Tag: Ridgewood Schools

Anemic Job Growth Continues
Amy PayneOctober 5, 2012 at 9:40 am

https://tinyurl.com/9a6wege

Job growth continues to sputter—this morning’s jobs report shows that 12.1 million Americans are still out of work.

Going against other economic indicators, the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 percent. Economists are already looking into the drop, saying it seems to be a statistical fluke, because it doesn’t match up with the sluggish job creation and recent downward revision of GDP growth. Heritage’s J.D. Foster says:

One time out of a hundred, the true figure will be much different than the reported figure. One time out of a hundred for a monthly survey means about once every eight years. What seems to have occurred with the September household survey is the one time in a hundred. The last time the household survey showed such a huge jump in employment was in 1983 during the Reagan-era economic boom. Today’s economy does not look much like the Reagan boom.

The real story, then, from the more reliable employment survey is the economy created a paltry 114,000 jobs, leaving 12.1 million out in the cold. This story is getting old. And the economy has no good news to look forward to.

Congress has gone home until after the election. When it returns to Washington, the end of 2012 will be staring us in the face. In just a few short months, the largest tax increase in history will hit America. It sounds like hyperbole, and we only wish that were the case. It’s been dubbed Taxmageddon, because for millions of workers it will be an end-of-working pink slip scenario. But on January 1, a nearly $500 billion tax increase will slam the economy.

Not only will this mean individual tax increases—if you’re a middle-class family, your taxes will go up around $4,100—but the whole economy will also suffer. The Congressional Budget Office has said that unless Congress and the President act, we will be plunged into a new recession extending through 2013—when we haven’t even recovered from the previous one.

The irresponsible behavior of Congress and the President in bringing the nation to this state means a significant slowdown is already almost certain. Mounting uncertainty about what, if anything, Washington will do is rapidly draining the vitality out of the economy.

The facts are plain: The economy will shrink and unemployment will spike unless Congress acts to prevent Taxmageddon. If Congress and the President choose to continue to play politics with the economy, we stand to lose 1.6 million more jobs.

Why can’t we seem to recover from the most recent recession? According to a new report by Heritage’s Salim Furth, a select group of businesses isn’t hiring: start-ups.

“Even in recessions, start-up job creation has been a constant—until now,” Furth reports. “Employment at start-up companies has fallen for five years in a row, reaching unprecedented lows in 2010 and 2011.”

This is devastating because start-ups normally create the vast majority of the net new jobs in the economy, he says. Larger businesses do expand with new jobs, but significant job creation comes from new businesses. And it’s more difficult than ever to jump through all the government hoops to create a new business. The system is completely against job creation right now. As Furth says:

With new regulations and business requirements in health insurance, small-business finance, environment, energy, and tax compliance, not to mention the ever-expanding reach of state licensure boards, it is expensive to open a business.

Businesses, and those who would start businesses, are looking at looming tax hikes and new regulations and simply deciding it isn’t worth it. There are many new regulations coming soon, but the Administration has gone silent on what they will be. So employers can’t even prepare.
Repealing the heavily regulatory Dodd-Frank law and Obamacare, with its 18 new tax hikes, would remove major burdens on businesses and individuals. But that won’t happen before next year.

Our elected leaders can prevent Taxmageddon. It would be the best thing they could do for the economy, including job creation, in the short term. There is still time, though it is growing short.

https://tinyurl.com/9a6wege

Another Case of “Fat Finger”

Are big thumbs upping ad clicks?
Oct. 3, 2012, 7:30 a.m. EDT

Stubby fingers may be the reason many consumers end up checking out ads on smartphones and tablets.

Facebook FB +2.06% , Google GOOG +0.73% and other tech companies have puzzled over how to make advertising work on mobile devices. But it turns out that tablet and smartphone users, when reading news sites, are more likely to click on ads than those using computers, a new survey suggests.

Consumers don’t appear to be turned off by mobile ads, according to a survey of nearly 10,000 people by Pew Research Center and The Economist Group. Half of tablet and smartphone users notice ads when they’re getting news on their mobile device. Of that amount, roughly 15% click on ads. “People notice ads on mobile devices and may be even more likely to click on them than they are to click on other digital ads,” the report states. A recent Ad Age study, in stark contrast, found that less than 1% of people click on digital ads regardless of the viewing platform.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/are-big-thumbs-upping-ad-clicks-2012-10-03

Anti-bullying events at N.J. schools – since 2011, it’s the law

At Moorestown’s South Valley Elementary School, third graders listened Wednesday to author Staci Schwartz read from her new book about a misbehaving goat named Billy who picks on other “kids.”

Earlier this week, in Washington Township, Bells Elementary students made new friends, worked on their manners, and helped out grown-ups.

In schools throughout the region, assemblies have been scheduled, posters made, and discussions held, all on a central theme: Bullying is out and respect in.

This is the second annual Week of Respect for New Jersey children. All public districts and charter schools are required to provide age-appropriate instruction aimed at preventing harassment, intimidation, and bullying.

