Democratic Crony Soros Profits Off of Bankrupted Coal Industry

Obama has made plenty of promises to the American people none of which came to fruition except for one:  Coal mines would go out of business.  Here is an excerpt from the Daily Caller.

A 2015 study found the coal industry lost 50,000 jobs from 2008 to 2012 during Obama’s first term. During Obama’s second term, the industry employment in coal mining has fallen by another 33,300 jobs, 10,900 of which occurred in the last year alone, according to federal data. Currently, coal mining employs 69,460 Americans, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Much of the blame for the job losses is targeted at federal regulations aimed at preventing global warming, which caused coal power plants to go bankrupt, resulting in a sharp decline in the price of coal.

   

George Soros, a Democratic Party crony, knows a good deal when he sees it.  Since Obama’s EPA regulations bankrupted the coal industry, companies stocks are worth pennies on the dollar.  Now the former Nazi collaborator owns billions of tons of proven reserves.  This is government sponsored theft and had we an honest media it would be reported as such.

         

This global warming fraud has produced many casualties: a proven energy source, a shrinking middle-class, and respect for the media, the federal government and the sciences.  But I do hope that the biggest casualty of all will be the Democratic Party and all the grafters that infest it.

Source:

http://dailycaller.com/2016/09/05/obama-kept-his-promise-83000-coal-jobs-lost-and-400-mines-shuttered/#ixzz4JTmVEsEv

http://minersnews.com/news/2015/MN172-2.html

Retail Apocalypse Now!

It’s here.  Mall rats are scattering in a panic.  It’s the Retail Apocalypse Now!

WASHINGTON – The long feared “retail apocalypse” may be hitting with little or no fanfare if a growing list of store-closing plans by major chains is any indication.

Major U.S. retailers have announced the closing of more than 6,000 stores from coast to coast. The list includes only those retailers that have announced plans to close more than 10 outlets this year and next.

For example, 1,784 Radio Shack stores are vanishing, 400 stores in the Office Depot/Office Max chain by 2016, and 340 Dollar Tree/Family Dollar stores.

The growing list of stores getting shuttered coincides with the decline in discretionary consumer spending over the past six months.

“Expect to see more storefronts closed at malls across the country,” one retail watcher told WND. “It’s getting ugly out there.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2015/05/retail-apocalypse-6000-chains-closing-stores/#S5axFpFFI3hbcSme.99

The Federalization of American Cities

The Obama administration has issued a pilot program called COPS which will federalize police departments in six major U.S. cities.  These local communities will subordinate self-government to the central planners in Washington D.C. in exchange for a quick infusion of cash.  Only Ft. Worth has a republican majority, which makes one wonder what is going on in that town.

 This is just the beginning.  We can expect the federal government to completely take over cities whose politicians are incompetent and corrupt.  Detroit, Chicago, Baltimore, just to name a few, have become an embarrassment to the Democratic Party.  Their policies, and consequential ruin, are examples of what can happen when the populace smokes liberal crack.

 Progressives need to take the spotlight off of their failures by incorporating bankrupt municipalities under the federal umbrella.  By doing so, they can politicize local issues by blaming republicans at the national level.

 We can expect a czar or a cabinet level official to oversee this blatant power grab.

The whole concept of federalism is being destroyed before our eyes.  Soon the federal government’s tentacles will grasp every aspect of our lives.

 Source:

http://www.tpnn.com/2015/03/15/obama-federalizes-police-forces-in-six-us-cities/

http://www.governing.com/gov-data/municipal-cities-counties-bankruptcies-and-defaults.html

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/06/city-baltimore-is-on-path-to-financial-ruin-report-says/

http://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-politics/7/71/582444/rauner-tells-council-state-cant-bail-chicago

Find Solace in Detroit

H/T:  What Bubba Knows

Detroit's Liberal Legacy: A Dictatorship

Detroit’s liberal legacy is coming to fruition.  The governor of Michigan had to install an emergency manager to oversee its affairs; practically giving him dictatorial powers.  The other alternative is bankruptcy.   Corruption, generous contracts to labor unions, a faltering auto industry, and a fleeing population are just some of the factors that lead to the dissolution of a once proud and prosperous city. 

