Addicted to the internet? It could be all in your genes Women who are obsessed with Facebook, Twitter and online shopping can now blame it on their genes, after scientists claimed internet addiction was hereditary.
By Stephen Adams, Medical Correspondent12:30PM BST 31 Aug 2012
Although the world wide web has been around for less than a generation, Dr Christian Montag from the University of Bonn, said they had found a gene in people who could not drag themselves away. Most were women.
Dr Montag said that, biologically speaking, internet addiction had the same genetic cause as smoking addiction.
He said: “Internet addiction is not a figment of our imagination. Researchers and therapists are increasingly closing in on it.”
Describing the impact of the genetic variant on those who had it, he said: “Within the group of subjects exhibiting problematic internet behaviour this variant occurs more frequently, in particular, in women.
“The sex-specific genetic finding may result from a specific subgroup of internet dependency, such as the use of social networks or such.”
Keller Williams Realty Ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Home Buyer and Seller Segments”
by J.D. Power and Associates
AUSTIN, TEXAS (August 16, 2012) — According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Home Buyer/Seller Satisfaction StudySM released yesterday, Keller Williams Realty, Inc. ranks highest in customer satisfaction in both the homebuyer and home seller segments. Keller Williams Realty, Inc. achieved the highest scores in all measured factors across both segments, receiving the highest JDPower.com Power Circle RatingSM among its competitors overall.
“We are so proud to have our associates be recognized once again for leading the industry with the influence and reputations they have in their local communities. They continually demonstrate not only their level of talent, but their commitment to serving our communities with the utmost integrity and highest level of service,” Mark Willis, CEO of Keller Williams Realty, Inc., stated. “Congratulations to all Keller Williams Realty associates. They have certainly earned this prestigious distinction.”
The fifth annual J.D. Power and Associates study measures customer satisfaction with the largest national real estate companies within the home buyer and seller segments. Scores are determined by examining three factors of the home-buying experience: agent/salesperson; office; and variety of additional services. For the home-selling segment, agent/salesperson; marketing; office; and variety of additional services are examined.
J.D. Power and Associates stated, “[The uncertain economic times] present a challenge for the real estate companies to really work closely with the customers and really hold their hand through the entire process to make them feel more comfortable in the decisions. Keller Williams has set itself apart by performing high in all the areas that are most important to customers specifically with the agent, the offices, and the services that they provide.”
“Our agents go above and beyond to help their clients at one of the most personal times in their lives – when they are buying or selling a home. We are incredibly honored and humbled that our associates have been recognized yet again for their incredible levels of service,” says Mary Tennant, President of Keller Williams Realty, Inc.
The weak housing market has long handcuffed the economic recovery, but new data released today suggest a housing recovery may be gaining steam.
The latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Indices show home prices nationally were up 1.2 percent in the second quarter versus 2012, and up 6.9 percent from the first quarter of the year. In the New York metropolitan area, June home prices rose 2.1 percent over May of this year, though that represented a 2.1 percent downshift from a year ago.
Jeffrey Otteau, president of Otteau Valuation Group Inc., in East Brunswick, said New Jersey’s housing market is in a similar, relatively good spot. (Kaltwasser, NJBIZ)
Ridgewood Police: Tips to Prevent Residential Burglaries
While we enjoy a very safe community, in the United States, a residential burglary occurs every 13 seconds. In addition to the property loses, victims often develop personal feelings of vulnerability resulting from these crimes. To help prevent becoming a victim, the Ridgewood Police Department offers some helpful hints:
Have sturdy dead-bolt locks on all exterior doors – and use them.
Trim shrubbery back to avoid giving burglars cover, and trim tree branches so there is no access to upper windows.
Leave shades and blinds in normal positions.
Keep porches, entrances, and driveways well lit – consider installing automatic lights that turn on at specific times or when there is movement in the area.
Keep garages and sheds closed and locked when not in use – they offer excellent cover for a burglar attempting to break into a house.
Store tools and ladders securely out of the way when not in use.
Never carry identification tags on your keys.
Do not hide “spare house keys” outside.
Keep daily routines confidential and vary them when possible.
Do not put valuables where they are visible from a door or window of your home.
