The Blue Sky Chronicles

Welcome. This site is newly up and running. Ideally, I would like this to include a thoughtful presentation of topics I find of interest and import, as well as an opportunity for more personal musings that others might enjoy as well. 

At the outset, I will focus on tax law and policy, which I believe is genuinely fascinating. The bad press tax law receives most likely is due to the dreaded April 15th deadline each of us face annually and the attendant battery of forms and instructions that accompany it. Form 1040, I admit, is not sexy. Form 1040 and its friends, are at best tedious and often opaque. I do not plan to write much about Forms.  It is the big picture that is really great. I would like to go against the tide of popular thought and reveal — at least by degrees — a larger view.

I believe this is important because tax law is a powerful means by which to effect social and economic change. For example, the pecentage of Americans who own their own homes is greater than the percentage of homeowners in the European Union. Why? Our tax laws allow us to deduct interest we pay on our home mortgage and state and local property taxes. It makes financial sense to own a home in the United States. Without these tax incentives, many of us might not choose, or be able, to own our own homes. Such is the case in much of the European Union. This is just one example. There are hundreds of others. Thus, it makes sense to understand how this powerful tool shapes and influences what we as consumers, do.

In addition, for lesser politicians, tax-related legislation can be a handy means by which to introduce favors to cherished interest groups without incurring great uproar, since such legislation is often technical and complex. I believe that we as citizens (and taxpayers) need to understand such legislation and require that our elected representatives to at the very least, be up front regarding what they propose to enact into law. As I work to understand new legislation and new laws, I will try to make sense of them in my postings as well as find links to sites that may do a better job of clarifying such things than I.

And as for other musings — not tax-related — we’ll see where they lead. Some days I feel as though I am bursting with ideas. So we’lll see. The sky is the limit.