Bizzy’s AM Coffee Biz-Econ-Life Links (071906)

Free Links:

• Preying on the Elderly — The language in the article is a little over the top in some places, but the overall point is important: No matter what your age, if you go to one of these “free lunch” seminars, do not make any commitments to meet with an adviser on the day of the presentation, and do not meet with that person or firm at all until you understand totally the material presented, and have run their ideas by someone else who is knowledgeable. Forty firms, unfortunately unnamed, are under investigation for presentations that range from misleading to outright cons. The elderly are prime targets, mostly because, as the article says, “That’s where the money is,” but also (not noted) because many of the elderly are vulnerable, because of emotional reasons (spouse passed away, etc.) or diminishing mental capacity.
• BizzyBlog Quoted and Coverage Noted — Beltway Blogroll’s “The Master of Eminent Domain” entry noted my coverage of post-Kelo ruling developments in New London, CT, and quoted me on what blogs can do to try to call attention to future abuses.
• The Incredible Shrinking New York Times — Employees are being let go, the paper will be 1-1/2 inches less wide, and companywide circulation is declining. Given inflation, if circ revenue is only up 0.6%, as indicated in the Times’ article about itself (registration probably required), print-edition readership must be down overall. Oh, one other thing is shrinking — The Times Company’s stock price, which closed yesterday at $22.67, down over a third since mid-September of last year, and 57% since its alltime high of $52.79 on June 20, 2002. I don’t suppose anyone at the Grey Lady has figured out that their weak, biased, and borderline treasonous coverage of The Wars on Terror and in Iraq might have something to do with its reversed fortunes.
• China’s economy grew at an annualized rate of 11.3% in the second quarter. I wonder when the redistributionists will start objecting to this: “The nation had 320,000 U.S. dollar millionaires in 2005, according to Cap Gemini SA, and Shanghai’s benchmark stock index is up 44 percent this year.”
• Even if you’re not from New Jersey, you should look at the six-part series The Bergen County Record is halfway through presenting on The Garden State’s financial situation (”Runaway Pay“), if for no other reason than the chip that columnist Frank Scandale clearly has on his shoulder (HT Club for Growth) –

TAXES ARE the crack of New Jersey lawmakers. Pure and simple. The more they get, the more they want. The more they want, the more they need to get the same results.

Once they get a hit, it feels good. But an hour later, they need another hit, and now they need a little more. Pretty soon, it gets pricey for a fix.

Taxpayers get angry because they have to fund the fix. They vote out the last addict. A new one comes in and swears on a stack of holy documents that taxes are not an option. OK, maybe not a viable option. OK, what he really meant was they are the last option.

Really, what he meant was that there is no other way.

Pass the pipe, please.

I can hear them howling right now. “That’s not true. You don’t understand. We don’t want to raise taxes, but…”

Save it for the next guy. We’ve heard it all before. Instead, let’s tackle the problem and try to fix it.

Among other things, the first three parts of the series note that police salaries in the state average over $100,000; property tax levy increases have significantly exceeded inflation for the past 10 years; New Jersey has over 500,000 public employees (more than 10% of workers in the whole state; this does not include any federal workers); that teachers pay no premiums for their medical benefits; and that 78,000 public employees get totally free medical benefits (no deductibles or co-pays).

The only way to get costs under control is for New Jersey voters to take away the crack pipe, something they have seemed congenitally unable to do.