Do not let strangers into your home to use the phone – offer to make the call for them.
Put lights and television and/or stereo on timers (not just when you are away on vacation).
Make sure your exterior lights are not on during day light hours. (remember to adjust timers with seasonal day light changes).
Do not let newspapers build up on your driveway and/or property – have a trusted neighbor retrieve your newspapers and mail.
SUNDAY AUGUST 26, 2012, 10:14 AM
BY JENNIFER V. HUGHES
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
THE RECORD
As Irene Bressler lists her Ridgewood home for sale, she’s touting the updated kitchen, the luxurious great room and the large wall of windows that overlook the half-acre property.
What she won’t be bragging about is the basement — there isn’t one. And that’s just fine with her.
“I think it’s a blessing that we don’t have a basement,” said Bressler, whose home is in the town’s Salem Ridge neighborhood, which has many basement-less homes. The five-bedroom colonial is listed for $658,000.
* New automated system will remove fraudulent Likes
* Less than 1 pct of Likes on any page likely to be removed
By Alexei Oreskovic
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Facebook Inc is weeding out fake “Likes” on its social network that are being caused by spammers, malware and black marketeers as it strives to maintain credibility as an advertising platform.
Facebook said the number of Likes, or endorsements by users, on corporate pages is likely to drop by less than 1 percent, on average, after the crackdown.
“Newly improved automated efforts will remove those Likes gained by malware, compromised accounts, deceived users, or purchased bulk Likes,” Facebook said in a post on its official blog on Friday.
“While we have always had dedicated protections against each of these threats on Facebook, these improved systems have been specifically configured to identify and take action against suspicious Likes,” the post continued.
Taxmageddon Would Cause Another Recession
Salim Furth, Ph.D July 7, 2012
Speaking this week at the Western Economic Association International, economic forecaster Allen Sinai talked about the damage the “fiscal cliff” of 2013 will cause the economy. Sinai concludes that a recession is unavoidable if Congress does not act to fix the fiscal cliff.
The fiscal cliff has two components: (1) Taxmageddon, a $494 billion per year increase in tax increases set to take effect on January 1, 2013, and (2) federal spending cuts of about $135 billion.
In the large-scale economic model that Sinai’s Decision Economics Inc. uses to predict economic growth and fluctuations, the fiscal cliff has catastrophic consequences, but those consequences are not symmetric.
In Sinai’s model, a $350 billion tax increase—Sinai’s analysis shows that even a modest estimate of the 2013 tax increases has a huge, negative economic impact—would lower growth in 2013 by two percentage points and by more than two percentage points in 2014. The negative effects would persist until the long-run trend aspects of the model outweigh the effects of current policy. Given that growth in the U.S. has hovered around 2 percent throughout the recovery-less recovery, a $350 billion tax increase alone would reduce growth to zero for years.
In addition to the tax increases, Sinai modeled the effects of $135 billion in spending cuts. These resulted in about one percentage point lower GDP growth in 2013. Since GDP can be broken down into separate categories (government spending, consumption, investment, and net exports) and 1 percent of GDP is about $150 billion, the fall in government spending would have no measurable impact on the private economy in 2013.
In the years after 2013, the spending cuts actually yield a small increase in GDP in Sinai’s model—to the tune of two-tenths of a percentage point per year. That implies that decreasing government spending will increase future private economic activity on a better than one-to-one basis.
Lastly, Sinai emphasized that all those tax increases would have such a negative effect on spending that the deficit would shrink for only one year (2013) and would grow thereafter relative to a baseline with no fiscal cliff.
Other members of the panel had valuable insights as well. John B. Taylor of Stanford emphasized the importance of making economic policy based on consistent rules. As a frequent advisor to the U.S. government and a former Under Secretary of the Treasury, he recalled the pressure for government to “do something,” which made policy less predictable and sound. John C. Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, expounded on Sinai’s and Taylor’s points. In discussions with business leaders from the nine states of Williams’ district, the topic of policy uncertainty came up again and again. Businesses do not want to hire or invest while tax rates and other future government policies are unknown.
Washington should stop Taxmageddon as soon as possible.
Are we better off under Obamanomics?
