Art of Giving: Bribery or Token of Appreciation

Recently an US company got some unwanted publicity.  It was reported that the company was being investigated by the government for bribery in a foreign country.  It looks like the prosecutors taking the matter seriously.    The items under investigation involved payments as little as $20.

No one likes to see bribery taking place in business.  As much bad taste as we all have on corruption, bribes and favors  will never disappear in the world of commerce.  Venal will only add another layer of obstacle and costs in doing business.  But once a successful business man told me that  bribery is good for business.  The extra creases to the wheels expedite business dealings.  -  Ayee

Identity Theft/Income Tax Fraud

It's time again to remind ourselves to be vigilant on safeguarding our personal and private information.

I saw it on a "60 Minutes" program awhile ago that identity theft is a common occurrence in the States.

The particular program I watched told stories of criminals applied income tax refunds with other people's social security numbers that they bought on the street.  Now these days, with computers and debit cards, filing a tax return is just a click away.  It is extremely easy for the unscrupulous individuals to use our  identity once they got hold of our social security number.

But I would never think it could happen so close to home.  Someone had used one of our family members' social security number to file tax return.  An unusual phone message prompted the victim to contact IRS office.  It was confirmed that someone had used her social security number to file tax return.  A this time, this fraudulent return is under the IRS's radar.  I do not know if these two incidents are related.  Before this unsavory incident was being discovered, the victim did return a notice from IRS to confirm her residency.  -  Ayee

To Question or Not to Question

I may have heard it wrong.

A few days I was at a veterinarian office picking up some medication for our little pussy cat.  While waiting to be waited on, I heard a fellow patron  before me asking why her bill was so high.   Her kitty's night out got  herself a very nasty lick from a neighborhood raccoon.    And it would cost  $282 plus change  to keep the kitty well.

And I cannot  believe what came next.  After the cat owner's questioning, another staff decided to recheck this  higher than expected bill and told the cat owner indeed there was a mistake in the bill.  Instead it should be  around $160 some dollars.  

Normally, I do not always ask or check the bills that were being  presented to me for payment.  But from what I witnessed at the pet hospital that day, perhaps the time has come that I should be more diligent on questioning or checking the bills before I pay them.  -  Ayee

To Keep the Slate Clean

New Year again brought me spring fever. I, like many other years, decided to de-clutter a bit. This year the first item on my bucket list was a used computer that I bought from my former work place. The computer with an operating system dated back to the early 90's did not have the latest bells and whistles. But it continued providing me with reliable services for several years. It also survived our moves to two new neighborhoods. Maybe it is for nostalgic reasons that I did not recycle it right away when I was given a new desk-top. Instead of recycling the old one I had, I stowed it away under my computer desk as a foot-warmer. Since it did not in any way take up extra storage space, I had left the old computer there until just a few days ago.

And there was another personal reason why I was not in the hurry to recycle this dated machine: 

Because I did not know how to empty the thousands of bytes and bits of information that I had saved in my computer’s hard drive.

I also do not know if it had actually happened to people who had given away their old computers or other smart gadgets without the due care, and became victims of identity-theft I did, however, hear someone enlisted a hammer to render their old machines useless. Since I do not like to smash things, and was not able to find help in books, for many years, I had passively waited for my Eureka moment. But that moment never come.

Luckily, once again my dear family members came to my rescue. And with a simple command* and a few strokes, my old computer became squeaky clean and ready to be recycled at our friendly neighborhood store. - Ayee

*In my case, I used "format c: " to do the job.

It's inflationary.

Recently when I renewed my prescription at our neighborhood supermarket, I got a big surprise.

The prescription I refilled a few weeks ago there cost 32% more than a similar one I filled last year.  Although, we and our neighbors were expecting some price increases at our neighborhood stores when we heard that there were some reorganization taking place at our local grocery markets,I certainly did not think the increase in some common medication can rise that much in nine months.

In the spring of this year, one of the two grocery stores in walking distance from our home was bought out by its arch-rival in the neighborhood.  Before the buyout, we had two well stocked and competitively priced markets to shop.  Because of their handy location, everyone in the neighborhood was pleased  for having two supermarkets nearby to help us prepare our meals.  Now after the buyout, we have only one market in the neighborhood.  As expected, it did not take us long to notice that prices on our groceries are creeping up here and there under the new ownership.

We all know that buying a business is a very expensive proposition.  So it is save to say that the high prices at  our neighborhood store are here to stay.   The recent change in our local supermarket  also told me that the drug companies are making too much money on the drugs they made and sold. -  Ayee  

There is no free lunch in life.

Don't let free gifts muddle up our good judgement.

