It’s no secret Uncle Sam has been living above his means. He hasn’t balanced his budget since 2001. He put trillions on his American Express card to pay for Covid relief. And now, as he struggles to extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 later this year, he’s fighting to flesh out a budget resolution that authorizes $86 trillion in spending through 2034. If he was your real uncle, you might be googling “Debtors Anonymous” meetings in your neighborhood.
Pizza Pizza
In 2016, the curtain rose on Ben Affleck’s movie, The Accountant. Spoiler alert: he’s not just an accountant. Sure, the character Christian Wolff spends his workdays laundering money for the mob. But what accountant doesn’t do that? (Well, besides us.) No, the real surprise is that he’s a stone-cold killer, taking out 28 characters in the course of a meandering, two-hour plot. If you watch closely enough, you’ll even see one guy get killed twice.
The Other Awards Show
The IRS doesn’t host anything quite so glamorous as the Oscars. There’s no red carpet. There aren’t any reporters asking who the stars are wearing (and for the IRS, it wouldn’t be more glamorous than Kohl’s). There aren’t any all-night after-parties in Beverly Hills or Bel Air. But they do have their own awards list. Last week, the IRS released its 2025 Dirty Dozen list: “the worst of the worst tax scams.”
Top 10 Words That (Sort Of) Rhyme With “Tax”
Late-night talk show host David Letterman delighted audiences with his wry, subversive “Top Ten” lists for an impressive 33 years. Since he left his show, BuzzFeed has taken over the listicle game. So here, in their honor, we present The Top 10 Taxing Words That (Sort Of) Rhyme With “Tax.” Drumroll, please!
Check, Bet, Fold
Right now, there are more than 1.3 million lawyers practicing in America. (How’s that for a scary opener?)
At the same time, the United States Supreme Court accepts just 100-150 cases per year.
That means most lawyers never get within sniffing distance of arguing in front of the nine justices. For those who do, it’s usually the honor of a lifetime. They leave the building with handcrafted souvenir quill pens the Court gives to lawyers who appear before them.
“Don’t Drive Angry!”
Three hundred sixty-four days out of the year, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania is a sleepy one-horse town of 5,800 souls, nestled in the foothills of the Appalachians 84 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. But on that other glorious day of the year, it’s the center of the universe. On February 2, a mangy groundhog named Phil dons a top hat and comes out of his hole to look for his shadow. If he sees it, we’re doomed to six more weeks of winter. If not, spring is on its way.