My Free Speech Political Quotations and Commentaries Directory and Log ---
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/temp/Political/PoliticalQuotationsCommentaries.htm

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.
George S. Patton

Barack Obama beat Mitt Romney in the 2012 elections 65,909,451 Obama to 60,932,176 Romney votes.
Among the 48 million people of food stamps, how many voted for Mitt Romney?
The GOP will never win without gaining half the food stamp votes.

Why Obama can't admit Assad has WMDs: if he does,they came from Irag..and that means BUSH WAS RIGHT!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3058325/posts

I Don't Live in Paris Because of the New 75% Income Tax Rate
Serena Williams (to David Letterman)---
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2013/08/23/serena-williams-i-dont-live-paris-because-new-75-tax-rate#ixzz2cpCSa3oD

Watch Family Planning, Walt Disney’s 1967 Sex Ed Production, Starring Donald Duck ---
http://www.openculture.com/2013/08/family-planning-walt-disneys-1967-sex-ed-production.html

U.S. National Debt Clock --- http://www.usdebtclock.org/
Also see http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

And the biggest winner (errrr make that loser) is Delta Airlines
The 10 Least Respected Companies in America --- Click Here
http://247wallst.com/special-report/2013/08/23/the-ten-least-respected-companies-in-america/?utm_source=247WallStDailyNewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=AUG232013A&utm_campaign=DailyNewsletter

Jensen Comment
Accounting researchers are encouraged to invent clever research ploys for investigating how such horrible public reputations are factored into intangibles accounting in these "least respected" companies.

Oddly, the article does not mention it, but I suspect one of the most respected companies in the USA is Southwest Airlines. What is Southwest doing so much better than Delta? I almost always opt for Southwest Airlines except when I must make a connection to another airline, in which case flying Southwest Airlines is a real bummer due to the policy of Southwest Airlines of not transshipping luggage.

One of the Highest Tax State in the USA Creates Tax-Free Zones Around Its State Universities
"The New York Tax Advantage," by Kevin Kiley, Inside Higher Ed, August 14, 2013 ---
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/08/14/new-yorks-tax-free-plan-puts-suny-center-economic-development

"Why Innovation Is Still Capitalism’s Star," by Yale Economist Robert J. Shiller, The New York Times, August 17, 2013 ---
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/business/why-innovation-is-still-capitalisms-star.html?_r=0

CAPITALISM is culture. To sustain it, laws and institutions are important, but the more fundamental role is played by the basic human spirit of independence and initiative.

The decisive role of the “spirit of capitalism” is an old concept, going back at least to Max Weber, but it needs refreshing today with new evidence and new thinking. Edmund S. Phelps, a professor of economics at Columbia University and a Nobel laureate, has written an interesting new book on the subject. It’s called “Mass Flourishing: How Grassroots Innovation Created Jobs, Challenge and Change” (Princeton University Press), and it contains a complex new analysis of the importance of an entrepreneurial culture.

Professor Phelps discerns a troubling trend in many countries, however, even the United States. He is worried about corporatism, a political philosophy in which economic activity is controlled by large interest groups or the government. Once corporatism takes hold in a society, he says, people don’t adequately appreciate the contributions and the travails of individuals who create and innovate. An economy with a corporatist culture can copy and even outgrow others for a while, he says, but, in the end, it will always be left behind. Only an entrepreneurial culture can lead.

Is the United States really becoming corporatist? I don’t entirely agree with such a notion. Even so, President Obama has been talking a lot about innovation as a job creator this year, and while some of his intentions may be good, I’m afraid that some of his proposals look a little corporatist, and might suppress individual initiative.

In his State of the Union address in January, for example, the president proposed that the government should create 15 new “innovation institutes,” modeled on a public-private partnership that he helped start in Youngstown, Ohio, that is devoted to developing 3-D printers. There was more in this vein in his administration’s 2014 budget, offered in April. And in a speech on July 30 in Chattanooga, Tenn., Mr. Obama suggested extending the number of innovation institutes to 45, or almost one for every state. The institutes, he said, would be “getting businesses, universities, communities all to work together to develop centers of high-tech industries all throughout the United States.”

Will such measures work? Should the government really be trying to start a 3-D printer center? And why in Youngstown? It is easy to be skeptical of such a plan, especially when it was started in a swing state just before the presidential election. Web sites of the two senators and two representatives introducing bills this month supporting the president’s latest proposals are suggesting, in not-too-subtle terms, that the legislation would bring jobs to their own states.

Successful companies aren’t usually started this way. Professor Phelps, citing a McKinsey study, suggests that in free-market capitalism, “from 10,000 business ideas, 1,000 firms are founded, 100 receive venture capital, 20 go on to raise capital in an initial public offering, and two become market leaders.” It is easy to doubt, as Professor Phelps does, that the odds are favorable for a Youngstown 3-D printer center.

How you view the innovation institutes, and the topic of capitalism and culture, may depend on your own experience. Many people have never seen the hatching of a successful business idea. That makes it hard to judge the subtle changes that may be occurring in the nation’s culture and in its potential for innovation.

My own business experience has certainly helped shape my thinking. Yale, like many other universities, sensibly allows its professors to spend limited time in business, providing the opportunity for faculty members to gain valuable experience outside of the ivory tower and to offer their technical skill to the business world.

