Happy New Year! Hope the holidays were good for all. Now it’s back to reality. Short article this week, I’m just getting back into the swing of things.

 

 

Notes:

 

 

  • States are bracing themselves to tighten their belts in 2010. States across the nation begin the year facing grim budget shortfalls that could mean a repeat of the service cuts, layoffs or furloughs and higher fees imposed in 2009.  States that experienced sharp revenue drops and tough decisions in the current or 2011 budget are:

 

    1. California – The state projected a $6.3 billion shortfall

    2. Georgia – The state projected cuts of $1.3 billion

    3. Oklahoma – Revenue fell $729 million

    4. Virginia – The state projects a $5.3 billion shortfall

    5.  Iowa – The states has a budget issue of $250 million

 

  • In all, 39 states face budget issues and gaps for the current fiscal year. All except Montana and North Dakota.

 

  • According to the Census Bureau, population growth nearly came to a halt in 2009 in many longtime boom states. This reflects a sign the recession took its toll on the migration habits of Americans. The U.S population grew to 307 million which was only a 0.86% increase and the slowest during the decade.

 

  • Americans’ job satisfaction fell to a record low. A recent study found that 42% of working Americans are either somewhat dissatisfied or completely dissatisfied with there jobs. 57% were somewhat satisfied or completely satisfied. On a side note, anyone with a job should be happy these days.

 

  • COBRA health coverage is expanding. Obama signed legislation that will allow laid-off workers to receive subsidized COBRA premiums for up to 15 months. The subsidy previously expired after nine months. This will effect thousands of unemployed workers who were about lose their coverage. 

 

 

Message from Copenhagen

 

This comes from American Solution: (www.americansolutions.com)

 

If you think our representatives in Washington, DC are disregarding the will of the people now, wait until you see what President Obama tried to pull off in Copenhagen.

You see, the very thing the U.S. Senate refuses to do here at home - mandate a costly cap and trade energy tax system in the name of saving the world -- President Obama is telling the world at the Copenhagen Climate Summit that he can do it on his own through the Environmental Protection Agency. Even though that would be "taxation without representation," the President must believe that his noble intentions can override the rules of our constitutional system. So, the Obama administration is prepared to sign an international agreement that our own Senate would likely never ratify.

Remember in America, "We the People" govern, and without our approval through our Senators, President Obama has no constitutional authority to bind the United States to any international agreement whatsoever.

It's so basic a Constitutional fact that Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) recently wrote in a letter to President Obama: "As you well know from your time in the Senate, only specific legislation agreed upon in the Congress, or a treaty ratified by the Senate, could actually create such a commitment on behalf of our country."1 

While other governments represented in Copenhagen may be able to ignore the will of their people, that's not how it works in America.