Vermont is #1. Not Desirable

http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/30/highest-state-taxes-lifestyle-real-estate-state-taxes.html

Vermont is the state with the highest taxes. But we already knew that. We have many apologists for this situation but the responsibility rests solely on the the liberal government establishment and those who elect them.

The November Election is A Clear Choice of Worldviews

Mitt Romney's choice of Paul Ryan as his running mate sharpens the focus in the November elections between competing views of America's future. Obama, Biden and a Democrat Senate vs. Romney, Ryan and a Republican House.

The Democrat view comprises more spending, unsustainable debt and costly entitlements without a fiscal reform plan in association with a Senate that has failed to pass a budget in more than three years.

TeamRomney promises economic reform, job growth, fiscal responsibility,entitlement restraint repeal of ObamaCare and a return more limited government.

While all campaigns are full of promises, I favor TeamRomney as charting a better course for our country. TeamObama has no record of success in creating a better future for our nation.

Most important in this election is to populate Congress with Senators and Representatives that will create a future that is affordable and sustainable. The present dysfuntional Congress has failed its citizens

News Alertfrom The Wall Street Journal

Mitt Romney picked Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate, a decision that could spark enthusiasm for the Republican ticket among conservatives and all but ensures the election will turn to deep philosophical divisions between the two parties over spending, taxes and entitlements.
In Mr. Ryan, 42 years old, the Romney campaign gets a conservative who has spent recent years at the center of national debates about the size and scope of the federal government. With his proposals to revamp entitlement programs for future retirees and the poor, he has become a hero to conservatives and a target for liberals.

The pick was officially announced on Mr. Romney’s phone app just after 7 a.m. Mr. Romney plans to hold an event at 9 a.m. on the USS Wisconsin, which carries the name of Rep. Ryan's home state.

http://online.wsj.com/article/

SB1000087239639044340400457758
2112521141598.html?mod=djemalertNEWS

SwiftKey tests

Just downloaded SwiftKey and am testing it on my new nexus 7. Need to get a lot more words typed to truly evaluate how well it performs. It seems snappy and accurate so far. I must remember to watch the word selection bar rather than the content window. The theme choices are cool And the space insertion feature is very helpful because I constantly forget to insert spaces. :-). It even has smiley face insertion options.
So far it looks like a time saver!

Job Growth in Private Sector

WSJ reports that July's job growth was in the private sector. That's good news. Government should continue to shrink even faster for a healthier economic rebound.

"The Labor Department Friday said private companies accounted for all of the growth in July payrolls, adding 172,000 jobs during the month. Governments, meanwhile, shed 9,000 positions. The federal work force shrank by 2,000."

Works and Days » California: The Road Warrior Is Here

A gloomy outlook for California by Victor Davis Hanson. Can anyone say he depicts the situation there erroneously?

Works and Days » California: The Road Warrior Is Here: "Sometimes, and in some places, in California I think we have nearly descended into Miller’s dark vision — especially the juxtaposition of occasional high technology with premodern notions of law and security. The state deficit is at $16 billion. Stockton went bankrupt; Fresno is rumored to be next. Unemployment stays over 10% and in the Central Valley is more like 15%. Seven out of the last eleven new Californians went on Medicaid, which is about broke. A third of the nation’s welfare recipients are in California. In many areas, 40% of Central Valley high school students do not graduate — and do not work, if the latest crisis in finding $10 an hour agricultural workers is any indication. And so on."

SS United States May be Partially Restored

A WSJ story today suggest a new life for the SS United States which still holds the speed record for and Atlantic crossing.

Carol and I sailed to Europe, landing in Bremerhaven, on my first Army active duty posting in Bad Kreuznach, Germany with the 8th Signal Battalion. It was a fast trip and we even brought our dog who enjoyed his own 'poop' deck.

It was a fast crossing with brief stops in Southampton and Le Havre. We encountered one storm during dinner which tossed people, chairs and dishware to the deck.

A few years ago we were in Philadelphia I noticed the ship in the harbor and wondered what would become of her. Glad to see that she may have a better future than the scrap yard.

The Renewal of Civic Capitalism - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active and engaged democracy.

Scott Harshbarger, Former Attorney General in Massachusetts, has it right in this graduation speech.

 "Civic capitalism is all about a robust business community, an engaged citizenry and a government that actively promotes your ability to provide a check on large institutions, from banks to corporations, and on government itself. It is about ensuring that democratic values endure, even as politicians and movements come and go. It is about rooting out corruption and insisting on honesty, opportunity, and full information, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because markets and civil society cannot function otherwise. Civic capitalism takes the long view, and teaches us that the government has a role in minimizing risks to the system—financial and otherwise—because that civil society is the base from which entrepreneurs and firms operate."

'via Blog this'

Where Paul Krugman, Keynes are vulnerable - Howard Gold's No-Nonsense Investing - MarketWatch

Howard Gold Believes Krugman and Keynes are Wrong for Today's Economy.  I agree.


I believe America's unemployment is structural for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the impact of technology.


Growing the economy is complicated by the structural changes and dislocations from accelerating technological change which are ‘eating’ traditional jobs,  jobs that previously required humans, previously low-skill, low-priced humans. What’s happening now is that even higher skills are being replaced by technological efficiencies.

Already in many industries and occupations, we have seen that digital and robotic technologies have permanently displaced jobs and skills. With investments in these technologies companies can increase economic output without the corresponding labor component that was both expected and experienced experienced by workers in the past as America exited economic doldrums. The upshot is that many jobs simply will not return and the doldrums are more or less permanent.

As only one example among many, think about the implications in the not too distant future of cars and trucks that drive themselves more adroitly and safely than people can. Google and several other companies are developing such vehicles and as states allow them to to be registered and operated, we can expect more jobs to disappear.

The high skills required to service this new economy are in short supply because the education system lags behind the pace of technological change. Meanwhile, our self gratifying culture works against people desiring to be equipped to work hard to succeed. The ‘entitlement mentality’ pervades far too many lives. We see it in the growing expectations of a government that cannot afford these demands in an economy that is predicted to grow at half its historic rate into the future.

"But what if the problem isn’t only a dearth of demand? Krugman is adamant that current U.S. unemployment is not structural — i.e., that it has deeper causes such as a mismatch of skills between workers and the available jobs.

“…Structural unemployment is a fake problem, which mainly serves as an excuse for not pursuing real solutions,” he wrote. “…All the facts suggest that high unemployment in America is the result of inadequate demand — full stop.”

Actually, economists are divided on this issue — studies by the Chicago and San Francisco Fed support Krugman, while a recent International Monetary Fund paper pegged the structural contribution to long-term U.S. unemployment at 40%. That’s two million people, hardly trivial."

'via Blog this'

A Look at Chrome OS Future

http://m.zdnet.com/blog/google/5-reasons-everyone-will-be-using-chrome-os-in-3-years/3649?pg=2

This ZDNET writer believes the Chrome OS will win a big chunk of market share. The battle is on between Google, MS and Apple. A key to winning will be the enterprise.

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Gym day...relaxing after workout. Quick photo from smartphone Blogger app