-
September 30, 2020
By Louise Chakejian
Family-owned businesses are the “backbone of the [U.S.] economy.” Over 90% of businesses in the U.S. are family owned and operated, employing over 62% of the private sector workforce, or 82 million individuals, contributing over 57% of GDP, and creating 78% of all new jobs. But, nearly 70% of family businesses do not survive the second generation, and only 12% survive to the third generation. Why do so many of these family businesses fail to survive? And what, if anything, can estate planners to do to fix this problem?
Read More
-
September 11, 2020
By Caitlin Dryden
Today, more Police Officers and Firefighters will die by suicide than in the line of duty. “You don’t realize what’s happening to you when you’re going through the years of layered secondary trauma, and then one day you feel it,” says Officer Ed Pila, a retired officer who spent 20 years working in the domestic violence unit. There are many reasons why first responders struggle to get help for mental injuries, such as lack of public awareness, cultural stigmas, biases within the first responder community, lack of access to mental health services, and the cost of such services. A rebuttable PTSD presumption granting coverage for first responders under the workers’ compensation system would alleviate many of these burdens and help break the silence and stigma surrounding mental health.
Read More
-
September 9, 2020
By Cassidy Heiserman
Each year, roughly 500,000 people are held in jail in the United States because they are unable to afford bail. Being unable to afford cash bail, regardless of consequent length of stay in jail, can lead to psychological impacts, and loss of jobs, custody, and housing.While bail is now a mechanism for punishing poverty, it originated in Medieval England “as a device to free untried prisoners.” Additionally, those who cannot afford bail are significantly more likely to be convicted or plead guilty. Under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, cash bail systems are unconstitutional because they impermissibly discriminate against indigent persons and fail under heightened scrutiny.
Read More