In 1991, I started a business with Karl Case, an economics professor at Wellesley College, and Allan Weiss, a former student of mine at Yale. We called it Case Shiller Weiss, Inc., and it was devoted to an innovation we dreamed up. The idea was a new “repeat sale” home price index — which would track the changes in the value of the same houses over time.

At the time, this was an entirely new line of business. And, at first, that posed a problem: we were spectacularly unsuccessful in raising money. We talked to venture capitalists and their committees, to no avail. They just didn’t seem to get our business plan. We must have appeared odd to them — overly academic, perhaps. One remarked that we’d do better proposing a new shopping center.

But we went ahead with our idea anyway. At first, Allan worked without pay. A friend of Professor Case, Chuck Longfield, contributed some money. And in 1995, I took out a home equity line of credit on my house in New Haven so I could personally lend more money to help keep our business afloat. The experience was stressful, especially when adding it to the burdens of my main job, as a professor. I have much to thank my wife, Virginia, for her tolerance of my overwork and my worrying, and for allowing me to put our family savings at risk.

In the end, our business was successful, and I think a big part of it was that we relied on our own ideas and energy and, to a large extent, our own money. In 2002, we sold the business to Fiserv Inc., then licensed Standard & Poor’s to create what are now known as the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. In 2006, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange began trading futures on 11 of our indexes. Fiserv sold the index business to CoreLogic early this year.

In short, our business made its mark without any help from the government.

This little real-life experiment convinces me that committees of experts, even at smart venture capital firms, will often not recognize real innovation. I think that America’s business success through the decades has occurred because we have so many people with specialized knowledge who are willing to put their money, time and resources on the line for ideas that can’t be proved to a committee.

THAT experience may also help explain why I think the new crowdfunding initiative, started by the Jobs Act that the president signed last year, is an exciting step forward. It’s all about finding and mobilizing people who really understand specific, hard-to-prove ideas for important investments.

At the same time, other of my experiences incline me to think that government-appointed committees of experts can help set the stage for an entrepreneurial culture, under certain limited circumstances.

Long before I started any commercial ventures of my own, I received some federal government support — in the form of National Science Foundation research grants, awarded to me decades ago as a young professor. They allowed me to do research, and though it was not directly related to my later business endeavors, the process developed my expertise and reinforced a sense of entrepreneurial opportunity.

Continued in article

The 25 Stupidest Liberal Quotes Of The Last Decade ---
http://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2013/08/17/the-25-stupidest-liberal-quotes-of-the-last-decade-n1666619?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl
Some are so stupid they may have been tongue-in-cheek in context.

25) Seniors love getting junk mail. It’s sometimes their only way of communicating or feeling like they’re part of the real world. -- Harry Reid

24)The number one job facing the middle class, and it happens to be, as Barack says, a three-letter word: jobs. J-O-B-S. -- Joe Biden

23) I took a poo in the woods hunched over like an animal. It was awesome. -- Drew Barrymore

22) Hillary Clinton and Barack Hussein Obama cannot win, and they are put in place to assure a victory by Mitt Romney… this is the plan of all the insurance companies that are owned by Mormon interests. It is unfolding as the Mormon Church planned over the last fifty years. -- Roseanne Barr

21) I do believe that it’s the first time in history that fire has ever melted steel. I do believe that it defies physics that World Trade Center tower 7 — building 7, which collapsed in on itself — it is impossible for a building to fall the way it fell without explosives being involved. World Trade Center 7. World Trade [Center] 1 and 2 got hit by planes — 7, miraculously, the first time in history, steel was melted by fire. It is physically impossible. -- Rosie O’Donnell talks Trutherism

20) Isn't it a little racist to call it Black Friday? -- Joy Behar

19) A good place to start a more civil dialog would be for my Republican colleagues in the House to change the name of the bill they have introduced to repeal health care reform. The bill, titled the “Repeal the Job Killing Health Care Law Act,” was set to come up for a vote this week, but in the wake of Gabby’s shooting, it has been postponed at least until next week. Don’t get me wrong — I’m not suggesting that the name of that one piece of legislation somehow led to the horror of this weekend — but is it really necessary to put the word “killing” in the title of a major piece of legislation? -- Chellie Pingree, Congresswoman (D-ME)

18) The Republican Party is saying that the President of the United States has bosses, that the union bosses this President around, the unions boss him around. Does that sound to you like they are trying to consciously or subconsciously deliver the racist message that, of course, of course a black man can’t be the real boss? -- Lawrence O’Donnell

17) Herman Cain is probably well-liked by some of the Republicans because it hides the racist elements of the Republican Party, conservative movement and tea party movement. People like Karl Rove like to keep the racism very covert and so Herman Cain provides this great opportunity so he can say, ‘Look: This is not a racist anti-immigrant, anti-female, anti-gay movement. Look: We have a black man.’ And look he’s polling well and he won a straw poll. -- Janeane Garofalo

16) If we want to keep our reproductive rights, we must be willing to tell our stories, to be willing and able to say, “I love my life, but I wish my mother had aborted me.” -- Lynn Beisner, the Guardian

15) Is there such a thing as a man-made stroke? In other words, did someone do this to (Democratic Senator Tim Johnson)? …I know what this [Republican] party is capable of. -- Joy Behar on The View

14) Civil rights laws were not passed to protect the rights of white men and do not apply to them. -- Mary Frances Berry, former Chairwoman, US Commission on Civil Rights

13) Now, people when I say that look at me and say, ‘What are you talking about, Joe? You’re telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?’ The answer is yes, that’s what I’m telling you. -- Joe Biden

