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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mishedlo who wrote (107803)	2/3/2010 4:56:28 AM
From: Elroy Jetson	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has called for traffic cameras to be modified to also catch speeders, part of an effort to raise $300 million in fines to help close the state's budget shortfall. Los Angeles officials have voiced mixed reactions but taken no formal action on the proposal. As for red-light cameras, critics contend that the safety benefits have been overstated and that the cameras chiefly are used to fatten government coffers. Those complaints have grown louder as red-light ticket fines have climbed sharply in recent years. They now total more than $500 in Los Angeles County when traffic school fees are included. But LAPD officials and some experts say photo enforcement reduces potentially serious red-light-running accidents, changes driver behavior for the better and frees up patrol officers for other tasks. And after struggling with construction delays and start-up and early operating expenses, Los Angeles' red-light cameras have begun producing a sorely needed revenue surplus at a time when city programs and payrolls are being slashed. Beyond payments of about $2 million to the city's camera vendor and $1.2 million for Police Department costs, the city's 32 camera-equipped intersections generated $6.4 million in net revenue in 2009, said LAPD Sgt. Matthew MacWillie, who oversees the program. The LAPD issues about 3,600 photo enforcement tickets a month, records show. The program's financial turnaround can be partially attributed to a decision 18 months ago to more than double fines for rolling right-turn violations, which MacWillie has acknowledged account for most violations caught by the cameras. Previously, Los Angeles had been the only city in the county to charge right turn violations under a vehicle code section that carried a $156 fine. When the LAPD brought its ticketing practices in line with other agencies, right turn fines jumped to $381. The city's share of the fines grew from $58 to nearly $150. At least one City Council member, Valley representative Dennis Zine, said pursuing bids to continue or expand the photo enforcement program is premature. He said a detailed study of overall accident rates at photo-equipped intersections was still in the works. "I don't want to do anything until we get the results of that inquiry," he said. Zine, a former LAPD traffic cop who sits on the council's Public Safety Committee, sought the analysis last year after a local television station reported that the city's red-light cameras haven't always reduced collisions. The LAPD's study is not expected to be completed for about a month. But MacWillie said Tuesday that data show overall accidents, as well as red-light-running accidents, have declined at camera-equipped intersections. Considered a key city expert on photo enforcement, MacWillie also said speed cameras can be a valuable traffic enforcement tool if properly focused on safety and altering driver behavior. Approximately 40 people die annually in speed-related accidents in the city, he said. Zine said putting speed cameras at intersections is an "absurd idea" that would undermine the traditional focus of police officers on public safety. The governor is "just saying this is a revenue producer," he said. "With that in mind, why don't we just charge everyone $10 when they start their engine?" .

To: mishedlo who wrote (107803)	2/3/2010 8:55:01 AM
From: Travis_Bickle	5 Recommendations Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116555

Re police salaries, I saw this yesterday in my home town paper. The police department is angry because they aren't getting an automatic annual pay raise: Assistant city attorney Zoe Panarites argued the city's side, saying that police officers are doing better financially than most city employees. The average income for officers is $82,455. Sergeants average $106,010, and lieutenants average $122,037. palmbeachpost.com That is a hell of a lot of money for South Florida.

To: mishedlo who wrote (107803)	2/3/2010 10:09:20 AM
From: Unalakleet	Respond to of 116555

Great post, Mish.

To: mishedlo who wrote (107803)	2/3/2010 10:56:50 AM
From: Steve Lokness	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

Mish; Why did people buy houses they cannot afford? Why leave the idiocy of bankers off the list? You give a whole list of evils but give bankers a pass. Allll of the reasons you gave could have been overcome if bankers had just had a moral compass to guide their lending. A morality driven by the fact that if they make a bad loan - they will lose money. Yes, relatively speaking, teacher salaries are not as problematic as police or firefighter salaries, but is that a sound reason to avoid fixing a fundamental problem with teacher pensions and union rules that protect the worst employees? Yes I agree, but how can we disparage public employees when their tax money goes to bail out bankers who get million dollar bonuses .........after they failed much worse than teachers have?

To: mishedlo who wrote (107803)	2/3/2010 11:23:51 AM
From: ItsAllCyclical	2 Recommendations Respond to of 116555

(edit) Thanks for putting that together. I've been talking about economic illiteracy for many years now and the costs to society. Well written. I loved this part as it's what I harp on as well: >> Why is it that one can go through 12 years of schooling without taking a single class on what money is, how money is created, credit cards and other traps, interest rates, the role of the Fed, etc., when the one thing everyone absolutely needs to understand the moment they are tossed into the real world is money? << Being self taught I lose respect for those who make little effort or say they are too busy. It's never to late to learn. But there should be some sort of curriculum in the younger years. If so I think they'd have a tougher time getting people to swallow all the Keynsian bullsh**.

