remotely legal. With a chagrined smile, Bill mentioned that the new Starbuck’s being built across the street should have been an indication that the neighborhood was in the midst of change.
What is needed is protection for hardworking tenants. What is needed are restrictions against greedy, evil landlords. Money-motivated gentrification must be stopped! What we need is rent control…right?
Rent control, a regulation designed to help lower-income tenants and the elderly to stay in their homes, seems like a great idea. The landlord is only allowed to raise the rent to a certain amount and, once that amount is reached, there can be no more increases, ever (ApartmentGuide.com). Happy tenants can now live without fear of a surprise rent hike that would send them scrambling to find cheaper homes. In addition, defenders of it suggest that rent control leads to more stable and safer neighborhoods, as the residents have a vested interest in making them so. Without having to move every couple of years, tenants have security, close ties with neighbors and a “greater stake in their community” (PSMag.com), which leads to time and effort being devoted into making a nice place.
Rent control, it’s argued, is also good for landlords. Since tenants will renew their leases year after year, landlords don’t have to worry about numerous vacancies in their buildings. Landlords also save money, about $2,000 per apartment, if they don’t have to constantly prepare apartments for brand new tenants (GoodLifeMgmt.com). Rent control, therefore, is responsible for building nice neighborhoods with nice neighbors, all affordably living in nice housing. There simply cannot be a downside.
Except, of course, there is. One of the first problems with rent control is that the people who could most benefit from it aren’t necessarily the people who receive it. For example, one study showed that 10% of 2,300 controlled apartments in New York City housed tenants with incomes of more than half a million dollars (HomeownershipMatters.realtor). Further example, former NYC mayor Ed Koch paid a mere $450 a month for his controlled apartment (MarketUrbanism.com). The wait for one of these places can last decades and, it seems, you have to know the right, well-placed people.
Another issue is the fact that rising property taxes and flat-lined rents don’t leave a lot of money for apartment maintenance. Since landlords can’t/won’t find the money, repairs don’t happen (MarketUrbanismReport.com). What good is a $450 a month apartment if the roof is caving in? Finally, there are the landlords who decide to leave the rental headache behind by converting their properties to condominiums – leaving lower-income renters behind, as well (MarketUrbanismReport.com).
Everyone should be able to live in safe neighborhoods. However, like healthcare, we haven’t been able to sort out the details. While some geniuses suggest that the answer is to simply build more housing, this wouldn’t solve the underlying issues (and, you know, space is finite). If anyone has a workable plan, we’re ready to hear it.
Bourke Accounting experts can’t get you an apartment, but they will offer you financial suggestions that can help you to afford one. Your home is your sanctuary and Bourke Accounting pros are willing to share their expertise to assist you in sound housing choices within your budget. Until we build affordable palaces in the sky, your Bourke Accounting rep is here for you on the ground.
Come see us any time. Our number is 502-451-8773 and don’t forget to visit our website at www.bourkeaccounting.com. See you soon!
Written by Sue H.
The way things are going, wouldn’t it be nice to leave the corporate world behind? Have you ever considered buying a little farm, waking to the sound of roosters each morning and filling your days with the good, honest work of teasing a living from the land. Sure, your muscles will ache, but clean dirt is easier to get off of your hands than cyan ink from exploded printer cartridges. If this is your dream, then you’re in luck; not only do Bourke Accounting experts know their way around corporate tax returns, they also know what to do with a farmer’s return.
As with other businesses, farms are eligible for tax breaks. However, if you think you can just start deducting because you have a few rows of corn in your backyard, please believe that the IRS might get curious. The differences between a “hobby” farm and a business farm are actually the same as any other hobby and self-employed business. For example, you have to show that you’re operating your farm in a businesslike manner, you depend on the income from your farming, you change your methods to make the farm more profitable and the farm makes money in some years (Agfax.com). In addition, the IRS expects you to have a business plan, profit and loss statements, “daily activity logs and financial records” (Chubb.com). Obviously, growing and selling some tomatoes after your office job isn’t quite going to meet these standards.
