Central Perk

vineri, 3 februarie 2012

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Greek Leaders (All 3 Coalition Parties) Oppose New Austerity Measures; Words of the Day: "Hardball", Followed by "Meeting Cancelled" and the Always Popular "Meeting May be Scheduled Later in the Week"
Nonfarm Payroll +243,000 ; Unemployment Rate 8.3%; Those Not in Labor Force Rose an Amazing 1,177,000
Providence Rhode Island Faces "Bankruptcy by June" says Mayor; Pension Plan 32% Funded (and About to Get Worse)
EU says "Strict Application of Budget Rules Doesn't Make Sense"; Spain Kicks Off the Year Destroying 9,000+ Jobs a Day, 283,700 for Month; Impossible Dream

Greek Leaders (All 3 Coalition Parties) Oppose New Austerity Measures; Words of the Day: "Hardball", Followed by "Meeting Cancelled" and the Always Popular "Meeting May be Scheduled Later in the Week"

Posted: 03 Feb 2012 06:18 PM PST

Shortly after Dutch finance minister, said "We want no further delays" came news of further delays. The reason: Greek political parties all refuse to go along with more austerity measures.

Please consider Greece's leaders oppose new austerity measures

All three party leaders in Greece's teetering national unity government have opposed new austerity measures demanded by international lenders, forcing eurozone finance ministers to postpone approval of a new €130bn bail-out and moving the country closer to a full-blown default.

Representatives of the so-called "troika" – the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund – have demanded further cuts in government jobs and severe reductions in Greek salaries, including an immediate 25 per cent cut in the €750 minimum monthly wage, before agreeing the new rescue.

But representatives of all three coalition partners, including centre-left Pasok of former prime minister George Papandreou and the centre-right New Democracy of likely successor Antonis Samaras, said they were unwilling to back the government layoffs.

In addition, a Greek government official said the EU and IMF negotiators rejected a counter-proposal that would have frozen Greek wages for three years and cut social security contributions by 10 per cent.

Finance ministers from the four remaining triple As – Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Luxembourg – met in Berlin on Friday where they agreed that Athens must move quickly or they would withhold assistance.

"We want no further delays," Jan Kees de Jager, the Dutch finance minister, said after the meeting.

The delays in Athens could give new momentum to officials in Germany, the Netherlands and Finland who have been agitating to abandon the cornerstone of the new bail-out – a €200bn bond swap in which private debt holders would accept losses of 50 per cent in the face value of their holdings. A full-scale default would allow Greece to write off all privately held debt.

The brinkmanship in Athens became so intense on Friday that a government spokesman was forced to deny reports that the acting technocratic prime minister, Lucas Papademos, was considering resigning if governing parties did not agree to the new measures.

Keyword of the Day is "Hardball"

In case you missed it here is the key phrase "EU and IMF negotiators rejected a counter-proposal that would have frozen Greek wages for three years and cut social security contributions by 10 per cent."

That was a pretty significant offer by Greece in the midst of an economic depression. There was no counter-offer, only a take-it-or-leave-it hardball.

For now, Greece said "Leave It" so you can add that to the words of the day as well. As I have said numerous times recently, Germany wants Greece out of the Eurozone. Those actions reinforce my opinion. Germany could easily have said a Greek wage freeze for three years and cut social security contributions by 10 per cent would suffice.

Minimum Wage

I am not a fan of minimum wage laws at all. However, let's ponder Germany's demand. A "25 per cent cut in the €750 minimum monthly wage" would take the minimum wage down to €562.5, roughly $739 a month.

Taxes

According to Wikipedia the following Greece Taxes apply.

Social Security Tax: 16%
VAT: as high as 23% (Category 2 goods 4.5%)
Income Tax: Progressive

I cannot find a precise description of Category 2, but eating out is category 1 and taxed at 23%. Minimum wage appears to avoid income tax.

The after SS-tax income at the proposed minimum wage is $621 a month or $7452 per year.

How far will a take-home pay of $7452 per year go?

Living Greece discusses Value-added tax (VAT) rates in Greece

Greece has the third highest rate of VAT in Europe
Second highest gas/petrol tax
Third highest tax on social insurance contributions
Fifth highest VAT on alcohol
Highest property tax
One of the worst corporate tax rates
Without the quality of living or competitiveness to match

Bear in mind that was from 2010.