To: mishedlo who wrote (107803)	2/3/2010 11:58:15 AM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

Reduce military spending by 67% and the US will still be safe, probably safer as we will make less enemies. Military spending is another reason for the falling dollar. So what are you proposing.. re-instituting the draft? Because you can't slash military spending by that much without downsizing the active force fully by fifty percent. And that would put force structure to levels that last occurred in the 1930's. 60% of the entire DOD budget goes to operations and support, which includes personnel salaries. The Pentagon has come under growing pressure from Congress and the general public to manage resources more effectively and reduce overhead. Today, some 60 percent of the DoD's annual obligation authority is spent on so-called support infrastructure--activities and facilities that are not directly part of DoD's core mission but that help accomplish that mission--with half that portion going toward personnel expenses. rand.org In his prepared remarks, Harrison noted that “over 60 percent of the base defense budget is used for operations and support (O&S) activities, such as recruiting and training for the active duty military, guard, and reserve, supporting the DoD civilian workforce, and funding the peacetime operations and maintenance of equipment.” Combine those with health care costs and a benefits package that has done nothing but grow for the last decade and there is little room to slash spending without weakening the strategic reach of the United States. dodbuzz.com Do I think there isn't waste and fraud within DOD? No. It's a government agency, and therefore, no different from most other Federal agencies. Do I think we have too many officers and not enough soldiers in the force structure? YOU BET!! Just work in the Pentagon sometime and you'll see the ratio of "chiefs" to "indians" is ridiculous. Full Bird Colonels carrying General's briefcases. Officers playing as "Powerpoint Rangers" spending their days making charts of this or that program. The average salary of an 06 Colonel could cover the costs of 2-3 enlisted personnel, providing us the means of having more "boots on the ground". And there's no doubt that there's a lot of overhang with the civilian support sector, which is why I advocate the use of contractors as temporary support. It saves money and prevents temporary support budgets for various programs/projects from becoming permanent. Again.. in the 1950's the DOD budget was 70% of the total Federal Budget, whereas it constitutes 21% today. Whatever has bloated Federal Spending, it certainly has NOT been the Military budget, which has ALREADY been reduced 60% since the 1950's. But does that mean there isn't more room for cutting "fat" in the DOD budget? No. But the real waste and fraud is in the Federal Entitlement budgets. This is where most of the real, and percentage, growth has occurred in the Federal Budget. But hey.. we'll leave it up to you and replace the military with a bunch of old ladies and boy scouts carrying wooden guns and sling-shots. Or maybe the government can implement a "windfall profits" tax on financial advisors and hedge fund managers since you all benefit from the security and freedom defended by those people in uniform? Yeah.. maybe hiking taxes for Financial Managers, like yourself, by 60% might be part of the answer... ;0) Hawk

To: mishedlo who wrote (107803)	2/3/2010 12:22:13 PM
From: riversides	1 Recommendation Respond to of 116555

markets crashing again..? Intelligence officials say al-Qaeda will try to attack U.S. in next 6 months By Joby Warrick Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, February 3, 2010; A03 washingtonpost.com The Obama administration's top intelligence officials on Tuesday described it as "certain" that al-Qaeda or its allies will try to attack the United States in the next six months, and they called for new flexibility in how U.S. officials detain and question terrorist suspects. The officials, testifying before the Senate intelligence committee, also warned of increased risk of cyber-attacks in the coming months, saying that the recent China-based hacking of Google's computers was both a "wake-up call" and a forerunner to future strikes aimed at businesses or intended to cause economic disruption. "Al-Qaeda maintains its intent to attack the homeland -- preferably with a large-scale operation that would cause mass casualties, harm the U.S. economy or both," Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair told the committee in a hearing convened to assess threats against the country. Blair, flanked by the directors of the CIA and FBI and the chief intelligence officers of the State and Defense departments, put al-Qaeda at the top of a threat list that included the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs, criminal cartels and the potential for economic collapse in developing countries hard-hit by recession. The notable positive trends over the past year, he said, were the continuing security improvements in Iraq and the signs of economic recovery in developed countries. Last year, the prospect of global economic collapse ranked as the top security concern. "Missteps could set back the recovery, particularly if inflation or political pressures to consolidate budgets emerge before household consumption and private investment have begun to play a larger role in the recovery," Blair said. Blair and CIA Director Leon Panetta warned of new threats from al-Qaeda's regional allies, such as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Several groups appear increasingly intent on attacking U.S. and other Western targets, even as al-Qaeda's core leadership struggles to regain its footing after repeated setbacks and eroding popular support in the Muslim world, the officials said. "They are moving to other safe havens and regional nodes such as Yemen, Somalia, the Maghreb and others," Panetta said. He said al-Qaeda-inspired groups had successfully "deployed individuals to this country," citing recently disrupted terrorist plots in Colorado and Chicago. The intelligence officials and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III said U.S. counterterrorism agencies have absorbed the lessons of the Dec. 25 attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 over Detroit, but all said future attempts are inevitable and could happen soon. Asked by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), committee chairwoman, to assess the likelihood of an attempted terrorist attack on the United States within the next six months, Blair described it as "certain." Each of the four other officials, asked the same question, agreed with Blair.

To: mishedlo who wrote (107803)	2/7/2010 10:36:28 PM
From: marcher	1 Recommendation Respond to of 116555

"...administrators, not teachers set the curriculum..." Curriculum is determined at the state level; teachers and administrators have limited input. "...high school graduates are economically illiterate..." Yes, unfortunately, this in not a priority. "...How many teachers would complain if we threw music, art, and Latin class out the window and required 4 years of economics instead?..." 4 years of high school econ is extreme, but econ should be included in some way. many teachers would complain if music and art were removed from high school. many, probably most, elementary schools no longer have music or art. "...class sizes continue to shrink while benefits for teachers and administrators expand..." Class sizes are increasing and benefits are decreasing. "...The education system is geared to benefit the system, not the kids..." At this time, the education system is in the public domain and influenced by messy democracy--federal politics, state politics, district politics, city politics, etc. The teachers I've known always try to protect kids from these politics when the door closes and class begins. Unfortunately, the panic caused by No Child Left Behind is now ruining kid-teacher relationships as artifact of a crazed race-by-numbers. "...That is a simple mathematical statement of fact..." Many labor policy wonks see the pension issue as an extension of the privatization attack on public agencies, in this case public educators. Here's one of the best pieces to date: aeufederal.org.au cheers! --marc