A Fine Mess

A Fine Mess PDF Author: T. R. Reid
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0735223963
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
New York Times bestelling author T. R. Reid travels around the world to solve the urgent problem of America's failing tax code, unravelling a complex topic in plain English - and telling a rollicking story along the way. The U.S. tax code is a total write-off. Crammed with loopholes and special interest provisions, it works for no one except tax lawyers, accountants, and huge corporations. Not for the first time, we have reached a breaking point. That happened in 1922, and again in 1954, and again in 1986. In other words, every thirty-two years. Which means that the next complete overhaul is due in 2018. But what should be in this new tax code? Can we make the U.S. tax system simpler, fairer, and more efficient? Yes, yes, and yes. Can we cut tax rates and still bring in more revenue? Yes. Other rich countries, from Estonia to New Zealand to the UK—advanced, high-tech, free-market democracies—have all devised tax regimes that are equitable, effective, and easy on the taxpayer. But the United States has languished. So byzantine are the current statutes that, by our government’s own estimates, Americans spend six billion hours and $10 billion every year preparing and filing their taxes. In the Netherlands that task takes a mere fifteen minutes! Successful American companies like Apple, Caterpillar, and Google effectively pay no tax at all in some instances because of loopholes that allow them to move profits offshore. Indeed, the dysfunctional tax system has become a major cause of economic inequality. In A Fine Mess, T. R. Reid crisscrosses the globe in search of the exact solutions to these urgent problems. With an uncanny knack for making a complex subject not just accessible but gripping, he investigates what makes good taxation (no, that’s not an oxymoron) and brings that knowledge home where it is needed most. Never talking down or reflexively siding with either wing of politics, T. R. Reid presses the case for sensible root-and-branch reforms with a companionable ebullience. This affects everyone. Doing our taxes will never be America's favorite pastime, but it can and should be so much easier and fairer.

A Fine Mess

A Fine Mess PDF Author: T. R. Reid
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0735223963
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Get Book

Book Description
New York Times bestelling author T. R. Reid travels around the world to solve the urgent problem of America's failing tax code, unravelling a complex topic in plain English - and telling a rollicking story along the way. The U.S. tax code is a total write-off. Crammed with loopholes and special interest provisions, it works for no one except tax lawyers, accountants, and huge corporations. Not for the first time, we have reached a breaking point. That happened in 1922, and again in 1954, and again in 1986. In other words, every thirty-two years. Which means that the next complete overhaul is due in 2018. But what should be in this new tax code? Can we make the U.S. tax system simpler, fairer, and more efficient? Yes, yes, and yes. Can we cut tax rates and still bring in more revenue? Yes. Other rich countries, from Estonia to New Zealand to the UK—advanced, high-tech, free-market democracies—have all devised tax regimes that are equitable, effective, and easy on the taxpayer. But the United States has languished. So byzantine are the current statutes that, by our government’s own estimates, Americans spend six billion hours and $10 billion every year preparing and filing their taxes. In the Netherlands that task takes a mere fifteen minutes! Successful American companies like Apple, Caterpillar, and Google effectively pay no tax at all in some instances because of loopholes that allow them to move profits offshore. Indeed, the dysfunctional tax system has become a major cause of economic inequality. In A Fine Mess, T. R. Reid crisscrosses the globe in search of the exact solutions to these urgent problems. With an uncanny knack for making a complex subject not just accessible but gripping, he investigates what makes good taxation (no, that’s not an oxymoron) and brings that knowledge home where it is needed most. Never talking down or reflexively siding with either wing of politics, T. R. Reid presses the case for sensible root-and-branch reforms with a companionable ebullience. This affects everyone. Doing our taxes will never be America's favorite pastime, but it can and should be so much easier and fairer.

