Sec of State looks to increase foreclosure protection

The Taunton Daily Gazette reports here that Secretary of State William Galvin will file legislation to require banks to go before a judge in order to foreclose. Massachusetts does not require court review on a foreclosure proceeding.
There have been a lot of questionable practices on the foreclosure process around the country. Yves Smith over at Naked Capitalism blog has some great posts about the abuses and why they are important. This post is a good start. Select "real estate" in topics on her blog and read a few posts. Don't think that fraud and sloppiness in foreclosures is a problem. Someone did not pay their mortgage, right?
It gets a lot messier than that. Like the securities sold by the banks ...
...which were not properly constituted and the banks have to buy them back or a foreclosed home is sold twice.
Yep, two different buyers both paid for the same place. How does that happen? Could it happen to you? Maybe, and that is a big problem for our economy. Click here to read on!

Unemployment insurance, tax cuts and recovery

This post at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities talks about the effects that unemployment insurance and tax cuts have on the recovery and the long term deficit. The finding was that extending unemployment insurance ...
... and tax cuts targeted at low income taxpayers cost less and create more stimulus than extending tax cuts to the wealthiest 2% of taxpayers.
What do you think? Click here to read on!

We Are In DEEP Trouble

The Labor Department reports that the labor market remained weak last month. Nationwide 39,000 jobs were created and the unemployment rate was 9.8%. There are 15 million unemployed in the nation.
Meanwhile the GOP is preventing extension of unemployment benefits and have no plan on how to increase demand for goods and services. Increased demand must occur before we will see a decline in unemployment. Unemployment compensation is the most effective means to counter cyclical recessionary declines. But the Republicans will not continue the benefit unless tycoons get a tax cut. In fact, the House Republicans (all but three) just yesterday voted against extending tax cuts on the first $250,000 of earnings by the nation's taxpayers.
Some comments here have placed the blame on the unemployed for needing the benefit. I don't believe that 15 million workers are kicked back on their couches waiting until their $300 a week benefit runs out. Think about that. The average unemployment benefit is $300 a week. Think about how your household would get by on $300 a week.
There are no jobs out there ... .
... and won't be until there is increased demand for goods and services. There will not be increased demand without someone spending some money. That is where the federal government must step up. People have no money to spend, states have no money to spend, businesses don't hire people unless they need the additional labor to produce for the market. Even now states are facing budget shortfalls that will throw even more people out of work. Something needs to be done and I don't see a plan from anyone in Washington on what to do. The Center for American Progress lays out the case for more stimulus at this link. All the talk is about deficits and I maintain that most Republicans (those not in the Congress) and most Americans don't give a flip about the deficit. Remember just a decade ago, the federal government had a surplus and was projecting surpluses in the future. That was before the ill-advised Bush tax cuts (trickle down does not work, never has), two expensive and ridiculous wars and a $500 billion unpaid for prescription drug benefit. We need to get our economy working again, get revenues up, and health care costs down. If Congressional Republicans won't allow more stimulus or even continue anti recessionary policies like unemployment, and want to repeal the only legislation that can curb health care costs, then please tell me what should be done. Please just skip the part where Barney Frank made all the banks give mortgages to poor people. It is not true and it doesn't matter now.
The country is in real trouble and our leaders fiddle while Rome burns.
DEEP Trouble Click here to read on!

Our Commonwealth leads the nation in health care coverage

Mass Budget has this report on the health care coverage in our state. We lead the nation in covering our citizens. This recent paper from Mass Budget shows that the Bay State is recovering from the recession more rapidly than most of the country.
Despite a terrible economic situation, our state has remained true to its values as a commonwealth and provided care ...
... for our citizens while promoting an atmosphere where business can prosper.
I think that nation could learn a lesson from our state. What do you think?
Click here to read on!

Bay State employment surging

Johnk at Blue Mass Group notes that Massachusetts employment numbers have been very strong. The state and country are coming from such a deep hole this year...

...it is hard to see out but the numbers look good. What do you think about the state of employment in Massachusetts? Click here to read on!

How do we get people back to work?