The week is but one aspect of the state’s far-reaching Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights. Signed into law in early 2011 by Gov. Christie – not long after the suicide of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi, whose roommate used a webcam to watch him kiss another man – the measure has been called one of the strongest of its kind in the nation.  (Giordano, The Philadelphia Inquirer)

https://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/20121004_Anti-bullying_events_at_N_J__schools_-_since_2011__it_s_the_law.html

 

Simulating the Economic Effects of Romney’s Tax Plan

Tax Foundation Runs the Numbers on Proposed Tax Reform Package

Washington, D.C., October 3, 2012—A new analysis of Mitt Romney’s tax reform package by the Tax Foundation has revealed that, given realistic assumptions about its long-term impact, the plan would result in rising wages and increased economic growth. Economic simulations run by Tax Foundation Senior Fellow Stephen Entin and Chief Economist William McBride also debunk charges that Romney’s planned tax cuts on high-income households would increase the tax burden on low- and middle-income households.

“While the debate over tax reform has been consumed with distributional issues, the economy continues to limp along in the worst recovery since the Great Depression,” said McBride. “To be sure, this economy faces headwinds that even an ideal tax code will not address, but pro-growth tax reform can provide substantial benefits.”

The Tax Foundation’s results indicate that by lowering tax rates on investment and labor, the Romney tax plan would grow the economy by 7.4 percent, the capital stock by almost 19 percent, wages by almost 5 percent, and hours worked by 3 percent. The benefits would be widely enjoyed, as every income group would experience at least a 7 percent increase in after-tax income. It would benefit the federal budget as well, in that fully 60 percent of the initial revenue loss from Romney’s plan would be recovered from taxing a larger economy.

Economists recognize that there is more to a tax cut than the immediate increase in wealth of the recipient. If investment taxes are lowered, investment increases, because investors expect to keep more of their after-tax returns, and more people become investors. If taxes on wages are lowered, more people work and more people work harder. The benefits from these things spill over beyond the immediate actors. Businesses invest in equipment and new hires, leading to more productive workers, higher wages, and ultimately satisfied customers.

Tax Foundation Fiscal Fact No. 330, “Simulating the Economic Effects of Romney’s Tax Plan” by Stephen Entin and William McBride is available online.

The Tax Foundation is a nonpartisan research organization that has monitored fiscal policy at the federal, state and local levels since 1937. To schedule an interview, please contact Richard Morrison, the Tax Foundation’s Manager of Communications, at 202-464-5102 or [email protected].

10 Questions for the First Presidential Debate
Amy Payne
October 3, 2012 at 9:05 am
https://tinyurl.com/9xulw36

Tonight’s debate between President Barack Obama and former Governor Mitt Romney is supposed to focus on domestic policy, with a major concentration on the economy. Health care, the role of government, and philosophy of governing are also on the agenda. The Heritage Foundation’s policy experts have submitted 10 questions they would like to see asked in the debate.

1. In 2008, then-candidate Obama said, “Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase.” In reality, President Obama’s signature health care law contains 18 new or increased taxes and penalties that will cost taxpayers $836.3 billion over the next 10 years, many of which fall heavily on the middle class. In fact, almost 70 percent of those responsible for paying the fiercely debated individual mandate are below 400 percent of the federal poverty level. Should these tax increases be stopped to protect middle-class Americans from their damage? If yes, where would the money needed to help pay for Obamacare come from?

2. Millions of baby boomers are starting to retire, and spending on Social Security and Medicare as these programs are currently structured is simply unsustainable. What is your plan to solve the looming entitlement program spending crisis?

3. Medicare as we know it today is facing severe financing problems that are unsustainable and putting future generations’ Medicare benefits in jeopardy. Over the long term, Medicare has made $37 trillion worth of promises to seniors that it cannot keep and the hospital insurance trust fund will be empty by 2024. Worse, the President’s health care law will cut Medicare by $716 billion over the next 10 years to pay for new spending in Obamacare. As Medicare’s solvency hangs in the balance, what structural reforms, if any, are you willing to make to preserve Medicare for future generations?

4. Everyone talks about shoring up our battered American Dream. How would you define the American Dream and what do you think are the most serious threats to it?

5. The Health and Human Services Department recently rewrote the law governing welfare to weaken its work requirements. Meanwhile, the number of people relying on food stamps has doubled under the current Administration. Should all able-bodied recipients be required to work or prepare for work as a condition of receiving aid in public housing, food stamps, and cash assistance?

6. The federal government is currently spending much more than it has, and annual budget deficits over $1 trillion have become the norm. What is your plan to stem the tide of deficits and rising debt?

7. One of the few bright spots in America’s economy has been energy production, particularly on state and private lands.  According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), energy production decreased 13 percent on federal lands in fiscal year (FY) 2011 when compared to FY 2010.  What would you do to reverse course on energy production on federal lands?

8. Congress—most notably the Senate, which hasn’t produced a budget in over three years—is sorely lacking in its basic responsibility of budgeting. What would you do to ensure the fundamental process of budgeting is restored?

9. President Obama has previously stated that, in the most important 5 percent of cases before the courts, it matters more what is in a judge’s heart (what has come to be known as his empathy standard) than what the rule of law requires. Is this the correct standard by which to evaluate judicial nominees? If not, what standard would you apply?

10. Former Attorney General of Mexico Victor Humberto Benítez Treviño estimated that approximately 300 Mexican citizens have been killed using Fast and Furious weapons in addition to U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. Should Eric Holder resign as Attorney General because of his failures related to Operation Fast and Furious, including his failure to properly supervise the operation? If not, why not?

https://tinyurl.com/9xulw36