Brent Nyitray
Fairlington Blade
Let the mutherfuker burn!
jnc4p
Kevin S. Willis
Michigoose
lmsinca
markinaustin
Arcanaut
novahockey
quarterback
ScottC
yellojktVital Statistics:
| S&P Futures | 1832.4 | -5.3 | -0.29% |
| Eurostoxx Index | 3107.0 | 2.8 | 0.09% |
| Oil (WTI) | 91.7 | -1.0 | -1.10% |
| LIBOR | 0.239 | -0.003 | -1.14% |
| US Dollar Index (DXY) | 80.72 | 0.063 | 0.08% |
| 10 Year Govt Bond Yield | 2.86% | 0.00% | |
| Current Coupon Ginnie Mae TBA | 105.5 | 0.8 | |
| Current Coupon Fannie Mae TBA | 103.8 | 0.1 | |
| RPX Composite Real Estate Index | 200.7 | -0.2 | |
| BankRate 30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage | 4.46 |
Stocks are down small this morning while bonds continue to hold onto Friday’s gains. There is no important economic data this morning with the exception of the budget report sometime later on today.
The stock market seems to be taking Friday’s jobs report as sort of a one-off, while bonds seem convinced that it signals something bigger. The most disappointing statistic in the report was the decline in the labor force participation rate to 62.8%, which means last month’s rebound was just a blip. One worrisome stat – the biggest decline in the labor force participation rate came in the 45 – 55 year old cohort. In other words, people in their prime spending years. I personally know a lot of people who were rounding the final turn towards Candy Castle and then drew the candy cane card.
This week begins earnings season, with the big banks reporting. J.P Morgan and Wells report tomorrow, Bank of America is on Wed, Citi is Thursday, and Suntrust is Friday. I’m sure we will hear about all of the woes in the origination business. From what I am seeing, margins have to be terrible for them, and a combination of lower volume and lower margins is a toxic cocktail.
Tomorrow morning we will get retail sales, which will be an important data point, particularly for estimates of Q4 GDP. Later on this week we will get housing starts and building permits. It will be interesting to see whether November’s 1.1 million print was a fluke or evidence of further strength in the housing market.
Filed under: Morning Report |
All Things in Moderation 
This is it, the big spending baseline reset. It’s either the consolidation of the gains on the spending fights over the last three years or potentially a capitulation.
If this is correct, then the Republicans actually did it. They rolled back the spending hikes of the 2009-2010 Democratic Congress.
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Saw this in the Post book review yesterday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-big-fat-crisis-by-deborah-cohen/2014/01/10/197ba200-6bf5-11e3-b405-7e360f7e9fd2_story.html
The framing is that obesity is a public health crisis. I reject that framing, but I suppose once you accept it, this follows pretty easily:
Cohen’s first policy recommendation is the standardization of portion sizes. With alcohol, whether you order a beer, a glass of wine or a shot, you know that a drink is a drink. She thinks restaurants should serve food in single-portion units. Second, the government should limit “impulse marketing” by banning food from stores that aren’t dedicated to food, restricting combo meals at restaurants and keeping drive-thru windows closed outside meal times. Third, she wants to run counter-advertising that makes the downsides of fattening food more salient, the way one ad depicts body fat being poured from a soda bottle. We no longer protest regulations for building construction, consumer goods, environmental contamination, liquor sales or food safety, and yet diet-related chronic disease is a much bigger problem than food-borne illness.
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Serious question, what should not be regulated by the Federal government?
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“Serious question, what should not be regulated by the Federal government?”
We’re freedom-loving tolerant people and don’t you forget it bagger…
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Serious question, what should not be regulated by the Federal government?
You first, since I sincerely doubt that you’re actually asking this seriously.
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Ok, campaign donations (cash) should not be regulated by the Federal government.
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I guess this is why W called him Turd Blossom.
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/rove-christies-handling-of-bridge-scandal-gives-him-tea-party-street-cred/
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neither should the airwaves, beyond spectrum concerns. i’ll grudgingly concede that. but not content. not after they mandated v-chips, which they had no business doing.
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Lightbulbs & toilets.
Next.
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Next.
Marijuana production/sales.
Also, prices for farmed goods.
Next?
