Search query: michigan

It turns out Ross Perot had not fallen off his rocker when he, as a 1992 3rd party presidential candidate, predicted that signing NAFTA would lead to the loss of American jobs to trade partners amid a “giant sucking sound.” An Economic Policy Institute (EPI) report says that California leads the nation in job-loss due to the treaty signed by former president Bill Clinton. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), in combination with the Great Recession, has resulted in 692,900 lost jobs

A number of contentious issues surrounding the reported death of the most wanted man in America has sparked partisan bickering over the execution of the Administration's wars, but these contentions have seemingly failed to drive a wedge between the parties when it comes to their only common ground: the need for preemptive war. First of all, there is the matter of the “unpublished” photos of Osama's slain body, apparently secured by US Navy SEALs who performed the raid on the Pakistani mansion w

Fueled by a growing demand for locally produced food year-round, the number of farmers' markets extending their operations into winter months is on the rise, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Northern states are leading the charge by pioneering techniques to extend growing seasons with indoor gardening methods. Nationwide, at least 900 farmers' markets run between November and March, a 17 percent increase from 2008. Traditional, weekly farmers' markets typically begin in the spr

Meredith Whitney, who was early and right about the cratering of our banking system, says the appalling fiscal condition of many states is a systemic risk to the entire country, with California being in the most calamitous shape. She says California has the biggest budget deficit, has increased spending "dramatically", and has public pension systems that are deeply in the red. Plus, since she expects a double dip in housing, California revenues will drop even more. Though it now appears that a

These days, it seems like we are provided with new evidence of the American public’s desire for Independent and third party alternatives to the Democratic and Republican parties on a regular basis. A Fox News poll released late last week found that a 57% majority of respondents think it would be a “good idea” if a third party were formed to run candidates against the Democrats and Republicans at all levels of government. Incidentally, an astute 4% minority noted that such parties already exist

New enrollment data was released last week by the University of California showing that admissions of white and California resident students declined among freshmen who plan to attend a UC school this fall.  Of the projected 37,151 freshmen who will attend a UC school, white students fell from 29.8 percent in 2009 to 26.3 in 2010, while students from out-of-state or overseas ticked up to 8 percent this year as compared to just 6 percent for 2009. Despite a number of racially-charged incidents l

The California Jobs Initiative has submitted over 800,000 signatures, more than twice as many as needed to be on the ballot in November.  It seeks, in effect, to overturn the landmark Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB32) by suspending it unless California unemployment is less than 5.5% for four consecutive quarters, something which rarely happens. AB32 requires that greenhouse gas emissions in California be reduced to 1990 levels by 2020, which is roughly what Kyoto Protocol provisions

The most heated debate in Sacramento during the past two years hasn’t been budget cuts depriving poor children of health care or awarding billion-dollar tax breaks to corporations.  It hasn’t even been California’s massive multi-billion dollar budget shortfalls. Generating far more public outcry is the mandatory spaying and neutering of cats and dogs. In 2008, unsuccessful spay/neuter legislation logged some 32,000 letters and e-mails either in support or opposition -- many thousands more th

The Reason Foundation is a libertarian, non-profit, public policy organization that was established "to advance free minds and free markets." This month, they published a report by David Osborne, a policy analyst and former Clinton Administration official, who says he has a solution to California's budget problems. In his report, entitled "The Next California Budget" (you can read the whole thing here), Osborne quickly assesses the problem: Jaws dropped from coast to coast at the size of [Cali

A significant – and often overlooked -- result of what’s been dubbed the Great Recession is that in just over half of the 50 states, the programs that pay unemployment insurance to workers who’ve lost their jobs are insolvent, leading states to borrow more than $39 billion from the federal government to keep writing checks. California, which has the largest unemployment program in the country, has the dubious distinction of leading 34 other states and the Virgin Islands in borrowing:  $8.5 bil