12) Those flowers were picked by illegal immigrants. And they’re not voting for you, b*tch. -- Joy Behar after receiving flowers from Sharon Angle

11) During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. -- Al Gore

10) Every month that we do not have an economic recovery package 500 million Americans lose their jobs. -- Nancy Pelosi

9) Watching both the health care and climate/energy debates in Congress, it is hard not to draw the following conclusion: There is only one thing worse than one-party autocracy, and that is one-party democracy, which is what we have in America today. One-party autocracy certainly has its drawbacks. But when it is led by a reasonably enlightened group of people, as China is today, it can also have great advantages. -- Thomas Friedman

8) I root for hurricanes. When, courtesy of the Weather Channel, I see one forming in the ocean off the coast of Africa, I find myself longing for it to become big and strong–Mother Nature’s fist of fury, Gaia’s stern rebuke. Considering the havoc mankind has wreaked upon nature with deforesting, stripmining, and the destruction of animal habitat, it only seems fair that nature get some of its own back and teach us that there are forces greater than our own. — James Wolcott, Vanity Fair

7) Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go. -- Barack Obama

6) The government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color. The government lied. -- Jeremiah Wright

5) How do we know when someone like Hasan is going to make his move and do we know he’s an Islamist until he’s made his move? He makes a phone call or whatever, according to Reuters right now. Apparently he tried to contact al-Qaida. Is that the point at which you say, “This guy is dangerous?” That’s not a crime to call up al-Qaida, is it? Is it? I mean, where do you stop the guy? -- Chris Matthews

4) The medical term for Down Syndrome is Trisomy-21 or Trisomy-g. It is often shortened in medical slang to Tri-g. Is it not perfectly possible that the very name given to this poor child, being reared by Bristol, is another form of mockery of his condition, along with the “retarded baby” tag? And does the way in which this poor child was hauled around the country on a book tour, being dragged out in front of flash photographs in the middle of the night, barely clothed, suggest someone who actually cares for children with special needs, or rather sees them as a way to keep the spotlight on her? -- Andrew Sullivan

3) I propose a limitation be put on how many sqares [sic] of toilet paper can be used in any one sitting. Now, I don’t want to rob any law-abiding American of his or her God-given rights, but I think we are an industrious enough people that we can make it work with only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where 2 to 3 could be required. -- Sheryl Crow at the Huffington Post

2) Had a powerful meditation just now — caused an earthquake in Southern California. …Was meditating on Shiva mantra & earth began to shake. Sorry about that. -- Deepak Chopra thinks his meditation can cause earthquakes

1) My fear is that the whole island (of Guam) will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize. -- Democrat Congressman Hank Johnson

The 10 Largest Employers in America --- Click Here
http://247wallst.com/special-report/2013/08/21/the-10-largest-employers-in-america/?utm_source=247WallStDailyNewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=AUG212013A&utm_campaign=DailyNewsletter

Jensen Comment
Walmart is the largest American employer --- with a workforce of 2.2 million people worldwide. However only 1.3 million of those were employed in the United States. Similarly some of the other large employers hire many workers outside and well as inside the USA.

Some large retailers like Walmart, Target, McDonalds, and other fast food chains are not unionized.  Others like Kroger. GE, IBM, and UPS are unionized.

Automobile manufacturing companies dramatically cut work forces following the 2007 economic crisis. Many moved manufacturing to southern states to shed themselves of union plants, and others like Chrysler went further south into Mexico. GM and Ford have many foreign workers, but their production plants in Europe and Asia largely serve their markets in those parts of the world.

Automobile and defense manufacturers are heavily reducing labor needs with robots and other automation technology. One day fast food restaurants may become much more automated with robot-cooked Big Macs popping out of vending machines for drive through and inside customers. Retailers may reduce inventory costs by following Amazon's lead of direct shipping from manufacturers. Shoppers might browse among display items and then place online orders that will be shipped to their homes or offices in less than a week at discounted prices. The historic "cash and carry" discounts are not necessarily efficient since retailers must carry inventories and, thereby, incur the costs of carrying and financing inventories. And customers become irritated when they cannot find their preferred sizes, colors, styles, and freshness in the stores.

America’s Great Shrinking Companies --- Click Here
http://247wallst.com/special-report/2013/08/14/americas-great-shrinking-companies/?utm_source=247WallStDailyNewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=AUG152013A&utm_campaign=DailyNewsletter

Asbestos and the Law --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos_and_the_law

"Exposing Asbestos Fraud:  A federal judge helps the trial bar keep its claims evidence secret," The Wall Street Journal, August 19, 2013 ---
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323608504579023184181111614.html?mod=djemEditorialPage_h

The good news about asbestos legal fraud is that there's a straightforward way to expose it. The bad news is that the judiciary too often remains the roadblock to transparency.

That's what has been happening in federal bankruptcy court in North Carolina in the case of Garlock Sealing Technologies. The gasket manufacturer never had more than peripheral involvement in the asbestos business, yet it was forced into bankruptcy in 2010 by a flood of frivolous claims.

Plaintiffs attorneys are now pushing federal Judge George Hodges to force Garlock to put some $1.3 billion into a bankruptcy trust for future asbestos claims. Garlock estimates its liability is closer to $125 million, but the trust gambit is a plaintiffs bar favorite to guarantee a perpetual payday. Garlock also says it has evidence that plaintiffs are "double-dipping"—filing claims with multiple bankruptcy trusts that blame non-Garlock products for their diseases, even as they pursue Garlock in court.

