Without aid, DPS may close half of its schools | detnews.com | The Detroit News: "Detroit — Detroit Public Schools would close nearly half of its schools in the next two years, and increase high school class sizes to 62 by the following year, under a deficit-reduction plan filed with the state.
The plan, part of a monthly update Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb gives the Department of Education, was filed late Monday to provide insight into Bobb's progress in his attempt to slash a $327 million deficit in the district to zero over the next several years. Under it, the district would slim down from 142 schools now to 72 during 2012-13.
Bobb has said school closures, bigger classes and other measures would be needed if he cannot get help from lawmakers to restructure finances in the state's largest school district.
DPS considered but declined to file for bankruptcy in 2009. In the past year, debt in the district has increased by more than $100 million, brought on by a mix of revenue declines in property taxes, reduced state aid, declining enrollment and an unplanned staffing surge this past fall.
Starting this fall, the district plans to boost class sizes in grades 4-12 and at all grade levels by fiscal 2012, which begins July 1, to save $16.8 million. The plan would hike class sizes for: Grades K-3 from 17-25 students to 29 in 2012-13 and 31 in 2013-14.
Grades 4-5 from 30 students to 37 in 2012-13 and 39 in 2013-14.
Grades 6-8 from 35 students to 45 in 2012-13 and 47 in 2013-14.
Grades 9-12 from 35 students to 60 in 2012-13 and 62 in 2013-14.
Because the district's contract with the Detroit Federation of Teachers requires payments to teachers for class sizes that exceed specified maximums, the district estimates it would spend $10 million in oversize class pay over four years.
Keith Johnson, president of the teachers union, said the proposed class size increases won't work and will never happen.
'I will never agree to any class-size increases,' Johnson said. 'These increases are antithetical to learning. Secondly, our classrooms aren't even built to accommodate those numbers.
'Johnson said the teachers' contract does not let the district exceed contracted class sizes through 2012. DFT filed an unfair labor practice charge in July to restore class sizes for the upcoming school year.
Parent Petrina Johnson said swelling high school classrooms to 60 students or more will only leave them uneducated.
'There is one teacher and she can barely get to each of the 36 kids now. That makes no sense,' said Johnson, who has three children at Mumford High School.
School officials said the plan would create a 'lecture hall' model similar to a university.
Johnson said teenagers aren't ready for that.
'This gives more opportunity for them to slip through the cracks,' she said.
The proposal calls for closing 40 schools in fiscal 2012 and 30 schools in fiscal 2013. That would leave DPS with 72 schools for a projected 58,570 students, down from about 74,000 now. The district closed 30 schools this fiscal year, which is expected to save $23 million. The planned closings in fiscal 2012-14 would save more than $33 million.
Bobb said the district could save another $12.4 million from the school closures if it 'simply abandons' the closed buildings. Past policy has been to keep the closed schools clean and secure, officials said, but the district could cut costs by eliminating storage, board-up and security.
DPS spokesman Steve Wasko said the district has laid out the path it must take to eliminate the deficit, and Bobb remains focused on working with lawmakers to pass one of three plans to restructure DPS' finances.
Those plans include splitting the district in two to put its debt obligation with an 'old district,' covering about 9,000 students. State revenue would pay off the debt, allowing the 'new district' to move forward debt-free with undetermined start-up funds.
Such a plan would need approval by state lawmakers and Gov. Rick Snyder.
District officials said they are
pursuing 'renaissance' legislation to free up $400 million in future tobacco settlement funds that could help mend DPS' deficit and those of 40 other districts statewide. In return, the districts would make dramatic reforms based on the federal Race to the Top initiative, such as eliminating teacher seniority.
That proposal died last month in the state Legislature's lame duck session. A third plan would look at new systems and agencies used in New Orleans, which has converted more than half of its public schools into charter schools in the past several years.
Besides closing schools and increasing class sizes, Bobb's plan calls for the district to abolish its divisions of finance, legal services, human services and public safety and contract with either Wayne County or the city of Detroit for those services.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Showing posts with label Faith Hope Charity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Faith Hope Charity. Show all posts
Monday, January 17, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Good Works Ministries
About Us: "Good Works Ministries is a Faith based, non-profit organization that was formed for two purposes.
