Down Payment on a Farm

Here's a little parable:

This guy I know started an interactive production company in 1996 in NYC. Offices on Lafayette, then Bond, then Broadway between Grand and Howard. He did about $7M between then and 2000, when the Internet crash happened, and even though his wasn't a "web company" it got hit by the aftershocks. He went under in December of 2000 HARD owing about $25k in payroll taxes to UNCLE SAM, i.e. the $7M was long gone and he didn't get much of it at all. Since he was the only principal at that time, the business debt flowed straight through to him personally.

He's been fighting the IRS for seven years as the debt rose to almost $70k due to interest tax and his apparent blatent refusal to pay income tax until the whole thing was solved, for instance the year and a half after September 11, 2001 when he didn't work at all.

Last week, after FINALLY coming to his senses and employing a tax attourney for $5,500.00 he settled with UNCLE SAM for just under $12k. He told me that even though he settled for about 1/5 of the total, it took about seven years off of his life, his credit rating and his ability to buy dinner on a date.

If you can, pay your taxes folks. Even though it's probably illegal. Fuckers.

That could have been a downpayment on a farm in upstate NY, like the ones I heard about at FARM AID yesterday.

My girl gave me the birthday gift of taking a water taxi (!) to Randall's Island in the East River where we stood in the dirt on Randall's Island yesterday to see the first NYC appearance of FARM AID in it's 22 year history. Really it was just to see Neil Young (and some Willie) but we were down with the cause, yo!

Neil Young's set was badass, just him acoustic, Peggy on backing vocals and acoustic and Ben Keith on Dobro. Willie played on "Homegrown" - go figure.

Neil looked noticably older than I've seen him in a while, but the energy was right there.

Just like the first time I saw him in 1983, way too late, but what could I do?

After "Nobody Knows..." my girl said, "That's a really sad song..."
God, I love me some Neil Young.

The setlist (with album reference, follows):

Neil Young, Farm Aid 2007, Randall's Island, New York, NY, 9/9/07

Human Highway (Comes A Time)
Silver and Gold (Silver and Gold)
Beautiful Bluebird (Chrome Dreams II)
Too Far Gone (Freedom)
Everybody Knows This is Nowhere (Everybody Knows This is Nowhere)
Heart of Gold (Harvest)
Homegrown (American Stars 'n Bars)
Four Strong Winds (Comes A Time)