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Romney Rips GOP Leaders - Including His Own VP Nominee - for 2011 Budget Deal

By Jake Tapper | ABC OTUS News – 9 hrs ago

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., as chair of the House Budget Committee, was part of the team that signed off on the budget deal with the White House, mandating immediate spending cuts, creating a "Super-committee" tasked to finding $1.5 trillion in further deficit rediction, and raising a self-imposed sword of Damocles -

Writing at the National Review Online at the time, ">Ryan said the bill was a "reasonable, responsible effort to cut government spending, avoid a default, and help create a better environment for job creation."

Read The Rest - Jake Tapper

Can Obama Even Count that high in his lifetime?

IMF’s Lagarde: US Must Address ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Now to Avoid Disaster Read more: IMF’s Lagarde: US Has To Address ‘Fiscal Cliff’ To Avoid Any Disaster

By Forrest Jones

The U.S. economy is growing, albeit tepidly, and can continue to improve provided lawmakers address the fast-approaching “fiscal cliff” sooner rather than later, says Christine Lagarde, managing director at the International Monetary Fund, a multilateral lending institution.

The fiscal cliff will hit at the last day of the year, when Bush-era tax cuts and other tax holidays expire right when automatic spending cuts designated under the 2011 debt ceiling agreement kick in.

The combination of tax hikes and spending cuts at the same time could siphon billions out of the economy next year alone and derail recovery.
Editor's Note: Economist Unapologetically Calls Out Bernanke, Obama for Mishandling Economy. See What They Did

Congress can adjust the timing of the events.

"If those risks materialize, or if the threat of it grows, that could really, Number one, erode confidence and Number two, if they were to materialize, it could contract the U.S. economy that we see growing in 2012 at about 2 percent and 2.3 percent in 2013," Lagarde tells CNBC.

"But if these risks were to materialize, it would reduce that growth to almost nothing. The second downside risk is the risk coming from the outside. That is the eurozone. Deterioration of the situation in the eurozone area would be a risk to the U.S. recovery."

The sooner the government gets busy the better and that goes beyond temporary measures taken by the government.

"It would be far better, far better that it is addressed early on and before we get close to the risk. We think that the debt ceiling risk is likely to materialize very early in 2013, and I'm sure the Treasury Department can use certain tools and mechanism to push the deficit cliff a little bit into 2013," Lagarde says.

"If there was an agreement early on, it would be a serious confidence booster for the U.S. economy."

Some lawmakers are suggesting allowing the fiscal cliff to occur on January 1, 2013.

The logic, however, would be that after November's elections, a new government could quickly tackle the problem, as neither party wants the damage from the fiscal cliff to occur, and with the government flush in fresh tax revenues at the beginning of the year, a quick decision on adjusting tax hikes and spending cuts would cause only minimal damage, even if tax cuts, for example, were retroactive.

"My preference would not be to accept a lesser solution than you could get in February and March just to say that you got it done before the end of the year," say Senator Roy Blunt, a member of Republican leadership and congressional liaison to Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, according to Reuters.
Editor's Note: Economist Unapologetically Calls Out Bernanke, Obama for Mishandling Economy. See What They Did



© 2012 Moneynews. All rights reserved.



Read more: IMF’s Lagarde: US Must Address ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Now to Avoid Disaster

California's Stockton Opts to File for Bankruptcy

In opting to become the nation's largest city to seek federal bankruptcy protection, Stockton, Calif., took a rare financial step of last resort after struggling with the economic downturn, soaring pension costs and contractual obligations.

Only 13 cities, counties and other government entities filed for bankruptcy protection last year — the highest annual level in nearly two decades. Stockton, a river port of 290,000, was the seventh U.S. municipality to file this year and the first California city since Vallejo, which sought protection in 2008, according to James Spiotto, a Chicago bankruptcy attorney who tracks municipal bankruptcies.

"Filing bankruptcy is time-consuming, expensive and complicated," said Spiotto, noting that Vallejo spent millions of dollars alone on attorneys and other bankruptcy professionals. "And you never get the results you desire."

That's why experts are divided on whether other financially struggling cities, towns and other government entities will follow Stockton to bankruptcy court. Spiotto said it will be hard and expensive for Stockton to obtain financing.

Others say bankruptcy comes with non-monetary costs, too.

"Being in bankruptcy is decimating to your staff and morale," said Deborah Lauchner, Vallejo's finance director. "There's so much uncertainty. ... We've been taken apart and ripped by the seams and everybody examined us."