Our primary ministry is to help kids that are aging out of the foster care program and to establish a more effective means of serving these young adults by providing a one stop process for the various services that are available or are needed by them. We are working to develop a comprehensive approach to reaching out to these young adults and other at-risk-youth. By partnering with various organizations and local community groups we can create a single entry point that will function as a link in the chain for these young adults. This will provide a way for them to access educational and social services, a computer lab, local workforce partnerships, and financial assistance for additional support or housing. Housing is a key need for these young adults. We are focused on acquiring housing for them and offering the various transition services in house for those individuals that are interested in participating in our program.
In addition to our primary ministry we feel it is important to provide a community service ministry that teaches Christian principles while giving and serving others. This portion of Good Works Ministries will incorporate young adults who want to serve and learn new skills into a program working with community volunteers to do restoration and repair projects for low income families, the elderly, single parents, or others ministries that are in need of help. Our leaders in this ministry have many years of experience in custom renovation and a desire to help others while teaching young adults new skills. If you are an organization in need of experienced volunteers please contact Pat Howe.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Our primary ministry is to help kids that are aging out of the foster care program and to establish a more effective means of serving these young adults by providing a one stop process for the various services that are available or are needed by them. We are working to develop a comprehensive approach to reaching out to these young adults and other at-risk-youth. By partnering with various organizations and local community groups we can create a single entry point that will function as a link in the chain for these young adults. This will provide a way for them to access educational and social services, a computer lab, local workforce partnerships, and financial assistance for additional support or housing. Housing is a key need for these young adults. We are focused on acquiring housing for them and offering the various transition services in house for those individuals that are interested in participating in our program.
In addition to our primary ministry we feel it is important to provide a community service ministry that teaches Christian principles while giving and serving others. This portion of Good Works Ministries will incorporate young adults who want to serve and learn new skills into a program working with community volunteers to do restoration and repair projects for low income families, the elderly, single parents, or others ministries that are in need of help. Our leaders in this ministry have many years of experience in custom renovation and a desire to help others while teaching young adults new skills. If you are an organization in need of experienced volunteers please contact Pat Howe.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Friday, January 07, 2011
Hoyer: Tea Party People Come From Unhappy Families
Hoyer: Tea Party People Come From Unhappy Families: "On the eve of his demotion by voters from House Majority Leader to House Minority Whip, Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Hoyer offered this insight into the psychology of the Tea Party movement:
There are a whole lot of people in the Tea Party that I see in these polls who don’t want any compromise. My presumption is they have unhappy families. All of you have been in families: single-parent, two-parents, whatever. Multiple parent and a stepfather. The fact is life is about trying to reach accommodation with one another so we can move forward. That is certainly what democracy is about. So if we are going to move forward compromise is necessary.
So, there you have it. The Tea Party movement is not motivated by, as its members claim, record-high levels of spending and debt by the federal government and the possible economic consequences of that. It is not upset by the various federal bailouts of recent years. It is not riled up by a stagnant economy with 9.8% unemployment. No, they go to rallies because it is easier than going home apparently.
Now, Hoyer may have been making a joke. It wasn’t entirely clear from the way he said it, though, and no reporter in the room laughed.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
There are a whole lot of people in the Tea Party that I see in these polls who don’t want any compromise. My presumption is they have unhappy families. All of you have been in families: single-parent, two-parents, whatever. Multiple parent and a stepfather. The fact is life is about trying to reach accommodation with one another so we can move forward. That is certainly what democracy is about. So if we are going to move forward compromise is necessary.
So, there you have it. The Tea Party movement is not motivated by, as its members claim, record-high levels of spending and debt by the federal government and the possible economic consequences of that. It is not upset by the various federal bailouts of recent years. It is not riled up by a stagnant economy with 9.8% unemployment. No, they go to rallies because it is easier than going home apparently.
Now, Hoyer may have been making a joke. It wasn’t entirely clear from the way he said it, though, and no reporter in the room laughed.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Importance of Issues - Rasmussen Reports™
Importance of Issues - Rasmussen Reports™: "With a new Congress scheduled to swing into action this week, the number of voters who rate the economy as a Very Important issue has reached its highest level since early August 2008.
A new national telephone survey finds that 87% of Likely U.S. Voters view the economy this way, well above the importance they place on any other issue on a list of 10 regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
The new finding is up five points from 82% in late October and has consistently been the issue voters place the highest level of importance on since regular tracking began several years ago.
Republicans will have majority control of the House in the new session of Congress, and voters continue to trust the GOP more than Democrats on the issue of the economy as they have since June of last year.
