Author / Hoosier Econ

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Posts by Hoosier Econ

Located out of Central Indiana. Blogger of economics, politics and societal trends.
by Hoosier Econ

Illinois Facing Debt Payments

Illinois is starting to get hit with rising interest payments on debt borrowed. Illinois Policy points out how compound interest is a vicious beast once it takes hold:

According to the fiscal year 2015 budget summary from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability the cost of debt service in fiscal year 2015 is nearly $4 billion on outstanding bond debt of nearly $32 billion. The debt service amounts to more than 11 percent of the state’s anticipated revenues for the fiscal year – 11 percent that can’t be used for essential programs.

Illinois will not be the only heavy spending state to start getting hammered on debt payments. But here is how a debt situation gets out of control:

Primarily as a result of these nontraditional uses of bond debt, the state began fiscal year 2015 saddled with $32 billion in bond debt requiring $4 billion, or 11 percent of its general funds budget, to pay the annual debt service. This represents nearly a 400 percent growth in debt service, more than 300 percent growth in outstanding bond debt, and more than 200 percent growth in debt service as a percentage of general revenues since 2002.

by Hoosier Econ

Cost of Political Correctness

This is just one example of political correctness having an actual cost associated with it. Story courtesy of College Fix:

PUBLIC UNIVERSITY SPENDS $16K ON CAMPAIGN TO WARN STUDENTS TO WATCH WHAT THEY SAY

‘Inclusive Language Campaign’ debuts at University of Michigan

Dozens of posters plastered across the University of Michigan caution students not to say things that might hurt others’ feelings, part of a new “Inclusive Language Campaign” at the state’s flagship public university that cost $16,000 to implement.

Words declared unacceptable through the campaign include “crazy,” “insane,” “retarded,” “gay,” “tranny,” “gypped,” “illegal alien,” “fag,” “ghetto” and “raghead.” Phrases such as “I want to die” and “that test raped me” are also verboten.

University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald told The College Fix in an email the campaign aims to “address campus climate by helping individuals understand that their words can impact someone and to encourage individuals to commit to creating a positive campus community.”

You can read the rest here.

by Hoosier Econ

Federal Government Spending For the Next 10 Years

Economics 21 had an interesting graph in their article titled “How to Fix the $960 Billion Budget Deficit”.

Here is how federal government spending will be broken up the next ten years.

image

Almost two-thirds of additional spending will be driven by entitlements, primarily Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare. America’s aging population is the primary contributor to the growth of Social Security and Medicare, while the Affordable Care Act substantially expanded the scope of Medicaid.

Adding interest payments to the budget brings the total increase in the debt from mandatory spending to 85 percent. Spending is projected to grow by $2.3 trillion annually by 2024.

by Hoosier Econ

How Much Does NBC’s Brian Williams Make

image

Per Breitbart News Brian Williams makes $13 Million a year.

by Hoosier Econ

Colleges Dealing with Unprepared Students

Wall Street Journal is showing a growing trend of high school students entering college still needing remedial help.
In the last 12 years, students needing at least one remedial course has risen 160%.

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by Hoosier Econ

Indiana in Top 10 for Tax Climate

Via The Payroll Blog

10 best business tax climates can be found in:

Wyoming
South Dakota
Nevada
Alaska
Florida
Washington
Montana
New Hampshire
Utah
Indiana

The worst tax climate states for small business, according to the report, are:

New York
California
Minnnesota
Wisconsin
North Carolina
Maryland
Rhode Island
Connecticut
New Jersey
Vermont

by Hoosier Econ

Oil Rig Production Drastically Drops

Gasoline prices are slowly rising which is correlating with oil rig production. Baker Hughes Inc. released data showing ninety four more oil rigs taken out of production.

oil rig production

RenewEconomy.com had this write up about the production of oil being shut off:

In just three months, the rig count has fallen by 24 per cent, or 389 from the all-time high of 1,609 recorded for the week of 10 October last year. As Mark Lewis, from Paris-based analysts Kepler Chevreux notes: “In all of the historical Baker Hughes data stretching back to July, 1987, there is no precedent for a drop of this speed or severity.”

by Hoosier Econ

Hoosier Wine Sales May Soar

Wine businesses are getting closer to widening their sales through the Internet. Story courtesy WNDU:

A state legislative panel has endorsed a proposal that would allow Indiana residents to buy wine directly from a winery without first having to make an in-person visit.

The Senate Public Policy Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to send the bill to the full Senate for consideration.

The bill would eliminate the current requirement that residents having wine shipped to them first conduct a face-to-face transaction to ensure that the buyer is at least 21 years old. The proposal would require buyers to provide a copy of a government-issued ID to confirm they are of legal age.

Bill sponsor Sen. Phil Boots of Crawfordsville says the change will give Indiana wine consumers more choices and help wineries in the state to grow their business.

by Hoosier Econ

Prison Economy: Cell Phones

prison cell phones
Cell phones in prisons and jails are a hot commodity. Finding national numbers was hard to do, but to give you a perspective of how big it is, California prison guards found 9,000 in 2013.

State police officer told me one time while working on a tip they busted a female during visitation at a prison with 3 flip phones. They were wrapped up and “inside her”. That is is an example of great lengths to get these phones inside a prison. But why? Because the price it goes for.

In Texas, a deathrow inmate paid $2,100 for one phone.

In 2011, the NY Times found that

“payments for cellphones range from $300 to $1,000, depending on the type of phone and the service plan. Monthly fees are generally paid by inmates’ relatives.”

Prison guard in Las Vegas was paid $2,000 by an accused murderers family to smuggle in 2 cell phones.

Prison guard in New Jersey was set up in a sting and thought they were getting $1,000 for a cell phone from an inmate.

An unmeasurable financial aspect is when two Indiana prisoners had cell phones smuggled in to run their drug business while on the inside. Indiana prisoners are paying up $1,600 for a phone.