Also like in other businesses, farmers are allowed to deduct expenses. Wages paid for farm workers, utilities, insurance and equipment are all examples of deductible expenses (IRS.gov). In addition, depreciation regarding equipment is also available for farmers. In an odd turn that makes sense, even livestock are depreciable “assets.” According to Beef Magazine, a cow should be considered a “current asset that is not depreciated” until that cow has her first baby. After that, she is “transferred into the breeding stock as a fixed, depreciable asset” (BeefMagazine.com). The University of Nebraska advises that the number of productive years for most cows is between 3-5 years. If a farmer uses five years for each cow, the general depreciation would be “$250 per head per year” (Beef.unl.edu).
Although some rules benefit farmers, there is one that seriously does not. If farmers suffer crop damage or loss, they can receive insurance payments – which is great. However, that money has to be counted as income on tax returns and the farmer still has to pay taxes on it (Money.com). Also, crop disaster payments, given by the federal government, are counted as income, too (Money.com)! It would seem that some rules make hard times even harder.
And then there are rules that can only be described as shady loopholes. Under the Greenbelt Law in Florida, for instance, land used for agricultural activities are taxed “on the current ‘use’ value…versus its development value” (SaundersRealEstate.com). This amounts to much lower property taxes. What land developers (who aren’t quite ready to build or are in the process of building) do is rent a few cows, let them wander around the property and avoid high property taxes (TheAtlantic.com). Walt Disney World has reportedly saved $1.5 million by employing some of the happiest cows on Earth for this purpose (TheAtlantic.com). Unscrupulous developers save about $1 billion a year in property taxes (UnusualInvestments.com) and it’s completely legal.
When you’re ready to quit your 9-5 and live off the land, remember that there are programs and breaks to help. And let’s all keep in mind that, while technology is amazing, we can’t eat computer code. Love to the Farmers!
As we said above, Bourke Accounting tax preparers and bookkeepers know how to handle a farmer’s return. Your Bourke Accounting pros will do everything they can to help make your hard-working fantasy a reality. With a Bourke Accounting expert on your side, all you have to do is keep an eye on the sky and Bourke Accounting will do the rest.
Come see us any time. Our number is 502-451-8773 and don’t forget to visit our website at www.bourkeaccounting.com. See you soon!
Written by Sue H.
Even during these chaotic times, The Bourke Accounting Book Club is still reading. Recently, the selection was Sara, Book 1, by Esther and Jerry Hicks. Basically, the premise is that if you put positive vibes out into the world, good things will happen to you. Instead of telling yourself what you don’t want in life, focus on the things you do want and, eventually, “The Law of Attraction” will bring these special gifts to your doorstep in a nicely wrapped package. Finally, we are meant to appreciate things, rather than waste time gloomily mired in the unpleasant.
As far as self-help books go, this one wasn’t too out of control and some of the advice made sense. However, with the 120-year prison sentence of Keith Raniere, founder of NXIVM, we’ve seen how self-help can become very dangerous. Like other ideas that start innocently, Raniere’s teachings didn’t originally focus on sex trafficking and forced labor. One of Raniere’s beliefs revolved around the concept that a person’s “past experiences affect their current decision-making” (Insider.com) and, by following his plan, people could let go of the past and live freely and happily. So, how did a bit of pseudo psychology devolve into women being branded and held against their will?
It could be argued that Raniere was always a narcissistic sociopath who simply had to wait for enough followers to manifest these personality traits on a large scale. While this is most likely the case, his condition was exacerbated by The Cult of Self-Help. Self-improvement is commendable. When we use positive thinking techniques to quit smoking or to motivate us to exercise, we are helping ourselves. However, when we begin to lose ourselves to the whims of others or begin to believe things that don’t make rational sense, that’s where the problem lies.