Voters trust Republicans more on seven of 10 issues, with the two breaking even on the issue of health care which earns the second highest level of concern: 71% of voters describe it as a Very Important issue.
Separate polling finds that voters still strongly support repeal of the national health care law passed by Democrats last March, to update and in mid-December, a majority of voters for the first time since March said they believe the law will be repealed by the new Congress.
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Likely U.S. Voters was conducted on December 29-30, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Sixty-seven percent (67%) of voters now view government ethics and corruption as Very Important. For years, this issue fell just behind the economy, but since July it has taken the number three spot in terms of the level of importance voters attach to it.
Sixty-five percent (65%) regard taxes as Very Important, showing little change since early March 2009.
Voters give nearly as much weight to the issue of Social Security, which is seen as Very Important by 64%. This finding has shown little fluctuation for years now.
Americans are receptive to a proposal by President Obama’s bipartisan deficit reduction commission to increase the level of income taxable for Social Security, but most don’t like the idea of raising the retirement age.
Sixty-one percent (61%) of voters rate education as a Very Important issue, the lowest finding since early April.
Showing no change from the previous survey, 57% classify immigration as Very Important. Early last May, this issue jumped in terms of voter importance as the debate over Arizona’s immigration law began heating up.
Despite voter pessimism about the war on terror and the war in Afghanistan, just 54% of voters view the issue of national security and the war on terror as Very Important, the lowest level measured in months.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
A new national telephone survey finds that 87% of Likely U.S. Voters view the economy this way, well above the importance they place on any other issue on a list of 10 regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
The new finding is up five points from 82% in late October and has consistently been the issue voters place the highest level of importance on since regular tracking began several years ago.
Republicans will have majority control of the House in the new session of Congress, and voters continue to trust the GOP more than Democrats on the issue of the economy as they have since June of last year.
Voters trust Republicans more on seven of 10 issues, with the two breaking even on the issue of health care which earns the second highest level of concern: 71% of voters describe it as a Very Important issue.
Separate polling finds that voters still strongly support repeal of the national health care law passed by Democrats last March, to update and in mid-December, a majority of voters for the first time since March said they believe the law will be repealed by the new Congress.
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Likely U.S. Voters was conducted on December 29-30, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Sixty-seven percent (67%) of voters now view government ethics and corruption as Very Important. For years, this issue fell just behind the economy, but since July it has taken the number three spot in terms of the level of importance voters attach to it.
Sixty-five percent (65%) regard taxes as Very Important, showing little change since early March 2009.
Voters give nearly as much weight to the issue of Social Security, which is seen as Very Important by 64%. This finding has shown little fluctuation for years now.
Americans are receptive to a proposal by President Obama’s bipartisan deficit reduction commission to increase the level of income taxable for Social Security, but most don’t like the idea of raising the retirement age.
Sixty-one percent (61%) of voters rate education as a Very Important issue, the lowest finding since early April.
Showing no change from the previous survey, 57% classify immigration as Very Important. Early last May, this issue jumped in terms of voter importance as the debate over Arizona’s immigration law began heating up.
Despite voter pessimism about the war on terror and the war in Afghanistan, just 54% of voters view the issue of national security and the war on terror as Very Important, the lowest level measured in months.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Friday, December 24, 2010
Good Works Ministries
News & Events: "The Good Works House is ready for a new school year!
We opened our first Good Works House on August 1st, 2010 for young women who have aged out of foster care and are interested in attending college. The home provides a safe living/study environment with mentorship and community building skills development. We will house up to eight occupants with an additional room for much needed temporary housing for emergency situations. The home has a large meeting area for educational seminars and fellowship. We will be able to hold workshops for youth who are preparing to age out of foster care. These workshops serve a large number of youth, plus allow our house members important opportunities to participate in mentoring roles with other at-risk youth.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
We opened our first Good Works House on August 1st, 2010 for young women who have aged out of foster care and are interested in attending college. The home provides a safe living/study environment with mentorship and community building skills development. We will house up to eight occupants with an additional room for much needed temporary housing for emergency situations. The home has a large meeting area for educational seminars and fellowship. We will be able to hold workshops for youth who are preparing to age out of foster care. These workshops serve a large number of youth, plus allow our house members important opportunities to participate in mentoring roles with other at-risk youth.
- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Special Report: Is America the sick man of the globe? - Yahoo! News
Special Report: Is America the sick man of the globe? - Yahoo! News: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
This article should be recommended reading for every American who wonders about federal deficits and unemployment issues. The forecast is not very pretty.