Detroit has become so dysfunctional, basic services have been neglected.  Police don’t answer calls.  Broken street lights aren’t being replaced.  And of course, the citizens want something done about it; yet, protest this “power grab” by the governor.  Here are some of the powers granted to Kevyn Orr, the appointed emergency manager:

 Under a revised state law governing emergency managers that will go into effect on March 28, the same week that Mr. Orr is to begin his job, he will be granted sweeping powers to remake the city’s financial plan, change labor contracts and sell city assets. He will make $275,000 a year, nearly all of it paid by the state, and may choose to hire staff to be paid for by the city. Many of his decisions will trump those of elected officials, although some leaders — most notably Mr. Bing — have indicated a willingness to collaborate with Mr. Orr.

Despite Mr. Orr’s legal background, he said he hoped the city would not ultimately need to file for bankruptcy. Municipal bankruptcies are rare, but it was lost on no one that the state had selected an expert in bankruptcy law for Detroit, as opposed to a financial accountant, former city manager or elected official. Under Michigan law, a city can file for bankruptcy only under certain conditions, including if an emergency manager has attempted other measures and concluded that such a move is needed.

I just hope the irresponsible behavior by Democrats at the national level doesn’t translate into a Detroit legacy.

Source:  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/15/us/gov-rick-snyder-kevyn-orr-emergency-manager-detroit.html?_r=0

NC Furniture Manufacturer Gets Obama Kiss of Death

A North Carolina manufacturer was trying to do its best to become a local success, when lo and behold, Obama shows up and gives it the kiss of death:

Lincolnton Furniture Company closed abruptly Thursday just one year after it was hailed by President Barack Obama as an example of the recovering U.S. economy.

Furniture-making operations stopped indefinitely and only a few people will remain employed moving forward, company financial officer Ben Causey said.

“I don’t know where it’s going to go exactly; we’re still evaluating our situation,” Causey said. “We just didn’t have any choice at this point.”

The company was not receiving the orders it needed to sustain its operations, Causey said.

“We needed more orders is really what it boiled down to,” he said. “We thought they would materialize.”

Owner Bruce Cochrane, a fifth generation furniture-manufacturer, formed the company in 2011 with a $5 million investment and the hope he could make a profit off people who wanted to buy furniture made in America.

It was a move that caught the attention of North Carolina officials and those in the White House. Last year, Cochrane sat with the first lady during Obama’s 2012 State of the Union Address. He also joined the president and other business leaders in a discussion about how to create more jobs at home.

Attempts late Thursday to reach Cochrane were unsuccessful. Causey said company officials were thankful for the support they received from the community over the past year-and-a-half.

Jerry Cochrane, Bruce Cochrane’s uncle and former Lincoln County Commissioner, learned about the company’s closing Thursday.

“I was surprised that they stopped the operation this quickly,” he said. “But starting a furniture business now is very difficult in this country.”

Last week, the Gaston Gazette recognized Bruce Cochrane as one of its “persons of the year” in 2012 for starting the furniture-manufacturing in his hometown.

“Everybody was rooting for us and wanted us to succeed,” Causey said.

This furniture manufacturer is an example of an Obama recovery: bankruptcy.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/04/3167317/lincolnton-furniture-company-praised.html#storylink=cpy#storylink=cpy#storylink=cpy

http://patdollard.com/2013/01/furniture-company-obama-said-proved-economy-was-recovering-goes-bankrupt/

Ding Dong, Hostess is Dead

Ding Dong, Hostess is dead.  Union president Frank Hurt released a statement explaining why the pastry king had to die.  They knew they were ringing the death knell of this company.  They even refused to accept phone calls from the CEO over a month ago.  Here is an excerpt:   

“When a highly respected financial consultant, hired by Hostess, determined earlier this year that the company’s business plan to exit bankruptcy was guaranteed to fail because it left the company with unsustainable debt levels, our members knew that the massive wage and benefit concessions the company was demanding would go straight to Wall Street investors and not back into the company.

