Posts Tagged ‘Economic’

San Francisco Travel Association Releases 2012 Economic Impact Figures










San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) March 30, 2013

The San Francisco Travel Association reported today that San Francisco welcomed 16.51 million visitors in 2012, an increase of one percent from 2011. These visitors spent $ 8.93 billion in 2012, up 5.5 percent from the previous year. The data was presented during the eighth annual Northern California Visitor Industry Outlook & Marketing Conference today at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square.

“Visitor spending reached the highest level ever in 2012,” said Joe D’Alessandro, San Francisco Travel president and CEO. “The total number of visitors is climbing steadily as well.”

The tourism industry generated $ 562 million in taxes for the City of San Francisco, up 6.7 percent from the previous year. The number of jobs supported by tourism rose 3.6 percent to 74,009 jobs in 2012, with an annual payroll of $ 2.18 billion, an increase of 6.2 percent.

In 2012, there was an average of 131,128 visitors in San Francisco each day. Visitor spending equated to $ 24.46 million daily (including spending related to meetings and conventions).

Convention bookings were at 48 percent of goal at midyear and are on target to achieve the annual goal of 2,105,500 booked room nights which is a five percent increase over last year. Six conventions in San Francisco have received record breaking attendance in the past six months, continuing a trend that has been tracked since 1998. The likelihood of holding a well-attended event is a significant attraction for meeting planners considering San Francisco.

Among the many things that will keep the momentum going for San Francisco’s tourism industry are:

    The Bay Lights, a fine art piece installed on the western span and viewable from San Francisco and points north. The March 5 launch of the lights was covered by media around the world. Measuring 1.8-miles-long and 500-feet-high, the high-tech light sculpture design features 25,000 individually programmable, energy-efficient LED lights mounted on the bridge’s vertical cables. The Bay Lights will remain on the bridge for two years and is projected to add $ 97 million to the local economy. Learn more at http://www.thebaylights.org.

    On April 17, 2013, the new Exploratorium, San Francisco’s internationally acclaimed museum of sciences, art and human perception, will open on Piers 15 and 17, located on San Francisco’s historic northern waterfront at Embarcadero and Green streets. The new museum will feature 150 new exhibits, a Bay observatory, outdoor gallery and free civic space. For information visit http://www.exploratorium.edu.

    The America’s Cup will bring sailing enthusiasts and media attention from around the world for a series of events:
    The Louis Vuitton Cup, the America’s Cup Challenger Series on Jul. 4-Aug. 30, 2013.
    The Red Bull Youth America’s Cup, open to national teams of sailors aged 19-23 on Sept. 1-4, 2013.
    The America’s Cup Finals between the winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the America’s Cup Challenger Series, and the defending ORACLE TEAM USA on Sept. 7-21, 2013. Learn more at http://www.americascup.com.

To help keep San Francisco’s message in front of the leisure travelers that make up 54 percent of the total visitors (vacationers and weekend getaways combined), San Francisco Travel works with strategic partners including American Express®, California Academy of Sciences, CityPASS, Levi’s, Wells Fargo, Pier 39, BART and Amtrak to develop integrated marketing campaigns to increase visitation to San Francisco and enhance visitor engagement in market. In March, San Francisco Travel launched a hotel promotion offering visitors up to 40 percent off their hotel stay, and a $ 50 gift card when two or more nights were booked. The promotion will run through June 30 and can be booked exclusively through the sanfrancisco.travel/stay website.

San Francisco Travel continues its marketing efforts targeting gay and lesbian (LGBT) travelers, a key visitor segment for San Francisco. San Francisco Travel’s gay travel microsite, titled “49 Hours of SF: Out & About,” (http://www.sanfrancisco.travel/lgbt/) offers LGBT focused itineraries, and an “Out with the Locals” section featuring San Francisco residents who provide “insider tips” on what to see and do in San Francisco. GayCities, American Express, and Kimpton Hotels are official sponsors of the campaign. A 2010 survey by Community Marketing, Inc. shows San Francisco to be the #2 overall destination of choice in America for LGBT travelers.

Dine About Town, the annual restaurant promotion developed by San Francisco Travel Association, is celebrating its 12th year in 2013. The program generates an estimated $ 3 million in additional revenue to the city’s restaurants. The second half of the 2013 program will take place June 1-15 with more than 100 restaurants participating.

The San Francisco Travel Association is a private, not-for-profit organization that markets the city as a leisure, convention and business travel destination. With more than 1,500 partner businesses, San Francisco Travel is one of the largest membership-based tourism promotion agencies in the country. The San Francisco Travel business offices are located at 201 Third St., Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103. San Francisco Travel also operates the Visitor Information Center at Hallidie Plaza, 900 Market St. at the corner of Powell and Market streets. For more information, call 415-974-6900 or visit http://www.sanfrancisco.travel.

For an insider’s perspective, join more than 500,000 people who follow San Francisco Travel on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/onlyinsf and more than 100,000 who follow “OnlyinSF” on Twitter at http://twitter.com/onlyinsf.

American Express® is the official Card partner of the San Francisco Travel Association.

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) offers non-stop flights to more than 31 international points on 30 international carriers. The Bay Area’s largest airport connects non-stop with 75 cities in the U.S. on 15 domestic airlines. For up-to-the-minute departure and arrival information, airport maps and details on shopping, dining, cultural exhibitions, ground transportation and more, visit flysfo.com. Follow SFO on twitter.com/flysfo and facebook.com/flysfo.

# # #

Note to editors: Photos and press releases are available at http://www.sanfrancisco.travel/media/.























Vocus©Copyright 1997-

, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.









