Monthly Archives: January 2013

U.S. Birth Rate Falls to a Record Low; Decline Is Greatest Among Immigrants

"The U.S. birth rate dipped in 2011 to the lowest ever recorded, led by a plunge in births to immigrant women since the onset of the Great Recession. The overall U.S. birth rate, which is the annual number of births per 1,000 women in the prime childbearing ages of 15 to 44, declined 8% from 2007 to 2010. The birth rate for U.S.-born women decreased 6% during these years, but the birth rate for foreign-born women plunged 14%—more than it had declined over the entire 1990-2007 period. The birth rate for Mexican immigrant women fell even more, by 23%." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Birth Rate Falls to a Record Low; Decline Is Greatest Among Immigrants

Hollywood Gets Tax Break Extension, While Payroll Extension Break Ended

"Section 317 of the freshly approved legislation includes an extension for 'special expensing rules for certain film and television productions.' The fiscal cliff deal extends the tax incentives through 2013--even as payroll taxes rise on ordinary Americans. The original tax incentive applied to productions costing less than $15 million to make ($20 million in low-income areas). The 2008 extension applies to all films, up to a deduction of $15 million (or $20 million in low-income areas). The incentive is especially generous to television series; it applies to each TV episode." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHollywood Gets Tax Break Extension, While Payroll Extension Break Ended

5 Urgent Questions for 2013

"No matter what Washington does at the 11th hour tonight, we end the year with one, absolutely indisputable, conclusion: The mammoth U.S. debt monster is not going away. It’s continuing to grow. And in early 2013, it will return to haunt the White House, Congress and the Fed in a great, new debt ceiling debate! Here are the hard facts." Continue reading →

Continue Reading5 Urgent Questions for 2013

ProPublica: Govt Now Runs the US Mortgage Marketplace

"The American home mortgage market has, for all practical purposes, become nationalized since the 2008 financial meltdown, according to an analysis by ProPublica, the non-profit investigative journalism project. The takeover, without which the housing market could barely function, has occurred against a backdrop of little planning or public discussion. In fact, nine out of every 10 new mortgages are now backed by the U.S. taxpayer, up from three in 10 in 2006. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the taxpayer-supported housing giants, alone guaranteed 69 percent of new mortgages in the first nine months of 2012." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingProPublica: Govt Now Runs the US Mortgage Marketplace

Is Your Portfolio Ready for this Coming Disaster?

"Our economy is under the control of a drunk driver, who is now making decisions based on broken metrics. I’m talking about the Fed. It has announced its newest plan to boost the economy. And the plan is based on two key, terribly flawed numbers. This is likely to end in disaster. The Fed has recently announced it will print $85 billion every single month until inflation rises above 2.5% or unemployment drops to 6.5%. Printing money in itself is a dangerous activity. When you decide how much you print based on two flawed metrics, then it almost ensures disaster. The numbers the Fed uses to measure inflation and unemployment are useless." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs Your Portfolio Ready for this Coming Disaster?

City steakhouses suffer as Midwest drought sends meat prices soaring

"Beef was already in short supply — a victim of earlier droughts and rises in the costs of fuel and feed. During this year’s drought, ranchers reluctant to buy expensive grain feed brought young — and thin — cattle to market early, which will spur another shortage and could threaten fatter cuts of beef. At the famed Peter Luger Steakhouse in Brooklyn, the New York strip is already up 11 percent, to $46.95, said owner Amy Rubenstein. But nearly all restaurants are bracing for the worst. Peter Glazier, owner of Michael Jordan’s Steak House, said meat purveyors are warning of increases of up to 20 percent in the coming year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCity steakhouses suffer as Midwest drought sends meat prices soaring

Why Buffalo wings will break your budget in 2013

"The Buffalo wing isn’t the only food item projected to jump in price next year, though it is one of the more dramatic upward shifts. Because of a drought that parched the Midwestern part of the country this past summer, nearly every food product tied to corn will see price increases in 2013. And overall, household food prices are expected to rise between 3 and 4 percent, according to projections from the 2012-2013 Food Price Outlook from the US Department of Agriculture. In addition to the corn itself, which had a weak crop as a result of the drought, prices will go up on proteins like beef and chicken, because livestock feed is primarily made of corn." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy Buffalo wings will break your budget in 2013

America’s Allies Feed Christians to the Dogs

"Andrei Arbashe, a young Syrian Christian, had just gotten married and his wife was about to give birth. He had his life ahead of him. But thanks to the US/Saudi/Qatari/Israeli-supported rebels that was not to be. Instead, as the Australian reports today, he was beheaded by Obama and Hillary's rebels, cut into pieces, and fed to the dogs. His 'crime' was nothing more than his being a Christian whose brother was overheard complaining of the brutality of the rebels. The rebels are also schooling the children in the arts of beheading bound prisoners whose crime is loyalty to the Syrian government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmerica’s Allies Feed Christians to the Dogs