For almost half a century, attorney J. Harlan Stamper has sorted through U.S. tax law. He's only recently stepped back from preparing other people's returns.
JOB FAIR STRATEGIES: Career fairs — geared to students, specialized industries and the general public — are drawing record crowds as job losses keep coming.
Rates on 30-year mortgages fell this week to the lowest level on record after the Federal Reserve launched a new effort to assist the staggering U.S. housing market.
You see the B12 bus go by in the Bronx and an ad for Jackson Hewitt Tax Preparation services saying, "Loan money now; get your money right up front," with the image of a smiling family. Or you get something in the mail talking about how you will get a free Metro Card, or how you can instantly get a refund loan without having to wait for the IRS.
It had all the elements of a paperback thriller: the innocent newlyweds, the mysterious account held by an obscure bank in Boca Raton, the faceless corporation controlling everything behind the scenes.
Laurie Orlov grew up in the corporate high-tech world, working for 30 years as an information technology executive and later as an analyst for Forrester Research, the respected technology research company.