On the assumption that everyone earning minimum wage is spending every penny of it, subtract another 10% to 20% in actual purchasing power.

Keep Talking Greece has a humorous (to those not from Greece) article on Greek VAT Insanity: 6.5% for Foreigners, 23% for Greeks

That Greece is an absurd country I knew the moment I decided to return from living abroad over some decades. But it was beyond my vivid imagination that I will have to experience this, day by day – and even moment to moment. With a decision that touches the limits of European constitution because of discrimination against the citizens of this hapless country, the Finance Minister announced that the increased VAT of 23% on catering goods will be paid only by the Greeks -meanwhile known also as money-spewing machines!

Earlier on Monday, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos clarified that the increased VAT from 13% to 23% will apply to restaurants, taverns, cafes and hotel restaurants. However if you buy an All-Inclusive package abroad, you will have a 6.5% VAT. Greeks who will buy similar packages in the country will pay 23% VAT.

The new increased VAT regulations are as complicated as they can be: there is a different VAT for consuming sitting or standing (restaurant/cafe), different for take away (but only if you take it yourself, not through delivery boy).

In short a pizza has four different VAT depending on whether you sit, stand, walk or lay (hotel room/all-inclusive).

Tortured to Death

The point of this discussion is not about minimum wage, but about absurd taxes on top of a reduction in minimum wages at a time the Greek economy is already imploding.

I am 100% in favor of work rule changes, pension changes, etc., but the tax hikes and tax structures are insane.

Furthermore, I fail to see how increased taxation and further austerity measures can possibly help Greece in the short-run. And by the way, the short run has now been extended to 2020 from 2013.

Greece is imploding. It's really too bad Greece did not exit the Eurozone three years ago instead of now smack in the midst of a depression.

Moreover, this is exactly what Spain and Portugal ought to be thinking about as well.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Nonfarm Payroll +243,000 ; Unemployment Rate 8.3%; Those Not in Labor Force Rose an Amazing 1,177,000

Posted: 03 Feb 2012 09:09 AM PST

Quick Notes About the "Falling" Unemployment Rate

In the last year, the civilian population rose by 3,565,000. Yet the labor force only rose by 1,145,000. Those not in the labor force rose by 2,420,000.
In January, the Civilian Labor Force rose by 508,000.
In January, those "Not in Labor Force" rose by an amazing 1,177,000. If you are not in the labor force, you are not counted as unemployed.
Participation Rate fell .3 to 63.7%, taking out a 1984 low
Were it not for people dropping out of the labor force, the unemployment rate would be well over 11%.

Some of those labor force numbers are due to annual revisions. However, the point remains: People are dropping out of the labor force at an astounding, almost unbelievable rate, holding the unemployment rate artificially low.

Jobs Report at a Glance

Here is an overview of today's release.

US Payrolls +243,000 - Establishment Survey
US Unemployment Rate Declined .2 - Household Survey
Average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was +.1 to 34.4 hours
The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged higher 0.1 hour to 33.7 hours in November.
Average hourly earnings for all employees in the private sector rose by 4 cents to $23.24

Recall that the unemployment rate varies in accordance with the Household Survey not the reported headline jobs number, and not in accordance with the weekly claims data.

January 2012 Jobs Report

Please consider the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) January 2012 Employment Report.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 243,000 in January, and the unemployment rate decreased to 8.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job growth was widespread in the private sector, with large employment gains in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing. Government employment changed little over the month.

Unemployment Rate - Seasonally Adjusted

Nonfarm Employment - Payroll Survey - Annual Look - Seasonally Adjusted

Actual employment is about where it was in 2001.

Nonfarm Employment - Payroll Survey - Monthly Look - Seasonally Adjusted

click on chart for sharper image

Between January 2008 and February 2010, the U.S. economy lost 8.8 million jobs.

The January employment gained in total nonfarm brings the number of net jobs recovered since a trough in February 2010 to 3.2 million jobs, or 36 percent of the 8.8 million jobs lost between January 2008 and February 2010.

Statistically, 127,000 jobs a month is enough to keep the unemployment rate flat. The average increase in 2011 was of 152,000 per month, barely enough make a dent in the unemployment rate.

Nonfarm Employment - Payroll Survey Monthly Details - Seasonally Adjusted

Average Weekly Hours

Index of Aggregate Weekly Hours

In January 2012 the index of aggregate weekly hours stood 4.8 percent below its peak in January 2008.