Legislative Lowdown: Obama Drivins US off Fiscal Cliff
By Brian Darling
August 24, 2012
Are we better off under Obamanomics? Hardly, a new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reveals. According to the CBO, the federal government will spend $1 trillion more than it takes in this year — the fourth consecutive year that has happened. Furthermore, CBO projects negative growth and dismal unemployment numbers.
Remember President Obama’s promise that his stimulus plan would create jobs and set the economy on the right track? The CBO projects that if the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire and scheduled defense cuts take effect, the unemployment rate will rise to 9.1% and the economy will contract by 0.5% by the end of next year.
The president’s record on the size and scope of the federal government is also terrible, according to this report. Obama inherited $10.6 trillion in debt and has seen it balloon to $16 trillion in his short tenure. His big-spending policies have saddled future generations with trillions in new debt.
This report contains further proof that the president’s proposed tax hikes are terrible for the economy. The CBO reports that “sharp increases in federal taxes and reductions in federal spending that are scheduled under current law to begin in calendar year 2013 are likely to interrupt the recent economic progress.” These policies will lead to “a recession” and “an unemployment rate that remains above 8 percent through 2014.”
The federal government is in dire need of specific cuts, but this report is further evidence that across-the-board cuts to defense spending may hit the wrong priorities at the Department of Defense. A better approach is to adopt some of the good ideas to cut government contained in Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget that passed the House of Representatives earlier this year.
These findings are echoed in the book “The Fiscal Cliff.” Brian Baker, president of Ending Spending, writes in the forward that “while the vast majority of Americans do pay taxes, including payroll, state, and sales taxes (to name a few), a recent report from the Joint Committee on Taxation shows that 51% of households in America paid no federal income tax in 2009, even though they used programs funded by federal income tax revenues.”
Baker is correct in his call for “lowering rates, broadening the tax base, and adopting pro-growth policies” in a way that will be revenue neutral in the first year, but will lead to increased revenues in future years as a result of a growing economy.
Obama’s policies are leading the U.S. economy to negative growth rates and high unemployment. Obamanomics is an abysmal failure. Washington needs to change direction.
Federal pay freeze
The Washington Post reported earlier this week that “President Obama told congressional leaders Tuesday that he is extending a two-year pay freeze for federal employees until at least next spring because Congress has not agreed on a budget for the next fiscal year.” The freeze is expected to last until early next year, when an expected continuing resolution to fund the government expires.
As expected, public-sector union leaders were quick to pounce. J. David Cox, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees, called the freeze “unconscionable” and argued that “federal employees cannot afford another four months or even another day of frozen wages.” In fact, federal employees are compensated at a much higher rate than their private sector counterparts.
A recent paper by The Heritage Foundation noted that “a January 2012 report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) shows that federal government employees receive substantially higher compensation than similarly skilled workers in the private sector.” The CBO concluded that “the average federal worker receives wages that are 2 percent higher than a similarly skilled private-sector worker, and benefits that are 48 percent higher. The average federal worker receives total compensation (wages plus benefits) 16 percent higher than market levels.
A pay freeze would bring federal employees’ pay more in line with the pay of their private sector counterparts.
Istook Live!
The Heritage Foundation has a new product called “Istook Live!” Former Rep.Ernest Istookis the host of his own talk radio show. He is on from 9 a.m. to noon every weekday.
“Ernest Istook brings unequaled insights and clarity to radio thanks to his unique career pursuing the American Dream,” according to Istook’s website. “Listeners will gain new perspective, cutting through the hype and propaganda spun out by politicians and the media.”
I am lucky enough to be a guest host on the show and will be hosting next Friday. Tune in online at www.istook.com.
First appeared in The Daily Caller.
Ridgewood Library foundation plans to hire fundraising pro
FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 2012
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Ridgewood Public Library Foundation is seeking to hire an independent contractor in an effort to raise an additional $600,000 for the library.
The Ridgewood Public Library Foundation hopes an independent contractor can help reach its fundraising goals.
A part-time professional fundraiser, according to the foundation’s volunteers, would help the group achieve its goal of a $1.5 million endowment in two years. Currently, the foundation has a $900,000 endowment, including both tax-deductible donations and investment income, and has received more than $400,000 in gifts earmarked for specific projects.