“Our members were aware that while the company was descending into bankruptcy and demanding deep concessions, the top 10 executives of the company were rewarding themselves with lavish compensation increases, with the then CEO receiving a 300 percent increase.

“Our members decided they were not going to take any more abuse from a company they have given so much to for so many years. They decided that they were not going to agree to another round of outrageous wage and benefit cuts and give up their pension only to see yet another management team fail and Wall Street vulture capitalists and 'restructuring specialists' walk away with untold millions of dollars.

“Throughout this long and difficult process, BCTGM members showed tremendous courage, solidarity and devotion to principle. They were well aware of the potential consequences of their actions but stood strong for dignity, justice and respect.”

Now, you’re standing in the unemployment line and buying groceries with food stamps.  How is that dignity, justice and respect working for you?

 
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2012/11/16/bakers-union-releases-statement-on.html?page=all

The Twinkie Apocalypse Begins!

The hunt for Twinkies begins. Those spongy, cream filled tasty bastards are about to be as extinct as the nuclear family. And it’s all because the union zombies refused to make concessions on their labor contracts and go back to work. Now, they’re all unemployed. Good luck in finding a job in this economy. But hey, who needs a job when you have Obama as president. Welcome to the teat squawker nation!

I never thought I would outlive a sponge cake that had the half-life of uranium. But thanks to bad management and a greedy collective, my childhood treats will be just a memory.

Goodbye Hostess, if it hadn’t been the unions, it would’ve been the food Nazis in the White House that danced on your grave.





Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-workers-and-management-both-caused-the-fall-of-hostess-2012-11

The Plight of a Small Business Owner in Obama's America

H/T: Ray

Is Medicare Distorting the Health Care Market?

Health care cost doubled the rate of inflation in 2010, and in some areas it's five times or greater. If you look at the previous decade, health care rose an astonishing 48%, while the overall economy rated at 26% of inflation. Politicians are quick to point a finger at the insurance companies, but neglect the other three pointing back at them. Since the implementation of Medicare – and subsequent price controls – healthcare cost has skyrocketed, and with it a distortion of the market.

One of the biggest factors for this rising cost of health care is a lack of consumer participation. Since Medicare patients are removed from the process of a cost benefit analysis, they’ll often be given superfluous care. Here is report by Avik Roy of The Heartland Institute published in National Affairs:

In theory, Medicare does include some cost-sharing provisions, especially for physician payments under Part B. But over time, private insurance companies began to realize that Medicare's design allowed them to provide seniors with supplemental coverage to pay for the deductible and co-insurance requirements of the program — a good deal for insurers (for whom costs are finite and low), as well as for the seniors who purchase such plans (and are thereby freed from any direct cost for health care). Today, almost 90% of seniors have supplemental coverage plans, which means in effect that they have unlimited health coverage for a low and fixed cost, and thereby every incentive to seek generous, and even unneeded, care.

Combined with the fact that Medicare generally pays health-care providers on a per-service basis rather than on a per-patient or per-outcome basis, this means that Medicare creates an enormous incentive for everyone involved to provide more services to seniors. Volume, more than the cost of individual services, has been Medicare's fiscal downfall. And, as discussed below, reformers trying to fix the program's finances — from the 1970s through the health-care bill enacted last year — have sought to do so through price controls that reduce the amount the program pays for each service provided, which actually creates an even greater incentive for physicians and hospitals to provide a greater number of services to make up the lost revenue.

Proponents for Obamacare believe the federal government is more efficient than insurance companies when it comes to administration cost. That is laughable. Here are some of the outlays:

First, other government agencies help administer the Medicare program. The Internal Revenue Service collects the taxes that fund the program; the Social Security Administration helps collect some of the premiums paid by beneficiaries (which are deducted from Social Security checks); the Department of Health and Human Services helps to manage accounting, auditing, and fraud issues and pays for marketing costs, building costs, and more. Private insurers obviously don't have this kind of outside or off-budget help. Medicare's administration is also tax-exempt, whereas insurers must pay state excise taxes on the premiums they charge; the tax is counted as an administrative cost. In addition, Medicare's massive size leads to economies of scale that private insurers could also achieve, if not exceed, were they equally large.

