Buy And Shop Locally

We have all seen the ads on the tube where local business leaders stand around and tell you that it is your duty to help the local economy during this time of crisis by shopping and buying locally.

But where is the incentive for the consumer to do so?  They will go where they save a buck, not because some overpaid spokesperson is saying to to so.

Recently I read an article about the use of BerkShares, a currency printed by some local people in the Massachusetts area.

BerkShares are a local currency for the Berkshire region. Dubbed a “great economic experiment” by the New York Times, BerkShares are a tool for community empowerment, enabling merchants and consumers to plant the seeds for an alternative economic future for their communities. Launched in the fall of 2006, BerkShares had a robust initiation, with over one million BerkShares having been circulated in the first nine months and over two million to date. Currently, more than three hundred and fifty businesses have signed up to accept the currency. Five different banks have partnered with BerkShares, with a total of twelve branch offices now serving as exchange stations. For BerkShares, this is only the beginning. Future plans could involve BerkShare checking accounts, electronic transfer of funds, ATM machines, and even a loan program to facilitate the creation of new, local businesses manufacturing more of the goods that are used locally.
Click here for more information about BerkShares.

This is a better idea that needs exploring  if these people are serious about shoppinmg and spending locally.  This concept fulfills all the criteria of shopping locally and helping the establishments.

The problem is that Mississippi is never serious about the local thing….local business do not pay the political bills and buy few friends, real friends.  Coastians need to give with their local reps and force these people to do something for the Coast and its  people and businesses.

I am afraid that my writing is falling on blind eyes….but that is not unusual.

Do You Want Someone To Blame?

The economic crisis we are facing has many ugly side effects, unemployment, foreclosure, recession, etc.  The people of the state of Mississippi are facing the unemployment rate of 9.2% and the likelihood of it going higher, loss of state revenue that could cause state cuts in much needed programs.  The stim package is coming, but I do not think it will be near enough to help us out of our dilemma.

But as Americans we need someone to blame and as Mississippians we definitely need to know who is to blame.  So if you are struggling with the economy, or unemployed or facing foreclosure and your 401k is just about worthless, there are some from Mississippi that are to blame.

Back in 2000 the US Congress passed the Financial Sercvices Modernization Act which basically deregulated the banking industry, which made room for hedge funds and corporations that got too big to fail and in turn set the economy up for the crap we are now experiencing.

Of Mississippi’s congress people who voted for the Act…..both Senators Lott and Cchran and the now senator Pickering voted to deregulate the banks so they could screw the economy.  Rep. Taylor was the only Mississippian to vote NO on the act.

So you really want someone to blame?  The remaining culprits of Pickering and Cochran are still playing games with the lives of Mississippians…will you hold them responsible?

State’s Slice Of Stim Pie

Mississippi stands to receive $2.26 billion from the economic stimulus package signed into law Tuesday by President Barack Obama.

The White House estimates that the $787 billion package, designed to create or save 3.5 million jobs nationwide, will save or bring to Mississippi 30,000 jobs, 7,500 of them in the southern part.

On the national level, jobs created will be in industries from clean energy to health care, with over 90 percent in the private sector, according to a study by two national economic advisers.

But the package is still getting mixed reviews in Mississippi, with only two of the state’s congressional delegation voting for it.

A spokesman for Gov. Haley Barbour said Tuesday evening the governor’s staff was going through the hundreds of pages of the law “looking at each segment to make a conscious decision whether it’s best for Mississippi.”

“For instance, unemployment,” said Dan Turner. “We believe it will require Mississippi to provide unemployment for people who won’t accept full-time employment.”

“When you look at the amount of money that could be used to offset the cuts in Medicaid, education and public safety … it couldn’t have come at a better time,” Flaggs said. “It is the best thing that I have been able to witness from the federal government coming down to the state government in my 22 years of service in the Legislature.”

Mississippi’s unemployment rate was 8 percent in December. Lawmakers are expected to work until late March or early April on the state budget for the coming fiscal year.

Hopefully Mississippi will not be as stupid as Louisiana and turn down the stimulus cash.

So You Want To Stimulate The State’s Economy?

If so, then I have an idea, but before that I would like to give a bit of background.

How much money is wasted every year trying to pass this bill or that bill about smoking?  How much money is wasted trying to force the people to stop smoking?  How much money do cities waste trying to stop smoking?

Well the answer is millions on millions of taxpayers dollars.  Now, the economy is going rapidly down the drain and we need some form of stimulus to get it moving again.  There is a way to kill two birds with one stone.