Average Hourly Earnings vs. CPI

"Success" of QE2 and Operation Twist

Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings has increased by 1.9 percent; while in December, the CPI-U had a 12-month percent change of 3.0 percent.
Not only are wages rising slower than the CPI, there is also a concern as to how those wage gains are distributed.

BLS Birth-Death Model Black Box

The BLS Birth/Death Model is an estimation by the BLS as to how many jobs the economy created that were not picked up in the payroll survey.

The Birth-Death numbers are not seasonally adjusted while the reported headline number is. In the black box the BLS combines the two coming out with a total.

The Birth Death number influences the overall totals, but the math is not as simple as it appears. Moreover, the effect is nowhere near as big as it might logically appear at first glance.

Do not add or subtract the Birth-Death numbers from the reported headline totals. It does not work that way.

Birth/Death assumptions are supposedly made according to estimates of where the BLS thinks we are in the economic cycle. Theory is one thing. Practice is clearly another as noted by numerous recent revisions.

Birth Death Model Adjustments For 2011

Birth Death Model Adjustments For 2012

Birth-Death Notes

Once again: Do NOT subtract the Birth-Death number from the reported headline number. That is statistically invalid.

Household Survey Data

click on chart for sharper image

In the last year, the civilian population rose by 3,565,000. Yet the labor force only rose by 1,145,000. Those not in the labor force rose by 2,420,000.

That is an amazing "achievement" to say the least.

Were it not for people dropping out of the labor force, the unemployment rate would be well over 11%.

Table A-8 Part Time Status

click on chart for sharper image

Part-time status shows little improvement vs. a year ago.

Table A-15

Table A-15 is where one can find a better approximation of what the unemployment rate really is.

click on chart for sharper image

The official unemployment rate is 8.3%. However, if you start counting all the people that want a job but gave up, all the people with part-time jobs that want a full-time job, all the people who dropped off the unemployment rolls because their unemployment benefits ran out, etc., you get a closer picture of what the unemployment rate is. That number is in the last row labeled U-6.

U-6 is much higher at 15.1%. Both numbers would be way higher still, were it not for millions dropping out of the labor force over the past few years.

Grossly Distorted Statistics

Given the complete distortions of reality with respect to not counting people who allegedly dropped out of the work force, it is easy to misrepresent the headline numbers. Digging under the surface, the drop in the unemployment rate is nothing but a statistical mirage.

In January, those "Not in Labor Force" rose by a staggering 1,177,000. Things are much worse than the reported numbers indicate.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Providence Rhode Island Faces "Bankruptcy by June" says Mayor; Pension Plan 32% Funded (and About to Get Worse)

Posted: 03 Feb 2012 07:12 AM PST

Untenable pension promises made by corrupt politicians to corrupt unions in an unholy alliance is about to sink another city. Please consider Providence is facing bankruptcy

Rhode Island's capital city will be in bankruptcy by June if it doesn't get help resolving its financial crisis.

That was the dire warning from Providence Mayor Angel Taveras during a Thursday morning news conference at City Hall. With five months left before the end of the fiscal year and the capital set to run out of cash by the start of summer, the city still faces a $22.5 million deficit in its budget for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.

The budget shortfall was projected at $110 million last March, when Taveras declared a "category five" financial emergency in Providence. It was reduced after he negotiated new contracts with unions, laid off workers, cut spending and won increased state aid.

"Our firefighters, police officers, teachers and taxpayers have all sacrificed in the last year and helped Providence avoid catastrophe," the mayor said. "However, not everyone has sacrificed. The failure of our tax-exempts to sacrifice has left a $7.1 million hole in our budget."

Taveras said the city's retirees must accept reduced pension and health care benefits to save the city from financial ruin. A decree signed in 1991 by Mayor Buddy Cianci pushed the city's pension liability "into the stratosphere" by giving annual cost-of-living increases of 5% and 6% to more than 600 retirees, he said.

"These retirees have refused to sacrifice and are costing Providence taxpayers tens of millions of dollars a year," Taveras said, calling the increases "raises," not adjustments to keep up with the cost of living. The mayor will hold a meeting with retirees on March 3 where they will be asked for concessions.

Taveras's office released a list showing that the city's highest-paid pensioner, former Fire Chief Gilbert McLaughlin, now receives an annual pension of $196,813 a year. He retired with an annual salary of $63,510. At the current rate of growth, McLaughlin's pension will total roughly $796,871 if he lives to the age of 100.

