Pizza ranks high as a mobile commodity
One of the silliest applications on the Iphone and the Ipod touch (neither of which I have) but what a great idea.
The app has been in the Iphone world for about three months now and has generated over $1 million in sales!!
Pizza Hut previously had a WAP enabled application that allowed mobile ordering, so they’ve been in this space for a while now.
Who needs a fancy level or directions through the NYC subway when you’ve got instant access to breadsticks and greasy pizza?
Mmmm…
Ole’ Warren snags himself another
When Buffet plays with trains, he really plays with trains.
For a cool $36 billion, the Oracle of Omaha has snatched up BNSF.
Berkshire Hathaway already owned 22% of the railroad’s stock…so hey..let’s buy the rest of it whatta ya say?
Oh and if you haven’t seen BH’s website, it’s very unassuming, almost like a teenager developed it with newly found HTML skills.
So does this mean we’ll start seeing a little green gecko hauling ass down the rail lines? I hope so…
With car dealerships going bye bye…do we all start walking now?
The news is bleak and and what is being touted as a cost cutting measure is going to royally screw us. Chrysler announced yetserday that nearly 800 dealership franschises agreements would be ending. This doesnt mean that all dealers who sell Chryslers will close, it simply means they wont be selling you one anymore.
Bigger dealerships will feel the pain but won’t all together die because of this decisions. Smaller family owened businesses that only sell Chryslers are finito.
Just today GM has announced a similar kick in the ass. So where does that leave us? Not sure considering that nobody is buying cars or else these closures would not be occuring and GM would not be about one month from bankruptcy protection.
I have this fear that the car buying experience is going to get worse rather than better. I mean worse in the sense that so many other outlets are opening up for people to buy cars that the process of buying one is going to change.
But that’s is a good thing right? Well yes and no…depends on who you are. I like the advent of online car buying but like I have mentioned in other posts, some buyers don’t. Dealerships suck that’s a given, but it’s hard to throw down cash on a vehicle you cant plop your ass into.
This is a sickening feeling watching these dealerships go up in smoke. Lost jobs, lost profits, loss of competitive advantage pricing, what else?
I’ll be anxious to see what the 2009 Auto Shows will be like this year. Will that many people get all giddied up over $250, 000 concept cars when they can’t afford to visit a dealer and buy a sedan for $15000? Enough with the hype of super, jetsetting sports cars and uber tekky, GPS synched computers on wheels. How about coming out with affordable, eco friendly cars which don’t break the bank of the manufactures (thank you UAW!!!!!!) and…do not put the average car buyer into a high percentage loan they can’t afford.
Have you noticed a lot of people riding busses and buzzing around on scooters? So have I.
As big as the industry is, it’s hard to gauge how all of us will truly feel the effect but we will soon, before the summer is over I bet.
Paying off the National Debt and Stimulus Package in minutes, hours, days
I do not think much needs to be said here. Just look at the numbers, and imagine how much money it really is. Numbers like this seemed inconceivable just 30 years ago.
We need to worry about how we are going to fix the debt problem, and we need to ask how those spending the money plan on paying it back.
Stimulus money feels great when you receive it, but paying it back is not as fun.
A very basic breakdown of stimulus plan – part deux
No one is going to lead their local economics club in a lecture about the stimulus after reading this breakdown, but in the spirit of bar talk it will at least make you sound like you know what you are talking about. So read it, yawn, read it and yawn. I believe it is a two yawn breakdown, but for fast readers it may only be a one.
Here you go -
Taxes:
The recovery package has tax breaks for families that send a child to college, purchase a new car, buy a first home or make the ones they own more energy efficient.
Millions of workers can expect to see about $13 extra in their weekly paychecks, starting around June, from a new $400 tax credit to be doled out through the rest of the year. Couples would get up to $800. In 2010, the credit would be about $7.70 a week, if it is spread over the entire year.
