• EIGHTY-MILLION TEEN TO 20-SOMETHING KIDS form the “biggest age grouping in American history… and are the most threatening yet exciting generation since baby boomers brought about social revolution – not because they’re trying to take over the establishment, but because they’re growing up without one… Because Millennials don’t respect authority, they also don’t resent it – which is why they aren’t rebelling.” But they’re incredibly different. The key traits of Gen Y (or Why?) are (1) Narcissist Personalities – Nearly three times as high as their grandparents generation, to the point that 40% who received so many ‘participation’ trophies growing up “believe they should be promoted every two years, regardless of performance”; (2) Generally Lazy – a Families & Work Institute Study found only 60% of kids under age 23 who “wanted one day to have a job with greater responsibility”… and three times as many middle-school girls want to grow up to be a ‘personal assistant to a famous person’ as want to be a Senator; (3) Me Me Me Entitlement – Exacerbated by technology, socialization is the overpowering focus, as kids send an average of 88 texts daily and live “under the constant influence of their friends…interacting almost entirely through a screen…with constant search for a hit of dopamine…from ‘friend’ and ‘follower’ tallies which serve as sales figures for their personal brand… They also lack the kind of empathy that allows intellectual understanding for others’ point of view.” [TIME – May 20, 13]

    This also leads to lack of respect for ‘office etiquette’ with the result that Millennials often bomb on job interviews. Behavior includes answering cell phones or texting during interviews, dressing inappropriately, and using slang. “Recruiters say one in five recent grads displays unprofessional behavior… and half of HR executives report that most who do land positions are still ‘not professional’ after their first year on the job.” [THE WEEK – May 10, 13]

  • OF THE WORLDS’ 200 WEALTHIEST PEOPLE, sixty have collective net worth around $2.8 trillion controlled through offshore tax-haven-country trusts, holding companies or other entities which shield assets from tax authorities, (as well as government seizure and lawsuits). But here in America, as the federal financial situation worsens, federal tax audits of normal folk have been increasing. Three ‘routine’ types of I.R.S. audits are in force: Correspondence audits involve a simple letter in the mail requesting ‘information documents’ which can often be resolved quickly as long as exact supporting data is timely transmitted; Desk audits require visit to an I.R.S. office to meet personally with a Revenue Agent and pose a riskier scenario; Office audits involve an Agent personally coming to your business office and are the most dangerous. If you’re unlucky enough to be targeted, none should be taken lightly, since failure to respond with appropriate supporting records (which ostensibly existed at the time of filing) can result in a bureaucratic nightmare, substantive tax, interest & penalty assessments, and possible targeting for future audits. DCG has decades of expertise in efficiently and effectively assisting in these matters; call us for guidance.
  • “U.S. COMPANIES ARE BEING TARGETED BY A POWERFUL FOREIGN GOVERNMENT determined to gain access to their most valuable intellectual property…and we’re literally being outgunned in cyber terms… The Chinese equivalent to our Nat’l Security Agency steals broad categories of IP, including technology blueprints, proprietary manufacturing processes, business plans, pricing documents, partnership agreements, emails and contact lists from a wide array of different industries and government agencies… Global companies headquartered in the U.S. used to think of themselves as ‘American’ until it became more fashionable to say ‘borderless’…but vulnerability in cyber space is redefining national security, enterprise risk, IP and oversight…to the point where business leaders and elected officials are considering whether the Chinese military is concocting a technological version of WMD against the United States…and that the likely weapon of choice for World War III is attack on America’s computer networks.” [NACD DIRECTORSHIP – May 3, 13]
  •  THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK: “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” A wonderful video on the value of life and optimizing our time on earth – double click: Philosophy_For_Old_ “Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.” – Kurt Vonnegut