Disney has joined forces with Mayor Bloomberg and the First Lady Michelle Obama in an effort to curb child obesity in the United States.  Hopefully it is not too late.  The numbers are staggering; approximately a quarter of American children are fat.  They will likely grow up to be unhealthy, fat adults who will tap more than their fair share of health care resources (something that is already having a grave impact on the US economy).  It is a $100 Billion per year expense for the economy now, and will only grow unless the trend is reversed, according to the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry.

I think the United States has hit and moved from the bottom when it comes to it’s poor economic numbers.  Not only are several leading indicators up, I have noticed that in my law practice, there are increasing excitement in the local business community. It seems to be a good time, for many possible reasons, to start a new business or purchase an existing one.  I am seeing more investment in business, and more purchase transactions.  While we are obviously far from where we would like to be, things seem to be on the right track.

With this in mind, if you are considering investing in a new or exsisting business, here are some things to consider before signing on the dotted line.

Given the economy, there may some very good deals out there making this the best of times to purchase a new business.  Be smart and careful, but do not let risk be the sole concern in whether you will be moving forward in your endeavors.

The foregoing was inspired by an article written by Joseph Anthony.

As Washington State lawmakers grapple in a special session with another huge budget shortfall, numerous revenue ideas have surfaced from various groups and organizations—including a luxury tax on aircraft—to bring the budget into balance.  Dan Namowitz writes in AOPA Online, that the legislature is once again looking for all possible means to raise revenue to address the huge budget deficit in Washington.

“The legislature, with a desperate need for additional revenue, has already thoroughly vetted the idea of increasing taxes on general aviation aircraft,” said AOPA Director of State Government Affairs Mark Kimberling. “And, they have concluded that such an increase—with a resultant decrease in flying activity and increase in out-of-state aircraft migration—would actually do more harm than good in terms of lost jobs and an actual net loss in revenue for the state.”

On Nov. 21, Gov. Chris Gregoire presented lawmakers with a supplemental state budget containing “more than $2 billion in spending cuts, reductions to local revenue sharing and fund transfers to leave a $600 million reserve.”

“The Great Recession—which has lingered longer and resulted in more job losses than any downturn since the Great Depression—has taken an almost unprecedented toll on our economy and on state revenue collections. Over the past three years, we have had to reduce existing and projected spending by nearly $10.5 billion,” she said.

Gregoire’s three-phase fiscal plan does not include a tax on aircraft. However, she planned to review “even more ideas for reforming government” from the public, and said she would announce additional proposals in the coming weeks.

In the current charged atmosphere of street protests and continued economic stagnation, local news coverage has speculated that possible tax increases, such as a half-cent increase in the sales tax to ease the shortfall, might ultimately pass. An initiative to increase income taxes on wealthy residents of the state, backed by Bill Gates Sr., failed last year.

One group, the Economic Policy Institute, is reported to be urging scrutiny of “luxury taxes” on yachts and private aircraft, as well as estate taxes, for additional revenue production.

“Private aircraft have, unfortunately, been caught up in a lot of symbolic rhetoric emanating out of recent protests and discussions regarding income inequality. Yet, the irony is that ‘luxury tax’ proposals like these may take aim at so called ‘corporate fat cats,’ but at closer glance actually hit middle-income aircraft mechanics and other middle-class industry workers the hardest,” said Kimberling.

The defeat in February of using an aircraft excise tax as a funding mechanism for health insurance marked the second time in two years that a levy on aircraft was rejected. AOPA pointed out during that debate that the cost of aircraft ownership, maintenance, and operation in Washington state was already among the highest in the nation.

During that legislative battle, AOPA communicated with the pilot community regularly through action alerts and other updates. Kimberling credited pilots who contacted their lawmakers with getting out the message that a tax would do the state’s aviation industry even more harm.

Now, with lawmakers divided on the approach to take to plug a $2 billion gap, The Olympian newspaper reported that a sales tax increase was gaining momentum, although other lawmakers were calling for an overhaul of the state tax system.

Law students spend a lot of money to learn dozens of areas of law.  They spend several billions of dollars in tuition in this country each year to learn the history and intricacies of many legal areas.  They cram much learning into a short three year period.  Yet what they do not get, for all that time and money, is much practical training. There are some clinic programs (my school, Gonzaga, has an excellent law clinic program) which teach practicum, but law schools have long emphasized the theoretical over the useful, with classes that are often overstuffed with antiquated distinctions, like the variety of property law in post-feudal England.  David Segal writes in the New York Times, that more and more clients who are paying big dollars for representation, are actually paying big law firms to train (on the clients’ dime) how to actually practice law. Only three percent of law schools require clinical training.  Instead, law schools tend to push their law review publications, which bring more prestige and notoriety to the schools.  My takeaway from the article is that it is advisable for clients of law firms to demand that they pay only for the lead attorney’s time, and not the billed hours for interns and low level associates, who are learning “on the job” and not providing the true value of what is being billed to the client.