Tax Scams and Scammers Cheat All of Us The IRS issued it “Dirty Dozen list of tax scams" Tuesday, highlighting fraudulent schemes commonly committed by and upon taxpayers. The annual warning, released to coincide with tax filing season, emphasizes the most egregious schemes involving filing false returns or return items,... Read more →
Making Sense of our Entitlement Society The one issue that divides us as a nation more than any other is “entitlement ethics.” Entitlement theory comes from the Theory of Justice. Here, I discuss the theory as espoused by two philosophers – John Rawls and Robert Nozick – and evaluate it... Read more →
Is it Wrong to Sell a Book and Profit after a not-guilty Verdict? Perhaps you’ve heard that the trustee overseeing Casey Anthony's bankruptcy case has filed a motion to sell the rights to her story so she can pay her debts. In a motion filed last Friday in federal court... Read more →
Ethical Issues and Instagram Social networking websites (such as Facebook, MySpace, Google+, Twitter, and LinkedIn) have become the established norm for communication and maintaining relationships. While these websites are useful tools for exchanging information, many users are concerned that their personal details are being circulated far more widely than they... Read more →
Is it Ethical to Save Four People at the Expense of One? Lessons from the Talmud On Tuesday I posted a blog that presented two ethical dilemmas based on the “Trolley Problem.” The Trolley Problem is a thought experiment in ethics, first introduced by Philippa Foot in 1967. Others have... Read more →
Ethical Dilemmas Challenge our Reasoning Skills What Is Ethics? The term ethics is derived from the Greek word ethikos which itself is derived from the Greek word ethos, meaning “custom” or “character.” In philosophy, ethical behavior is that which is “good.” The Western tradition of ethics is sometimes called moral... Read more →
TSA TO ALLOW WEAPONS ON PLANES: SERIOUSLY? Forrest Gump quotes are uncomplicated, basic and true. They are almost Zen-like in their simplicity. One of the best Forrest Gump quotes is "stupid is as stupid does" which may not be poetry or very deep, but it ends up being true and... Read more →
The Lost Art of Civility Civility: It seems to be discussed everywhere today. It seems to be misunderstood in most of those discussions. I have written about the loss of civility in society many times, but it always is worth a return visit since I believe it is the number... Read more →
Governor Brown Insensitive to the Effects of Budget Cuts and Seeks to Control Academic Decision-Making This blog first appeared as an article on February 18, 2013 in The Chronicle of Higher Education. It challenges California Governor Jerry Brown’s recent intrusion into the process of academic freedom. Gov. Jerry Brown's 2013-14... Read more →