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09 Feb 2010 10:08
CRS — Terrorist Attacks on Commercial Airlines: Federal Criminal Prohibitions
February 9th, 2010Terrorist Attacks on Commercial Airlines: Federal Criminal Prohibitions (PDF; 181 KB) Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists/Secrecy News)
Federal authorities can and have prosecuted terrorist attacks on commercial airlines under a wide variety of federal statutes. Some of those statutes outlaw crimes committed aboard a commercial airliner; some, crimes committed against the aircraft itself; others, crimes involving the use of firearms or explosives; still others, crimes committed for terrorist purposes. Within each category, the law reaches co-conspirators and other accomplices. Moreover, although most apply when committed within the United States, many apply to terrorist attacks overseas, particularly but necessarily, when the victims are Americans or U.S. airlines.
CRS — Metropolitan Transportation Planning
February 9th, 2010Metropolitan Transportation Planning (PDF; 245 KB) Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists/Secrecy News)
Federal law requires state and local governments to designate a metropolitan planning organization (MPO) in each urbanized area with a population of 50,000 or more to help plan surface transportation infrastructure and services. There are currently 381 MPOs nationwide. Despite some strengthening of their authority over the years, MPOs have generally remained subordinate to state departments of transportation (DOTs) in the planning and selecting (“programming”) of projects using federal surface transportation funds. Moreover, it can be argued that at the metropolitan level MPOs are subordinate to local governments that own and operate many elements of the transportation system, and also control land use planning and zoning.
Because of the perceived weakness of MPOs, some in the transportation community have argued that they ought to be given much more power over the planning and programming of projects using federal surface transportation funds. Some of these observers go so far as to suggest that federal policies and programs in a number of areas, including transportation, housing, and the environment, need to be coordinated on a metropolitan scale, and that MPOs are the organizational venue where this should occur. Others argue that the relationship between state government, local government, and MPOs is well-balanced and should not be changed. A third view is that metropolitan transportation planning is controlled by planners who often harbor anticar views, and consequently, MPOs can be actually detrimental to well-functioning metropolitan transportation systems. In this view, MPOs should be abolished or, at the very least, have their functions significantly curtailed.
Surface transportation programs were authorized under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU or SAFETEA) (P.L. 109-59) covering the period FY2005 through FY2009. In lieu of a new multi-year reauthorization that is still being considered, Congress has extended these programs and their funding several times. Reauthorization of the surface transportation programs provides an opportunity for Congress to reexamine policies related to MPOs and the metropolitan planning process. This report discusses several issues that Congress may want to consider: the authority of MPOs to plan and program funds; representation and participation in MPOs; MPO funding and technical capacity; and implementation of livability initiatives. It may also want to consider a number of issues having to do with planning requirements such as the need for a long-range plan, the proper scale of planning, and the incorporation of freight transportation interests. The report begins with a brief description of the metropolitan transportation planning process.
CRS — Al Qaeda and Affiliates: Historical Perspective, Global Presence, and Implications for U.S. Policy
February 9th, 2010Al Qaeda and Affiliates: Historical Perspective, Global Presence, and Implications for U.S. Policy (PDF; 324 KB) Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists/Secrecy News)
Al Qaeda (AQ) has evolved into a significantly different terrorist organization than the one that perpetrated the September 11, 2001, attacks. At the time, Al Qaeda was composed mostly of a core cadre of veterans of the Afghan insurgency against the Soviets, with a centralized leadership structure, made up mostly of Egyptians. Most of the organization’s plots either emanated from the top or were approved by the leadership. Some analysts describe pre-9/11 Al Qaeda as akin to a corporation, with Osama Bin Laden acting as an agile Chief Executive Officer issuing orders and soliciting ideas from subordinates.
Some would argue that the Al Qaeda of that period no longer exists. Out of necessity, due to pressures from the security community, in the ensuing years it has transformed into a diffuse global network and philosophical movement composed of dispersed nodes with varying degrees of independence. The core leadership, headed by Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, is thought to live in the mountainous tribal belt of northwest Pakistan, where it continues to train operatives, recruit, and disseminate propaganda. But Al Qaeda franchises or affiliated groups active in countries such as Yemen and Somalia now represent critical power centers in the larger movement. Some affiliates receive money, training, and weapons; others look to the core leadership in Pakistan for strategic guidance, theological justification, and a larger narrative of global struggle. Over the past year senior government officials have assessed the trajectory of Al Qaeda to be “less centralized command and control, (with) no clear center of gravity, and likely rising and falling centers of gravity, depending on where the U.S. and the international focus is for that period.” While a degraded corporate Al Qaeda may be welcome news to many, a trend has emerged over the past few years that some view as more difficult to detect, if not potentially more lethal.
The Al Qaeda network today also comprises semi-autonomous or self radicalized actors, who often have only peripheral or ephemeral ties to either the core cadre in Pakistan or affiliated groups elsewhere. According to U.S. officials Al Qaeda cells and associates are located in over 70 countries. Sometimes these individuals never leave their home country but are radicalized with the assistance of others who have traveled abroad for training and indoctrination through the use of modern technologies. In many ways, the dispersion of Al Qaeda affiliates fits into the larger strategy of Bin Laden and his associates. They have sought to serve as the vanguard of a religious movement that inspires Muslims and other individuals aspiring to join a jihadi movement to help establish a global caliphate through violent means. The name “Qaeda” means “base” or “foundation,” upon which its members hope to build a robust, geographically-diverse network.
Understanding the origins of Al Qaeda, its goals, current activities, and prospective future pursuits is key to developing sound U.S. strategies, policies, and programs. Appreciating the adaptive nature of Al Qaeda as a movement and the ongoing threat it projects onto U.S. global security interests assists in many facets of the national security enterprise; including, securing the homeland, congressional legislative process and oversight, alignment of executive branch resources and coordination efforts, and prioritization of foreign assistance.
The focus of this report is on the history of Al Qaeda, actions and capabilities of the organization and non-aligned entities, and an analysis of select regional Al Qaeda affiliates. This report may be updated as events warrant.
CRS — Laos: Background and U.S. Relations
February 9th, 2010Laos: Background and U.S. Relations (PDF; 216 KB) Source: Congressional Research Service (via Open CRS)
The United States and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LPDR) cooperate in important areas despite ideological differences and U.S. concerns about alleged human rights abuses against the ethnic Hmong minority. The U.S. government has gradually upgraded its relations with the communist state, which has strong ties to Vietnam and growing economic linkages with China. Major areas of U.S. assistance and bilateral cooperation include de-mining and counter-narcotics programs, strengthening the country’s regulatory framework and trade capacity, HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, the recovery of Americans missing in action during the Vietnam War, and military education and training. In 2008, the United States and Laos exchanged defense attachés the first time in over 30 years. The U.S. government has embarked upon a policy of economic engagement with the LPDR as a means of influencing the future direction of Lao policy.
The Obama Administration and Members of Congress have expressed concerns about the plight of former ethnic Hmong insurgents and their families, who have historical ties to the U.S.-backed Lao-Hmong guerilla army of the Vietnam War period, and efforts by Thai authorities to repatriate over 4,500 Lao-Hmong living in camps in Thailand, many of whom claim that they likely will be persecuted or discriminated against if they return to Laos. In June 2009, 31 Members of Congress signed a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging her to appeal to the Thai government not to forcibly repatriate Hmong asylum seekers. U.S. officials have called upon the Thai and Lao governments for greater transparency in the repatriation and resettlement process. In April 2009, H.Con.Res. 112, “Expressing Support for Designation of a ‚National Lao-Hmong Recognition Day,’” was introduced in the House of Representatives.
CRS — Using Army Corps of Engineers Reservoirs for Municipal and Industrial Water Supply: Current Issues
February 9th, 2010Using Army Corps of Engineers Reservoirs for Municipal and Industrial Water Supply: Current Issues (PDF; 168 KB) Source: Congressional Research Service (via Open CRS)
Congress has limited the use of Army Corps of Engineers dams and reservoirs for municipal and industrial (M&I) water supply. Growing M&I demands have raised interest in–and concern about–changing current law and reservoir operations to give Corps facilities a greater role in M&I water storage. A reallocation of storage to M&I use from a currently authorized purpose (e.g., hydropower or navigation) changes the types of benefits produced by a facility and the stakeholders served. While Congress has specifically authorized 91 Corps multi-purpose facilities for M&I supply, it also has delegated to the Secretary of the Army constrained authority to reallocate storage to M&I water supply. In the Water Supply Act of 1958 (1958 WSA; P.L. 85-500), Congress provided that storage at Corps facilities could be allocated to M&I water supply without congressional approval if this reallocation did not seriously harm authorized project purposes or involve major structural or operational changes. Whether the Corps has regularly exceeded its discretion to reallocate is a concern raised in response to a July 2009 federal court order that found the Corps exceeded its discretion at Lake Lanier (GA).
In order to guide its implementation of the discretionary authority to reallocate, the agency developed guidance on what may constitute a major change or serious harm to an authorized purpose. Since 1977 that guidance has included quantitative limits on reallocations conducted without congressional authorization. Issues for Congress include whether the Corps’ interpretation of its discretionary authority is consistent with congressional intent and whether current law and policy are appropriate for current demands and constraints on water resources. CRS analysis of available data indicates that the Corps generally has not exceeded agency-established quantitative limits, with two exceptions in addition to Lake Lanier.
CRS — African-American Members of the United States Congress: 1870-2009
February 9th, 2010African-American Members of the United States Congress: 1870-2009 (PDF; 416 KB) Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists/Secrecy News)
There are 42 African American Members serving in the 111th Congress, 41 in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate. President Barack Obama served in the Senate until he resigned on November 16, 2008. There have been 125 African American Members of Congress: 119 have been elected to the House; five have been elected to the Senate; and one has been appointed to the Senate. There have been 98 Democrats: 95 in the House, three in the Senate; and 27 Republicans: 24 in the House, three in the Senate.
The number of African American Members has steadily increased since the first African Americans entered Congress in 1870. There were fewer than 10 Members until the 91st Congress (1969-1971). In the 98th Congress (1983-1985), the number surpassed 20 for the first time and then jumped to 40 in the 103rd Congress (1993-1995). Since the 106th Congress (1999-2001), the number has remained between 39 and 43 serving at any one time.
The first African American Member of Congress was Hiram Rhodes Revels (R-MS), who served in the Senate in the 41st Congress (1870-1871). The first African American Member of the House was Joseph H. Rainey (R-SC), who also served in the 41st Congress.
Shirley Chisholm (D-NY), elected to the 91st through 97th Congresses (1969-1983), was the first African American woman in Congress. Since that time, 27 other African American women have been elected, including Senator Carol Moseley-Braun (D-IL, 1993-1999), who is the only African American woman, as well as the first African American Democrat, elected to the Senate. Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI, 1965-present), the current chair of the House Judiciary Committee, holds the record for length of service by an African American Member (45 years). He was first elected to the 89th Congress (1965-1967) and has served since January 3, 1965.
Representative James E. Clyburn (D-SC, 1993-present) and former Representatives William H. Gray III (D-PA, 1979-1991) and J.C. Watts (R-OK, 1995-2003) have been elected to the highest leadership positions held by African American Members of Congress. Representative Clyburn, the House majority whip in the 110th and 111th Congresses, served as vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus in the 108th and 109th Congresses. Representative Gray was chair of the House Democratic Caucus in 1989 (101st Congress). Later in that Congress, when a vacancy occurred, he was elected House majority whip, a position he held until his resignation from Congress in September 1991 (102nd Congress). Representative Watts served as chair of the House Republican Conference in the 106th-107th Congresses (1997-2001).
Twenty African Americans have served as committee chairs, 19 in the House and one in the Senate.
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), whose origins date back to 1969, currently has 42 members. Over its 40-year history, the CBC has been one of the most influential caucuses in Congress.
This report will be updated as needed.
CRS — Understanding China’s Political System
February 9th, 2010Understanding China’s Political System (PDF; 306 KB) Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists/Secrecy News)
Opaque and shrouded in secrecy, China’s political system and decision-making processes are mysteries to many Westerners. At one level, China is a one-party state that has been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since 1949. But rather than being rigidly hierarchical and authoritarian, which is often the assumption, political power in China now is diffuse, complex, and at times highly competitive. Despite its grip on power, the Party and its senior leaders (the Politburo and its Standing Committee) are not always able to dictate policy decisions as they once did. Instead, present-day China’s political process is infused with other political actors that influence and sometimes determine policy.
Three other main actors co-exist with the Party at the top of China’s political system. Chief among these is the muscular state government bureaucracy, whose structures closely parallel the Party’s throughout China, operating in a largely separate but interlocking way to implement and administer state business. Another key institution is the People’s Liberation Army, operating again largely separately and with a tenuous distinction between civilian, military, and Party leadership. Completing the top political institutions is the National People’s Congress, constitutionally the highest organ of state power but in practice the weakest of the top political institutions.
Other political actors in China include: provincial and local officials; a growing body of official and quasi-official policy research groups and think tanks that feed proposals into the policy process; a collection of state sector, multinational, and even private business interests exerting pressure on policy decisions; a vigorous academic and university community; a diverse media that informs public opinion; and an increasingly vocal and better-informed citizenry that are demanding more transparency and accountability from government. New forms of communication and information availability also have pressured the PRC government to make changes in its political system, and have provided the Party with new means of maintaining political control. The political story in China today is the extent to which these multiple actors and changing circumstances have helped blur the communist regime’s lines of authority.
Chinese politics is further complicated by other factors. In the absence of a more formalized institutional infrastructure, personal affiliations can play a significant role in political decisions, adding unpredictability to an already murky process. In addition, discipline between the different levels of party and government structure can be tenuous, leading to ineffective implementation of policy and, in some cases, serious problems with corruption.
Despite its internal problems, the PRC’s Communist Party-led political system has proven exceedingly resilient to past and current challenges, but nevertheless is under stress and undergoing reluctant transition. Ironically, the Party’s commitment to remaining in power appears to be forcing it to adapt continually to changing circumstances and to make incremental compromises with other participants in the political process when it is pragmatic to do so. A better understanding of how China’s political system functions, as well as what are its strengths and weaknesses, may help U.S. lawmakers make more effective policy decisions that directly benefit U.S. interests.
CRS — Asian Pacific Americans in the United States Congress
February 9th, 2010Asian Pacific Americans in the United States Congress (PDF; 208 KB) Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists/Secrecy News)
In the 111th Congress, a record 12 Asian Pacific Americans were elected to the United States Congress: 2 Senators, 8 Representatives, and 2 Delegates. Of the 40 Asian Pacific Americans who have served in Congress from 1903 to the present, there have been 5 Senators (3 of whom have also served in the House), 15 Representatives, 7 territorial Delegates, and 13 Resident Commissioners from the Philippine Islands. Resident Commissioners served from 1907-1946 while the Philippines was a U.S. territory and commonwealth (all were Philippine born). Of the 27 Asian Pacific Americans who were not resident commissioners, 18 were Democrats and 9 were Republicans.
The ancestry of these Asian Pacific Americans has included Chinese, Chamorro, Filipino, Asian Indian, Japanese, Korean, Native Hawaiian, Samoan, and Vietnamese. They have represented California, Hawaii, Louisiana, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. They have served in leadership positions, including committee and subcommittee chairmanships.
This report presents information on Senators, Representatives, and Delegates, including party affiliations, length and dates of service, and committee assignments. The bipartisan and bicameral Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus is also discussed in this report. It will be updated in each new Congress when information becomes available, or as events warrant.
Desalination: Status and Federal Issues
February 9th, 2010Desalination: Status and Federal Issues (PDF; 172 KB) Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists/Secrecy News)
In the United States, desalination is increasingly investigated as an option for meeting municipal water demands, particularly for coastal communities that can desalinate seawater or estuarine water, interior communities above brackish groundwater aquifers, and communities with contaminated water supplies. Adoption of desalination, however, remains constrained by financial, environmental, regulatory, and other factors. At issue is what role Congress establishes for the federal government in desalination research and development, and in construction and operational costs of desalination demonstration projects and full-scale facilities.
Desalination processes generally treat seawater or brackish water to produce a stream of freshwater, and a separate, saltier stream of water that has to be disposed (often called waste concentrate). Desalination’s attractions are that it can create a new source of freshwater from otherwise unusable waters, and that this source may be more dependable than freshwater sources that rely on annual or multi-year precipitation, runoff, and recharge rates. Many states (most notably Florida, California, and Texas) and cities are actively researching and investigating the feasibility of large-scale desalination plants for municipal water supplies.