The $1,000 child tax credit would be extended to more low-income families that don’t make enough money to pay income taxes, and poor families with three or more children will get an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit.
Middle-income and wealthy taxpayers will be spared from paying the Alternative Minimum Tax, which was designed 40 years ago to make sure wealthy taxpayers pay at least some tax, but was never indexed for inflation. Congress fixes it each year, usually in the fall.
First-time homebuyers who purchase their homes before Dec. 1 would be eligible for an $8,000 tax credit, and people who buy new cars before the end of the year can write off the sales taxes.
Homeowners who add energy-efficient windows, furnaces and air conditioners can get a tax credit to cover 30 percent of the costs, up to a total of $1,500. College students — or their parents — are eligible for tax credits of up to $2,500 to help pay tuition and related expenses in 2009 and 2010.
Those receiving unemployment benefits this year wouldn’t pay any federal income taxes on the first $2,400 they receive.
___
Health insurance:
Many workers who lose their health insurance when they lose their jobs will find it cheaper to keep that coverage while they look for work.
Right now, most people working for medium and large employers can continue their coverage for 18 months under the COBRA program when they lose their job. It’s expensive, often over $1,000 a month, because they pay the share of premiums once covered by their employer as well as their own share from the old group plan.
Under the stimulus package, the government will pick up 65 percent of the total cost of that premium for the first nine months.
Lawmakers initially proposed to help workers from small companies, too, who don’t generally qualify for COBRA coverage. But that fell through. The idea was to have Washington pay to extend Medicaid to them.
COBRA applies to group plans at companies employing at least 20 people. The subsidies will be offered to those who lost their jobs from Sept. 1 to the end of this year.
Those who were put out of work after September but didn’t elect to have COBRA coverage at the time will have 60 days to sign up.
The plan offers $87 billion to help states administer Medicaid. That could slow or reverse some of the steps states have taken to cut the program.
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Infrastructure:
Highways repaved for the first time in decades. Century-old waterlines dug up and replaced with new pipes. Aging bridges, stressed under the weight of today’s SUVs, reinforced with fresh steel and concrete.
But the $90 billion is a mere down payment on what’s needed to repair and improve the country’s physical backbone. And not all economists agree it’s an effective way to add jobs in the long term, or stimulate the economy.
___
Energy:
Homeowners looking to save energy, makers of solar panels and wind turbines and companies hoping to bring the electric grid into the computer age all stand to reap major benefits.
The package contains more than $42 billion in energy-related investments from tax credits to homeowners to loan guarantees for renewable energy projects and direct government grants for makers of wind turbines and next-generation batteries.
There’s a 30 percent tax credit of up to $1,500 for the purchase of a highly efficient residential air conditioners, heat pumps or furnaces. The credit also can be used by homeowners to replace leaky windows or put more insulation into the attic. About $300 million would go for rebates to get people to buy efficient appliances.
The package includes $20 billion aimed at “green” jobs to make wind turbines, solar panels and improve energy efficiency in schools and federal buildings. It includes $6 billion in loan guarantees for renewable energy projects as well as tax breaks or direct grants covering 30 percent of wind and solar energy investments. Another $5 billion is marked to help low-income homeowners make energy improvements.
About $11 billion goes to modernize and expand the nation’s electric power grid and $2 billion to spur research into batteries for future electric cars.
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Schools:
A main goal of education spending in the stimulus bill is to help keep teachers on the job.
Nearly 600,000 jobs in elementary and secondary schools could be eliminated by state budget cuts over the next three years, according to a study released this past week by the University of Washington. Fewer teachers means higher class sizes, something that districts are scrambling to prevent.
The stimulus sets up a $54 billion fund to help prevent or restore state budget cuts, of which $39 billion must go toward kindergarten through 12th grade and higher education. In addition, about $8 billion of the fund could be used for other priorities, including modernization and renovation of schools and colleges, though how much is unclear, because Congress decided not to specify a dollar figure.