For example, Esther Hicks of Sara fame doesn’t write her books. No, her books are actually written by “Abraham.” Abraham is a “group consciousness from the non-physical dimension” (Wikipedia.org) who Ms. Hicks is able to channel. For $250, you, too, can attend a workshop and listen to the weird voice coming out of the unassuming, heavily hair sprayed matron. A former member of this group warns that, if your loved ones don’t believe in “Abraham,” you are to stop talking to them because “your past doesn’t matter” (AbrahamHicksFraud.com). In addition, this same member alleges that the group “took over $11K [from her mother] in less than a month for spiritual healing sessions” (AbrahamHicksFraud.com). Well. That’s one way to keep those positive vibes flowing.
At this point, we know that self-help is a lucrative business. Between books, videos and workshops, the self-help industry rakes in about $9.9 billion per year (FreedomofMind.com). When we are graced with a late-night infomercial featuring that old schooler Tony Robbins, it’s easy to see that he’s a happy man. It’s also easy to see why: tickets to his one-day workshops start at $1,095 (Blog.100am.com). While everyone has to make a buck, charging the confused and sick that amount of money is distressing, to say the least.
Whether it’s a 12-step program or an I’m OK-You’re OK scenario, it’s important to keep everything in perspective. To turn a self-help journey into your whole life is dangerous and expensive. Your personality should not exist solely as a reflection of a “guru’s” mindset, no matter how innocuous it appears. Letting self-help get you through a traumatic experience is lovely, but anyone who encourages disowning your family or spending all of your money is not to be trusted.
Although Bourke Accounting’s bookkeepers and tax preparers can certainly help you, they’re not into the brainwashing game. In addition, Bourke Accounting pros will be more than happy to meet your loved ones. Finally, Bourke Accounting experts don’t want all of your money. Financial matters are important, but they shouldn’t take up your life – see a Bourke Accounting rep and let someone else help with the numbers.
Come see us any time. Our number is 502-451-8773 and don’t forget to visit our website at www.bourkeaccounting.com. See you soon!
Written by Sue H.
It’s Halloween! To celebrate, Bourke employees are engaging in a “Decorate Your Right Arm” competition (hopefully, this won’t become a tradition, as it was a lot harder than it sounds). While a lot of us really like Halloween, there is an aspect of danger to the holiday that isn’t evident in any of the other festive days we celebrate.
Halloween is, by its nature, spooky; it’s a holiday defined by ghosts walking the earth, scary costumes and creepy stories. Even the urban legends, especially those concerning poisoned trick or treaters, are blatantly grotesque. But isn’t it unsettling when urban legends come to life?
Rumors surrounding poisoned candy is believed to have started around the time of the Industrial Revolution, when “when food production moved out of the home” (Wikipedia.org). All of a sudden, food wasn’t made by Grandma, but by some stranger who might want to cause harm for unknown reasons. In the 1930s, with the advent of trick or treating, poisoned candy gradually morphed into poisoned Halloween candy. Although there has never been a child murdered by poisoned Halloween candy (HowStuffWorks.com), this is an urban legend that still has parents checking fun size Snickers bars every year. Wait, did we say no child has ever killed by poisoned Halloween candy? That’s not exactly true, actually. However, the murderer wasn’t a faceless monster, but someone very well known to the 8-year-old victim.
On Halloween, 1974, Ronald O’Bryan took his two children, Timothy and Elizabeth, trick or treating with a neighbor and his son. When no one answered at a particular house, the children and the neighbor moved on. O’Bryan hung back, but quickly reappeared with five large Pixy Stix. “You must have some rich neighbors,” O’Bryan quipped to his companion, handing the candy to the children (Statesman.com). Once the group returned home, O’Bryan allowed his kids one piece of candy each. Timothy wanted the Pixy Stix, but couldn’t open it, so O’Bryan kindly helped his son. Timothy complained that the candy tasted bitter, drank some Kool-Aid and toddled off to bed.
