First, the bad news: Even if the economy improves, middle-class career paths will continue to disappear as globalization and technological innovation render more jobs obsolete.
Now, the good news: The fear, stress and humiliation caused by unemployment (and underemployment) can be alleviated with a simple solution.
And now, the even-better news: This simple solution is starting to find backers on both sides of the political spectrum.
A monthly cash payment to every American, no questions asked, would solve several of our most daunting challenges. It's called a basic income, and it's cheaper and much more effective than our current malfunctioning safety net, which costs nearly $1 trillion per year.
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DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
The Bundy Ranch Saga Proved the American People are Fed Up
The Bundy Ranch Saga has crystallized the mood of the American people.
Cliven Bundy, in a dispute with the Federal government, managed to call enough attention to his plight to mobilize hundreds of Americans to stand with him as he nullified federal law.
Through organized networks of regular Americans and largely through social media, and without traditional news media calling attention to Bundy's side of the complaint, the Federal government found out in a hurry that heavy-handed tactics against the American people will not work.
I believe regular Americans are on the cusp of doing what it takes to teach the Federal government that they work for us, not the other way around, and the mood of the nation is reflected in The Bundy Ranch Saga.
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Cliven Bundy, in a dispute with the Federal government, managed to call enough attention to his plight to mobilize hundreds of Americans to stand with him as he nullified federal law.
Through organized networks of regular Americans and largely through social media, and without traditional news media calling attention to Bundy's side of the complaint, the Federal government found out in a hurry that heavy-handed tactics against the American people will not work.
I believe regular Americans are on the cusp of doing what it takes to teach the Federal government that they work for us, not the other way around, and the mood of the nation is reflected in The Bundy Ranch Saga.
More
Mortgage Lending Drops to 17-Year Low as Rates Curb Borrowing
U.S. mortgage lending is contracting to levels not seen since 1997 — the year Tiger Woods won his first of four Masters championships — as rising interest rates and home prices drive away borrowers.
Wells Fargo & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., the two largest U.S. mortgage lenders, reported a first-quarter plunge in loan volumes that’s part of an industry-wide drop off. Lenders made $226 billion of mortgages in the period, the smallest quarterly amount since 1997 and less than one-third of the 2006 average, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington.
Lending has been tumbling since mid-2013 when mortgage rates jumped about a percentage point after the Federal Reserve said it might taper stimulus spending. A surge in all-cash purchases to more than 40 percent has kept housing prices rising, squeezing more Americans out of the market. That will help push lending down further this year, according to the association.
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Wells Fargo & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., the two largest U.S. mortgage lenders, reported a first-quarter plunge in loan volumes that’s part of an industry-wide drop off. Lenders made $226 billion of mortgages in the period, the smallest quarterly amount since 1997 and less than one-third of the 2006 average, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington.
Lending has been tumbling since mid-2013 when mortgage rates jumped about a percentage point after the Federal Reserve said it might taper stimulus spending. A surge in all-cash purchases to more than 40 percent has kept housing prices rising, squeezing more Americans out of the market. That will help push lending down further this year, according to the association.
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The Crime of Being Bullied: 15-Year-Old Special Needs Student Convicted of Disorderly Conduct for Recording Evidence of Bullying
And the administrators took action. Not against the bullies. Against their victim.
According to BenSwann.com, a sophomore at South Fayette High School in McDonald, Pennsylvania, whose name has been withheld at the family’s request, suffered a year of abuse before he decided to take a stand. After researching anti-bullying websites, he used his school-issued iPad to make a seven-minute audio recording of his treatment during math class, where the most intense bullying took place. He later explained his actions: “I wanted her (Love) to understand what I went through…. I wanted it to stop. I just felt like nothing was being done.”
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Baywater Animal Rescue Hosts Pitter Patter of Little Paws Baby Shower April 26th
GOP Lawmakers Oppose Bonuses For IRS Division That Targeted Groups
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| House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Mich.) |
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) and six other Republican lawmakers wrote to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) on April 2 requesting that the next general spending bill prohibit bonuses to the IRS’s Tax-Exempt Tax-Exempt and Government Entities Division, which carried out the agency’s screening efforts.
The lawmakers also criticized an IRS decision in February to reinstate performance awards for IRS employees. Agency-wide payouts for work in fiscal 2013 are expected to total $62.5 million in 2014, compared to $89.1 million for fiscal 2012, according to the IRS.