Desalination and its different applications, however, come with their own sets of risks and concerns. Although the costs of desalination dropped steadily in recent decades, making it more competitive with other water supply augmentation options, the declining trend may not continue if energy costs rise. Electricity expenses vary from one-third to one-half of the operating cost of desalination facilities. Reducing the energy requirements of desalination would decrease its cost uncertainties. Substantial uncertainty also remains about the technology’s environmental impacts, in particular management of the saline waste concentrate and the effect of intake facilities on aquatic organisms. Moreover, there are few federal health and environmental guidelines, regulations, and policies specific to desalination as a municipal water supply source. Social acceptance and regulatory processes also affect desalination’s adoption and perceived risks.
Research and public education may help to resolve some uncertainties, develop methods to mitigate impacts, reduce the costs of desalination, and improve public understanding of the risks. To date, the federal government has been involved primarily in desalination research and development (including military applications), some demonstration projects, and select full-scale facilities. For the most part, local governments, sometimes with state-level involvement, have been responsible for planning, testing, building, and operating desalination facilities, similar to their responsibility for freshwater treatment for municipal drinking water supply. Bills in the 111th Congress (e.g., H.R. 88, H.R. 469, S. 1462, S. 1731, S. 1733, and P.L. 111-11) represent a range of federal authorizations for desalination research, demonstration and full-scale facilities, and planning and financing. H.R. 1145 would formally establish a federal interagency committee to coordinate federal water research, including desalination research.
CRS — Women in the United States Congress: 1917-2009
February 9th, 2010Women in the United States Congress: 1917-2009 (PDF; 604 KB) Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists/Secrecy News)
A record 93 women currently serve in the 111th Congress: 76 in the House (59 Democrats and 17 Republicans) and 17 in the Senate (13 Democrats and 4 Republicans). Ninety-five women were initially elected to the 111th Congress. Since the 111th Congress convened, two of these—Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Representative Hilda Solis (D-CA)—resigned to take cabinet positions in the administration of President Obama, and a third, Representative Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), resigned to become Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. Also, Representative Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) resigned from the House when she was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Senator Clinton, and Representative Judy Chu (D-CA) was elected in July 2009 to fill the seat vacated by Representative Solis.
The first woman elected to Congress was Representative Jeannette Rankin (R-MT, 1917-1919, 1941-1943). The first woman to serve in the Senate was Rebecca Latimer Felton (D-GA). She was appointed in 1922 and served for only one day.
A total of 260 women have served in Congress, 170 Democrats and 90 Republicans. Of these women, 222 (145 Democrats, 77 Republicans) have served only in the House of Representatives; 30 (19 Democrats, 11 Republicans) have served only in the Senate; and 8 (6 Democrats, 2 Republicans) have served in both houses. These figures include one Delegate each from Guam, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Edith Nourse Rogers (R-MA), who served in the House for 35 years, holds the record for length of service by a woman in Congress. Margaret Chase Smith (R-ME), the first woman elected to the House and Senate, holds the record for Senate service by a woman with 24 years. Of the 38 women who have served in the Senate, 14 were first appointed, and 5 were first elected to fill unexpired terms. Nine were chosen to fill vacancies caused by the death of their husbands, and 1 to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of her father. Of these 10, 3 were subsequently elected to additional terms. Hattie Caraway (D-AR) was the first Senator to succeed her husband and the first woman elected to a six-year Senate term.
A total of 28 African American or black women have served in Congress (1 in the Senate, 27 in the House), including the 14 serving in the 111th Congress. Seven Hispanic women have been elected to the House; six serve in the 111th Congress. Five Asian American women have served in the House, including two in the 111th Congress.
Sixteen women in the House, and eight women in the Senate, have chaired committees, including three chairs of standing House committees and seven chairs of standing Senate committees. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House. She holds the highest position in the House of Representatives, and is second in the presidential line of succession. This report identifies the names, committee assignments, dates of service, and (for Representatives) districts of the 260 women who have served in Congress. It will be updated when there are changes in the makeup of Congress.
CRS — Membership of the 111th Congress: A Profile
February 9th, 2010Membership of the 111th Congress: A Profile (PDF; 136 KB) Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists/Secrecy News)
This report presents a profile of the membership of the 111th Congress. Statistical information is included on selected characteristics of Members, including data on party affiliation, average age and length of service, occupation, religious affiliation, gender, ethnicity, foreign births, and military service.
Currently, in the House of Representatives, there are 262 Democrats (including five Delegates and the Resident Commissioner), 178 Republicans, and one vacant seat. The Senate has 57 Democrats; 2 Independents, who caucus with the Democrats; and 41 Republicans.
The average age of Members of both Houses of Congress at the beginning of the 111th Congress was 58.2 years; of Members of the House, 57.2 years; and of Senators, 63.1 years. The overwhelming majority of Members have a college education. The dominant professions of Members are public service/politics, business, and law. Protestants collectively constitute the majority religious affiliation of Members. Roman Catholics account for the largest single religious denomination, and numerous other affiliations are represented.
The average length of service for Representatives at the beginning of the 111th Congress was 11.0 years (5.5 terms); for Senators 12.9 years (2.2 terms).
A record number of 93 women serve in the 111th Congress: 76 in the House, 17 in the Senate. There are 41 African American Members of the House and one in the Senate. This number includes two Delegates. There are 29 Hispanic or Latino Members serving: 28 in the House, including the Resident Commissioner, and one in the Senate. Twelve Members (eight Representatives, two Delegates, and two Senators) are Asian or Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander. The only American Indian (Native American) serves in the House.
Leadership Development in Business Schools: An Agenda For Change
Leadership Development in Business Schools: An Agenda For Change Source: Stanford Graduate School of Business
There is surprisingly little evaluation of business school or, for that matter, company leadership development efforts. What evidence exists suggests that business schools have not been particularly effective, overall, in their leadership development activities. In part this is because leadership development has been used more for fund raising than to guide either the curriculum or affect the faculty evaluation process. If business schools are going to take the mission of leadership development seriously, a number of changes are necessary.
(PDF; 219 KB)
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08 Feb 2010 14:10
Outsourcing May Be Slowing Down Apparel Firms
February 8th, 2010Outsourcing May Be Slowing Down Apparel Firms Source: Stanford Graduate School of Business
Most companies in the fashion industry are firmly entrenched in a business model that involves outsourcing production and distributing products through cheaper, “slow boat” channels. New research at Stanford Graduate School of Business, however, suggests that while this approach seems to make economic sense it may actually create gross inefficiencies that cause firms to miss out on significant profits.
Researchers say fashion firms are best off when they combine highly fashionable, trendy product designs with short production and distribution lead times — in many cases producing goods closer to home. By getting goods into shoppers’ closets when they are in demand, and not producing leftover unneeded inventory that will be dumped onto a sale rack, retailers are more likely to get customers to buy early at full retail price. The profit margin increase under this combined scenario is exponential.
The Value of Fast Fashion: Quick Response, Enhanced Design, and Strategic Consumer Behavior (PDF; 236 KB)
UK: Giving children a healthy start
February 8th, 2010Giving children a healthy start Source: Audit Commission
From the Summary: Children have a right to enjoy the best possible health, but there are significant differences in their experiences. Children under five years living in deprived areas are 8 per cent more likely to be obese; 9 per cent more likely to be of a low birth weight; and 12 per cent more likely to have an accident than those living in the rest of England. Evidence clearly demonstrates that improving early years’ health contributes considerably to better health outcomes in later life, with reduced levels of diabetes, coronary heart disease and hypertension, all of which have a significant impact on the NHS as well as wider society, children and their families.
Children’s health has been an increasing priority for the government over the last ten years. Between 1999 and 2009 the government published over 20 policies relating to the health of under-fives (Figure 1). However, except for Sure Start and more recent policies such as the Healthy Child Programme, policy statements have largely focused on the 0 to 19 years age group or wider population public health, rather than on the under-fives.
Between 1998/99 and 2010/11 we estimate that £10.9 billion (including £7.2 billion for Sure Start, which had dedicated funding for health improvements in the early phase of roll-out) will have been invested in programmes aimed in whole, or in part, at improving the health of the under-fives, but this has not produced widespread improvements in health outcomes (Table 1). Some health indicators have indeed worsened – for example, obesity and dental health – and the health inequalities gap between rich and poor has barely changed.
Direct link to Summary (PDF; 1 MB)
Direct link to Full Report (PDF; 3 MB)
A Dirty Word or a Dirty World? Attribute Framing, Political Affiliation, and Query Theory
February 8th, 2010A Dirty Word or a Dirty World? Attribute Framing, Political Affiliation, and Query Theory Source: Psychological Science (via American Psychological Association)
Would you pay more for certain products to save the planet? That’s the question behind the burgeoning carbon-offset industry — proponents pay more money for carbon-producing activities (such as flying), with the idea that the carbon emissions will be balanced out by funding for alternative energy sources. At the same time, economists and climate scientists agree that a carbon tax would be the most effective means through which the U.S. could lower carbon emissions and pay for alternative energy production. However, politicians are reluctant to propose a carbon tax because taxes tend to be unpopular with constituents, especially with Republican voters. But does word choice, such as offset versus tax, really make a difference? And in addition, does our political affiliation influence how we respond to certain labels?
Columbia University psychological scientists David J. Hardisty, Eric J. Johnson, and Elke U. Weber wanted to see how the way in which a concept is framed (that is, how it is labeled) affects our attitude towards it. In this experiment, volunteers (who self-identified as Democrats, Republicans, or Independents) read about a program that would increase the cost of certain carbon-producing activities but would use the proceeds to fund alternative energies or carbon capture and sequestration. For half the volunteers this surcharge was labeled as a “carbon offset,” while for the other half it was labeled as a “carbon tax,” yet the details of the program were the same in each case. Participants then had to choose between two identical items (e.g., airline tickets), where one cost more, because it included the surcharge. Volunteers were asked to write down their thoughts about the decision, make a choice, and also indicate whether they would support legislation making the surcharge mandatory for all products of that type.
The results, reported in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggest a strong link between our political affiliation and how we react to certain frames. In the “offset” condition, Democratic, Republican, and Independent volunteers tended to select the more expensive, albeit environmentally-friendly, product. They were also equally likely (across party) to support making the cost increase mandatory. However, in the “tax” condition, while Democratic volunteers still opted for the costlier item, Republican and Independent participants were more likely to choose the cheaper item, and did not support legislation.
Army Deployments to OIF and OEF
February 8th, 2010Army Deployments to OIF and OEF Source: RAND Corporation
In light of some publicly voiced misconceptions regarding the Army’s capacity to deploy additional soldiers to Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), RAND Arroyo Center was asked to assess the demands placed upon the Army by these deployments. Analyzing Department of Defense deployment data, Arroyo found that the Army has provided over 1 million troop-years to OIF and OEF, and that most active-duty soldiers now deployed to these operations are on their second or third tour. Those active-duty soldiers who have not yet gone to Iraq or Afghanistan typically fall into one of two categories: new soldiers, needing to complete training before deployment; and experienced soldiers, needed for other missions. The demand for active duty soldiers in OEF and OIF would have exceeded supply under the Army’s normal deployment policies, so the Army and the Department of Defense took several actions to increase supply: it increased the overall size of the active component; it reassigned soldiers from other assignments and missions to the pool of soldiers rotating to OEF and OIF; and it greatly increased the rate at which soldiers rotate to and from the wars. Despite these adaptations, the Army retains very limited unutilized capacity to deploy additional active-duty soldiers beyond the current troop levels in OEF and OIF.
Stronger Efficiency, Renewables Measures Would Benefit Consumers, Industry
February 8th, 2010Stronger Efficiency, Renewables Measures Would Benefit Consumers, Industry Source: Union of Concerned Scientists
If Congress passed climate and energy legislation that strengthened the energy efficiency and renewable energy standards in the version the House of Representatives approved last June, consumer electric and natural gas costs would be $113 billion lower by 2030, and emitters would pay 4 percent less in compliance costs, according to an analysis released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The analysis also found that stronger renewable energy and efficiency policies would avoid the need for nearly 50 new nuclear reactors and diversify the nation’s energy mix more quickly than the current bill would.
Security in Iraq: A Framework for Analyzing Emerging Threats as U.S. Forces Leave
February 8th, 2010Security in Iraq: A Framework for Analyzing Emerging Threats as U.S. Forces Leave Source: RAND Corporation
U.S. withdrawal from Iraq could affect Iraq’s internal security and stability, which could in turn affect U.S. strategic interests and the safety of U.S. troops and civilians in Iraq. U.S. policy-makers need a dynamic analytic framework with which to examine the shifting motivations and capabilities of the actors that affect Iraq’s security. The framework recognizes dangers from extremists, mainstream political actors, and the politicization of the security forces. It asserts that security in Iraq depends on the major political actors using the political process instead of violence to achieve their goals, and professional, apolitical security forces. Extremist violence, while inevitable, cannot by itself threaten the state. To help achieve U.S. goals in Iraq, long-term U.S.-Iraq military cooperation should have three missions: building security force capability, enhancing its professional character, and building confidence between Iraqi state and Kurdish regional forces. Fulfilling these three missions will require well-prepared and well-placed, relatively senior professionals at every level; development of long-term relationships with Iraqi counterparts; and, possibly, a newly agreed mandate. With such efforts, the United States should be able to contribute to continued strengthening of the internal security and stability of Iraq even as it withdraws its forces.
USDA Announces New Framework for Animal Disease Traceability
February 8th, 2010USDA Announces New Framework for Animal Disease Traceability Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack announced today that USDA will develop a new, flexible framework for animal disease traceability in the United States, and undertake several other actions to further strengthen its disease prevention and response capabilities. … The framework, announced today at the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) Mid-Year meeting, provides the basic tenets of an improved animal disease traceability capability in the United States. USDA’s efforts will:
- Only apply to animals moved in interstate commerce;
- Be administered by the States and Tribal Nations to provide more flexibility;
- Encourage the use of lower-cost technology; and
- Be implemented transparently through federal regulations and the full rulemaking process.
IRS Debunks Frivolous Tax Arguments
February 8th, 2010IRS Debunks Frivolous Tax Arguments Source: Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service today released the 2010 version of its discussion and rebuttal of many of the more common frivolous arguments made by individuals and groups that oppose compliance with federal tax laws.
Anyone who contemplates arguing on legal grounds against paying their fair share of taxes should first read the 80-page document, The Truth about Frivolous Tax Arguments.
The document explains many of the common frivolous arguments made in recent years and it describes the legal responses that refute these claims. It will help taxpayers avoid wasting their time and money with frivolous arguments and incurring penalties.
Congress in 2006 increased the amount of the penalty for frivolous tax returns from $500 to $5,000. The increased penalty amount applies when a person submits a tax return or other specified submission, and any portion of the submission is based on a position the IRS identifies as frivolous.
IRS highlighted in the document about 40 new cases adjudicated in 2009. Highlights include cases involving injunctions against preparers and promoters of Form 1099-Original Issue Discount schemes and injunctions against preparers and promoters of false fuel tax credit schemes.
(PDF; 444 KB)
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FEMA Releases Draft National Disaster Recovery Framework
February 8th, 2010FEMA Releases Draft National Disaster Recovery Framework Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the interagency Long Term Disaster Recovery Working Group, today issued a draft of the National Disaster Recovery Framework —focused onengaging state, local and tribal governments, nonprofit partners, the private sector, and the public to enhance the nation’s ability to recovery from disasters.
The report is now available for review by visiting DisasterRecoveryWorkingGroup.gov. The comment period will begin next week when the report is also posted to the Federal Register, and the comment period will run from that time through Feb. 26, 2010. This comment period continues the extensive stakeholder outreach efforts undertaken by the interagency Long Term Disaster Recovery Working Group, established in October 2009 by President Obama and co-chaired by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan.
The National Disaster Recovery Framework provides a model to collectively identify and address challenges that arise during the disaster recovery process—designed to help the broad emergency management community work better together to support individuals, households and communities as they rebuild and restore their ways of life following a disaster.
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07 Feb 2010 18:56
EPA Releases Electric Utility Plans to Improve Safety of Coal Ash Impoundments
February 7th, 2010EPA Releases Electric Utility Plans to Improve Safety of Coal Ash Impoundments Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released action plans developed by 22 electric utility facilities with coal ash impoundments, describing the measures the facilities are taking to make their impoundments safer. The action plans are a response to EPA’s assessment reports on the structural integrity of these impoundments that the agency made public last September. Coal ash was brought prominently to national attention in 2008 when an impoundment holding disposed ash waste generated by the Tennessee Valley Authority broke open, creating a massive spill in Kingston, TN, that covered millions of cubic yards of land and river and is regarded as one of the worst environmental disasters of its kind in history. Shortly afterwards, EPA began overseeing the cleanup, as well as investigating the structural integrity of impoundments where ash waste is stored.
