Sorry, But Rep. Taylor May Be Mistaken

U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., is sticking to his Blue Dog colors and opposes the stimulus bill.

“If anything is in it for the Coast, I don’t know,” said Taylor. “I don’t think it’s worth the $800-billion price tag.”

Taylor said he supported a stimulus that did not spike the federal budget deficit.

I disagree!  I think it is too small, more needs to be spent on the infrastructure, programs that actually have people working and equipment and supplies being used.

Sorry, but I think that he may need to stop by his office and re-read the bill before he makes his statements to the press.  Granted he may have some inside info that I am not privvy to, but from what I know off the top of my head there are parts of the stimulus plan that could help South Mississippi with an infusion of jobs and money.  The totals are for the entire program and if Mississippi were to get some of the cash it would not be all, but part:

$360 million for child care centers on military bases (we have two on the Coast)

$500 million for bomb detectors in airports (we have a major one on the Coast)

$2.5 billion for upgrade of low income housing (we have many on the Coast)

$6.7 billion for making Federal buildings more energy efficient (we have a couple on the Coast)

I guess one could say that this could possibly be pork, but in the same breath we can make the case that the Coast can use the infusion of cash that these programs could bring.

So I would say that there is a possibility that we, on the Coast, could benefit substantially from the Obama stimulus plan if it is passed.  I would say that Rep. Taylor is sadly mistaken when he states that we on the Coast would have nothing to gain.  Maybe when he runs next time he should become the Repub that he really is and make room for a true Dem.

***NOTE**** The ( ) indicates sarcasm in case there was any doubt.

Will Gaming Remain High?

The economic downturn is already devastating the gambling industry. Legal gaming in America attracted $93 billion in consumer spending in 2007, but battered incomes last year proved in spades that this is not a “recession-proof” business. Outlays at casinos have plunged, stock prices of gambling enterprises have collapsed and new building projects around the world are frozen. Native American casinos are laying off workers from Connecticut to California. State lotteries, too, have been reporting hefty declines in ticket sales — despite the fact that lotteries were sold to voters as a sure way to fund education programs even in hard times.

Polls and other indicators show that Americans aren’t necessarily ready to return gambling to its 19th-century status as a vice — what would teenage poker players do on Friday nights? But more Americans are looking at the social, personal, economic and cultural consequences of gambling, understanding that — even setting aside the moral issue — it is a black hole for practical reasons. So opponents are taking heart. “We’re seeing an increasing backlash as the public becomes reinformed about the negative consequences of gambling,” says John Kindt, a gambling critic and business professor at the University of Illinois.

Part of the shift in attitude is a result of the higher profile of “problem” and “pathological” gamblers, who studies say make up about 5% of the U.S. population — and whose proclivities can be more easily serviced than ever. Women are placing more than half of the calls to some state gambling crisis lines, double the percentage of a decade ago.

No wonder about 70% of Americans believe that legalized gambling encourages people to gamble more than they can afford, according to a Pew Research Center survey in 2006. That’s a noteworthy increase from 1989, when 62% expressed that concern in a Gallup survey.

Also to blame for the uptick in antigambling sentiment is the industry’s poor record as an economic multiplier. In locale after locale, citizens are realizing that they were snookered by politicians’ promises that casinos would provide a problem-free explosion in jobs and income from tourism. Three casinos have opened in Detroit, for example, but the city looks as desiccated as ever, and one of the operators is embroiled in bankruptcy court.

Will the Coast become part of this growing opposition?

Will This Hit The Coast?

Lately, the luck has been all bad for Atlantic City’s 11 casinos. Last week alone, a major casino developer put a $2 billion Boardwalk project on indefinite hold, and the city’s newest and most successful casino laid off 400 workers.

And Donald Trump had to knock $46 million off the price of one of his casinos in order to salvage a deal to sell it to someone else. Trump’s casino company is cutting the pay of its top executives by 5 percent.

More bad news is expected Monday with the release of October’s casino revenue numbers. To say they are expected to be bad is putting it mildly.

Consider: September saw the greatest monthly decline in revenues in the 30-year history of legalized gambling, down more than 15 percent.

Will this downturn effect the jobs, the economy of the Coast?

MS: Coast Banks Lending

While many Americans in other parts of the country feel they’re getting the cold shoulder from lending institutions, South Mississippi banks and credit unions say they welcome those seeking loans for homes and cars.

“We are lending money,” said Cheryl Johnson, community bank president of Regions Bank. “Our credit standards have tightened, but we are lending, just not approving as many.”

Conservative banking practices across the Coast have contributed to the calmer atmosphere, she said.

“The Coast is a little bit insulated. South Mississippi has not been a part of that,” she said, referring to subprime mortgage loans that have led to problems for banks in other parts of the country.

“We’re a plain vanilla bank. We don’t do exotic loans,” Johnson said. “We encourage people to apply for loans. We have a lot to offer, but we also want to lend it safely.”

AL: State Budgets To Suffer

Alabama’s fiscal year begins today, but the impact of the declining stock market probably won’t be known for several weeks.

