4 posts tagged “recession”
"Daddy I don't like to dream anymore..." (My 6yr old daughter's response to my question at bed time)
What a scary thought if she only knew what that meant literally.
'Activists say North Korean woman publicly executed for distributing Bible'
Headlines in the Morning Report July 25, 2009 just above the headline 'Evangelist convicted of sex with girls.'
"If you're going to support it, you should understand it enough to debate for it. It just promotes common sense and competency in the legislature." -Jerrol LeBaron
LeBaron is promoting the "Honor in Office Act" a ballot initiative that requires lawmakers to actually read the laws that they vote for. (They don't read the Laws they pass???)
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Advertisement for Marijuana at the Florin Wellness Center.
"Bay Area Transit riders have been holding their breath for fear of a strike that would cripple the backbone of the area's public transportation system." - Oakland Tribune
As California unemployment rate hits 11.6% with a $26 billion ($26,000,000,000.00) dollar budget deficit and is paying its' workers with State issued IOU's.
"Tell me three things about your significant other two that are true and one that's a lie" - Dr. Ronn Elmore (Psychiatrist, Life Coach, Marriage Therapist)
The first exercise at the "Marriage University" (At a 7- Week Christian Based pre-marital course.)
'Both houses of Congress have now approved a resolution Wednesday urging a presidential pardon for former heavyweight champion boxer Jack Johnson' -NBC NEWS (100 years later)
Jack Johnson, publicly defiant of the Jim Crow-era laws that ruled the day (1908),
was the first person prosecuted under the Mann Act, which banned the
transportation of females across state lines "for immoral purposes."
The official offense cited was for consorting and traveling with a
white prostitute whom he later married.
The Youtube video the circulated over the internet like a firestorm purporting that Russian officials refused to shake the Black American President's hand (he was actually introducing the Russian President to other diplomats)
My thoughts...
I see this place (our social world) we call strange, home, heaven and hell all in the same breath. We are just keepers of what we have been entrusted with (this green earth) we govern ourselves with a complex set of laws, rules, beliefs and lies all in the pursuit of happiness, health, wealth, equality or the promise of everlasting life with the creator. When I hold up the mirror of reality this is the reflection I see however skewed, biased, negative or positive; but most importantly I wonder about the world (society) we will leave for our children.
Bycha Buxton
A Brief History...
I still have my residence in the Golden State (I will never leave for good) but it is not socially the place that I have grown to be most comfortable in. It is "the wild wild west", free and progressive in many ways and on many issues. But my love of that state, especially the Bay Area has definitely shaped who I am. A tolerant conservative, a moderate, now I do fault in some ways the pitifully waged war on drugs started by the former "B" movie actor, Governor of California and 40th President (God rest his soul) Ronald Regan (the Gipper). With his wife Nancy's (Regan) "Just Say No" campaign and Howard Jarvis author of Prop. 13 in 1978 ( "People's Initiative to Limit Property Taxation"),which had a disproportionate affect on the Bay Area and Los Angeles it opened the border to Mexico for cheap labor and cheaper drugs.
Present Day...
The great state, the "Golden State" now leads the nation in unemployment(updated 2/27/09 10.1%), the public schools now rank 48th out of 50 states and they have recently had a $42 billion budget deficit. A bill from Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco -- where else?) would tax marijuana sales. It would, first, decriminalize the possession and sale of marijuana under state law, and, second, set up a system for regulating and taxing it. The sales and taxation part only happens, though, if the federal government decriminalizes marijuana too, or at least allows states to make their own decisions about the drug. It puts the "legalization of drugs" on the table in possibly the most liberal government that has occupied Washington D.C. since JFK and LBJ. So we have come full circle back to the 30% tax reduction that was Prop. 13 to be replaced with another tax increase. Better off the backs of California homeowners and on the butts of the blunts and the bowl of the bongs. Ammiano and his supporters argue that the state is losing out on more than $1 billion a year in tax revenues because its biggest cash crop, marijuana, is illegal and therefore not taxable.
The Future...