Health Spending Projections Through 2019: The Recession’s Impact Continues
February 7th, 2010Health Spending Projections Through 2019: The Recession’s Impact Continues Source: Health Affairs
The economic recession and rising unemployment—plus changing demographics and baby boomers aging into Medicare—are among the factors expected to influence health spending during 2009–2019. In 2009 the health share of gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to have increased 1.1 percentage points to 17.3 percent—the largest single-year increase since 1960. Average public spending growth rates for hospital, physician and clinical services, and prescription drugs are expected to exceed private spending growth in the first four years of the projections. As a result, public spending is projected to account for more than half of all U.S. health care spending by 2012.
More than 30 Percent of Seniors Are Not Immunized Against Pneumonia in 36 States; New Report Finds Low Adult Vaccination Rates in U.S.
February 7th, 2010More than 30 Percent of Seniors Are Not Immunized Against Pneumonia in 36 States; New Report Finds Low Adult Vaccination Rates in U.S. Source: Trust for America’s Health
A new report, Adult Immunization: Shots to Save Lives, released today by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) found that more than 30 percent of adults ages 65 and older had not been immunized against pneumonia in 36 states as of 2008. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other experts recommend that all seniors should be vaccinated against pneumonia, which is a one-time shot for most individuals, since seniors who get the seasonal flu are at risk for developing pneumonia as a complication.
Nationally, 33.1 percent of seniors had not been immunized against pneumonia, and even in the state with the highest immunization rate – Oregon – more than one quarter (26.8 percent) of seniors were not immunized. Washington, D.C. had the lowest number of seniors immunized, with nearly half (45.6 percent) of seniors not immunized.
Overall, the Adult Immunization report found millions of American adults go without routine and recommended vaccinations each year, which leads to an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 preventable deaths, thousands of preventable illnesses, and $10 billion in preventable health care costs each year. In addition to low rates of pneumonia immunizations, only 2.1 percent of eligible adults have had the tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough vaccine in the previous two years; only 10 percent of eligible adult women have had the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine; and only 36.1 percent of all adults were vaccinated against the seasonal flu in 2008.
Regulating Industry-Funded Science Could Harm Patient Safety, Report Finds
February 7th, 2010Regulating Industry-Funded Science Could Harm Patient Safety, Report Finds Source: Center for Ethical Solutions (via Competitive Enterprise Institute)
Corporate funding of medical research does not lead to irreconcilable conflicts of interest or raise the possibility of harm to patients, according to a new study published today by the Competitive Enterprise Institute. The study, conducted by medical ethics scholars from the non-profit Center for Ethical Solutions, found that often over-looked motives such as scholarly ambition, glory seeking, or a fear of academic failure tend to be more likely motives than monetary interest in most cases of harm to patients. Critics point to a small number of unfortunate and tragic cases in which financial conflicts of interest may have played a role in research-related injuries and deaths, then proceed to condemn the profit motive in biomedical research as a whole. However, the report shows how monetary interests of sponsors tend to align with the broader interests of patients and society as a whole: both are dependent upon research that results in successful medical products which improve human health.
Study Reveals Potential Evolutionary Role for Same-Sex Attraction
February 7th, 2010Study Reveals Potential Evolutionary Role for Same-Sex Attraction Source: Association for Psychological Science
Male homosexuality doesn’t make complete sense from an evolutionary point of view. It appears that the trait is heritable, but because homosexual men are much less likely to produce offspring than heterosexual men, shouldn’t the genes for this trait have been extinguished long ago? What value could this sexual orientation have, that it has persisted for eons even without any discernible reproductive advantage?
One possible explanation is what evolutionary psychologists call the “kin selection hypothesis.” What that means is that homosexuality may convey an indirect benefit by enhancing the survival prospects of close relatives. Specifically, the theory holds that homosexual men might enhance their own genetic prospects by being “helpers in the nest.” By acting altruistically toward nieces and nephews, homosexual men would perpetuate the family genes, including some of their own.
Two evolutionary psychologists, Paul Vasey and Doug VanderLaan of the University of Lethbridge, Canada tested this idea for the past several years on the Pacific island of Samoa. They chose Samoa because males who prefer men as sexual partners are widely recognized and accepted there as a distinct gender category—called fa’afafine—neither man nor woman. The fa’afafine tend to be effeminate, and exclusively attracted to adult men as sexual partners. This clear demarcation makes it easier to identify a sample for study.
Past research has shown that the fa’afafine are much more altruistically inclined toward their nieces and nephews than either Samoan women or heterosexual men. They are willing to babysit a lot, tutor their nieces and nephews in art and music, and help out financially—paying for medical care and education and so forth. In a new study, the scientists set out to unravel the psychology of the fa’afafine, to see if their altruism is targeted specifically at kin rather than kids in general.
Tax Foundation Submits Statement Supporting Business Tax Simplification
February 7th, 2010Tax Foundation Submits Statement Supporting Business Tax Simplification
The Business Activity Tax Simplification Act would establish a clear physical presence standard to apply to online retail transactions and prevent burdening interstate commerce, according to written testimony submitted today by Tax Foundation Tax Counsel Joseph Henchman to the House Judiciary Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee.
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Changing nexus rules is just one way states have attempted to shift the tax burden to non-residents — something they’ve been doing for a long time, according to Henchman. With the growing popularity of online retail sales, questions arise about where the transaction takes place and the proper way to tax it. A physical presence rule provides an easy and logical answer to where the transaction is located, identical to the answer given for brick-and-mortar businesses.Taxation based on economic nexus standards threatens interstate commerce, harms long-term economic growth and undermines the principles of sound tax policy: simplicity, neutrality, transparency, and stability, Henchman notes.
Congressional action to adopt a physical presence standard may be the best vehicle for preventing burdens to interstate commerce, because it can be more comprehensive and accountable than judicial action and can also better address issues of transition, retroactivity, and de minimis exemptions (which would allow a business to conduct limited business activity without establishing nexus and being subject to a tax), according to the statement.
Environmental and Health Groups Face Off Against Household Cleaner Giants in Court
February 7th, 2010Environmental and Health Groups Face Off Against Household Cleaner Giants in Court Source: Earthjustice
Public health and environmental advocates faced off against household cleaning giants Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Church and Dwight and Reckitt-Benckiser in a Manhattan court today in a fight for transparency about the toxic chemicals in cleaning products.
The manufacturing giants are refusing to follow a New York state law requiring them to disclose the chemical ingredients in their products and the health risks they pose. Independent studies show a link between many chemicals commonly found in cleaning products and health effects ranging from nerve damage to hormone disruption. With mounting concern about the potential hazards of chemicals in these products, advocates are defending consumers’ right to know and asking companies to follow the law.
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The first-of-its-kind lawsuit could have national implications and comes as momentum builds nationally and internationally for toxics chemical reform. Today, the United States Senate committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing looking into the current science on public exposures to toxic chemicals. Advocates are awaiting introduction of federal legislation to reform the nation’s badly broken system of regulating toxic chemicals. And internationally, companies are preparing to comply with Europe’s new chemical regulations (known as REACH).Lawsuit (PDF; 81 KB)Brands targeted in the lawsuit (PDF; 43 KB) + Women’s Voices for the Earth report (PDF; 1.2 MB) + Disclosure report filed by Sunshine Makers, Inc. (PDF; 827 KB)
Business and economicsConsumer issuesEnvironmentHealth and healthcare
Haiti + 27 = 28 Countries in Crisis
February 7th, 2010Haiti + 27 = 28 Countries in Crisis Source: UNICEF/United States Fund
As global attention focuses on efforts to provide lifesaving support to the people of Haiti, UNICEF today released its Humanitarian Action Report (HAR) 2010. This annual report spotlights the most severe crises impacting children and women around the world and includes an appeal for additional assistance.
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This year’s report highlights the situation of children and women in 28 countries and territories that have been identified as being in the most desperate need, and seeks $1.2 billion to help them. HAR 2010 emphasizes the increasing importance of partnerships to meet the needs of children and families affected.Children are suffering in many different places, and for a range of reasons. In 2009, large-scale and repeated natural and man-made disasters struck Southeast Asia, while emergencies in the Horn of Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan intensified.
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Hearing — Keeping Foreign Corruption Out of the United States: Four Case Histories
February 7th, 2010Keeping Foreign Corruption Out of the United States: Four Case Histories Source: U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has scheduled a hearing, “Keeping Foreign Corruption Out of the United States: Four Case Histories,” on Thursday, February 4, 2010, at 9:30 a.m., in Room 342 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
The Subcommittee hearing will examine how some politically powerful foreign officials, their relatives, or close associates – referred to in international agreements as “Politically Exposed Persons” or PEPs – have used the services of U.S. professionals and U.S. financial institutions to bring millions of dollars in suspect funds into the United States to advance their interests. Four case histories will illustrate how some PEPs have used U.S. lawyers, realtors, escrow agents, lobbyists, bankers, and others to circumvent U.S. anti-money laundering and anti-corruption safeguards. It will also look at how some U.S. professionals have actively helped PEPs avoid bank scrutiny or facilitated suspect transactions with no questions asked. The hearing will also examine whether U.S. policies and practices to combat foreign corruption and money laundering need strengthening. Witnesses will include government agencies, including the State Department, Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), as well as lawyers, a realtor, and representatives of financial institutions.
+ Staff report (PDF; 2.2 MB)
Archived webcast and witness testimonies also available.
UK — Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology — New Publications
February 7th, 2010Four New Publications from the UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology
+ Counterfeit Medicines (PDF; 198 KB)
Counterfeiting of medicines is increasing, is often linked to other criminal activities and poses risks to public health. It exposes people to medicines of unverified quality, safety and efficacy. This POSTnote considers the extent of the global counterfeit medicine trade, its impact in the UK and the technologies and policy options available to combat it. It also examines the risks and benefits of online pharmacy, one of the main ways in which counterfeits are distributed.
+ Lighting Technology (PDF; 197 KB)
Electric lighting accounts for around one-fifth of electricity consumption, both in the UK and globally. Under recent legislation, the traditional incandescent lamp is being phased out in the UK, saving 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by 2020 (equivalent to the emissions of around 180,000 households today). This POSTnote gives an overview of energy efficient lighting currently available and under development. It examines policy initiatives to drive uptake, as well as relevant health, environmental, public perception and economic issues.
+ Pets, Families and Interagency Working (PDF; 167 KB)
All agencies, professions and individuals who have contact with children have a duty to safeguard them. Government guidance has highlighted the need for agencies to work together and share information to achieve this aim. It has been suggested that organisations that work with animals should be included in the safeguarding agenda on the basis that there may be an association between cruelty to animals and family violence. This POSTnote examines the evidence base for this assumption, and the rationale for cross-reporting between different agencies.
+ Diagnosing Dementia (PDF; 178 KB)
Dementia currently affects 700,000 people in the UK, yet only 1 in 3 cases receives a formal diagnosis from a doctor. Dementia costs the UK economy £17bn a year and is one of the main causes of disability in later life. A key aim of the Department of Health’s 2009 National Dementia Strategy is early diagnosis. This is intended to improve quality of life through increased support, prevention of harm and reduction in care home admissions. This briefing outlines current diagnostic practices, research into newer tools and service provision proposals that aim to increase early diagnosis.
The Transportation Lobby: Main Street Chases Transportation Money
February 7th, 2010The Transportation Lobby: Main Street Chases Transportation Money Source: The Center for Public Integrity
While polls show Americans don’t want to make transportation policy through earmarks, that hasn’t stopped local officials from going after them. As lawmakers grappled with renewal of an expiring multi-year transportation law last September, the number of cities and counties lobbying on transportation had grown by 80 percent since the last time a transport bill was about to expire, in the fall of 2003. And the cities and counties who list transportation as among their priorities spent a total of more than $35 million lobbying Washington through the first three quarters of last year; if even a quarter of that spending was solely devoted to transportation, it totals more than $8 million, a hefty sum for cash-strapped local governments.
Those numbers track with another sobering trend line. The Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington think tank, notes that the last few transportation bills “have been marked by the rapid proliferation of federal transportation programs and by an increasing reliance on congressional earmarks,” adding that “both are symptoms of lack of focus and accountability.”
A harsh judgment, to be sure. But until the local lobby sees a new vision from Washington, the scramble for cash remains the only way to play, insiders say.
Business and economics, , , ,
Representation of Children in Child Abuse and Neglect Proceedings
February 7th, 2010Representation of Children in Child Abuse and Neglect Proceedings Source: Child Welfare Information Gateway
The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) requires States to document in their State plan provisions for appointing a guardian ad litem (GAL) to represent the child’s best interests in every case of abuse or neglect that results in a judicial proceeding. The GAL may be an attorney or a court-appointed special advocate (CASA)—or both—who has received appropriate training.1 The GAL represents the child at all judicial proceedings related to the case and has the responsibility to:
- Obtain firsthand a clear understanding of the situation and needs of the child
- Make recommendations to the court concerning the best interests of the child
At the State level, statutes specify when the court must appoint a representative for a child who is involved in an abuse and neglect proceeding, and whom the court may appoint. As described in the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges’ Resource Guidelines: Improving Court Practice in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases, there are a number of ways that a child’s interests can be represented.
+ (PDF; 605 KB)
Hat tip: John Vogel
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07 Feb 2010 01:16
Florida — Lottery Profits Flat; Increasing Retailer Outlets Is Critical to Increasing Sales
February 6th, 2010Lottery Profits Flat; Increasing Retailer Outlets Is Critical to Increasing Sales Source: Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, Florida Legislature
+ Growth in Lottery transfers to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund has leveled off and current forecasts indicate continued slowing of revenue growth due to the economic recession.
+ The Lottery has taken several steps to maximize its sales and transfers to education, including joining Powerball, adding instant ticket vending machines, and redesigning Lotto. While the Legislature could consider authorizing new games such as video lottery, keno, vending machines for on-line games, and Internet-based games, these options would likely increase associated negative social costs and could conflict with the proposed Indian gaming compact. A more acceptable alternative would be for the Lottery to increase the number of participating retailers, as its market penetration rate is lower than that of other successful state lotteries.
+ The Lottery’s operating expense rate continues to decline, making it among the most efficient U.S. lotteries. It could realize additional efficiencies by continuing to explore ways to reduce costs for leasing office space, providing field support functions, and compensating retailers.
+ Full Report (PDF; 7.3 MB)
See also: Lottery Jackpots, Retailer Density, and Advertising Drive Transfers to Education
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06 Feb 2010 08:07
2009 State Teacher Policy Yearbook
February 6th, 20102009 State Teacher Policy Yearbook Source: National Council on Teacher Quality From press release (Word):
A new, 52-volume report released today by the not-for-profit, non-partisan National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) finds that state teacher policies largely work against the nation’s goal of improving teacher quality. While the national focus on teacher quality has never been greater, the broad range of state laws, rules and regulations that govern the teaching profession remain broken, outdated and inflexible and too often impede rather than promote serious reform.
The report finds that: 1) states’ poor and misdirected oversight contributes to the low quality of many of the nation’s teacher preparation programs; 2) the burdensome requirements of states’ so called alternate routes to certification block talented individuals from entering the profession; 3) the impact of teachers on students’ learning–the single most important job of a teacher–gets almost no consideration in either teachers’ evaluations or decisions about tenure; 4) states are not doing enough to make it possible for districts to move away from anachronistic compensation schemes; and 5) state laws make it too difficult and too costly for districts to remove ineffective teachers.
National Report (PDF: 2.9 KB)Individual state reports (PDFs)
The Educational Crisis Facing Young Men of Color
February 6th, 2010The Educational Crisis Facing Young Men of Color (PDF: 4.8 MB) Source: The College Board
In recent years, it has become common to talk about the “Two Americas,” one characterized by opportunity and wealth, and the other characterized by significant social and economic strife. Indeed, the current economic crisis has exacerbated this national conversation and made the contrasts between the Two Americas even more stark.
Many would argue that the same dichotomy exists in our nation’s system of public education. One is a system that reflects the best that our schools have to offer, with challenging courses and exciting labs, dynamic and well-qualified teachers, strong student engagement, and active parent involvement — always with an eye toward preparing students for college and successful careers. The other system suffers from low student academic achievement, a seeming inability to instill in students a belief in the possibility of their societal success, and few expectations that students will even complete high school, much less enroll in college.