The Education Department will distribute the money as quickly as it can over the next couple of years.
And it adds $25 billion extra to No Child Left Behind and special education programs, which help pay teacher salaries, among other things.
This money may go out much more slowly; states have five years to spend the dollars, and they have a history of spending them slowly. In fact, states don’t spend all the money; they return nearly $100 million to the federal treasury every year.
The stimulus bill also includes more than $4 billion for the Head Start and Early Head Start early education programs and for child care programs.
___
National debt:
One thing about the president’s $790 billion stimulus package is certain: It will jack up the federal debt.
Whether or not it succeeds in producing jobs and taming the recession, tomorrow’s taxpayers will end up footing the bill.
Forecasters expect the 2009 deficit — for the budget year that began last Oct 1 — to hit $1.6 trillion including new stimulus and bank-bailout spending. That’s about three times last year’s shortfall.
The torrents of red ink are being fed by rising federal spending and falling tax revenues from hard-hit businesses and individuals.
The national debt — the sum of all annual budget deficits — stands at $10.7 trillion. Or about $36,000 for every man, woman and child in the U.S.
Interest payments alone on the national debt will near $500 billion this year. It’s already the fourth-largest federal expenditure, after Medicare-Medicaid, Social Security and defense.
This will affect us all directly for years, as well as our children and possibly grandchildren, in higher taxes and probably reduced government services. It will also force continued government borrowing, increasingly from China, Japan, Britain, Saudi Arabia and other foreign creditors.
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Environment:
The package includes $9.2 billion for environmental projects at the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency. The money would be used to shutter abandoned mines on public lands, to help local governments protect drinking water supplies, and to erect energy-efficient visitor centers at wildlife refuges and national parks.
The Interior Department estimates that its portion of the work would generate about 100,000 jobs over the next two years.
Yet the plan will only make a dent in the backlog of cleanups facing the EPA and the long list of chores at the country’s national parks, refuges and other public lands. It would be more like a down payment.
When it comes to national parks, the plan sets aside $735 million for road repairs and maintenance. But that’s a fraction of the $9 billion worth of work waiting for funding.
At EPA, the payout is $7.2 billion. The bulk of the money will help local communities and states repair and improve drinking water systems and fund projects that protect bays, rivers and other waterways used as sources of drinking water.
The rest of EPA’s cut — $800 million — will be used to clean up leaky gasoline storage tanks and the nation’s hazardous waste sites.
___
Police:
The stimulus bill includes plenty of green for those wearing blue.
The compromise bill doles out more than $3.7 billion for police programs, much of which is set aside for hiring new officers.
The law allocates $2 billion for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant, a program that has funded drug task forces and things such as prisoner rehabilitation and after-school programs.
An additional $1 billion is set aside to hire local police under the Community Oriented Policing Services program. The program, known as COPS grants, paid the salaries of many local police officers and was a “modest contributor” to the decline in crime in the 1990s, according to a 2005 government oversight report.
Both programs had all been eliminated during the Bush administration.
The bill also includes $225 million for general criminal justice grants for things such as youth mentoring programs, $225 million for Indian tribe law enforcement, $125 million for police in rural areas, $100 million for victims of crimes, $50 million to fight Internet crimes against children and $40 million in grants for law enforcement along the Mexican border.
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Higher Education:
The maximum Pell Grant, which helps the lowest-income students attend college, would increase from $4,731 currently to $5,350 starting July 1 and $5,550 in 2010-2011. That would cover three-quarters of the average cost of a four-year college. An extra 800,000 students, or about 7 million, would now get Pell funding.
The stimulus also increases the tuition tax credit to $2,500 and makes it 40 percent refundable, so families who don’t earn enough to pay income tax could still get up to $1,000 in extra tuition help.
Computer expenses will now be an allowable expense for 529 college savings plans.