Since Congress added Chapter 9 to the bankruptcy code in 1937 to allow municipalities to seek protection, some 640 government entities have filed. Last year's 13 filings almost doubled the six filed in 2010. That was the most since an equal number were filed in 1994.

By comparison, roughly 1.5 million Americans file for personal bankruptcy a year while some 50,000 companies file for business bankruptcy.

"Bankruptcy is a huge drain on municipalities, because they have limited ways to create more revenue," said Los Angeles bankruptcy lawyer Karol Denniston.

Stockton City Manager Bob Deis said officials were left with little choice but to recommend bankruptcy after failing to hammer out finance agreements with creditors to address the city's $26 million budget shortfall.

"Unfortunately we have no comprehensive set of agreements with our creditors that would eliminate the deficit and avoid insolvency," Deis said at the City Council meeting Tuesday night. He said, however, that the city was still negotiating with some creditors and could reach deals with as many as one-third of them.

"We think Chapter 9 protection is the only choice left," Deis said. "If we get any agreements, those will be honored in Chapter 9."

The City Council on Tuesday voted 6-1 to adopt a special bankruptcy budget to address Stockton's $26 million shortfall if the city files for bankruptcy, as expected, by Friday.

The city has been hit hard by high crime and the collapse of the housing market in the past three years. It's also dealt with $90 million in deficits through a series of drastic cuts.

The new budget did not call for additional service cuts beyond those that earlier slashed the police force by one-fourth, the fire department by one-third and 40 percent of other city employees, along with wages and medical benefits.

The budget approved Tuesday night would suspend payments for debts and legal claims; reduce payments for retiree medical benefits; further cut some pay and benefits; and increase revenue through code enforcement and parking citations.

In standing room only chambers, former city employees told council members about their life-threatening medical conditions and said benefit cuts meant they would effectively lose their health insurance.

"For me, bankruptcy might as well be a life sentence," said Gary Jones, a retiree who used to be a police officer in Stockton and said he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Other residents complained about plummeting property values, and recurring break-ins and robberies.

"The average citizen will not put up with this. Their home prices have plummeted, they have no jobs, a lot of people are getting fed up so that they have to resort to crime." said Gregory Pitsch, a 22-year-old unemployed resident who made an unsuccessful run for mayor. "I'm asking you to make the right decision, not destroy the property values in this city, which bankruptcy will do."

But city officials said this Central Valley city in California's agricultural heartland has run out of options. In recent years, thousands of new homes mushroomed in Stockton, part of a suburban housing boom that attracted buyers from the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. When the economy crashed and the construction bubble burst, Stockton was battered by foreclosures and lost income from property taxes and other fees.

Under bankruptcy protection, officials would retain power over day-to-day city operations and staffing, but a judge would take over all decisions concerning the city's debts, said Robert Benedetti, professor of political science at the University of the Pacific in Stockton.

The judge would decide which creditors should be paid, how much and in what order. He would make allowances for expenditures needed by the city to function, and it would be up to city officials to decide how to spend that money.

"One of reasons a city might want to go the bankruptcy route is that they don't want a situation where they have to pay out debts and have to close the police or fire department," Benedetti said. "Filing for Chapter 9 means you're asking the court to protect you against lawsuits from people who hold your debt.

"Bankruptcy won't take away Stockton's underlying financial problems, one of which is the economy, the high unemployment rate and the high foreclosure rate," he said. "It will take years for them to come out of this.""

If Stockton files for bankruptcy, it would be the largest city by population to do so, according to Spiotto, the Chicago bankruptcy lawyer who tracks filings. He said Bridgeport, Conn., is currently the largest city to file for bankruptcy, which it did in 1991.

Jefferson County in Alabama is the largest local government bankruptcy filing to date in terms of the size of its debt. It occurred in November 2011 and was followed by Orange County, Calif., in 1994.

Stockton was the first city to test a new state mediation law, Assembly Bill 506, which is less than six months old.

Under the law, municipalities considering bankruptcy must first negotiate behind closed doors with creditors for up to three months, with the goal of settling debts without filing for Chapter 9 protection.

Bankruptcy lawyer Denniston, who helped draft the bill, said legislators in other states are interested in how the mediation process could be used elsewhere.

"Nationwide, we're faced with a ton of municipal distress," Denniston said, noting dire economic conditions, massive foreclosures and future pension obligations. "It's the perfect storm."

