This is funny and a very realistic analogy to explain raising the debt limit.
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Thursday, October 10, 2013
October 15th Metro Council agenda staff analysis is now available
October 15th Metro Council agenda staff analysis is now available at this link: Staff Analysis. If you will wait I will read it for you. If you just can't wait, help yourself.
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Wednesday, October 09, 2013
Councilmenber's comment on Dean's plan to borrow to fund the pension obligation.
From The Tennessean: Dean looks to borrow $200M to cover pension obligations
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| Josh Stites |
Metro Councilman Josh Stites called the administration’s plan irresponsible. “It’s the nature of pension bonds: You’re borrowing money to pay an obligation,” Stites said. “We, as individual taxpayers, don’t use our credit card to pay our mortgage. And that’s essentially what this is doing.”
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| Emily Evans |
“This is widely considered in the municipal bond business to be a very bad practice,” she said. “To beat the interest rate, you have to take on more risk in your pension fund. And a lot of people out there are counting on that money who have no idea what we’re doing.”
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Mayor Karl Dean is proposing borrowing $200 million to fund pension liability.
Mayor Karl Dean is proposing borrowing $200 million to help meet about half of Nashville's unfunded employee pension liability. The money would be borrowed at an interest rate of about 4.1% and invested. with the hope of getting a return greater than the cost of the borrowing.
Over a 15 year period the bonds would be repaid. These bonds would be general obligation bonds and Metro would have to raise taxes sufficient to pay them off when they become due. This is how the amendment is worded that addresses the obligation to pay the debt:
Debt service on the bonds shall be payable from and secured by ad valorem and all taxable property in the General Services District and Urban Services District, fully sufficient to pay all such debt service falling due prior to the time of collection of the next succeeding tax levy. The Metropolitan Government shall be unconditionally and irrevocably obligated to levy and collect ad valorem taxes without limit as to rate or amount on all taxable property within the Metropolitan Government to the full extend necessary to pay all service on the bonds and the full faith and credit of the Metropolitan Government shall be irrevocably pledged to the payment thereof." (link, section 4)
If we cannot get a return of greater than the cost of the bonds, we could be left with substantial debt. The city would have to raise the tax level sufficient to pay the debt no matter what that tax rate may be. I hope the Council is cautious in considering this and does just not rubber stamp the mayor's proposal. I hope the Budget and Finance committee takes their responsibility seriously and carefully weighs their decision. With the city's current debt due to the Music City Center and other projects such as the Hickory Hollow ice rink and various other lavish spending projects, and with the planned Riverfront Park expansion, the proposed Sulfur Dell baseball stadium, and the proposed Amp, I fear we are over extending. We may need our debt capacity for something different in the future. Also, I do not want the city to always have to raise taxes to cover operating cost every year. We may not always be the "it" city. The national economic future is in doubt with a national debt of $17 million dollars. There is a lot of economic uncertainty. I think it is a time to be very cautious.
We must honor our pension obligations, but I am not convinced borrowing the money is the way to do it. While we have an obligation to meet current pension obligations, I think we should phase out of the traditional defined benefit plan that provides an annual income at retirement based a formula that relates retirement income to pay and years of service and instead go to a system of account-based plans. Metro could still contribute to the employees retirement but the amount of income at retirement would be based on the amount above Metro's contribution the employee decided to invest and how the employee's account grew based on which plan, among a limited menu of plans, the employee chose, and how the investment performed. I do not see why Metro should take all the risk in planning for an employee's retirement. Most employers, if they contribute to retirement at all, contribute to an account-based retirement fund. That aside however, in today's financial climate, I question if it is wise to borrow money and invest it, hoping we can make money.
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Poll shows shutdown blame about evenly split
A new CNN poll shows the blame for the government shut down is about evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. This is good news and shows a shift toward blaming the Democrats or Obama. Prior to the shutdown and early in the shutdown, Republicans were getting most of the blame. In 1995 the public blamed the Republicans by a margin of almost 2 to 1.
I attribute this shift in blame to the petty and vindictive way President Obama had handled the shutdown. Arresting veterans trying to visit the Vietnam War memorial, kicking people out of their homes on leased federal land, not letting school buses use public roads through federal land is rightly seen as unnecessary and vindictive. Also, for all but the low information voter, people realize the Republicans have tried to fund more of the government and been rebuffed. Republicans need to increase the pressure. Ever vindictive, petty, or hypocritical action of the government to inflict shutdown pain on the public should be exposed. Harry Reid's and Barack Obama's intransigent refusal to negotiate and compromise should be driven home at every opportunity.
Republicans or other conservative movement organizations need to step up the pressure. They need to buy radio ads, billboards, and TV commercials exposing the true nature of the Democrats and President Obama. I want a "stop the Obama shutdown" bumper sticker.
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The Metro Council agenda for Tuesday October 15th is now available.
The Metro Council agenda for Tuesday October 15th is now available. If you will wait, I will read it for you. If you just can't wait, here it is: Agenda. The staff analysis is not yet available.
