Some are calling our current economic downturn and its depressive effect on the housing market the worst since the Great Depression. It wasn’t all that long ago that I made some reference to getting ready for “Great Depression, Part 2″.
In the ongoing debate war of whether cellphone present a credible risk of cancer, a panel of “experts” appeared on Larry King Live (CNN), to comment on a recent “advisory” memo to the staff of the University of Pittsburg regarding the use of cellphones.
Why now?
As with most debates, the panel members seemed to disagree on the amount of risk related to cellphone use; this is based on current data, and in particular because the data used in the study was concerning analog wireless technology which is virtually no longer in use today.
So is this more hype and misinformation versus actual helpful and useful public information.
I heard on the news tonight that another bridge in Minneapolis was closed after a 6-foot chunk of concrete fell on a passing motor vehicle. What struck me was the comment made by the newscaster that the I-35W had been deemed structurally deficient 17-years before it collapsed.
How do we allow things like this to happen? How does nothing happen over the span of 17-years to help prevent the collapse of a bridge? The lives of the 13 people who died in the collapse need not have occurred if only the officials had done something to repair/replace the bridge in the almost two decades since it was assessed as being deficient.
It troubles me to think that thousands of bridges across the nation could be in the same state of disrepair and facing imminent failure.
So I’m in Washington D.C. this weekend to attend the 2008 Annual Conference of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. I came in via Amtrak, and spent the better part of 8 hours on a train ride that seemed like it took about 14 hours. All this because I hadn’t flown in about 10 years and really was not interested in navigating the security protocols at our nation’s airports. I also was more than happy not to be flying during what turned out to be some very strong thunderstorms earlier today.
I’m currently in the Quality Inn on New York Ave, NE, and will be headed to the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill on New Jersey Ave, NW, tomorrow for Day 1 of the conference and its workshops. Should be fun.
I can help but notice that gas prices seem to be dropping somewhat precipitously in the city and towns near my hometown. What was $4.15 for premium fuel just a few days ago is now $3.99. How is it that prices are so suddenly coming down?
In recent weeks I have noticed a particularly troublesome trend at retail gas stations here in the U.S. My context is that of the Northeast, so I cannot claim to speak for other parts of the country though I would suspect the practice is universal.
Around the time when ExxonMobil announced that it was exiting the retail gas business (and thereby selling off most of its U.S. gas stations), oddly named companies started popping up. Here in the Northeast, in my small hometown, a company called IRVING has taken over the two ExxonMobil stations. A little research on Google tells me that IRVING is a Canadian Corporation that markets petroleum products – no huge surprise here.
What is markedly different is that IRVING displays only its regular unleaded gas price on the large billboard still marque that is used by most gas stations. As soon as ExxonMobil converted over to IRVING this change was immediately apparent (at least to me). There are even a few Mobil stations in neighboring towns that have also converted to this method of displaying prices even though their name has remained Mobil.
Over the next couple of months, as gas prices fluctuated high and low, I found that anytime a reduction in price was needed, that the stations often only reduced their regular gas price leaving mid-grade and premium intact and unchanged. This seemed odd, since in the past and until recently, every time the price of oil changed and a price change at the pump was needed all three grades would change. It just seems that with the change in information marketing strategy that now some retailers are using this to their advantage by not having to lower the more expensive gas products.
Now today, is the first day that I saw a 10-cent-per-gallon decline in pricing that also affected mid-grade and premium; a welcomed change to be sure. The question is how long will this last since we are now in the start of hurricane season. How long before one climatic hurricane hits the Gulf and prices surge above $5 a gallon? Don’t think it can’t happen. Retails prices really encrouched upon the $5 threshold with diesel at or near it nearly all summer long.
And as welcomed as the lower prices are, we have to ask – why now? Everything we’ve been told is that prices are linked to the cost of delivering the product. The influences of which include attacks on oil pipelines here and abroad, disruption of the supply chain, and – of course – the environment. We’ve been treated to three storms (not all hurricanes) so far this season yet the prices keeps coming down.
Just how much of this is pressure from the White House to aid John McCain in his bid for the presidency?
Hopefully, we won’t be that gullible ever again!
I am saddened by the news of Estelle’s passing; she was a joy to watch in her portrayal of Sophia Petrillo over seven seasons of “The Golden Girls”. Her talent was immense and oft went unrecognized in the way that actors are recognized (e.g. awards).
In recent years, Estelle suffered from Lewy Body Disease, a particularly difficult type of dementia to treat. In most cases, dementia will respond to neuroleptics, but LBD is often exacerbated by these drugs.
