Tag Archives: unemployment

Business/Economics, U.S.

Some Economic Recovery? Washington & Colorado legalize Marijuana!

“Assuming a fully functioning marijuana market and the assumptions following in this summary, estimated total revenue generated to the state could be as high as $1,943,936,000 over five fiscal years.”-Washington OFM Fiscal Impact Statement (I-502)

On 06 November 2012, voters in the U.S. states of Washington and Colorado legalized the recreational use of marijuana for adults.

Many people will claim this as a victory for civil liberties, but it could result in a huge boost to the economies of those states, as well.

According to Culture Magazine, in 2011 the state of Colorado collected $5 million USD in taxes from medical marijuana use, about $1.5 million more than the state’s electronics and appliance retail industry!

Now Colorado will be able to collect taxes on the recreational use of marijuana as well. According to supporters of the new law, it will also save law enforcement $12 million in the first year, and create $24 million every year for school construction projects.  They estimate that after five years legalized marijuana will result in $100 million per year in revenues and savings for state/local governments!

According to Washington’s own State Office of Financial Management, legalized marijuana will create almost $2 billion in tax revenue for the state, over the next five years!

State officials also expect increased revenue from fees for traffic violations, as a result of driving while under the influence of marijuana.

And by the way, this revenue comes even as the price of marijuana is expected to drop due to the fact that it’s now legal.  In Washington the marijuana tax system is a European style Value Added Tax, meaning it is taxed at production, distribution and at the final sale.  Essentially it’s taxed three times.

The problem now are the threats coming from Washington DC: “One of the nightmare scenarios for Washington is Congress gets really nasty and says, ‘Ha! No more federal highway dollars for you.’ If they do something like that then the financial loss vastly swamps any of the financial gains.”-Jonathan Caulkins, Carnegie Melon University

Business/Economics, International

What Economic Recovery? Economic powerhouse Germany sees surprise drop in factory orders, recession certain!

“…a catastrophe and very bad news….We have a huge problem in the rest of the euro area that now seems to be reaching Germany and its labor market. For the coming quarters, the economic outlook is quite gloomy.”-Thomas Harjes, economist at Barclays

On 06 November 2012, Deutsche Bundesbank revealed that there is no let up in the dropping factory orders for German companies.  September had a 4.7% drop, October saw a 4.6% drop, from the year before.

From October to September (month to month) there was a 3.3% drop, which was much more than analysts had expected.

Factory orders from European Union (EU) customers (Euro-area orders) make up the biggest part of the drop, followed by orders outside the EU (export orders): “The weak economic environment in the euro area and in the broader global economy is having a bigger impact on demand for German industrial goods. Therefore industrial production may weaken further in the months to come.”-Statement from Germany’s Economy Ministry

Germany is considered the economic powerhouse of the European Union.  Almost a month ago the President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, Jens Weidmann, said: “The German economy continues to be in robust shape….”

Now one analyst says Germany “…is unlikely to be spared from a technical recession.”-Annalisa Piazza, New Edge

Christian Ott, an investment bank economist said: “…the [German] resilience has come to an end…”

Opinion

What Democracy? The late great George Carlin was right! If you vote it’s your fault!!!

Video

“I have solved this political dilemma in a very direct way: I don’t vote. On Election Day, I stay home. I firmly believe that if you vote, you have no right to complain. Now, some people like to twist that around. They say, ‘If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain,’ but where’s the logic in that? If you vote, and you elect dishonest, incompetent politicians, and they get into office and screw everything up, you are responsible for what they have done. You voted them in. You caused the problem. You have no right to complain. I, on the other hand, who did not vote, who did not even leave the house on Election Day, am in no way responsible for what these politicians have done and have every right to complain about the mess that YOU created.“-George Carlin

Business/Economics, Idaho, International, U.S.

Some Economic Recovery? Idaho’s $1 billion per year meat industry will get boost from Japan!

06 November 2012, the Japanese Health Ministry decided to ease restrictions on U.S. beef imports.  Seven years ago Japan banned U.S. beef from cows older than 20 months, because of the Mad Cow disease.