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I originally thought this was a “No Medicare” ad. I got a little excited. It’s actually for hospitals fighting Medicare cuts to pay for unemployment insurance. I’ll be sure to ask some hospital types what they have against the unemployed.
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Sweet mother of God!
“Amazed that anyone had gotten through the system successfully, state officials contacted each of them to make sure they were real.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/maryland-news/maryland-officials-were-warned-for-a-year-of-problems-with-online-health-insurance-site/2014/01/11/f094ad94-6a98-11e3-8b5b-a77187b716a3_story.html?hpid=z1
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I think this all stems from the fact they wanted to hide the rack rate price from the customer.
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how much people are paid
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marriage
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health insurance.
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Nice, quick critique of the Fed written for a knuckle-dragger like me.
http://thefederalist.com/2014/01/12/the-fed-and-the-cult-of-expert-management/
A good rule of thumb, no?
But it is imperative that Congress–and the American people–recognize that too often hidden just beneath the surface of purportedly “scientific” claims are moral judgments of profound political significance.
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I’d add education as well.
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You guys are playing small ball with me. But I’ll agree with
–Campaign donations
–Airwave content
–Lightbulbs and toilets (surprise, jnc!)
–Prices for farmed goods
–How much people are paid (ceiling, not floor)
–Marriage
–Educational electives like religion, home ec and shop
I think it should be involved in
–Marijuana production and sales (I see this as a huge new source of revenue; I’m neutral as to whether smoking/indulging in pot is a good thing or not)
–How much people are paid (floor)
–Heath insurance (I probably mean health coverage, since I’d still like to see either Medicare for all or nationalized health care for all)
–Defining a core educational curriculum which must be taught and accepted across state lines for certification and higher education purposes by publicly funded colleges and universities
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Mich:
I think it should be involved in…
Is there any limiting principle behind what you think it should or should not be involved in?
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Mich:
–Defining a core educational curriculum which must be taught and accepted across state lines for certification and higher education purposes by publicly funded colleges and universities.
Would you prefer a national curriculum that mandated the teaching of, say, Intelligent Design, or a local curriculum that prohibited the teaching of ID?
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You guys are playing small ball with me
I should say that health insurance/coverage and education aren’t small ball by any means.
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ideally, we’ll get to the point where we pay people to burn their weed fields because we’ve determined that the supply would drive down prices.
I’m surprised to see campaign donations on your list. That gets you out of polite society. which I guess you’ve done by slumming with us.
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Is there any limiting principle behind what you think it should or should not be involved in?
Yes. I think that there are some things (access to health care, minimum educational standards, civil rights) that should be exactly the same for all Americans no matter what state they live in. Those should be federally defined and regulated.
Would you prefer a national curriculum that mandated the teaching of, say, Intelligent Design, or a local curriculum that prohibited the teaching of ID?
Neither, but you knew that. ID should be an elective, along with all other religiously-based subjects.
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Mich:
Yes. I think that there are some things (access to health care, minimum educational standards, civil rights) that should be exactly the same for all Americans no matter what state they live in.
What is that principle(s)? That is, is there any way of figuring out whether a given thing is included among those “some things” without having to ask you specifically about it?
Neither, but you knew that.
What I am trying to get at it is whether it is a national curriculum in general that you approve of, or only a national curriculum of your own choosing that you approve of. Any kind of national curriculum would, presumably, be subject to the same kinds of majority-rule political forces that any other national policy is subject to. Therefore it is of course possible that whatever national curriculum that the people/political class decided upon might actually contain things the teaching of which you oppose. In such a case, would you still advocate for a national curriculum, or would you instead prefer the ability to join a community that had a curriculum more aligned with your own sensibilities?
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That gets you out of polite society
Certain people on PL would agree whole-heartedly with you.
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Who here think the R’s have the balls to cut out Insurance company bailouts by attaching it to debt limit hike?
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They will stick it elsewhere. No point in letting the Democrats beat them over the head with the debt ceiling hike.
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What other “must pass” bills are coming up?
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But you think they’ll do it?
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Medicare extenders
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Nova, what does that mean?
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sorry — a package of Medicare provisions that likely will get wrapped up with the SGR (doc fix). they did a short term SGR fix that expires in April.
