EXCERPT:
LAKE CITY, Fla. (AP) - The battle for pizza supremacy has taken a wrong turn in Florida.
Two managers of a Domino's Pizza restaurant in Lake City, in north-central Florida, have been charged with burning down a rival Papa John's location. The motive? Police say one of the men admitted that he believed with his competitor out of the way, more pizza lovers would flock to his restaurant.
COMMENT: Firms in the same market always have an incentive to compete with each other for customers and profit. In a well-functioning market economy, there are laws which outlaw violent competition and police who punish anyone who breaks those laws. Without such laws, and police with sufficient power to enforce them, this kind of competition would be common. Thankfully, this kind of thing is rare.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
SF plan would offer tax break for hiring felons
EXCERPTS:
"San Francisco businesses that hire people with felony convictions would get a tax break, under legislation expected to be introduced today.
"Ex-felons are among the most challenged populations in getting work," said Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who is crafting the plan.
Persuading an employer to hire a convicted felon, particularly in this economy when the unemployment rate is hovering just under 10 percent, is difficult, especially when there's a wide pool of job applicants without felony records.
But offering businesses a monetary incentive may get them to consider hiring someone with a criminal past, said Mirkarimi, who chairs the Board of Supervisors' Public Safety Committee and is a candidate for sheriff in the Nov. 8 election.
Lower tax burden
The goal is to shave about $10,000 off a business' companywide payroll tax burden for every new convict it hires full time. The tax relief for companies hiring part-time employees would be less.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/17/BAT31LISSG.DTL#ixzz1bM3sDe7t
"San Francisco businesses that hire people with felony convictions would get a tax break, under legislation expected to be introduced today.
"Ex-felons are among the most challenged populations in getting work," said Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who is crafting the plan.
Persuading an employer to hire a convicted felon, particularly in this economy when the unemployment rate is hovering just under 10 percent, is difficult, especially when there's a wide pool of job applicants without felony records.
But offering businesses a monetary incentive may get them to consider hiring someone with a criminal past, said Mirkarimi, who chairs the Board of Supervisors' Public Safety Committee and is a candidate for sheriff in the Nov. 8 election.
Lower tax burden
The goal is to shave about $10,000 off a business' companywide payroll tax burden for every new convict it hires full time. The tax relief for companies hiring part-time employees would be less.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/17/BAT31LISSG.DTL#ixzz1bM3sDe7t
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Politics vs. Economics - Thomas Sowell
EXCERPTS:
"They say "all politics is local." But economic decisions impact the whole economy and reverberate internationally. That is why politicians' meddling with the economy creates so many disasters.
The time horizon of politics seldom reaches beyond the next election. But, in economics, when an oil company invests in oil explorations today, the oil they eventually find and process may not make its way to market and earn a profit until it is sold as gasoline a decade from now.
In short, the focus of politicians is extremely limited in both space and time -- and all the repercussions that lie beyond those limits carry little, if any, weight in political decisions.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Amity Shlaes: Three Policies That Gave Us the Jobs Economy - WSJ.com
This article gives you good historical perspective for thinking about what can be done to get the economy out of its current slump.
EXCERPT:
"There's the silver lining to our current cloud. It is that the economic mediocrity of the recent years constitutes someone's advantage. And that someone is young innovators. All this time, demand has once again been building. As soon as the economy feels reliable, people will go out and make the 2015 equivalent of the early PC."
EXCERPT:
"There's the silver lining to our current cloud. It is that the economic mediocrity of the recent years constitutes someone's advantage. And that someone is young innovators. All this time, demand has once again been building. As soon as the economy feels reliable, people will go out and make the 2015 equivalent of the early PC."
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Down with evil corporations !?
Someone posted this comment at Carpe Diem:
"The mostly young crowd packing into NYC to protest against capitalism is all over the news now. There is a certain irony to their declarations against “Big Corporations” henceforth referred to as (BC)
They arrived in their cars, (BC) in airplane(BC)s, and on busses(BC) They alert each other to gatherings over Twitter(BC) and the Internet(BC) using their IPhones(BC) and Ipads (BC)They stay tuned into the latest music(BC) with earphones(BC) plugged into their Ipods. (BC) They wear Nikes, (BC) Reeboks(BC) and Earth shoes(BC), Levis, (BC) Gap (BC)and Old Navy(BC) clothes and smoke cigarettes made by “Big tobacco”. (BC)
They hold signs printed on paper(BC) with markers (BC), beat drums(BC) and use megaphones(BC) to shout out their anti-business slogans. They use the toilets(BC) at McDonalds(BC) and eat food (BC) at any handy eatery(BC). When they use the bathroom they wipe with toilet paper(BC) while sitting on a toilet (BC) and washing their hands in a sink (BC) using soap. (BC)
In short, every single need, want or desire of their lives has been supplied every step of the way by Big Corporations. Were it not for Big corporations they would have had to have heard about the protest from smoke signals from fires lit by flints and burning wood cut with stone axes. They would be dressed in animal skins and would have walked barefooted on dirt paths to get to NYC. They would be doing their business behind trees and wiping with their bare hands. At night they‘d be snuggled up under a homespun blanket made from the fleece of their own sheep.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that without Big Corporations no one would be there at all. Everyone would be too busy just trying to stay warm and fed.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Transcript: George Stephanopoulos' ABC News / Yahoo! News Exclusive Interview With President Obama - ABC News
Transcript: George Stephanopoulos' ABC News / Yahoo! News Exclusive Interview With President Obama - ABC News