At 84 years of age, and just three days shy of her 85th birthday, dear Estelle is finally at peace. I hope that her talent and the contributions that she made to all of our lives will not soon be forgotten.
RIP, Estelle! We love ya.
Communities around the state of Massachusetts, and likely the nation itself, are reaching a critical mass when it comes to funding their operations. Cities and towns are literally running out of money; tax collection isn’t even close to the amount of money that is needed to run governments given the increases in wages, benefits and fuel just to name a few.
Just the same many taxpayers are saying “No” to requests for Proposition 2 1/2 tax overrides. Most recently the Town of Freetown turned down eight requests for overrides and now the town is in a quandry as to how it will continue to operate as fiscal year 2009 rolls on. The sad part of this vote, is that a mere 30% of registered voters have seemingly spoken for all the registered voters in Freetown. How do we allow 30% to speak for the wishes of 70%? Votes are somewhat more important and should not be satisfied with what is essentially representative sampling of a larger demographic.
The crux of the matter appears to be that taxpayers are feeling the pinch all over. Many are depressed from the current state of the economy. Unlike Phil Gramm’s statement that we are in a “mental recession”, many families are truly feeling the pinch of a honest-to-goodness recession; mortgage payments are high from the recent housing price spike which encouraged a lot of borrowing and refinancing, then there are car payments, school loans, and all the daily basics like utilities, food, entertainment, clothing and the list goes on and on. This is an extremely bad time to ask taxpayers for more money – regardless of the reason. The truth is that most people aren’t listening to the reasons, but rather they are listening to their pocketbooks and wallets – and they’re hearing “You can’t afford it!”
The trouble with a decision like this one, is that it potentially fuels the movement of a growing number of people who might just be willing to support elimination of the state income tax. A similar measure gained 49% of the vote a few years ago, and it will be back on the ballot in November. Elimination of the state’s income tax would be disastrous at a time when the Patrick administration is trying to repair a lot of damage left behind by Mitt Romney and his Republican predecessors over the past sixteen years. A complete elimination of the state’s income tax, would likely require legislative intervention to prevent a total collapse of the state’s fiscal infrastructure.
People think it’s bad now, just wait and see what happens when the state has no money at all.
The irony with the decision in Freetown, is that for a savings of $175 per taxpayer, the voters were willing to uphold 12 layoffs at the Elementary school, 2 in the police department, 1 at the library, reduce hours at various town offices, eliminate firefighter training, and force the 911 center to use part-time employees to fill a vacancy. These ill-considered votes directly affect the town’s capacity to provide for the education, well-being and safety of all town residents; it boggles the mind how voters can rationalize trading all of this for $175 a year in extra taxes – maybe that elementary school is more important than we think!
If you’re like me, you’ve been innundated recently with a substantial amount of SPAM email that purports to put you “in the know” on how you can run your car on a mixture of gas and water thereby laughing at rising gas prices – which the e-mail, incidentally, states are expected to double by the end of the summer driving season.
First of all – gas if a product of oil, and therefore has remnants of petroleum in it; that said the gas is unlikely to mix with water, and would only cause substantial mechanical failure of your automobile’s engine – in other words – don’t try this!
Secondly, gas prices historically fall off after the summer driving season is over; this is a direct result of fewer “summertime” family trips as fall and winter approach. Except for the recent period of history when retail gas prices surged some 300 to 400 percentage, I cannot recall any period in our history when gas prices have “doubled” as the e-mail suggests. If gas prices were to suddenly spike to $8 to $10 a gallon, I think we’d have much more problems to deal with than just the price surge itself.
Don’t give into hype – don’t fall victim to these insane and unsubstantiated promises. Do yourself a favor, cut down on unnecessary travel, carpool whenever possible, consolidate errands, remove excess unnecessary cargo from your car or SUV, and definitely make use of the variety of “rewards” programs that have cropped up in recent months; some are worth it others are not so check them out and do you own assessment of their value.
Don’t hypermile – there is no scientific proof that this will help your MPG and its illegal in many states. Besides it being illegal – many of the techniques employed in hypermiling are extremely dangerous and can lead to personal injury or death.
It likely fails to surprise most of us that roughly 24-hours after members of Congress attempted to diffuse a run on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stock, saying that a bailout was not needed, that a bailout in fact had been offered to both quasi-governmental companies.
The surprise, which also shouldn’t be one, is how our government often seemingly overlooks potential troublespots until they become climatic. The succession of failing mortgage lenders, both private and public, is but just one example of where government oversight has failed. It’s especially hard to accept that Congress had no idea that Fannie and Freddie were in trouble given the freedom with which these two mortgage giants took on some of the nation’s most extreme lending risks in the housing market.
More on the story at www.npr.org.
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