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Tuesday, October 08, 2013
Vets arrested for violating the Obama Blockade of the Vietnam memorial
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| Veterans sitting in the police van, arrested because they would not leave the Vietnam war memorial |
NBC's affiliate in Washington, D.C. reports that police ordered tourists and Vietnam war veterans who were visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall to leave the memorial at one point on Friday.My Comment: What an outrage! I applaud these men. Maybe it is time for even more civil disobedience. The goal of the Obama administration appears to be to inflict as much 'pain for the gain' as possible in an expectation that the House Republicans will get the blame for his government shutdown.
After one group of veterans went around the barricade, "the park ranger told them the wall was closed," NBC's Mark Seagraves reported. "Later another group of vets showed up and moved the barricades. At that point, the memorial filled with vets and tourists. That's when police came and moved everyone out."
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall is a black granite outdoor wall on which the names of the 58,272 service members who died or were unaccounted for during the Vietnam war are inscribed.
It takes more manpower and costs the government more money to close down an outdoor wall than to let people walk past it and pay their respects.
The Obama administration has been very selective in devoting resources to shutting down memorials.
The government is spending money keeping people from engaging in off-shore fishing, keeping people from stopping along the road to get a distant view of Mount Rushmore, and forcing an inn on leased federal land off the Blue Ridge to close, They shut down Amber Alert which is used by law enforcement to notify people of abducted children. Here in Tennessee in Blount County, they blocked a public road forcing schools buses to use dangerous secondary mountain roads putting children's lives in danger.
The Democrats have refused to accept a Republican offer to fund health care research or veterans benefits. The administration has turned off websites and posted notices that the website was closed due to the shutdown when it would have cost nothing to keep the websites running. The government has shutdown military PX's but not Obama's favorite military golf course.
If we had a press that was any where near unbiased and fair, these stories would be front page and Obama and the Democrats would get the blame. The action of the Obama administration has been petty and vindictive and he is being protected by his friends in the media.
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Monday, October 07, 2013
Tennesee is ranked #1....as most dangerous state.
That is hard to believe. I just don't feel our state is that crime-ridden or dangerous. However, according to the FBI, violent crime, which includes murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, is higher in Tennessee than any other state. The report does point out that it is concentrated in the major metropolitan areas. Memphis's violent crime rate made it the nation's fifth worst city, while Nashville's made it the 18th worst. Nationally crime has been declining for about the last twenty years. To read this story follow this link: FBI stats say Tennessee is most dangerous state in US.
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Sunday, October 06, 2013
Obama's favorite golf courses open during shutdown
Obama's favorite golf courses open during shutdown. Military grocery stores are closed but not the military golf course where President Obama golfs on a regular basis.
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Important update about First Tuesday which will be tomorrow Monday Oct 7th.
From Tim Skow, Host of First Tuesday:
URGENT UPDATE. PLEASE READ THIS EMAIL!
------------------------------------------------------------
http://us5.campaign-archive2.com/?u=fa7cbc828438464728c6e5491&id=a603fcf7c2&e=46a71a17a8
Subject: URGENT 1ST TUESDAY update & and a guest from Rand Paul's staff
1ST TUESDAY members and guests coming MONDAY --
I need a small favor... but time is of the essence.
You know 1ST TUESDAY has Congresswoman Diane Black as our Guest Speaker on MONDAY, OCT 7th.
DUE to the extremely fluid situation in Washington DC.... Speaker Boehner has ordered Republican Members of Congress to be available for voting by 5PM on Monday. Diane has let me know that she must move our meeting up an hour so that she can catch the 1:15 flight rather than the 2:30pm flight she had scheduled.
Consequently, we must move the start of our 1ST TUESDAY event up 10:30AM on MONDAY ...
ALSO... joining us Monday is Rachel McCubbin -- Deputy Director for US Senator RAND PAUL R-KY
I need your help to pass this news on to other you know.... AND .. please .... adjust your schedule and plan to join us at 10:30AM this special time on Monday.
This will be a fascinating lunch event... but I need your help to make sure that those you know who would like to be there get the news to come early. ... AGAIN ... doors will open Monday at 10:30AM... Diane will begin speaking at 11:15. She will depart immediately after the Q&A session ends promptly at NOON !!!
Rachel plans to stay with us for awhile [since had scheduled to stay until shortly after 1pm anyway]. I am sure she will entertain some questions in a bit of an informal conversation after Diane needs to leave.
Please share this UPDATE with those you know... especially those who have joined us before at 1ST TUESDAY....
Because of the changes from our typical meeting day and time... some last minute seating is available.
If anyone would like to join us, please direct the to our website at www.1sttuesdaynashville.com (http://1sttuesdaynashville.us5.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=fa7cbc828438464728c6e5491&id=cd20ecc542&e=46a71a17a8) and click on Shopping Cart to secure a seat. ... OR.... for those who are may be coming at the last moment... paying at the door will be OK... but I would certainly appreciate an email RSVP ... or a phone call at 615-429-7569 (tel:615-429-7569) .... so we can get the appropriate amount of lunch ordered.
please confirm you got this news !
THANKS in advance for your help ! Let me know if you plan to add to those slated to join us.
Hope to see you on MONDAY !!
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