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OMFG, what a headline!
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/justices-flirt-with-limiting-obamas-executive-power
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What is that principle(s)?
There are some things that should be provided to all citizens equally.
What I am trying to get at it is whether it is a national curriculum
Yes, for core subjects. A national curriculum that prepares students to apply to any public college/university on equal footing nationwide, or walk into a certification program any where nationwide. That isn’t really a whole lot of subjects. After that I think that everything should be electives, from religious studies to art to history. I’d also get rid of AP, but that’s another subject.
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Mich:
We the people of the United States…
I take your answer to be saying that there are 3 principles that guide your advocacy of federal government initiatives: providing for the common defense, promoting the general welfare, and securing the blessings of liberty. I think these are more objectives than principles of action, but that aside do you really mean to say that the federal government should undertake anything and everything that comports with these objectives? For example, is it OK to spy on citizens by having the NSA surreptitiously monitor e-mails if doing so in the common defense? Should the federal government require daily exercise of every citizen if doing so promotes the “general welfare”? How do you reconcile actions that might comport with the first two but would at the same time destroy rather than secure liberty?
Yes, for core subjects.
What I am asking is about an eventuality in which your preference for what the mandatory curriculum should be is not the one chosen by the electorate/political class. If people who you disagree with win the political contest for what the federally mandated curriculum will be, are you still in favor of having a federally mandated curriculum?
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Should poverty in the US be measured in absolute terms or relative terms?
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McWing:
Should poverty in the US be measured in absolute terms or relative terms?
I think the real problem with the official measure of poverty is that it excludes all the government transfer payments designed to combat poverty. Whether it is measured in absolute or real terms, the only way to know if government programs are alleviating it is to include the effect of those programs in the measurement.
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What do you think, “Carl”?
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I think it should be in absolute terms. It will change periodically, but to measure it in relative terms doesn’t make sense (to me.)
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Then do you define poverty by income (or lack thereof), or buying power? In other words, is someone making $14,000/year in poverty whether they’re living in San Francisco or Tupelo, or does it mean that they’re in poverty if they can’t afford certain basic needs where they’re located, regardless of income?
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Well, states should decide and it should be based, I think, on their buying power after all assistance is factored in.
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What I am asking is about an eventuality in which your preference for what the mandatory curriculum should be is not the one chosen by the electorate/political class.
If you read what I said, you’d realize that I put determining curriculum into the realm of education and not electoral politics. I don’t think that the electorate should choose curricula any more than I think they should dictate which health care procedures are or are not available, or whether or not basic civil rights should be extended to all citizens.
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Mich:
If you read what I said, you’d realize that I put determining curriculum into the realm of education and not electoral politics.
I don’t know what that means, putting it in the “realm of education”. If the federal government is going to mandate a national curriculum, then necessarily what that curriculum will consist of will be a political determination. There is no way around it. Someone will have to decide what the curriculum will be. If it is not going to be determined by politicians directly, it will be determined by people selected/appointed by politicians.
In any event, surely you are capable of imagining a hypothetical situation in which a federally mandated curriculum exists, but is comprised of a curriculum to which you object. I just want to know, in such a situation, do you still advocate for the imposition of a federally mandated curriculum?
I oppose a federally mandated curriculum for three reasons. First and foremost, it is unconstitutional. The constitution does not grant the federal government any such power to impose a curriculum on the states. Second, as with all centrally imposed policies, I realize that there is no guarantee that I will approve of whatever curriculum ultimately gets imposed. I would rather have the power to develop a curriculum dispersed so that I have a better chance of finding a curriculum for my kids suitable to my sensibilities, should my sensibilities turn out to be in the political minority. Third, even if my notions of what should be in a curriculum prevail in the political arena, I have no desire to impose my own sensibilities on those who disagree. I think communities of like-minded people should be able to educate their kids with whatever curriculum they desire, even if it is one that I would not want for my own kids. I honestly do not understand the desire to force one’s own sense of what should be taught in school on others who happen to disagree.
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Well, states should decide and it should be based, I think, on their buying power after all assistance is factored in.
