Dear Dick I’ve been happily working at my current job. I’m an electrician. I love my co-workers. I look forward to coming to work every day. The employee benefits are good, particularly, the health care coverage for me and my family. Everything is fine. That is, until 5 pm last Friday. My supervisor called me into the conference room. I lost my job along with 20 other employees. The company needed to cut costs to remain profitable. Since then, […]
As we continue to move forward after the pandemic, the U.S. unemployment rate hit a two year low of 3.6% in March of 2022. The hospitality industry was the first to be devastated by COVID 19. Restaurants are gradually recovering due to easing COVID-19 restrictions allowing for higher (in some places, even 100%) indoor capacity. However, many restaurants and small businesses are still struggling with issues like inflation when it comes to hiring employees back from when they lost millions […]
Weeks after news that the Department of Justice’s four-year-old “China Initiative” would be dissolved, some experts now warn the program that largely targeted Chinese immigrants and visiting academics could be revived as easily as it was killed–and that its influence lingers on. “The pendulum could swing back the other way on that,” Mitch Ambrose, who heads science policy newsletters and tracking resources at the American Institute of Physics, told the Sampan. “There’s clearly interest among certain Republicans in bringing back […]
A Trump-era Department of Justice initiative that critics say unfairly targets Chinese Americans is ending, but some say the damage has already been done. The “China Initiative” was launched in 2018 when the DOJ was run by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The program was intended to defend the United States against what officials believed to be intellectual property theft conducted by the Chinese government, but it has been criticized for unfairly targeting Chinese scientists in the U.S., and some say […]
Even if you were not expecting to file a tax return for the 2021 year, the Internal Revenue Service is urging you to consider filing, as it could pay off. Literally. The IRS recently issued a notice about expanded tax credits for families and other expanded credits and benefits potentially available to many eligible filers. This includes the Recovery Rebate Credit, Child Tax Credit, Credit for Child and Dependent Care Expenses and the Earned Income Tax Credit. The expanded benefits, […]
February 11th was International Day of Women and Girls in Science. It reminded me that the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are currently the fastest growing segment of the economy with employers desperately seeking talent— and that talent includes women! When I received a job offer from the IBM Corporation as a Scientific Programmer, l was thrilled. So, I accepted without reservation. At that time, I was in graduate school studying mathematics with a focus on analytics […]
As the 2022 tax filing season begins, the Internal Revenue Service is asking taxpayers to file tax return electronically and use direct deposit for refunds. Here’s why that would be a good idea: Using a direct deposit is the safest and most convenient way to receive a tax refund. Choosing IRS direct deposit is the fastest way for taxpayers to get their refund. Getting your refund electronically is secure. Since refunds are electronically deposited, there’s no risk of having a paper check stolen or […]
The most recent Federal job market report showed a strong economy rebuilding itself in spite of Covid waves. Employers added nearly half a million jobs in January 2022. Even more surprising to many, the restaurant and hotel industry has started adding jobs. President Biden noted, with the usual flair seen from Chief Executives, “America’s job machine is going stronger than ever.” What does this mean? We can certainly be comforted by numbers by the definitive objectivity of numbers, but there’s […]
On Monday, the Asian American Civic Association (AACA) announced the launch of the AACA Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) to support English as a second language speakers and low-income individuals who need assistance resolving tax disputes with the IRS. Headquartered at the AACA office on Tyler Street in Chinatown, the AACA LITC prides itself in being the only LITC in Massachusetts dedicated to supporting the Asian community, with specialized translation services in Chinese, Vietnamese, and more in development. Though funded […]
Adult education can be a difficult trail for any of us to start. Whether we’re 18 or 80, the path is not always clearly visible. There are brambles in the way, overgrown bushes, fallen trees, and strange creatures jumping out at various moments to keep us on our toes. No matter how equipped we might feel we are, there’s never any guarantee we’ll be in the same shape at the end of the trip as we were when we started […]