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: You might have a new issue on your plate over the weekend. Bank of America now is doing a $5 service fee for using your debit cards. Drawing-- a lot of outrage, a lot of questions. And basically the questions boil down to what Vikki Manko of Naperville, Illinois asks. "These are the types of things government should get involved in and put a stop to." Can you put a stop to that?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well-- what we did was we put a stop through-- The Financial Reform Act of them charging fees-- for credit cards.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: And the banks are saying--
PRESIDENT OBAMA: And so-- Well-- what-- what the banks are saying is-- that "Rather than take a little bit less of a profit. Rather than paying multimillion dollar bonuses. Let's treat our customers right." And this is exactly why we need this consumer finance-- protection bureau that we set up that is ready to go. And what we need is a confirmation of the person I've appointed, Rich Cordray treasurer of Ohio. Back in Ohio, Republicans and Democrats both think he's terrific and he's fair. But this is exactly why we need somebody who's sole job it is to prevent this kind of stuff from happening.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Can you stop this service charge?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, you can stop it because it-- if you-- if you say to the banks, "You don't have some inherent right just to-- you know, get a certain amount of profit. If your customers-- are being mistreated. That you have to treat them fairly and transparently." And-- and my hope is is that you're going to see a bunch of-- the banks, who say to themselves, "You know what? This is actually not good business practice." Banks can make money. They can succeed, the old-fashioned way, by earning it. By lending to small businesses. By lending to consumers. By making sure that-- you know, we are building the economy together. But-- you know, without the kinds of protections that we're starting to see the Republicans try to roll back-- we're going to continue to have these kinds of problems. And this is exactly-- the sort of stuff that folks are frustrated by. This, by the way, is an example of the-- the contrasting visions that we have. If-- if-- if-- the Republican Party believes that we should do nothing to curb abuses on Wall Street and roll back regulations put in place to prevent the next big financial crisis, well, I've got a big difference with them. And I think the American people are going to be on my side on that.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: You might have a new issue on your plate over the weekend. Bank of America now is doing a $5 service fee for using your debit cards. Drawing-- a lot of outrage, a lot of questions. And basically the questions boil down to what Vikki Manko of Naperville, Illinois asks. "These are the types of things government should get involved in and put a stop to." Can you put a stop to that?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well-- what we did was we put a stop through-- The Financial Reform Act of them charging fees-- for credit cards.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: And the banks are saying--
PRESIDENT OBAMA: And so-- Well-- what-- what the banks are saying is-- that "Rather than take a little bit less of a profit. Rather than paying multimillion dollar bonuses. Let's treat our customers right." And this is exactly why we need this consumer finance-- protection bureau that we set up that is ready to go. And what we need is a confirmation of the person I've appointed, Rich Cordray treasurer of Ohio. Back in Ohio, Republicans and Democrats both think he's terrific and he's fair. But this is exactly why we need somebody who's sole job it is to prevent this kind of stuff from happening.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Can you stop this service charge?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, you can stop it because it-- if you-- if you say to the banks, "You don't have some inherent right just to-- you know, get a certain amount of profit. If your customers-- are being mistreated. That you have to treat them fairly and transparently." And-- and my hope is is that you're going to see a bunch of-- the banks, who say to themselves, "You know what? This is actually not good business practice." Banks can make money. They can succeed, the old-fashioned way, by earning it. By lending to small businesses. By lending to consumers. By making sure that-- you know, we are building the economy together. But-- you know, without the kinds of protections that we're starting to see the Republicans try to roll back-- we're going to continue to have these kinds of problems. And this is exactly-- the sort of stuff that folks are frustrated by. This, by the way, is an example of the-- the contrasting visions that we have. If-- if-- if-- the Republican Party believes that we should do nothing to curb abuses on Wall Street and roll back regulations put in place to prevent the next big financial crisis, well, I've got a big difference with them. And I think the American people are going to be on my side on that.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Starbucks to Begin Collecting Donations to Stimulate U.S. Job Growth « CBS Seattle
Starbucks to Begin Collecting Donations to Stimulate U.S. Job Growth « CBS Seattle
EXCERPTS:
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — "Starbucks hopes customers will be willing to pay at least $5 more when they stop in for their morning cup of Joe.
Starting Nov. 1, Starbucks will begin collecting donations of $5 or more from customers to stimulate U.S. job growth through its “Jobs for USA” program. The Seattle-based coffee chain is collaborating with the Opportunity Finance Network, a nonprofit that works with nearly 200 community development financial institutions to provide loans to small businesses and community groups. Starbucks says 100 percent of the donations will go toward loans for firms and organizations that can add jobs or stem job losses.
Starbucks, which pioneered how Americans drink coffee, declined to estimate how much money it plans to raise, but millions of people visit its nearly 7,000 company-owned U.S. stores each day. Customers who give will get a red, white and blue wristband that says “Indivisible.”
EXCERPTS:
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — "Starbucks hopes customers will be willing to pay at least $5 more when they stop in for their morning cup of Joe.
Starting Nov. 1, Starbucks will begin collecting donations of $5 or more from customers to stimulate U.S. job growth through its “Jobs for USA” program. The Seattle-based coffee chain is collaborating with the Opportunity Finance Network, a nonprofit that works with nearly 200 community development financial institutions to provide loans to small businesses and community groups. Starbucks says 100 percent of the donations will go toward loans for firms and organizations that can add jobs or stem job losses.
Starbucks, which pioneered how Americans drink coffee, declined to estimate how much money it plans to raise, but millions of people visit its nearly 7,000 company-owned U.S. stores each day. Customers who give will get a red, white and blue wristband that says “Indivisible.”
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