They will now take beef from cows as old as 30 months.  There is one condition, the brain and spinal column must be removed.

Japan is a major buyer of beef from the U.S. state of Idaho, and even with the 20 month age restriction, sales to Japan has helped Idaho's meat industry make about $1 billion USD per year ($2.5 million of that is from exports of beef)!

Japanese health officials say they’re raising the age restriction because there has been no Mad Cow reported in the U.S. for ten years.  Unfortunately that is not true, back in April it was confirmed that a cow in the U.S. state of California had the disease.

The real reason is probably economic: Japanese officials claim that more than 90% of U.S. beef exports to the rest of the world are from cows 30 months of age or younger, and their decision to increase their age restriction will help drop the outrageously high beef prices in Japan: “They say U.S. beef prices will come down about 20%, once the ban is eased and imports increase. I think our customers will be happy.”-Grocery store manager in Japan

Another reason could be that U.S. officials, backed by the U.S. beef industry, has been threatening to retaliate by restricting the sale of Japanese beef in the U.S.

 

 

 

International, U.S.

What Democracy? United States has “…worst election processes in the world”! Venezuela has “best” system in the world! Former U.S. President says so!

“We’ve learned a lot about Democracy in Latin America, and they have made a lot of progress….The elections in Venezuela, although some people have criticized the result….there’s no doubt in our mind….that he [Hugo Chavez] won fairly and squarely…As a matter a fact, of the 92 elections we’ve monitored, I would say the election process in Venezuela is the best in the world!…..Mexico had their first honest election and the Carter Center was the only monitor invited in….all the other countries in Latin America, except for one [Venezuela]….and another one in North America [United States]….has public financing of all the election process.  If you qualify to run for public office you get public financing, and outside money does not affect the outcome of the election……The United States election process is shot through now with, I’d say, financial corruption.  We have one of the worst election processes in the world.“-Former U.S. President, true Christian and international election observer Jimmy Carter, 11 September 2012 annual Carter Center “Conversation”, in response to question about election monitoring in Latin America

The former president was talking about the more than 90 countries that his organization, The Carter Center, has worked to observe elections, to make sure they are fair.

The month after Carter made his statements about U.S. democracy, the U.S. states of Texas and Iowa announced they would arrest international election observers that entered polling places.

Carter says the main problem is private financing of campaigns for public office.  He explained there was a time when candidates used only public financing to run for office: “You know how much [privately sourced] money I raised when I ran against Gerald Ford [1976 U.S. Presidential elections]? Zero!…. You know how much [privately sourced] money I raised to run against Ronald Reagan [1980 U.S. Presidential elections]? Zero! We got public financing for the elections. You know how much [privately sourced] money’s gonna be raised this year in the United States for the President, and the Senate and House elections?  Six billion dollars!…..And that money comes from people who, now under the Supreme Court ruling, don’t have to be identified….and a lot of it can come from corporations partially owned by foreigners.”

Carter said the only way the election process can begin to be fixed is if the U.S. Supreme Court reverses its “stupid decision”, and there is a return to public financing of national campaigns.

Business/Economics, International, Technology

Corporate Incompetence: Two nuclear reactors shut down due to thousands of faulty parts! Three more reactors to follow!

05 November 2012, two nuclear power reactors in Korea, south, have been shut down due to the discovery of thousands of potentially faulty parts.

Government officials (Knowledge Economy Ministry) say they discovered that at least eight parts suppliers have been lying about the reliability of those parts.  Officials suspect that at least 5,233 bad parts are being used in five nuclear reactors.

The parts include things like fuses and switches.  Officials say they are not parts directly related to the nuclear reactors and their radioactive fuel.  However, the reactor shut downs will greatly impact electric power supply in the Republic of Korea, officials say it will take several months to replace all the parts.

I did not find any reports indicating if the faulty parts might have been the cause of two emergency shut downs back in August.  Korea (south) currently has 23 nuclear reactors in operation. They hope to have 39 by the Gregorian/Western/Christian calender year 2030.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

World War 3 & What Economic Recovery? Mazda sees massive sales drop in China, two months in a row! Ends night time production with Ford and Changan!