Specter of Central Falls

The tiny city of Central Falls became the first Rhode Island municipality ever to file for bankruptcy last August. East Providence's finances were also placed under formal state oversight in November. Woonsocket and Pawtucket recently disclosed surprise deficits, and two-thirds of local pension plans in the state are "at risk."

Retired police officers and firefighters in Central Falls recently reached a tentative agreement with former R.I. Supreme Court Justice Robert Flanders, the city's receiver, that would see their pension payments reduced by as much as 55% if state lawmakers agree to augment that with supplemental payments over the next five years.

Taveras urged Providence's retirees to learn a lesson from what happened in Central Falls, warning he would find a way to reduce the cost of their pension benefits "one way or another."

As of June 30, Providence's city pension system was 32% funded with a shortfall of $901 million, and the city also had a $1.2 billion unfunded liability for retiree health benefits, according to its most recent audit. The entire city budget is roughly $619 million this year.

Unions, Politicians to Blame

Check that out: The entire budget is $619 million, and the city has a shortfall of over $2 billion.

Taveras is barking up the wrong tree arguing "Our firefighters, police officers, teachers and taxpayers have all sacrificed in the last year and helped Providence avoid catastrophe".

It is the firefighters, police officers, and teachers unions (and of course corrupt politicians willing to buy votes) that are responsible for this mess. The only group that can claim to have sacrificed is non-union taxpayers. However, much of the rest of Taveras' comments ring true.

Absurd Benefits

This statement says it all "Fire Chief Gilbert McLaughlin, now receives an annual pension of $196,813 a year. He retired with an annual salary of $63,510. At the current rate of growth, McLaughlin's pension will total roughly $796,871 [annually!] if he lives to the age of 100.

To double-check my $796,871 annually claim, I used this Compound Interest Calculator.

At 6% per year, it would take about 24 years to grow to a benefit of $196,813 a year to $796,882.97. Thus I conclude McLaughlin is 76 years old. If he lives another 10 years, his annual pension would be $352,462.11 based on an career ending salary of a mere $63,510.

With this kind of absurdity, it is foolish to attempt to resolve this mess outside of bankruptcy. Those pension contracts should be declared null and void.

Restoring Equity

I would like to see a bankruptcy judge reduce McLaughlin's pension to the average of his last 10 years' salary. Teachers and others on the low end of the benefit scale should be the hit the least. That would be reasonably equitable.

Spare me the sap about legal contacts and promises. Those contracts and pension benefits were bought with bribes and dishonesty with no one looking out for the taxpayer. Fraudulent, self-serving contracts with no one representing the taxpayer should not be legally enforceable (and indeed they weren't for Central Falls).

More Cities, Major Cities Will Follow

Without even looking at the details, it's easy to speculate East Providence, Woonsocket, and Pawtucket are going to follow Central Falls and Providence into the bankruptcy gutter.

Moreover, it's only a matter of time before Oakland, Huston, LA, San Diego, Newark, Cincinnati, etc, go under. Bankruptcy is the only way to wipe out preposterous pension benefits, so expect to see more of them.

As with Detroit, Michigan (see Deal Reached to Prevent Michigan Takeover of Detroit; Really? No, Not Really; What's Best for Bankrupt Detroit?) bankruptcy would be the best possible outcome for taxpayers.

Bankruptcy is the only way to shed absurd union contracts and pension benefits.

Thus, taxpayers should be rooting for Taveras to ask for concessions so big the unions say "no deal". It is taxpayers' best hope of settling the mess in one shot without devastating tax hikes.

Inquiring minds might also be interested in American Airlines Went Bankrupt in November; Are Taxpayers on the Hook for Pension Benefits? What is the Equitable Solution?

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

EU says "Strict Application of Budget Rules Doesn't Make Sense"; Spain Kicks Off the Year Destroying 9,000+ Jobs a Day, 283,700 for Month; Impossible Dream

Posted: 03 Feb 2012 12:22 AM PST

On January 30, 25 of 27 nations signed the Merkozy accord calling for strict budget discipline and "quasi-automatic sanctions" for nations that violate budget rules. Only the UK and Czech Republic refused to sign.

Following that ceremonious signing it took precisely two days for European bureaucrats to propose "Application of the rules in a strict manner in the face of a downturn doesn't make sense".