Another Fine Mess

Another Fine Mess PDF Author: Saul Austerlitz
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
ISBN: 1569767637
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 529

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Book Description
Charlie Chaplin. Buster Keaton. The Marx Brothers. Billy Wilder. Woody Allen. The Coen brothers. Where would the American film be without them? Yet the cinematic genre these artists represent--comedy--has perennially received short shrift from critics, film buffs, and the Academy Awards. Saul Austerlitz’s Another Fine Mess is an attempt to right that wrong. Running the gamut of film history from City Lights to Knocked Up, Another Fine Mess retells the story of American film from the perspective of its unwanted stepbrother--the comedy. In 30 long chapters and 100 shorter entries, each devoted primarily to a single performer or director, Another Fine Mess retraces the steps of the American comedy film, filling in the gaps and following the connections that link Mae West to Doris Day, or W. C. Fields to Will Ferrell. The first book of its kind in more than a generation, Another Fine Mess is an eye-opening, entertaining, and enlightening tour of the American comedy, encompassing the masterpieces, the box-office smashes, and all the little-known gems in between.

Another Fine Mess

Another Fine Mess PDF Author: Tim Moore
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1473554802
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
Tim Moore - indefatigable travelling everyman – switches two wheels for four as he journeys across Trumpland in an original Model T Ford. ‘Alarmingly full of incident, very funny – even mildly transformative’ Daily Mail Lacking even the most basic mechanical knowhow, Tim Moore sets out to cross Trumpland USA in an original Model T Ford. Armed only with a fan belt made of cotton, wooden wheels and a trunkload of ‘wise-ass Limey liberal gumption’, his route takes him exclusively through Donald-voting counties, meeting the everyday folks who voted red along the way. He meets a people defined by extraordinary generosity, willing to shift heaven and earth to keep him on the road. And yet, this is clearly a nation in conflict with itself: citizens ‘tooling up’ in reaction to ever-increasing security fears; a healthcare system creaking to support sugar-loaded soda lovers; a disintegrating rust belt all but forgotten by the warring media and political classes. With his trademark blend of slapstick humour, affable insight and butt-clenching peril, Tim Moore invites us on an unforgettable road trip through America. Buckle up!

Another Fine Mess

Another Fine Mess PDF Author: Helen Epstein
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780997722925
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Is the West to blame for the agony of Uganda and its neighbors? In this powerful account of Ugandan dictator Yoweri Museveni's 30 year reign, Helen Epstein chronicles how Western leaders' single-minded focus on the War on Terror and their naïve dealings with strongmen are at the root of much of the turmoil in eastern and central Africa. Museveni's involvement in the conflicts in Sudan, South Sudan, Rwanda, Congo, and Somalia has earned him substantial amounts of military and development assistance, as well as near-total impunity. It has also short-circuited the power the people of this region might otherwise have over their destiny. Epstein set out for Uganda more than 20 years ago to work as a public health consultant on an AIDS project. Since then, the roughly $20 billion worth of foreign aid poured into the country by donors has done little to improve the well-being of the Ugandan people, whose rates of illiteracy, mortality, and poverty surpass those of many neighboring countries. Money meant to pay for health care, education, and other public services has instead been used by Museveni to shore up his power through patronage, brutality, and terror. Another Fine Mess is a devastating indictment of the West's Africa policy and an authoritative history of the crises that have ravaged Uganda and its neighbors since the end of the Cold War. "A stunning new book of reportage and analysis." --Pankaj Mishra, Bloomberg

Another Fine Mess

Another Fine Mess PDF Author: Tony Bonning
Publisher: Gullane Publishing
ISBN: 9781862331457
Category : Animals
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
When a fox cleans his den to prepare for a visit from his uncle, his trash inadvertently makes the rounds of the homes of other animals before ending up right back where it began.

A Beautiful Mess Weekday Weekend

A Beautiful Mess Weekday Weekend PDF Author: Emma Chapman
Publisher: Chronicle Books
ISBN: 1452155763
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
The popular blog offers their first cookbook, featuring a mix of vegetarian recipes that allow you to eat responsibly and occasionally indulge yourself. A Beautiful Mess is one of the most popular DIY style blogs in the world, with more than one million readers. Co-creators (and sisters) Emma Chapman and Elsie Larson share their unique and approachable diet with fans and healthy eaters in this, their first cookbook. Their philosophy involves eating responsibly during the week—avoiding refined flours, sugars, alcohol, and dairy—and indulging on weekends. Vetted by nutritionists and divided into four parts (breakfast, meals, snacks and sweets, and drinks), each containing a weekday and weekend chapter. This one-of-a-kind ebook makes it perfect for anyone looking for a lifestyle change—or simply more healthy and delicious go-to recipes!

