Greece wants $236 billion in German World War II reparations

February 9, 2015

Athens: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says the country has a "moral obligation" to claim reparations from Germany for the damages wrought by the Nazis during World War II.

Greece had "a moral obligation to our people, to history, to all European peoples who fought and gave their blood against Nazism," he said in a key address to parliament.

Berlin has already sounded a firm "no" to requests for reparations nearly 70 years after the end of the war, but Mr Tsipras and his radical left party have vowed to tackle the issue. The issue risks aggravating already strained ties between Athens and Berlin, as Mr Tsipras bids to reverse austerity measures imposed by its international creditors.

"Our historical obligation is to claim the occupation loan and reparations," the new prime minister said, referring to Germany's four-year occupation of Greece and a war-time loan which the Third Reich forced the Greek central bank to give it, and which ruined the country financially.

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Mr Tsipras's anti-austerity Syriza party claims Germany owes it about around €162 billion ($236 billion), about or around half the country's public debt, which stands at over €315 billion. The loan to the Third Reich was for 476 million Reichsmarks, which was valued at $US8.25 billion in a 2012 German Bundestag lower house of Parliament report.

Mr Tsipras said on Sunday that his government would not seek an extension of a stringent bailout program and would carry out its campaign pledges to roll back austerity, but gradually.

In laying out his government's program in a speech before Parliament, Mr Tsipras sought to tread a line between satisfying coalition lawmakers and supporters that his government will honour the anti-austerity promises that brought it to power last month while reassuring creditors that his radical leftist administration is prepared to move towards a compromise that keeps the economy afloat without further burdening European taxpayers.

Greece's creditors - the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund - want the new government to seek an extension beyond February 28 of the European portion of the country's bailout of €240 billion. However, the government  has said that despite dwindling cash reserves, it is not interested in the latest portion of the bailout, a loan of €7 billion, because of what it sees as onerous conditions. Instead, it has said it wants a program between now and the end of May to bridge the gap and permission to raise short-term funding by issuing treasury bills.

"We only have one commitment: to serve the interests of our people, the good of society," Mr Tsipras said, noting that it was an "irreversible decision" of his government to fulfil its campaign promises "in their entirety".

AFP, New York Times

Greece wants $236 billion in German World War II reparations

Michigan paying the price now for tax plan to save business - Yahoo News

 

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — On a Tuesday morning in October 2010, a beaming Gov. Jennifer Granholm and executives of the Detroit Three automakers walked into a meeting of Michigan's economic development board to announce the final pieces of an agreement to head off thousands of company layoffs looming for the recession-battered state.

The state would provide $2.9 billion in tax credits to help upgrade Michigan auto plants for the future; the carmakers would agree to add and keep factory jobs on their home turf.

"Today really seals that Michigan will remain the center of automotive manufacturing in the United States and around the globe," declared the term-limited Granholm, a Democrat, a week before voters would choose her successor.

Four years later, few are saying the deals were a bad idea but any sense of celebration is long gone. The bill for the job rescue — and similar ones in other states that used tax credits aggressively — is now coming due and providing a lesson in the downside of such measures.

The auto companies and many others are cashing in hundreds of millions of dollars in credits a year, cutting deeply into state revenues at a time when the budget should be flush with a rising economy. A projected $410 million budget shortfall is triggering cuts in funding for hospitals and diverting K-12 money to other purposes.

Having called such generous tax credits the "heroin drip" of government, Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has stopped awarding new ones despite the risk of hurting business recruitment. He instead is offering a smaller pot of cash for grants and loans.

Even with the tax credit halt, Michigan is still liable for up to $9.4 billion in old credits, which could reduce tax revenue by at least $500 million a year for the next 15 years.

Though its economy is improving and unemployment rate is at a 12-year low, Michigan is going to voters in May to approve a sales tax increase for road improvements it cannot afford.

"It just is a pit in my stomach," said Rep. Ken Yonker, a pro-business Republican who owns a landscaping business outside Grand Rapids. "Why do we keep subsidizing this?"

Auto industry backers insist the tax credits were still money well spent.

Without them, "Michigan would be languishing in the doldrums of 2009," said Mike Johnston, a lobbyist for the Michigan Manufacturers Association.

The budget outlook is also grim in Oklahoma, which dished out tax credits to wind energy developers and other industries to spur its economy. Now, as the state suffers from sliding oil prices, it faces a budget hole of more than $600 million, and the Legislature is telling agencies to prepare for up to 10 percent funding cuts.

Especially distressing to state officials is the suddenness and uncertainty of the financial impact.

In Michigan, about 220 large companies are allowed to subtract from their future business taxes certain amounts for each job they add or keep, with higher deductions for higher-paying jobs. With salaries rising in a better economy, the value of the credits has been going up. And when company revenues rise and create a need to offset the tax liability, large blocks of credits can be redeemed quickly, cutting state revenues.

