Archive for Mike Van Winkle
More Facebook Privacy Concerns
“Many of the most popular applications, or ‘apps,’ on the social-networking site Facebook Inc. have been transmitting identifying information—in effect, providing access to people’s names and, in some cases, their friends’ names—to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found.” (Wall Street Journal, Monday) How long before somone suggests [...]
18Oct2010 | Mike Van Winkle | 1 comment | ContinuedCapital City Untouched by Recession
“Throughout the recession, one major city stood out as an oasis for jobs and growth: Washington, D.C. Supported by a gusher of federal borrowing and spending, the District of Columbia was the nation’s only metropolitan area that never stopped growing. It stood as a beacon for the nation’s millions of job hunters, from recent college [...]
18Oct2010 | Mike Van Winkle | 0 comments | ContinuedCongress Pushes Pet Legislation as Election Draws Near
“The Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act, aimed at lowering the volume on loud TV ads, appears headed for approval. But a bill seeking to squash another annoyance, the Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite Act, is likely to fail. And the sponsor of the All-American Flag Act must figure that the bill’s name alone should [...]
18Oct2010 | Mike Van Winkle | 0 comments | ContinuedNo Social Security For You!
“More than 58 million retirees and disabled Americans will get no increase in Social Security benefits next year, the second year in a row without a raise. “The Social Security Administration said Friday inflation has been too low since the last increase in 2009 to warrant an increase for 2011. The announcement marks only the [...]
15Oct2010 | Mike Van Winkle | 2 comments | ContinuedBernanke Argues For More Economic Intervention
“Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke made a case for new steps by the central bank to boost economic growth, saying inflation was running below the Fed’s objective of 2% and that the economy was on a course to grow too slowly to reduce unemployment.” (Wall Street Journal, Friday) Sure glad they learned their lesson last [...]
15Oct2010 | Mike Van Winkle | 1 comment | ContinuedBanks Foreclosure Troubles
“At Citigroup and GMAC, dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s on home foreclosures was outsourced to frazzled workers who sometimes tossed the paperwork into the garbage.” (New York Times, Wednesday) The hidden cost of regulation? FEE Timely Classic: “Regulatory Overkill” by Doug Bandow
14Oct2010 | Mike Van Winkle | 0 comments | ContinuedSeptember Foreclosures Top 100,000
“The number of homes taken over by banks topped 100,000 for the first time in September, though foreclosures are expected to slow in coming months as lenders work through questionable paperwork, real estate data company RealtyTrac said on Thursday.” (Reuters, Thursday) The hidden cost of regulation? FEE Timely Classic: “Can the Feds Save the Housing [...]
14Oct2010 | Mike Van Winkle | 0 comments | ContinuedFed Will Continue Expansionary Monetary Policy
“Most Wall Street analysts expect the Fed to decide, at its meeting in early November, to resume the debt-buying strategy known as quantitative easing, in which the Federal Reserve would purchase Treasury securities to make borrowing cheaper. But while that outcome is possible, it is not certain, according to minutes of the Fed’s last policy [...]
13Oct2010 | Mike Van Winkle | 1 comment | ContinuedIntelligence Agencies Wasted “Billions” Committee Says
“‘The American public would be outraged if they knew,’ Sen. Christopher S. Bond, Missouri Republican, told The Washington Times. ‘Billions and billions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted.’ Mr. Bond said he was unable to provide details or exact figures because the programs are classified. ‘I wish I could, but I can’t,’ he said, adding [...]
13Oct2010 | Mike Van Winkle | 1 comment | ContinuedEurope Faces Demonstrations Over “Austerity”
“Painful cuts by overspending EU countries come head to a head with mounting social anger on Wednesday when labour leaders call angry workers onto streets right across the continent. Set for its largest Europe-wide protest for a decade is Brussels where labour leaders are planning to bring 100,000 people from 30 countries to say ‘No [...]
28Sep2010 | Mike Van Winkle | 1 comment | ContinuedCalifornia Going to Pot?
“The measure gained ground in a Field Poll released Sunday, pulling ahead 49 percent to 42 percent among likely voters. The poll also found that Californians have become steadily more permissive toward the drug since pollsters began quizzing state residents about their attitudes 40 years ago.” (NBC, Monday) If only Californians could get this jazzed [...]
28Sep2010 | Mike Van Winkle | 1 comment | ContinuedSome Mexicans Live in Fear
“In Mexico’s drug wars, it is hard to pinpoint new lows as the atrocities and frustrations mount. But Ciudad Juárez belongs in its own category, with thousands killed each year, the exodus of tens of thousands of residents, the spectacle of the biggest national holiday last week observed in a square virtually devoid of anybody [...]
21Sep2010 | Mike Van Winkle | 0 comments | ContinuedPresident Obama Endorses “Skepticism” of Government
“Democratic leaders have repeatedly tried to cast ‘tea party’ candidates as extremists, but President Obama on Monday said the movement exhibits some of the ‘healthy skepticism about government’ that led to the American Revolution and that is now part of ‘our DNA.’ ” (Washington Times, Tuesday) I’m not sure I’d call it “skepticism.” FEE Timely [...]
21Sep2010 | Mike Van Winkle | 2 comments | ContinuedRepeal of Health Care Bill Unlikely
“Experts — and even some Republicans — say a GOP-controlled Congress next year would have to struggle to erase nearly $1 trillion in health reform spending over 10 years with the flick of a pen. Key parts of the bill, like new Medicaid entitlements, would require free-standing legislation, not merely routine changes during the appropriations [...]
20Sep2010 | Mike Van Winkle | 0 comments | ContinuedUnemployment Hurting Boomers
“Of the 14.9 million unemployed, more than 2.2 million are 55 or older. Nearly half of them have been unemployed six months or longer, according to the Labor Department. The unemployment rate in the group — 7.3 percent — is at a record, more than double what it was at the beginning of the latest [...]
20Sep2010 | Mike Van Winkle | 1 comment | ContinuedWall Street Still Struggling
“Even after taxpayer bailouts restored bankers’ profits and pay, the great Wall Street money machine is decelerating. Big financial institutions, including commercial banks, are still making a lot of money. But given unease in the financial markets and the economy, brokerages and investment banks are not making nearly as much as their executives, employees and [...]
20Sep2010 | Mike Van Winkle | 0 comments | ContinuedDid Income Taxes Factor Into LeBron’s Decision?
“[Lebron] would have to settle for less money to join forces with Wade and Bosh, with all three forced to take slightly less than the maximum allowed in order to play together. If James signed a five-year deal with Miami, he could actually make more money than a similar deal with the Cavaliers because there [...]
9Jul2010 | Mike Van Winkle | 0 comments | Continued-
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