The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of employed adults shows that 30% think they will be making more a year from today, but that’s down six points from 36% in November and the most pessimistic finding found in regular tracking since April 2009.
Cost:
Three issues in particular dominate the discussion, and none of them favors Obama. The most important is the economy, which has been struggling through a decade of weak growth. Consider that between 1951 and 2000, the American economy grew by an average of 37 percent every decade. Between 2001 and 2010, the pace of growth was less than half that, at just 15 percent.
From SD War College:
From the Rapid City Weekly News, we’re finding out tonight that the best weekly paper in the state (and better than several dailies for political reporting) is no more:
After three and a half years and 182 editions, The Rapid City Weekly News is shutting its doors. The final edition is being distributed this week.
The Weekly News was launched on Oct. 20, 2005, in an effort to provide more local news to the Rapid City community. That goal was accomplished, as readers scooped up the free weekly newspaper, which printed 23,000 copies each week.
“Most men die of their remedies, not of their diseases,” a smart-alecky Frenchman once observed. At this point, many Americans might be pondering a similar thought: What’s worse, the recession or the prescription?
It began with the federal government rescuing financial institutions because they were, allegedly, too big to fail. Somewhere along the line, treating this ailment included cajoling perfectly healthy financial institutions into accepting taxpayer medicine (some of those have returned the TARP funds) for the common good.
But the House Republicans’ “Road to Recovery” budget is not fantasy; it applies the clear lessons of economic history to our current economic woes.
After the economically debilitating 9/11 terrorist attacks, President George W. Bush cut income and investment tax rates across the board. The result was well over 8 million new jobs generated and about 4.5% unemployment for a long time.
Similarly, Ronald Reagan’s response to the deep recession early in his presidency was to cut income tax rates by 25% and lower the capital gains tax rate to 20% from 25%. A massive expansion ensued, extending well beyond his two terms. Today, House Minority Leader John Boehner, GOP Conference chairman Mike Pence and their colleagues want to prescribe the same medicine for what ails us.
With Democrats trying to sneak a sweeping overhaul of the country’s medical system into law, including a government-run health plan that would unfairly compete against private insurers, the GOP is offering “tax incentives for millions more working families and small-business owners to obtain access to coverage.” The GOP plan would also let people “shop across state lines to purchase affordable policies that best meet their needs.”
Most important, however, the Republican alternative replaces the biggest spending spree in history with deep tax cuts – a proven economic jump-starter. It would establish “a simple and fair tax code with a marginal tax rate for income up to $100,000 of 10%, and 25% for any income thereafter, with a generous standard deduction and personal exemption.”
February continued the miserable string of poor employment reports by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The most jarring number is the unemployment rate, which increased by a half a percentage point to 8.1 percent. The payroll survey reported that non-farm employment fell by 651,000 jobs, roughly in line with expectations.
February Report
Job losses were deep and widespread in February, with almost every sector shedding jobs. The unemployment rate climbed to 8.1 percent, the highest level since 1983. The current economic downturn is very severe, and its magnitude is similar to the 1981-82 recession. If these similarities hold true, unemployment may continue to climb and even peak after the recession has ended, as it did in the early 1980s when the unemployment rate reached its high of 10.8 percent after the recession was officially over.
A $13.5 billion medical device company is considering Kansas City-area sites — including the Applebee’s Services Inc. headquarters in Lenexa — for the expansion of its diabetes division.
Competition for the expansion project, expected to deliver about 1,500 new jobs in the next five years, is down to the Kansas City area versus San Antonio, said Steve Sabicer, a spokesman for Fridley-based Medtronic Inc.’s diabetes division.
In narrowing down potential sites, he said, Medtronic has looked at labor cost and availability, business environment, facility costs and quality-of-life issues. Medtronic considered Minnesota as a location as part of its nationwide search. However, Sabicer declined to identify factors that knocked the Twin Cities off the list of potential locations.
“We looked at cities in all 50 states,” Sabicer said. “But it’s come down to Kansas City and San Antonio.”
The winner is expected to be announced by mid-April, he said.
The Star last month:
WASHINGTON | Republicans have long accused mainstream journalists of being on the payroll of President Obama and the Democratic Party, a common refrain of favoritism especially from those on the losing end of an election (see Bush vs. Gore, Clinton vs. Bush and Bush vs. Dukakis).
But this year the accusation has a new twist, The New York Times reports: In some notable cases it has become true, with several prominent journalists now on the payrolls of Obama and the Democratic Congressional leadership.
An unusual number of journalists from prominent, mainstream organizations started new government jobs in January, providing new kindling to the debate over whether Mr. Obama is receiving unusually favorable treatment in the news media.
Why doesn’t Gov. Sebelius tell the whole truth about the “resources available in the Federal Recovery Act”? Why doesn’t Gov. Sebelius tell the citizens of the state of Kansas the “Stimulus” funds from the Federal Recovery Act will be paid for by higher federal taxes and debt? State taxes are not going up with her plan, but where does Gov. Sebelius explain that higher federal taxes may result?
Why does Gov. Sebelius care so much for children and education, but is burdening future generations with unimaginable debt? Why are we stealing from our children and grandchildren because of our irresponsible spending now? (more…)
Microsoft Corp. will let about two dozen laid-off workers who were overpaid severance keep the money, the company’s head of human resources said Monday afternoon. The decision was a quick turn-about for the company, which last week sent letters to some of the 1,400 employees who were laid off in late January, asking them to return some of their severance because of an “administrative error.”
…
Most of the overpayments were in the $4,000 to $5,000 range … Microsoft overpaid between $100,000 and $125,000. An additional 20 former employees were initially underpaid, but have since been paid what they were owed.moreBobbie Johnson adds:
Microsoft said that it had mishandled the affair and would no longer be chasing repayment … The gaffe came after 1,400 workers were given their marching orders in January – the first major job cuts in Microsoft’s long history, and part of the software titan’s plan to reduce its staffing levels by 5,000 posts next year. Most employees affected were given a 12-week severance package as part of the deal.
However, news that the company was asking for the excess cash to be returned spread across the internet last weekend, after one letter demanding repayment was published online.
Hallmark Cards Inc. will quit publishing Hallmark Magazine , which it launched less than three years ago, and discontinue the publication’s Web site, the company announced Tuesday.
The move will eliminate the magazine’s 28 staff positions in New York, and an additional 10 employees will be laid off in the Kansas City-based creative division.
Hallmark CEO Donald Hall Jr. said in a release that the publishing industry’s poor outlook prompted the decision.