The final package cut $6 billion the House wanted to spend to kick-start building projects on college campuses. But parts of the $54 billion state stabilization fund — with $39 billion set aside for education — can be used for modernizing facilities.
There’s also an estimated $15 billion for scientific research, much of which will go to universities. Funding for the National Institutes of Health includes $1.5 billion set aside for university research facilities.
Altogether, the package spends an estimated $32 billion on higher education.
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The Poor:
More than 37 million Americans live in poverty, and the vast majority of them are in line for extra help under the giant stimulus package. Millions more could be kept from slipping into poverty by the economic lifeline.
People who get food stamps — 30 million and growing — will get more. People drawing unemployment checks — nearly 5 million and growing — would get an extra $25, and keep those checks coming longer. People who get Supplemental Security Income — 7 million poor Americans who are elderly, blind or disabled — would get one-time extra payments of $250.
Many low-income Americans also are likely to benefit from a trifecta of tax credits: expansions to the existing Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, and a new refundable tax credit for workers. Taken together, the three credits are expected to keep more than 2 million Americans from falling into poverty, including more than 800,000 children, according to the private Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The package also includes a $3 billion emergency fund to provide temporary assistance to needy families. In addition, cash-strapped states will get an infusion of $87 billion for Medicaid, the government health program for poor people, and that should help them avoid cutting off benefits to the needy.
File under AWESOME – McCaskill Proposes Compensation Cap For Private Companies Getting Federal Dollars
Yep, the awesomeness meter just went to eleven. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo) just dropped a bomb on CEO’s and other executives who work for companies asking for or using bailout money. I do not know yet whether I love it, or hate it, because I just got the news via email from a friend, but I can tell you I love Congress actually dropping a bomb like this on the floor. It makes C-SPAN must see t.v.
Here is the rest of the story directly from Senator Claire McCaskill’s website.
Under Bill No Employee Could Make More than President of the United States
Outraged by the latest news stories about corporate luxuries afforded by the very same companies that took public money and assistance in recent economic emergency packages, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today took to the senate floor to introduce new legislation that would prevent company executives receiving federal assistance from receiving compensation totaling more than the salary of the President of the United States.
“Going forward if you want taxpayers to help you survive, if you want the people at your financial institution to have a job tomorrow, then you’re going to have to limit everyone’s pay at your company to the same salary that the President of the United States makes,” said McCaskill from the Senate floor. “Now once they’re off the public dole, once the taxpayers aren’t footing the bill, then it’s not as much our business what they get paid. But right now they’re on the hook to us. And they owe us something other than a fancy waste basket and $50 million jet.”
Under Cap Executive Officer Pay Act of 2009, no employee of any private company that accepts federal dollars because of the economic downturn would be able to make more than the President on the United States – approximately $400,000 a year – until the company is no longer reliant on federal dollars. According to the bill, compensation would include salary, bonuses, and stock options.
And here is the video of the Senator on the floor
Debunking a “theoretical” criticism of the Obama Stimulus
January 20, 2009 - President Barack Obama Oath of Office
OK, I am probably diving in over my head on this one. So here goes. The Wall Street Journal online ran an opinion piece (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123292987008414041.html?mod=googlenews_wsj) which cites a study that claims to de-bunk the theory behind a Keynesian-style stimulus plan as a cure (partial or otherwise) for an ailing economy.
The basis of the argument is that when a government spends a dollar, it takes a dollar from some other pocket which washes the impact of the spending.
The claim is that because the government would have to (in this case) sell a bond, the investor that buys the bond would otherwise have invested the money somewhere that would have had much the same effect as the stimulus package would have on the greater economy.
I accept that this may be true in an otherwise healthy economy. But in the current economy it must be kept in mind that the propensity of savers to invest in riskier assets – let alone in job creating businesses is sharply lower than what it would be in an otherwise healthy economy. Thus it is likely that those funds, if not used to purchase the government bond used to finance the stimulus, would have stayed in some ultra secure savings vehicle, a bank account (and we know how eager banks are to lend these days) or some other asset which is ultra secure and would not in fact be deployed somewhere that would get the economy moving.