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Jeb Bush Was Public Enemy No. 1 At One Of The Year's Biggest Conservative Gatherings
Bush served as a punch line for — of all people — Donald Trump.
"You know, I heard Jeb Bush the other day," Trump said during his speech at the Freedom Summit, hosted by the conservative groups Citizens United and Americans for Prosperity.
The crowd immediately started to boo and groan upon hearing Bush's name. Trump then referenced comments Bush had made on immigration on April 6, when he said most people who cross the border illegally do so out of "love."
"He was talking about people that come into this country illegally. They do it for love," Trump said as the boos got louder.
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Sen. Harry Reid on Nevada Ranch Battle: ‘It’s Not Over’
“Well, it’s not over. We can’t have an American people that violate the law and then just walk away from it. So it’s not over,” Reid told KRNV-TV.
On Saturday, the Bureau of Land Management released roughly 400 head of cattle it had seized from Bundy in Clark County, Nev., a short time after prematurely putting a stop to the roundup, citing concerns for public safety.
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Congressman Andy Harris’ Office to Host College and Academy Resource Event
The Event Is Open to Eighth-Grade and High School Students on the Lower Eastern Shore
Washington, D.C. – The office of Congressman Andy Harris has announced it will host a College and Military Service Academy Resource Event for the students of the lower Eastern Shore. The event will be held at Washington High School in Princess Anne, Maryland, on Wednesday, April 23, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. All eighth-graders and high school students on the Lower Shore, and their parents, are encouraged to attend.
Rep. Harris’ office has invited representatives from the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy to attend. They will guide students in mapping out their high school careers, in the effort to help them increase their chances of being accepted to an elite service academy.
Other experts will also be available to discuss financial aid resources with students who wish to attend a four-year college, technical school, or trade school.
The event will be an excellent opportunity for our future leaders and their parents to ask questions and learn more about the academy and college application process. If you have any questions or would like to RSVP for the event, please feel free to contact Rep. Harris’ Salisbury District Office at 443-944-8624.
Washington, D.C. – The office of Congressman Andy Harris has announced it will host a College and Military Service Academy Resource Event for the students of the lower Eastern Shore. The event will be held at Washington High School in Princess Anne, Maryland, on Wednesday, April 23, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. All eighth-graders and high school students on the Lower Shore, and their parents, are encouraged to attend.
Rep. Harris’ office has invited representatives from the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy to attend. They will guide students in mapping out their high school careers, in the effort to help them increase their chances of being accepted to an elite service academy.
Other experts will also be available to discuss financial aid resources with students who wish to attend a four-year college, technical school, or trade school.
The event will be an excellent opportunity for our future leaders and their parents to ask questions and learn more about the academy and college application process. If you have any questions or would like to RSVP for the event, please feel free to contact Rep. Harris’ Salisbury District Office at 443-944-8624.
Federal Agent Tried to Blame Him for an Accident — Little Did He Know This Key Piece of Evidence Existed
A video circulating on the Internet appears to show a member of the U.S. Border Patrol crash into a civilians car — then wrongly blame the accident on the other driver, probably not knowing his dash-camera recorded the entire incident.
The April 10 video shows a man coasting through a New York intersection when a U.S. Border Patrol van with it’s siren on suddenly makes a left turn in front of him, causing him to crash into it.
“As you can plainly see, I was driving along at a normal pace minding my own business when out of nowhere, a van from the US Border patrol (my luck!) makes a left turn right in front of me, and then BAM!” the individual named “Ted” wrote on his website about the accident
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Maryland has 7th highest state-local tax burden in U.S., Tax Foundation report shows
Maryland residents have the seventh highest state-local tax burden in the U.S., according to a new report from the Tax Foundation.
The report shows Marylanders paid 10.6 percent of their income in state and local taxes in fiscal 2011, the most recent data available. The national average was 9.8 percent.
By comparison, neighboring Pennsylvania ranks No. 10 at 10.3 percent, while Virginia comes in 30th with 9.2 percent of income going to state and local taxes.
New York, at 12.6 percent, had the highest state-local tax burden, followed by New Jersey and Connecticut.
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The report shows Marylanders paid 10.6 percent of their income in state and local taxes in fiscal 2011, the most recent data available. The national average was 9.8 percent.
By comparison, neighboring Pennsylvania ranks No. 10 at 10.3 percent, while Virginia comes in 30th with 9.2 percent of income going to state and local taxes.
New York, at 12.6 percent, had the highest state-local tax burden, followed by New Jersey and Connecticut.