The state’s $2 billion General Fund budget, which pays for most non-educational programs in the state, is counting in part on

$117 million in gains from investments made by the Alabama Trust Fund, gains that may not be there.

A state Finance Department spokeswoman said Tuesday afternoon that officials do not expect the General Fund to receive any trust money this year. “We do not expect any capital gains from the ATF this year,” Gina Smith, the Alabama Department of Finance public affairs director, said in an e-mail message.

State officials say, however, that the perpetually cash-strapped General Fund may have exceeded revenue projections as high oil and gas prices increased receipts from the state’s severance tax. But it’s unclear if that money could offset any lost.

LA: Bailout Vote

Rep. Jim McCrery, R-Shreveport, said Monday’s vote on a $700 billion rescue of the nation’s financial markets was among the toughest he’s faced in his 20-year career, ranking with war resolutions.

In the end, McCrery voted yes, expressing fear that the bill’s defeat could lead to terrible economic consequences for many Americans.

McCrery’s assessment, at least for the moment, proved correct as the stock market began plummeting even before the legislation was defeated, 228-205, and the day ended with the Dow Jones Industrials down nearly 778 points.

Only two of Louisiana’s seven members, McCrery and Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville, voted for the legislation, which is unpopular with many voters. McCrery is retiring from Congress at the end of the current session, and Melancon will win re-election without opposition.

McCrery said he respects those who were troubled by the cost of the proposed bailout and wanted other remedies. But McCrery said he was too worried about the consequences of defeating the measure.

MS: Bailout Vote

“If there was a button that said ‘Hell, no,’ I’d push it,” said U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Bay St. Louis, just before joining a majority of House Republicans and a large number of Democrats in defeating the $700 billion bailout bill by 228-205.

“I hate to use a cliché, but this falls into the category of throwing money at a problem and hope it works,” Taylor said in an interview.

The state’s three Democrats voted against the bill: Bennie Thompson, Travis Childers and Taylor. The lone Republican, Chip Pickering, voted for it.

Liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans formed the core opposition to the bill, with Democrats largely worried that the bill gave too much power to the treasury secretary and did not take care of homeowners while the GOP railed against the unprecedented government involvement in markets and the increase in the federal deficit.

FL: Mental Health Dollars Sinking

Just as a crumbling economy brings about more depression, substance abuse and other mental-health problems, budget cuts are forcing mental-health providers to scale back their services.

The Lakeview Center, which has been the area’s main provider of mental-health services, has dramatically cut its programs. Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida, which provides low-cost counseling services to children and adults, also has reduced its staff and services.

But, in response to a loss of $2.5 million in state funding and rising health care costs, Lakeview has cut $4.3 million from next year’s budget.

In the last two months, 70 full-time positions have been eliminated, and more than a dozen mental- health programs have been scaled back, or cut outright, in order to keep the center afloat.

Meanwhile, Catholic Charities has cut two full-time counselors, leaving only a single part-time counselor, Executive Director Mark Dufva said. New clients are not being accepted.

Bembry and Dufva both say the cuts come at a bad time as economic woes translate into medical and mental issues.

Ladies and gentlemen, you are looking at the price we will pay for the economic woes that wall street has created.  The firms will go on, but the people woill lose much needed services. Is that a good exchane?

AL: Joblessness On The Rise

Unemployment continued to rise statewide and in southwest Alabama, according to figures released Friday.

The statewide jobless rate rose to 5.1 percent, up from 4.7 percent in June and 3.6 percent in July 2007. Last month’s unemployment rate was the highest since August 2004 and represents 111,903 people looking for jobs statewide.

In Mobile County, joblessness rose to 5.7 percent in July from 5.4 percent in June. In Baldwin, the jobless rate rose to 4.3 percent from 4 percent.

In Baldwin the number of people with jobs fell by more than 1,000 to 82,125, though unemployment was third-lowest among the state’s 67 counties. June is often Baldwin County’s peak employment month of the year, because of the summer tourism season.

Rural counties in southwest Alabama saw even higher unemployment, with jobless levels ranging from 7.3 percent in Escambia, to 13.3 percent in Wilcox, the state’s second-worst level.

But the economy is strong….well…cool…but if you do not have a job…then it is BS.

MS: Economic News Is Not That Good

The Governor tells the residents just how bright the future looks for the state of Mississippi, but there are some figures that he des not want to share.

How did your state’s workers fare in July? Here’s a rundown of unemployment rates that standout, as reported by the Labor Department today. Others run more closely in step with the national trend. (For reference, the national unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent in July—1.0 percentage point higher than a year earlier.)

States with the highest unemployment rates:

• Michigan: 8.5 percent
• Mississippi: 7.9
• Rhode Island: 7.7
• California: 7.3
• Illinois: 7.3
• Ohio: 7.2
• South Carolina: 7.0

The bad: Mississippi and South Carolina saw the largest jumps in their unemployment rates between July and June—both were up 0.9 percentage point.