Spain Poses Six-Pack Rules Challenge

Please laugh along with Spain poses six-pack rules challenge

Spain's deteriorating economy poses the first challenge to Brussels' commitment to enforce tough new budget rules intended to repair credibility with financial markets and ease the debt crisis.

"Application of the rules in a strict manner in the face of a downturn doesn't make sense," said Andre Sapir, a senior fellow at Bruegel, a Brussels think-tank. "One has to find a compromise."

Olli Rehn, the economics commissioner, threatened to "fully use this powerful set of new tools from day one".

But the EU's executive arm is also sympathetic to Spain's plight. Following a meeting in Brussels on Monday with Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, suggested that a debate was now under way on whether to make some accommodation for Madrid.

"Efforts should be made to contain the deficits for 2012," Mr Barroso told reporters. "However, it would be convenient now to have a discussion ... about this situation."

It also risks drawing the ire of fellow member states, which have already been exposed to tough consequences because of the six pack.

Belgium, for example, earlier this month cut more than €1bn from this year's budget in a frantic weekend exercise in order to avoid fines – an experience that led a top minister to lash out at Mr Rehn. Meanwhile, Hungary was threatened last week with a freeze on its EU development funds for next year if it does not comply with the rules.

But such considerations may be overwhelmed by the severity of Spain's situation. Even local business leaders who favour harsh curbs on public spending now say that sticking to the original 2012 deficit target of 4.4 per cent of gross domestic product is almost impossible and risks plunging the economy into depression.

Precise Targets Go Out the Window Already

Mr Rajoy's ministers have recently been careful not to reaffirm their commitment to the precise 2012 deficit target of 4.4 per cent of GDP – although they reiterate their austerity pledges in general terms – and are evidently hoping that the Commission and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, will accept the need for softer targets provided Spain launches its promised economic reforms.

"Once Merkel has the certainty that these [southern European] countries are doing the right thing, the stance of Europe may be relaxed," says the banker. The head of another leading Spanish business said: "The important thing is that the path to a lower deficit should be credible and coherent."

It should not take too long for Portugal and Ireland to find it "convenient" to also request a variance in the "Application of the rules in a strict manner".

Spain Kicks Off the Year Destroying 9,000+ Jobs a Day

Courtesy of Google Translate from El Pais, please consider The economy started the year destroying more than 9,000 jobs a day

As reported to the Ministry of Employment, Social Security membership fell by 283,700 people in January, about 9,000 jobs a day. The average number of employed fell below 17 million (16,946,237) for the first time since the beginning in 2005.

Courtesy of Google Translate from Libre Mercado, please consider Employment has Worst Start Since Fateful Year of 2009

Spain Social Security Membership

[Mish comment: Judging from the January numbers (all negative), the data is not seasonally adjusted.]

The total number of employed fell below 17 million (16,946,237) for the first time since 2004.

Very negative balance

According to the Foundation for Applied Economic Research (FEDEA), "after four years of crisis, employment continues to be destroyed, and what is worse, the intensity of this destruction increases."

Meanwhile, according to the Association of Large Temporary Work (Agettes), the January data show that "we continue down the wrong path. We are witnessing a dramatic scene again that, unfortunately, is unknown to us because we have four years assisting new negative record. The global economic situation continues to drown our perspective, while our own labor market tightens further the bit oxygen that remains."

Spain Unveils EUR 50bn Bank Sector Clean-Up

EU Business reports Spain Unveils EUR 50bn Bank Sector Clean-Up

Spain's government unveiled reforms Thursday that will oblige banks to clean up their bad loans by building up provisions and capital reserves totalling 50 billion euros ($65 billion).

The banking sector is weighed down by a mountain of soured loans and property assets that are losing their value after the collapse of the Spanish property market in 2008.

According to the Bank of Spain, the sector had 176 billion euros in problem loans and seized real estate in June 2011 -- a figure which has probably increased since, as the economy has weakened.

The sector has undergone a major restructuring since 2008 but the government considers it still to be at risk despite banks putting aside a third of this amount to cushion the blow when they sell off the bad assets.

The new reform aims to "generate mergers to form viable entities" out of struggling ones so that "the clean-up will be quick and deep", De Guindos said.

Impossible Dream

There was 176 billion euros in problem loans last summer. What is total now, 250 billion?

Banks are somehow supposed to come up with $50 billion in capital (when? how?) after which they merge struggling banks and via some undisclosed magic process "the clean-up will be quick and deep" forming viable banks.