Speaking of fraud, the federal government is so efficient that an estimated $60 to $100 billion of Medicare spending goes to fraud. Can you imagine what Obamacare is going to be like?

What’s ironic about this whole Medicare debate is the Bill Clinton factor. The savior of the Democratic Party denigrated Rep. Paul Ryan’s market based plan at the DNC. What Bubba failed to mention is that his own commission gave a similar recommendation. Had he been able to keep his pecker in his pants, we might have solved this problem a long time ago.

In 1997, as a result of the Balanced Budget Act, Congress organized the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare, under the leadership of Democratic senator John Breaux and Republican representative Bill Thomas. The commission's final recommendation, supported by members of both parties, was that Medicare should be converted to a "market-based Premium Support model" similar to the one used in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.

Under the commission's proposed system, retirees would have been able to choose between private health plans and a traditional government-run fee-for-service plan (a consolidation of Medicare Parts A, B, and C). Thus traditional Medicare would have become one option among many, competing for business. Regardless of what option they chose, beneficiaries would have been expected to pay a premium equal to 12% of per capita health costs, but would have paid no premium at all if they bought a plan that was at least 15% cheaper than the average one. In addition, the commission recommended increasing the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67, in harmony with Social Security.

After the commission made its proposal, President Clinton made a counter-proposal, shaped in large part by his Treasury secretary, Lawrence Summers. He proposed "managed competition" for Medicare, in which private insurers would have engaged in competitive bidding for health coverage of the elderly. Retirees who chose plans that cost less than the average bid would have retained three-fourths of the savings. Clinton also proposed new subsidies to encourage employers to retain private-sector health coverage for their retirees, taking some of the burden off of Medicare.

These two sets of proposals were, in many ways, quite compatible. Indeed, according to historian Steven Gillon, President Clinton and House Speaker Newt Gingrich, along with several prominent Senate Democrats, were close in 1997 to a historic agreement for reforming Medicare along these lines. But after the Monica Lewinsky scandal erupted in early 1998, Clinton was focused on defending himself from impeachment, and this required currying the favor of ideological Democrats over pragmatic ones. Thus no serious effort was made to bridge the various reform proposals, and Medicare's problems went unresolved.

Will we ever be able to fix Medicare and our health care system as a whole? We could if the politicians would stay the hell out of it. I highly recommend reading Avik Roy’s piece in full, just click the link below. It’s rather long, but well worth it.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/blog/2012/05/health-care-costs-double-the-rate-of.html

http://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/saving-medicare-from-itself

Abound Solar: Another Obama Sponsored Bankruptcy

And here is another Obama sponsored bankruptcy. Those greenies sure do know how to scam the taxpayers:

Abound Solar Inc., a U.S. solar manufacturer that was awarded a $400 million U.S. loan guarantee, will suspend operations and file for bankruptcy because its panels were too expensive to compete.

Abound borrowed about $70 million against the guarantee, the Loveland, Colorado-based company said today in a statement. It plans to file for bankruptcy protection in Wilmington, Delaware, next week.

The failure will follow that of Solyndra LLC, which shut down in August after receiving a $535 million loan guarantee from the same U.S. Energy Department program. Abound stopped production in February to focus on reducing costs after a global oversupply and increasing competition from China drove down the price of solar panels by half last year.

Of course the Chinese are to blame for this failure. Wait, didn’t they say there was a global oversupply? Is that because there is no demand for solar panels? Those Chinese are deviant.

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-06-28/abound-solar-to-close-as-early-as-today-greentech-media-says

Solyndra Sums Up the Obama Administration

Gas lines helped to define Jimmy Carter’s failed presidency. Green energy is doing the same to Obama. A picture says a thousand words, and the above sums it up.

And let’s make no mistake about who is responsible for Solyndra:




Of course Obama exudes true leadership skills in a crisis:



Can we afford another four years?

Source: http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/solyndra-building-sale_640469.html

Green Energy Monster Burns Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

A state capitol in the United States just got burned by the green energy hoax. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania will file for bankruptcy. The reason for this drastic action ostensibly is the implementation of a trash-to-energy incinerator that went bust:

Pennsylvania's capital city voted to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday as it faced a state takeover, according to media reports.