Within the hour, Timothy was vomiting and in extreme pain. Although the ambulance arrived within minutes, Timothy was pronounced dead at the hospital. An autopsy showed that Timothy had died from potassium cyanide poisoning and a mad search for the remaining Pixy Stix ensued. None of the other children had eaten the candy (one boy had his in bed, having fallen asleep before he could open it). Over the following days, O’Bryan tried to remember where he had gotten the candy, finally accusing a man with an air-tight alibi.
Authorities became a little suspicious. When it was discovered that O’Bryan was heavily in debt and had bought life insurance on his children days before Halloween, they became a lot suspicious. After an investigation turned up cut Pixy Stix tops and a knife covered in cyanide at O’Bryan’s house, he was arrested for murder. In addition, O’Bryan’s in-laws testified how, at Timothy’s funeral, O’Bryan had giddily listed all of the things he was planning to buy with the insurance money. The jury took 46 minutes to decide on a guilty verdict and Ronald O’Bryan was put to death on March 31,1984 (Medium.com).
O’Bryan, AKA The Candy Man, thought that his murder would be chalked up to an insane and unknown Halloween poisoner. Instead, he added credence to the urban legend and even more danger to an already creepy holiday. Remember, Parents, it’s never out of fashion to check that candy!
Bourke Accounting has clean, safe Halloween candy. During this scary time of year, why don’t you come talk to a Bourke Accounting pro about your financial future? With all of the weirdness going on, your money issues shouldn’t be a mystery or reason for sleepless nights.
Come see us any time. Our number is 502-451-8773 and don’t forget to visit our website at www.bourkeaccounting.com. See you soon!
Written by Sue H.
Although I’ve said it a million times, I’ll say it again: Bourke Accounting is very pet friendly. If my dogs were to get sick, my bosses would allow me time off – without repercussions – to care for them. That’s because Bourke bosses acknowledge that my ill-mannered puppies are family; you will never hear a Bourke boss say, “Get over it. It’s just a dog.”
When we hear a story of animal abuse, most of us cringe. We get angry. We threaten crazily about the things we’d do to the perpetrator if given ten minutes alone. Decent human beings understand that animals are living things with the capacity to feel pain. In addition, most household pets are virtually defenseless and normal people don’t want to intentionally hurt innocent, weaker creatures. Deliberate pet beaters are easily and righteously hated; the lockdown, however, introduced a new strain of offenders. For want of a better term, let’s just call these people the “accidental abusers.”
When people first started getting laid off or working from home amid lockdown, a lot of them had the great idea to adopt a pet. They figured that they’d finally have the time to lavish a pet with training and love. A CNBC report from April told us, with breathless excitement, that shelters were having “a hard time meeting demand” (CNBC.com) from all the would-be adopters. Applications for adoption and animal fostering went up nearly 70% compared to last year and one Chicago animal shelter ran out of animals for the first time ever (CNBC.com). USA Today was equally optimistic when reporting that shelter euthanasia was down 43% as a result of all these pound puppies leaving for their forever homes (USAToday.com).
It certainly seemed like the perfect time to be a shelter animal. But then, amid the happy stories of wagging tails and full bellies, sadder stories started to bleed through. For example, there was the account of the highly esteemed doctor who set his Rottweiler “free” in the suburbs because, without his domestic help, the dog turned out to be a lot of work (DeccanChronicle.com). By September, animal shelters started to see an increase in surrender requests; one animal rescuer stated that the most common reason given for surrendering an animal lately has been that the owners “just don’t have time” (TheJournal.ie).
Just as adoptions went up 70% during lockdown, there was almost a 70% increase in pets surrendered back to shelters by October (TodayFM.com). Apparently, these new dog owners are just now realizing that dogs and blenders are different (well, not too different – both can be returned). While their furry, comfort animals were awesome when working from home, taking morning walks and cleaning up accidents after a long day is obviously too much. There is a reason shelter workers repeat, numerous times, that animals mean a commitment of years.
Unfortunately, it’s not just lazy, impulsive people who are giving up their animals. Shelter employees have seen animals surrendered as a result of escalating numbers of owners experiencing mental illness, poverty, incarceration and drug abuse (Today.com). It’s sad that those who would benefit the most from animals can’t have them.
