It’s hard to read about the victims in Connecticut without shedding tears. It’s hard to process how a gunman can shoot his mother, young children and teachers. It’s hopeful to see social media serve as a platform through which people are lobbying Congress for gun control and showing deeply-felt empathy for the families. But, I hope
Category: Politics
Thoughts on the Election
Whether your side won or lost last night, there’s one conclusion that is clear: the U.S. is a different country now. The politics of the day used to revolve around winning the “white” vote. Well, Romney carried that vote, and he lost. Women and minorities pushed Obama over the magic 270 Electoral number. In other
My Taxes (and How Did My Congressman, Barney Frank, Become a Millionaire?)
Our marginal income tax rate will be 54.1%: 35% Federal, 5.3% State, 3.8% Medicare and 10% for charities (we give away 10% of our pre-tax income; see “A VC’s View on Charitable Giving”). And, if the Bush tax rates expire, add another 5%. This all just covers wages, and it excludes the coming 3.8% investment
The Prez Election Pisses Me Off
I’m an immigrant to the U.S., as I’ve written before (read “Only in America”). I’m very patriotic. So, I watch closely the campaigns for the Presidency. I’m a registered Independent. Frankly, I’m disappointed with both sides. The campaigns have really focused on 30-second ads, that try to be “dramatic” and catch our attention. In a
Interesting Book on Obama and GOP
I’ve been reading Bob Woodward’s new book called “The Price of Politics.” It’s about the early years of the Obama administration and the grappling over a potential government shut down and debt default. It’s awesome. Just like his books on the Bush administration, this one is well-written. Here are my impressions: Obama: Awful at connecting
A Roundtable discussion with the Business Czar
Yesterday, I participated in a roundtable discussion on Big Data, led by Greg Bialiecki. He is on the Governor’s team. Wade Roush calls him the “Business Czar” in an article here. I’ve been investing in Big Data, before there was such a label, since 2003: StreamBase, Vertica (sold to HP), Goby (sold to Telenav), VoltDB and Paradigm4.