It is exactly in situations like the one we are in where a Keynesian stimulus package will work. No, it will not cure all the economy’s problems. Will it make them less severe than they otherwise might be. I truly believe it will.
You can find a PhD or study to say just about anything you want. The key is to understand the assumptions underlying the theory or study. I have not reviewed the study referenced in the opinion piece. But you do not need a PhD to know that Keynesian stimulus proposals – whose impact may very well be muted by less private spending in a healthy economy – are made to order for an environment where the propensity of consumers and investors is to be risk averse to an extreme degree.
Further, the psychological shift in confidence that may result in increasing private economy risk appetites (and is probably impossible to quantify in an economic study) over time from the knowledge that the government is stepping up to the plate is a key component in the effectiveness of any stimulus plan.
The article makes some good points about the first version of the stimulus package and its apparent lack of timeliness (when the money will be spent). But this Congress and Administration have been in place less than a week (together). Let’s give them a few weeks.
In ordinary times I am very much opposed to Keynesian policy for reasons consistent with the position laid out in the article. But, like the great man himself once said, “when the facts change, I change my mind….what do you do sir?”
CEO greed at its worse…a disgusting examination of who we really work for
The news is ghastly and literally makes you sick to your stomach. Once again, a large corporate CEO has been exposed and details are coming forward concerning John Thain. Thain is the recently ousted chief exec at Merrill Lynch after news of his extravagant spending has come to light. We need people to lead and companies need quality CEOs to guide the culture and direction of its employees, but this is grounds for a free range turkey shoot.
I don’t know how to react to this but I’m almost forced to pull at heart strings because I don’t know how our system will change. If you analyze what this man did and what potential repercussions it has on other people, it is completely and utterly criminal. I mean in the same category as a masked gunman robbing a bank, robbing an elderly couple on the street, or simply robbing hard working human beings of their dignity.
He’s not the only one who has plundered corporate finances on meaningless and material objects. Dennis Kozlowski, former CEO of Tyco, was jailed for his elaborate spending. He once arranged a birthday party for his wife in a tropical location, hired Jimmy Buffet to perform, had a fountain with flowing vodka, waiters dressed in togas, and had a life size cake of his wife made with exploding candy breasts, no kidding. He used company money. At times, the stories are humorous but only so if the economy is good and people have jobs.
Considering the economic struggles of Americans right now – this hits home with me. It hits home with me because my family has been impacted by the economy and we’ve been impacted by health issues. This is not a sob story or an attempt to make someone feel sorry for another person, but rather a look at how this man’s actions actually have a trickle down effect to others – as if he actually pulled out the financial rug himself.
Here is a lay out of what he did and theoretically how it impacts the rest of us paupers:
Hires White House decorator guru Michael Smith to decorate his corporate office at $800,000, which is about the same as sixteen Merrill Lynch analysts making $50,000 who were laid off when ML announced a 10% workforce reduction in 2008.
Area rugs valued at $131,000, which is roughly the value of a first time home for a young family which are now left with a mortgage payment and no income.
Guests chairs valued at $87,000, which equates to the salary of a highly skilled network administrator losing his IT job.
Wall sconces at $2700, which equates to about six months of the average COBRA payments for a laid off worker who has no other health coverage.
A credenza valued at $68,000 – another salaried employee – gone.
A $1400 trash can – again another mortgage payment- gone.
Do not forgot the $4 billion in executive bonuses which he paid out as Merrill Lynch was being purchased by Bank of America. This was billions (billions!) of dollars handed out to individuals who didn’t even have the leadership capability to keep ML afloat. BofA has just recently received $25 billion in bailout funds just prior to the take over of Merrill Lynch. Thank god our government stepped in and helped with the financial burden caused by that huge ass $13,000 chandelier hanging in Thain’s office !