The City Council voted 4-3 to seek bankruptcy protection for Harrisburg, which has a debt burden five times its general-fund budget "because of an overhaul and expansion of a trash-to-energy incinerator that doesn’t generate enough revenue," Bloomberg Businessweek reported.

The bankruptcy means the city will lose state aid, but that is better than the proposed recovery plans, Councilwoman Susan Brown-Wilson said, according to Bloomberg. But State Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, a Republican from Dauphin County, where Harrisburg is located, said the council's vote is against the law.

“I have been on the record as saying that bankruptcy is simply not an option. It’s illegal under Pennsylvania law, which prohibits third class cities from filing for bankruptcy,” Piccola said, according to PennLive.com.

Patty Kim, who voted against bankruptcy protection, said the city cannot afford the high cost of litigation that will likely ensue.

“The problem still exists that we still don’t have money, and we still haven’t moved one foot forward,” Kim said.

Pennsylvania's capital city voted to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday as it faced a state takeover, according to media reports.

The City Council voted 4-3 to seek bankruptcy protection for Harrisburg, which has a debt burden five times its general-fund budget "because of an overhaul and expansion of a trash-to-energy incinerator that doesn’t generate enough revenue," Bloomberg Businessweek reported.

The bankruptcy means the city will lose state aid, but that is better than the proposed recovery plans, Councilwoman Susan Brown-Wilson said, according to Bloomberg.

Patty Kim, who voted against bankruptcy protection, said the city cannot afford the high cost of litigation that will likely ensue.

“The problem still exists that we still don’t have money, and we still haven’t moved one foot forward,” Kim said.

The green-eyed energy monster strikes. I wonder how many other cities will fall prey to this hoax.

Source: http://nationaljournal.com/economy/harrisburg-pa-votes-to-file-for-bankruptcy-20111012

Solyndra: A Case Study of Doomed Crony Socialist Venturism

Crony capitalism is alive and well in the Obama administration. For all of you Marxist out there who clapped and cheered for the worker utopian paradise promised by the Anointed One’s rhetorical mastery; guess what? You’ve been duped.

The hottest scandal is not the Fast and Furious program that also plagues this 2nd amendment hating regime. No, that can be forgiven by the socialist who support Obama. What cannot be forgiven is his hypocrisy on corporatism. And Solyndra is the fish tail slapping the face of all the capitalist hating ideologues in the Democratic Party.

Solyndra not only screwed the taxpayers out of a half billion dollars in Department of Energy guaranteed loans; it has come to alight that an additional $469 million was also promised by the DOE in an SEC filing by this bankrupt company:

A close look by LA Observed at the company's SEC filings shows that it also was seeking additional DOE loan guarantees of $469 million for Phase II of its so-called Fab 2 solar power manufacturing facility in Fremont. And, get this, DOE - according to Solyndra's Dec. 18, 2009 application for SEC approval to sell common stock - tentatively gave this 2nd loan application its approval. Here's the story right from Solyndra's own S-1:

"On September 11, 2009, we submitted Part 1 of an application for an approximately $469 million guaranteed loan to be utilized to finance the construction of Phase II. As with the financing facility for Phase I, the loan would be made by the Federal Financing Bank and guaranteed by the DOE. On November 4, 2009, we were notified by the DOE that our Part 1 application was complete and that Phase II was determined to be a Section 1703 eligible project and to have the credit subsidy cost for the project paid out of funds allocated under Section 1705. We submitted Part 2 of our loan guarantee application on November 17, 2009."

Solyndra is the gift that keeps on giving. Can you imagine how many other socialist venture programs that have been doomed to failure? And all at the expense of taxpayers.

Source: http://www.laobserved.com/intell/2011/09/solyndras_sec_filing_contains.php

Rep. Henry Waxman Scaring Seniors Again

Rep. Henry Waxman and his populist piglets are at it again.  They have embarked on one of the oldest tricks in their worn out playbook: scaring seniors.   A disinformation and fear mongering campaign has begun, and again it’s about Medicare:   

"We've had no proposal from the Republicans except in their budget they wanted to take Medicare away from future seniors by making it a block grant, and they wanted to cut the Medicaid program which cuts a big hole in the safety net for the poor to get their health care needs which means people in nursing homes would be dumped out of those nursing homes," Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) said on the House floor today.

