Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury
U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Peter R. Orszag today released details of the final Fiscal Year 2009 budget results. In making the announcement, Geithner and Orszag pointed to the severe economic and financial crisis the country faced this year and the Administration’s commitment to lay a new foundation for economic growth and fiscal sustainability.
“This year’s deficit is lower than we had projected earlier this year, in part because we are managing to repair the financial system at a lower cost to taxpayers. But future deficits are too high, and the President is committed to working with Congress to bring them down to a sustainable level as the economy recovers,” Secretary Geithner explained.
“It was critical that we acted to bring the economy back from the brink earlier this year. As we move from rescue to recovery, the President recognizes that we need to put the nation back on a fiscally sustainable path. As part of the FY 2011 budget policy process, we are considering proposals to put our country back on firm fiscal footing,” Director Orszag stated.
A summary of the FY2009 data, released as part of the September 2009 Monthly Treasury Statement of Receipts and Outlays of the United States Government, shows that the federal deficit dropped by $162 billion from a projected $1,580 billion in the August Mid-Session Review (MSR) to the final figure of $1,417 billion.
Receipts for the fiscal year totaled $2,105 billion, while outlays totaled $3,522 billion.
The decline in the deficit from the August MSR estimate reflected outlays that were $132 billion lower than expected in August, in large measure because of lower-than-anticipated outlays by the government’s Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). The decline was also the result of receipts that were $31 billion higher than estimated in the MSR.
The FY2009 deficit was largely the product of the spending and tax policies inherited from the previous Administration, exacerbated by a severe recession and financial crisis that were underway as the current Administration took office. The new Administration’s chief economic stabilization and recovery efforts implemented through TARP and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) accounted for 24 percent of the deficit total.
Federal borrowing from the public net of financial assets increased by $1,417 billion during FY2009, to $6,711 billion or 47.2 percent of GDP.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Announces Free Enterprise Survival Strategy
Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is throwing its weight behind strong climate legislation, a spokesman for Chamber President Tom J. Donohue announced today at the National Press Club.
“We believe that strong climate legislation is the best way to ensure American innovation, create jobs, and make sure the U.S. and the world are on track to reduce global carbon emissions, and to provide for the needs of the American business community for generations to come,” said the spokesman, Hingo Sembra.
The new position is an about-face on climate policy for the Chamber, which previously lobbied against government action. The shift comes after the defection of several prominent members of the Chamber, including PG&E, Apple, PNM Resources, and Exelon.
+ A Survival Strategy for Free Enterprise Over the Long Term
Report Proposes New Steps to Support Quality Public Affairs Reporting
Source: Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
As the news business continues to confront fundamental economic challenges, a report, released on Oct. 19, 2009 by Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, proposes new steps for maintaining a vibrant, independent press, with special emphasis on local “accountability journalism” that is essential to civic life. The report, “The Reconstruction of American Journalism,” was written by Leonard Downie, Jr., former executive editor of The Washington Post, and Michael Schudson, a Journalism School professor.
The report, commissioned by Columbia Journalism School and underwritten in large part by the Charles H. Revson Foundation, takes full account of the well-known problems caused by deep cutbacks in reporting on public issues, especially in local newspapers. Yet even as advertising revenues continue to fall, budgets are further reduced and more news outlets shutter their doors, the authors also identify “abundant opportunity in the future of journalism” — especially in the very online medium that has caused the economic disruption of traditional media models. In particular, they point to a growing number of innovative online journalistic endeavors that can be developed on a broader scale to provide Americans with a diverse mix of for-profit, low-profit and non-profit sources of news and public affairs.
+ Full Report (PDF; 200 KB)
Hat tip: SS
Alternative Income and Poverty Estimates: 2008
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
The Census Bureau will release alternative income and poverty estimates covering calendar year 2008. The data were collected from the 2009 Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC). The first set of alternative measures include poverty estimates only and are based on recommendations from a 1995 National Academy of Sciences panel on measuring poverty. These estimates use a broadened definition of income and a set of poverty thresholds that are conceptually consistent with this income measure. The second set of alternative measures includes both income and poverty estimates and shows the impact of cash and noncash benefits and taxes on the distribution of income and prevalence of poverty. The poverty estimates in this series are based on the official poverty thresholds. Both of these alternative measures are similar to estimates released in January 2009 covering calendar year 2007 from the 2008 CPS ASEC.
Audit Report: The Department’s Management of the ENERGY STAR Program (PDF; 263 KB)
Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Inspector General
As evidenced by the commitment of $300 million in Recovery Act funds, the ENERGY STAR Program plays an important role in the U.S. efforts to reduce energy consumption. We initiated this audit to determine whether the Department had implemented the actions it announced in 2007 to strengthen the Program.
Results of Audit
The Department had not implemented planned improvements in the ENERGY STAR Program. Our audit revealed that officials had not:
- Developed a formal quality assurance program to help ensure that product specifications were adhered to;
- Effectively monitored the use of the ENERGY STAR label to ensure that only qualifying products were labeled as compliant; and,
- Formalized procedures for establishing and revising product specifications and for documenting decisions regarding those specifications.