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SALISBURY, MD EVENT WILL BENEFIT BROOKE MULFORD FOUNDATION
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Missing Child In Salisbury
Missing Child-Jayshaun James, 11 yoa, black male, 4’11, 90 lbs,Lt. Blue Polo Shirt, grey shorts, dark blue shoes
James last seen 04-15-14 at 11:50a.m. 300 Block of Park Ave. No critical factors or suspicious circumstances.
UPDATE: The child has been located.
Lawmakers Say E-cigarette Makers Target Kids
The report shows a significant increase in recent years in the marketing of e-cigarettes to minors through social media, radio and televisions advertisements, and sponsoring events with young audiences.
"From candy flavors to rock concert sponsorships, every single company surveyed in this report has employed a marketing strategy that appears to target youth," said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, who helped spearhead the report.
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'Tax Man' Obama has sought 442 tax increases
April 15 is a hard day for many, as their annual federal tax bill comes due. But it could have been worse.
According to a new report, President Obama has sought 442 tax increases since taking office, though most have died because of congressional opposition.
Having included 93 new taxes in his fiscal 2015 budget, the anti-tax Americans for Tax Reform reviewed his proposals since his 2009 Inauguration to determine just how tax-friendly the president has been. Their conclusion: He's very friendly.
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According to a new report, President Obama has sought 442 tax increases since taking office, though most have died because of congressional opposition.
Having included 93 new taxes in his fiscal 2015 budget, the anti-tax Americans for Tax Reform reviewed his proposals since his 2009 Inauguration to determine just how tax-friendly the president has been. Their conclusion: He's very friendly.
More
BREAKING NEWS: BODY FOUND ON ASSATEAGUE ISLAND
It appears to be a self inflicted gun shot wound.
CARSON’S HEALTHCARE PLAN
Well Dr. Ben Carson has a plan that make tons more sense than Obamacare and is at least easy enough for even the most disinterested people in America can understand.
Dr Carson wants to keep it simple. Simply put, healthcare is about a patient and a doctor. That’s it. The middleman i.e. Healthcare Insurance agencies have nothing to do with healthcare but to raise the cost of healthcare. So now the middleman in America is the U.S. Government, and the Government will use the IRS as its collection agency. And to think that some in America today think that’s a good idea. Myopic visionaries one an all.
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Reid Smelling Anything But Rosy In Ranch Fight
Desert showdown blows lid off long-standing plans with the Chinese
When Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy refused to take his cattle off land the federal government demanded for the habitat of an endangered desert tortoise, it focused the nation’s attention on an arena Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., may have preferred to be kept quiet.
An investigative report published last week by Infowars.com drew a connection between Senate Majority Leader Reid’s involvement with Chinese energy giant ENN, Chinese efforts to build massive solar facilities in the Nevada desert and the showdown between Bundy and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, or BLM.
It wasn’t the first report to notice curious dealings involving the Chinese and America’s top Democrats.
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When Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy refused to take his cattle off land the federal government demanded for the habitat of an endangered desert tortoise, it focused the nation’s attention on an arena Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., may have preferred to be kept quiet.
An investigative report published last week by Infowars.com drew a connection between Senate Majority Leader Reid’s involvement with Chinese energy giant ENN, Chinese efforts to build massive solar facilities in the Nevada desert and the showdown between Bundy and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, or BLM.
It wasn’t the first report to notice curious dealings involving the Chinese and America’s top Democrats.
More
Watch Young Kids Hilariously Try to Identify a Piece of 1980s Technology
Are you old enough to remember the Sony Walkman?
The once-ubiquitous portable cassette player turns 35 on July 1. Introduced in 1979, Sony did not know if the Walkman was going to be a hit, barely selling 3,000 at first. That number ultimately grew to more than 200 million sold over the Walkman’s lifetime.
The success of the Walkman eventually succumbed to the inevitable change in portable music technology. Cassette tapes were replaced by CDs, which were ultimately made obsolete by digital audio players like the iPod.
MORE
The once-ubiquitous portable cassette player turns 35 on July 1. Introduced in 1979, Sony did not know if the Walkman was going to be a hit, barely selling 3,000 at first. That number ultimately grew to more than 200 million sold over the Walkman’s lifetime.
The success of the Walkman eventually succumbed to the inevitable change in portable music technology. Cassette tapes were replaced by CDs, which were ultimately made obsolete by digital audio players like the iPod.
MORE
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