Democrats have a great knack for kicking the can down the road.  They have no intention of fixing Medicaid or Medicare.  If the sick and poor do get kicked out of nursing homes it will be because of politicians like Henry Waxman.  Politicians like him would rather point fingers than fix the problem, just look at the prison system in California.  The U.S. Supreme Court ordered that liberal hell hole to release 33,000 criminals from the penitentiary.  Now that’s the fruition of Democratic policies.

The Congressional Budget Office predicted that in its current state, Medicare will go bankrupt in 9 years.  I wonder if seniors feel secure with the Democrats do-nothing approach.  If I were them, I would be as worried as a homeowner near a California prison.  

Source:  http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/05/24/dem_congressman_on_ryan_plan_people_will_be_dumped_out_of_nursing_homes.html

Michigan Municipalities Financial Crisis

The great state of Michigan is having a crisis of its own. Its municipalities are under financial distress and in need of assistance. State law dictates that emergency financial managers will be issued in cases where local governments are on the verge of insolvency and cannot meet their obligations. This law was passed in 1990:


An emergency financial manager may be appointed under the Local Government Fiscal Responsibility Act, PA 72 of 1990, if a financial emergency is found to exist in a local government and no consent agreement has been negotiated to resolve the emergency. An emergency financial manager assumes budgetary powers and duties of the chief executive officer and legislative body, and may reorganize the government structure and renegotiate contracts. PA 72 provides that if an emergency financial manager is unable to resolve the financial emergency, he or she may request approval from the state's local emergency financial assistance loan board to authorize the local government to proceed under Chapter 9 of the federal Bankruptcy Code.

Federal law specifically states that a municipality cannot file Chapter 9 bankruptcy without the approval of the state:

Municipal bankruptcy is a specific process available under Chapter 9 that allows the reorganization of cities, villages, townships, and counties, but not states. The federal law provides that states must specifically authorize their municipalities to use Chapter 9. No Michigan municipality has ever filed for bankruptcy. Local governments cannot independently choose to file for bankruptcy in Michigan. Instead bankruptcy can only be filed at the request of a state appointed emergency financial manager with the approval of the local emergency assistance loan board.

There are consequences when a municipality files for bankruptcy. The Citizens Research Council states that this should not be an option:

"Bankruptcy should be avoided at all costs," says CRC President Jeffrey Guilfoyle, "the bankruptcy of one of Michigan's local governments could impact the access to credit markets for all of Michigan's governments. Local leaders and the state should explore every possible option before even contemplating a bankruptcy filing, and they should never view a bankruptcy filing as an easy solution to a government's financial problems."

The unions and leftist commentators would have us believe that these draconian laws were just passed by a vindictive republican junta that had hijacked the capitol in Lansing. They state that republicans have manufactured a crisis in order to vacate union contracts. Here are a couple of leftist nut jobs expounding this ridiculous theory:



What the republican led legislature did was strengthen the laws that were already in place. A recommendation that was duly noted back in 2005 by an emergency financial manager and adjunct scholar, as reported by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy:

Schimmel, an adjunct scholar with the Center, has served as an emergency financial manager for the city of Hamtramck and as a court-appointed receiver for the city of Ecorse. We reprint his 2005 work directly below.


Can Detroit’s Problems be Correct by an Emergency Financial Manager?


Michigan Public Act 72 of 1990, as amended, provides for the appointment of an Emergency Financial Manager if it is determined that a serious financial problem exists in a municipality or school district. The appointment of an EFM for the city of Detroit is often discussed as a possible solution for dealing with the city’s continual mismanagement and financial mess.


If it were ever determined by the state that an EFM should be appointed for the city of Detroit, under current law the EFM would not have all of the necessary tools to be successful. There are four major problems that would have to be resolved by amending Act 72 prior to the appointment of an EFM.