This is an easy call, especially in light of employment trends: That plan is doomed and Spain is in deep trouble.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Damn Cool Pics

Flying People in New York City
Mona Lisa Copy Painted By Leonardo Da Vinci's Student Discovered in Spain
Expert Mode Bathroom
Face Slimmer Exercise Mouthpiece
The Walking Student Debt [Infographic]

Flying People in New York City

Posted: 03 Feb 2012 07:08 PM PST

In the last couple of weeks, New Yorkers may have noticed people flying over and around the Brooklyn Bridge. It turns out it was a publicity stunt designed by Thinkmodo for the the movie "Chronicle," which is due to release Feb. 3. In the movie, three teenage boys develop superpowers.

Mona Lisa Copy Painted By Leonardo Da Vinci's Student Discovered in Spain

Posted: 03 Feb 2012 03:34 PM PST

A copy of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, Mona Lisa, has been found in the vaults of the Spanish Prado museum, looking younger and more ravishing than the original (See picture above: original left, copy right). Museum officials said it was almost certainly painted by one of Leonardo da Vinci's apprentices alongside the master himself as he did the original.

Painted alongside the original, historians say it gives another insight into what the model for one of the world's most famous paintings actually looked like. The copy of the Mona Lisa features the same female figure, but had been covered over with black paint and varnish. Two years ago tests were done and restorers discovered something hidden under the black coat.

Via dailymail & thehistoryblog

Expert Mode Bathroom

Posted: 03 Feb 2012 03:29 PM PST

Hardcore gamers love expert mode because it provides them with such a challenge but no matter how good you are at aiming, I don't recommend trying out this advanced level especially if you ever have any ladies visit your home.

Via Neatorama & Game Over

Face Slimmer Exercise Mouthpiece

Posted: 03 Feb 2012 01:55 PM PST

The Face Slimmer Mouth Exercise Mouthpiece is a new Japanese gadget that if used correctly, will make your face tight and firm without the need of Botox injections or going under the knife. We are talking about movie star quality looks here without the need of a plastic surgeon.

It's basically a mouthpiece that looks like a huge pair of puffed-up, gigantic lips. To exercise your face, just pop it into your mouth and say loud vowel sounds again and again for three minutes every day.

The Face Slimmer Mouth Exercise Mouthpiece is made of silicone rubber and comes in red and retails for an insane $83!

The Walking Student Debt [Infographic]

Posted: 03 Feb 2012 01:31 PM PST

76% of young people surveyed believe it has gotten harder to afford college in the last five years. Only 21% of young people surveyed believe students graduate with a manageable amount of college loan debt. The average student debt of new college graduates in 2010 was $22,900 as compared to only $7,000 in 2000. In other words, the average student debt in 2010 is 47% more than in 2000, even when adjusted for inflation. Is this amount in your budget? This infographic from Top Colleges Online takes a look at student loans.

Click on Image to Enlarge.

Via: topcollegesonline

A Blueprint for American-Made Energy

February 3, 2012

A Blueprint for American-Made Energy

In his 2012 State of the Union Address, President Obama laid out a Blueprint for an America Built to Last, underscoring his commitment to an all-of-the-above approach that develops every available source of American energy. The President’s plan calls for the safe and responsible development of domestic oil and natural gas resources, support for a wide range of clean energy technologies, and new initiatives to increase the energy efficiency of the industrial sector to make American manufacturing more competitive. For more information about President’s plan, take a look at our fact sheet.

President Barack Obama delivers remarks on energy, at UPS Las Vegas South in Las Vegas, Nevada, Jan. 26, 2012.(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza).

A few days after the State of the Union Address, the President took to the road to highlight how natural gas can play a larger role in our transportation sector. The President visited Las Vegas, Nevada to tour a UPS depot that hosts natural gas-powered trucks. The depot is less than a mile from a new natural gas refueling station in Las Vegas, which was developed jointly by the Department of Energy, South Coast Air Quality Management District, UPS, and Clean Energy Fuels. The new refueling station will make it possible for trucks to drive from Long Beach to Salt Lake City, powered entirely by American natural gas.

The President also traveled to Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colorado to talk about his “all-of-the above” energy strategy. The President underscored his commitment to clean energy and discussed the Administration’s plans to: expand the development of renewable energy on public lands; push for a Clean Energy Standard: and work with the Department of Defense to purchase enough clean energy to power 250,000 homes a year. The President also emphasized the importance of improving energy efficiency by helping manufacturers and businesses upgrade their facilities, which could save the U.S. manufacturing sector $100 billion over the next decade.