Smokers are three times more likely to kick the habit for at least six months when they are paid up to $750, a new study has found.

Nearly 900 General Electric workers took part in the test across 85 US sites. The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

GE will launch a similar scheme in 2010 for all US employees, believing it will be cost-effective in the long term.

“Our study shows that if you’re able to get people smoke-free and keep them smoke-free for six months or more, there’s a fighting chance they can stay smoke-free on their own,” he said.

And there you have your answer…pay people to quite smoking.  The money that is used for the program will be spent on goods; the money saved by the individual will be spent for goods.  When money is spent the economy begins to recover….and that is what all are trying to accomplish at this time.

The draw back will be if all stop smoking the state will have to raise taxes on other stuff, like property, sales, excise and so on.  But who cares!  The population will be smoke free and all will be good in the land of NOD.

Remember:  for every political action there is an equal and opposition reaction.

Peace…Out…Bubbas.  If your IQ ever reaches 100 I would sell.

Where Is The Logic?

I recently read a copy of the budget report by the Mississippi Economic Policy Center which has been sent to the governor and the legislation, which recommends that there be a cut of 4% in the budget of the Attorny General’s office.  It is not the only cut that it recommended but for the sake of this post it is the most important.

Recently in the Mississippi House of Representatives bill number HB 351 was eneter into consideration by state Rep. Watson which calls for the creation of a division for civil rights investigations.  Personal I think this is a hell of an idea and will mostly likely give it thumbs up.  I will agree that this state needs something along these lines there are way too many questions than answers in some of the cases.

But wait!  The recommendation was sent out in Nov 0f 08 and the legislature went into session in Jan of 09 and they will mostly likely cut the budget of the AG office.  Then why would you introduce a bill to expand the office knowing that it will go nowhere?

Good question, right?

My answers are.  1–Watson did not read the report that was sent to him or 2–it is political theater that he can use at election time or 3–just a waste of time or finally 4– a combination of all 3.

Our state legislature spends approximately 90 days in session and they waste about 30 of those days doing stuff that waste time, energy and money and in the end they get little accomplished and must return for special sessions time and time again.

Maybe we as voters of this state should consider changing the system abit and go to a unicameral system, of some sort—it would have to be cheaper and more efficient IMO.

A Leading Economic Indicator

Staffers say the Christmas season was the best Pawn Mart 2 has seen in its 13 years in business.

Retail sales doubled, said manager Chad Bourn, who noted similar sales at the company’s Moss Point store.

Bourn attributed the booming business to the sluggish economy, and good deals.

It is a trend that’s happening nationally, as well. A story in the Los Angeles Times in late December noted “two of the nation’s leading publicly traded pawn companies, Ezcorp Inc. and First Cash Financial Services Inc., are among just a handful of stocks that have risen this year, up 31 percent and 20 percent, respectively.”

And it isn’t just pawned-goods sales that are rising.

Many local residents pawned items for spending money before Christmas. Now a majority of customers are getting loans to pay bills from holiday purchases.

“Everybody always spends more than they should,” Pawn Mart’s Bourn said. “After Christmas, everybody’s broke. We’re doing nothing but loaning, loaning, loaning.”

Bourn has been surprised at the items offered as collateral on 30-day loans, such as big-screen televisions. He expects the trend to continue into tax season; then it will flip-flop as people getting refund checks start spending again.

LVT, The Series–Part 1

In the 19th Century, American economist, Henry George proposed the idea of the Land Value Tax and he immediately got opposition from “mainstream” economist because it is pro-community.  That opposition continues today, modern economist are the high priest of a political system that is pro-wealth and pro-elitist.  They prefer privatization and the exhaustion of all the natural resources.  Land is a natural resource because unlike manufacturing more cannot be produced.

One of the easiest ways to generate income for public programs is the Land Value Tax.

Traditional forms of revenue generation are not doing the trick.  They are unreliable and not very equitable.  Plus the taxes are on the backs of those that can least afford it.  This proposal does not stifle the free markets, labor or production.  For those reasons the Land Value Tax (LVT) is more than capable of funding government and its programs while not penalizing the people.

Taxes penalize the people, the workers, tax codes reward people for avoiding their tax obligations.  The only way to make a government self-sufficient is the LVT.  At present the only answers are taxes such as payroll, excise, sales, but the truth is that all taxes and tax schemes that are proposed then passed have done little to help the financial health of a state.

When the LVT is used then most other taxes can be eliminated altogether.  It will revive the housing sector, the production sector and the consumer sector.  For when the people have more cash on hand they will spend it, something that is not going to happen if there is an increase in taxes.  And the increase will do little to bail out the government from a monetary meltdown.

