All posts by Hutchins AAron

Born in Deutschland 1965, hometown was Bütthart, parents were not U.S. government employees. However, when father was tricked into joining the U.S. Air Force Civil Service, in 1969, with the promise that we could remain in Germany, we were promptly shipped off to Iran. Due to one of my Iranian educators being disappeared, along with her husband, by the U.S. ally Shah of Iran's Israeli & U.S. created Savak (for the then official terrorist act of promoting the idea that women can vote), and due to my U.S. citizen mother being placed on Savak's Terrorist Arrest List (for supporting the idea that women should vote, at that time the U.S. ally Shah of Iran did not allow women to vote, now they can) we left Iran for the United States in 1973, literally in the middle of the night. At the U.S. Embassy airbase the CIA operated Gooney Bird (C-47) was so packed with other U.S. citizens fleeing our ally Iran (because the Shah gave the OK to arrest any U.S. citizen for such terrorist acts as promoting the concept of voting) that we were turned away by the Loadmaster and had to take a chance on a civilian flight out of Tehran's airport. My father told me he and my mother had three culture shocks; first when they arrived in Germany as civilians, then after being shipped off to Iran as U.S. government employees, then again returning to the United States as unemployed civilians (because so much had changed in the U.S. while they were gone, their only news source was the U.S. Armed Forces Radio & Television Service which heavily censored information about the home front). Since I graduated high school in 1982 I've worked for U.S. government contractors and state & local government agencies (in California), convenience store manager in California, retail/property management in Georgia, California and Idaho. Spent the 1990s in the TV news business producing number one rated local news programs in California, Arizona and Idaho. 14+ years with California and Idaho Army National Guard and the U.S. Air Force. Obtained a BA degree in International Studies from Idaho State University at the age of 42. Unemployed since 2015, so don't tell me the economy has recovered.
Business/Economics, International

Iran offering military aircraft overhauling & rebuilding service

When the United States sells military aircraft to other countries, the deal normally requires that the aircraft undergo major overhaul/rebuild by U.S. companies.  Iran is now offering the same service, for U.S., Russian and Chinese built military aircraft.

The Iran Iraq War of the 1980s, along with increased U.S. sanctions, forced Iran to learn how to rebuild their U.S. made war planes.  There are indications that Iran has even built “new” F-14s to replace those lost in the Iran Iraq War.  Iran soon learned how to overhaul Russian and Chinese aircraft during the 1990s.

Iranian air force officials say they will now offer their overhaul/rebuild know how to other countries: “We are able to overhaul the planes of our neighboring countries for them.  We do have this capability as well.”-Hamidreza Goudini, Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force

Iranian military leaders say the U.S. sanctions are actually good for Iran, because it forced Iran’s industries, military and civilian, to develop much faster than they would have without any sanctions.  As a result Iran is a truly independent nation.

Business/Economics, Idaho

The U.S. IS a Police State: Gold dealers must go through police background check and be fingerprinted

The city of Nampa, Idaho, now requires people who sell precious metals to go through new “licensing” by getting a background check and be fingerprinted by police.  They must also pay a fee for the cost of the new “licensing” procedure.

Nampa officials say the new process will help police with finding stolen property.  Police will start checking dealers for compliance on July 1.

A Boise newspaper gave this police phone number for more info: 208-468-5615

 

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? The U.S. was lagging behind Europe even before the Credit Crisis

Before the 2007-08 Credit Crunch Crisis the United States was far behind the European Union, when it came to new job creation.

According to a Fortune article, from 1999 to 2008 the EU created 14 million new jobs, while the U.S. created 8 million.

On top of that, once the economy started down the drain the United States lost more jobs than were lost in the EU.  Percentage wise the EU and U.S. are around 9% unemployment (officially, unofficially the percentages are higher), but when you look at actual numbers the U.S. is leading the way down.  As of December 2010, the difference in job losses, between the EU and U.S., are about 7 million.

 

Business/Economics, Opinion, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Obama spouts the neccesity of higher education, but Middle Class is now officially unable to pay for it

“We’re seeing further differentiation in incomes, with the rich get richer and the poor getting poorer. Meanwhile, the middle class often claims they’re too wealthy to get student aid, yet too poor to afford college.”-Mark Kantrowitz,  FinAid.org and FastWeb.com

President Barack Obama is constantly stumping for higher education as a way to recover the U.S. economy, the problem is most people in the United States can’t afford to go.