05 November 2012, Japan’s Mazda reports massive sales drop in one of the richest countries in the world; China.   Mazda sales dropped 35% in September, and 44.9% in October, compared to the same months in 2011.

Mazda officials are blaming the drop on a boycott of Japanese goods by Chinese consumers. This is because of Japan nationalizing an island (with plans for militarization) in the East China Sea.

Mazda has now cut its 2012 sales expectations in half.   The night shift at a car factory in Nanjing will be ended.  The Nanjing factory is a joint venture with U.S. Ford and China’s Changan Automobile.

Business/Economics, Opinion, U.S.

People of the United States finally realizing that working hard does not improve your life, it only improves the life of the Man!

“The U.S. ranks outside of the top ten for the first time (down to 12th), pulled down primarily by a decline in the Entrepreneurship & Opportunity sub-index. This fall is driven by a decline in the number of U.S. citizens who
believe that hard work will get them ahead……”-2012 Legatum Prosperity Index

According to a recent study by the Legatum Institute, fewer and fewer U.S. citizens believe that hard work pays off.

I can attest to that, after three decades of busting my ass, doing my best, and I have almost nothing to show for it (I am still better off than those who’ve ended up on the streets).

I’ve been praised by employers for my attention to detail, organizing and people management skills. Yet when it came to getting a significant raise or promotion, forget it! I got zip, nada!

I’ve worked positions that required four year college degrees, only to be replaced with a college graduate, then ordered to train them!!!  I finally got a four year college degree, but now (that plus my 30 years work experience) I’m “overqualified” (and I still have to somehow pay for the student loans).

What I’ve learned working for unAmerican Corporate America, is that when it comes down to the bottom line (meaning the execs and shareholders are facing a loss of dividends or bonuses) it doesn’t matter how hard you worked for the company (or even if you can prove you’re making money for the company as happened to me in several cases), if they decide it’s time for you to go, you’re gone!

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Government & Corporate Incompetence, World War 3 & What Economic Recovery? United States not even part the top ten most prosperous countries! War on Terror makes the U.S. insecure!

According to the Legatum Institute, the United States not only is not the most prosperous country anymore, it’s not even in the top ten!

The United States was considered the 10th most prosperous last year, but in 2012 the U.S. is now ranked 12th overall!

The Legatum Institute ranks 142 nations in eight sub-indexes: economy, entrepreneurship and opportunity, governance, education, health, safety and security, personal freedom and social capital.

According to their 2012 Prosperity Index, the U.S. now ranks 2nd in health, 5th in education, 10th in governance, 10th in social capital, 12th in entrepreneurship and opportunity, 14th in personal freedom, 20th in economy, and despite more than a decade of War on Terror 27th in safety and security (seems the war has actually made the U.S. more unsafe)!

The top 10 most prosperous countries are: Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Finland, Netherlands, Switzerland and Ireland.  (notice that most of these are in Europe where the economy is supposed to be worse than the U.S., many of these countries have strong labor unions and more worker rights than the U.S.)

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Updated list of more Kmart and Sears closings! More Kmart stores in Ohio & Florida going down!

02 November 2012, in the past 24 hours it has been revealed that two more Kmarts are being closed, check my updated list.

Alabama: Gadsden Kmart (50 jobs lost), Mobile Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Auburn Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost).

California:   El Monte Sears (at least 40 jobs lost. Damien Arrula, El Monte’s economic development director, said the store manager had lied about what was going on: “The general manager of the store had just indicated to me that they were remodeling.”), two San Diego Sears (at least 80 jobs lost), Pleasant Hill Kmart (more than 50 jobs lost).

Colorado:  Broomfield Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Glenwood Springs Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Lone Tree Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Longmont Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Pueblos’ South Side Kmart (52 jobs lost).

Georgia: Macon Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Buford Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Douglasville Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Atlanta Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Columbus Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Jonesboro Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Cartersville Kmart (74 jobs lost).