These actions represent just a snapshot of the Administration’s efforts to promote clean energy. Check out the December and January highlights below.

Events

President Obama Visits a UPS Depot and Buckley Air Force Base to Highlight Energy Strategy
On Jan. 26^th, President Obama spoke at a UPS Depot in Las Vegas, NV and at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, CO, expanding on the energy initiatives mentioned in his State of the Union address two days earlier. The President detailed the “all-out, all-in, all-of-the-above strategy” for developing new, cleaner sources of energy. Read the President’s full remarks in Las Vegas and Aurora.

Secretary Chu Tours Renewable Energy Research Facilities and Hosts SOTU Town Hall
Secretary Steven Chu travelled to Albuquerque, NM on Jan. 26^th to tour the renewable energy research facilities at Sandia National Laboratories, saying that the creation of a federal clean energy standard would encourage innovation in renewable energy technologies. He also held a town hall with students at the University of Mexico. Read more about his visit here!

Secretary Chu and Secretary Salazar Light the National Mall
Secretary Chu and Secretary Salazar hosted a lighting ceremony on Jan. 30^th to celebrate the installation of energy-efficient LED lampposts on the National Mall. The LED lights will reduce lighting energy use by up to 65%! Check out a slideshow of the ceremony.

Secretary Chu Attends Groundbreaking at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory [pdf]
Secretary Chu broke ground on the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Computational Research and Theory facility on Feb. 1^st. The facility will be at the forefront of high-performance supercomputing research and will be the most energy-efficient facility of its kind! Learn more about the facility here.

Deputy Secretary Dan Poneman Visits Wind Energy Research Station.
Deputy Secretary Dan Poneman traveled to Minneapolis, MN on Jan. 27^th to visit the Eolos Wind Energy Research Station at the University of Minnesota. The University of Minnesota was one of three universities to receive a U.S. Department of Energy wind energy grant in 2009, receiving $7.9 million to build the turbine. Read more about his visit here!

Under Secretary Arun Majumdar Visits Volvo Truck Headquarters
Under Secretary Arun Majumdar visited Volvo Truck Headquarters on Jan. 27^th, saying that “companies like the Volvo Group that are pursuing energy efficiency in their operations, putting Americans to work, and building more fuel-efficient vehicles underscore how investments in clean energy technology are helping to secure America's future economic prosperity.” Read more about the visit here!

News

Salazar Continues to Advance Renewable Energy Development on Public Lands
Capping three years of efforts to develop renewable energy resources on public lands both onshore and offshore, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced DOI’s approval of two utility-scale renewable energy projects—one wind and one solar—that, when built, will generate nearly 500 megawatts of power, or enough to power 150,000 homes, and create 700 jobs during peak construction.

Department of the Interior Announces Offshore Wind Project Progress
The Department of Interior announced on Feb. 2^nd that the department’s renewable energy initiative cleared an important environmental review, allowing progress for wind energy lease sales off Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, and Delaware. “Offshore wind holds incredible potential for our country, and we’re moving full-steam ahead to accelerate the siting, leasing and construction of new projects,” said Secretary Salazar.

Onshore Oil & Gas Lease Sales Garner $256 Million for American Taxpayers in 2011
Following a strong year in which leasing reform helped to lower protests and increase revenue from onshore oil and gas lease sales on public lands (resulting in a 20 percent increase in lease sale revenues over 2010), the Interior Department will hold 32 additional sales in calendar year 2012, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced.

Obama Administration Announces Proposed Central Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale
The Obama administration announced that the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold the consolidated Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 216/222 in New Orleans on June 20, 2012. The sale will include all available unleased areas in the Central Planning Area offshore Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Department of Defense Concludes Study of Solar Energy Potential at Desert Bases
The Department of Defense completed a yearlong study on the potential for solar energy generation at four military bases in the California desert. Released on January 13th, the study finds that the four bases could generate 7,000 megawatts of solar energy, about 25% of the renewable energy that California requires utilities to use by 2015.

