My Proposal

I decided to write about local government finances.  I became interested in local governments and how they operate from my mom.  She was the finance director of my town for 6 years and in 2008, she was promoted to Interim County Administrator.  July of 2010, she was hired at the Country Administrator. She talks to me about a lot of things that goes on within the county and has attempted to get me to understand the different policy and politics behind how the county runs.

I am going to study deep into the difference ways of financing of rural and urban areas and come up with a what my clear idea of a perfect policy for rural counties.  I just know personally that my home county has always had a problem with debt and it's just been growing and growing these past few years.  I would like to find out why and if it is the way that the country raises its money.  She has told me in an email that 70% of the county's money is raised through Property taxes.  15% is through different charges [ I'll get more details on that when I get home for Thanksgiving :) ] and the remaining 15% is through the state in the form of grants most of the time.  The bad thing about grants is the fact you can ONLY use them for what they are for.  (But I'm sure you know that)

I plan to study different ideas on how to tax local governments or a policy that can fix the problems because counties are going bankrupt everywhere.  There must be a better way to fund the counties!  Especially the rural ones.  If you haven't noticed, I'm all about studying rural areas and why things are the way they are.  From education to basic financing, sometimes it feels like its unfair the way rural counties get treated compared to more populous areas.  I could get into a whole paragraph about that but this is getting long enough as it is!

                                                        Annotated Bibliography

Briffault, Richard. "The Most Popular Tool: Tax Increment Financing And The Political Economy Of Local Government." University Of Chicago Law Review 77.1 (2010): 65-95. Business Source Premier. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.


This is about the Tax Increment Financing, commonly abbreviated as TIF, that a huge percentage of the states use in order to finance their local governments.  This article goes into the corruption of the system and the puzzlements as well as the accomplishments.  This article describes exactly how the TIF system works.  This is the way most counties are funded now.  




Ryan, Paul. "Beyond BCRA: Cutting-Edge Campaign Finance Reform At The Local Government Level."National Civic Review 92.1 (2003): 3. Business Source Premier. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.


This article describes what the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act is.  It also dates back to the 1970s on how local governments were funded then.  It also goes into detail on local government successes due to this act.  It goes through many different states and the impact on each of them. 




Hamilton, Randy. "The World Turned Upside Down: The Contemporary Revolution In State And Local Government Capital Financing." Public Administration Review 43.1 (1983): 22-31. Business Source Premier. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.


This article indulges itself in state and local governments capital financing.  It goes into detail on how things have changed over the years and the counties and states have to be innovative on how to fund.  It also explains a way on how the governments have acquired a lot of debt in the first place.  The importance of bonds and the way they have shaped society is also discussed, due to the importance of the money they provide.




Young, Peter C. "Local Government Risk Financing And Risk Control Pools: Understanding Their Forms, Functions, And Purposes." Public Budgeting & Finance 9.4 (1989): 40-54. Business Source Premier. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.


This article talks about the risks that many local governments have taken that have gotten them to the position they are in now.  It also talks about pools, which are several groups coming together to make a risky economic move, and the effect on the government and economy.  It goes into detail on how long these pools have been around.  It also talks about how the pools can be helpful as well.




Rybeck, Walter. "United States." American Journal Of Economics & Sociology 59.5 (2000): 137. Business Source Premier. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.


This article talks about land taxation and its importance in our government and financing.  It goes through the history of the land tax and how the land is actually 'graded' in value.  The higher quality the land is, the more taxes you pay is how this system works.  This article is extremely important due to the fact that 70% of the funding comes from property tax.

Douglass, Denise R. Personal/‌Email interview. 15 Nov. 2011.

 I interviewed my mom on some general questions via email.  I am going to talk more to her in detail on this matter when I get home for Thanksgiving.  

My mom has her BA in Accounting from St. Leo University, located in Florida and has her Masters in Accounting from Strayer University, located in Washington, DC.  She has worked with the county for 13 years.  She started off in family court and then moved to become the Finance Director in 2002.  She kept that position until 2008 when she was promoted to Interim County Administrator.  In July of 2010, she was promoted to County Administrator.   She has a lot of experience with local government and as Finance Director, she knows how my hometown government is financed.

These are not all of the sources I'm going to use but these are the ones I'm starting with. 

Something I found interesting

It's not an article, it's a video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_5MhanvIB8&feature=relmfu

It's about the free downloading of music and sharing.  Of course, this can upset copyright but if you buy from itunes or napster is the face that the artists do not receive the profits they deserve.