The tort bar is desperate to continue this scam by keeping trust claims hidden from the public. The plaintiffs attorneys argued to Judge Hodges that the information Garlock rooted out about their claims ought to remain "confidential." Judge Hodges agreed, dismissing Garlock's information as not "particularly sexy" or of "interest" to the public. He has repeatedly closed his courtroom when Garlock presented evidence and expert testimony.

The judge's airy dismissal of a public interest is astonishing. A handful of other judges have in recent years exposed egregious cases of double-dipping, inspiring states like Ohio and Oklahoma to pass laws to force trust disclosure. The House Judiciary Committee in May passed the Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency (FACT) Act, which would require the nation's 60 asbestos trust funds—yes, there are 60—to file quarterly reports that detail claimant names and the basis for their payouts.

Garlock's evidence could be especially revealing given that lawyers from the firms suing it are on public record denying any double-dipping even as they have led the campaign against transparency. Elihu Inselbuch of Caplin & Drysdale testified in Congress in March against the FACT Act: "The bill also ignores the fact that despite trying to find instances of widespread fraud and abuse, there is none. Defendants have no evidence to support their assertion of fraud by plaintiffs." If Mr. Inselbuch is so confident there's no fraud, why does he object to transparency?

Continued in article

Bob Jensen's Fraud Updates ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudUpdates.htm

"Black Hole Analogue Discovered in South Atlantic Ocean," MIT's Technology Review, MIT's Technology Review, August 19, 2013 --- Click Here
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/518416/black-hole-analogue-discovered-in-south-atlantic-ocean/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_source=newsletter-daily-all&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20130819

Jensen Comment
Doesn't matter sucked up in a black hole disappear forever? Most garbage like empty beer cans that get sucked down in an ocean vortex just gets moved around.

I think we should offer some free South Atlantic vortex sighting cruises to some of our politicians.

"The Mathematics of Finance for Dummies," by Bill Tatro, Townhall, August 16, 2013 --- Click Here
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/billtatro/2013/08/16/the-mathematics-of-finance-for-dummies-n1665747?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

Teaching Case
From The Wall Street Journal Accounting Weekly Review on August 16, 2013

Greece Swings to a Budget Surplus
Years of Austerity Have Turned Around Steep Deficit, but the Cost to the Economy Has Been Harsh

by: Stelios Bouras and Nektaria Stamouli
Aug 12, 2013
Click here to view the full article on WSJ.com
 

TOPICS: Budgeting, Governmental Accounting

SUMMARY: Greece's austerity measures seem to paying off as "budget data released Monday...showed the country turning last year's steep deficit into a surplus, potentially bolstering its case for further debt relief from international creditors....Euro-zone officials have promised to help Greece reduce its debt pile if it lives up to its vows for tighter budgets, improved tax collections and a restructuring of its broken economy. But the German government...again rejected the prospect of any additional debt relief for Athens...."

CLASSROOM APPLICATION: The article may be used in a governmental accounting class to add an international perspective to students' knowledge base.

QUESTIONS: 
1. (Advanced) Define the terms budget surplus and budget deficit.

2. (Advanced) Based on the description given in the article, in what fund did the Greek government report a budget surplus? Explain your choice.

3. (Introductory) Why are the Greek budget results of interest to other European country governments and to the Euro-zone?

4. (Introductory) What are the impacts of the budget austerity on the overall Greek economy?

5. (Advanced) In addition to cutting costs, how has the Greek government increased its revenues in order to achieve this budget surplus?
 

Reviewed By: Judy Beckman, University of Rhode Island

 

"Greece Swings to a Budget Surplus:  Years of Austerity Have Turned Around Steep Deficit, but the Cost to the Economy Has Been Harsh," by Stelios Bouras and Nektaria Stamouli, The Wall Street Journal, August 12, 2013 ---
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324769704579008253651506022.html?mod=djem_jiewr_AC_domainid

Greece's fiscal discipline efforts appear to be paying off, according to budget data released Monday that showed the country turning last year's steep deficit into a surplus, potentially bolstering its case for further debt relief from international creditors.

But other data highlighted how much the steep spending cuts have cost the country. The Greek economy contracted by 4.6% in the second quarter, dragging out a painful recession that began six years ago, government figures showed.

Although the shrinkage was slower than in previous quarters, it added to doubts as to whether Greece will be able to return to growth in 2014 as forecast, and start lowering record unemployment rates.

Euro-zone officials have promised to help Greece reduce its debt pile if it lives up to its vows for tighter budgets, improved tax collection and a restructuring of its broken economy. But the German government—with elections less than six weeks away—again rejected the prospect of any additional debt relief for Athens, despite the new data.

The Greek Finance Ministry reported a primary surplus—which excludes interest payments on debt as well as local government and social security spending—for the first seven months of the year.

The surplus reached €2.6 billion ($3.5 billion) against a deficit of €3.1 billion a year earlier.

The data make "the achievement of a primary budget surplus at the end of the year for the general government all the more feasible," said Deputy Finance Minister Christos Staikouras. It would be thecountry's first surplus in more than a decade.

Budget spending fell to €32.7 billion from €40.8 billion in the first seven months of 2013. Income rose 11.4% to €30.8 billion.

