• Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for October 1st on 14:23

    These are my links for October 1st from 14:23 to 20:54:

    • Why Howard Schultz Is Wrong – By Carly Fiorina – Howard Schultz is a great entrepreneur, CEO, and philanthropist. I first met Howard when as fellow CEOs we were developing a partnership between Starbucks and HP. I have enormous respect and admiration for both his values and his accomplishments. But when he writes an open letter to his fellow business executives urging them to withdraw their financial support from political candidates, I believe he is wrong.

      As a businessperson, I am alarmed by our current economic difficulties. Fourteen million Americans are unemployed, and six million have been unemployed for 27 weeks or longer. GDP growth has flat-lined, and consumer and business confidence are falling. Our tax and regulatory structure is increasingly uncompetitive, and our educational system is failing to prepare enough of our children for work in the 21st century. In addition to all of this, recent data makes clear that fewer small businesses are being created and more of them are failing. It has always been true that new and small businesses are the engine of growth for our economy, and the first rung on the ladder of the American Dream for generations of immigrants, women, Latinos, and African Americans. We are undermining the entrepreneurial foundation of our economy. Unless we rebuild it, our standards of living cannot continue to rise.

    • Wiggle Waggle Dog Walk 2011
      – YouTube
      – I uploaded a @YouTube video Wiggle Waggle Dog Walk
    • Kanaal van Scobleizer
      – YouTube
      – I subscribed to Scobleizer's channel on YouTube.
    • Flap’s Links and Comments for September 30th through October 1st | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for September 30th through October 1st #tcot #catcot
    • California’s County Jails Brace for an Influx of Criminals » Flap’s California Blog – California’s County Jails Brace for an Influx of Criminals
  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for July 13th on 16:06

    These are my links for July 13th from 16:06 to 16:22:

    • Coburn may return to Senate’s ‘Gang of 6’ – Sen. Tom Coburn said Wednesday that he may rejoin the so-called Gang of Six, the bipartisan band of senators seeking to reach agreement on a big deficit-cutting deal that would blend spending cuts with a tax code overhaul.
      The Oklahoma Republican dropped out of the group two months ago saying Democrats weren't willing to cut enough spending from programs like Medicare. He says he may rejoin the group depending on how it responds to ideas he's sent over. The closely watched group has been working for months in hopes of a bipartisan deficit-cutting deal that might gain momentum despite the partisanship consuming Capitol Hill.
      Asked about rumors he's thinking of rejoining the group, Coburn said: "They're not rumors." But he said he doesn't know whether he will in fact return and that it would depend on how the group reacts to some ideas he's sent over.
      "We'll see" about rejoining the group, Coburn said. "I floated a couple of things. Let's see how they're responded to."
    • How are those debt talks going? – Badly – There are, I think, three likely outcomes. One is that Obama blinks on taxes, as he did in last year’s lame duck session. I rate the chances of that happening as slim. The second is that we hit “default” and everyone scrambles for a few days to, yes, get the Social Security checks out. Everyone is shaken and there is that “grand compromise.” I put the likelihood of that at close to zero. And finally, there is some other variation (McConnell’s or another backup plan) that avoids a default and does not force Republicans to vote for tax hikes. That seems the most likely for now.

      The real solution is for the voters to participate in a great referendum. More government and tax hikes or less government and no tax hikes? That’s what the 2012 election will be about.

      ======

      The GOP House should pass a 3 or 6 month all cuts budget deal raising the debt ceiling and force the Senate to filibuster or Obama to veto it.

    • Amazon Tax Referendum Filed – With the state budget not yet two weeks old, the first of what could be multiple challenges to its underpinning policies has been issued: a petition for the voters to overturn the new law requiring sales tax collection from online purchases.
      A formal request for a referendum on ABx 28 was filed with the office of Attorney General Kamala Harris on Friday afternoon by lobbyist Charles Halnan.

      Halnan lobbies for, among other companies, Amazon.

      The state constitution requires backers of a referendum to gather, within 90 days, voter signatures equaling five percent of the total vote in the most recent gubernatorial election. That looks to be about 504,000 signatures once the petition is cleared by the AG.

      Of course, one question raised during last year's debate over Proposition 25 was whether a budget-related bill like this one is eligible for a referendum. Before Prop 25, budget-related bills were generally seen as not eligible, given that they were approved by a supermajority and given that they took effect immediately. For those who would construe that to be synonymous with an "urgency" statute, the constitution would seem to say it's not eligible. But others will no doubt say that these aren't synonymous. A clarification by the courts may be needed on this one.

    • New GOP honcho Carly Fiorina is "focused on 2012,” but on future run for office? "Never say never" – Among the topics she addressed in conversation with the Chronicle:

      *On Republicans' shot at taking back control of the Senate:"It's a very achievable goal. It's one we have to work hard towards. The Democrats have more seats to defend than we do..and many of the seats in 2012 cycle are in states Barack Obama lost." While Republicans "have challenges,'' Democrats have more challenges, she said.

      *On the GOP anti-tax agenda, in California and nationally: "I think Republicans are on very solid ground to say that tax increases are bad for job creation. Everyone agreed with that just six months ago. President Obama was against raising taxes; the Democrats were…Bill Clinton has said the corporate tax rate was too high.'' The bottom line: "You can't raise taxes in the middle of an economic recession….there are only two things you can do during a budget crisis — cut spending, and grow the economy."

      *On raising the debt ceiling: "It's important that the U.S. government not default on its obligation. It's equally important that we put in place a set of longterm solutions that restore accountability and fiscal responsibility in Washington and that create the environment where businesses can grow."

      *On the "stark" differences between the messages of the two parties: "The Republican agenda is fundamentally different from the Democratic agenda…first, Republicans want to decentralize power, Democrats want to centralize it and they want to centralize it in Washington. Republicans generally will put their faith in the individual; Democrats will put it in an institution. Republicans will favor job creators and Democrats will favor government agencies."

      *On her own future in politics: "I'm focused on 2012 and helping other people win….(but) never say never….I've said from the moment that (my) campaign finished, I enjoyed every minute of it. I don't have a bad taste in my mouth. I had a wonderful experience, and I'm proud of the campaign we ran."