Department of Defense Announces Winners of $18.0 Million Fund to Improve Battlefield Energy Security
The Department of Defense (DoD) announced the release of $18.0 million to fund six military programs to reduce the energy demand of future expeditionary outposts. The funds will support efforts to develop and rapidly transition energy technologies for the combat force, resulting in improved military capabilities, fewer energy-related casualties, and lower costs for the taxpayer. More information can be found at http://energy.defense.gov/.

EPA Finalizes 2012 Renewable Fuel Standards
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the 2012 percentage standards for four fuel categories that are part of the agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard program (RFS2). EPA continues to support greater use of renewable fuels within the transportation sector every year through the RFS2 program, which encourages innovation, strengthens American energy security, and decreases greenhouse gas pollution.

Online Voting Begins for “America’s Next Top Energy Innovator”
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) invited Americans to vote online for the most innovative and promising start-up companies in the “America’s Next Top Energy Innovator” challenge. Voting will end at 8:59 a.m. EST. on Monday, February 6, and the top start-up companies out of the 14 participating – based on the public vote and an expert review – will be invited to be featured at the premier annual gathering of clean energy investors and innovators around the country, the 2012 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit, at the end of February.

Energy Department Announces Student Teams, New Location for Solar Decathlon 2013
At an event in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the 20 collegiate teams selected to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013 and unveiled the competition’s location, the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California.

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Why Google Thinks SPYW is a Good Idea and You Probably Don’t Graywolf's SEO Blog

Why Google Thinks SPYW is a Good Idea and You Probably Don’t

Posted: 03 Feb 2012 10:34 AM PST

In a recent statement Larry Page said if you don’t get SPYW then maybe you shouldn’t work at Google. To understand why he thinks this is such a good idea–and why the rest of the world thinks it isn’t–we need to revisit the concept of filter bubbles and why they are such a bad idea.

Last year Eli Pariser released the book the Filter Bubble (see my review of the the Filter Bubble). As part of the promotion, he was asked to speak at TED. While I wasn’t there, I understand from people who were in attendance that it made several Googlers in the audience … lets go with “uncomfortable” …

When your friends aren’t Google employees, using your social graph to influence your search results is somewhere between stupid and insane …

Here’s the problem in a nutshell: when you work at Google, your fellow employees, friends, and people you connect with on social networks like Google Plus are going to be some of the smartest, technologically savvy, and Google-centric people in the world. This is not true for the rest of the online population. Using SPYW to take the collective wisdom of your social network of Google employee/friends to influence your search results is a really good idea. When your friends aren’t Google employees, are not the smartest people on the planet, and in some cases are narcissistic and generally a lot more self interested, using your social graph to influence your search results is somewhere between stupid and insane.

We come back to the basic concept of filter bubbles. Using filter bubbles only works if everyone in your filter bubble is smart, worldly-wise, and open minded to different view points and perspectives. Paradoxically, this is self-defeating logic. If your filter bubble is “good” and you don’t realize that everyone else’s isn’t, you’ll never get why filters bubbles and ideas like SPYW are such bad ideas.

There is only so long you can serve inferior results and distract people with cutesy holiday logos before they decide to try another search engine…

To be clear, this isn’t a case of sour grapes. All of my sites that I care about are doing better since SPYW went into effect. I’m playing the “social game”: broadcasting, engaging, and sending Google the signals it’s looking for so my websites benefit from SPYW and personalized search. However, I can tell you thatwhen I use Google as a regular user looking for answers to questions I don’t know and things I need to buy, I see the results are more polluted by the efforts of other marketers like myself who are playing the same social engagement games I do. The search results aren’t better. It’s nice to sit in the ivory tower of the GooglePlex and say this will teach people to choose wisely who they interact with on social networks. But, in reality, that type of thinking shows they are in a filter bubble: people have a tendency to act in their own best interests. Thousands of years of human history prove that people are really good at reacting to short term dangers like a lion or wolf who starts hunting near their home, but people are really bad at reacting to long term dangers like wildlife conservation, widespread deforestation, climate change, energy consumption, financial responsibility, worldwide poverty, and global starvation.

As regular users notice a decline in the quality of Google results, most of them won’t understand or quite frankly care that the people in their friend network are to blame. There is only so long you can serve inferior results and distract people with cutesy holiday logos before they decide to try another search engine.

photo credit: Shutterstock/NemesisINC

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This post originally came from Michael Gray who is an SEO Consultant. Be sure not to miss the Thesis Wordpress Theme review.

Why Google Thinks SPYW is a Good Idea and You Probably Don’t