It's wonderful that someone was care enough to send us gifts.  But some free gifts, like everything else in life, can become very expensive  later.  So we must be vigilent when accepting gifts from someone who delivered them to our door step, and be extra careful when this unknown gift bearer is "armed" with wireless payment devices.

Recently, there was a report on the Internet that over some free wines and flowers delivered to their door, an innocent couple lost $4,000 after they were asked to put a $3.50 charge on their bank card through a hand-held wireless payment device  the delivery man provided.  -   Ayee

It's more than I can see.

My recent dealing with our   Internet Services Provider (ISP) upset me.  It make us, long and loyal customers, felt being "bullied."  I do not know if others also had the same uncomfortable feeling toward to their ISP as I do.  But I do know someone who also dislikes his ISP.

Now these days, television commercials are crowded with many new viewing options.  One of them enabled the viewers to turn on five shows simultaneously.  These multiple-channel services had surely befuddled me.  I have yet know any one who can watch and enjoy that many shows at the same time.  I suspect this is why our dependable television set was acting up lately.  The malfunction of our old faithful will definitely give our ISP a cause to upgrade our services and get us, unsuspected users, sign up for additional services that we do not need and want.

About a few months ago, out television started to lose signals at its own free will.  After all self-help measure to restore the signal had failed, I resorted to our ISP 's support group for help.  In spite of the fact that its modems connected to our television set were only a couple of years old, I was advised that changing the old modems to the new ones will fix the problem.

Yet, contrary to what I was told that my initial contact with our ISP did give us a few weeks of reprieve.  This suggests that it is possible to maintain our existing services without new modems.  Now the same problem has resurfaced.

Normally, businesses will do their best to appease their customers.  But to me our ISP definitely did not act like a normal enterprise.  It just wouldn't take a NO for an answer.

Since our complaining to our ISP did not get us to anywhere, maybe the time has come for us to look elsewhere.  So we can  continue enjoying this simple pleasure as we did in the past.  -  Ayee

Make it small!

In addition to the frigid sub-zero weatehr, this New Year did not start well for America.

First,the country was told that a group of first responders in the 911 attacks had claimed disbility benefits that they do not deserve.  Then, there was this news coverage for the world to see what top-aide of the incumbent governor in Jersey had done to embarrass their political opponents.

This year also marked the 50th anniversary of a federal government's initiative, "War on Poverty." Undoubtedly, programs such as food stamps, low-income housing, financial aids to students, and Medicaid had helped many people in need.  But there are also a plenty of evidences that suggested  "War on Poverty" had not  made our society a happier and safer place to live.  According to the critics of this well-intended government policy, "War on Poverty" had made the America a welfare state.   Now fifty years later, lineups at local food banks are getting longer, public housing projects have become unlivable, college students have burdened themselves with mounting debts, nd homeless population on city streets is also climbing.

Needless to say, both acts of dishonesty and bullying are so un-American and appalling.  I hate to think that big governments may have given us a helping hand to become wards of the governments. When the governments get bigger, they also become less transparent and  vulnerable to many undue abuses. -  Ayee

Good News for Book Worms

Today, I went to a neighborhood mall shopping for a Christmas present.  And I was surprised to see the bookstore there was full of shoppers.  Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the many other stores in the same mall.

At the bookstore, even though there are still seven shopping days before Christmas, this was the first time over the past four years I saw a line-up in this friendly place.  Behind its non-descriptive cashier's counter, the manager was on the phone talking to a would-be buyer.  Two cashiers, in addition to directing shoppers to the right section for the book they were looking for, were also busy ringing  up sales.  The shoppers there were buying, among many other things, mostly books of all subjects in both hard covers and paperbacks.  Although my purchase of a crossword puzzle dictionary did not bring down the house, business at this store was booming.

On my way out after I got the book, what I saw going on in many other stores in the same mall were not very encouraging.  I thought an overstocked electronics shop will be a busy place during this gift-giving season.  There was not a single customer there.  It was the same at a sparkling jewelry store.  Business at a few other shops in that part of the mall did not look brisk either.

What I observed at the mall this afternoon did make me wonder on how the many small shops in the  mall were faring.  Operaitng a business in a shopping mall is a very expensive proposition in terms of rent, maintenance fees and property taxes.  Being a happy shopper of this mall for many years, I do wish them all doing well all year around. So all of them can continue to provide the public with a pleasant place to shop.

My visit to the bookstore this afternoon also afforded me some very welcoming insight on the uncertain future of book stores.  At that store it appears there was no shortage of book buyers.  To me book stores are like libraries.  They will continue to be important part of our existence for years to come!

And a merry Christmas wish to all!

-  Ayee

The drone is coming to town.

After I heard from "60 Minutes" last Saturday that Amazon.Com was working on deploying the costly drone technique to deliver its goodies, I conjured up a picture of Santa Claus making his Christmas deliveries with a fleet of spider-look alike black robots, instead of its usual team of sweating nose-twitching  reindeers.

