Dr. Boyce: The Depth of Forest Whitaker’s Tax Problems

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

Hollywood superstar Forest Whitaker was recently hit with a large tax bill after failing to pay $185,000 he owed to the IRS. The tax collectors in California have cited Whitaker and filed a lien for the balance. Both he and his wife Keisha are named in the complaint, which was filed in the Los Angeles County Recorder of Deeds.
It was reported in 2009 that Whitaker owed $1.29 million in state and federal taxes. Whitaker is not the only Hollywood megastar to have tax problems. Actor Wesley Snipes is in prison until 2013 after being charged with failing to file tax returns for three years.
Chris Tucker was hit with some very serious tax problems himself, as the LA County Records Office showed that Tucker owed over $11 million in taxes up through 2006. Actor Nicolas Cage was also found to owe millions to the IRS.

 

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Dr. Boyce Spotlight: Black Female Entrepreneur Teaches Math to Make Her Money

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

What is your name, and what do you do?
My name is Stephanie Espy, and I'm the founder and president of MathSP (www.MathSP.com). MathSP is a math enrichment company that helps individuals to improve their math skills. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, MathSP provides instruction to middle school students, high school students, college students, adults who need additional math-based resources alongside their coursework, and students who need an added challenge beyond their coursework. MathSP also prepares individuals for the math section of various standardized tests such as the SAT or ACT, computer-adaptive exams such as the GMAT or GRE, and state exams such as the EOCT or GHSGT.

 

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Black Female Entrepreneurs Give You Virtual Assistance

 

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University - Scholarship in Action 

Most of us think that a personal assistant is someone who lives and works right next to you. In the age of technology, it is no longer necessary to be in the same room or even the same country as the person who handles your daily affairs. With technology, cell phones, and other ways for us to remain connected, it's quite simple to work with someone every day of your life and never even see them. It is because of their brilliant use of technology and entrepreneurship skills that the ladies with JustGo Virtual Assistants are today's Dr. Boyce Watkins Spotlight on AOL Black Voices:

What is your name and what do you do?
Our name is JustGo and we are a company that provides new age administrative and personal assistant services to high profile speakers, authors, entrepreneurs, and small businesses. Our assistants, although in another state, are able to complete and fulfill client requests and wishes through the use of internet, email, fax, phone, and/or chat. We may not be able to personally pour your daily cup of coffee, but we can definitely have it delivered to you. JustGo presents a comfortable and convenient opportunity to those professionally inclined individuals with impeccable administrative and computer skills to work from home while also gifting its clients with money saving services that reduce over-head expenses and relieves the pressures of routine responsibilities. This frees the client to focus on tasks that are more profit generating or gives them the opportunity to enjoy leisurely activities they otherwise may not have time for.

 

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Dr. Boyce Watkins Spotlight: A Couple Makes Both Money and Love

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One reason that we do the spotlights here on AOL Black Voices is to profile businesses, organizations and individuals who are doing outstanding (but perhaps unsung) work within the African American community. While most media enjoys highlighting the dysfunction of the black community, we believe that there is plenty to celebrate. What I love about Ayize and Aiyana Ma'at is that they've found a way to use their love to create the financial fuel that helps to sustain their family. As certified relationship counselors, they also work together to help other couples find the love they've been seeking as well. It is because of their empowered commitment to strengthening the black family in America that Ayize and Aiyana Ma'at are today's Dr. Boyce Watkins Spotlight on AOL Black Voices:

 

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Dr. Boyce: Two Nigerian Men Makes the Forbes Billionaires List

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

Two Nigerian men, Mike Adenuga and Aliko Dangote, represented their home country of Nigeria by placing themselves among the wealthiest men in the world. Both men made the Forbes billionaires list, with Adenuga ranking as number 595, while Dangote skyrocketed up to number 51. Dangote's fortune grew five fold last year, as he consolidated his holdings and went public on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. His company now has a market cap of $13 Billion, representing over one-fourth of the total market cap of the entire Nigerian stock market.

Dangote is able to make money hand-over-fist primarily because there are so few Nigerian cement suppliers to meet the country's increasing demand for construction. He is now wealthier than South African billionaires Nicky Oppenheimer from Debeers and John Rupert, both of whom are white. During my trip to Nigeria in 2009, I noticed that there was a tremendous amount of construction being done in the country, as well as a hunger to understand the principles of entrepreneurship and building a business. I expect the country to continue to grow, assuming that it can deal with itswell-documented corruption problems (for example, I was asked to give an agent money in order to get my bags through airport security).

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Nwenna Kai Gives the Value of Eating Healthy

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action

African Americans must learn to eat healthy. Many of the diseases that end our lives are preventable, but our addiction to grandma's famous fried chicken often leads to our demise. People like Nwenna Kai are working to remedy this problem by helping people of color learn what to eat and how to live. She is an entrepreneur with a passion for food and a commitment to her community, and it is for that reason that Nwenna Kai is today's Dr. Boyce Watkins Spotlight on AOL BlackVoices.com:

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Dr. Boyce: Does Education Always Lead to a Better Job? Nope

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

An economist for whom I have tremendous respect, Paul Krugman, recently wrote a New York Times article which put the debate over education into context. I found the article interesting as I prepare to speak at the National Black Law Students Association Convention with my colleague, Charles Ogletree at Harvard University.
I've been thinking a great deal about how to help our community understand the meaning and value of a good education (here are some of my thoughts on the matter if you're interested). I've preached relentlessly that being well-educated is incredibly important for all of us, and that we should be willing to fight to the end to make sure our kids get what they need from our woefully inadequate school systems. At the same time, my recent appearance at the Black Achievers Banquet in Louisville, Ky led me to conclude that further discussion is necessary. I saw quite a few young people doing amazing things, but it's my hope to help us all understand that an education is not simply a path to getting a job with some corporation that will have you doing meaningless work for your entire life. Sure, that can be part of the plan, but it can't be the entire plan altogether.

 

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Dr. Boyce Note: Single Black Women and the Church

Quick note by Dr. Boyce Watkins

I'm doing an email interview with Ebony Magazine about the options for black women in the church finding a lifelong partner.  It's really giving me reason for pause, because I've never quite understood those women who will only date men who go to church and believe what they do.  I know quite a few brothers who walk the walk and talk the talk, but don't have any desire to be ethical mates or good partners.

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Is the Oprah Winfrey Network a Failure Already? Some are Trying to Say that it Is

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

 

I’m not sure if this is the right time to pass judgment on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), since it just began.  But Alexis Stodghill at AOL Black Voices, the New York Times and others are beginning to wonder if the magic is going to last.   According to the Times:

OWN, her two-month-old channel, is attracting fewer viewers than the obscure channel it replaced, Discovery Health. At any given time this month, there have been about 135,000 people watching OWN, according to the Nielsen Company, and only about 45,000 of those people are women ages 25 to 54, the demographic that the channel is focusing on.

Those ratings levels, down about 10 percent from Discovery Health’s levels last year, are being carefully watched by people who would like to rebuild cable channels around other celebrities, and by investors who worry that OWN is a drag on Discovery’s stock.

 

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