Rajoy inches toward aid

(Reuters) - Violent protests in Madrid and growing talk of secession in Catalonia are piling pressure on Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy as he moves closer to asking Europe for rescue money.

 In public, Rajoy has been resisting calls from bankers at home and the leaders of France and Italy to move quickly to request assistance, but behind the scenes he is putting together the pieces to meet the stringent conditions for aid.

With protesters stepping up anti-austerity demonstrations, Rajoy presents painful economic reforms and a tough 2013 budget on Thursday, aiming to persuade euro zone partners and investors that Spain is doing its deficit-cutting homework despite a recession and 25 percent unemployment.

READ MORE:  http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/26/us-spain-rajoy-idUSBRE88P09F20120926

State Review of Regulations Ignores Deeper Concerns

Governor Markell is making much of his Executive Order 36 to hold public hearings on state regulations to identify the existing regulations that are outdated, inconsistent, or no longer serve their purpose and get them eliminated.  CRI believes this order undermined proposed legislation to make more substantive changes to the regulatory process; changes desperately needed since Delaware needs new jobs but ranks a disappointing 43^rd in a CNBC survey on business friendliness.

 

This is a one-time review that leaves two of the biggest agencies, DNREC and DELDOT, until after the election.  No regulations initiated in the last three years will be included.  In other words, no regulation passed under Governor Markell's watch will be reviewed.  Only the regulations will be discussed with no questions on the underlying legislation allowed.  No requirement changes suggested by the public will be made and there will be no report on the outcome for a year, after the next legislative session ends. 

 

READ MORE:  http://www.caesarrodney.org/index.cfm?ref=30200&ref2=325

Ori Feibush, Philadelphia Real Estate Developer, in Hot Water After Refurbishing City's Vacant Lot

A Philadelphia businessman took $20,000 from his own pocket to transform a trash-filled city-owned lot overgrown with weeds into a beautiful outdoor mini-park. Long-frustrated neighbors sang his praises for his deed -- but the city calls him a trespasser and is threatening to take him to court, the Philadelphia Daily News reported.


Ori Feibush (pictured - see link), a real estate developer, had tried to buy the neglected 1,600-square-foot lot for years, but the city wouldn't let him. According to ABC News, Feibush was preparing last month to open his own coffee shop adjacent to the rundown lot -- with its cracked and broken sidewalks -- and that's when he decided to take matters into his own hands.

"I didn't wake up one morning and spend tens of thousands of dollars to remove blight that was a danger to residents and customers," he told ABC News.

Feibush did go to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority to reveal his plans for the space before initiating the $20,000 venture. He said that the agency told him that it would take care of cleaning the lot and that he did not have permission to enter it.

READ MORE:   http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2012/09/19/ori-feibush-philadelphia-real-estate-developer-refurbished-vacant-lot/?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl18|sec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D208768/?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000058?test=latestnews

Romney May Be the End of the Line for the Republican Establishment

A Commentary By Scott Rasmussen  

Mitt Romney's comments about 47 percent of Americans being dependent on government and locked in to vote for President Obama highlight a fundamental reality in American politics today: The gap between the American people and the political class is bigger than the gap between Republicans and Democrats in Washington, D.C.

Romney's remarks are the GOP equivalent of Obama's notorious comments about small-town Pennsylvania voters bitterly clinging to their guns and religion.

Both Romney and Obama highlighted the condescending attitude that political elites hold of the people they want to rule over. A National Journal survey found that 59 percent of political insiders don't think voters know enough to have meaningful opinions on the important issues of the day. That's a handy rationalization for those who want to ignore the voters and impose their own agenda. 

In the nation's capital, this gap creates bigger problems for Republicans than Democrats. Democratic voters tend to think that their representatives in Congress do a decent job representing them. That's because Democrats are a bit more comfortable with the idea of government playing a leading role in American society. However, 63 percent of Republican voters believe their representatives in Washington are out of touch with the party base.

Establishment Republicans in Washington broadly share the Democrats' view that the government should manage the economy. They may favor a somewhat more pro-business set of policies than their Democratic colleagues, but they still act as if government policy is the starting point for all economic activity.