And I do not think the hard-working  reindeers  are the only ones who dislike what they did not see in this picture.  Regardless whoever the service-providers are, the change over to deliver by robots would definitely take a dismal toll on people who currently making a living in the delivering business.

In addition, most consumers, myself included, are fairly pleased with the delivery services that the on-line companies are providing.  This is one of the reasons why numbers of people buying on-line are rising.  So why should anyone fix something that is not broken.  -  Ayee

If it is not broken, don’t fix it.

After a national cable network in the north took over the production of a Miami-based business news program on PBS, it gave its newly acquired prize a complete make-over. Among many other things the new owner did to this well-known television program, it retained only one of the many reporters who made this award winning show possible. Now while watching the program as I used to do each evening over the last 25 plus years, I often thought of the reporters and their South Florida-based colleagues who did not make the cut to the new set. It appears only one of its reporting staff under the old regime had survived the changeover. This made me question the reason why the new owner of a favorite news show would want to decimate a winning team that brought the show thousands and thousands, if not millions, of viewers, and many well-deserved professional accolades. - Ayee

Corporate Governance

It appears European countries are way ahead of the curve on this subject.

Last week,after the European Union (EU) enacted a law limiting the bonus to top executives to one year of their salary, Switzerland, not a EU member, added another damper on compensation to the managers of the companies listed on Swiss stock exchanges. According to BBC’s website, the newly passed referendum will give shareholders of these companies a say on the pay to their executives. The new laws in Switzerland also eliminate outrageous severance pay to departing managers.

Besides being of a country known for its highly productive citizens, and pristine environment, Switzerland, a politically neutral country, also becomes the front runner to rein in excessive compensation to business CEO’s. - Ayee .

Climate Change

This year the televised PGA tour season had a “rough” start.

Only three weeks into a new season, two tournaments out of three were delayed due to the inclement weather. The blustering trade wind had shortened the first tournament, The Hyundai Tournament of Champions, in Hawaii, to only three rounds. And a week after, the thick fog in southern California debunked the entire third round of the Farmers Insurance Open on Saturday. So far for the PGA golfers, the weather had not been very kind to them.

As the times go by, it looks to me that Mother Nature had intervened. And I totally agreed with the insightful comments from one of the CBS reporters on the course. While waiting for the play to resume on Saturday, he suggested the tour commissioner worries less on belly-putters but more on issues such as weather condition. In recent years, the weather patterns did become more unpredictable and volatile. I would think these unforseen delays due to bad weather are costly propositions to both the sponsors and the players. - Ayee

Recipes for Success

Now and then, we all have had a cinnamon roll or two for a treat. While busy licking the sticky icing off our fingers, probably none of us would direct our thoughts to the good recipes that bring this ubiquitous snack to the marketplace. A simple product such as a cinnamon roll or a cupcake can be the basic ingredient for a success story in the baking goods business.

And Cinnabon, Inc., is one of these successful companies in the industry. This Atlanta-based franchiser was featured in the last week’s “Undercover Boss.”* It holds the right to market its name sake’s franchise that sells freshly baked cinnamon buns. According to its president, Kate Cole, her company through 9,000 franchisees sold a half billion-dollar worth of cinnamon buns each year. Evidently, even in a bad economic time like what we are facing now, business at Cinnabon’s counter continues to thrive.

Interestingly, two years ago Cinnabon added an extra ingredient in its winning mixtures. It hired Kate Cole. She, at 34 years old, is the youngest CEO ever featured on “Undercover Boss.” Her own recipe for success calls for determination and hard work. Perhaps growing up in a single-mom family had made her more resilient and a better decision maker. She, a college dropout, also has the humility to remember her many mentors who led her to becoming the president of a multimillion-dollar corporation from a Hooter girl at a Hooter’s restaurant. - Ayee

@A CBS Telelvsion Production

Generous Bosses

Now every Friday night, I glued myself to the television watching “Undercover Boss.”* I enjoy this popular reality show because in it everyone is a winner, including a couch potato like me.

The stories uncovered on this weekly show were often uplifting and inspiring. They had provoked many poignant thoughts in me. Somehow the show told us that happy faces are not immune to profound tragedies. As a reality show, its casts are made of real people, including the bosses. We all know real people have real people challenges.

Now let’s count our winnings.

First, for the undercover boss and his(or her) company, they got a worldwide exposure on television which is simply priceless from the marketing aspect of the business. The undercover mission also gave the boss opportunities to view his company from bottom up. So the boss could be more in sync with what was going on within his company. The hands-on intelligence the boss gathered from his undercover operation will also help him take better care of his company’s business.

