The Writer's Life 2/11 - Fair Market Value

Most parents do a lot for their children. How much is too far? Here's a summary of a NY Post article by Kathianne Boniello: A Hanoi woman and her daughter are being sued by a college admissions consultant. The woman agreed to pay $1.5 million to help get her kid into a prestigious prep school and Ivy League college. The fee was charged by The Ivy Coach, a Manhattan-based independent education consultant, which claims to have received only half of what it is owed. Independent consultants charge anywhere from $85 to $350 an hour, and comprehensive packages range from $850 to $10,000. The daughter was accepted into the Solebury School in Pennsylvania, which costs more than $55,000 a year, and a social-media post suggests she has gained early admission into Dartmouth. Is that fair market value?

More school-related madness from Yahoo's Odd News: A Tokyo public school has adopted Giorgio Armani uniforms for students, triggering criticism in a country where hefty school fees are burdening young parents. A complete set of the new uniform option will cost more than the equivalent of $730 U.S. dollars.

How many times has it been said on cop shows: "Eyewitness accounts are unreliable."? Here's something from Yahoo's Odd News that disproves it in a humorous way: A simple sketch helped police ID a man suspected of stealing money from a market. Although it was cartoonish, it helped remind an investigator of a potential suspect - great police work. Here it is:

Free agent pitcher Yu Darvish has signed with the Chicago Cubs, six years, $126 million. I believe he is vastly over-rated. It will be interesting to see how he fares in the hitter-friendly confines of Wrigley Field.

This doesn't mean much but it's a fun fact: This week 18 of the 25 top ranked college basketball teams were defeated.

The floating book shop was rained put today, which allowed me time to finalize my tax return. I've been doing it piecemeal the past few weeks in order to lessen the annoyance. My results are almost identical to last year. I owe zero to the Feds, and will receive about $140 from the gangsters who run the state and city of NY, up one dollar from last year. That's after Turbo tax takes its cut, which came to about half. For the past two years I've been taking the funds in a Net Spend card. Since those slimes deducted five bucks here and there, I was going to go a different way. I wonder if there were complaints about them. This year TT is offering a re-loadable card through a bank. I won't be surprised if similar shenanigans take place. It's all about the money.

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