So is it really that big of a deal or not?  Should we be allowed to share music freely through the internet?

How can musicians and record companies encourage and almost wish the consumers to go out and buy the CDs and merchandise that they work hard to make?  It is a lot easier just to stay at home and buy from itunes.  I mean I do but on occasion, however, if I see that a group I like just released an album, I always make an effort to go and buy it.  If it's one song, I just buy it from itunes.

Technology response

I didn't even realize that there were other tablets available other than the Ipad.  I haven't heard of the Kindle Fire or any of the others ones and it doesn't really surprise me that I haven't.  The Apple industry is such a powerhouse of technology.  I know everyone in my family owns some kind of Apple product.  It's everywhere!  Many of my friends own Apple computers, Ipod, and Ipads so hearing about these other ones is shocking to me.

To me, I do see why people wouldn't go with the cheaper one if it offered all the needed applications and programs.  It's to say you have an Ipad or whatever.  To some, it's Apple or nothing.

Me personally, I used to really not care.  I didn't pick out my computer and if I could get any tablet, I would be quite content.  My dad picked out my computer for me and wanted 'the best' for me.  I fell in love with all of my Apple products quite quickly though.

I think Apple does not need to worry about these other companies.  For example, when the Ipod was released, everyone wanted one.  It kept evolving until it got to the Ipod Touch.  There are some other companies that came in and made there own MP3 players but they never got the recognition or for lack of a better word 'cool' status that you got when you owned an Ipod.  I do not see why the other tablets would create that much of a scare either.

As I said before, Apple is quite a powerhouse of technology.  I myself have grown into a huge fan.

Interesting Article

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/us/alabama-governor-fails-to-prevent-jefferson-countys-record-4-billion-bankruptcy-filing.html?_r=1&ref=us

I found this very interesting.  It's about how a governor failed to 'save' one of his counties from going into debt.  I do believe things like this happen more than we realize.

Greece Response #2

Found this article as I was keeping up with the turmoil going on in Greece.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/world/europe/in-turmoil-greece-and-italy-deepen-euro-crisis.html?_r=1&ref=world

I do believe this is the most recent one I could find.  It was published yesterday (November 8th).

Things are still not looking up for Greece.  Due to the political weakness in Greece at the moment, the euro and the economy are now at risk.

This article gives a lot of new, up-to-date information about the crisis.  I am very glad I found it.

My interesting topic for this week :)

If you haven't guessed, I'm really into educational issues, seeing that I am 99% sure of teaching in the public school system myself.

I found these Education Savings Accounts to be rather interesting.  The whole article explains what they are and how they can benefit taxpayers, the families, and schools in general.
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2011/10/Education-Savings-Accounts-A-Way-Forward-on-School-Choice

This program makes sense in a lot of ways.  I do believe the pros outweigh the cons.

Greece

I didn't realize that they still haven't taken care of the issues in Greece.  I remember when there was a whole fiasco about it on the news and then the news coverage of it disappeared.  Maybe it was because of me moving to college and joining the 'Furman Bubble.' (lol) It's kind of sad that things are still not looking up yet.

It seems that all of Europe was having it's own banking problems.  Italy and Spain are mentioned in one of the articles as having their own problems with banking.  It's an entire European problem, Greece just seems to have the short end of the stick as some may say.

They said that the Greek Deal would not work, even by 2020.  The debt will still be substantial.

This new proposal from Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Nicolas Sarkozy should begin to heal the battered European country.  These two saved the euro and from the entire continent from going into turmoil.  Kudos to them!

Something I found interesting

http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/27/news/economy/debt_committee/index.htm?iid=HP_LN

This article I found talks about the Congressmen trying to find the best way possible to decrease the national debt.

It's basically a back and forth battle between Democrats and Republicans, who both have completely different opposite ideas on how to solve the problem.  For example, when the democrats thought of a $3 trillion plan, the republicans denied it because it relied on tax increases.

As it said in the article, the democrats don't want to cut mostly any spending and the republicans do not want to tax people any higher.  Which leaves them stuck between a rock and a hard place because where can they get this money to pay off this national debt?

The article suggests medicare but touching it will increase tax revenue.

To me, I wish they could just come up with a solution to get us out of this national debt crisis.  It's been going on for a long while now.  But if I were in their positions, I honestly wouldn't know a solution that will make everyone happy.  I don't think anyone would.  Sometimes, however, you just have to do what is right, even though some people will not be happy with the decision.