According to a CNN/Money report (based on the findings of the College Board), tuition and fees have skyrocketed 130% in the past 20 years, while incomes for the majority of U.S. workers have stayed relatively the same.  By the way a recent IRS report says the same thing about U.S. incomes.

In 2008 median income was $33,000, when adjusted for inflation that means the average person was making $400.00 less than in 1988 (I knew I wasn’t crazy).

In 2008 tuition and fees averaged $6,500 per year, which is 130% more than what they were in 1988.

What happened to financial aid?  Obama ran for president partly on a promise to make more federal aid available.  Didn’t happen.  According to the College Group, the maximum federal aid (which includes loans, which should not be considered “aid” ’cause you have to pay it back) has remained stuck at 1992 levels; only $23,000  (by the way that “aid” is limited, so if you don’t get a ‘four year degree’ in ‘four’ years, which is actually the reality for many, you don’t get anymore federal “aid”).

Two trends have developed as a result: Families hell bent on their kids getting worthless degrees (I have one, from Idaho State University) are getting deeper into debt (isn’t that part of our country’s economic problems?).  The other bigger trend is that people are delaying entry into college, or just saying “forget it, it ain’t worth it”.

Here’s a sobering thought: According to Mark Kantrowitz, the cost of higher education is such that many of today’s college students will still be paying their student loans when their children are college age!  That is a sure sign that college is no longer “worth it”!

 

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Arby’s Sold

Wendy’s/Arby’s Group sold off its Arby’s restaurant, for $430 million.  The new owner is Atlanta based Roark Capital Group.

Earlier in the year it was announced that if Arby’s sales didn’t improve, the fast food restaurant would be sold.  The former Wendy’s/Arby’s Group still holds 15% of Arby’s stock.  The CEO, Roland Smith, says they can now focus solely on the better performing Wendy’s fast food chain.

Smith says that any closing of Arby’s stores will involve those already slated to be closed, which will happen as leases expire.  The deal with Roark Capital Group will result in changes for Arby’s, including a name change.

I can tell you that here in Chubbuck, Idaho, the Arby’s store has the lowest customer traffic of any of the national chain fast food restaurants.

 

Idaho, U.S.

Idaho State University hit with sanctions, major donor says ISU President “inflexible”

“There’s something very sick at that school, and Art Vailas I think is at the core of it. I was shocked when I heard about the potential for a vote of no confidence. I talked to Art several times about it. Art is not a very good listener. He’s very stubborn. He’s inflexible. It is his way or no way because he thinks he’s right. I told him never to call me anymore.”-Jim Rodgers, major Idaho State University donor, and former chancellor of higher education in Nevada

Jim Rodgers is a major donor to ISU, and he’s not happy with what’s been happening there.  The Idaho State Board of Education ended the faculty’s bargaining ability by suspended the Faculty Senate, at the request of President Arthur Vailas.
Vailas, and his administrators, have been busy trashing ISU ever since they arrived a few years ago.  It’s looks like it’s part of a plan by the state to reduce ISU’s ability to provide higher education.
For one thing student tuition and fees have skyrocketed, and classes have been cut.  The reason given is always lack of money, but just a few weeks ago ISU announced they were buying an old factory building that was used to make medical products (aka Ballard Medical building).
The suspension of the Faculty Senate prompted a vote by the American Association of University Professors.  They voted to sanction ISU, the largest university ever to be sanctioned by the AAUP.  The vote was unanimous.
Former ISU Faculty Senate Chair, Phil Cole, says AAUP sanctions should be taken seriously, because they act as a warning to potential employers, and graduate schools, that the education program at ISU is ‘suspect’, and that “there is a fundamental flaw in a university and it could collapse.”

This might be part of the State Board of Education’s plans to end ISU as a four year university (which many of the state employees at ISU believe is the intention).

International, Technology

Even when turned ‘off’ your electronic appliances still use electricity. Has Japan solved that problem?

Even when turned ‘off’, most of your electronic appliances are still on.  That’s because most appliances now contain tiny computers to remember settings, to run clocks, to sense your remote, etc.

Actually when you turn your electronics ‘off’ you’ve actually put them in a ‘standby mode’.  This standby mode accounts for about 6 percent of household electricity use.

NEC and Tohoku University have developed a semiconductor to cut that standby power usage to zero.  They say it uses a magnet, instead of electricity, to operate in standby mode.  Unfortunately it will be a few more years before it hits the market, but they hope it will cut overall electricity usage by 25%.