The benefits to the community are numerous, among them are:  1) economic–the LVT encourages land to be put on the market at lower prices–will lead to an end to land speculation, 2)–social–the tax revenue will benefit the whole society from education to public works, 3)–logistics–the tax is not easily evaded and easily collected.

The best answer to reviving a community, city or state is to impliment the LVT.  Without it there will be constant shortfalls in revenue which will mean more cuts to services to the community. Then other taxes will need to be raised to make up for the shortfalls.  The LVT can and will avoid any of this suffering.

Coast Financial Outlook

Sales vs. population

Before Katrina, South Mississippi had built a normal cycle of purchases with a normal population. Although the Coast lost an estimated 40,000 people after Katrina, initially there were at least that many volunteers spending money on the Coast, said McFarland.

Now about 25,000 residents have returned, McFarland said, but “we’ve never had a population loss before, and this time we’ve gone three years with less population.”

Retail sales-tax collections, which spiked after Katrina when people were replacing everything from cars to clothing, have dropped back down, but are still slightly above pre-Katrina levels.

“That being the case, you can argue that our local challenge is less about the national economy than it is resulting from a population that is down about 7 percent,” he said.

New and used vehicle sales

The lower population should also show up in sales of new and used cars and trucks, but McFarland said registrations are the same as 2003 and doing better than the first half of 2004.

“Cars are the biggest single purchase people make other than their homes,” and he is optimistic car sales will begin an upswing.

This is the third year since Katrina, when many people had to buy cars to replace those destroyed during the storm. Most people who buy new cars trade them in between the third and sixth years.

Housing

The upswing in post-Katrina home sales leveled off and now has dropped on the Coast.

The lower asking prices and bigger inventory of homes for sale has brought more “lookers” to the local market, but “housing sales are down” for the year, he said. “Through October 2007, 3,373 homes were sold at an average price of $167,695. Through October this year, only 2,448 homes were sold at an average price of $151,955.”

Employment

Unemployment rates in Mississippi fell in October from 7.5 to 6.9 percent; the rates locally were 5.6 percent in Harrison County, 5.9 in Hancock County and 6.1 in Jackson County.

Even with the lower population on the Coast in 2008, “the work force in Harrison and Hancock counties is almost identical to 2004,” McFarland said. With the demand for workers in 2006 and 2007, “a lot of people who hadn’t worked in a long time entered the work force and the labor force swelled. Others took a second job. But now there are fewer jobs available, causing a lot of those recent workers to begin to move out of the work force.”

They make all sound so good and level that it is just amazing……further analysis will be done….

MS: Insurance Premiums Soar

In the past seven years in Mississippi, family health care premiums have risen an estimated seven times faster than salaries of Mississippi workers. That’s the conclusion of a report released noon today by Families USA, a major national consumer health organization.

From 2000 to 2007, premiums rose 73.2 percent but median earnings rose only 10.4 percent. Families USA used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The report concludes that a growing number of Mississippi families are uninsured or underinsured because of this disparity between wages and rising insurance costs. In an update of an earlier state-specific study, Families USA says the number of Mississippi’s non-elderly uninsured is about 564,000.

Key findings in the study show that family health premiums provided through the workplace in Mississippi rose from $5,983 to $10,365, or an increase of 73.2 percent.

The median earnings of Mississippi’s workers increased from $20,439 to $22,566, or an increase of 10.4 percent.

LA: Brace For The Economic Downturn

Buoyed by job growth, an oil price boom and a stable housing market, Louisiana’s economy has enjoyed a relatively strong phase in the past year compared with the rest of the nation.

But in recent weeks, just as the financial crunch has slowed business on a global scale, the state appears to have tipped toward a decline on key indicators, creating an unclear and perhaps gloomy forecast for Louisiana commerce and government.

Gov. Bobby Jindal last week launched the first in a series of weekly meetings with key advisers to monitor state and national trends, with an eye on potential effects on the state budget.

The good news is that Louisiana is not burdened with massive numbers of foreclosures on homes, a critical component of the national crisis that has hit especially hard in California, Arizona, Nevada and Florida. For example, in California in August, a foreclosure was filed for one of every 130 properties, whereas in Louisiana the rate was one of every 2,896 properties, according to the industry monitor Realty Trac.

Also, small and regional banks in Louisiana are comparatively strong and well-capitalized, and their greater-than-usual write-offs of troubled loans recently are coming mostly from assets in other states.