Next, instead of getting fired or reprimanded for “spilling the beans,” the hard-working and honest employees got recognized with both constructive criticisms and material rewards. And these incentives, tangible and intangible, can be a game changer for the recipients, their colleagues and the company they are working for.

And for a passive viewer like me, this Emmy winning television program had afforded me a chance to see a side of the business that I was not able to discern in a company's news releases, and other business publications. - Ayee

*A CBS production.

More does not mean better.

I do not know if others had the same experiences as I did after my desktop computer was updated with the latest software.

Matter of fact, I am very appreciative of the smart engineers who invented many useful and smart gadgets for us. I do, however, wonder why our computers would need that many updates. My computer is full of them. And the latest ones my computer got did not seem to be very user-friendly either.

After I downloaded the latest Internet software onto my computer a month so ago, accessing to the Net became a snail-paced process. Despite the high-speed services I have on my desktop, now it takes me much longer to get into the cyberspace. And my trouble does not end here. Once on line, the top part of the screen is full of colorful icons that have no uses to me. I am sure the programs these icons represent take up a lot of free spaces on the hard drive.

It must be my third or fourth attempt. A few days ago, I tried again to give my feedback to this blogger’s site, I ended up having four Internet connections at the same time. No wonder, my computer is getting slower.

This newly redesigned site with pleasing orange colored text looks very “busy” to me too. It is teeming with many extra options and tools which the users did not ask for. It is nice to have accesses to all these extra software programs. But who has the extra time needed to explore them? - Ayee

Another one bit the dust.

I had just recycled a digital answering machine at a neighborhood thrift store. Hopefully, someone else can still get some good uses out of this electrical contraption before it becomes part of the heap in the landfills. It looks like that leaps and bounds in telecommunication technology had claimed yet another victim. With features like voice mail, call waiting and caller-ID included in our regular phone service, this 20th century invention is no longer a must-have item in our bustling and hustling life. Our friends and family members have not left any message on our machine for ages. They can contact us instantly through many wireless devices. The messages left in our machine these days are mostly from the telemarketer. Portable answering machine, like what it did to the personal answering services industry, itself becomes redundant and obsolete. Now I wonder which e-gadget will be the next casualty under the fast moving technological cloud? - Ayee

$430 Million of False Medicare Claims*

When I heard the arrest of many healthcare providers in many US cities on fraud charges, I had two thoughts come to mind. First I felt sad for the perpetrators who would commit such despicable crime. What they did to the Medicare program is not only criminal. It is also immoral. We always think that only the destitute resolves to crime to survive. But many arrested are professionals, like doctors, nurses, and administrators. My second thought on this massive fraud case came upon the question on how the costs of the government sponsored medical services are determined? Many years ago, healthcare industry started “de-bundling” their services. We all know when a service got de-bundled, invariably not only the cost to the users of the service rises, so is the complexity of the underlying service. Based on this real life experience, it is not hard for me to speculate perhaps the de-bundling of healthcare plays a pivotal role why oversights and abuses are prevalent in a government program like Medicare. - Ayee *“Medicare Fraud Crack Down,” The Nightly Business Report, October 04, 2012

Number can be misleading.(II)

Yes, indeed. According to what is reported in the news, in 2011 Mitt Romney paid a whopping $1.9 million income tax at the rate of 14%. Personally, I think based on the amount of taxes Mr. Romney paid to the US treasury, not at what the rate he was paying, the public should commend him being a law-biding and productive citizen who contributes to the country’s fiscal well-being. One-million-nine-hundred thousand dollars are a lot of money. It can make some definitive difference in the looming government deficits. When we think mathematically, we will realize that it will take 99% of us, myself included, despite at higher income tax rates, many, many, many years, even life times, to pay $1.9 million in taxes. So let’s pay attention to the actual amount, not the rate, and be fair! - Ayee

“Income-based Repayment” Program

For former students who have problems servicing their monetary obligations to Uncle Sam, this flexible repayment option may help them find some leg-room in their tight cash-flow position.

Last Thursday, Sylvia Hall of the Nightly Business Report told us that under this not widely-used Income-based Repayment plan, student loan payment is pegged at the borrowers’ adjusted earnings. Under this scheme, the amount to pay back each month is limited to15% of the borrowers’ income. If after 25 years or 300 payments, the loans remain unpaid, the government will forgive the entire remaining balance.

Unfortunately, the government’s good intention to help many borrowers of the student loan does come with a couple of catches.

Firstly, the loan the government forgives will become the borrowers’ taxable income.

Secondly, under this plan, the borrowers will be paying more interest on the loan due to higher unpaid balance.

Today, there are only 85,000 out of 1.6 million borrowers of student loans have subscribed to this repayment option. - Ayee