According to its president, Melanie Stern, the foundation plans to post the position on the library’s website and in local newspapers in mid to late September. The salary will be based on the “candidate’s experience and professional standards, plus some incentives,” she said.
Practical reasons motivated the search for a new hire.
“Our board is made up of approximately 19 directors, most of whom have full-time careers,” Stern said. “A professional fundraiser can structure the entire effort … The board is looking at the big picture and the fundraiser has to be the implementer and manage the process.”
Annual Open House and Coffee with the Council – 10AM to Noon
Coffee with the Council – 10AM to Noon September 8th 2012
Annual Open House for new residents to informally meet with the Village Council to ask questions, register to vote and meet with other new residents. Please R.S.V.P. no later than 9/5/2012 to 201-670-5500 x205.
Half of Americans die with almost no money
By Andrea Coombes
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch)—Almost half of U.S. retirees die with savings of $10,000 or less, but that grim finding doesn’t fully describe the variability and uncertainty that characterize retirement in America, according to a recent study.
While some retirees struggle profoundly, living at or below the poverty line, others enjoy wealth and health—in fact, the two are strongly linked—while still others have little in savings but enjoy a decent income, according to the report, based on a survey that tracked retirees from 1993 through 2008.
While 46% of retirees have just $10,000 in savings when they die, “That doesn’t mean their standard of living is very low—they might have a relatively generous pension plan, most of them will have Social Security,” said James Poterba, professor of economics at M.I.T., president of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a co-author of the study.
Top 3 Small Business Struggles
Amy PayneAugust 29, 2012
Small businesses are getting a lot of focus from politicians, because they are a key engine of job creation—which has stalled in the U.S. economy. A Republican National Convention theme of “We Built It” continued the political debate over the economy yesterday.
A survey by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) in July revealed that small businesses’ top three concerns were taxes, regulations, and poor sales. A quick look at these top three small business struggles shows they have every reason to be demoralized.
1. Taxes
Small businesses are under enormous threats from looming tax hikes. President Obama is advocating a tax hike on the country’s job creators—the at least 1.2 million small businesses that employ workers and make more than $200,000. Known as flow-through businesses, these entrepreneurs pay their taxes through the individual income tax. A study by Ernst & Young estimates that this tax hike would kill about 710,000 jobs and cause real wages to drop.
This tax hike, however, is just a portion of the Taxmageddon crisis scheduled to hit the country on January 1. The Congressional Budget Office has left little doubt that unless Congress and the President prevent Taxmageddon, the country is headed toward a fresh recession next year.
And Taxmageddon includes only some of Obamacare’s 18 new tax hikes, several of which don’t kick in until 2014 or later. The tax landscape is truly bleak.
2. Regulations
Heritage’s James Gattuso and Diane Katz have documented the sea of new regulations that continue to drown America’s businesses. In their detailed report, “Red Tape Rising,” they note: “During the first three years of the Obama Administration, 106 new major federal regulations added more than $46 billion per year in new costs for Americans. Hundreds more regulations are winding through the rulemaking pipeline as a consequence of the Dodd–Frank financial-regulation law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and the Environmental Protection Agency’s global warming crusade, threatening to further weaken an anemic economy and job creation.”
The cost of these regulations strangles economic growth and job creation.
3. Poor Sales
In an economy with 8.3 percent unemployment, consumers have to cut back. Struggling sales are no mystery. Higher fuel prices are also hurting small businesses, which must make the no-win decision of passing these costs on to consumers or absorbing the costs themselves.
Heritage’s Nick Loris explains the impact of fuel costs on the economy : “In a recent poll by the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, 40 percent of small businesses responding said they have had to increase their prices. But that approach has a distinct downside. When consumer demand is already down, passing higher costs on to consumers suppresses demand even further, causing lower output, lower income and higher unemployment.”
To all of this, President Obama has said, “We tried our plan—and it worked.”
It’s not working for small business owners or for nearly 13 million jobless Americans.
Congress and the President need to stop Taxmageddon, open access to our energy resources, and reduce regulations that cost more than the benefits they deliver. America needs jobs, and small businesses need relief.