Caring for animals is good for us; animals have a calming, anti-depressant effect that greatly enriches our lives. We need to work harder to make sure that we deserve these fuzzy, nonjudgmental critters. Animals are people, too, guys.
When you visit your Bourke Accounting bookkeeper or tax preparer, you will be treated better than a shelter dog in his new, forever home. Bourke Accounting reps want to ensure that you’re in a good place both financially and emotionally. Bourke Accounting experts will work hard for you, even if they don’t scratch you behind the ears.
Come see us any time. Our number is 502-451-8773 and don’t forget to visit our website at www.bourkeaccounting.com. See you soon!
Written by Sue H.
We learned all about Social Security in elementary school. As a kid, it seemed like a pretty sweet deal: you work hard all your life, you contribute some of your check each week and, years later, Big Daddy Government gives everything back; it sounds like a safety net mixed with a gently forced retirement plan. Although we were taught this stuff, it seems that there is still some confusion regarding the whole concept.
For example, a few months ago, that Guy in the White House ran an ad accusing Joe Biden of “promising your benefits to illegal immigrants” (Politifact.com). Not only has Biden been trying to systematically dismantle Social Security, the ad claims, but he wants to give all of your hard-earned money to ineligible people who haven’t even paid their dues!
It would be a disturbing story – if it were remotely based in reality. In actuality, a vast amount of working illegal immigrants pay into the system without ever seeing a dime of Social Security upon retirement. It goes like this: “many immigrants who aren’t authorized to work in the US buy fake Social Security cards.” Then, the employer takes out tax payments and sends them along. When that number isn’t associated with an actual citizen, the federal government holds onto the taxes and, later, drops the cash into the Social Security trust funds; this money then ends up in the hands of retired Americans. (TheAtlantic.com). In 2010 alone, the payments from falsely documented workers “contributed roughly $12 billion” (TheAtlantic.com) to Social Security.
Another thing we get wrong is thinking that what we put into the system will find its way back to us, in full. The Social Security website promises that benefits are calculated based on your “lifetime earnings” (SSA.gov). That sounds just like what we were taught! Wait, though, what’s that next sentence? The SSA continues (as if that “lifetime earnings” thing never happened) by admitting that they only count the “35 years in which you earned the most” (SSA.gov). Some of us have been working on the books since the age of 16, and if we continue to work until 72, that means that there’s 21 years of payments that just go Poof – lost in the ether. Since more than “three out of five retirees” (Fool.com) depend on Social Security for about half of their income, that missing 21 years would come in handy for a lot of people.
Cavalierly ignoring years of work history freed up plenty of time for the Social Security Administration to write rules for uncommon situations. For example, if you’re responsible for your spouse being the opposite of alive, don’t expect those nice survivor death benefits to appear in your bank account (CNBC.com); you won’t even be eligible for the $255 lump-sum death benefit (CNBC.com)! Minor kids playing Norman Bates with Mom and Dad are likewise banned from receiving survivor benefits (CNBC.com). While this makes senses – bad behavior should never be rewarded – it’s frightening to think how many times the situation came up before guidance finally had to be written.
Social Security is a nice program with limitations. These limitations are to be expected, as the Social Security Administration itself warns that the payments were “never meant to be the only source of income” (SSA.gov) for retirees. Social Security helps, but it’s important to understand exactly what to expect upon leaving the workforce. We can’t depend on a partial program to meet all of our Golden Year needs – it’s up to us to make sound financial choices and save as much as we can for the rainy season.
Bourke Accounting bookkeepers and tax preparers understand the subtleties of Social Security. Not only can Bourke Accounting pros counsel you on the best time to retire, they can also discuss ways in which to make the transition painless. Talk to a Bourke Accounting expert for advice on what to do now in order to ensure the best retirement ever.
Come see us any time. Our number is 502-451-8773 and don’t forget to visit our website at www.bourkeaccounting.com. See you soon!
Written by Sue H.