On a sad note, I had four friends lose parents last week alone. Three died of COVID-19. It’s unbelievable. I recently made the decision to allow the NAHREP staff to work from home for the remainder of the year. We are lucky because not everyone has a job that can be done from home and…
The country is a mess right now. Political fanatism has ended friendships, broken families and divided this country more than ever. While we may not all agree on how we got here, most of us agree that the country is in big trouble unless we can reverse this unfortunate trend. Some people deal with the…
By all accounts, the pandemic is far from over, and if you are lucky enough to be employed right now, you probably shouldn’t be too financially complacent. Last quarter, U.S. GDP, dropped 32%, the biggest quarterly decline in American history. While some people think the economy will miraculously bounce back when we have a vaccine…
I believe the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced what some of us already knew, but maybe didn’t fully appreciate: deep relationships and human connection are what give us the most joy and satisfaction in life. With all of the suffering around the world, it’s hard to say anything good about the period of time we have…
Let’s face it, we all have a burning need to be liked and respected. We want people to think of us as smart and sophisticated. In fact, our need for admiration is so powerful it can drive almost everything we do. We want our kids, co-workers, friends and strangers all to think of us as…
Coming off all of the crazy comments I received over last week’s blog on Goya, I started reading a book titled, Hate, Inc.: Why Today’s Media Makes Us Despise One Another. It’s written by Matt Taibbi, a Rolling Stone journalist who says that the press has mastered the art of monetizing anger, paranoia and distrust.…
Cooking as a family and eating together is a lost tradition that many of us have restarted during the pandemic. I had no idea that my daughter Marisa had become such a great cook; her addition to our kitchen has been a huge positive to the Acosta clan. She loves sashimi and vegan dishes and…
For years, a lot of us have been talking about the disparities in homeownership rates, the lack of Latino representation in the boardrooms and C-suites of America’s largest corporations, the wealth and income gaps, etc. These are real issues that frankly have not seen much progress in the last few decades. On the heels of…
Freedom of speech is a bitch…On one hand, it is the cornerstone of the American system and almost everyone praises it – at least in concept. On the other hand, it can also be infuriating. Most of us love the idea of free speech when it serves our interests but hate it when it doesn’t.…
Barring getting a vaccine sooner than expected, it seems like we’re in for a longer haul than expected with this once-in-a-century pandemic. Businesses, schools and sports are probably going to be a shell of themselves until the end of the year. There is no denying the fact that we have managed this situation poorly. Americans…