A myriad of health related issues will consume the California heath system related to the increase in smoking. Bronchitis, asthma, lung cancer; a number of studies have shown an association between chronic marijuana use and increased rates of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and schizophrenia (sounds like growing up in the 'hood). In one study, heavy marijuana abusers reported that the drug impaired several important measures of life achievement including physical and mental health, cognitive abilities, social life, and career status. Several studies associate workers’ marijuana smoking with increased absences, tardiness, accidents, workers’ compensation claims, and job turnover. So the future of California's marijuana policy will have little change on the current state of affairs (sad but true) it (pot smoking) will not stop.
The Remedy...
It is time to surrender and be prudent about the lost revenue (I am a fiscal conservative). Maybe the coalition against Prop. 8 will be too "high" to mount an effective campaign (a much more important social issue) because the war on marijuana is moot. It (legalization) has the possibility of creating thousands of jobs related to the cultivation, processing, sale and monitoring of the product. Also one of the most prized jobs of all "quality control"second only to that of "profiteer". It could reinvigorate the once and much ballyhooed agricultural industry of California that has given way to dot com start-ups and bio-tech innovation of the nineties.
Yours truly, but I never inhaled ;-)
Bycha Buxton
He is our President. It says volumes how far this country has come. I am a proud black man; but "cash rules everything around...dolla' bill ya'll ....dolla', dolla', dolla', dolla' bill ya'll" Since the close of the DJIA (Dow Jones Industrial Average a collection of 30 of the largest and most widely held public companies in the United States.) on January 16, 2009 at 8281.22 opening again on the most historic day in US modern history 2/20/2009, until today February 23, 2009 a mere 35 days into his Presidency the "market" (DJIA) has had a precipitous drop of 1166.44 pts. to 7114.78 these are 1997 levels. Now I do have to fault my former party leader G.W. Bush for the current fiscal status but this is ridiculous for it (the markets) to continue in a free fall. Many fault the appointment of Timothy Geithner (Treasury Secretary) and his lack of a detailed plan, general aloofness and inability to convey confidence.
President Obama's economic plan though a milestone in effectiveness in getting a major piece of legislation passed so quickly has not been able to inspire the "markets". When the markets are in a "bull run" money flows it does have a trickle down effect. A rising tide lifts all boats. But now we (America) wait for the big ship (the Titanic) to give us a lift out of these deep recession waters. Who will talk the helm of the Titanic? Even though the historic ship sank their were survivors, such as the case with this economic downturn. We will go down, some institutions will find themselves at the bottom of the abyss never to see the sun shine on their dariaires again; but that is the nature of the beast called the capitalist market. The health of the Dow Jones is directly connected to most 401K retirement accounts, pension funds and dictates the mood of business worldwide. Not that policy should dictate or be dictated by the whims of wall street; but as the nations Chief Executive Officer he (President Obama) has to be aware of his adverse affect on the financial markets and its effect on the very poor and disaffected citizens he is trying to help.
The text book definition of recession is two consecutive quarters of shrinking GDP output. The reality is "when your neighbor loses his job." The fear is that you are next. I remember the recession of the Bush-Quayle years, The war in Iraq (called the Gulf War) and the dismal economy of 1992. I was fresh out of college, brand new wife and child (2 yrs old) my name sake. Things were bad for others; but we (my wife and I) both had good jobs although we feared lay-offs, the overall mood of the country was in the doldrums and it was common to see signs posted in business windows with the pre-text "Going out of...".
I'm no longer married, the kid's in college, we're still in Iraq, a Bush is in the White House and the "Going out of Business " signs are back in fashion. Reality check: We're in a recession. There are multiple contributing factors to why we are in an 'economic downturn' (technical pre-recession jargon). The subprime loan debacle, high energy prices, the impending war on terror, the Oakland Raiders consecutive losing season (oh, maybe that's a depression); the list of reasons is far and wide. The problem it's not acknowledged because of speculation and what it causes the markets (NYSE, AMEX, NASDAQ, etc) to do. They use this speculative talk (economists and on-air-personality blabbering) to take advantage of large portfolio's. Money is made by the news and views of the economy
Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chairman can't tell the truth, only because the investment community gets squimmish, the President gets upset and your boss will tell you that " your expendable." So they asked me to do it. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it could be worse a "...depression is when you lose your job. Recovery is when Bush loses his job."
My Version of the Truth,
Bycha Buxton
buxtonbycha@aol.com
