OC Register ...

Maui? Wowie.

Just when I think I've heard it all ...

 

I'm seriously convinced Freedom's not going to survive the year.

Which makes me kind of sad. I worked in their Yuma shop starting three years ago, back before things got particularly bad, and they weren't a half-bad company to slave for as newspaper conglomerates went. I spent a good part of my youth in Phoenix and my family got the Tribune rather than the Republic because it was simply a better local news product. Now that I'm back, I'm living in a part of the Valley it no longer covers, and being a Republic subscriber is kind of bittersweet.

 

Might be doing you a favor. Lump sum results in a bigger tax hit short-term for sure, but if you find yourself out of work a year from now, it could help extend the time and amount of unemployment benefits. They take the highest paid quarter of a 12 month period starting before the last empty quarter (I know I probably lost you on that part, but stay with me). If they paid you severance past March, that could reduce the time and amount of your benefits if you need to reapply next year. Higher taxes might be the short-term hit but look at it as an investment in next year's parachute. These days, parachutes are pretty damn good investments.