In our judgment, the delay in the Department’s planned improvements in its management of the ENERGY STAR Program could reduce consumer confidence in the integrity of the ENERGY STAR label. Such loss of credibility could reduce energy savings, increase consumer risk, and diminish the value of the recent infusion of $300 million for ENERGY STAR rebates under the Recovery Act.
Attorney General Announces Formal Medical Marijuana Guidelines
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Attorney General Eric Holder today announced formal guidelines for federal prosecutors in states that have enacted laws authorizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. The guidelines make clear that the focus of federal resources should not be on individuals whose actions are in compliance with existing state laws, while underscoring that the Department will continue to prosecute people whose claims of compliance with state and local law conceal operations inconsistent with the terms, conditions, or purposes of those laws.
“It will not be a priority to use federal resources to prosecute patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying with state laws on medical marijuana, but we will not tolerate drug traffickers who hide behind claims of compliance with state law to mask activities that are clearly illegal,” Holder said. “This balanced policy formalizes a sensible approach that the Department has been following since January: effectively focus our resources on serious drug traffickers while taking into account state and local laws.”
The guidelines set forth examples of conduct that would show when individuals are not in clear and unambiguous compliance with applicable state law and may indicate illegal drug trafficking activity of potential federal interest, including unlawful use of firearms, violence, sales to minors, money laundering, amounts of marijuana inconsistent with purported compliance with state or local law, marketing or excessive financial gains similarly inconsistent with state or local law, illegal possession or sale of other controlled substances, and ties to criminal enterprises.
Fourteen states have enacted laws in some form addressing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. A copy of the guidelines, in a memo from Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden to United States Attorneys, can be found here: http://blogs.usdoj.gov/blog/archives/192
Hold the Salt: Lowering Sodium Intake Would Improve Health and Save Money
Source: RAND Corporation
Details the benefits that would accrue from reducing sodium consumption among Americans, including a reduced prevalence of high blood pressure, lower medical costs, and improved quality of life.
+ Full Document (PDF; 88 KB)
Fulbright’s Litigation Survey: Companies Experience New Litigation, Anticipate More
Source: Fulbright & Jaworski
Companies are seeing a litigation wave that corporate counsel expect to swell in the coming year, according to respondents of Fulbright’s 6th Annual Litigation Trends Survey Report.
Corporate counsel say they are steeling themselves for a big year of litigation with 42% of U.S. respondents anticipating an increase in legal disputes their companies will face in the next 12 months. That is up from 34% of last year’s respondents. The expectation comes during a year when 83% of U.S. respondents reported that new litigation has been commenced against their companies in the past year, up from 79% last year.
In the year to come, respondents from large-cap companies reported the highest expectation of litigation, with 52% forecasting an increase in legal disputes, while 47% of public company respondents foresee a jump in disputes. The economy was cited as the primary reason for these expectations by 38% of U.S. respondents and 34% of U.K. respondents.
More than one-third of companies say the economic downturn has resulted not only in an increase in their litigation caseloads, but also their use of alternative fees. Tighter cost control, more than anything else, is the most important way in which the economic crisis has affected litigation management, respondents say.
+ Full Report (PDF; 3.8 MB)
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OSC Analysis: Kazakhstan – Opening Up for Nuclear Collaboration (PDF; 117 KB)
Source: DNI Open Source Center (via Federation of American Scientists/Secrecy News)
Kazakhstan, a country with an extensive nuclear infrastructure as a legacy of the Soviet Union, has decided to rely on civilian nuclear programs for economic development and has reached out to numerous countries for cooperation in nuclear areas. Nursultan Nazarbaev, who has been at the helm of Kazakhstan since the Soviet era, has been very skilled in creating equivalent relations with all major players in the region, including the USA, EU, Russia, India and China. While the country still has strong links to Russian nuclear infrastructure, Kazakhstan has made an effort to cooperate with other countries, and has in turn placed pressure on Russia to be more attractive in business dealings. With the stated desire to move to higher-end nuclear products, Kazakhstan established a special relationship with Russia for enrichment, so it can produce and export more economically advantageous fuel assemblies, rather than its current manufacture of interim products. The concerns of the international community regarding the Kazakhstan-Russian enrichment cooperation, in summary, focus on Kazakhstan’s position as a country that may find it attractive to acquire enrichment technology, and Russia’s ability to provide such technology in order to maintain clout in its traditional sphere of influence and retain a resource-rich neighbor. Alternatively, Kazakhstan may be tempted to acquire enrichment technology from China, which China will be tempted to provide to secure its relations with Kazakhstan vis-a-vis India. Moreover, in its desire to cultivate nuclear deals with multiple countries, Kazakhstan may be reaching out to cooperate with Iran as a regional power. Amidst Kazakhstan’s ambitions, there is the additional complicating issue of power succession: Nazarbaev, the first President of Kazakhstan and approaching 70, has been successful leading the country since 1991, but leadership that will replace him remains unclear. With his grip on power, Nazarbaev has groomed some obedient parties and officials, but whether they will be able to retain his power and tight control, or pursue his nuclear agenda, is unclear and what direction the country will follow under the new leadership is uncertain.
