Category: Uncategorized
Dallas Police and Fire Pension Board ends run on the bank, stops $154M in withdrawals
FILED UNDER DALLAS CITY HALL
The Dallas Police and Fire Pension System’s Board of Trustees suspended lump-sum withdrawals from the pension fund Thursday, staving off a possible restraining order and stopping $154 million in withdrawal requests.
The system was set to pay out the weekly requests Friday. Pension officials said allowing the withdrawals would leave them without the liquid reserves required to sustain the $2.1 billion fund.
“Our situation is currently critical, and we took action,” board chairman Sam Friar said.
Pension officials and many police and firefighters have blamed Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings for forcing the latest run on the bank. Dozens of retirees rushed to request withdrawals after Rawlings filed a lawsuit Monday to stop the withdrawals.
By then, more than $500 million had already gushed from the fund since the board proposed benefit cuts in August.
My Unhappy Life as a Climate Heretic
My research was attacked by thought police in journalism, activist groups funded by billionaires and even the White House.
By
ROGER PIELKE JR.
Updated Dec. 2, 2016 7:04 p.m. ET
Much to my surprise, I showed up in the WikiLeaks releases before the election. In a 2014 email, a staffer at the Center for American Progress, founded by John Podesta in 2003, took credit for a campaign to have me eliminated as a writer for Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight website. In the email, the editor of the think tank’s climate blog bragged to one of its billionaire donors, Tom Steyer: “I think it’s fair [to] say that, without Climate Progress, Pielke would still be writing on climate change for 538.”
WikiLeaks provides a window into a world I’ve seen up close for decades: the debate over what to do about climate change, and the role of science in that argument. Although it is too soon to tell how the Trump administration will engage the scientific community, my long experience shows what can happen when politicians and media turn against inconvenient research—which we’ve seen under Republican and Democratic presidents.
I understand why Mr. Podesta—most recently Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman—wanted to drive me out of the climate-change discussion. When substantively countering an academic’s research proves difficult, other techniques are needed to banish it. That is how politics sometimes works, and professors need to understand this if we want to participate in that arena.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/my-unhappy-life-as-a-climate-heretic-1480723518
Presidential Transition Team Economic Advisor Peter Navarro, The November jobs report showing a decline in the labor force participation rate further demonstrates an urgent need for President-elect Trump’s America First economic plan”
December 2,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, “The November jobs report showing a decline in the labor force participation rate further demonstrates an urgent need for President-elect Trump’s America First economic plan. We have not seen levels this low since 1978. The 4,000 manufacturing jobs that disappeared last month come on top of the over 300,000 that have been lost under President Obama.
Even before taking office, President-elect Trump has proven that protecting and creating jobs will be among his highest priorities as president. His determination to save 1,000 Carrier manufacturing jobs in Indiana announced this week is just a preview of his agenda of prosperity for all. Furthermore, the cabinet picks of Steve Mnuchin for Treasury Secretary and Wilbur Ross for the Department of Commerce signal a seismic and transformative shift in trade policy – one that works for American workers and domestic manufacturers, not for the multinational corporations shipping jobs offshore.”
Amazon’s Growing Power In The U.S. Economy
Amazon’s Growing Power In The U.S. Economy
Laura Heller ,
CONTRIBUTOR
I write about mass-market retail, how and why we spend
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
Amazon has a growing role in the U.S. economy that extends far beyond its retail business,according to a new report.
“Behind the packages on the doorstep, and behind the inviting interface and seamless service that has consistently put the company at the top of corporate reputation rankings, Amazon has quietly positioned itself at the center of a growing share of our daily activities and transactions , extending its tentacles across our economy, and with it, our lives,” says the report by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.
According to ISLR:
Today, half of all U.S. households are subscribed to the membership program Amazon Prime, half of all online shopping searches start directly on Amazon, and Amazon captures nearly one in every two dollars that Americans spend online. Amazon sells more books, toys, and by next year, apparel and consumer electronics than any retailer online or off, and is investing heavily in its grocery business.
As a retailer, its market power now rivals or exceeds that of Walmart, and it stands only to grow: Within five years, one-fifth of the U.S.’s $3.6 trillion retail market will have shifted online, and Amazon is on track to capture two-thirds of that share.
And the numbers grow with every new product and sales event.
Black Friday weekend was Amazon’s best-ever, according to the company.