This rant could go on and on. The damage has been done and it is most likely Thain will get a nice pension payout from BofA execs under the table unless it becomes public news – which if he does – it will. If he does- it may be time for me to run naked down the street because apparently you can get away with anything in this country. Hopefully, it does not happen and the man slithers back into his life outside of his corporate crime spree. It’s nothing more than a crime spree considering Merrill Lynch was a sinking ship and pink slips were being handed out.
A CEO is hired based on his or her credentials and seemingly a perfect fit for the organization – so they are compensated nicely. The problem is that the methodology of “salary” is relative to all employees within the company. The assembly line worker making $40,000 still wants to be paid if the company does not do well. The same goes for the CEO as they don’t want their value depreciated by a falling stock price just as much as the worker in the office. Hell, if you had $40 or $50 billion in stock value – you’d probably not even wink at someone walking in with a chair valued at more than a car. Board of Directors are creating invincible, highly compensated money churning robots with no regard for those people who hold very fragile roles within the framework of a corporation. It’s a reality, we work in an At Will employment environment which is dictated by the behavior of the market. Good market= jobs, bad market= layoffs. But, can the spending be justified when employees are being escorted out the door, salaries are lost, and families forced to suffer a little bit until something better comes along? Many people never get that second chance to recover, but this slimy pig will.
This irresponsible corporate spending is virtually untouched by any current laws governing corporate responsibility. How does this type of criminal “free” spending not fall under any Sarbanes Oxley guidelines? There is no accounting oversight even though , based on the books, this spending looks certified. The legislation apparently only concerns itself with whether or not the spending is reported as “complete” and “accurate”. I do not understand how the SEC can’t hold the power to freeze the payment for outlandish office decor – is this not considered a “large” or “unusual” payment?
A road warrior consultant can’t spend over $30 on an out of town dinner, but John Thain can do this.
How can we have a legitimate democratic political system without a democratized economy
Too Big for the Average Joe
Recently an acquaintance of mine, sent me an email with several questions in it. One of these questions I found more intriguing then the others, and it goes as follows.
How can we have a legitimate democratic political system without a democratized economy? In other words, when wealth and power are concentrated in the hands of a few at the expense of the many, what’s to stop the rich and powerful from buying up, owning, and operating the American government, and running it to suit their own self serving ends?
The answer as unpleasant as it may be, is NOTHING. The other day I was listening to David Cay Johnston a New York Times best selling author and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and economist talk about the fiscal imbalance in America and how the poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer. Although this is not shocking in and of itself, what is shocking is some of the subject matter he addressed. Here is a link to his article on Mother Jones I think everyone should read – http://www.mojones.com/news/feature/2009/01/fiscal-therapy.html
David Cay Johnston mentions in this article that the top 1,000 wage earners in America make one percent of the total salaries paid. In other words, out of the 200 million or so employed people in the United States 1,000 of them take 1 penny for every dollar earned by the rest. This is amazing, truly amazing. Furthermore, the lower 90% of wage earners, or roughly 180 million people earn less money on an equivalency basis then they did in 1973. Yep that is correct, you are truly worse off than your parents, if you do the same work.
It really does make since if you think about it. The poor rarely vote, the poor never lobby and the poor never become representatives of the people, so who cares about them. It costs money to be in office, it costs money to run for office, it costs money to get politicians to care about you, so if you do not have money what good are you?
There are several key points in the Johnston article that deserve their own post, so I will stop this one now, and address the others later, but keep the question in mind, and if you come up with a different answer, please let us know.
Some stimulation feels really good, and others not so much
Samuel J. Palmisano recent put fourth three ideas to help stimulate the economy. His stimulus ideas, or should I say IBM’s stimulus ideas are by no means unique or original, however, IBM did take the time and spend the money (one assumes) to put some facts and figures to the ideas, which I give them total credit for.
