Politics
Bleak View of Economy Spreads to Wealthy Americans: CNBC Survey

In this economy, even money isn't enough to buy happiness, a new CNBC national survey finds.
The CNBC All-America Economic Survey of 800 Americans throughout the country finds attitudes towards the economy are about as bleak as they were during the recession, which technically ended two years ago.

But there's a new twist: Now the wealthiest Americans have abandoned their optimism.
NEARLY TWO-THIRDS OF THE NATION (63 PERCENT) IS PESSIMISTIC ABOUT THE CURRENT STATE OF THE ECONOMY AND ITS FUTURE, WITH JUST 6 PERCENT OPTIMISTIC ABOUT BOTH. The attitudes of wealthier Americans-those with incomes greater than $75,000 or more than $50,000 invested in the stock market-are now in line or even more downbeat than the nation as a whole.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Bleak-View-of-Economy-Spreads-cnbc-2842463687.html?x=0

Another reason BHO will be a one term president.

Scandal in the Baltimore school system

A scandal rocking the Baltimore public schools exposes a serious problem in the educational bureaucracy -- and in the local media.

The Maryland version of the achievement tests mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act are the MSA (Maryland School Assessment) tests. IN MAY OF 2010 AN 18-MONTH INVESTIGATION INTO GEORGE WASHINGTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CULMINATED WITH THE CONCLUSION BY BALTIMORE CITY INVESTIGATORS THAT SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS HAD ERASED THOUSANDS OF WRONG ANSWERS ON THE MSA TESTS AND HAD CHANGED THEM TO THE RIGHT ANSWERS.

In the summer of 2010, a second Baltimore City School, Abbottston Elementary School, fell under suspicion. As a result, Baltimore City Schools spent nearly $400,000 to insure that the 2011 tests were on the level, going to unprecedented lengths, including an ominous video message telling of dire consequences if more cheating was discovered.

They made it nearly impossible for the administrators to change the students' answers before the tests were graded. WITH THE NEW SECURITY MEASURES IN PLACE, SIX BALTIMORE CITY SCHOOLS SAW A STAGGERING DROP OF 20% OR MORE IN READING AND MATH RESULTS. Dozens of schools saw drops in performance significant enough that they are now under investigation or at least "scrutiny."

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/07/baltimore_we_have_a_problem.html

I guess the liberal answer to this is to stop the testing. If you don’t test, the schools won’t have to cheat.

Barbara Boxer rewrites history

“I think we ought to go back to the people and the party that was the only party and the only people to balance the budget in 40 years. I hate to break it to my Republican friends, but that is the Democratic Party. WE ARE THE ONES WHO DID IT. WE DID IT WHEN BILL CLINTON CAME INTO OFFICE. WE DID IT AFTER HARD WORK. WE DID IT AFTER PAINFUL CUTS. WE DID IT WITH SMART INVESTMENTS.”

— Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), June 29, 2011

Each party in Washington seems to have their own narrative. Sen. Boxer’s comment above, from a long floor speech Wednesday lambasting Republicans for pushing a balanced budget amendment to the constitution, is a case in point.

In Boxer’s telling, THE BUDGET SURPLUS THAT EMERGED IN 1998 AND CONTINUED FOR FOUR YEARS SPRANG FORTH FROM A CRITICAL MOMENT — THE PASSAGE OF BILL CLINTON’S 1993 DEFICIT-REDUCTION BILL. For those who don’t remember, it was a cliffhanger vote in both houses of Congress, with not a single Republican lawmaker supporting it.

“Lucky for us, a lot of us are still here who made that fateful vote. We didn't have one Republican voting for that budget, and when they came to the floor — I have all the quotes, chapter and verse--they said: This is horrible. It will never balance the budget. This is going to lead to a depression. This is the worst thing,” Boxer recounted.

Boxer added: “But we know what happened. WE NOT ONLY BALANCED THE BUDGET, BUT WE HAD A SURPLUS. We not only had a surplus, but the debt was going down so fast we thought we would never have to have Treasury bonds again. On top of that, we created 23 million jobs.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/barbara-boxers-gross-rewriting-of-history/2011/06/30/AGFGVqsH_blog.html

Washington Posts final grade is Three Pinocchio’s which means the story contains significant factual error and/or obvious contradictions.

The law of unintended consequences: California requires sales taxes

AMAZON.COM HAS TERMINATED ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH APPROXIMATELY 10,000 INTERNET BUSINESS PARTNERS IN CALIFORNIA after Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law that requires out-of-state electronic retailers to collect sales tax on purchases from Golden State customers.

The termination took effect Wednesday evening, hours after BROWN TOOK ACTION ON A BILL THAT WILL PRODUCE AN ESTIMATED $317 MILLION A YEAR IN NEW STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT TAX REVENUES.

Amazon said it canceled the contracts because it does not intend to comply with the new law.
"This legislation is counterproductive and will not cause our retail business to collect sales tax for the state," said Paul Misener, Amazon's vice president of global public policy.

Amazon did not say whether it planned to close a research lab in Cupertino that develops Kindle e-readers and offices of other related business entities that might make it liable to collect sales taxes under the new law.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/06/amazon-wont-collect-sales-tax-cuts-off-california-affiliates.html

Just a good example of the law of unintended consequences. 10,000 California businesses have lost a major source of sales. California needs money, but this law has a good chance to be a net revenue loser for the state.