Diego Iscaro, a senior economist at IHS Global Insight, described the figures as being positive. "Reaching a primary surplus will be key to unblock further support from its euro-zone peers," he said. "On this regard, we expect a decision during the second quarter of 2014."

The country also managedMonday to seal its first significant asset sale in its long-delayed privatization program.

After months of uncertainty, the government signed a deal selling a 33% stake in its gambling monopoly OPAP SA to the Czech-led private equity consortium Emma Delta for €652 million, the agency overseeing the privatization program said. But Greece is still likely to fall behind an original target of raising €2.6 billion from privatizations this year.

Germany's finance ministry stuck with its steadfast rejection of further debt relief for Greece, following a weekend report in the news magazine Der Spiegel that said the German central bank expects a new Greek aid package would be necessary by the beginning of next year, at the latest. The Bundesbank declined to comment on the report.

With nationwide elections in Germany next month, a spokesman for the German finance ministry told reporters "a second haircut [on debt] is out of the question."

Greece is still mired in deep recession, making it more likely that it will need more loans or further debt relief next year despite an improving fiscal outlook.

Germany's refusal to talk of a debt reduction for Greece has put it at odds with the International Monetary Fund, which was a partner in Greece's €173 billion bailout, along with the European Union. Without additional euro-zone financing, the IMF argues that Greece might not be able to pay back its loans to the fund.

Meanwhile, the austerity behind Greece's improving fiscal performance has seriously hurt the economy.

The statistical agency Elstat showed a contraction of gross domestic product to be slowing in the April-to-June period, versus a drop of 5.6% in the first quarter and a 5.7% drop in the last quarter of 2012.

The second-quarter contraction rate is the softest since the third quarter of 2011 but the momentum from the downturn could keep the economy in the red for another year.

Greece expects the economy to shrink by 4.2% this year, though government officials have indicated that a stronger-than-expected tourism season this summer could provide some relief. The country's jobless rate hit 27.6% in May.

"There's a hope that a good tourist season can have a positive impact on the third quarter, although GDP is seen contracting at least until the end of next year," said Mr. Iscaro.

Continued in article

Austerity is a Crappy Solution
I propose a limitation be put on how many sqares [sic] of toilet paper can be used in any one sitting. Now, I don’t want to rob any law-abiding American of his or her God-given rights, but I think we are an industrious enough people that we can make it work with only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where 2 to 3 could be required. --
Sheryl Crow at the Huffington Post
 

Bob Jensen's political threads are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/tidbitsDirectory.htm

"Tenth Circuit throws out decision striking down Colorado’s Amazon law," by Sally P. Schreiber, Journal of Accountancy, August 21, 2013 ---
http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/News/20138574.htm .

The permanent injunction that a federal district court issued in March 2012 enjoining Colorado from enforcing its Amazon law requiring remote sellers to report sales in the state has been dismissed by an appeals court. The Tenth Circuit held on Tuesday that the Tax Injunction Act (TIA, 28 U.S.C. § 1341) precludes federal jurisdiction over the Direct Marketing Association’s claim that Colorado’s law requiring out-of-state retailers to report information about customers’ purchases to each customer and to the Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR) violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution (Direct Marketing Ass’n v. Brohl, No. 12-1175 (10th Cir. 8/20/13).

As a result, the Tenth Circuit remanded the case to the district court to dismiss the Commerce Clause claims and lift the permanent injunction the lower court had imposed prohibiting the DOR from enforcing the law (Direct Marketing Ass’n v. Huber, No. 1:10-CV-01546-REB-CBS (D. Colo. 3/30/12)). Any further proceedings in the case must begin in Colorado’s courts or administrative agencies.

Background 

The Colorado law (Colo. Rev. Stat. §39-21-112(3.5)) and related regulations require any retailer that sells $100,000 or more of products to customers in Colorado, but does not collect and remit sales taxes on those products, to:

• Notify the purchaser that the retailer does not collect Colorado sales tax and that the purchaser is therefore obligated to self-report and pay use tax.
• Provide each customer who purchases more than $500/year from the retailer with an annual report of the prior calendar year’s purchases and inform the customer that the retailer is required to file an annual purchase summary reporting the customer’s name and total purchases to the Colorado DOR.
• Provide the DOR with an annual customer information report stating the name, billing and shipping address, and total purchases for each of its Colorado customers.

Retailers can avoid the reporting requirements by voluntarily collecting tax from customers in Colorado.

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA), the plaintiff in the case, is an association of direct marketers that sell products through catalogs, magazine and newspaper advertisements, broadcast media, and the internet. The DMA had earlier in the litigation persuaded the district court to issue an injunction to prevent the law from being enforced. The district court later made the injunction permanent.

The district court found that the law violated the “dormant Commerce Clause” (the constitutional theory that prohibits state actions that interfere with interstate commerce) because it discriminates against out-of-state retailers by treating them differently from in-state retailers and was therefore invalid on its face. The court further held that the DOR had failed to overcome this finding of facial invalidity because it failed to prove that the law advances a legitimate local purpose that could not be served by “reasonable nondiscriminatory alternatives.”

Tax-Injunction Act: A broad jurisdictional barrier

The TIA states that “district courts shall not enjoin, suspend or restrain the assessment, levy or collection of any tax under State law where a plain, speedy and efficient remedy may be had in the courts of such State” (Direct Marketing Ass’n v. Brohl, quoting 28 U.S.C. §1341). The Tenth Circuit characterized it as a broad jurisdictional barrier that prevents federal courts from interfering with the important state concern of collecting taxes.