There is, however, a Third America. This is an America that is almost totally ignored by mainstream society. This America is often captured in popular television documentaries and newspaper stories and includes frightening statistics about unemployment, poverty and high rates of incarceration. The citizens of this Third America are primarily men, and mostly men of color. These men now live outside the margins of our economic, social and cultural systems. They are the byproduct of many societal failures — including the failure of our nation’s schools.
STEM Course-taking Among High School Graduates, 1990-2005
February 6th, 2010STEM Course-taking Among High School Graduates, 1990-2005 Source: MPR Associates, Inc.
This MPR Research Brief examines high school students’ coursetaking in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects. As technical and scientific innovation increasingly drives the global economy, educators and experts in technical fields have expressed concern about the academic preparation of U.S. students in STEM fields. Using data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress High School Transcript Study, this brief compares STEM coursetaking among 2005 high school graduates with that of 1990 and 2000 graduates. Graduates from the class of 2005 earned more credits in each of three STEM course categories (advanced mathematics, advanced science and engineering, and STEM-related technical courses) than did their 1990 peers. Gains were found across gender, racial/ethnic groups, and community types.
(PDF; 2.8 MB) + Additional data tables (PDF; 257 KB)
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Lessons From the Battle Over D.A.R.E.
February 6th, 2010Lessons From the Battle Over D.A.R.E. (PDF: 5.3 MB) Source: Bureau of Justice Assistance (DoJ)
Since its inception in Los Angeles in 1983, Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) has become one of the most well-known and widespread crime prevention programs in the country. D.A.R.E.’s model is relatively straightforward. Police officers are trained to lead educational sessions in local schools that are designed to help students resist peer pressure and live drug-free lives. The program’s reach is nothing short of remarkable: D.A.R.E. has been responsible for training hundreds of thousands of police officers and educating millions of children. The program has spread to 43 different countries. In recognition of this, every year for the last 18 years, four consecutive presidents have set aside a day in April as “National D.A.R.E. Day.”
Alongside this impressive track record, however, there exists a counter-narrative. This story is written not by the administrators of D.A.R.E. but by scholars who have studied the program. To date, there have been more than 30 evaluations of the program that have documented negligible long-term impacts on teen drug use. One intensive, six-year study even found that the program increased drug use among suburban teens by a small amount. These less-than-inspiring results have received widespread press coverage, including numerous newspaper articles and a February 21, 1997 segment on the NBC newsmagazine show Dateline.
Despite these setbacks, D.A.R.E. is alive and well, taught in about 75 percent of school districts across the country. Over 15,000 police officers participate as D.A.R.E instructors, providing educational sessions about drugs and drug abuse largely targeted at 5th and 6th graders.
Who May Adopt, Be Adopted, or Place a Child for Adoption?
February 6th, 2010Who May Adopt, Be Adopted, or Place a Child for Adoption?
Source: Child Welfare Information GatewayIn order for an adoption to take place, a person available to be adopted must be placed in the home of a person or persons eligible to adopt. All States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands have laws that specify which persons are eligible as adopting parents and which persons can be adopted. In addition, all States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the territories have laws that designate which persons or entities have the authority to make adoptive placements.
+ Full Document (PDF; 327 KB)
Hat tip: John Vogel
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05 Feb 2010 12:30
Information on Reducing Payroll Taxes to Encourage Employment
February 5th, 2010Information on Reducing Payroll Taxes to Encourage Employment (PDF; 518 KB) Source: Congressional Budget OfficeCBO Director’s blog
Today CBO released a letter to Senator Robert Casey, Jr., in response to questions he asked about policies that could be adopted to increase employment. Specifically, Senator Casey was interested in a policy option to reduce employers’ payroll taxes for firms that increase their payroll, and how different design elements of this type of policy might affect its impact on employment.
In CBO’s January 2010 publication, Policies for Increasing Economic Growth and Employment in 2010 and 2011, the agency analyzed the effects on employment of several policy options, including giving employers a one-year, nonrefundable credit against their payroll tax liability for increasing their payrolls in 2010 from their 2009 levels. (To finance Social Security, employers and employees each pay 6.2 percent of an employee’s annual earnings up to a maximum.) Such a tax cut would lead to increased employment through a number of channels. For example, some firms would hire more people because hiring would be less expensive; others would lower prices to increase sales, thus spurring production and increasing the demand for labor; still others would increase compensation for employees, which would encourage more spending.
February 5th, 2010New GAO Reports5 February 2010Troubled Asset Relief Program: Treasury Needs to Strengthen Its Decision-Making Process on the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan FacilityHighway Research: The Second Strategic Highway Research Program Addresses Four Required Areas, but Some Anticipated Research Was Not Funded
EAC Releases Report on State Spending of Federal Funds in 2008 to Improve Election Administration
February 5th, 2010EAC Releases Report on State Spending of Federal Funds in 2008 to Improve Election Administration Source: U.S. Election Assistance Commission
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) released its annual report on state spending of nearly $3.2 billion in federal funds appropriated to improve the administration of elections. The 2008 Annual Report on Grant Programs…includes detailed tables on the amount each state received, spent and earned in interest through 2008.
The funds were authorized by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), which established EAC and charged it with disbursing monies appropriated under the act. States and U.S. territories spent 76 percent of the $2.96 billion (70 percent when accrued interest of $279 million is included) they have received as of September 30, 2008. Following is an approximation of how states spent the funds:
- $1.6 billion on voting systems,
- $355 million on voter registration systems,
- $155.3 million on election administration improvements,
- $77.1 million on educating voters and recruiting and training election workers,
- $34.2 million on uncategorized election administration activities,
- $29.8 million on improving polling places, and
- $3.7 million on provisional voting.
Review of NOAA Fisheries Enforcement Programs and Operations: OIG-19887
February 5th, 2010Review of NOAA Fisheries Enforcement Programs and Operations: OIG-19887 (PDF: 702 KB) Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Inspector General
In short, we found systemic, nationwide issues adversely affecting NOAA’s ability to effectively carry out its mission of regulating the fishing industry. These issues have contributed significantly to a highly-charged regulatory climate and dysfunctional relationship between NOAA and the fishing industry—particularly in the Northeast Region. If not addressed by NOAA’s senior leadership, these issues have the potential to further strain the tenuous relationship that exists in the Northeast Region, and to become problematic in NOAA’s other regions. We note that the NMFS Assistant Administrator position is presently occupied by an acting official, and that the new NOAA General Counsel appointee was just announced. These key leadership positions are critical to NOAA’s ability to effectively oversee its enforcement program.
FEMA Associate Administrator Bill Carwile Highlights Role Of Urban Search And Rescue Task Forces In Congressional Hearing On Emergency Management
February 5th, 2010FEMA Associate Administrator Bill Carwile Highlights Role Of Urban Search And Rescue Task Forces In Congressional Hearing On Emergency Management Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Associate Administrator for Response and Recovery Bill Carwile highlighted the role of Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) task forces as part of the nation’s emergency management team during testimony today before the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management. Carwile thanked the teams for their efforts responding to domestic disasters as well as their recent deployment by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to support efforts in Haiti.
“The nation’s 28 Urban Search and Rescue task forces are important members of the emergency management team and are critical to our ability to respond to catastrophic events,” said Carwile. “These task forces are an example of the effective federal, state and local partnerships needed to help keep our citizens safe.”
USAR task forces played a vital role in the international response to the recent earthquake in Haiti. Under the direction of USAID, six FEMA-trained task forces were deployed to Haiti, joining an international effort that has rescued at least 135 individuals to date.
Includes Haiti video
NIST Issues Expanded Draft of Smart Grid Cyber Security Strategy For Public Review and Comment
February 5th, 2010NIST Issues Expanded Draft of Smart Grid Cyber Security Strategy For Public Review and Comment Source: National Institute of Standards and Technology
The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) issued today the second draft of its Smart Grid Cyber Security Strategy and Requirements, which now identifies more than 120 interfaces that will link diverse devices, systems and organizations engaged in two-way flows of electricity and information and classifies these connections according to the level of damage that could result from a security breach.
Prepared by the NIST-led Cyber Security Working Group, which has more than 350 members, the new draft report expands upon an earlier preliminary version, which was released by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke last September and underwent 60 days of public review. It incorporates responses to the more than 350 individual comments received.
The updated draft also includes new or more detailed technical inputs stemming from the working group’s continuing assessment of what will be required to ensure the security and reliability of the entire modernized power system and to protect the integrity and confidentiality of information exchanged during energy-related transactions on the Smart Grid.
The 300-page second draft of the Smart Grid cyber security document also will undergo public review, ending on April 2, 2010. After reviewing the comments received and completing ongoing analyses of requirements and relevant standards, the working group will finalize the Smart Grid cyber security strategy. NIST expects to issue a completed report by early summer.
Compared with the initial version, the draft cyber security report issued today contains significantly expanded sections on privacy, vulnerability categories, analyses of the potential security issues, and the overall approach to achieving Smart Grid cyber security.
The new draft classifies Smart Grid interfaces according to the level of impact—or scale and scope of damage—that could result from a compromise in security. Security requirements are established for multiple logical interface categories of the Smart Grid. In all, the new draft identifies more than 120 interfaces that pertain to high-priority Smart Grid applications, including electric transportation, electric storage, advanced metering infrastructure, distribution grid management, energy management in homes and businesses, and grid management.
Beyond the USDA: How other government agencies can support a healthier, more sustainable food system
February 5th, 2010Beyond the USDA: How other government agencies can support a healthier, more sustainable food system (PDF; 280 KB) Source: Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy From (PDF; 54 KB):
While the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is considered the most influential federal agency when it comes to our food system, many other government agencies combine to deeply affect what, and how, food is raised and consumed in the U.S., finds a new paper published by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP).
“Beyond the USDA: How other government agencies can support a healthier, more sustainable food system,” by Maggie Gosselin, reports on federal agencies and their role in administering programs, grants and regulatory oversight that affect food. This agency-by-agency review covers food safety regulations, community economic and housing development, health education, food procurement, labor standards, trade negotiations and transportation infrastructure.
Discriminatory Taxes on Online Travel Services Impede Interstate Commerce
February 5th, 2010Discriminatory Taxes on Online Travel Services Impede Interstate Commerce Source: Tax Foundation
Local governments’ efforts to collect discriminatory taxes from online travel services amount to a revenue grab from out-of-staters and ultimately harm interstate commerce, according to a new Tax Foundation report.
City officials in 22 states have, with limited success, sought to reinterpret hotel occupancy taxes to apply to amounts paid by consumers for online travel booking services (such as Expedia, Orbitz and Priceline).
“Hotel taxes are attractive to local politicians because they are a way to shift the tax burden to ‘outsiders,’” said Joseph Henchman, the Tax Foundation’s Tax Counsel and Director of State Projects, who authored the report. “But because every U.S. city has a hotel tax, we’re all somebody else’s ‘outsider.’ And that means everyone is paying high hotel taxes everywhere.”
Millennials’ Lukewarm Support For Health Care Bills
February 5th, 2010Millennials’ Lukewarm Support For Health Care Bills Source: Pew Research Center
Millennials may stand to gain more from an expansion of government health insurance than people in any other age group. Fully a third (33%) of those younger than age 30 say they are not covered by health insurance; that compares with 19% of those in Generation X, and smaller percentages of Baby Boomers (12%) and those in the Silent Generation (3%).
Yet Millennials’ support for the health care proposals before Congress has been lukewarm at best. Millennials do favor many of the individual components in these proposals — for example, 65% favor the so-called “public option.” But small percentages of young people expect their own health care or insurance coverage to improve if health care legislation passes. And as is typically the case with major policy issues, Millennials have largely tuned out of the health care debate: They are far less likely than those in older age groups to report they have heard a lot about the issue.
USFA Releases Hotel and Motel Fires Topical Report
February 5th, 2010USFA Releases Hotel and Motel Fires Topical Report
The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has issued a special report, part of its Topical Fire Report Series, examining the causes and characteristics of fires in hotels and motels. An estimated average of 3,900 fires occur each year in hotels and motels, which are a subset of residential buildings. Annually, these fires are also responsible for 15 deaths, 150 civilian injuries, and $76 million in property loss. The report, Hotel and Motel Fires, was developed by the National Fire Data Center, part of FEMA’s U.S. Fire Administration (USFA). The report is based on 2005 to 2007 data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS).
Hotel and motel fires occur mainly in the evening hours, peaking from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Seventeen percent of the fires occur during this time. The number of hotel and motel fires is higher during the winter months when heating fires are more prevalent.
Cooking, electrical malfunctions, and heating are the leading causes of hotel and motel fires. Forty-six percent of hotel and motel fires are caused by cooking with electrical malfunctions and heating each causing an additional 7 percent of fires. Ninety-seven percent of the cooking fires are confined cooking fires, those confined to the container and resulting in limited damage.
Seventy-three percent of hotel and motel fires are confined to the object of origin and an additional 18 percent are confined to the room of fire origin. The remaining 9 percent of fires extend beyond the room of origin.
Full Report (PDF; 932 KB)
National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-4), 2004-2009
February 5th, 2010National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-4), 2004-2009 Source: Administration for Children and Families (HHS) From e-mail:
In collaboration with the Children’s Bureau, the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation is conducting the Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-4). The National Incidence Studies have been conducted approximately once each decade, beginning in 1974, in response to requirements of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. Although the Children’s Bureau collects annual state-level administrative data on official reports of child maltreatment, the NIS studies are designed to estimate more broadly the incidence of child maltreatment in the United States by including both cases that are reported to the authorities as well as those that are not. A unique contribution of the NIS has been the use of a common definitional framework for classifying children according to types of maltreatment as well as the severity of maltreatment. Key demographic characteristics of maltreated children and their families are also collected, which enables us to provide information about which children are most at risk. Data collection for the NIS-4 took place in 2005 and 2006. The study is being conducted through a contract to Westat.
Full Report (PDF: 4.1 MB)
Hat tip: John Vogel, Child Welfare Information Gateway
Ballistic Missile Defense Review
February 5th, 2010Ballistic Missile Defense Review
The Ballistic Missile Defense Review (BMDR) is a review conducted pursuant to guidance from the President and the Secretary of Defense, while also addressing the legislative requirement to assess U.S. ballistic missile defense policy and strategy. The BMDR will evaluate the threats posed by ballistic missiles and develop a missile defense posture to address current and future challenges.
Full Report (PDF; 2 MB)
The Union Advantage Across the States
February 5th, 2010The Union Advantage Across the States Source: Center for Economic and Policy Research
A new report released today by the Center for Economic and Policy Research examines unionization rates, the size and composition of the unionized workforce and the wages and benefits for union workers in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. … The study, “The Unions of the States,” finds that in the typical state, unionization is associated with a 15 percent increase in hourly wages. Unionization is also associated with a 19-percentage-point increase in the likelihood of having employer-provided health insurance and a 24-percentage-point increase in the likelihood of having employer-sponsored retirement plans.
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Data and Trends Update 2010
February 4th, 2010Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Data and Trends Update 2010 Source: Population Reference Bureau
An estimated 100 million to 140 million girls and women worldwide have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and more than 3 million girls are at risk for cutting each year on the African continent alone.
FGM/C is generally performed on girls between ages 4 and 12, although it is practiced in some cultures as early as a few days after birth or as late as just prior to marriage. Typically, traditional excisors have carried out the procedure, but recently a discouraging trend has emerged in some countries where medical professionals are increasingly performing the procedure.
FGM/C poses serious physical and mental health risks for women and young girls, especially for women who have undergone extreme forms of the procedure. According to a 2006 World Health Organization study, FGM/C can be linked to increased complications in childbirth and even maternal deaths. Other side effects include severe pain, hemorrhage, tetanus, infection, infertility, cysts and abscesses, urinary incontinence, and psychological and sexual problems.
FGM/C is practiced in at least 28 countries in Africa and a few others in Asia and the Middle East. It is practiced at all educational levels and in all social classes and occurs among many religious groups (Muslims, Christians, and animists), although no religion mandates it. Data for 27 African countries are displayed in PRB’s new wall chart Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Data and Trends—Update 2010. The prevalence of FGM/C varies significantly from country to country, from nearly 98 percent in Somalia to less than 1 percent in Uganda. There is also wide variation by geographic region and rural or urban residence within many countries. In most countries, including Ethiopia, Liberia, and Kenya, the practice of FGM/C is more common in rural areas. But the reverse is true in some countries, including Nigeria.