Making changes to Act 72 would be essential for an EFM to have the necessary tools to deal with the city of Detroit’s management and fiscal problems.


The changes needed are as follows:


1. Under current law, the EFM can be sued personally. Given that actions by an EFM will almost certainly be controversial, and harassing lawsuits are likely, it is essential that an EFM’s personal assets be protected. Making the EFM an employee of the state treasury department with access to the legal staff of the attorney general would make the present lack of indemnification for an EFM largely moot. Harassing lawsuits by local bargaining units or other affected entities or individuals would be defended by the state — an entity that has the depth of financial resources to discourage the filing of frivolous lawsuits.


2. The present Act lists the powers of an EFM, which are extensive but are not all-inclusive. This can allow the governing body to impede the overall effort of the EFM to deal with the municipality’s fiscal crisis. The Act should state that the EFM replaces and takes on the powers of the governing body (mayor and council or school board.)


3. Charter provisions, especially in old charters, can prevent or make it difficult for an EFM to make necessary structural changes to address financial problems. The EFM should have the power to review charter provisions that frustrate the process of cleaning up and streamlining a municipality’s financial functions.


4. Presently, most labor contracts provide for mandatory continuation of an expired contract until a new one is negotiated. This means municipalities have no opportunity to take advantage of lower-cost service providers. Additionally, in the case of public safety unions, municipalities must adhere to the provisions of Act 312, which mandates that when a municipality and union cannot agree on the terms of a new contract they must go to binding arbitration. In most cases, it takes nearly two years or longer to complete the process, and the legal costs are substantial. Furthermore, municipalities rarely reduce costs by going through the Act 312 process but rather, at best, limit the amount of increased expenses. Act 312 should be repealed in its entirety.

But forget all the above, because according to the professional left, Michigan doesn’t have a crisis. The only crisis to them is the negation of their union contracts.

Source: http://crcmich.org/rss/financialemergencies2010.html

http://www.mackinac.org/14290

The Fate of Reconquista Cities

A couple of years ago illegal aliens raised a Mexican flag over a U.S. Post office in Maywood, California. This was a declaration of reclamation by Mexican nationals. La Raza's dream of Reconquista is becoming true.

Since Maywood, California made the decision to embrace illegal aliens; they welcomed corruption, immorality, and now insolvency. The city's coffers are empty, and now they are dependent upon surrounding municipalities for basic services.

Here is an article published in Human Events that tells the whole sad tale: http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=37671

The geniuses on the City Council of Durham, North Carolina should take note, lest you have the same fate as Maywood, Mexico.

Los Angeles Boycotts Arizona

The city council of Los Angeles has voted to boycott Arizona because it passed a law that in essence would enforce existing federal immigration laws.

The city of angels has given the American people the finger by nullifying federal law; in effect granting amnesty to illegal aliens. Now, they have serious financial problems in part because they are a sanctuary city.

From the L. A. Times:

1. 40% of all workers in L. A. County (L. A. County has 10.2 million people) are working for cash and not paying taxes This is because they are predominantly illegal immigrants working without a green card.

2. 95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens.

3. 75% of people on the most wanted list in Los Angeles are illegal aliens.

4. Over 2/3 of all births in Los Angeles County are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal, whose
births were paid for by taxpayers.

5. Nearly 35% of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally.

6. Over 300,000 illegal aliens in Los Angeles County are living in garages.

7. The FBI reports half of all gang members in Los Angeles are most likely illegal aliens from
south of the border.

8 Nearly 60% of all occupants of HUD properties are illegal.

9. 21 radio stations in L. A. are Spanish speaking.

10.. In L. A. County 5.1 million people speak English, 3.9 million speak Spanish. (There are 10.2 million people in L. A. County.)

(All 10 of the above facts were published in the Los Angeles Times)

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is a former SEIU organizer. He served with that organization for 15 years. Under his watch, Los Angeles could face bankruptcy between now and 2014.

You have to admit that these community organizers have a way of destroying prosperity.

I say we help Los Angeles on its way to a Grecian like economy by boycotting these irresponsible, anti-American bunch of morons.