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Does Ivy Grow in Florida?
Imagine America’s unidentified future leaders in Skull and Bones sweating in Florida’s stifling humidity before entering their ultra-secretive, windowless tomb to plan their world domination.
No, there’s just something about a secret society in Connecticut that fits better than a secret society in Florida.
Riding a jet ski connected to a trailer through a drive-thru? Sure.
(Reddit.com)
Driving 15 miles under the speed limit? Yes.
Finding a crocodile in a swimming pool? Well, this could be Florida or Skull and Bones.
Regardless, Yale spokesman Tom Conroy responded to Florida Governor Rick Scott’s playful invitation to move its prestigious university from Connecticut to the Sunshine State. Mr. Conroy expressed appreciation for the offer, but declined with a reference to the school’s three centuries of history as a reason to continue its legacy in the northeast.
While Yale was never going to relocate to Florida, reacting in a polite and humble manner is not the typical response people have when hearing about the elite institution Yale University. Give the Ivy League school credit for that.
The reason for Governor Scott making such a random and unusual request was driven by Florida’s favorable tax structure. While Yale trading New Haven’s famous pizza for NASCAR reads like an absurd joke, money talks and a move of a smaller university from a high-tax state to a state with attractive tax incentives could become a reality in the not-so-distant future.
Consider how many movies you’ve watched recently that have been filmed in Georgia and/or Ohio. That’s the power of a motion picture tax incentive. If state leaders continue to increase spending and raise taxes, Thomas Friedman’s “The World is Flat” economic actuality will influence larger and larger industries and entities to consider options across state lines and around the world to reevaluate their fiscal health and potential benefits elsewhere.
In a country where the impossible consistently becomes possible, it’s hard to completely rule out such a seemingly unthinkable transfer.
Yale University to Florida? Never.
Florida developing an exclusive, upscale gated community for Yale alumni? That would be an interesting counter-offer…
The Tax Man Should Never Own a Bike
April 15th is the last day to mail taxes.
After wasting a perfectly good Saturday/weekend navigating through the mind-numbing maze of booklets, rules and multiple variations of “line 3 minus line 4,” people can finally start to put their minds at ease. Hopefully, there will be a refund in your future to splurge on something truly fun and antithetical to the entire process and existence of taxes (in 6-7 weeks for the old school paper submitters).
Just be on the lookout for the tax man today so you don’t get penalized with the “walking into the post office to mail your taxes” tax…
One thing never seems to change: the tax man always comes calling at 10:40, but it’s rarely an easy experience.
Rage with the Machine
I was in a Japanese restaurant several months ago and they offered my guest and me standard laminated menus. Then, almost instantaneously, the waiter placed an iPad with a stand on the table that turned out to be a digital menu. We were scrolling, tapping and searching through all the pictures of the sushi they made. With sushi, in particular, this was a great tool to use when choosing the right platter. While the iPad was only at our table for a short period, it was a nice alternative to a purely text-based menu. The use of an iPad as a menu is a growing trend in restaurants these days. There is definitely a coolness factor to it.
While on vacation in California, my family and I stopped in the hot, yet luxurious, Palm Desert. After walking inside one of the many stores, I asked the salesperson if they carried a particular polo. Instead of turning around and searching the store, looking at a paper with its inventory or rushing to the backroom, she turned and grabbed an iPad and tapped-scrolled and typed her way to discovering they did not have it in-stock. It took all of ten seconds. Even without having the shirt available in the store, she was able to have a picture with an option to order the exact polo I was asking about. She was ready to place the order for me on the spot, if I was so inclined.
Wow. Now that’s customer service.
Like restaurants, there seem to be more and more iPads/tablets used for businesses, from retail to the local cupcake shop Tin in suburban Columbus, Ohio. The convenience works both ways, for customers as well as employees.
U.S. citizens have been increasingly encouraged to file their taxes online (ie-paperless). While doing work online is certainly faster and more efficient in some ways (I’ve participated in this practice as an fyi), we can all recall the story of when hackers got their digital hands on thousands of sensitive materials from The Pentagon. If hackers can find their way into The Pentagon…
However tempting this convenience appears (and it is), we do need to remain cognizant of the risks.
The point is that we tend to be trending towards, however slowly, a paperless society. There are positives, without question, but also definite negatives to this digital evolution. It reminded me of a short clip from a show about this very reality occurring with the Millennials, my generation.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 