February 4th, 2010New GAO Testimony Source: Government Accountability OffficeBiomonitoring: EPA Could Make Better Use of Biomonitoring Data, by John Stephenson, director, natural resources and environment, before the Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health, Senate Committee on Environment and Public WorksFull Testimony
Guiding Developmental Math Students to Campus Services
February 4th, 2010Guiding Developmental Math Students to Campus Services Source: MRDC
This report presents results from a rigorous evaluation of the Beacon Mentoring program, designed and implemented by South Texas College, in McAllen, Texas. As part of their participation in the Achieving the Dream initiative, college leaders developed an innovative intervention targeting students enrolled in lower-level math courses that have high rates of failure. The program was based on three simple ideas: that students who need services often do not access them even when they are available and free; that a mechanism is needed to alert student services staff when students start to fail in class; and that students need a “go to” person on campus who knows them and to whom they can turn for advice, support, and information.
The Beacon Mentoring program was a “light touch” intervention, designed to serve large numbers of students at minimal cost. Mentors were college employees who were recruited and trained to make several short classroom presentations about services available on campus and to work with the faculty to identify struggling students and offer them help early on. During spring 2008, the Beacon program targeted over 2,000 students enrolled in 83 sections of either a developmental (remedial) math course or a college-level algebra course. Mentors were randomly assigned to half of the sections. The impact of the program was assessed by comparing the outcomes of students in the mentored classes with the outcomes of students in the classes that were not assigned a mentor.
The program had no effect on passing the math class or on persistence. However, evidence suggests that the program had a modest and positive impact on other outcomes for the full sample of students and resulted in additional or more pronounced benefits for two subgroups of students most at risk of failure: students enrolled in developmental math and students who attended college part time.
Executive Summary (PDF; 527 KB)Full Report (PDF; 993 KB)
Mixed Views of Hamas and Hezbollah in Largely Muslim Nations
February 4th, 2010Mixed Views of Hamas and Hezbollah in Largely Muslim Nations Source: Pew Global Attitudes Project
Across predominantly Muslim nations, there is little enthusiasm for the extremist Islamic organizations Hamas and Hezbollah, although there are pockets of support for both groups, especially in the Middle East.
Four years after its victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections, Hamas receives relatively positive ratings in Jordan (56% favorable) and Egypt (52%). However, Palestinians are more likely to give the group a negative (52%) than a positive (44%) rating. And reservations about Hamas are particularly common in the portion of the Palestinian territories it controls — just 37% in Gaza express a favorable opinion, compared with 47% in the West Bank.
NAEP High School Transcript Study
February 4th, 2010NAEP High School Transcript Study Source: National Center for Education Statistics
Through the NAEP High School Transcript Study (HSTS), the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), periodically surveys the curricula being followed in our nation’s high schools and the coursetaking patterns of high school students through a collection of transcripts. It was first conducted by NCES in 1982, capturing baseline information on high school students’ coursetaking patterns at a time when major curriculum changes were being implemented. Conducted in conjunction with the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), HSTS also offers information on the relationship of student coursetaking patterns to achievement at grade 12 as measured by NAEP. With the most recently reported 2005 study, HSTS provides over a decade of valuable findings to the education community.
The 2005 transcript study was conducted from late spring through the fall in 2005 after the administration of NAEP. Transcripts were collected for twelfth-grade students who graduated high school by the end of the collection period. Most students also participated in the NAEP assessments earlier that same year.
‘Warm’ or ‘Competent’? What Happens When Consumers Stereotype Nonprofit and For-profit Firms
February 4th, 2010‘Warm’ or ‘Competent’? What Happens When Consumers Stereotype Nonprofit and For-profit Firms Source: Knowledge@Wharton
In 2002, a promising new nonprofit that wanted to link school teachers in search of basic classroom supplies with willing donors nearly collapsed because of potential backers’ concerns that despite having a worthwhile goal, the organization itself would not be able to execute its mission competently.
What a difference a few years can make. Donorschoose.org is thriving today. But the nonprofit’s near-death experience was one of the reasons that compelled a team of academic researchers to explore how and why consumers, investors and other stakeholders pigeonhole a company using stereotypes, often to its detriment. The study — the first of its kind ever undertaken — reveals that consumers frequently assign stereotypical views to nonprofits, such as Donorschoose.org, that brand them as warm, generous and caring organizations, but lacking the competence to produce high-quality goods or services and run financially sound businesses. In contrast, for-profit companies are seen as more competent from a balance sheet perspective, but are not necessarily socially aware.
(PDF; 485 KB)
Report to the Secretary of the Treasury from the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association
February 4th, 2010Report to the Secretary of the Treasury from the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury
Since the Committee met in early November incoming data have confirmed a significant acceleration in the pace of economic activity. A recovery initially sparked by aggressive policy stimulus is broadening as the private sector shifts away from retrenchment. This transition is likely to be completed this quarter with resumption in hiring. The prospects for sustaining above-trend growth are good, but the unemployment rate will likely stand above 9% at the end of the year.
With a spike in 4Q09, real GDP grew at a 4% annualized pace during the first two quarters of the recovery. Over one-half of this gain reflects the end of an aggressive liquidation of inventories. However, an upturn in final demand has also been established. Contributing to the 1.9% annualized increase in final sales during 2H09 were consecutive quarterly gains in equipment spending, exports and personal consumption. The manufacturing sector was a major beneficiary of this turn in demand, producing 7.4% annualized growth – its strongest two quarter gain in almost ten years. A spike in the ISM survey to 58.4 in January bolsters confidence that the manufacturing sector will continue to expand at a rapid pace.
Although the “cash for clunkers” incentive scheme created considerable volatility, consumer spending grew at a 2.5% pace through the second half of last year. Against the backdrop of continued job losses and rising gasoline prices, this outcome marked a shift in behavior as the saving rate ended a sharp upward adjustment. Most growth forecasts anticipate rising saving this year that holds spending gains close to its recent pace, even as labor income gains accelerate.
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02 Feb 2010 16:31
Lists & Rankings — Top Ten Jury Verdicts of 2009
February 2nd, 2010Top Ten Jury Verdicts of 2009 Source: Lawyers USA
After years of decline, the Top Ten Jury Verdicts rose dramatically in 2008.
The increase in 2009 was less pronounced, but the average increased again, from $112 million to nearly $145 million.
The top award was slightly lower in 2009 – $370 million versus $388 million. But two other awards in the $300 million range, along with five verdicts of $70 million or more, helped push the average appreciably higher than last year.
The year’s top verdict went to five former employees of Guess Jeans mogul Georges Marciano, who claimed that Marciano falsely accused them of stealing from him and used his wealth and connections to dog them with investigations, tax audits and accusations in newspaper ads and on Internet sites. And seven of the Top Ten Verdicts stemmed from personal injury cases, includes two drunk driving accidents, one $300 million tobacco verdict, and one verdict in the ongoing Prempro litigation against Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.
Lawyers USA compiles the Top Ten Jury Verdicts each year, applying certain ground rules. First, verdicts must be to an individual plaintiff, defined as a single person, family or small group of individuals injured in a single incident who had their claims tried in one case before the same jury.
Second, we do not include business-against-business suits, class actions or consolidated cases. Finally, cases must have been defended – default verdicts and suits against incarcerated individuals are not included.
Briefing on the 2011 Budget by OMB Director Peter Orszag and Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers Christina Romer
February 2nd, 2010Briefing on the 2001 Budget by OMB Director Peter Orszag and Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers Christina Romer Source: White House Press Office
That fiscal year 2011 budget focuses on three things: job creation, middle class security, and putting the nation back on a path to fiscal sustainability. Before turning to the details of the budget let me just give a little bit of context and background.
We just came through a year in which a second Great Depression was averted. At the end of 2008, real GDP was declining by more than 5 percent on an annualized basis. At the end of 2009, it was increasing by more than 5 percent on an annualized basis. Although real GDP in the economy is now expanding, the employment market remains too weak. The unemployment rate is 10 percent and there are now 7 million fewer jobs than in December 2007.
That’s why this budget includes important investments to spur job creation now, including the jobs and wages tax credit that the President spoke about last week, and including key investments in the drivers of longer-term economic growth — education, innovation, and moving toward a clean energy future.
New From the GAO
February 2nd, 2010New GAO Report (PDFs) Source: Government Accountability Office 1. Littoral Combat Ship: Actions Needed to Improve Operating Cost Estimates and Mitigate Risks in Implementing New ConceptsHighlights |||
U.S. Less Free than Lithuania, Hungary and Malta in InternationalLiving.com’s 2010 Quality of Life Index
February 2nd, 2010U.S. Less Free than Lithuania, Hungary and Malta in InternationalLiving.com’s 2010 Quality of Life Index Source: InternationalLiving.com
According to the 2010 Quality of Living Index published by InternationalLiving.com the U.S. is less free than Lithuania, Hungary, Malta and 42 other countries.
Out of a possible 100 points, the U.S. gets a score of 92, behind countries like Slovenia, Puerto Rico, Micronesia, and Estonia.
How is it possible that the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave ranks lower than Chile and Panama in the category of Freedom?
“You can blame much of it on the Patriot Act,” says Dan Prescher, Special Projects Editor at International Living. “Freedom is a hard thing to measure, so perception figures heavily into the Freedom ranking of the Index. And since the passage of the Patriot Act, many Americans have the feeling that their basic rights and freedoms, especially the right to privacy and the freedom from unwarranted searches and seizures, have been drastically reduced.”
Prescher says that, although the specific provisions of the Patriot Act are unclear to most Americans, there is a sense that the Act gives the government wide powers to limit personal freedoms in the name of fighting terror.
2010 Quality of Life Index: 194 Countries Ranked and Rated to Reveal the Best Places to Live
Improving School Leadership: The Promise of Cohesive Leadership Systems
February 2nd, 2010Improving School Leadership: The Promise of Cohesive Leadership Systems Source: RAND Corporation
Improving the nation’s public schools is one of the highest priorities of federal, state, and local government in America. Recent research has shown that the quality of the principal is, among school-based factors, second only to the quality of the teacher in contributing to what students learn in the classroom. New programs to develop school leaders who can exercise vigilance over instruction and support effective teaching practices are not likely to succeed, however, if they are inconsistent with other state and district policies affecting school leadership. The Wallace Foundation, which focuses its grantmaking in education primarily on school leadership, has posited that well-coordinated policies and initiatives to develop leadership standards, provide high-quality training, and improve the conditions that affect principals’ work will increase their ability to improve instruction in their schools. This study documents the actions taken by the Foundation’s grantees to create a more cohesive set of policies and initiatives to improve instructional leadership in schools; describes how states and districts have worked together to forge such policies and initiatives around school leadership; and examines the hypothesis that more-cohesive systems do in fact improve school leadership. The study found that it is possible to build more-cohesive leadership systems and that such efforts appear to be a promising approach to developing school leaders engaged in improving instruction. Although the study did not find evidence that the full underlying theory behind this initiative is sound, it did find a correlation between improved conditions for principals and their engagement in instructional practices.
UK: Language Trends 2009
February 2nd, 2010Language Trends 2009 Source: CILT (National Centre for Languages,UK)
The survey was carried out from September to December 2009 by CILT, the National Centre for Languages with support from the Association for Language Learning and the Independent Schools’ Modern Language Association.
It is based on responses to a questionnaire sent to a representative sample of 2,000 secondary schools in England (1,500 maintained schools and 500 independent schools).
The survey has been carried out annually since 2002 to track developments in language provision and take-up in secondary schools.Key findings:
- There is little sign yet of a recovery in take up for languages in Key Stage 4: it is still too early for the many initiatives taken to reverse the trend to have had an impact on the figures nationally.
- The benchmark of 50%-90% of pupils expected to continue with a language, set in 2006, is often being abandoned as unrealistic in a context of ever-widening choices for students post 14. Performance table pressures and narrowly defined whole school objectives emerge as key factors which obstruct greater take up.
- Schools are involved in a wide range of national and local initiatives to motivate students and improve take up, which are seen as valuable and effective in improving attitudes towards languages. However their effectiveness in raising participation is limited by a) the ever-widening choice of subjects available; b) pressure on schools and pupils to achieve higher grades; c) narrowly focussed advice from parents, form tutors and others.
- Reductions in lesson time and in the length of Key Stage 3 are both reported as having a negative effect on take up of languages in Key Stage 4. Good teaching in Key Stage 3 seen as essential for healthy uptake in Key Stage 4.
- There has been significant growth in the number of schools offering alternative accreditation to GCSE – 47% up from 22% in 2006. This is in line with the recommendations of the Dearing Languages Review that schools should offer a wider range of courses and accreditation in languages to broaden the offer for pupils.
- 40% of schools organise exchanges but many say that these are becoming more difficult to arrange because of a range of factors including the economic climate, parental and headteacher concerns over safety, and uncertainty over new safeguarding and vetting procedures.
- Training received by languages teachers is overwhelmingly for ‘operational’ reasons relating to new specifications or exams rather than courses designed to deepen professional expertise and improve the quality of teaching.
- The role of senior leadership within the school is crucial: schools policies are the biggest determinant of increased take up and can create the conditions for a ‘virtuous circle’ for languages.
- Spanish and lesser-taught languages, particularly Mandarin, continue to grow, though less steeply than before.
- Independent schools have a richer languages offer as well as much higher levels of participation in language learning.
Final report (pdf, 548kb)Full statistical report (pdf, 539kb)Press release (pdf, 104kb)
UK: Cutting crime: the case for justice reinvestment
February 2nd, 2010Cutting crime: the case for justice reinvestment Source: House of Commons Justice Committee From the Summary:
The criminal justice system is facing a crisis of sustainability. Public expenditure generally is under pressure in all areas in the worst economic climate since the Second World War. The Ministry of Justice is no exception, being tasked with finding £1.3 billion worth of cost savings over the next three years. New and existing resources are being pre-empted by planned spending to accommodate a potential prison population of 96,000 by 2014 at enormous capital and running costs. This forecast represents an incarceration rate of 169.1 per 100,000 people in England and Wales, the highest proportion in Western Europe.1 Household crime, such as car theft and burglaries, and violent crime, as experienced by victims, has fallen by 46 per cent., and 43 per cent., respectively since 1995 while the prison population has more than doubled since 1992.
Our evidence suggests that prison is a relatively ineffective way of reducing crime for other than serious offenders who need to be physically contained for the protection of the public. For others, prison is a very expensive way of dispensing justice and seeking reform. It seems to have deterrent effect for only some sorts of crime and some potential criminals. We are concerned that an unthinking acceptance has evolved of punishment—for its own sake—as the paramount purpose of sentencing, and as the only way of registering the seriousness with which society regards a crime. Members of the public, when asked to determine the appropriate sentence for a particular type of offence, are generally quite close to the sentence given by the courts. Furthermore, when the public are consulted on the best means of reducing crime in their local area, they are less inclined to see the criminal justice system as the answer. We believe that if reform, rehabilitation and reparation to victims were given higher priority, then sentencing and penal policy overall could make a much more significant contribution to reducing re-offending and making communities safer. We see risks that the direction of current policy will increase pressure on the prison estate, negating the valuable work on offender reform that does take place in prison, particularly for those in custody for over two years. It seems equally clear that, as matters stand, the probation service will also be overwhelmed by demand for resettlement services in relation to those coming out of prison, let alone the effective management of offenders in the community.
Ethnic differences in transition to first marriage in Iran: The role of marriage market, women’s socio-economic status, and the process of development
February 2nd, 2010Ethnic differences in transition to first marriage in Iran: The role of marriage market, women’s socio-economic status, and the process of development Source: Demographic Research
This paper, using data from 2000 the Iran Demographic and Health Survey and a range of time-varying district-level contextual information derived from 1986 and 1996 censuses of Iran, applies a discrete time hazard model to study ethnic differences in women’s transition to first marriage. The model specification accounts for both spatial and temporal changes in the socio-economic context of transition to marriage. We found ethnic-specific responses on women’s marriage timing to changes in the socio-economic context between the mid 1970s and 2000. Some ethnic groups appear to be more resistant to change despite sharing similar changes in their socio-economic context.
(PDF; 640 KB)
New Century, Old Disparities: Gender and Ethnic Wage Gaps in Latin America
February 2nd, 2010New Century, Old Disparities: Gender and Ethnic Wage Gaps in Latin America (PDF; 678 KB) Source: Inter-American Development Bank Working Papers This paper surveys gender and ethnic wage gaps in 18 Latin American countries, decomposing differences using matching comparisons as a non-parametric alternative to the Blinder-Oaxaca (BO) decomposition. It is found that men earn 9-27 percent more than women, with high cross-country heterogeneity. The unexplained pay gap is higher among older, informal and self-employed workers and those in small firms. Ethnic wage differences are greater than gender differences, and educational attainment differentials play an important role in explaining the gap. Higher ethnic wage gaps are found among males, single income generators of households and full-time workers, and in rural areas. An important share of the ethnic wage gap is due to the scarcity of minorities in high paid positions.
