Discussion:Is the AICPA kidding?
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Discussion Forum Index --> Tax Questions --> Is the AICPA kidding?
| 15 January 2008 | |
| Feed The Pig.com | |
| 15 January 2008 | |
| It is part of "the 360 Degrees Financial Literacy Program". The pig looks terribly ugly. | |
| January 15, 2008 | |
| This program has been out for months, and I wondered where in the world they got their idea from. I bet they paid a lot of money for it. | |
Death&Taxes (talk|edits) said: | 15 January 2008 |
| For once, I am glad I am an Enrolled Agent. | |
| January 15, 2008 | |
| For some reason I thought you were also a CPA. Is that not true? | |
Death&Taxes (talk|edits) said: | 15 January 2008 |
| No, not me. I worked for Ernst & Ernst in college and saw what happened there to people who passed the exam [they were farmed out to E & E clients]. I do little or no accounting now besides simple spreadsheets in order to produce a balance sheet. | |
| 15 January 2008 | |
| I kind of wonder, given the nature of the US economy, whether in the case of widespread adherence to the suggestions the typical person might lose more in his 401(k) than he saves by not consuming. ♫ My point, though, had to do with the presentation. | |
| 15 January 2008 | |
| It is embarrassing. It's bad enough we CPA's are considered colorless, bland, boring and humorless, this absolutely does nothing to enhance the profession whatsoever. This should be shelved with some of the other lame projects the AICPA has come up with over the years. It's bad enough some of the other role models in our profession are Ebeneezer Scrooge, Scott Sullivan (crook), Andy Fastow (bigger crook) and now we can add a Big Pig with a bow tie to boot to our ranks. Great. Thanks, AICPA. How much more of my dues are going to be wasted on nonsense like this? What were you all smoking that day you came up with this idea? What lost out? A ferret? Warthog? Weasel?
AICPA - Another Idiotic Campaign Portraying Accountants Tom | |
| January 16, 2008 | |
| Is the pig good or bad? Do I want to Feed the Pig? I am not sure...he scares me. Maybe we are all too old to understand the genius behind this. | |
| 16 January 2008 | |
| Dennis: Interesting that you mention that. It really surprises me at the mediocre performance of most funds inside 401(k)s in the best of times. I'm sure they've even managed to clip 'em good for index funds run by a computer. BUT with this downturn (temporary downturn??), it really looks dismal.
The pig: awful, at least make it a cute pig. That pig looks vaguely disturbing. | |
| 16 January 2008 | |
| Just think what the fund managers could do with privatized social security. ♫ | |
| 16 January 2008 | |
| Yup. If they pull that stunt, they will soon realize why it's called "Social Security" instead of "Govt. Retirement Plan A1A". The probable result of privitization could be a bit more than the "security" guard at Sunny Skies Gated Community could turn back. We are headed for that same kind of trainwreck with the definined contribution plans. | |
| 16 January 2008 | |
| I am so glad to hear that others think that this advertising campaign is not the best thing the AICPA has ever come up with. It is embarrassing and no doubt a tremendous waste of member dues paid to the Ad Council and one of many reasons I no longer belong to the AICPA. However, I do believe that the Financial Literacy issues being promoted are worthwhile. The programs and presentations are available for every age group and, if promoted professionally, can be very valuable. This pig idea is awful. I'll show my age by the comparison I always use when discussing this campaign. This pig reminds me of the old Twilight Zone where everyone is is shadows until the end, except a couple of very attractive people. Seems they are the 'freaks' because it turns out that the 'normal' people all look like pigs. Or, how about the 'pig man' that only Cramer sees? | |
Death&Taxes (talk|edits) said: | 16 January 2008 |
| Too many people are convinced they have to become Money Magazine clones; they are upset because they think they can't save until I point out the shares of stock they have accumulated through their Employee Stock Purchase Plan, and the money in their 401K. Then again, there are many whose 401K has become a 201K. | |
| 16 January 2008 | |
| I changed my AICPA acronym. It works better.
LJACPA - great comparison. That "Twilight Zone" Episode was classic. Heck, this guy's so ugly what's the difference between him and a warthog? Tom | |
| January 16, 2008 | |
| I have no idea what those prior campaigns were about. Perhaps the AICPA should take some clues from this and do focus groups before they finalize the next one. | |
| 18 January 2008 | |
and maybe they should get a clue that the rest of the country thinks people should be out spending to save our economy.
Kind of unpatriotic to be a CPA now-a-days, isn't it?
| |
| 18 January 2008 | |
| "The president thinks that you should get an extra $800 this year to spend as you see fit in order to stimulate the economy and keep jobs in America. The AICPA thinks you should feed the pig.
You decide." | |
| January 18, 2008 | |
| Given the level of debt in this country, both on an individual basis and nationally, and our savings rate (which was about 1% the last time I heard), it seems to me we have enough overspending already. But what do I know? The president has access to a whole bunch of experts. He should certainly know what is better for the country. | |
| 10 April 2008 | |
| Benjamin Bankes is not just your average pig-about-town; he's a piggy bank, all grown up. And Benjamin has a message to share: Feed the Pig. In other words, take small savings steps today to build a solid financial tomorrow.
Benjamin is the star spokespig of a new national public service campaign from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and The Advertising Council. The goal of the campaign is to encourage the 40 million Americans age 25 to 34 to take control of their personal finances. The campaign, Feed the Pig ™, is a new component of the 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy effort which aims to educate Americans about how financial issues affect their lives. It features a Web site, www.360financialliteracy.org, offering free tools and resources to help Americans manage their finances through every stage of life. Become a friend of Benjamin! Check out his MySpace page! I wonder Who in the AICPA - is appointed as Theme Guy. | |
| 11 April 2008 | |
| Thank you, WPCPA.
As creepy as some of us think this may be, kids love it and we certainly need to do something to educate the young (and old) people of this country as to financial literacy (and responsibility!!). The AICPA has developed (as have most of your state societies) a curriculum that you, as a financial professional, can present to kids or adults. The training is one day and the information is very easy to follow. Or you can simply sit back and complain some more... | |
| 11 April 2008 | |
| the AICPA should start by (attempting to) educate the POTUS | |
| April 11, 2008 | |
| Okay, Kevin, I know I may be embarrassed after you answer this, but what is "POTUS"? | |
| 11 April 2008 | |
| The point they are trying to get across is admirable, but the delivery method is a bit strange. | |
| 12 April 2008 | |
| meaning the AICPA is certainly behind the times - the time to advocate saving is when there is money to save. Now everyone (POTUS and Congress) is advocating spending to pump up the economy. Thus the AICPA is currently unpatriotic and downright anti-American. | |
| April 12, 2008 | |
| Somewhere people mixed up their priorities, IMHO. I think it's a sad state of affairs when people are encouraged to buy more stuff (and go deeper into debt) and in Honolulu, we're looking for places to ship all of the stuff (garbage) that people no longer want. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next 10 - 15 years. | |
| 12 April 2008 | |
| (The obvious defense to my argument that the AICPA is unpatriotic is just to state that the POTUS and Congress are wrong.) | |
| April 12, 2008 | |
| I figured that was your opinion, Kevin, based on what you had noted above. I just can't believe we keep pushing buy, buy, buy without thinking what the consequences are. And then here we are, on an island, wondering what to do with all of the "garbage" that is generated. There have been lots of proposals, including adding another burning plant to generate electricity and shipping our garbage to, guess where, the Mainland. Does anyone ever say, well, maybe we shouldn't buy all of this stuff that we don't really need in the first place? No. Now THAT would be truly unpatriotic in some people's minds. | |
