Bernanke Gets a Free Pass on Capitol Hill
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| Ben Bernanke |
Bernanke said the Federal Open Market Committee is considering whether the economy will need additional stimulus to reduce an unemployment rate that has remained well above 8 percent since February of 2009. Bernanke suggested moves by the Fed to reduce the cost of borrowing by the Federal government have been “effective in easing financial conditions and promoting strength in the economy.”
However, Bernanke made no mention of how the Fed’s “large-scale asset purchases” have actually destroyed the interest income earning potential of millions of savers in the U.S. By forcing interest rates down to Depression Era levels or worse, the actual costs of the massive government deficits the last three years has been masked. None of the lawmakers challenged Bernanke today on the horrific damage done to savers who rely on interest income, as a result of government-friendly anti-saver policies.
State Spending on "Public Art" a Matter of Law
The size of the state’s collection of publicly-funded art pieces continues to grow, even in tough economic times.
“We’re concerned about this kind of spending on what are undoubtedly luxuries,” said Paul Gessing, president of the Rio Grande Foundation, a conservative watchdog group. State spending on public art is protected by state law. Passed in 1986, the Art in Public Places Act states that 1 percent of every dollar spent on capital improvement projects goes to purchase public art.
Since the law went into effect, state dollars have paid for the purchases of about 3,000 art pieces. “It’s the law…You don’t have the discretion to spend it however you like,” said Veronica Gonzales, secretary of the state’s Cultural Affairs Department – the department doing the buying.
Invoices obtained by KRQE News 13 show the spending continued, even as state lawmakers struggled to address a budget shortfall estimated at more than $400 million during the 2011 legislative session.
Among the purchases made while lawmakers debated ways to save money, $20,500 went to an unnamed stainless-steel sculpture; $20,500 went to another sculpture called “Brick Face Hope” for the State Land Office; $16,000 went to a sculpture called “Fish Hook”; $8,800 went for a sculpture of two dogs; $8,400 paid for another sculpture called “Tribal Rug Series. Read full story here: News New Mexico
NM securities agency probing fake financial audit
Once Again Oil and Gas Provides Surplus Revenues for New Mexico State Government
That is because the new money will come mainly from higher oil prices, and lawmakers have seen those prices climb and plunge, often at the mercy of events clear on the other side of the world.
"You can't budget from year to year predicated on what may happen in that industry," said Rep. Tom Taylor, a Farmington Republican who serves as House Minority Leader. "All sorts of things affect those kinds of revenues. I think we should watch them closely. I think the plan is to get them into reserves, kind of keep them in that arena and that's what we need to do with them because we don't know what's going to happen next year." Read full story here: News New Mexico
Stephen Lopez is New Chief of NMSU Police
"It was my pleasure and honor to select Stephen for this prestigious position as Chief of the NMSU Police Department," said NMSU Senior Vice President for External Relations and Chief of Staff Ben Woods. "As a long-term employee and recent deputy chief, Stephen has been instrumental in creating the department we take so much pride in today.
Lopez began working for the NMSU Police Department as a student in 1987 and became an officer in 1988, following his graduation from NMSU with bachelor's degrees in criminal justice and art in psychology. He also has a master's in strategic planning for Critical Infrastructure from the University of Washington.
Lopez's lengthy career at NMSU was unintentional.
"When I first started out at the police department, my intent was to work for a few years until I was eligible to apply for the FBI. They had a minimum entry age of 23 and a half, and I wanted to get some experience before I reached that age," Lopez said. "In those years, I had an opportunity to work with a lot of people in the department and on campus, and found that working at the local level, you get to make a difference for people and you to get the meet the people you're making a difference for. That's something I really enjoy - to the extent that I never submitted an application to the FBI. I decided to make my career here." Read full story here: News New Mexico
Noon: Obama Wants You to Use Less, Spend More
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| Marita Noon |
Having graduated from high school and attended college in San Bernardino, CA, my interest was piqued when I heard that it had become the third California city to file for bankruptcy. The mix of declining revenues and increasing costs are pinching government budgets nationwide, and many more bankruptcies are expected.
Obviously, as individual households and businesses have done, spending needs to be cut back in all possible areas. Cut a little here, cut a little there, and hopefully it will be enough to add up to real savings. Read full column here: News New Mexico
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