MODE Remarks September 1997

MODE Remarks:
Here’s one you can’t win

by Frank Pizzoli

Bucking tradition, more men than ever are requesting alimony. Meanwhile, more women simmer over the prospect, according to media reports. Until recently, it was unheard of for a man to seek alimony from his former wife. While far more women receive alimony than men, divorce lawyers nationwide estimate that between 5% to 10% of their male clients succeed in getting payments, up from 3% a few years ago.

"I don’t see a lot of it here," says Ed Weintraub, local attorney. He explains that generally alimony is based on 40 percent of the difference of the net income of the divorcing parties. "Here, and nationally, the economically dependent spouse remains the woman," he points out.

In the Harrisburg region, there are opportunities for divorcing couples to seek assistance with the transition from one economic unit to wives, husbands, and children settling into new living arrangements.

"People who complete our court-sponsored course usually say they have learned a great deal from the process," says Deborah Salem, of Harrisburg-based Inner Works, a mediation and conflict resolution service. Salem’s shop runs courses for divorcing couples in Dauphin County.

Although in 1979, the US Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional state laws, which allowed for women-only alimony. "Still there are great emotional barriers to men making claims against women and appearing dependent," Weintraub observes.

For readers still looking to make the hitch, in 1990 the median age for marriage in Dauphin County was 26 for women and 29 for men. By 1994, those ages rose to 28 and 30. In 1990, the median age for divorce in the county was 35 for women and 37 for men, up to 36 and 38 four years later. Pennsylvania ranks 48th in divorces per capita.

Museum of Accounting history Underway
With an eye toward boosting City tourism dollars, local movers and shakers will soon unveil plans for a Museum of Accounting History. Bye the way, what’s the difference between an accountant and an actuary? An actuary is someone who didn’t have the personality to be an accountant. Who was the first (and only) CPA to run for president? T. Coleman Andrews in 1956 against second-term seekers Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon.

Imagine Nixon lounging in the Eisenhower compound near Gettysburg asking elder Ike for tips on his tax return. IRS records show that the trickmeister paid just $793 in taxes for 1970 on income of $262,900, according to the Academy of Accounting Historians. In contrast, Abe Lincoln overpaid his 1863 and 1864 taxes by a total of $1,425. But then Lincoln did appoint Simon Cameron (Cameron Street in Harrisburg) as his Secretary of War. Cameron’s colleagues, according to folklore, watched their wallets around him.

One time a Cameron aide demanded that Thaddeus Stevens, the region’s education pioneer, apologize for saying that Cameron would steal everything but a red hot stove. Stevens replied: "I apologize. I made a mistake. He would steal a red hot stove." The other version is that Cameron would steal a red hot stove and return later for the smoke.

Support Your Volunteer Fire Company
What if you had a fire and no one came? Support for rural volunteer fire companies in the Harrisburg region is vital if the trend revealed in the survey by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania unfolds. Decreases in the number of volunteer fire fighters are projected over the next five years, according to the Harrisburg-based Center.

In Dauphin County there are 40 fire-fighting organizations - volunteers staff all but one. The City of Harrisburg has a paid compliment of 166, most of them in platoons of men and women who fight fires. In Cumberland County, there are 38 organizations devoted to fighting fires.

"Financially, most volunteer fire companies have budgets under $50,000 annually, according to Jonathan Johnson, the Center’s senior policy analyst. To completely outfit a firefighter with helmet, coat, pants, boots and other gear costs between $2,000 and $2,500.

A pumper truck, which cost $100,000 15 years ago now, costs above $300,000.

"Many communities with volunteer fire companies hold bingo parties, picnics, and spaghetti dinners," explains Colleen Dunkelberger, a 14-year veteran of Harrisburg’s fire station. Even with the fund raising, most fire companies still come up short each year, she says. Dunkelberger is also an occasional staffer at the Fire Museum of Greater Harrisburg. Located at 1820 North 4th Street (232-8915), the museum is open Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 4pm. Saturday from 10am to 5pm and Sunday from 1pm to 5pm.