First, the appeals court addressed the issue whether DMA sought to enjoin, suspend, or restrain the assessment, levy, or collection of any tax under state law. The law prohibits federal courts from interfering with state tax collection through declaratory relief, injunctive relief, or damage awards. The DMA argued that the TIA did not apply because it was not a taxpayer seeking to avoid a tax and it was challenging the notice and reporting requirements of the law, not a tax assessment. Nonetheless, the circuit court cited precedent in which the TIA applied to suits brought by third parties attempting to disrupt state tax collection. The central question is whether the plaintiff is attempting to prevent a state from exercising its sovereign taxing power.

The appeals court also concluded that the TIA applies even though DMA was not challenging a tax assessment because the broad language of “enjoin, suspend or restrain” encompassed the challenge DMA was raising. The suit DMA was bringing had the potential to restrain Colorado’s ability to collect sales and use tax, which is sufficient to trigger the jurisdictional bar. The fact that the injunction would restrain Colorado’s ability to collect the tax indirectly rather than directly did not mean the TIA did not apply.
     
The second part of a TIA claim requires consideration of whether “a plain, speedy and efficient remedy may be had in the courts of such State.” According to the appeals court, this means that Colorado law must provide a full hearing and judicial determination whether the law should apply. To satisfy this requirement, a state must meet certain minimal procedural criteria against illegal tax collection. It does not have to be the “best or speediest remedy” (emphasis in the original). Apparently, the DMA did not challenge the law using the process available to it in Colorado, and the appeals court also noted that the state had considered Commerce Clause challenges to tax laws before.

Continued in article

Jensen Comment
I don't think this issue of collecting sales taxes by out-of-state vendors will be resolved until the U.S. Supreme Court once again takes up the infamous L.L Bean Case in which the Court ruled in favor of L.L. Bean.

States Profiting Most From Taxes on "Sins" That Are Taxed ---
http://247wallst.com/special-report/2013/08/16/states-profiting-the-most-from-sin/3/

Jensen Comment
That Nevada comes it at first place is no surprise given the giant casino fame and fortunes of Nevada. State lotteries drive Rhode Island, Delaware, and West Virginia to ranks 2-4. Although New Hampshire (at rank five in sin tax profitability) was one of the first states to have a lottery, and residents outside the Granite State's borders drive for hundreds of miles to stock up on the relatively cheap liquor at state-owned stores, it surprised me to learn that the most profitable sin tax in my home state is tobacco. I guess sinners from all around flock to New Hampshire for truckloads of booze and smokes.

Although some states profit most from their own residents' sins, there there are some statistical quirks in these rankings. Nevada is a low population state that most likely profits more from non-resident sins, particularly gamblers from California. South Dakota may profit relatively more from residents addiction to  in-state casinos.  Residents in Rhode Island, Delaware, and West Virginia make up a high proportion of the lottery gamblers in those states. But in the case of booze and cigarettes, New Hampshire probably profits more from non-residents than residents.

Also keep in mind that some states like New Hampshire and Nevada push sin taxes to make up for low (e.g., zero) taxation of sales and income. The competition is becoming more intense as other states are adding casinos and "latteries." Washington DC benefits from cheap booze and heavy drinking politicians and lobbyists throwing lavish parties.

Purportedly, President Obama favors a Jewish heritage college/university that does not even have an accounting courses, although it does have some business and finance (Israeli universities in general do not offer accounting)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touro_College
"These 11 Colleges Just Hit The Jackpot In Obama's New Education Plan," by Walter Hickey, Business Insider, August 23, 2013 ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/colleges-that-will-benefit-form-obamas-education-plan-2013-8

Jensen Caution
Don't treat distance education courses and MOOC courses as synonyms. President Obama is suggesting priority for distance education courses and online degree programs that are neither free nor "massive" in size. Smaller distance education courses can have intense communications between students and an instructor plus intense communications between students in a course (including team projects). Grading in these distance education courses is very similar to onsite course grading.

MOOCs present an entire new dimension to student communications and grading. I don't think President Obama was thinking in terms of MOOCs in his latest proposal. However, MOOCs are on the horizon, especially for very specialized courses that colleges cannot afford to teach on campus. Credit in such courses may be given on the basis of competency testing.

"Obama Proposals for Colleges Highlight Online Courses," by Megan O'Neil, Chronicle of Higher Education, August 22, 2013 ---
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/obama-proposals-for-colleges-highlight-online-courses/45595?cid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

Developing online classes and other nontraditional teaching approaches could earn colleges money under new federal financing priorities proposed on Thursday by President Obama.

More colleges should be encouraged “to embrace innovative new ways to prepare our students for a 21st-century economy and maintain a high level of quality without breaking the bank,” the president said in a speech at the University at Buffalo, part of the State University of New York.

The financial rewards for such innovation would be part of a larger retooling of financing priorities, Mr. Obama said. Under his proposal, the Department of Education would have two years to create a college-rating system to help students and their parents determine the value of an institution. Criteria would include graduation rates, graduates’ competitiveness in the work force, and their debt load upon graduation, among others.

As one example of innovation in online learning that meets students’ needs, Mr. Obama cited an online master’s program in computer science at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The program will make its debut in January and cost a fraction of a traditional on-campus degree.