Florida: Fernandina Beach Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Callaway Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Orange City Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost),  Deland Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Stuart Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), West Palm Beach Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Port St. Lucie Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Crystal River Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), New Smyrna Beach Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Saint Augustine Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Pompano Beach Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost),  Jacksonville Kmart on 5751 Beach Boulevard (71 jobs lost), second Kmart in Jacksonville on 4645 Blanding Boulevard (83 jobs lost), Ocoee Sears (102 jobs lost), Pensacola Kmart on Airport Boulevard closed in 2011, Pensacola Kmart on Mobile Highway to be closed by 03 February 2013 (69 jobs lost), and recently revealed Hialeah Kmart (67 jobs lost).

Idaho: Lewiston Sears (at least 60 jobs lost).

Indiana:  Anderson Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Saint John Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Indianapolis Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost).

Illinois:  Melrose Park Sears parts and repair center (50 jobs lost), Fairview Heights Kmart (81 jobs lost), Freeport Kmart (45 jobs lost), Pontiac Kmart (more than 47 jobs lost).

Iowa:  Cedar Rapids Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Davenport Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Burlington Kmart (50 jobs lost).

Kansas: Lawrence Sears (at least 40 jobs lost).

Kentucky: Middlesboro Sears Hard lines, Winchester Kmart, Hazard Kmart.

Maine: Lewiston Sears.

Maryland: Ellicott Sears Grand/Essentials.

Michigan: Brighton Sears Grand/Essentials,  Harper Woods Sears Full line, Monroe Sears Full line, Adrian Sears Full line, Washington Township Kmart, Chesterfield Kmart, Woodhaven Kmart.

Minnesota: Willmar Kmart, Duluth Kmart, New Hope Kmart, White Bear Lake Kmart.

Mississippi: Jackson Sears Full line, McComb Sears Full line, Columbus Sears Full line.

Missouri: Lee’s Summit Sears Grand/Essentials, Saint Louis Sears Full line.

Montana: Missoula Kmart.

New Hampshire: Nashau Sears Grand/Essentials, Keene Sears Grand/Essentials.

North Carolina: High Point Sears Full line, Moorehead Sears Full line, Rocky Mount Sears Full line, Statesville Sears Full line.

New Jersey:  Lawnside Kmart.

Ohio: Chagrin Falls Kmart, Springfield Kmart, two Toledo Kmarts, Medina Kmart, Columbus Kmart, Zanesville Sears (67 jobs lost), and recently revealed Trotwood Kmart (71 jobs lost).   Also, Van Wert Sears franchise bought out by Kirk Berryman, owner of Computer & Networking Technologies (CNT), who plans on moving the store to a new location.

Oregon: Roseburg Sears Full line.

Pennsylvania: Upper Darby Sears Full line, Pottstown Sears Full line, Pittsburgh Kmart, Wilkins Sears.

South Carolina: Sumter Sears, Orangeburg Sears (approximately 50 jobs lost).

Tennessee: Antioch Sears Full line, Cleveland Sears Full line, Oak Ridge Sears Full line, Hendersonville Kmart, Morristown Sears Full line.

Texas: Two Sears parts and repair centers closing in The Woodlands (117 jobs lost), rebuild center in Garland (58 jobs lost).

Virginia: Norfolk Sears Full line,  Midlothian Kmart, Richmond Kmart, Lynchburg Sears (84 jobs lost).

Washington: Walla Walla Sears Full line, Lacey Kmart, Kelso Sears, Lakewood Kmart (59 jobs lost), Bellingham Sears (92 jobs lost).

Wisconsin: West Baraboo Sears Grand/Essentials, Rice Lake Kmart.

On top of that, Sears Holdings sold stores to General Growth Properties, of which it has been reported that those stores will be closed.

It was recently announced that the Provo, Utah, store will continue operating as a Sears.  Sears Holdings announced that GGP made a lease deal they couldn’t refuse, so they will continue running the GGP owned store.

Here’s the list of 11 Sears stores now owned by GGP:

Iowa: Coral Ridge Mall, and Mall of the Bluffs

Texas: The Woodlands Mall

Florida: West Oaks Mall

Utah: Fashion Place, and Provo Towne Centre (note the evil British empire way of spelling town & center)

Oklahoma: Quail Springs Mall

Hawaii: Ala Moana Center

Washington: Bellis Fair Mall

Minnesota: Apache Mall

Illinois: Market Place Shopping Center