Barack Obama: The Most Arrogant Man in the World

DailyHoroscope.com | Daily horoscopes written by Rick Levine & Jeff Jawer

DailyHoroscope.com | Daily horoscopes written by Rick Levine & Jeff Jawer

Gov. Jerry Brown warns more budget cuts are coming

By Chris Megerian and Anthony York, Los Angeles Times
May 11, 2012

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown warned Californians on Thursday to brace for another round of difficult budget cuts as he hand-delivered boxes of petitions to election officials requesting that his proposed tax hike be placed on the November ballot.

Brown, who is expected to unveil his revised budget proposal Monday, said he needed far more than the $4.2 billion in spending reductions he asked for in January. And he continued to raise the specter of even deeper wounds to public schools, colleges and other state services if his bid for tax hikes fails.

"With this tax measure, and with the cuts that I'll be proposing on Monday, California will put itself in a very, very strong position," said Brown, flanked by his wife and dog at the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters.

It's become a familiar refrain from the governor — telling Californians to trust that he is being frugal while asking them to open their wallets wider. Brown hopes the message sticks even as the mood in Sacramento turns grim.

Tax revenue has lagged by $3.5 billion and the state has shelled out $2.1 billion more than expected so far in the current budget, according to the state controller. Brown said Thursday that his new spending plan will fall between $85 billion and $90 billion, down from the $92.6 billion proposal he released in January.

A budget for the new fiscal year, which begins July 1, is due from the Legislature by June 15.

The linchpin of the governor's financial plan is his request that voters approve a quarter-cent increase in the state sales tax for four years and a seven-year hike on incomes of $250,000 or more that will range from 1 to 3 percentage points. He says the measure would raise $9 billion in the upcoming budget year.

Brown has said that he would be forced to cut $5.4 billion from the next budget — mostly from public schools and colleges — if his tax plan failed. That number is expected to increase in his revised proposal Monday.

The cautious optimism of January, when Democrats hoped that a windfall from Facebook's IPO and a rebounding economy could help them dodge social service cuts, has now given way to an acceptance in the Capitol that sagging revenue will require steeper reductions than expected.

Activists who have met with administration officials said they expect cuts in health and welfare programs in particular. Casey Young, a lobbyist for AARP, said Brown's health secretary, Diana Dooley, "appeared visibly shaken by the choices she was having to sort through" in a recent meeting.

It's not just the poor and needy who are likely to feel the ax. Brown is also expected to ask unions to help reduce state payroll costs. Yvonne Walker, president of Service Employees International Union Local 1000, the largest state worker union, said she had been conferring with administration officials on the issue.

She assured union members in an email that "furloughs are not on the table," as they have been in past years.

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Stockton Should boost its Image with Jobs

Stockton city leaders met for a town hall meeting with residents, and together they discussed the ongoing financial challenges that are facing the city.

The meeting lasted more than two hours, and Mayor Ann Johnston and City Manager Bob Dies answered the questions posed by the 100 or so attendees. They even waited out a protest by representatives of the Occupy movement.

Throughout the meeting, city officials stressed the steps being taken now do not mean the city is heading to bankruptcy. In fact, the AB 506 process is designed to avoid bankruptcy. However, they presented three options for a balanced budget: deep cuts to personnel and salaries, a successful AB 506 negotiation, or bankruptcy. The city has until July 1 to adopt a balanced budget.

Should the city look to further impose cuts on employees, the city would have to cut 64 police officers, close two fire stations, and instill other cuts. In the opinion of the city leaders, those cuts are both unsafe and unwise.

Meanwhile Barack Obama, Overstays his Welcome in Afghanistan.

Expert sources on Calif. governor’s new green-building order

April 26, 2012
The following UC Davis experts are available to talk about the bold targets outlined in the governor’s green building order issued April 25. The executive order (B-18-12) aims to ensure that state facilities waste less energy on lighting, water, air-conditioning and heating.

UC Davis leadership in California energy savings

Nicole Woolsey Biggart, director of the UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center, holder of the Chevron Chair in Energy Efficiency, and professor at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, is an expert in organizational theory and management of innovation, and can discuss the barriers to implementation of energy efficient technologies in the commercial building industry. The Energy Efficiency Center works with inventors, utilities and investors to propel promising energy efficiency solutions to the market, with a focus on lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and water use and transport. Contact: Nicole Woolsey Biggart, Energy Efficiency Center, (530) 304-5052, nwbiggart@ucdavis.edu.

