"The EPA claims that OG&E failed to estimate emissions that did not occur. They are suing OG&E in an effort to force the company 'to assess whether its projects were likely to result in a significant [GHG] emissions increase.' The EPA had no authority to regulate GHG emissions when the work was done (2003 & 2006). The work (on boilers and turbine blade replacements) caused no emissions increase." Continue reading →
"Like many titans, the company is under pressure to increase profits while revenues are declining. Hence the need to cut costs. One solution: offshoring to cheap countries! The company announced in its annual report that it would undertake 'its largest ever foreign investment – construction of a direct reduction plant,' not in cheap countries like China or Indonesia, but in Texas. The plant will employ 150 people. The price of natural gas in the US is 'about one quarter of the price in Europe,' the company conceded. It would allow the company to produce low-cost HBI for its plants in Linz and Donawitz and ensure 'their competitiveness in the long term.'" Continue reading →
"Health care insurance premiums in 2014 will rise 100%. Some will rise 400%. Premiums will not rise for my wife. She is exempt from ObamaCare, yet she has no health insurance. She has health care non-insurance. She pays $85 a month for a program of shared liability for sickness. It's not insurance, legally. It is not regulated by the government. If she has to get an operation or major medical service, she will not have to pay. For an extra $2 a month, she is in a supplemental program in case the bill goes above $125,000. It does not pay for office visits or prescriptions." Continue reading →
"Until now, the administration had proposed that exchanges verify whether new applicants receive employer-sponsored insurance benefits through random checks. It also sought to require marketplaces to verify each enrollee's income status. But final regulations released quietly on Friday by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) give 16 states and the District of Columbia, which are setting up their own exchanges, until 2015 to begin random sampling of enrollees' employer-insurance status. The rules also allow only random— rather than comprehensive—checks on income eligibility in 2014." Continue reading →
"All branches of the Federal Government have been complicit in the warrantless surveillance of U.S. residents since before World War II when FDR authorized wiretaps of individuals suspected of Nazi sympathies. With the passage of the National Security Act in 1952 and the establishment of the National Security Council, it became standard government practice. Only the rudimentary technology of the time limited its scope. Fear – now of terrorism and whatever other apprehension the government, particularly the executive, can stir up — continues as the principal determinant of 21st century government surveillance of its citizens." Continue reading →
"Microsoft helped the NSA to circumvent its encryption to address concerns that the agency would be unable to intercept web chats on the new Outlook.com portal; [...]; The company worked with the FBI this year to allow the NSA easier access via Prism to its cloud storage service SkyDrive, which now has more than 250 million users worldwide; [...] Skype, which was bought by Microsoft in October 2011, worked with intelligence agencies last year to allow Prism to collect video of conversations as well as audio; Material collected through Prism is routinely shared with the FBI and CIA, with one NSA document describing the program as a 'team sport'." Continue reading →
"It all started one Saturday morning when Jarl Syvertsen, a 59-year-old disabled Norwegian man, purchased a PC, TVs, and washing machines for 80,000 kroner which he paid in cash. On Sunday a male and a female police officer appeared on Mr Syvertsen’s doorstep. The police were there with a warrant to search his home, charging that the cash he had spent was money that 'came from a criminal offense.' In fact, the money was actually part of an approximately one-million dollar advance on an inheritance he had received. The police would have none of it and proceeded to invade his home and his privacy." Continue reading →
“The Internal Revenue Service inadvertently exposed the Social Security numbers of tens of thousands of individuals online who donated money to tax-exempt organizations involved in political activities. There are thousands of 527 groups, which run the gamut of issues and … Continue reading →
"A couple of economists at a German think tank put together a 'tax attractiveness' ranking based on 16 different variables. The statutory tax rate is one of the measures, of course, but they also look at policies such as 'the taxation of dividends and capital gains, withholding taxes, the existence of a group taxation regime, loss offet provision, the double tax treaty network, thin capitalization rules, and controlled foreign company (CFC) rules.' The United Arab Emirates has one of the world’s most attractive corporate tax systems, notwithstanding having the highest corporate tax rate. Unfortunately, the United States remains mired near the bottom." Continue reading →
"Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it was scrapping plans to build three stores in Washington, D.C., after the city council passed a bill late Wednesday that would require big retailers to pay starting wages that are 50% higher than the city’s minimum wage. The bill requires retailers with corporate sales of $1 billion or more and with stores of at least 75,000 square feet to pay workers starting salaries of no less than $12.50 an hour. The city’s minimum wage is $8.25. The measure includes an exemption for unionized businesses and gives existing big stores, which include Target Corp. and Macy’s Inc., four years to comply." Continue reading →