The state's economic development agency this month revised the estimated liability upward by $2.9 billion, or 44 percent, through 2031.

Aides to Granholm, who now teaches at the University of California, Berkeley, say that any grousing now overlooks the desperate situation five years ago.

General Motors and Chrysler were drowning even with emergency federal loans and ultimately had to file for bankruptcy protection. Michigan was competing with Wisconsin, Tennessee and other auto states over which plants would close. The industry directly supports 15 percent of Michigan's jobs.

"We did what we needed to do in order to save the jobs that we saved," said Fred Hoffman, Granholm's special adviser for economic development.

Hoffman said two Michigan factories — GM's Orion Assembly Plant and Chrysler's Sterling Heights Assembly Plant — would have closed otherwise.

The tax credit backlash is increasing sentiment among some legislators for business to accept a larger burden. Snyder and the GOP-controlled Legislature also slashed business tax rates after he took office in 2011.

"We've got major investments we've got to make in public education and infrastructure," said Rep. Jim Townsend, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Tax Policy Committee, noting that Michigan companies paid the country's third-lowest share of total state and local taxes in 2013.

But Snyder and leading Republicans are pressing companies to schedule the credit redemption in advance to help with budget planning. And the officials are pledging to be wary of the tools used in the future to boost jobs.

"Those were vastly different times," said Steve Arwood, CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corp., adding, "I don't know what I would have done. I know I probably would have been very concerned for the very fundamentals of our economy."

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Michigan paying the price now for tax plan to save business - Yahoo News

Unit 1 at Byron nuclear power plant returns to full power - WREX.com – Rockford’s News Leader

 

amoon@wrex.com

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• 'Chunk of ice' shuts down Unit 1 at Byron nuclear power plant

BYRON (WREX) -

Byron Generating Station Unit 1 returned to full power Tuesday evening following repairs to a main power transformer, according to Paul Dempsey from Nuclear Communications. 
The unit automatically shut down March 3 after a large chunk of ice was found underneath the unit's transformers, leading officials to believe an "ice intrusion" interrupted power. Byron Station Unit 2 continued to operate during Unit 1's shutdown. 
With both units at full power, the site produces enough electricity for 2.3 million homes, according to a news release.

Unit 1 at Byron nuclear power plant returns to full power - WREX.com – Rockford’s News Leader

VOTE April 7

Municipal election and school board election.  Based upon past experience less than 300 votes will be cast for some of the alderman races in Belvidere and less than 1500 for District 100 school board candidates.  Please vote.  Remind your neighbors and friends—if they vote it certainly will count a great deal.

For the District 100 election Bill P. is supporting Allison Reid-Niemiec and Holly Houk.

Every voter has three votes:  One for one of the three Belvidere Township candidates.  Two votes for two of the four candidates from the other townships.

The following advertising literature was handed out at the District 100 Candidates Forum on Monday, March 9, 2015.

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VOTE FOR ONE OF THESE THREE:

 

 

 

Current School Board President, Michael Rathbun had no literature.  A statement regarding his candidacy  and the other candidates’ statements are available at: http://district100watchdog.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2015-02-21T15:07:00-06:00&max-results=7

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VOTE FOR TWO OF THESE FOUR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our View: Thanks for asking, Boone County, but answer is no to revenue sharing for Rockford casino - Opinion - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

Rockford Register Star’s responses to Boone County Chairman’s request for part of the revenue from the “would-be” casino.  To see Mr. Walberg’s request go to:  http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2015/03/boone-county-wants-in-on-rockford.html

 

Our View: Thanks for asking, Boone County, but answer is no to revenue sharing for Rockford casino - Opinion - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

Boone County VAC Seeks Additional Funding

 

BOONE COUNTY (WIFR) – Boone County residents who once fought for our country are now fighting for a bigger new home.

Veterans packed tonight’s Boone County finance meeting. The county’s veteran assistance commission was established on 12-12-12 by Attorney General Lisa Madigan in order to help veterans throughout Boone County. Last year, voters approved a .03% tax levy that Board Chairman Bob Wahlberg says produced $262,000. Today, VAC Chairman Greg Kelm asked the finance committee for an additional $13,000 to cover one year’s rent for a bigger building to move into.

"All we are asking is let the VAC do their job. Let us help the veterans. It's easy to say, ‘oh sure I want to help the veterans’ but we really don't want to kind of pay for it. And that's the situation sir, I'm in now,” says Kelm.

The finance committee agreed to move the question of additional funding to the full board for a vote on March 18th. They’re also asking the Attorney General to clarify whether the county is responsible for more funding fi the tax levy doesn’t produce enough funds.

Above is from:  Boone County VAC Seeks Additional Funding