Competition and Cooperation between Professional Sports Franchises: The Impact on Ticket Prices
Source: Munich Personal RePEc Archive
An important issue in many antitrust lawsuits involving professional sports leagues and their member teams is the extent to which franchises within the same, and across different, professional sports leagues compete with one another for fans and advertisers. Complicating the issue is the fact that some sports franchises also cooperate with other franchises in the same or different leagues by, for example, participating in a joint venture to build and operate the stadium in which they will play their games or a regional sports network joint venture to televise their games. An extreme form of cooperation is common ownership: some franchises in different sports leagues have common ownership. This study investigates the impact of competition and cooperation among the franchises of the four major professional sports leagues (i.e., the National Football League, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, and Major League Baseball) on ticket prices for the 2008 season. The regression results suggest that the existence of one or more rival sports franchises in the same metropolitan area does not have a statistically significant impact on ticket prices. On the other hand, there is at best weak evidence that cooperation between sports franchises impacts ticket prices. These findings are consistent with a number of alternative hypotheses.
+ Full Paper (PDF; 581 KB)
Guidance for pharmacists on the safe destruction of Controlled Drugs : England, Scotland and Wales (PDF; 152 KB)
Source: Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB)
The guidance below has been produced to ensure that the destruction of Controlled Drugs (CDs) within pharmacies is undertaken safely and in accordance with the requirements of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001, as amended, relevant Waste Regulations and with due regard to minimising the risk of such an activity causing pollution or harm to health.
The following organisations have collaborated in the development of this guidance:
- Company Chemists Association
- Community Pharmacy Scotland
- Community Pharmacy Wales
- National Pharmacy Association
- Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee
Tax Foundation Releases Updated Combined State and Local Sales Tax Rates
Source: Tax Foundation
Tennessee, California, Washington state, Oklahoma and Louisiana have the highest combined state and average local sales tax rates, according to updated information released by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation today. On the other end of the scale, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon all have the lowest combined rates of 0 percent.
…
The states with the highest combined state-local rates are Tennessee (9.41 percent), California (9.06 percent), Washington (8.78 percent), Oklahoma (8.44 percent) and Louisiana (8.43 percent). The states with the lowest non-zero combined rates are Alaska (1.61 percent), Hawaii (4.38 percent), Maine (5 percent), Virginia (5 percent), Wisconsin (5.42 percent) and Wyoming (5.42 percent).Four localities in central Alabama have the dubious distinction of having the highest combined sales tax: Brookwood, Coaling, Coker and Vance all have a total sales tax rate of 11 percent, with 4 percent going to the state, 5 percent going to Tuscaloosa County and 2 percent to the city.
California has the highest statewide general sales tax rate of 8.25 percent (including a 1 percent mandatory “local” add-on rate), and six states tie for the second-highest rate of 7 percent: Indiana, North Carolina, Mississippi, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Tennessee. Colorado has the lowest non-zero statewide rate of 2.9 percent, followed by seven states with a 4 percent rate: Alabama, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, New York, South Dakota and Wyoming.
The states with the highest average local sales tax rates are Louisiana (4.43 percent), Colorado (4.34 percent), New York (4.3 percent), Oklahoma (3.94 percent) and Georgia (3.02 percent). The states with the lowest non-zero average local rates are Pennsylvania (0.22 percent), Hawaii (0.34 percent), Minnesota (0.34 percent), Wisconsin (0.42 percent) and Utah (0.66 percent).
Fossil Fuel Production Up Despite Recession
Source: Worldwatch Institute
World production of fossil fuels-oil, coal, and natural gas-increased 2.9 percent in 2008 to reach 27.4 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe) per day. In the first half of the year, producers strained to meet global demand, but when the recession took hold later in the year the market was swamped by excess supply. Energy prices reflected this shift: oil peaked at $144 per barrel in July, then fell to $34 per barrel in December. Continuing a decade-long trend, most of the growth was in the Asia-Pacific region, where production grew 6.3 percent.
Although the global economic crisis has caused a temporary slump in demand, the longterm trend is clear: fossil fuel consumption in developing countries has surpassed that in industrialized countries. With four times the population and a vast demand for economic development to raise standards of living, developing countries will see energy use rise further.
For six years running, coal has led the growth in fossil fuel production. In 2000, it provided just 28 percent of the world’s fossil fuel energy production, compared with 45 percent for oil. But by 2008, coal production reached 9.1 Mtoe per day, representing a third of fossil energy production and a 0.7 percent increase over 2007. The growth in China’s coal consumption since 2000 dwarfs that of all other countries combined. India, second in growth, added less than an eighth as much coal consumption as China during that period.