I would really like to have your comments after reading the article.
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
This article should be recommended reading for every American who wonders about federal deficits and unemployment issues. The forecast is not very pretty.
I would really like to have your comments after reading the article.
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Gingrich: Leaks show Obama administration 'shallow,' 'amateurish' - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
Gingrich: Leaks show Obama administration 'shallow,' 'amateurish' - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room: "Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Sunday that President Obama and the White House deserve a large share of the blame for the massive amounts of classified information revealed through WikiLeaks.
Gingrich said the leaks are 'a scandal of the first order' and that they demonstrate the Obama administration is 'shallow' and 'amateurish' when it comes to national security.
'You have a private first class who downloads a quarter million documents, and the system doesn't say, 'Oh, you may be over extended?' I mean, this is a system so stupid that it ought to be a scandal of the first order,' Gingrich said. 'This administration is so shallow and so amateurish about national security that it is painful and dangerous.'
He also said the U.S needs to act fast in shutting down WikiLeaks and finding Julian Assange.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Gingrich said the leaks are 'a scandal of the first order' and that they demonstrate the Obama administration is 'shallow' and 'amateurish' when it comes to national security.
'You have a private first class who downloads a quarter million documents, and the system doesn't say, 'Oh, you may be over extended?' I mean, this is a system so stupid that it ought to be a scandal of the first order,' Gingrich said. 'This administration is so shallow and so amateurish about national security that it is painful and dangerous.'
He also said the U.S needs to act fast in shutting down WikiLeaks and finding Julian Assange.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Chase orders Southlake bank to remove Christmas tree | Northeast Tarrant | News from For...
Chase orders Southlake bank to remove Christmas tree | Northeast Tarrant | News from For...: "SOUTHLAKE -- Chase Bank told a businessman to remove the Christmas tree he donated to a local branch because it could offend people.
Antonio Morales, owner of Bellagio Day Spa in Southlake, had assembled and decorated a 9-foot-tall tree in the lobby of the Chase Bank branch at 1700 E. Southlake Boulevard as a favor to the branch manager, who is one of his clients.
The tree remained in the lobby from the Monday before Thanksgiving until Tuesday. Morales said his friend called him Wednesday to tell him the tree had to go. She later showed him an e-mail from JPMorgan Chase saying that the tree had to be removed because some people were offended by it.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Antonio Morales, owner of Bellagio Day Spa in Southlake, had assembled and decorated a 9-foot-tall tree in the lobby of the Chase Bank branch at 1700 E. Southlake Boulevard as a favor to the branch manager, who is one of his clients.
The tree remained in the lobby from the Monday before Thanksgiving until Tuesday. Morales said his friend called him Wednesday to tell him the tree had to go. She later showed him an e-mail from JPMorgan Chase saying that the tree had to be removed because some people were offended by it.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Economy Cartoons - US News and World Report
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
US embassy cables: UN seeks answers from Washington | World news | The Guardian
US embassy cables: UN seeks answers from Washington | World news | The Guardian: "The senior American diplomat at the UN tonight defended her team after WikiLeaks disclosed a US spying operation targeting the UN's secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, and members of the security council.
Susan Rice, the US ambassador appointed to the UN by Barack Obama last year, appeared uncomfortable and, at times, exasperated as she took questions from the media at the UN today.
She denied US diplomats were engaged in spying. 'Let me be very clear: our diplomats are just that,' she said. 'They are diplomats. That is what they do every day. They get out and work with partners here at the UN and around the world.'
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Susan Rice, the US ambassador appointed to the UN by Barack Obama last year, appeared uncomfortable and, at times, exasperated as she took questions from the media at the UN today.
She denied US diplomats were engaged in spying. 'Let me be very clear: our diplomats are just that,' she said. 'They are diplomats. That is what they do every day. They get out and work with partners here at the UN and around the world.'
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Monday, November 29, 2010
How 250,000 US embassy cables were leaked | World news | guardian.co.uk
How 250,000 US embassy cables were leaked | World news | guardian.co.uk: "An innocuous-looking memory stick, no longer than a couple of fingernails, came into the hands of a Guardian reporter earlier this year. The device is so small it will hang easily on a keyring. But its contents will send shockwaves through the world's chancelleries and deliver what one official described as 'an epic blow' to US diplomacy.
