Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA): Empowering Families Through School Choice Max Effgen, September 26, 2025 The Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA), codified under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) in 2025, creates a permanent, uncapped federal tax-credit scholarship program. It incentivizes private donations to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs) with dollar-for-dollar tax credits up to $1,700 per return. Eligible families (up to 300% of…
Fixing the World’s Largest Machine Max Effgen, September 8, 2025 The North American Power Grid in the Age of AI and Cloud Computing What is the world’s biggest machine—and how we can fix it? You are connected to this machine every day. With a simple flick of a finger, we tap into its immense power, and we only truly notice…
How to Win Friends and Influence People Max Effgen, August 23, 2025 Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, first published in 1936, remains one of the most influential self-help books of all time. Its timeless principles on human interaction, communication, and leadership have guided millions in building meaningful relationships and achieving personal and professional success. It has sold over…
AI Tools for Entrepreneurs to Boost Productivity and Innovation Max Effgen, August 13, 2025August 13, 2025 In today’s fast-paced business landscape, entrepreneurs face immense pressure to innovate, scale, and operate efficiently while keeping costs low. Guess what? Today will be fast paced. Yesterday was fast paced. Tomorrow will be fast paced. Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools have emerged as transformative solutions, enabling startups to streamline operations, enhance…
Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) Exclusion Max Effgen, July 28, 2025 Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) Exclusion: Tax Incentive for Entrepreneurship The Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) exclusion, codified under Section 1202 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), is a significant U.S. tax benefit designed to encourage investment in small businesses and foster entrepreneurship. Enacted as part of the Omnibus Reconciliation…
Dreiser’s The Financier Max Effgen, July 17, 2025 “The Financier,” published in 1912, is the first book in Theodore Dreiser’s “Trilogy of Desire,” depicting the life of Frank Cowperwood, a character inspired by real-life tycoon Charles Yerkes. Set during the Gilded Age, it examines the intersection of finance, politics, and personal ambition, offering a critique of capitalism’s ethical…
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game Max Effgen, July 1, 2025 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis Michael Lewis’s Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game is a captivating exploration of innovation, underdog triumph, and the clash between tradition and data-driven decision-making in Major League Baseball (MLB). Published in 2003, the book chronicles the 2002…
The Soul of a New Machine Max Effgen, June 10, 2025 Tracy Kidder’s The Soul of a New Machine was an assignment for an Organization Behavior class at University of Michigan in the early 1990s. It has become one of the books I have re-read in my career. The technology has improved. This could easily be about the development of a…
Great and glorious game Max Effgen, May 23, 2025May 16, 2025 A. Bartlett Giamatti, a scholar of Renaissance literature, former president of Yale University, and the seventh commissioner of Major League Baseball, left an indelible mark on the sport through his eloquent and profound writings. His collection, A Great and Glorious Game: Baseball Writings of A. Bartlett Giamatti, edited by Kenneth…
Julius Caesar’s Commentaries Max Effgen, May 8, 2025 The Commentaries are two of my favorite works. I did not expect to enjoy them and have pulled many lessons from them over the years. Julius Caesar’s Commentaries, specifically Commentarii de Bello Gallico (Commentaries on the Gallic War) and Commentarii de Bello Civili (Commentaries on the Civil War), are remarkable…