The three stimulus ideas are build broadband infrastructure across America, mandate and create a unified health care records and management system and finally develop a modern electrical grid.
All three of these ideas are great ideas and many-many people have brought them up in the past, including our current President elect. All three of the plans combined would cost approximately $30 billion a year, but the flip-side is they would generate (according to IBM) $100 billion a year in new revenue and stimulate significant job creation. Because the Wall Street Journal published the entire article about these topics I will simply include a link to the story for you to read more about these topics. However, I have a few other suggestions I believe should be high on the national agenda, and I will write about them here on my favorite site.
First – A high speed rail network across America. I would like a national high speed rail network that connects all major metropolitan areas in the United States, with more than 1.5 million residents. The system at first could be built for interstate or inter-coastal connectivity, and then integrated into a national system as the project matures. California has proposed a similar system several times with an estimated price tag of $8 billion – $15 billion, so we will take an educated guess and say the national system would cost at least $100 billion dollars, but it would not be completed in a single year, so let’s call it $15 billion per year.
Start the project on the West Coast and East Coast simultaneously, with a third project starting in Texas within 24 months. The first 15 routes would focus on metropolitan areas with more than 4 million residents and then connect to the smaller metropolitan areas as it builds out, based on proximity to the major metro areas.
Second – A national airline. This airline would be used for small “hopper” routes in the Midwest and rural United States. The airline would offer reasonable to cheap flights to under-served areas on non-profitable routes for the major airlines. The national airline would also offer international flights to smaller airports and cities meeting the same criteria.
Third – A national broadband wireless network. IBM proposed a broadband network connecting the entire United States, but they did not specify wireless or hard-wired. I firmly lean toward wireless. I believe we should have the ability to access a wireless Internet signal anywhere we currently receive television or radio signals through the air. The Internet is a government controlled and funded system, and allowing private enterprise to capitalize on such a valuable conduit for providing and receiving information only stifles creativity and growth in the economy, while providing marginal bottom-line benefit to the corporations that push the service.
Fourth – Offer free classes and training at most two-year community colleges. Allow people who need to educate themselves, learn a new trade or simply want to learn the ability to attend a two-year community college or trade school for free. This will not only help stimulate the economy by increasing the available job pool, but it will help in many ancillary ways as well. I better educated society will be healthier, less prone to crime and financially more responsible.
There are many other areas and ideas that should be addressed, but the obvious point of this article and the IBM article, is the approach should be rifle targeted rather than a shotgun scatter approach as is currently the case. If we are going to spend trillions of dollars stimulating the economy let’s at least make us a stronger, wiser and more prepared country as a result.
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- Brittany Murphy’s death is troubling September 3, 2010Not that it’s another tragic celebrity death, not that it’s another young life taken so early…these are all troubling and sad in their own right. It’s another tragic case of someone getting caught up in the web of drugs…the legal type! It truly saddens me that so many of these stars seek out more and more prescription [...] […]kansasview
- Internet fun for the weekend… September 3, 2010By far one of my favorite websites of late is called GraphJam.com. Essentially, the website attempts to break down the world and how we interact with it in a series of graphs. It is hilarious when you see how the world around us can be so easily summed up in a pie or bar chart. [...] […]kansasview
- So why are more companies not yet hiring? September 3, 2010U.S. Workers are still filing a large amount of unemployment claims and this is after five weeks of declines in this area. Where are the culprits and which industries are still hurting? It’s apparent as we have seen over the last year is that a gradual stabilization of the economy does not naturally translate to a increase [...] […]kansasview
- Facebook is down…Facebook is down…5:42 (cst) September 3, 2010This website is not a help desk for Facebook but it’s a civic duty to keep the American public aware of all possible natural disasters!! Facebook is down! Facebook is down! Don’t toss your Iphone in the river or hurl it at your wife and complain that it doesn’t work worth a s***. Here is the current [...] […]kansasview
- Texas – what the hell is wrong with you!? September 3, 2010
