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%.
Category / Economics
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
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.
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.”
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.
Strict Gun Laws Falling Out of Favor Among Americans
Since 1990, Americans wanting stricter gun laws has steadily fallen. This is not surprising as it correlates with more Americans owning and purchasing more guns.
Prison Economy: 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.
NCAA Merchandise Sales Helps College Students
When The Ohio State football team hoisted their BCS football trophy in the air earlier this month, students back in Columbus also got a boost from merchandise sales. Here’s more from The Columbus Dispatch:
Winning the first national championship in the new playoff system is a gift that Ohio State University officials expect will keep giving — and one that ultimately will benefit students.
They expect a $3 million bump in royalties over last year from licensed merchandise sales, based on anticipated revenue of $17 million in royalties this year.
Just how is the merchandise money divided at the university?
For every dollar that goes into the licensing office, 55 cents goes to academic affairs, which handles scholarships, libraries, ongoing programs and the university’s 14 college units; 15 cents goes to the athletics department; 15 cents goes to the alumni association; and 15 cents goes to the student life program and its 1,000 student organizations.
You can read the rest of the article here.
One Third of U.S. Baby Boomers In Work Force
Baby Boomers (people born between 1946 to 1964) are retiring in droves. According to Gallup via Economic Policy Journal, only about one third of Boomers are still working.
PRINCETON, N.J. — The first members of the huge baby-boom generation in the U.S. have reached retirement age in recent years, and these older boomers are retiring in large numbers, just as Americans in their mid- to late 60s did a few years earlier. While about eight in 10 boomers in their early 50s are in the workforce, the percentage employed drops to about 50% for boomers who are 60, and the proportion accelerates downward with each year of age thereafter. Only about a third of those aged 67 and 68 — the oldest boomers — are still working in some capacity.
How Federal Tax Dollars Were Spent in 2014
The Tax Foundation put together a chart showing how federal tax dollars were spent.
Compare that to 1962 federal spending
Housing Graph: Houston, TX Beats California
Mark J. Perry over at Carpe Diem Blog shows an amazing stat on the economy of Houston, Texas.
AMAZING CHART: From 2011 to 2014 (Jan-Oct), there have been more single-family permits issued in Houston than in CA http://t.co/5Abjn5vy0f—
Mark J. Perry (@Mark_J_Perry) December 03, 2014
Hoosier Econ 