How to slash lighting energy use

When the California Public Utilities Commission called for a 60 to 80 percent statewide reduction in electrical lighting consumption by 2020, UC Davis was the first large institution in the state to act. Guided by UC Davis’ California Lighting Technology Center, campus administrators began a Smart Lighting Initiative to reduce the campus's electricity use for all lighting by 60 percent by the end of 2015. Already, some campus facilities have achieved greater than 70 percent savings with the latest technologies. Contact: Michael Siminovitch, CLTC, (530) 747-3835, mjsiminovitch@ucdavis.edu. Also reach Siminovitch through Kelly Cunningham, CLTC outreach director, (530) 747-3824, kcunning@ucdavis.edu.





How California purchasing power can drive change

“The governor’s new executive order provides an opportunity for the state to further demonstrate leadership by using its purchasing power to drive innovation and adoption of efficiency technologies and strategies,” said Anthony Eggert, executive director of the new UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment and the Economy. Before Eggert came to UC Davis in January, he advised Gov. Brown on clean energy and efficiency policy. Contact: Anthony Eggert, UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment and the Economy, (530) 752-1083, areggert@ucdavis.edu. (Traveling in China until April 29; use e-mail, expect delay.)

Curbing lighting’s big energy appetite

Lighting accounts for nearly 30 percent of California's electricity use. Due to continued use of inefficient lighting, much of this energy is wasted. The California Public Utilities Commission has called for a 60 to 80 percent statewide reduction in electrical lighting consumption by 2020. The California Lighting Technology Center at UC Davis works closely with state agencies, manufacturing partners, and the research community to add new requirements in the pending state building code. “Upgrades for state facilities represent a significant opportunity to achieve our energy efficiency goals, provide green jobs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions statewide,” said Michael Siminovitch, director of the California Lighting Technology Center and holder of the UC Davis Rosenfeld Chair in Energy Efficiency. Contact: Michael Siminovitch, CLTC, (530) 747-3835, mjsiminovitch@ucdavis.edu. Also reach Siminovitch through Kelly Cunningham, CLTC outreach director, (530) 747-3824, kcunning@ucdavis.edu.

Making rooms comfortable with less energy

Energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air-conditioning/cooling (HVAC) is the mission of UC Davis’ Western Cooling Efficiency Center. The center is supported by the California Energy Commission, as well as industry affiliates including utilities, manufacturers and contractors. Its research has changed California Title 24 policy to make rooftop packaged cooling units more efficient. The center has also installed and evaluated energy-saving strategies for the CEC’s Public Interest Energy Research program, such as “demand control” kitchen ventilation. Western Cooling Efficiency Center director Mark Modera developed Aeroseal, for sealing HVAC ducts in homes, recently named the “best home improvement” product by This Old House Magazine and currently under study in a Stockton home. Modera holds the UC Davis Sempra Energy Chair in Energy Efficiency. Contact: Mark Modera, Western Cooling Efficiency Center, (530) 754-7671, mpmodera@ucdavis.edu.

Less energy to use and move water

Almost 20 percent of electricity used in California is spent moving, using and treating water. Frank Loge, director of the UC Davis Center for Water-Energy Efficiency said, "Public policy and business practice have treated water and energy as separate resources, but they are inexorably linked.” The center’s researchers have worked with the UC Davis Child Family Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship to commercialize water- and energy-conservation technologies, such as a system to convert wastewater into biodegradable plastic (being developed by Micromidas in West Sacramento). Center researchers have also begun work on a statewide strategic plan for water-energy conservation. Loge is a professor of civil and environmental engineering. Contact: Frank Loge, Center for Water-Energy Efficiency, (530) 754-2297, fjloge@ucdavis.edu.http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10221&preview=yes




About UC Davis

For more than 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matter to California and transform the world. Located close to the state capital, UC Davis has more than 32,000 students, more than 2,500 faculty and more than 21,000 staff, an annual research budget that exceeds $684 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges — Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science. It also houses six professional schools — Education, Law, Management, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.

Additional information:

Governor's Executive Order B-18-12
California Lighting Technology Center
Center for Water-Energy Efficiency
Energy Efficiency Center
UC Davis West Village
Western Cooling Efficency Center
Media contact(s):

Sylvia Wright, Energy Efficiency Center, (530) 304-2697, swright@ucdavis.edu
Kat Kerlin, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-7704, kekerlin@ucdavis.edu, Cell: (530) 750-9195