I agree–but I think that there should be a basic set of needs that should be met (minimum standard of housing, health care, food, etc.) that is common across all states and mandated at the federal level. If an individual state wants to tax its citizens to do more then that’s fine, but it can’t choose to do less.
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Why do you think that?
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Why do you think that?
Which?
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That there should be a Federal minimum?
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I would rather have the power to develop a curriculum dispersed so that I have a better chance of finding a curriculum for my kids suitable to my sensibilities, should my sensibilities turn out to be in the political minority.
Scott, I’m talking about a curriculum that deals with the basics. At what level should a child be expected to be able to read and write to get into college or a certification program? How much math should they have? A one-year high-school level course on civics. Biology, chemistry and physics to get into college, or a shorter, more basic course on the fundamentals of each to graduate. I hardly think that that can offend anyone’s sensibilities. Everything else is electives. You want your kid schooled in how evil centralized government is? Fine–but it’s an elective, not a core course. You want them to learn ID? That Christ is Lord and Savior? That liberals are the cause of all that is wrong with this world and should be shunned? Electives, all.
But without a core curriculum in K – 12 the playing field is not level for kids who want to go on to higher education, colleges or certification programs have no way of assessing students for admission, and any semblance of a national frame of reference will be lost (which is happening already and I think is part of a larger problem).
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Mich:
Scott, I’m talking about a curriculum that deals with the basics.
I understand what you would want the curriculum to be and why you want it. That is not what I am asking. I am asking you to consider the possibility that the imposed curriculum could turn out to be something other than what you want. Would you still support a federally imposed curriculum in such a circumstance?
With regard to imposing values on others through the force of law, I always think it is a good idea to place oneself in the shoes of those who don’t share those values. How would I feel about it if they were doing to me what I am proposing to do to them, ie if they imposed on me values with which I disagree? I am simply trying to get you to consider things from the perspective of those who disagree with you about the proper content of a school curriculum.
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That there should be a Federal minimum?
Because I agree with Mr. Jefferson, and see absolutely no reason why an American in Missouri and one in New York should have different minimum standards of living.
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Mich:
Because I agree with Mr. Jefferson…
What exactly to you agree with?
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Fingers crossed.
http://m.washingtonexaminer.com/omnibus-deal-cuts-epa-spending-ends-light-bulb-ban/article/2542114
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Oh, that would be awesome.
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What if I, and a majority of Americans think that a course that says that human life begins at conception should be in the core curriculum?
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Whether the majority of citizens would want ID taught as a “core” subject, I don’t believe it would ever happen. My reasoning for this is simple, “separation of church and state”. Why do so many overlook that? Any subject that proposes to “teach” ID is a “church” subject and therefore would never be a core subject in any public education curriculum..
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Troll, it’s confirmed about the DoE rider.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/195330-omnibus-spending-bill-blocks-key-obama-energy-regulations
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Good Morning All,
In pain but just can’t let this go without saying something.
Michi, I am with you. There are many things that the majority of Americans believe in and agree upon. I believe those things, some of which you listed Michi, that should be handled federally and not by individual states. For example, K-12 education. When we moved from Colorado to Texas, even though my daughter was a straight A student (always), Texas tried to “force” her to retake a “math” class because they “Texas” taught it differently. I fought and won. But it wasn’t easy. There is no reason why a basic class such as math to be taught “differently” from one state to another. That’s just 1 example. I also agree that ID should always be an elective.
Our nation was developed as “The UNITED States of America”. But it seems we are becoming more and more to simply be “The States of America”. I think we should be doing more to “unite” our states, not more and more to separate them.
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Geanie:
Our nation was developed as “The UNITED States of America”. But it seems we are becoming more and more to simply be “The States of America”.
I think you are incorrect on your history. Shelby Foote, a Civil War historian, made a very interesting point about the Civil War, saying that it turned the United States from a “they” to an “it”. The nation was in fact founded on the premise that individual states were largely independent and mostly sovereign entities to which vast swaths of policy making power was reserved. That is to say, when people spoke of the US, they spoke of “them”. But following the Civil War and increasing tremendously over the last century, federal power has taken over much of what was once strictly the realm of individual states, and in the process people now speak of the US as “it”.