The 1.6 gigabytes of text files on the memory stick ran to millions of words: the contents of more than 250,000 leaked state department cables, sent from, or to, US embassies around the world.
What will emerge in the days and weeks ahead is an unprecedented picture of secret diplomacy as conducted by the planet's sole superpower. There are 251,287 dispatches in all, from more than 250 US embassies and consulates. They reveal how the US deals with both its allies and its enemies – negotiating, pressuring and sometimes brusquely denigrating foreign leaders, all behind the firewalls of ciphers and secrecy classifications that diplomats assume to be secure. The leaked cables range up to the 'SECRET NOFORN' level, which means they are meant never to be shown to non-US citizens.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
The 1.6 gigabytes of text files on the memory stick ran to millions of words: the contents of more than 250,000 leaked state department cables, sent from, or to, US embassies around the world.
What will emerge in the days and weeks ahead is an unprecedented picture of secret diplomacy as conducted by the planet's sole superpower. There are 251,287 dispatches in all, from more than 250 US embassies and consulates. They reveal how the US deals with both its allies and its enemies – negotiating, pressuring and sometimes brusquely denigrating foreign leaders, all behind the firewalls of ciphers and secrecy classifications that diplomats assume to be secure. The leaked cables range up to the 'SECRET NOFORN' level, which means they are meant never to be shown to non-US citizens.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Friday, November 26, 2010
What will be Barack Obama's ACHIEVEMENTS in 2011?
What will be Barack Obama's ACHIEVEMENTS in 2011?
- Finding and keeping qualified economic advisors
- Triangulation to the center of American politics
- Airport security (TSA)
- Federal Regulation of all human behavior $
- Setting world record for the number of appearances and interviews on television
- Historically high Frequent flier-miles on Air Force One $
- Afghanistan war
- American dollar devaluation $
- Unemployment $
- Iran
- Iraq
- North Korea
- Inflation and/or Deflation $
- Economic growth $
- rescue mission by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund $$$$$$
- Terrorism
- Prosecution of business "fat cats"
- Guantanamo Bay closing
- "Too big to fail" $
- Gays in the military
- Union Pensions unfunded liabilities $
- Stability of American Dollar ($)
- Federal deficit $
- Increase/decrease Federal debt $
- Increase/decrease Federal spending $
- Federal tax increase $
- Health Care quality $
- Consumer confidence
- Energy independence
- Over-Regulation of American Business
- Balance of trade with China
- Prosecution of Terrorists
- Global governance
- Obesity
- Global warming
- Green jobs $
- Nationalization of American Business
- START treaty
- Winter Olympics for America
- Political bipartisanship
- Listening to the American People
- Upholding the Constitution of the United States
- More documentation of United States violations of Human Rights
- Explaining Obamacare more clearly and forcefully
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Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Mr. Smut goes to Washington | themichiganview.com | The Michigan View
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Government Employees Owe Billions in Delinquent Taxes - CNBC
Government Employees Owe Billions in Delinquent Taxes - CNBC: "Deficit cutters struggling to make ends meet in Washington are eyeballing an unusual pot of potential revenue: back taxes owed to the government by federal employees themselves.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Bond Market Defies Fed - WSJ.com
Bond Market Defies Fed - WSJ.com: "Bucking the Federal Reserve's efforts to push interest rates lower, investors are selling off U.S. government debt, driving rates in many cases to their highest levels in more than three months.
The Fed's $600 billion program to buy Treasury bonds began late last week and is kicking into high gear this week, with the central bank buying up tens of billions of dollars of debt.
Bucking the Fed's efforts to push down interest rates, investors are selling off U.S. Treasurys, driving some rates to their highest levels in months. Michael Casey and Emma Moody discuss. Also, Jon Hilsenrath talks about Fed officials, including Janet Yellen and Bill Dudley, who say the stimulus plan is an attempt to boost U.S. growth, not weaken the dollar or raise inflation above 2%.
That should have driven prices up on those bonds and lowered their interest rates, or yields, which move opposite to the price. Instead, yields on almost every Treasury have been rising.
The trend is a potential problem for the economy and the Fed. Rates had fallen sharply for months in anticipation of a Fed buying program, and in a short time much of that effect has been lost, spelling an unwelcome rise in borrowing costs throughout the economy.