Continued in article

A Ranking of Online MBA  Programs from AACSB-accredited universities (there are no such online accounting doctoral programs) ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/CrossBorder.htm#MBA

Bob Jensen's threads on distance education and training alternatives ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/CrossBorder.htm

"Obama Vows Action on College Costs, but Will It Work?" by Kelly Field, Chronicle of Higher Education, August 21, 2013 --- |
http://chronicle.com/article/Obama-Vows-Action-on-College/141203/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en 

In a speech at Knox College last month, President Obama said he would "shake up higher education" with an "aggressive strategy" aimed at making college more affordable.

On Thursday, the president embarks on a two-state, three-campus tour where he'll lay out what he has in mind. In a letter sent to his supporters this week, he promises "real reforms that would bring lasting change."

"Just tinkering around the edges won't be enough," he says in the letter. "To create a better bargain for the middle class, we have to fundamentally rethink about how higher education is paid for in this country."

The plan, he continues, "won't be popular with everyone—including some who've made higher education their business—but it's past time that more of our colleges work better for the students they exist to serve."

But it's hard to see how the president will tackle two of the root causes of tuition growth: labor costs and state budget cuts. Despite productivity gains, and a move toward self-guided, "competency-based" learning, higher-education remains an industry that's highly dependent on skilled labor. At the same time, many states have slashed their spending on higher-education, forcing public colleges to raise tuition to cover costs.

Taking Colleges to Task

Over the past year-and-a-half, Mr. Obama has become a frequent critic of colleges, taking them to task over rising tuition and warning that the government won't continue to pour money into an "undisciplined system." He has threatened to withhold some federal aid from colleges that fail to hold down tuition growth, and has proposed grants for states and colleges that adopt cost-saving measures.

So far, those ideas have fallen flat, largely because of federal budget constraints. The president has had better luck increasing aid to students and making debt more manageable, through expanded income-based repayment options and lower interest rates on student loans.

His administration has also made information about college costs and student debt more transparent, through the use of an online College Scorecard and a standardized financial-aid award letter, or "shopping sheet."

This week's college tour is the latest in a string of campaign-style events the White House is using to promote its economic policies in the run-up to debates in Congress over the federal budget and the debt ceiling. It includes stops on Thursday and Friday at two State University of New York campuses—the University at Buffalo and Binghamton University—and at Lackawanna College, in Scranton, Pa.

Details of the president's proposals aren't yet available, but some observers expect Mr. Obama to recycle a plan that would tie some money from the campus-based aid programs to efforts to rein in tuition growth, and to repeat his call for a "Race to the Top"-style grant program for colleges and states that take steps to control costs.

He might also propose an expansion of his signature Pay-as-You-Earn student-loan repayment plan, or declare use of the financial-aid shopping sheet mandatory for all colleges.

To address state budget cuts, he might propose requiring states to sustain their spending on higher education to receive certain federal funds. But past maintenance-of-effort provisions haven't proven particularly effective, and some members of Congress oppose their expansion. Tackling labor costs would be even trickier.

"When it comes down to it, there's not all that much the president can do, besides using the bully pulpit" to exhort states and colleges to do more, said Daniel T. Madzelan, a longtime Education Department official who retired last year. "It just comes down to the price of labor."

From Benefactor to Critic

During his first years in office, President Obama focused on expanding student aid, pushing for increases in the maximum Pell Grant and the creation of a more generous tuition tax credit. Those changes helped make college more affordable for current students, but they didn't do anything to slow tuition growth, and skeptics say they may have even fueled it.

In 2010, the administration turned its attention to for-profit colleges, proposing to cut off federal student aid to institutions where borrowers struggle to repay their debt. The resulting "gainful employment" regulation was overturned by the courts, and the Education Department is opening negotiations to rewrite the rule this fall.

But it was not until 2012, in his State of the Union address, that the president began to apply pressure to all of higher education, putting colleges "on notice" that his administration would not continue to subsidize "skyrocketing tuition."

"If you can't stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down," he said.

Three days later, in a speech at the University of Michigan, he issued a "blueprint for keeping college affordable," repeating proposals to shift more money from the campus-based student-aid programs to colleges that "do their fair share to keep tuition affordable," and create new incentive programs for colleges and states. The plan also included a call for the College Scorecard that would provide families with "essential information" for choosing a college, including data on institutions' costs, graduation rates, and the potential earnings of graduates.

He returned to those themes in his 2013 State of the Union address, calling on colleges to "do their part to keep costs down," and urging Congress to consider "affordability and value" when awarding federal aid. In a policy plan that accompanied the speech, he suggested incorporating measures of value and affordability into the existing accreditation system or establishing a new, alternative system of accreditation "based on performance and results."

Sidestepping Congress

Getting Congress to agree to any of those ideas will be difficult, given budget realities and competing priorities—not to mention the partisan gridlock currently gripping Washington. Recognizing this, Mr. Obama has vowed to use the powers of his office to get things done.

