Nice short interview which many have reported on—now you can read it direct.
I fear that the effect of the American economic stimulus plan won't be even half as big as expected.
Click on the following:
Joseph Stiglitz: "It's going to be bad, very bad" | Salon News
Banks maybe holding up merger with FIAT.
Because the banks hold debt secured by collateral, they have the right to take Chrysler plants and assets if the company files for bankruptcy protection. That means they may be better off with what's left of Chrysler in liquidation than what they'd get if they agree to restructure the debt.
Read the AP story by clicking the following: Report: Banks balk at efforts to cut Chrysler debt - Salon.com
The government plan does not allow banks to buy their own assets, but there is no ban on the purchase of securities and loans sold by others.
But public opinion may not tolerate the idea of banks selling each other their bad assets. Critics say that would leave the same amount of toxic assets in the system as before, but with the government now liable for most of the losses through its provision of non-recourse loans.
Read the entire article by clicking the following:
FT.com / Companies / Banks - Bailed-out banks eye toxic asset buys
I feel this is really a sign of a possible avalanche of Saturn dealers around the country going their own way.
Click on the following regarding the closure of three Saturn dealerships in KC: Saturn dealerships to close in KC area | Dollars & Sense
In fact, the money to be gained from exploiting this tax credit so dwarfs the money to be made in making paper
Taxpayers are paying the paper industry—handsomely[$8billion]--to use more fossil fuel. And this is not fiction. Read the rest of the story in The Nation.
Click on the following: Pulp Nonfiction
The actual shrinkage is one resident and $9,100 in sales tax.
Boone County, we are not alone. The rest of the country agrees that the “system” of government real estate assessing is not working. \
“The standard wisdom is that homeowners win on the upside and lose on the downside and over time that evens out,” she says. “But they don’t want to hear that it evens out when they’re worried about their job and their house value.”
Read the story by clicking on the following: As home values fall, property tax revolt brews | csmonitor.com
If you have a question about an email or letter talking of the “stimulus” remember it might be a scam. Here is the warning form the US Government. Click on the following: Recovery Board issues update on Recovery Act Frauds and Scams | Recovery.gov
This is a story about wind farms being proposed for the DeKalb-Sycamore area. I think the public ire would have been there no matter what the subject. The public officials did not know how to handle a public meeting with many citizens demanding to have their voices and opinions known. There are (as of this writing) 47 comments to the article. One wonders if the public disgust is not aggravated by the way officials handle not only the meeting but the whole governing process. Do most governmental units really want any input from regular citizens? The elected officials won the election. Voters by their vote “stated they will abide by their decision— Correct?
To read this story about wind farms and the right to speak to governing board, go to: Meeting was ill-planned | Daily Chronicle
Chicago Tribune: About 700 people gathered in a high school gymnasium at 9 a.m. on a recent Saturday for a public hearing on the proposed wind farm. By the time the project developer had fielded every question and concern, it was 4 a.m. Sunday To read more of the story click on the following: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-wind-farm-debate-03-apr03,0,4913073.story
"In sum, these measures should result in a significant stabilization of external demand much sooner than would have been the case otherwise, and therefore offer major boost to China's growth prospects," as stated by Standard Chartered economist, Stephen Green
Read the full article by clicking: China exporters potential beneficiaries of G20 plan - MarketWatch
This act authorizes $3,514,500,000 to help Americans get back to work through the national network of One-Stop Career Centers.
The closest Comprehensive One-Stop Career Centers for the Belvidere Area are located at:
303 N. Main St
Rockford, IL 61101
phn: 815-395-6600
16.7 miles1701 East Lincoln Hwy
DeKalb, IL 60115
phn: 815-756-4893
24.9 milesClick on the following to read this government news release: ETA News Release: U.S. Department of Labor announces funding for employment and training programs under American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 - 09-0249-NAT - [03/06/2009]
A chart of the individual state’s share of this program is available at: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/eta20090249-chart.pdf
This is an un-ratified union concession which I really had not heard.
To read the story, click on the following:
GM to save $1.1 bln in labor cost under UAW pact - Salon.com
Something is wrong here. Are the RVC employees/Dislocated Worker Program employees not doing their jobs? If you are against unions—are auto workers too lazy to retrain? Our local government officials (either after or because of April 7) need to do some phone calling to insure that none of these precious dollars are wasted. This is jeopardizing any further retraining money.
“…the money has a time limit, and it’s about to run out”.
“After Chrysler announced its cuts, the local Dislocated Worker Program received $780,000 in federal grants to retrain the affected workers. About 250 workers have taken advantage of the program so far, but there’s still $230,000 left to be spent. The grants expire June 30”.
The entire article is at: Grants still available for displaced Chrysler workers - - BusinessRockford.com or see below. Click on the photocopy to enlarge.
When both sides grumble about the result, rather than praise it, you will know that progress is being made.
Where they fell dangerously short was their refusal to commit to spend the hundreds of billions of dollars in additional fiscal stimulus that the world economy needs
Click on following to read the editorial: Editorial - The Economic Summit - NYTimes.com
