• THE AGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE requires technical skills and data literacy that is beyond most of today’s workforce. While competing with robots ever will not be won by humans, our ‘soft skills’ will become even more critical as the nature of ‘work’ evolves, with capabilities embodying: (1) Creative and imaginative thinking; (2) Analytical thinking, using logic & reasoning to weigh the impact of various solutions; (3) Emotional Intelligence for awareness, control & expression of emotions, and communication skills to effectively connect with other humans; (4) Mindset to expand knowledge & skills, and to take on challenges; (5) Judgment capacity to consider implications of decision-making for increasingly complex matters; (6) Leadership skills to inspire and guide work teams which have increasingly diverse cultural perceptions; (7) Ability to embrace change. “All these skills are in areas that robots can’t do so well.” [FORBES – 9/28/20]
  • ‘CRITICAL RACE THEORY’ AND ‘WHITE PRIVILEGE’ TRAINING were mandatory H.R. compliance programs for all federal employees until just last month, but some elementary students in Virginia, ages 6 -11, are still getting the indoctrination, “spelled out as ’15 Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture,’ identifying traits such as Objectivity, Perfectionism, and Individualism as ‘Racist’ in nature, when reality is that the indoctrination is actually and alarmingly what’s Racist, as well as ignorant.” Other traits listed are: Sense of Urgency, Defensiveness, Quantity over Quality, Worship of the Written Word, Only One Right Way, Paternalism, Either/Or Thinking, Power Hoarding, Fear of Open Conflict, I’m the Only One, Progress is Bigger & More, Right to Comfort.  [ZEROHEDGE – 10/8/20]
  • RUSSIAN STATE MEDIA, THE BASTION OF PRESS & PEOPLES’ FREEDOM, have been reporting about ‘Crisis of Democracy in America’ with news headlines & articles including: “This is the country that presumes to lecture us about free & fair elections; their system is dishonest and disgusting, determined not by the voters but by the elite…   Their system has become ridiculously anti-democratic…  Democrats are using big money to try and buy their way to a convincing Election Day win…  Billionaires are spending a chunk of $100 billion in Florida to re-enfranchise thousands of felons… The U.S. will not survive its presidential election as a single nation, and certainly will not survive as a single society, as two political tribes are right now preparing the ground to declare falsifications and a conspiracy against themselves.” (They’re not altogether wrong, but what nerve!)    [THE WEEK – 10/9/20]
  • THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS LEAKED ITS PURPORTED PLAN FOR FURTHER TAX REDUCTIONS in the President’s anticipated second term: Key points involve: (1) further drop in corporate tax rate to 20%, along with tax credits for bringing jobs back from China and/or products ‘Made in America’; (2) middle class tax reduction of 10%; (3) capital gain rate reduction to 15% up to $440K taxable income, then 20%; (4) ‘Explore America’ credit for domestic travel of $8K for married couples with $500 for children through age 16.   [ARMANINO TAX ALERT – 10/7/20]
  • THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK:

          In this next decade, the global model of markets are projected to become “violently unwound” with profound adverse impact – economically and environmentally – on America, but disastrous financial impact on the rest of the world.  A comprehensible (and distressing) perspective is presented in 40 minutes, worth viewinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT6HFCAFDgU