Social Security

I've heard that social security has been reformed over and over again and yet people are still complaining about it.  I don't understand all the aspects of social security but I have heard my parents and other family members complain about it.  Especially my dad when it came to his disability.  It took forever for them to accept the fact that he cannot work, almost six months, and to provide his social security disability check.

Sometimes I don't know how secure social security is.  In the article, it talks about it being exhausted by the year 2038.  And even though they're trying to reform it in order to still provide the same benefits to future recipients, it still is not working because they are STILL trying to reform it.  I hope soon they can reform so future recipients can get what everyone else before them got.

If I am mistaken about somethings, don't feel bad about correcting me.  I'm not the best with economical subjects but this is what I previously thought and what I've learned from the article.

Response to 10/5 Podcast

First, I'd like to apologize for not having this up sooner.

Second, my response:
I never realized how much easier it is now than years ago to get access to your money.  As he said, the transaction cost is down and efficiency is up, which is a good thing.  It may not have too much to do with economics but I did think it was pretty cool of how much easier accessing money.  I couldn't imagine if I couldn't access my money as soon as I need it!

I like how back then in The New Deal era, people seemed to be more localized, as they termed it.  People worried about other people and wanted to make sure workers were being treated fairly with good wages and a constant hold on their job.  They didn't think of short term gains that in turn, could be detrimental to everyone.  I agree with this completely and I wish others would be more last this.  I hate seeing people that jobs got taken away and now they cannot find a job.  It has happened to a lot of older people more than younger, at least in my town.  Some of their jobs have been replaced and they don't know how to work machine or the job itself is not even needed anymore.  They're left without a job and there's not too many places that will hire a 50 year old man that has done the same thing for the past 30 years and has no other training in anything else.  It's the attitude of 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks.'

It's with anything.  With the GE example, it also stopped looking out for the wellbeing of their workers and they sought more for capital growth.  It's a nasty greedy game that bosses like to play.

Overall, this podcast was a great explanation of many things.  I learned a lot.

Response to 9/30 Reading

I had never heard of a babysitting Co-op until now and the way Krugman metaphorically ties the Fed and the babysitting Co-op together is very realistic and also creative.  People have hoarded money in a time when it was scarce, just like the couples that hoarded coupons for a babysitting service, and now there's not that much money to go around.  People are very scared and reluctant to use their money, they want to hold it and keep it just in case.  Basically, they'll find ways to 'cheat' the system and save money when in actuality they need to go out and spend their hoarded money to stimulate the economy.

I was totally against inflation at first in class.  When we discussed how it actually could stimulate the economy, it changed my view.  Controlled inflation is not a bad thing.  It puts more money in circulation and creates a stimulated economy that can provide more jobs and happier people, in my opinion.  This is what our economy needs.  Someone needs to step up and take action.

In Sumner's article, he supports the fact that controlled inflation is the way to go.  For example, he talks about workers and how in a "mild inflation" climate, workers actually have a better possibility of getting small pay increases whereas an economy with close to zero or right at zero inflation rate end up have to cut all workers' pay.

It's very clear that both authors think that controlled inflation is the best thing for our nation's economy.  I agree with them.  If we had a little bit of inflation, it would be better for everyone.  Inflation rates don't need to go too high and they don't need to drop.  Just the right percent will stimulate the economy and create a better place for everyone.

Response to reading 9/21

The articles we read explained different reasons of why we're in the recession and what needs to happen to get us out.

With the first article, the blame shouldn't all be placed on President Obama's shoulders.  Without the congress and other nation figures backing him up, he doesn't have that much power.  Recently, the house and senate have been divided, one of them siding with one political party, the other with the opposite or vice versa.  There's a number of things that have caused the recession.  Blaming it all on the current president is not right.  President Obama came into a mess and he's trying with all the power he has to fix it.

I disagree with the second article from the New York Times.  Decrease in demand is not the only reason why people haven't done anything to fix the recession.  It is a big part of it but it isn't the only reason why we're in a recession.  There's many technological advances that are happening that take jobs away, decreasing the number of jobs available.  When there's less jobs, people have less money to go out and stimulate the economy by buying things.  There's multiple reasons of why we're in a recession.

All the articles brings up a good point of why we're in the recession.  Now what to do is the bigger question.  And an even bigger question, who is going to step up and do what is necessary to take action?