Another Fine Mess

Another Fine Mess PDF Author: Annie West
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781848407053
Category : Death
Languages : en
Pages : 98

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Book Description
An illustrated and humourous assembly of a fine cast of those who met untimely (and entertaining) ends.

The First Mess Cookbook

The First Mess Cookbook PDF Author: Laura Wright
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0698409876
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
The blogger behind the Saveur award-winning blog The First Mess shares her eagerly anticipated debut cookbook, featuring more than 125 beautifully prepared seasonal whole-food recipes. Home cooks head to The First Mess for Laura Wright’s simple-to-prepare seasonal vegan recipes but stay for her beautiful photographs and enchanting storytelling. In her debut cookbook, Wright presents a visually stunning collection of heirloom-quality recipes highlighting the beauty of the seasons. Her 125 produce-forward recipes showcase the best each season has to offer and, as a whole, demonstrate that plant-based wellness is both accessible and delicious. Wright grew up working at her family’s local food market and vegetable patch in southern Ontario, where fully stocked root cellars in the winter and armfuls of fresh produce in the spring and summer were the norm. After attending culinary school and working for one of Canada’s original local food chefs, she launched The First Mess at the urging of her friends in order to share the delicious, no-fuss, healthy, seasonal meals she grew up eating, and she quickly attracted a large, international following. The First Mess Cookbook is filled with more of the exquisitely prepared whole-food recipes and Wright’s signature transporting, magical photography. With recipes for every meal of the day, such as Fluffy Whole Grain Pancakes, Romanesco Confetti Salad with Meyer Lemon Dressing, Roasted Eggplant and Olive Bolognese, and desserts such as Earl Grey and Vanilla Bean Tiramisu, The First Mess Cookbook is a must-have for any home cook looking to prepare nourishing plant-based meals with the best the seasons have to offer.

A Perfect Mess

A Perfect Mess PDF Author: Eric Abrahamson
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0759516499
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
Ever since Einstein's study of Brownian Motion, scientists have understood that a little disorder can actually make systems more effective. But most people still shun disorder-or suffer guilt over the mess they can't avoid. No longer! With a spectacular array of true stories and case studies of the hidden benefits of mess, A Perfect Mess overturns the accepted wisdom that tight schedules, organization, neatness, and consistency are the keys to success. Drawing on examples from business, parenting, cooking, the war on terrorism, retail, and even the meteoric career of Arnold Schwarzenegger, coauthors Abrahmson and Freedman demonstrate that moderately messy systems use resources more efficiently, yield better solutions, and are harder to break than neat ones.Applying this idea on scales both large (government, society) and small (desktops, garages), A Perfect Mess uncovers all the ways messiness can trump neatness, and will help you assess the right amount of disorder for any system. Whether it's your company's management plan or your hallway closet that bedevils you, this book will show you why to say yes to mess.

Barrow's Boys

Barrow's Boys PDF Author: Fergus Fleming
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
ISBN: 0802197558
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 733

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Book Description
From the author of Ninety Degrees North, a spellbinding account of how officers of the British Navy explored the world after the Napoleonic Wars. In 1816, John Barrow, second secretary to the British admiralty, launched the most ambitious program of exploration the world has ever seen. For the next thirty years, his handpicked teams of elite British naval officers scoured the globe from the Arctic to Antarctica, their mission: to fill the blanks that littered the atlases of the day. Barrow’s Boys is the spellbinding story of these adventurers, the perils they faced—including eating mice, their shoes, and even each other to survive—and the challenges they overcame on their odysseys into the unknown. Many of these expeditions are considered the greatest in history, and here they’ve been collected into one volume that captures the full sweep of Barrow’s program. “Here is all the adventure you could want, stirringly and generously told.” —Anthony Brandt, National Geographic Adventure “History at its most romantic.” —The Columbus Dispatch “A sure bet for fans of Caroline Alexander’s The Endurance, this captivating survey of England’s exploration during the nineteenth century illuminates a host of forgotten personalities.” —Publishers Weekly “Travel history of the best kind: entertaining, informed and opinionated.” —The Sunday Times