That could throw a wrench in what the Fed is trying to accomplish: to use low rates to encourage more borrowing and risk-taking by consumers, businesses and investors, thereby reviving growth.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
The Fed's $600 billion program to buy Treasury bonds began late last week and is kicking into high gear this week, with the central bank buying up tens of billions of dollars of debt.
Bucking the Fed's efforts to push down interest rates, investors are selling off U.S. Treasurys, driving some rates to their highest levels in months. Michael Casey and Emma Moody discuss. Also, Jon Hilsenrath talks about Fed officials, including Janet Yellen and Bill Dudley, who say the stimulus plan is an attempt to boost U.S. growth, not weaken the dollar or raise inflation above 2%.
That should have driven prices up on those bonds and lowered their interest rates, or yields, which move opposite to the price. Instead, yields on almost every Treasury have been rising.
The trend is a potential problem for the economy and the Fed. Rates had fallen sharply for months in anticipation of a Fed buying program, and in a short time much of that effect has been lost, spelling an unwelcome rise in borrowing costs throughout the economy.
That could throw a wrench in what the Fed is trying to accomplish: to use low rates to encourage more borrowing and risk-taking by consumers, businesses and investors, thereby reviving growth.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
The big disconnect: D.C. elites think Obama will be reelected, but the public doubts it - Mark Penn - POLITICO.com
The big disconnect: D.C. elites think Obama will be reelected, but the public doubts it - Mark Penn - POLITICO.com: "The midterms not only dealt a big shock to Democrats but also sent a message to President Barack Obama. According to the new POLITICO Power and the People poll, only 26 percent of the public believes he will be reelected as president in 2012.
This difference in expectations could mislead the president if he is listening to the Beltway chatter — right here in D.C., he may just find a lot of comfort in this assessment by insiders, and that may lead to actions that don’t fully adjust for the sea change that has occurred among the general public. (See also Poll: D.C. Sees Midterms Differently)
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
This difference in expectations could mislead the president if he is listening to the Beltway chatter — right here in D.C., he may just find a lot of comfort in this assessment by insiders, and that may lead to actions that don’t fully adjust for the sea change that has occurred among the general public. (See also Poll: D.C. Sees Midterms Differently)
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Friday, November 12, 2010
Analysis: German tempers fray as U.S. policy gulf widens | Reuters
Analysis: German tempers fray as U.S. policy gulf widens | Reuters: "(Reuters) - Germany's undiplomatic outbursts against U.S. policy, calling it 'clueless' before a G20 summit, show growing estrangement on economics as America's focus shifts away from transatlantic ties to domestic challenges and Asia.
'The Atlantic is getting wider,' said Anton Boerner, head of Germany's Foreign Trade Association, who spoke of a 'creeping alienation' between America and Europe, which has been exacerbated by the global financial crisis.
Germany and the United States often criticize each other's approaches to aiding economic recovery, with U.S. calls for more expansive policy falling on deaf ears in fiscally disciplined Germany. But Berlin has taken the rhetoric to a new level.
Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, 68, said last week that the U.S. Federal Reserve decision to buy $600 billion of government bonds undermined U.S. credibility and was 'clueless.' There was no point, he said, in pumping money into the markets.
China and Brazil were among those echoing his comments but U.S. officials were particularly stung by Schaeuble and German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle saying the Fed move amounted to 'indirect manipulation' of the dollar to boost exports; this at a time when Washington is criticizing China for exactly the same kind of strategy.
'It's not acceptable for the Americans to criticize China for currency manipulation then slyly help the dollar by printing at the Federal Reserve,' Schaeuble told Der Spiegel magazine.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
'The Atlantic is getting wider,' said Anton Boerner, head of Germany's Foreign Trade Association, who spoke of a 'creeping alienation' between America and Europe, which has been exacerbated by the global financial crisis.
Germany and the United States often criticize each other's approaches to aiding economic recovery, with U.S. calls for more expansive policy falling on deaf ears in fiscally disciplined Germany. But Berlin has taken the rhetoric to a new level.
Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, 68, said last week that the U.S. Federal Reserve decision to buy $600 billion of government bonds undermined U.S. credibility and was 'clueless.' There was no point, he said, in pumping money into the markets.
China and Brazil were among those echoing his comments but U.S. officials were particularly stung by Schaeuble and German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle saying the Fed move amounted to 'indirect manipulation' of the dollar to boost exports; this at a time when Washington is criticizing China for exactly the same kind of strategy.