Hat tip: IWS Documented News Service
Best of HBS Working Knowledge 2009
February 2nd, 2010Best of HBS Working Knowledge 2009 Source: Harvard Business School
What were the management trends in 2009? Fascination with social networking and rethinking common wisdom about goal setting. Here are the Top 10 articles and Top 5 working papers that appeared in HBS Working Knowledge in 2009. Enjoy!
+ Top 10 articles (with links to full text)
- Understanding Users of Social Networks
- Social Network Marketing: What Works?
- Uncompromising Leadership in Tough Times
- Sharpening Your Skills: Managing Teams
- When Goal Setting Goes Bad
- Sharpening Your Skills: Career & Life Balance
- 10 Reasons to Design a Better Corporate Culture
- Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side Effects of Over-Prescribing Goal Setting (Working Paper)
- High Commitment, High Performance Management
- Can Entrepreneurs Drive ‘People Movers’ to Success?
+ Top 5 working papers (with links to full text)
- Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side Effects of Over-Prescribing Goal Setting
- Do Friends Influence Purchases in a Social Network?
- ‘I read Playboy for the articles’: Justifying and Rationalizing Questionable Preferences
- Corporate Social Entrepreneurship
- The Devil Wears Prada? Effects of Exposure to Luxury Goods on Cognition and Decision Making
Assess, Don’t Assume, Part I: Etiquette and National Culture in Negotiation
February 2nd, 2010Assess, Don’t Assume, Part I: Etiquette and National Culture in Negotiation (PDF; 812 KB) Source: Harvard Business School Working Papers
When facing a cross-border negotiation, the standard preparatory assessments—of the parties, their interests, their no-deal options, opportunities for and barriers to creating and claiming value, the most promising sequence and process design, etc.— should be informed and modified by two classes of potentially relevant cross-border factors, the general and the negotiation-specific. Drawing on considerable literature in cross-border and cross-cultural negotiation, this paper develops the first two levels of a four-level prescriptive framework for effectively carrying out such assessments:
- Common expectations for surface behavior: etiquette, protocol, and deportment. A surface-level assessment informs one about local expectations concerning greetings, business cards, gift giving, dress, punctuality, body language, table manners, and so forth.
- Deeper cultural characteristics and their implications for the negotiation process itself. Below the surface are characteristics such as whether a culture is focused on the individual or the collective, the nature and importance of relationships, how personal space and the role of time are viewed, the extent to which authority and hierarchy are accepted, how ambiguity and risk are regarded, and so on. Extending this assessment to expectations that are more specific to the negotiation process itself yields several questions: Is there a view that negotiation is a collaborative process aimed at mutual advantage or a competitive battle? Should one focus on specific issues early on or is there a lengthy process of relationship building first? Is the process formal or informal? Is communication direct or indirect? Are agreements constructed from general principles “down” or from specific provisions “up”? And so on.
- The bulk of this essay develops these two points but with some strong caveats against stereotyping, overemphasizing national culture, falling prey to potent psychological biases in cross-cultural perception, as well as potentially adapting “past” one’s counterpart. [A close companion paper-"Assess, Don't Assume, Part II: Decision Making, Governance, and Political Economy in Negotiation"—elaborates the importance to effective negotiating strategy and tactics of incorporating two less well-studied factors beyond etiquette and deeper cultural characteristics: 3) systematic cross-border differences in decision making, governance, and 4) the broader economic and political context for negotiation as well as salient "comparable" deals.]
Focus on Fire Safety: Older Adults and Preparedness for Fire
February 2nd, 2010Focus on Fire Safety: Older Adults and Preparedness for Fire Source: U.S. Fire Administration
Adults age 65 and older are at a higher risk of death from fire than any other age group. According to the USFA report Fire in the United States Fifteenth Edition, older adults account for approximately 32 percent of all fire deaths. Fire prevention and planning are key elements in reducing the risk of deaths and injuries from fire. In the event of a fire, remember that every second counts, so you and your family must always be prepared.
Escape plans help you get out of your home quickly. In less than 30 seconds, a small flame can get completely out of control and turn into a major fire. It only takes minutes for a house to fill with thick black smoke and become engulfed in flames. Developing and practicing a fire escape plan and installing and maintaining smoke alarms are ways in which you can prepare for the possibility of a fire occurring in your home. Being prepared in the event a fire occurs may increase your chances of survival.
BTS Releases Reports on Ocean Passenger Vessels
February 2nd, 2010BTS Releases Reports on Ocean Passenger Vessels Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics today released two special reports on the ocean passenger vessel industry. U.S. Ocean Passenger Terminals: serving larger vessels closer to home and central transit connections provides an overview of the trend since 2004 to larger vessels and terminals located closer to population centers and transit connections. Ocean Passenger Vessels: migrating south for the winter examines the seasonal pattern of cruise departures from northern ports in the summer and southern ports in the winter. The report on terminals can be found at http://www.bts.gov/publications/bts_special_report/2010_01_19/ and the vessel report can be found at http://www.bts.gov/publications/bts_special_report/2010_01_20/. For the latest maritime-related BTS data products, please visit the BTS Maritime Program website.
Moving Through Time
February 2nd, 2010Moving Through Time Source: Psychological Science
Setting humans apart from other species is the ability to travel subjectively through time (Suddendorf & Corballis, 2007), a process termed chronesthesia (Tulving, 2002). Mental time travel enables people to tailor their behavior to satisfy the challenges of daily life (Schacter, Addis, & Buckner, 2007; Tulving, 2002). To date, work on chronesthesia has elucidated the neural basis of retrospection and prospection (Addis, Wong, & Schacter, 2007; Schacter et al., 2007) and documented how the process of mental time travel is affected by both aging (Addis, Wong, & Schacter, 2008) and mental illness (D’Argembeau, Raffard, & Van der Linden, 2008). These insights aside, however, remarkably little is known about the wider psychological characteristics of this pivotal social-cognitive activity. One intriguing question is, how is temporal information processed when one revisits the past or anticipates the future (see Schacter et al., 2007)?
One possibility is that mental time travel may be represented in the sensorimotor systems that regulate human movement. Specifically, the metaphorical “arrow of time” (Casasanto & Boroditsky, 2008) may be grounded in a processing architecture that integrates temporal and spatial information in a directional manner (i.e., past = back, future = forward). Given that abstract mental constructs can be revealed motorically, or embodied (see Barsalou, 2008), this viewpoint gives rise to an interesting hypothesis: If chronesthesia entails a coupling of thought and action, episodes of retrospection and prospection may be accompanied by backward and forward motion, respectively. To explore this possibility, we measured spontaneous fluctuations in the magnitude and direction of postural sway while individuals engaged in mental time travel.
2010 Quadrennial Defense Review
2010 Quadrennial Defense Review (PDF; 6 MB) Source: U.S. Department of Defensepress release
The QDR examines DoD strategies and priorities. It assesses the threats and challenges that the nation faces and re-balances DoD’s strategies, capabilities, and forces to ensure the U.S. military has the flexibility to address today’s conflicts and tomorrow’s threats. The BMDR evaluates the ballistic missile threat to the U.S. and its allies and articulates policy. It determines the appropriate role of ballistic missile defense in the country’s national security and military strategies.
New From the GAO
New GAO Report and Correspondence (PDFs) Source: Government Accountability Office1 February 2010Report 1. NASA: Assessments of Selected Large-Scale Projects
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Correspondence
2. Defense Acquisitions: Observations on the Department of Defense Service Contract Inventories for Fiscal Year 20089 in 10 Will Watch Super Bowl at Home; Most will Spend the Same or Less on Food and Bev
9 in 10 Will Watch Super Bowl at Home; Most will Spend the Same or Less on Food and Bev
Source: NielsenThe great majority of U.S. households (9 out of 10) say they will be watching Super Bowl XLIV at home or at a friend’s or relative’s house instead of watching it from a restaurant or bar, according to a new survey by The Nielsen Company. And for their home viewing, only five percent of households expect to spend more on food and beverages for the Super Bowl this year.
“Staying in is the new ‘night out’ and we see this trend continue to play out with the Super Bowl,” said Nick Lake, vice president, group client director, Beverage Alcohol at Nielsen. “Consumers continue to rein in spending and while this ‘new normal’ provides challenges for restaurant and bar owners, it presents opportunities for consumer packaged goods (CPG) retailers and manufacturers.”
Growing Demand for Soybeans Threatens Amazon Rainforest
Growing Demand for Soybeans Threatens Amazon Rainforest
Source: Earth Policy InstituteSome 3,000 years ago, farmers in eastern China domesticated the soybean. In 1765, the first soybeans were planted in North America. Today the soybean occupies more U.S. cropland than wheat. And in Brazil, where it spread even more rapidly, the soybean is invading the Amazon rainforest.
For close to two centuries after its introduction into the United States the soybean languished as a curiosity crop. Then during the 1950s, as Europe and Japan recovered from the war and as economic growth gathered momentum in the United States, the demand for meat, milk, and eggs climbed. But with little new grassland to support the expanding beef and dairy herds, farmers turned to grain to produce not only more beef and milk but also more pork, poultry, and eggs. World consumption of meat at 44 million tons in 1950 had already started the climb that would take it to 280 million tons in 2009, a sixfold rise.
This rise was partly dependent on the discovery by animal nutritionists that combining one part soybean meal with four parts grain would dramatically boost the efficiency with which livestock and poultry converted grain into animal protein. This generated a fast-growing market for soybeans from the mid-twentieth century onward. It was the soybean’s ticket to agricultural prominence, enabling soybeans to join wheat, rice, and corn as one of the world’s leading crops.
U.S. production of the soybean exploded after World War II. By 1960 it was close to triple that in China. By 1970 the United States was producing three fourths of the world’s soybeans and accounting for virtually all exports. And by 1995 the fast-expanding U.S. land area planted to soybeans had eclipsed that in wheat.
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01 Feb 2010 05:23
UK: Labour market statistics January 2010
February 1st, 2010Labour market statistics January 2010 Source: Office for National Statistics, UK From the summary:
The employment rate for September to November 2009 was 72.4 per cent. This is the lowest since the winter of 1996-97 and is down 0.1 on the quarter. The number of people in employment fell by 14,000 on the quarter to reach 28.92 million. The number of people in full-time employment fell by 113,000 on the quarter while the number of people in part-time employment increased by 99,000 on the quarter to reach a record high of 7.71 million. There were 1.03 million employees and self-employed people working part-time because they could not find a full-time job. This is the highest figure since records for this series began in 1992 and it is up 46,000 on the quarter.
The unemployment rate for September to November 2009 was 7.8 per cent, unchanged on the quarter. The number of unemployed people fell by 7,000 over the quarter to reach 2.46 million. This is the first quarterly fall in the number of unemployed people since the three months to May 2008. The number of people unemployed for more than 12 months increased by 29,000 over the quarter to reach 631,000, the highest figure since the three months to November 1997.
The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (the claimant count) in December 2009 fell by 15,200 on the month to reach 1.61 million. This is the second consecutive monthly fall in the claimant count and the largest monthly fall since April 2007.
The inactivity rate for September to November 2009 was 21.2 per cent, up 0.2 on the quarter but below the record high of 23.3 per cent recorded in 1983. The number of inactive people of working age increased by 79,000 over the quarter to reach a record high of 8.05 million. This increase in inactivity was largely driven by the number of students not in the labour market which has increased by 81,000 on the quarter to reach 2.24 million, the highest since comparable records began in 1993.
Direct link to document (PDF; 359 KB)
Retirement Research — Five New Working Papers
February 1st, 2010Retirement Research — Five New Working Papers Source: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College
Impact of Immigration on the Distribution of American Well-Being by Gary Burtless
How Seniors Change Their Asset Holdings During Retirement by Karen Smith, Mauricio Soto, and Rudolph G. Penner
Will Automatic Enrollment Reduce Employer Contributions to 401(k) Plans? by Mauricio Soto and Barbara A. Butrica
Retirement Security and the Stock Market Crash: What are the Possible Outcomes? by Barbara A. Butrica, Karen E. Smith, and Eric J. Toder
Actual and Anticipated Inheritance Receipts by Norma B. Coe and Anthony Webb
Raising Estate Tax Will Substantially Affect Middle Class Families
February 1st, 2010Raising Estate Tax Will Substantially Affect Middle Class Families Source: National Center for Policy Analysis
If Congress does not act soon to repeal the estate tax it will impose an enormous tax rate that will even affect middle-class families and cause substantial economic damage, according to a new analysis by the National Center for Policy Analysis. The tax is scheduled to disappear this year but return at a much higher rate in 2011, In 2009 the estate tax rate was 45 percent for estates valued at $3.5 million down from 55 percent in previous years, due to the 2001 Bush tax cuts. However, in 2011 the estate tax will go back up to 55 percent for estates valued at $1 million.
There are several layers of the estate tax that will affect millions of Americans if not completely repealed this year, including a generation-skipping tax and taxes on savings and labor, according to the NCPA analysis.
A generation-skipping tax (GST) is enforced if a bequest goes to a grandchild or other relative more than one generation removed from the decedent. The GST rate is equivalent to imposing a 45 percent estate tax rate, then imposing another 45 percent rate on the remaining 55 percent of the estate if it goes from the surviving child to the grandchild.
Then there is a tax on savings and labor. In 2009, a worker in the 33 percent tax bracket faced tax rates of over 72 percent – nearly 85 percent with GST. However, in 2011 these rates are scheduled to rebound to pre-2001 levels, in which their federal income tax rate would have been 36 percent. The combined federal and state income, payroll, and eventual estate tax rates could have easily exceeded 78 percent – or 90 percent with the GST.
December Restaurant Performance Index Rose to Highest Level in Nearly Two Years
February 1st, 2010December Restaurant Performance Index Rose to Highest Level in Nearly Two Years Source: National Restaurant Association
Driven by improvements in both business performance and expectations for future business conditions, the National Restaurant Association’s comprehensive index of restaurant activity rose to its highest level in 22 months in December. The Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) – a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry – stood at 98.7 in December, up 0.9 percent from November and its strongest level in nearly two years. Driven by improvements in both business performance and expectations for future business conditions, the National Restaurant Association’s comprehensive index of restaurant activity rose to its highest level in 22 months in December. The Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) – a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry – stood at 98.7 in December, up 0.9 percent from November and its strongest level in nearly two years.
(PDF; 198 KB)
OPM Releases Strategic Plan on Veterans Employment
February 1st, 2010OPM Releases Strategic Plan on Veterans Employment Source: Office of Personnel Management
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released a government wide Strategic Plan to increase support and access for Veterans seeking employment with the Federal government. The plan is part of President Obama’s Veterans Employment Initiative, a pragmatic, straightforward approach to helping the men and women who have served our country in the military find employment as civilians in the Federal Government.
“This is America’s first strategic blueprint to increase and support the hiring of Veterans throughout the Federal workforce,” said OPM Director John Berry. “This plan aggressively dismantles barriers for Veterans seeking Federal employment. Additionally, it provides ongoing career support to Veterans working within the Federal workforce and specifically looks to support new veterans as they adjust to civilian work life.”
OPM convened senior leaders from the Departments of Defense, Labor, Veterans Affairs, Commerce, Homeland Security, Treasury, and Transportation to develop the plan.
(PDF; 1.3 MB)
HIV in Prisons, 2007-08
February 1st, 2010HIV in Prisons, 2007-08 Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics
Presents yearend 2007 and 2008 data from the National Prisoner Statistics and the Deaths in Custody series. The report provides data on the number of female and male prisoners who were infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or had confirmed AIDS. Findings include the number of AIDS-related deaths in state and federal prisons, a profile of those inmates who died in state prison, and a comparison of AIDS rates between prison inmates and the general population. The report also covers the circumstances under which inmates were tested for HIV.
(PDF; 177 KB)
The Earthquake in Haiti — Dispatch from Port-au-Prince
February 1st, 2010The Earthquake in Haiti — Dispatch from Port-au-Prince Source: New England Journal of Medicine
At 4:53 p.m. on Tuesday, January 12, an earthquake killed or gravely injured hundreds of thousands of people in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Even more were left homeless. The devastation is incomprehensible.