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (Mass Budget) has a report on steps state and local governments can take to stimulate job growth. Follow this link to the report. The paper covers the economic theory behind stimulus, ...

... what the federal and state government can do to create jobs, constraints on state measures, and specific proposals for Massachusetts.
Unemployment is not abating and is affecting many families. What would you like to see done to get people back to work? Click here to read on!

Massachusetts job numbers looking better

David has this post at Blue Mass Group about employment gains in the Bay State.

Largest job growth in 17 years.

We are leading the nation to recovery Click here to read on!

Commonwelth has low business taxes and poor business environment

While the title of this post may seem contradictory, low business tax and a poor environment is what two recent studies found when looking at the tax structure in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (Mass Budget) has this report on business taxes in the Commonwealth. The finding was that our state, with a rate at 4%, ranked 43rd among all states in business tax.
(more after the jump)

However, the myriad of tax breaks and exemptions in our code lead another study to conclude that the business environment is not that good, ranking 35th among all states. The Mass Budget report says,

"While business taxes in Massachusetts are low, the state’s tax system does not meet these criteria for a good tax system. The Massachusetts corporate tax system includes numerous special tax breaks for specific industries, such as mutual funds, manufacturing, and the motion picture industry."

The tax breaks given to industries is called the tax expenditure budget and amounts to some $6 billion. While many of the tax breaks would be readily accepted by residents as a good way to attract and business investment in the state, there are those that are questionable. One of those that I find a bit troubling is the movie industry subsidy. I think that most of the jobs created by that subsidy are temporary and the amount being provided is excessive.
For that reason, I support the Governor's proposal to cap the total subsidy at $50 milion. It appears that the legislature not go along with that.
This link is an opinion in support of that
And this one is in opposition to the cap.
I find Representative Steve D'Amico's arguments at this link to be sound and compelling.
Click here to read on!

Fairness to taxpayers

Here's why we should tax the big banks


Too big to fail, should be too big to exist. Time for regulatory reform.
Click here to read on!

Scott Brown loves those bankers

The Wall Street Journal reports that Scott Brown opposes taxing the big banks. The Brown campaign said,

“Scott Brown is opposed to higher taxes, especially in the midst of a severe recession. Raising taxes will kill jobs. Martha Coakley’s tax-raising policies will make it harder to get our economy back on the right track.”

Having wrecked our economy by gaming assets prices while carting off huge fees and bonuses, we are to believe that banks have the best interest of the economy in mind. Look at the great job that the banks and Wall Street have done in providing jobs. 10% unemployment!
The taxpayers have bailed out the financial sector to prevent a depression and President Obama wants to tax them ...

... to get our money back over time. I say that is fair and should be done. The New York Times article about the proposed tax is here.
Click here to read on!

Massachusetts showing signs of recovery

The economy of Massachusett is showing some signs that it is coming out of recession. David over at Blue Mass Group has this post about the improving job market and a recovery in state revenue. The Commonwealth is outpacing the rest of the country on the road to recovery. I know it doesn't feel like that to most people but this is the worst economic downturn in decades.
One reason for that recovery may be that Massachusetts has a skilled and educated work force and a good quality of life for citizens here in the Bay State. CNBC ranked our state as 8th in the nation a place to do business. One statistic that caught my attention ...

... was that our workforce produces a higher per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) than the other seven states ranked above us. CNBC didn't rank the states on that basis but only New York workers produced more value per capita.
Looking at the criteria for workforce, it seems to me that states who have a more unionized workforce were not given high marks. I think that is not correct and may have worked against Massachusetts' ranking.
The worst place to do business according to CNBC, Alaska, don't cha know!

Click here to read on!

Bay State bucks national trend. Unemployment declines

David at Blue Mass Group posts here about this Boston Globe article. The light at the end of the tunnel? We'll see.

What do you think about employment. The President is talking about a jobs bill. Needed or not?
Click here to read on!