Republican voters reject this view. They are more interested in promoting free market competition rather than handing out favors to big business. They detest corporate welfare and government bailouts, even though their party leaders support them.

The GOP base sees government as a burden that weighs the private sector down rather than a tool that can generate growth if used properly. Ninety-six percent of Republican voters believe that the best thing the government can do to help the economy is to cut spending and free up more money for the private sector.

The Republican base is looking for someone like a 21st century Ronald Reagan, who will display his faith in the American people. The Washington Republicans are more comfortable with politicians like George W. Bush, Bob Dole, John McCain and Mitt Romney. Though the establishment has dominated the party since Reagan left the White House, the 2012 election could well be the end of the line.

If Romney loses in November, the Republican base will no longer buy the electability argument for an establishment candidate. From the view of the base, the elites will have given away an eminently winnable election. Someone new, from outside of Washington, will be the party's nominee in 2016.

If Romney wins and does nothing to change the status quo, the economy will falter. He will end up as the second straight one-term president, and the nation will desperately be searching for an authentic outsider in 2016.

If he wins the White House, the only way for Romney to succeed will be to side with the nation's voters and throw out the club in Washington. That will be great news for the country but bad news for political insiders on both sides of the partisan aisle.

To find out more about Scott Rasmussen, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.   

Some state employees are more equal than others

The on-going analysis of the Transparent Delaware data on state payroll continues to raise puzzling results. For this round, CRI compared the total compensation of state employees in 2008 and 2010 and found that some state employees are treated far more generously than others with regard to supplemental pay. 

 

For each individual employee, the state records the annual salary, overtime pay and “other” pay. Together, overtime pay and “other” pay are considered supplemental pay. “Other” pay is a catch all for a variety of reimbursements including shift differential, holiday pay, uniform allowances, and other such things.

 

In the private sector supplemental pay, excluding bonuses, averages 2.8% of wages plus benefits. Approximately 10% of private civilian workers receive supplemental pay. Supplemental pay to active Delaware state employees averages 6.5% of wages plus benefits and is received by 68% of all state workers. For 2010 supplemental pay added more than $146 million to the approximately $1.6 billion of state salaries…a boost of over 9%.

 

READ MORE:  http://www.caesarrodney.org/index.cfm?ref=30200&ref2=324

Karl Rove: Obama 'In Desperate Shape'

By: Greg McDonald

Political strategist Karl Rove Wednesday said recent polls show President Barack Obama in "desperate shape" in some key states he carried in 2008 and urged Republicans not to be discouraged by polls suggesting Mitt Romney has been wounded too severely by campaign missteps to recover.

 

"The swing state poll shows the president in desperate shape in territory he carried with ease in 2008," Rove said told Fox News' Neil Cavuto Wednesday evening, referring to a recent USA Today/Gallup poll showing Obama up by 48 percent to 46 percent over Romney.  

 

Rove, a Fox News contributor and the founder of the Republican super PAC Crossroad GPS, said a closer look at the poll, however, indicates trouble ahead for the president in many of the 11 key battleground states when compared to a similar poll from the 2008 presidential race.

 

READ MORE:  http://www.moneynews.com/StreetTalk/World-Economy-perfect-storm/2012/09/07/id/451120?s=al&promo_code=1002D-1

 

Tax Policy Center analysis details the '47 percent'

GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s comment that 47 percent of voters pay no income tax appears to come from a study by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

The most recent study by the Center, in 2011, found that 46 percent of taxpayers would not be eligible to pay the federal individual income tax either because of their low income or owing to specific tax breaks.

But in 2009, it estimated that threshold was set at 47 percent.

Of that group, roughly half will not pay taxes because their income is below $26,400.

In 2011, a family with two children making less than $26,400 will pay no federal income tax, the center said. Such a family would get the $11,600 standard deduction, as well as four exemptions of $3,700 each that would reduce its taxable income to zero.

“The basic structure of the income tax simply exempts subsistence levels of income from tax,” the group wrote.

READ MORE:  http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/domestic-taxes/250029-tax-policy-center-analysis-details-the-47-percent