Welfare recipients now eligible to receive cell phones | The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.

Another welfare program.

* * * * * J B K * * * * *

San Francisco

Welfare recipients in approximately 20 states–with more to follow– are currently eligible to receive a free cell phone with a limited number of monthly minutes. All individuals that qualify for state or federal welfare–food stamps, Medicaid, etc.–and have an income at or below 135% of the poverty level, are eligible. According to a Fox News report, the cell phone service is currently the fastest growing welfare program in the country.

In 2008, the fund that foots the bill for this program contributed $819 million to subsidize low-income telephone services. The fund is projected to grow to over $1 billion this year. That's $1 billion of over $800 billion the United States will spend on welfare in 2010.

http://blog.heritage.org/2010/01/18/government-welfare-cell-phones-for-the-poor/

L.A. financial crisis causes Wall Street firm to reassess utility's bond rating | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times

One aspect of a financial collapse that's ignored by most economists is the damage done to tax revenues.

In this case, the collapse in economic activity caused a collapse in revenue to an LA utility.

Notice that publicly traded utilities are doing just fine.

* * * * * J B K * * * * *

San Francisco

One of the nation's top bond rating agencies Monday announced it would reassess its bond rating of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, a move that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa blamed on the City Council's failure to approve electricity rate hikes last week.

Fitch Ratings withdrew a "AA-" rating it had given on two DWP bonds worth $720 million. That action can lead to a rating downgrade which, if that occurs, could make it more expensive for the DWP to borrow money.

"Today we are facing the consequences of the city's failure to enact the necessary rate increases with Fitch Ratings, a major credit rating agency, withdrawing the DWP's AA- bond rating, thereby costing the ratepayers more in the long run,'' Villaraigosa said in a statement released Monday evening.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/04/la-financial-crisis-causes-wall-street-firm-to-reasses-utilitys-bond-rating.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+lanowblog+%28L.A.+Now%29

Archaeologists Uncover Land Before Wheel; Site Untouched for 6,000 Years - US National Science Foundation (NSF)

"Social inequality" is the term used to hide the fact that some people are more productive than others.

It is a fact of life that most social scientists - economists included - refuse to recognize.

* * * * * J B K * * * * *

San Francisco

Thus far, archaeologists have unearthed evidence of this society's trade in obsidian and production and development of copper processing, as well as the existence of a social elite that used stone seals to mark ownership of goods and culturally significant items.

"The project addresses questions not only of how such societies emerged but how they were sustained and flourished," said John Yellen, program director for archaeology in the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences directorate. NSF supports the University of Chicago's research.

Covering about 31 acres, Tell Zeidan was situated where the Balikh River joins the Euphrates River in modern-day Syria. The location was at the crossroads of major, ancient trade routes in Mesopotamia that followed the course of the Euphrates River valley. The Ubaid period lasted from about 5300 to 4000 B.C.

"This enigmatic period saw the first development of widespread irrigation, agriculture, centralized temples, powerful political leaders and the first emergence of social inequality as communities became divided into wealthy elites and poorer commoners," said Gil Stein, director of the Oriental Institute and a leader of the expedition.

http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116636&org=NSF&from=news

How Texas Escaped the Housing Crisis - ABC News

I'll be damned.

It's written in the state constitution: no cash-out refis.

I'd prefer to change Fannie and Freddie's underwriting guidelines.

* * * * * J B K * * * * *

San Francisco

But there is a broader secret to Texas's success, and Washington reformers ought to be paying very close attention. If there's one single thing that Congress can do now to help protect borrowers from the worst lending excesses that fueled the mortgage and financial crises, it's to follow the Lone Star State's lead and put the brakes on "cash-out" refinancing and home-equity lending.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/TheBigMoney/texas-escaped-housing-crisis/story?id=10243782

Construction Spending in the U.S. Decreases to Seven-Year Low - Bloomberg.com

It will be a long time before commercial real estate recovers.

The world has changed, and the use of commercial space is changing.

Stay away.

Residential will do just fine.

Everybody needs a home, whether they rent or buy.

Maybe it's time to buy an S&L - again.

* * * * * J B K * * * * *

San Francisco

April 1 (Bloomberg) -- Construction spending in the U.S. fell in February to the lowest level in more than seven years, signaling this part of the economy remains in a recession.

The 1.3 percent decrease to $846.2 billion, the lowest since November 2002, followed a revised 1.4 percent drop in January that was more than twice as large as previously estimated, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington.

Housing will be slow to rebound as foreclosures climb and Americans are uncertain about job prospects. At the same time, commercial and government building are also slumping, restrained by a lack of credit and swelling budget deficits.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=aK4orcqqi590

Payrolls in U.S. Rose 162,000 in March; Unemployment at 9.7% - Bloomberg.com

Wow.

It's not a big number, but it's earlier than even we thought.

Non-farm payrolls started increasing in QI 2010. Make a note.

The bonds are taking this hard, and are breaking minor support.

* * * * * J B K * * * * *

San Francisco

April 2 (Bloomberg) -- Employment in the U.S. increased in March by the most in three years and the unemployment rate held at 9.7 percent as companies gained confidence the economic recovery will be sustained.

Payrolls rose by 162,000 last month, less than anticipated, figures from the Labor Department in Washington showed today. The March increase included 48,000 temporary workers hired by the government to conduct the 2010 census, as well as job gains in manufacturing and health services.

The government revised January and February payroll figures up by a combined 62,000, putting the March gain at 224,000 after including the updated data. Caterpillar Inc. is among companies adding staff, indicating the recovery that began in the second half of 2009 is starting to foster the jobs needed to lift consumer spending and sustain the expansion.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aehAkiag49Hc

U.S. Economy: Factories Drive Growth as Orders Rise (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

Factory orders are an important leading indicator.

* * * * * J B K * * * * *

San Francisco

Manufacturers are driving the U.S. economic recovery as the real estate industry struggles to recover from recession, hurting employment, reports today showed.

Factory orders rose 0.6 percent in February after surging 2.5 percent, the Commerce Department said in Washington, while businesses responding to a survey by the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc. grew for a sixth straight month in March. Figures from ADP Employer Services showed an unexpected 23,000 drop in company payrolls this month, led by a slump in construction jobs.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=aX8QHc29VHhY