'It's not acceptable for the Americans to criticize China for currency manipulation then slyly help the dollar by printing at the Federal Reserve,' Schaeuble told Der Spiegel magazine.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Pat Buchanan : Personal Finance : The Fed Trashes the Dollar - Townhall.com
Pat Buchanan : Personal Finance : The Fed Trashes the Dollar - Townhall.com:
"If it is the first responsibility of the Federal Reserve to protect the dollars that Americans earn and save, is it not dereliction of duty for the Fed to pursue a policy to bleed value from those dollars? For that is what Chairman Ben Bernanke is up to with his QE2, or 'quantitative easing.'
Translation: The Fed is committed to buy $600 billion in bonds from banks and pay for them by printing money that will then be deposited in those banks. The more dollars that flood into the economy, the less every one of them is worth.
Bernanke is not just risking inflation. He is inducing inflation.
He is reducing the value of the dollar to make U.S. exports more competitive and imports more expensive, so that we will consume fewer imports. He is trying to eliminate the U.S. trade deficit by treating the once universally respected dollar like the peso of a banana republic.
Sarah Palin has nailed cold what Bernanke is about:
'We shouldn't be playing around with inflation. It's not for nothing Reagan called it 'as violent as a mugger, as frightening as an armed robber and as deadly as a hit man.'
'The Fed's pump-priming addiction has got our small businesses running scared and our allies worried. The German finance minister called the Fed's proposals 'clueless.' When Germany, a country that knows a thing or two about the dangers of inflation, warns us to think again, maybe it's time for Chairman Bernanke to cease and desist.
'We don't want temporary, artificial economic growth bought at the expense of permanently higher inflation which will erode the value of our incomes and our savings.'
Egging Ben on is the Nobel-prize winning New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. Fed policy is too timid, says Krugman.
When Bernanke said we are not 'going to try to raise inflation to a super-normal level,' he blew it, says Krugman, and 'there goes the best chance the Fed's plan might actually work.'
What the Fed should do, he says, is change expectations 'by leading people to believe that we will have somewhat above-normal inflation ... which would reduce the incentive to sit on cash.'
But 'sit on cash' is a definition of saving. Is saving bad? Once, Americans were taught that saving was a good thing.
Not to Krugman. He wants to panic the public into believing the money they have put into savings accounts and CDs will be rapidly eaten up by Fed-created inflation, so they will run out and spend that money now to get the economy moving again.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
"If it is the first responsibility of the Federal Reserve to protect the dollars that Americans earn and save, is it not dereliction of duty for the Fed to pursue a policy to bleed value from those dollars? For that is what Chairman Ben Bernanke is up to with his QE2, or 'quantitative easing.'
Translation: The Fed is committed to buy $600 billion in bonds from banks and pay for them by printing money that will then be deposited in those banks. The more dollars that flood into the economy, the less every one of them is worth.
Bernanke is not just risking inflation. He is inducing inflation.
He is reducing the value of the dollar to make U.S. exports more competitive and imports more expensive, so that we will consume fewer imports. He is trying to eliminate the U.S. trade deficit by treating the once universally respected dollar like the peso of a banana republic.
Sarah Palin has nailed cold what Bernanke is about:
'We shouldn't be playing around with inflation. It's not for nothing Reagan called it 'as violent as a mugger, as frightening as an armed robber and as deadly as a hit man.'
'The Fed's pump-priming addiction has got our small businesses running scared and our allies worried. The German finance minister called the Fed's proposals 'clueless.' When Germany, a country that knows a thing or two about the dangers of inflation, warns us to think again, maybe it's time for Chairman Bernanke to cease and desist.
'We don't want temporary, artificial economic growth bought at the expense of permanently higher inflation which will erode the value of our incomes and our savings.'
Egging Ben on is the Nobel-prize winning New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. Fed policy is too timid, says Krugman.
When Bernanke said we are not 'going to try to raise inflation to a super-normal level,' he blew it, says Krugman, and 'there goes the best chance the Fed's plan might actually work.'
What the Fed should do, he says, is change expectations 'by leading people to believe that we will have somewhat above-normal inflation ... which would reduce the incentive to sit on cash.'
But 'sit on cash' is a definition of saving. Is saving bad? Once, Americans were taught that saving was a good thing.
Not to Krugman. He wants to panic the public into believing the money they have put into savings accounts and CDs will be rapidly eaten up by Fed-created inflation, so they will run out and spend that money now to get the economy moving again.
- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
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