Ahhhh.... welcome, summer! With the exception of blistering temperatures, we get along really well. How about you, friends? Are you excited about summer?
Here is our situation on this holiday Monday:
1) GIF: So last week, GIF (graphics interchange format) inventor Steve Wilhite reiterated, during his acceptance speech of a lifetime achievement award, that the GIF mnemonic is pronounced with a soft g ("jif").
Importantly, the Oxford English Dictionary (as an aside, one of the first things Skip and I bonded over was our shared reverence of the OED) accepts both pronunciations (gif or jif - a hard or soft g). Wilhite says, "They are wrong. It is a soft 'G,' pronounced 'jif.' End of story."
First, I think we can agree that the OED is the authority here, and therefore, we can discount anything that is said after the words "they are wrong." It's the OED; they're not wrong. Second, we are talking about graphics interchange format as opposed to jraphics interchange format. Correct? Finally (and this has been buzzing around so much I'm not sure who deserves credit), are we supposed to pronounce GUI (graphical user interface) JUI now?
Sorry, Mr. Wilhite, but both pronunciations are going to have to be acceptable. Huge props on that dancing baby thing from 1996, but it's going to take more than that for me to set aside the findings of the OED.
2) Apple: So Skip has been in a concerned state regarding Apple's tax strategies*. I haven't listened to Tim Cook's congressional testimony in full yet (but I will, as soon as time permits), but the excerpts are compelling. A) Apple is America's largest corporate income tax payer. B) Apple currently pays $16 million in taxes daily. While there is certainly an economy of scale, writing out a $16 million dollar check each day (and that's how my mind works because I certainly could never grasp the year-end figure) is torturous. There is no question the money is owed, but the pain involved in relinquishing those dollars explains why legal tax strategies are deployed. Is it ethical? Perhaps... perhaps not, but it's legal (Skip interjection: Just because you can doesn't necessarily mean you should).
As I analogized to Skip, when we met with our accountant the first tax season after William George was born, we could have declined to list George as a dependent, thereby declining the additional exemption. We could have said, "You know... the average American household has 1.6 children, and therefore, it doesn't seem ethical to claim more than that." However, we listed him, and then we literally "high-fived" when our return increased. Our return is squeaky clean and totally legal, but we could have opted to pay more. Would it have been more ethical? Or is it a ridiculous notion to expect people and entities to pay more than they legally owe?
If the strategy is unethical, consider changing the law. Otherwise, Cook can hardly volunteer to pay more taxes and remain Apple's CEO.
(Skip Interjection: Cook's performance was validating in terms of Jobs having made a good choice to succeed him. He was disarming, credible, and -- by the end of the testimony -- had even folks who were ardent critics on the way in eating from his hand. Not bad for an Alabama boy.
However, the essence of the problems that Apple illustrates remain. Specifically, there were 16 Top Fortune 50 companies that, at one time or another since 2009, paid NO corporate income taxes. Apple, in some of the facts I read, had some revenue streams of BILLIONS of dollars on which their effective rate of taxation was tenths of a percent. With love and respect to my dear wife, that's not the same as the analogy above, i.e., in no case were there years where we JUST DIDN'T PAY. And, there have been no cases where Uncle Sam said to large portions of our income (in Chris Rock voice), "You don't have to worry about those dollars, Mr. and Ms. Lindsey. We're doin' just fine. Shelter those dollars!"
In fewer words, it's a mess, and it's entirely emblematic of messes we have all over the place as a country. We don't have the fortitude to put simpler, non-lobby-able principles and rules in place, and say, "this is the playing field. Same rules for all." Why not?)
Again, Apple is the largest tax payer in America. $16 million per day. Apple pays dearly.
*Because of my love for Apple, Skip brings any negative news story to me and expects an explanation, as if I sit on the Board of Directors**. Yes, of course, I do the same thing to him with any brand to which he is loyal.
**Only in my wildest fantasies.
3) Cook: Speaking of Tim Cook, I do have to laugh about the above assessment of Cook's performance. As Skip and I have joked, a congressional hearing probably pales in comparison to having Steve Jobs (God rest) yell at you on an hourly basis. On the relativity scale, a congressional hearing was probably mildly stressful for him.
4) Target: Leaving the tech world and moving on to another favorite, I was astounded last week to discover an Instagram feed devoted to Target. @Targetdoesitagain is the product of Los Angeles-based user @ascotfriday and showcases the stylish goodness of Target. I've been unabashedly candid about my love of Target and cannot believe this feed has been around for 34 weeks without my knowledge. While I may not have the same fun style as the author, the concept and feed itself are fantastic! Also, I may have discovered the only person who spends more time at Target than I do.
Anyrate. That's what is happening with us. What's going on with you?
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