Continued in article

It's troubling enough to study one university's financial reports. It's a nightmare to compare universities.
"So You Want to Examine Your University's Financial Reports?"  by Charles Schwartz, Chronicle of Higher Education, February 7, 2012 ---
http://chronicle.com/article/So-You-Want-to-Examine-Your/130672/

Issues in Computing a College's Cost of Degrees Awarded and "Worth" of Professors ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies.htm#CostAccounting

"Treating Higher Ed's 'Cost Disease' With Supersize Online Courses," by Marc Parry, Chronicle of Higher Education, February 26, 2012 ---
http://chronicle.com/article/Treating-Higher-Eds-Cost/130934/?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

"A Policy Wonk Brings Data on College Costs to the Table," by Goldie Blumenstyk, Chronicle of Higher Education, February 5, 2012 ---
http://chronicle.com/article/A-College-Cost-Policy-Wonk/130662/

From the CFO Journal's Morning Ledger on August 22, 2013

Health-care law fuels part-time hiring
U.S. businesses are hiring, but three out of four of the nearly one million hires this year are part-time and many of the jobs are low-paid, writes Reuters’s Lucia Mutikani. Executives at several staffing firms told Reuters that the Affordable Care Act, which requires employers with 50 or more full-time workers to provide health-care coverage, was a frequently cited factor in requests for part-time workers. A memo that leaked out from retailer Forever 21 last week showed it was reducing a number of full-time staff to positions where they will work no more than 29.5 hours a week, just under the law’s threshold. “They have put some of the full-time positions on hold and are hiring part-time employees so they won’t have to pay out the benefits,” said Client Staffing Solutions’ Darin Hovendick. “There is so much uncertainty. It’s really tough to design a budget when you don’t know the final cost involved.”

Bob Jensen's universal health care messaging --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Health.htm

From the CFO Journal's Morning Ledger on August 22, 2013

UPS is delivering a big change to employee health-care benefits. The company is cutting off health benefits to working spouses of thousands of employees starting in 2014 and it says the health-care overhaul is partly to blame, the WSJ reports. UPS said in an internal memo to employees last month that rising costs for coverage of chronic and other health conditions, “combined with the costs associated with the Affordable Care Act, have made it increasingly difficult to continue providing the same level of health-care benefits to our employees at an affordable cost.”

The change applies to working spouses who can get health-care coverage through their own employers and doesn’t apply to spouses who can’t get their own coverage, or the spouses of unionized employees, who make up the bulk of the company’s work force. The change will affect about 15,000 spouses—slightly less than half of the 33,000 spouses covered today under its health plan for nonunionized workers.

The shift is a sign of corporate America’s increasing willingness to make deep changes to benefits once taken as a given by workers, according to Bloomberg. “The feeling is drastic times call for drastic measures,” says Rich Fuerstenberg, a partner at benefits consultant Mercer. “What employers are adopting today are strategies that were considered crazy or out of the mainstream just a few years ago.”

Jensen Comment
Another article I read estimated that about 15,000 spouses will lose their UPS benefits.

Bob Jensen's universal health care messaging --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Health.htm

"Study: Tax Credits for Obamacare Expected to Average $2,700," by Gail Perry, AccountingWeb, August 20, 2013 ---
http://www.accountingweb.com/article/study-tax-credits-obamacare-expected-average-2700/222274

. . .

Tax credits will be available to subsidize premiums for people who buy their insurance in the new marketplaces, do not have access to other affordable coverage, and have incomes between 100 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level (between about $11,500 and $46,000 for a single person, and $24,000 and $94,000 for a family of four).

An estimated 48 percent of people who currently have individual market coverage will be eligible for tax credits, according to the study. Tax credits among those eligible will average $5,548 per family, and subsidies will average $2,672 across all families now purchasing their own insurance. Many people who are now uninsured also will be eligible for subsidies in the new marketplaces, and their tax credits will likely be higher on average because they have lower incomes than those who now buy their own coverage.

There are many reasons why premium costs in the individual insurance market will change under the ACA before tax credits are applied. For instance, insurance companies will be prohibited from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions, leading to higher enrollment of people with expensive health conditions. More young, healthy people may also enroll due to the ACA's individual mandate and premium subsidies.

Furthermore, insurance providers will be required to meet a minimum level of coverage that will raise premiums for people buying skimpier coverage today, but also lower their out-of-pocket costs on average when they use those services. Premiums before and after the law goes into effect are not necessarily comparable, as health plans in the new marketplaces will be required to cover a broader range of services than are found in many current individual market policies, and the health needs of people who will enroll are likely to be different.

The Kaiser Family Foundation also has developed a health reform subsidy calculator that estimates the premiums and tax credits available to people next year through the insurance marketplaces based on their income levels, family size, ages, and tobacco use.

About the study:

Based on data from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the federal government's Survey of Income and Program Participation, the Kaiser Family Foundation analysis estimates the average impact of the Affordable Care Act on the individual market by quantifying how current enrollees will fare once relevant provisions of the health law are implemented. Premium data released by states to date suggest that the CBO premium projection is reliable. While subsidies and premiums will vary widely depending on each enrollee's personal characteristics, the analysis focuses on averages to provide an indication of how much overall assistance the law will provide to people buying their own coverage today.

Related articles:

• House Passes Bill to Keep IRS from Enforcing Obamacare
• Uncertain Prognosis: Industries Impacted by Health Care Reform

 

Jensen Comment
Note that a tax credit is much more lucrative than a tax deduction. For example, a deduction for home mortgage interest and medical expenses is subject to various adjustments to where each dollar of deduction may results in a much lower net tax benefit. Each dollar of credit, however, may be a full one dollar of benefit in the pocket of a taxpayer. And for some credits like the earned income credit, taxpayers having zero tax to pay can receive cash back from the government for the credit. It's a lot like getting a tax-free government paycheck without being a government employee. Nobel Economist Milton Friedman might have called it a negative income tax. He proposed replacing the the welfare system with a negative income tax system.

Bob Jensen's universal health care messaging --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Health.htm