The City of Ravenna in Ohio has an income tax on its residents of 2%. For many years, the City had its own income tax department with two employees who processed all of the tax returns from residents. The annual cost of that income tax department was most recently estimated to be $173,000 (“Ravenna will […]
Continue readingHow does the change in selling price impact the break even point for Amazon’s Fire Phone?
In July of 2014, Amazon came out with a smartphone, the Amazon Fire phone. The phone sports 3-D visuals and is tightly integrated into the Amazon ecosystem. For example, the Firefly feature can scan and recognize over 70 million products that the consumer is able to purchase or look up immediately from his or her […]
Continue readingShould the original cost of the planes for Afghanistan’s air force purchased by the U.S. Air Force influence its decision to scrap those planes?
The U.S. Air Force recently destroyed 16 transport planes (refurbished G222 planes) that it had purchased for $486 million in 2011. These transport planes were to be used by Afghanistan’s air force but were abandoned due to persistent high maintenance costs. An Afghanistan company paid $0.06 per pound for the scrap, or a total of […]
Continue readingWhy might Ford be shifting some jobs from Mexico to the United States?
Ford is moving production of its 2016 Ford F-650 and F-750 medium-duty trucks to its Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake, near Cleveland, Ohio. Currently those medium-duty trucks are produced in Mexico. Ford will be investing $168 million in the Avon Lake facility to retool the plant since it is currently set up to produce […]
Continue readingShould the town of Allentown, PA, outsource its pension check-writing?
For years, the City of Allentown, PA, has had its payroll clerk write the pension checks to its retirees every two weeks. The pension check-writing system is based in an older accounting system that was installed in 1983. The only person who has been trained to use the older accounting system to write the pension […]
Continue readingShould Apple Country Orchards sell Granny Smith apples or make cider from those apples?
Apple Country Orchards in Idalou, Texas, has 6,000 apple trees and offers 30 varieties of apples. The orchard is 29 years old and allows customers to pick their own apples or to purchase pre-picked apples. In addition to apples and apple picking, the orchard offers hayrides, lunch, pumpkins, and a variety of other items. Apple […]
Continue readingWhy did Hawaiian Airlines make the decision to offer iPad Minis for in-flight rental?
In 2013, Hawaiian Airlines made the decision to add 1,500 iPad Minis to its older Boeing 767 widebody jets to make them available for passengers to rent during flights. Prior to the iPad Minis, these aircraft had dated portable “digEplayers” for its passengers to rent. Presumably, these dated devices have become less attractive to today’s […]
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