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Scott, I know my history. But it seems since almost all conversations on here are about our Constitution and Bill of Rights, I find it hard to believe that our founding fathers truly wanted all states separate as many today seem to want, otherwise why even bother naming our country “the United States of America”? I honestly believe our founding fathers intended for all our states to be united on our most important issues which affect us all. I would much rather we have a “united states” over our having “separate states” because too many people only take themselves into account on anything. The “me, me, me, my rights, my rights, my rights” crap needs to go away and we should all work together to make a better country for us “all”. And I don’t see where anyone is personally harmed by providing our rights to everyone, such as marriage rights, etc. And I don’t see anyone’s rights being harmed by having a federally mandated core curriculum for all students K-12, since I’m quite sure home schooling and private schools will still exist for those who wish to have a more “personal” education that covers their “personal beliefs”.
We do not live in a bubble. We are hundreds of millions. And we need to find a way to co-exist without separating us by state. I was born in the United States of America, my father voluntarily enlisted and fought for the United States of America, and I hope when I die, I will die in the United States of America.
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Let’s light this candle!
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What about a course that asserts human life begins at conception?
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Troll…. if there is a course that asserts human life begins at conception, it would be within a course designed to teach ID. I can’t think of any other course that would address this topic. So why do you keep asking?
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Geanie:
Troll…. if there is a course that asserts human life begins at conception, it would be within a course designed to teach ID. I can’t think of any other course that would address this topic.
Biology?
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Scott, Yes biology covers conception. However, my recollection of HS and College biology did not address the biblical aspects, as it should not, but covered the scientific aspects of conception. If you want biology to teach the biblical side of conception, that should be covered in an elective ID course.
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Geanie:
However, my recollection of HS and College biology did not address the biblical aspects
McWing never said anything about “biblical aspects”. He spoke only of teaching about when life begins. Biology seems to me to be an obvious and natural subject in which to discuss when life begins.
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Oh, and BTW… this is Geanie. For some odd reason this morning, ATiM forced me to log in via my WP account. But this is me, Geanie 😀
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Why would it be ID, I know atheists who believe life, existence, begins at conception. They’re also Libertarians
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I am an atheist and I am a centrist. Let me put it this way then. I believe all “core” subjects are those that provide the students with the tools needed to obtain a job; such as reading, writing, arithmetic, the basics of human biology, the basics of science, the basics of economics, and the basics of American history (and State history for each individual state). Unless I overlooked any other “basics” courses, all others should be elective, particularly where there is a great divide in beliefs of a particular subject.
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Geanie, I finally got to talk to my friend who is a lawyer involved in SSDI claims. She said that if the case has already left the administrative review stage and moved on to the hearing by the administrative law judge, then the most important thing is to have your doctor provide a full recent transcript of your medical history and how it’s impacted your ability to work.
There was a specific term for this record type, but I don’t remember it precisely. If you have a SSDI lawyer, presumably they are aware of this and have advised you accordingly.
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Jnc… thanks for the info, and thanks for keeping me in mind. We are in the admin review stage. I guess Congressman Bridenstine’s office actually paid attention to my email and phone call. The standard time for receiving a letter from the judicial review group informing they have received your request for the judicial review is 30 days. I received my letter 1 day after my attorney submitted my request. And within the following week (last week), I received my second letter, which I understand should have been about another 30 days. The SSA did flag me, at the request of Bridenstine’s office, and have moved me up to the front of the line. Right now we are just waiting to see if the admin review will just go ahead and approve or if they will choose to leave the decision up to the judge.
And yes, I have had an attorney from the beginning. With my case now moving much faster I am hoping to be approved by the end of February.
Contacting my congressman was the best advice, and while I can’t remember which of you made the suggestion, I THANK YOU so very much!
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Would you allow home schooling or private schools?
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yes, I would allow home schooling and private schools. I would, however, make it a bit more difficult for home schooling. Only because I know several parents who home school and about half of them have no business teaching anyone.
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Do you think, as a percentage of their respective populations that more home schoolers get a bad education vs public schoolers?
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“Contacting my congressman was the best advice, and while I can’t remember which of you made the suggestion, I THANK YOU so very much!”
That was NoVA. He knows what he’s talking about.
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Yeah that’s confusing me.
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Glad to hear your congressman is earning his keep, Geanie.
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