Chaos followed, since the centers of law, order, and functioning society were destroyed or suffered severe losses. The Haitian national palace, government ministries, and police stations collapsed with major losses of life. The headquarters of the United Nations was in rubble, and hundreds of staff members were missing. Banks, churches, food stores, hospitals, hotels, schools, and communications capabilities were destroyed.
As a result, piles of bodies lay in the streets. The only useful places for providing medical care were empty spaces — parks and fields. A city in need of hundreds of trauma centers had two or three.
Four staff members from the organization with which we are associated, the Haitian Group for the Study of Kaposi’s Sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections (known as GHESKIO), died, several were severely injured, and many lost family members or were left homeless. A few GHESKIO staff members were able to reach our clinic in the center of Port-au-Prince on Wednesday, January 13. Several clinic buildings suffered severe damage and were not habitable. Others were damaged but usable.
Gross Domestic Product: Fourth Quarter 2009 (Advance Estimate)
February 1st, 2010Gross Domestic Product: Fourth Quarter 2009 (Advance Estimate) Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis
Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States — increased at an annual rate of 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, (that is, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter), according to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 2.2 percent.
The Bureau emphasized that the fourth-quarter advance estimate released today is based on source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency (see the box on page 4). The “second” estimate for the fourth quarter, based on more complete data, will be released on February 26, 2010.
The increase in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from private inventory investment, exports, and personal consumption expenditures (PCE). Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.
The acceleration in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected an acceleration in private inventory investment, a deceleration in imports, and an upturn in nonresidential fixed investment that were partly offset by decelerations in federal government spending and in PCE.
Motor vehicle output added 0.61 percentage point to the fourth-quarter change in real GDP after adding 1.45 percentage points to the third-quarter change. Final sales of computers subtracted 0.03 percentage point from the fourth-quarter change in real GDP after subtracting 0.08 percentage point from the third-quarter change.
Food Systems and Public Health: Linkages to Achieve Healthier Diets and Healthier Communities
January 31st, 2010Food Systems and Public Health: Linkages to Achieve Healthier Diets and Healthier Communities Source: Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition (special issue; free full text) From Abstract
The Airlie Conference on “Food Systems and Public Health: Linkages to Achieve Healthier Diets and Healthier Communities” was convened to discuss how we as a nation can shift toward promoting healthy, sustainably produced foods that are aligned with national dietary and health priorities; the most strategic changes in policy, governance and practices that can help this shift occur; and identify knowledge gaps and policy-relevant research needs. This special theme issue presents papers emanating from the conference, and policy-relevant research and action recommendations from the small group breakout sessions.
Safe at Home? Developing Effective Criminal Background Checks and Other Screening Policies for Home Care Workers
January 31st, 2010Safe at Home? Developing Effective Criminal Background Checks and Other Screening Policies for Home Care Workers Source: AARP Public Policy Institute
This PPI report focuses on federal and state approaches to background check screening of home care workers to protect vulnerable adults from harm.
States increasingly require criminal background checks for home care workers to protect vulnerable adults from harm. While 46 states mandate some type of background check for Medicaid-funded workers, there is no uniform protocol for screening and disqualifying candidates. Developing sound policies and practices is challenging due to costs, database problems and time constraints. There has been no robust scholarship on the relationship between criminal behavior and the risk of elder mistreatment. Research is only beginning to provide a scientific basis for screening policies.
The paper offers an up-to-date assessment of practices, policy considerations and research, and guidance on moving forward, including:
- Implementing promising state-level practices to increase accuracy, speed, cost-effectiveness and fairness to job applicants
- Using multiple, complementary screening tools – not just criminal background screening
- Recognizing that self-directed programs – in which participants recruit, hire and supervise their own workers – may require a different approach.
Summary (PDF; 859 KB)
Love, Actually: A National Survey of Adults 18+ on Love, Relationships, and Romance
January 31st, 2010Love, Actually: A National Survey of Adults 18+ on Love, Relationships, and Romance Source: AARP
Despite the stereotype that being in love is for the young, a majority of Americans across all ages say that they are currently at least somewhat in love, according to this study, which was conducted to help inform an article in the January/February 2010 issue of AARP The Magazine.
Key findings revealed:
- Overall, 73% of respondents 18 and older say that they are at least somewhat in love and 31% say that they are passionately in love. Over two-thirds of respondents age 50-64 (68%) say they are in love.
- Three-quarters of respondents say they have encountered the love of their life, and men are more likely than women to say that they have encountered the love of their life several times. Only 3% say that they do not believe in true love.
- When asked about the types of sacrifices people would be willing to make for love, generally only a small proportion say they would be very or somewhat likely to change their lifestyle. The sacrifice respondents are most willing to make is to leave their profession (43%), move out of the country (39%), or convert to another religion (25%).
- Over three-quarters of respondents strongly or somewhat agree with the statement “true love can exist without a radiant/active sex life” (76%). Nonetheless, a majority say that romance is important to a relationship. Over four in ten (42%) say that it is essential, and another 34% say that it grows even more important as a relationship goes on.
- More than one in five (21%) believes that it is not possible to be in love with one person and have a crush on someone else. However, 40% admit to having experienced this situation in the past and another 6% say they are experiencing this situation right now.
+ (PDF; 126 KB)
The Great Recession and the State and Local Government Workforce
January 31st, 2010The Great Recession and the State and Local Government Workforce Source: Center for State and Local Government Excellence
Hiring freezes, pay freezes, layoffs, and furloughs top the list of ways that local and state governments are cutting costs, according to a Center for Excellence online survey of government managers.
States and local governments also have made significant changes in their benefit offerings.
+ Full Document (PDF; 718 KB)
Green Power Usage Edged Higher in 2009 among EPA Partners
January 31st, 2010Green Power Usage Edged Higher in 2009 among EPA Partners Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s top 10 Green Power Partners increased their voluntary green power commitments by more than 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2009, while 300 new organizations joined the Green Power Partnership. Overall, the 1,200 partners are buying nearly 18 billion kWh of green power annually, equivalent to the annual carbon dioxide emissions from electricity use of more than 1.6 million average American homes. Among the top 10 partners, Intel Corporation remains the partnership’s largest single purchaser of green power, increasing its commitment over the previous year to more than 1.4 billion kWh. Kohl’s Department Stores increased its green power purchase by more than 1 billion kWh in 2009, becoming the second-largest purchaser within the partnership. PepsiCo, Whole Foods Market, the City of Houston, Dell Inc, The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc., Cisco Systems, Inc., the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Johnson & Johnson round out the top 10 purchasers. All together, these 10 leaders are buying more than 7.3 billion kWh of green power annually, equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity use of more than 680,000 average American homes.
Florida’s 2010 Severe Weather Awareness Guide
January 31st, 2010Florida’s 2010 Severe Weather Awareness Guide (PDF: 3.6 MB) Source: Florida Division of Emergency Management
The Florida Division of Emergency Management works with local governments to respond to all types of disasters. In the last three years alone, the state of Florida has received 15 federal di- saster declarations, ranging from wildfires and hurricanes to tornadoes and flooding. This year, we want to continue promoting a culture of preparedness across our great state. Every citizen can do their part by taking the time to learn about the different hazards Floridians face. Now is the perfect time to get a plan, restock emergency supplies, purchase an all-hazards weather radio, and be ready to act when threatening weather approaches your community. Please read and share this informative guidebook with your family, friends and coworkers. The time spent now can be a lifesaver later.
911 Call Center Training in Florida Varies; Options Exist for Creating Minimum Standards
January 31st, 2010911 Call Center Training in Florida Varies; Options Exist for Creating Minimum Standards Source: The Florida Legislature, Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
+ Effective call-taking and dispatching are critical to the success of the 911 system. Call center staff must calmly and accurately gather information from distressed callers and determine which agencies should be sent to assist each caller.
+ Florida does not regularly collect comprehensive information on all call center staff. While the state offers a 208-hour voluntary training certification program for 911 call center staff, it does not mandate minimum levels of training for these personnel as do other large states. As a result, the initial and in-service training provided to 911 call center staff varies across the state. Most call centers reported that they offer some level of either formal classroom training and/or on-the-job training for newly hired 911 call-takers and dispatchers. However, training is largely accomplished on the job and formal training generally falls short of voluntary certification standards. While E911 funds can be used for call-taker training, they cannot be used for dispatcher training, which is primarily funded through local sources.
+ The Legislature could consider several options for mandating training and certification and making training more accessible to call centers. Alternatively, the Legislature could consider requiring minimum levels of training without mandating certification.
+ (PDF; 960 KB)
Chasing the college acceptance letter: Is it harder to get into college?
January 31st, 2010Chasing the college acceptance letter: Is it harder to get into college? Source: Center for Public Education
The Bottom Line
+ It is no more difficult for most students to get into college today than it was a decade ago. The shrinking acceptance rates cited in so many news reports likely come from a higher number of applications per student. However, the average applicant today has about the same chance of getting into a competitive college as an average applicant a decade ago.
+ Taking more rigorous courses, especially in math and science, gives an applicant a better chance of getting into a competitive college than does raising his or her GPA. For instance, lower-achieving students could increase their chances by over 10 percent if they simply took trigonometry instead of stopping math at algebra II. Higher college admissions scores also increase a student’s chances.
+ Well-prepared minority applicants have just as good of a chance of getting into a competitive college as well-prepared white students. However, a much smaller percentage of minority applicants earn the necessary credentials.
+ Well-prepared low-income applicants are less likely to get into a competitive college as well-prepared high-income applicants: 67 percent vs. 80 percent. Moreover, few low-income applicants earn the necessary credentials.
Significant State Sentencing and Corrections Legislation in 2009
January 31st, 2010Significant State Sentencing and Corrections Legislation in 2009 Source: National Conference of State Legislatures
Amid the most difficult economic situation since the Great Depression, state legislatures addressed sentencing and corrections policies that better manage correctional populations and budgets. In 2009, states fine-tuned sentencing laws, expanded community-based diversion programs, and created policies and programs aimed at reducing recidivism. California, Delaware, Maryland, Montana, Oregon and Washington increased the monetary thresholds for theft-related crimes, to better align low-level offenses with less severe penalties. States required presentence risk assessments to identify defendants appropriate for community-based sentences. In Illinois and New Hampshire, presentence screening that includes treatment recommendations must be completed for current military or veterans diagnosed with a mental illness.
Legislatures expanded access to substance abuse treatment by creating secure programs for more serious offenders and community-based programs for probation and parole violators. A measure in Kentucky places offenders, identified by pretrial screening as having substance abuse issues, in community-based or secure substance abuse treatment. Florida and North Dakota have designated specific substance abuse treatment programs as sanctions for probation and parole violations. States also relaxed mandatory sentences for drug offenders. New York amended the “Rockefeller Drug Laws” by decreasing mandatory minimums, expanding probation eligibility, and permitting departures from mandatory incarceration for various felony drug offenses.
California, Colorado, Illinois and Montana enacted performance incentive funding policies that provide funds to counties for reducing probation revocations to state prisons. In California, recidivism reduction programming must be evidence-based and funding provided to counties is directly related to costs avoided by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation due to a decrease in probation revocation admissions. Programs created in Colorado and Montana focus on mentally ill offenders.
Additional sentencing and corrections issues addressed in 2009 include creating or expanding inmate good time policies; permitting early termination of community supervision; and assisting inmates and newly released offenders with resources for reentry such as identification, housing, and employment. Thirteen states commissioned task forces or studies on a variety of issues related to sentencing and supervision of criminal offenders that legislatures expect to address in the 2010 or 2011 sessions.
See also: Session Law and Bill Citations for Significant State Sentencing and Corrections Legislation in 2009
Paying for College Success: An Introduction to the Performance-Based Scholarship Demonstration
January 31st, 2010Paying for College Success: An Introduction to the Performance-Based Scholarship Demonstration Source: MRDC
Increasing postsecondary academic success is a national imperative. While access to college has increased markedly since the passage of the Higher Education Act of 1965, more work must be done to boost rates of college completion. College graduation rates have not improved in the last 40 years despite the ever-growing number of students matriculating, causing the United States to lose ground internationally in the proportion of adults with college degrees. President Obama has focused new attention on this challenge with his recent announcement of the $12-billion American Graduation Initiative and his call for the United States to regain the highest college graduation rate in the world by 2020.
Low-income students are most at risk of not persisting to complete a certificate or degree – often because of financial pressures and inadequate academic preparation for college. One promising solution for improving academic success among low-income students is a performance-based scholarship. Paid contingent on attaining academic benchmarks, a performance-based scholarship can provide both financial assistance and act as an incentive to earn a postsecondary degree.
While studies have examined the relationship between financial aid and college access, few have evaluated the relationship between financial aid and academic success. Factors that are associated with financial need, such as being low income, are also associated with a lack of academic success, making it difficult to isolate the effect of additional financial aid on student achievement.
+ Full Document (PDF; 179 KB)
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31 Jan 2010 06:59
Netherlands: Davids Committee Report on Iraq (Rapport Commissie van Onderzoek Besluitvorming Irak)
January 30th, 2010Netherlands: Davids Committee Report on Iraq (Rapport Commissie van Onderzoek Besluitvorming Irak) Source: NRC International
The Balkenende government seems to have narrowly averted a full-blown crisis by admitting that “in hindsight” it could have done better in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. The admission did not come easily, following a day of tense deliberations between government parties.
The special committee of inquiry, chaired by retired supreme court judge, Willibrord Davids, did not mince words in its description of the political failures that paved the way to the invasion of Iraq. Its conclusions resonate with critical appraisals of the decision-making process leading up to the war in the UK and the US: politicians based their views on poor intelligence data and they deliberately misconstrued the little information they did get. The legal case for an invasion was exaggerated, with precedents from international law misinterpreted through wishful thinking. After a limited number of executives decided to go through with the war, little room was left for debate. These failures had varying political consequences in different countries.
Not all Western countries fell victim to what might be labeled groupthink. France and Germany, notably, refused to support the American invasion of Iraq, which makes the question why the decision making process in other countries had such a different outcome all the more relevant.
Direct link to report – in Dutch, with English summary and conclusions pp 517 – 533 (PDF; 2.5 MB)
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Can Euroland Survive?
January 30th, 2010Can Euroland Survive? Source: Levy Economics Institute at Bard College
Social unrest across Europe is growing as Euroland’s economy collapses faster than the United States’, the result of falling exports and a weaker fiscal response. The controversial title of this brief is based on a belief that the nature of the euro itself limits Euroland’s fiscal policy space. The nations that have adopted the euro face “market-imposed” fiscal constraints on borrowing because they are not sovereign countries. Research Associate Stephanie A. Kelton and Senior Scholar L. Randall Wray foresee a real danger that these nations will be unable to prevent an accelerating slide toward depression that will threaten the existence of the European Union.
+ Full Paper (PDF; 189 KB)
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Some Public Colleges and Universities Are Making Gains, Closing Gaps in Graduation Rates for Minority Students
January 30th, 2010Some Public Colleges and Universities Are Making Gains, Closing Gaps in Graduation Rates for Minority Students Source: Education Trust
When choosing a college, many young people often make their decision based on popularity and prestige. What they may not consider is the school’s track record in actually graduating students.
For students of color, this issue is particularly important: Nationally, only about 40 percent of underrepresented minority, or URM, students (African American, Latino, and Native American) earn a bachelor’s degree within six years. The figure for nonminority students is more than 60 percent. But according to two briefs released today by The Education Trust, many institutions of varying types are ensuring that far more young Americans of color earn a degree.
“Top Gainers” and “Top Gap Closers” highlight public institutions nationwide that have made the biggest improvements in these areas.
+ Top Gainers (PDF; 429 KB) + Top Gap Closers (PDF; 497 KB)
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America’s Youth at 22: School Enrollment, Training, and Employment Transitions Between Ages 21 and 22 Summary
January 30th, 2010America’s Youth at 22: School Enrollment, Training, and Employment Transitions Between Ages 21 and 22 Summary Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
At age 22, women are more likely to be enrolled in college than men and are also more likely to have completed a bachelor’s degree, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Among 22-year-olds not enrolled in college, men are more likely than women to be employed in a civilian job or serving in the military.
These findings are from the first 11 annual rounds of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), which is a nationally representative survey of about 9,000 young men and women who were born during the years 1980 to 1984. These respondents were ages 12 to 17 when first interviewed in 1997, and ages 22 to 28 when interviewed for the eleventh time in 2007-08. Most NLSY97 respondents completed their 2007-08 interview before December 2007, when the nation officially en- tered a recession. The survey provides information on work and nonwork experiences, training, schooling, income, assets, and other characteristics. The information provided by respondents can be considered representative of all men and women born in the early 1980s and living in the United States when the survey began in 1997.