Mass Budget totals up stimulus for Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center has a new report out on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds that are headed for the Bay State. The total estimated is $17.7 billion dollars. Here is a link to the full report.
This total is comprised of:

* $3.6 billion to help the state address the budget gap
* $5.8 billion in tax and related benefits to residents
* $2 billion in other direct benefits to residents
* $942 million in infrastructure repairs and improvements
* $5.4 billion for workforce training, education, research, energy efficiency and other ARRA priorities

The Mass Budget report breaks down the list above as follows;

For each item, this report:

* Describes the total ARRA appropriation.
* Estimates the total funding level for Massachusetts over the course of the
program.
* Provides the funding allocation Massachusetts has received as of Sept. 30.
* Estimates the amount of the allocation that has already been spent.
* Describes what has happened over the past seven months and what is expected to
happen in the months to come.
* Assesses whether the funds address the state’s current budget crisis.
* Describes any restrictions on funds.

Some of the categories, such as education, public safety and human services, have already allocated much the funds. Others, such as infrastructure, energy, and health care, have allocated half or less.
This is an interesting read for those who are curious about where the stimulus money is going.
Click here to read on!

Your tax dollars at work

I couldn't believe what I read in this Reuters article via TPM media.
Apparently failure is cause for reward these days. If you run a company into the ground or advocated for an unnecessary and tragic war, you get bonuses and attention.

Only the taxpayers get the shaft.
I understand why the tea party crowd is angry when I see things like record bonuses for Wall Street after a financial collapse. If only Glenn Beck focused on the corporate thieves instead of working for them, we might get somewhere
Click here to read on!

Governor to reveiew revenues and look at mid year budget cuts.

Governor Patrick's administration is meeting Friday to review the reviews so far this fiscal year and to discuss possible mid-year budgets cuts, called 9C cuts, as the revenues are far short of projections. Judy Meredith over at Blue Mass Group has a post on the shortfalls here. She notes that the Governor may ask for authority to cut beyond the executive branch agencies.
In past recessions, state revenues have lagged the recovery ...

... and the deepest cuts were made after the recovery was well underway. This is due to the fact that tax receipts lag the upturn as filing and payments are not due to the following quarter or year. I am not sure that we have even seen the bottom of the recession yet, so we may be in for some very lean times.
Click here to read on!

It's not easy being green

Ianugo at the Blue Mass Group has a post here about the Green Jobs Act of 2008 and how it has positioned Massachusetts well to receive federal stimulus funds which are targeted at green initiatives.
The Obama administration is emphasizing this type of environmentally-friendly job promotion and our Commonwealth has already secured a wind turbine testing facility in Charlestown. Let's hope some of the funds can find their way to our area given the news of layoffs this morning.
You tube embed after the jump


Click here to read on!

State House looks at draconian cuts

The Standard Times published an article this morning about their meeting with state House Ways and Means chair, Rep. Charles A. Murphy, D-Burlington.
The representative does not feel that any tax hikes are likely, that casino income is years away, and local option taxes, ...

... such as the room and meals tax, are going to pass. As I posted here, even without additional revenue, Dartmouth is moving toward a sustainable budget. It seems that the town was prudent in not expecting and planning on the additional revenue.
Representative Murphy also indicated that the county sheriffs may be going away and that the state may mandate regional delivery of services.
Click here to read on!

Federal stimulus

Blue Mass Group has some details on the stimulus bill funding that may be headed to Massachusetts. Medicaid and education will get a big boost. Other details will be coming out as the funds are apportioned. While some have critized the specific ...

...programs that were included, I think the stimulus is the right thing right now. The question to me comes down to, "What is the alternative?".
Click here to read on!

OMG! How bad is it going to be.

Here is a chart of job losses during the current recession.(lightiris at Blue Mass Group)

Heckuva job, Bushie!
Click here to read on!

Support your local farmer

Ever wonder what has been sprayed on your food or worried about produce from far off places? You can find a lot of locally produced foods that are better tasting, fresher and better for you.
UMass Dartmouth and local farms have a website for the Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership (SEMAP) which provides information on where to find locally grown or harvested food. They also have information on community supported agriculture and many other things. Check it out here.

Mangi bene, viva bene.
Click here to read on!