This release focuses on the school enrollment and employment experiences of these individuals from the October when they were age 21 to the October when they were age 22. Respondents were age 21 in October during the years 2001 to 2006 and age 22 in October from 2002 to 2007.
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30 Jan 2010 04:34
Smart grid could reduce emissions by 12 percent
January 30th, 2010Smart grid could reduce emissions by 12 percent Source: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
A smart electrical power grid could decrease annual electric energy use and utility sector carbon emissions at least 12 percent by 2030, according to a new report from the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
The report, The Smart Grid: An Estimation of the Energy and CO2 Benefits, shows a direct link between the smart grid and carbon emissions. It evaluates how different functions of the smart grid could provide substantial reduction in energy use and carbon emissions – both directly by using new technology and indirectly by making renewable energy and efficiency programs more affordable and potentially larger.
That means by fully utilizing a smart grid, the nation could prevent the equivalent of 442 million metric tons, or 66 typical coal power plants’ worth, of carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere each year. Those 66 power plants produce the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power 70 million of today’s homes.
(PDF; 2.8 MB)
President Obama, Vice President Biden to Announce $8 Billion for High-Speed Rail Projects Across the Country
January 30th, 2010President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will today announce that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is awarding $8 billion to states across the country to develop America’s first nationwide program of high-speed intercity passenger rail service. Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), these dollars represent an historic investment in the country’s transportation infrastructure, which will help create jobs and transform travel in America. The announcement is one of a number of job initiatives the President will lay out in the coming weeks that follow up on the continued commitment to job creation he discussed in last night’s State of the Union Address.
Recovery Act High Speed Rail Awards (PDF; 15 KB)
Press release links to fact sheets for each high speed rail project: Northeast region Tampa – Orlando – Miami Pontiac – Detroit – Chicago Eugene – Portland – Seattle – Vancouver, B.C. Ft. Worth area Iowa Cleveland – Columbus – Dayton – Cincinnati Charlotte – Raleigh – Richmond – Washington, D.C. California Minneapolis/St. Paul – Madison – Milwaukee – Chicago Chicago – St. Louis – Kansas CityRecovery Act High Speed Rail Awards (PDF; 15 KB)
Country Analysis Brief: Iran
January 30th, 2010Country Analysis Brief: Iran Source: Energy Information Administration
Iran, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), ranks among the world’s top three holders of both proven oil and natural gas reserves Iran is OPEC’s second-largest producer and exporter after Saudi Arabia, and in 2008 was the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil globally after Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates. Natural gas accounts for half of Iran’s total domestic energy consumption, while the remaining half is predominately oil consumption. The continued exploration and production of the offshore South Pars natural gas field in the Persian Gulf is a key part of Iran’s energy sector development plan.
2009: Worst Demand Decline in History – Encouraging Year-end Improvements
January 30th, 20102009: Worst Demand Decline in History – Encouraging Year-end Improvements Source: International Air Transport Association
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported December and full-year 2009 demand statistics for international scheduled air traffic that showed the industry ending 2009 with the largest ever post-war decline. Passenger demand for the full year was down 3.5% with an average load factor of 75.6%. Freight showed a full-year decline of 10.1% with an average load factor of 49.1%.
“In terms of demand, 2009 goes into the history books as the worst year the industry has ever seen. We have permanently lost 2.5 years of growth in passenger markets and 3.5 years of growth in the freight business,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
International passenger capacity fell 0.7% in December 2009 while freight capacity grew 0.6% above December 2008 levels. Yields have started to improve with tighter supply-demand conditions in recent months, but they remained 5-10% down on 2008 levels. “Revenue improvements will be at a much slower pace than the demand growth that we are starting to see. Profitability will be even slower to recover and airlines will lose an expected US$5.6 billion in 2010,” said Bisignani.
Seasonally adjusted demand figures for December compared to November 2009 indicate a 1.6% rise in passenger traffic while freight remained basically flat with a 0.2% decline.
Idaho’s Failing Indigent Defense System Detailed in New Report
January 30th, 2010Idaho’s Failing Indigent Defense System Detailed in New Report Source: National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA)
The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) released a groundbreaking report today that found that the state of Idaho fails to provide the level of representation required by our Constitution for those who cannot afford counsel in its criminal and juvenile courts. The report, The Guarantee of Counsel: Advocacy & Due Process in Idaho’s Trial Courts, details the lack of uniformity from one county to the next regarding who qualifies for a public defender, giving rise to the notion that justice in Idaho may very well depend on what side of a county line one’s crime is alleged to have been committed. The report, one in a line of NLADA reports that focuses on statewide reform of criminal justice systems, points to the practice of delegating to each county the responsibility to provide counsel at the trial level without any state funding or oversight. By doing so, the report states, Idaho sews a patchwork quilt of underfunded, inconsistent systems that vary greatly in defining who qualifies for services and in the level of competency of the services rendered. While the report also shows admirable qualities of some of the county indigent defense services, NLADA found that none of the public defender systems in the sample counties were constitutionally adequate.
Location, Location, Location Efficiency: Can Smart Growth Help Beat the Mortgage Crisis?
January 30th, 2010Location, Location, Location Efficiency: Can Smart Growth Help Beat the Mortgage Crisis? Source: Natural Resources Defense Council
As the American economy continues to be dragged down by the mortgage crisis, a new report shows a direct link between the transportation costs associated with a given neighborhood or community and its foreclosure rate, according to experts at the Natural Resources Defense Council. The report, entitled Location Efficiency and Mortgage Default, outlines how this link may provide policy makers and the lending industry with new tools to address the continuing mortgage default problem. The report focuses on the impact of “location efficiency,” a concept pioneered by NRDC and other groups in the 1990’s, on mortgage performance in key cities. It shows that rates of vehicle ownership — largely determined by neighborhood compactness, walkability, and access to public transit — is key to predicting mortgage performance and should be taken into account by mortgage underwriters, policymakers, and real estate developers. Transportation costs are a significant financial impact, accounting for roughly 17 percent of the average American household’s income and these costs are made more acute by the fluctuation of gas prices.
Location Efficiency and Mortgage Default delves into data culled from 40,000 Chicago, San Francisco and Jacksonville, FL mortgages which showed that the probability of mortgage foreclosure decreased in neighborhoods with characteristics that enable less reliance on cars, after accounting for important factors like income.
The Economic Recession: Early Impacts on Health Care Safety Net Providers
January 30th, 2010The Economic Recession: Early Impacts on Health Care Safety Net Providers Source: Center for Studying Health System Change (via Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
While the recession increased demands on the health care safety net as Americans lost jobs and health insurance, the impact on safety-net providers has been mixed and less severe—at least initially—than expected in some cases, according to a new study of five metropolitan communities just released by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC).
Even before the recession, many safety-net providers reported treating more uninsured patients and facing tighter state and local funding. Federal expansion grants for community health centers during the past decade, however, have increased capacity at many health centers. And, programs to help direct people to primary care providers may have helped stem the expected surge in emergency department use by the uninsured during the downturn.
Federal stimulus funding—the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—has assisted hospitals and health centers in weathering the economic storm, helping to offset reductions in state, local and private funding. And, the economic downturn has generated some potential benefits, including lower rents and broader employee applicant pools. While safety-net providers have adopted strategies to stay financially viable, many believe they have not yet felt the full impact of the deepest recession since the Great Depression.
(PDF: 344 KB)
The Rutherford Institute Challenges Constitutionality of Stolen Valor Act, Files Amicus Brief in United States of America v. Strandlof
January 30th, 2010The Rutherford Institute Challenges Constitutionality of Stolen Valor Act, Files Amicus Brief in United States of America v. Strandlof Source: The Rutherford Institute
The Rutherford Institute has filed an amicus brief in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado in United States of America v. Strandlof. Since its founding in 1982, The Rutherford Institute has been a champion of the First Amendment right to free and unadulterated speech. To this end, the Institute’s amicus brief in United States of America v. Strandlof is a defense of the First Amendment, which is under massive attack in our politically correct society.
The Rutherford Institute does not in any way condone Mr. Strandlof’s actions as alleged in the charges against him. However, although we may disapprove of the purported content of Mr. Strandlof’s speech, we cannot support any laws–no matter how well intended–that serve to undermine the free speech rights of Americans. The federal law being used to prosecute Mr. Strandlof is such a law. Indeed, the Stolen Valor Act is so broad that it allows prosecution of someone who jokingly claims they received an honor or medal. In order to protect the right of freedom of expression, the law should show some clear harm resulting from a false statement. The Rutherford Institute could support such a law. Otherwise, the government has the authority to intimidate and even prosecute innocent expressions by veterans.
Full Document (PDF; 47 KB)
New GAO Reports29 January 2010Nuclear Security: DOE Needs to Address Protective Forces’ Personnel System IssuesPatient Safety Act: HHS Is in the Process of Implementing the Act, So Its Effectiveness Cannot Yet Be EvaluatedVeterans’ Disability Benefits: Further Evaluation of Ongoing Initiatives Could Help Identify Effective Approaches for Improving Claims ProcessingEmployment and Training Administration: Increased Authority and Accountability Could Improve Research Program 5. New Markets Tax Credit: The Credit Helps Fund a Variety of Projects in Low-Income Communities, but Could Be Simplified
e-Book — The Infectious Diseases of Haiti
The Infectious Diseases of Haiti (PDF; 2.39 MB) Source: GIDEON Informatics, Inc.
THE INFECTIOUS DISEASES OF HAITI is one in a series of GIDEON e-books which summarize the status of individual infectious diseases, in every country of the world. Data are based on the GIDEON database (www.gideononline.com) which relies on standard text books, peer-review journals, Health Ministry reports and ProMED, supplemented by an ongoing search of the medical literature.
Chapters are arranged alphabetically, by disease name. Each section is divided into four sections:
1. Descriptive epidemiology
2. Summary of clinical features
3. Status of the disease in Haiti
4. ReferencesHat tip: Gerry McKiernan
Sex Differences in Jealousy: A Contribution From Attachment Theory
Sex Differences in Jealousy: A Contribution From Attachment Theory Source: Psychological Science
Studies have found that more men than women endorse sexual infidelity as more distressing than emotional infidelity, whereas more women than men endorse emotional infidelity as more distressing than sexual infidelity. Some evolutionary psychologists have proposed that this sex difference can be best conceptualized as reflecting evolution?based differences in parental investment that produce a need for paternity certainty among men and a need for male investment in offspring among women. Nonetheless, a conspicuous subset of men report emotional infidelity as more distressing than sexual infidelity. Current theorizing explains between?sex differences but not within?sex differences. We hypothesized that attachment?style differences may help to explain both between? and within?sex differences in jealousy. As hypothesized, dismissing avoidant participants reported more jealousy regarding sexual than emotional infidelity (64.8%), and secure participants, including secure men, reported more jealousy regarding emotional than sexual infidelity (77.3%), ?2(3, N = 411) = 45.03, p
Sex Education in Mississippi — Why ‘Just Wait’ Just Doesn’t Work
January 29th, 2010Sex Education in Mississippi — Why ‘Just Wait’ Just Doesn’t Work Source: Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)
Planned Parenthood in Mississippi and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) released Sex Education in Mississippi: Why ‘Just Wait’ Just Doesn’t Work, which outlines the status of sex education and failed abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in Mississippi. The report found that young people in Mississippi are currently experiencing some of the worst sexual health outcomes in the country, and are also subjected to ineffective abstinence-only-until-marriage programs and restrictive laws that limit the ability of teachers and school districts to implement comprehensive sexuality education.
Mississippi has the highest teen birth rate in the nation, with a rate of 68.4 live births per 1,000 females ages 15–19 compared to the national rate 41.9 births. In 2008, Mississippi had the highest rates of both Chlamydia and gonorrhea in the nation, with rates of infection for Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis among Mississippi’s youth nearly double the national average. Furthermore, Mississippi ranks next-to-last in the nation in the percentage of high school students who report ever having been taught in school about AIDS or HIV infection.
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In Fiscal Year 2008, Mississippi received $5,742,594 in federal funds for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, which was the eighth largest funding amount awarded to any state. The state received funding from all three federal funding streams—the Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage program, the Community-Based Abstinence Education (CABE) grant program, and the Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA). For Fiscal Year 2009, Mississippi received approximately $4,678,644 in abstinence-only-until-marriage federal funding.Full Report (PDF; 524 KB)
The Republican Jobs Plan
January 29th, 2010The Republican Jobs Plan Source: Economic Recovery Working Group
Today, the Economic Recovery Working Group met to once again outline their ideas for a jobs plan that will work for the American people, which they proposed back in the summer of 2009 after heeding the cries of Americans who, in town halls and across the nation were calling for some help and relief.
Ways and Means Ranking Member Dave Camp, R-MI, one of its members said, “Job creation should have been the top domestic priority for this Congress and the administration from the very beginning of 2009. Yet, the White House and congressional Democrats spent 2009 on their massive tax-and-spend agenda that has made the job market worse, not better. Simple economics says we shouldn’t raise taxes – especially on small businesses and their workers – while 1 in 10 Americans is still looking for a job.”
The Working Group has identified several ways to tear down obstacles to economic growth and help create jobs, which Camp and four other Republican members presented to President Obama in December.
Full Report (PDF; 455 KB)
An Analysis of the Roadmap for America’s Future Act of 2010
January 29th, 2010An Analysis of the Roadmap for America’s Future Act of 2010 Source: Congressional Budget Office From the CBO Director’s Blog:
Today CBO released a letter to Congressman Paul Ryan, Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, analyzing the Roadmap for America’s Future Act of 2010. This legislation, which Congressman Ryan introduced today, would make comprehensive changes to the Social Security program; to federal involvement in health care, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the tax treatment of health insurance; to other federal spending; and to other features of the tax system. CBO’s analysis is based on the proposal as modified by specifications provided by Congressman Ryan’s staff. In particular, the specifications for Medicaid and the tax system that CBO analyzed are highly stylized versions of the more detailed provisions in the bill.
CBO’s letter summarizes the agency’s analysis of the impact that the bill (along with the simplifying specifications) would have on federal outlays, budget deficits, and debt during the next 75 years. The analysis is subject to a great deal of uncertainty, because of both the complexity of the proposal and the very long time horizon over which its many provisions would unfold. The analysis does not represent a cost estimate for the legislation, which would require much more detailed analysis and would be much more limited in the time span that could be examined.
Testimony — The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2010 to 2020
January 29th, 2010Testimony — The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2010 to 2020 Source: Congressional Budget Office From the CBO Director’s Blog:
I testified about CBO’s Budget and Economic Outlook to the House Budget Committee yesterday morning and to the Senate Budget Committee this morning.
SEC Issues Interpretive Guidance on Disclosure Related to Business or Legal Developments Regarding Climate Change
January 29th, 2010SEC Issues Interpretive Guidance on Disclosure Related to Business or Legal Developments Regarding Climate Change Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted to provide public companies with interpretive guidance on existing SEC disclosure requirements as they apply to business or legal developments relating to the issue of climate change.
Federal securities laws and SEC regulations require certain disclosures by public companies for the benefit of investors. Occasionally, to assist those who provide such disclosures, the Commission provides guidance on how to interpret the disclosure rules on topics of interest to the business and investment communities. The Commission’s interpretive releases do not create new legal requirements nor modify existing ones, but are intended to provide clarity and enhance consistency for public companies and their investors.
The interpretive release approved today provides guidance on certain existing disclosure rules that may require a company to disclose the impact that business or legal developments related to climate change may have on its business. The relevant rules cover a company’s risk factors, business description, legal proceedings, and management discussion and analysis.
Joint Economic Committee Releases New State-by-State Report
January 29th, 2010Joint Economic Committee Releases New State-by-State Report Source: U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee
A new report released today by the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) provides a snapshot of the current economic climate in each state, offering policy makers easy access to the major economic indicators in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the areas of jobs, unemployment, personal earnings and housing.
“Understanding the Economy: State-by-State Snapshots” offers a gauge of the economic landscape of each state, allowing for quick comparisons with other states and to the overall U.S. economy.
Fact Sheet — U.S. Government Budget 2011
January 29th, 2010Fact Sheet — U.S. Government Budget 2011 (PDF; 63 KB) Source: Government Printing Office
+ The FY 2011 Budget is comprised of 4 volumes.
+ The 4-volume set weighs approximately 10 pounds.
+ Approximately 300 GPO employees take part in producing the Budget.
+ GPO will provide public access to the Budget at no cost at
www.fdsys.gov beginning at 10 a.m. Monday, February 1, 2010.-
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