Related International Business Press Releases

www.weforum.org 28.01.2012 Global Economic Outlook 2012 What trends and issues will shape the global economic order in 2012? • Ali Babacan, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Financial Affairs of Turkey • Mark J. Carney, Governor of the Bank of Canada; Foundation Board Member; Global Agenda Council on Systemic Financial Resilience • Motohisa Furukawa, Minister for National Policy, Economic and Fiscal Policy, Science and Technology Policy of Japan; Global Agenda Council on Japan • Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Washington DC; Foundation Board Member • George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom • Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region • Robert B. Zoellick, President, The World Bank Group, Washington DC Chaired by • Martin Wolf, Associate Editor and Chief Economics Commentator, Financial Times, United Kingdom
Video Rating: 5 / 5

Following the Federal Reserve’s latest round of quantitative easing, The Economist’s Buttonwood columnist Philip Coggan explains how easing monetary policy works
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Cost Cuts and Declining Revenues Signal Lack of Future Economic Growth, According to Investment Contrarians Expert











Cost Cuts and Declining Revenues Signal Lack of Future Economic Growth, According to Investment Contrarians Expert


New York, NY (PRWEB) October 10, 2012

In a recent Investment Contrarians article, financial expert George Leong notes that revenues going forward, especially organic growth rates, will be extremely important for a healthy economy. Leong states that revenues need to grow to drive earnings; but businesses are cutting costs to drive earnings instead, signaling a lack of economic growth for the near future.

“Based on the current estimates, earnings for the S&P 500 are estimated to fall 2.6% in the third quarter, which would end the 11 straight months of earnings growth,” states Leong, citing FactSet (http://www.FactSet.com). “So far for the third quarter, 82 S&P 500 companies have issued negative earnings-per-share (EPS) guidance versus only 21 companies reporting positive guidance.”

According to Leong, Alcoa, one of the world’s top aluminum makers, is a good indicator for the global economy, as the metal is used in many industrial applications.

“In the second-quarter earnings season, Alcoa beat slightly on earnings, but revenues are an issue, as will likely be the situation for many U.S. companies,” reports Leong. He also notes that the company’s revenues are estimated to fall 12.7% in the third-quarter earnings season, followed by a 5.0% decline in the fourth-quarter earnings season.

“This is not what you would expect if the economy was healthy,” says Leong, noting that while there is some hope and optimism for the third-quarter earnings season, he expects disappointment across the board.

As in the past quarters, the key question, in Leong’s view, is whether companies are growing their revenues to drive earnings, or is earnings growth being generated by cost cuts. This is critical, and could give a good indication of how well corporate America is actually doing.

“The reality is that many companies cut costs during hard times, and they should be in a better condition now. If the economy was truly healthy, [the market] would see earnings growth driven by revenues,” Leong concludes.

To see the full article and to get a real contrarian perspective on investing and the economy, visit Investment Contrarians at http://www.investmentcontrarians.com.

Investment Contrarians is a daily financial e-letter dedicated to helping investors make money by going against the “herd mentality.”

The editors of Investment Contrarians believe the stock market and the economy have been propped up since 2009 by artificially low interest rates, never-ending government borrowing and an unprecedented expansion of our money supply. The “official” unemployment numbers do not reflect people who have given up looking for work and are thus skewed. They believe the “official” inflation numbers are also not reflective of today’s reality of rising prices.

After a 25- to 30-year down cycle in interest rates, the Investment Contrarians editors expect rapid inflation caused by huge government debt and money printing will eventually start us on a new cycle of rising interest rates.

Investment Contrarians provides unbiased research. They are independent analysts who love to research and comment on the economy and investing. The e-newsletter’s parent company, Lombardi Publishing Corporation, has been in business since 1986. Combined, their economists and analysts have over 100 years of investment experience.

Find out where Investment Contrarians editors see the risks and opportunities for investors in 2012 at http://www.investmentcontrarians.com.

George Leong, B. Comm., one of the lead editorial contributors at Investment Contrarians, has just released, “A Problem 23 Times Bigger Than Greece,” a breakthrough video where George details the risk of an economy set to implode that is 23 times bigger than Greece’s economy! To see the video, visit http://www.investmentcontrarians.com/press.
























Vocus©Copyright 1997-

, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.









Find More Debt Press Releases

Daily Economic Outlooks Available from Absolute Wealth













Absolute Wealth and the Independent Wealth Alliance


Austin, TX (PRWEB) July 15, 2012

Absolute Wealth, the industry leaders in financial education and information, is publishing daily market outlooks to help any investors keep track of the current economic environments.

The outlooks are available on AbsoluteWealth.com every weekday and highlight the most important moves and vital information that traders need to know about to take full advantage of their financial opportunities.

Thursday’s video, presented as always by Absolute Wealth expert John Carter, investigates the bad earnings news and the seemingly boring markets. Though things don’t look bright on the surface, there are moves to be made that will make the most of the bleak markets.

“There’s potential here,” says Carter of the recent market data, “to catch a big unexpected move to the upside.”

Carter also touches on gold, as well as the course to take to find liquidity despite the rough European scenario. His in-depth viewpoint shares a good amount of information in the short video.

Comments and opinion sharing is encouraged through all of Absolute Wealth’s social media outlets, including the aforementioned Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter pages. Whether they agree with the content or not, Absolute Wealth knows that thoughtful and insightful comments always add to the conversation.

John F. Carter has investment expertise in his blood, growing up with a father who worked as a Morgan Stanley broker. After studying abroad and at the University of Texas, Carter worked as a financial analyst in the retail sector. In 1998 he became a full-time professional trader and later started to seek out other traders and post information online, which led to the launch of TradeTheMarkets.com, as well as a Commodity Trading Advisor through Razor Trading. In 2006 he published “Mastering the Trade,” a best-selling book in its niche since its release.

Absolute Wealth is an expert team of real investors and advisors devoted to identifying winning strategies for exceptional returns. Members subscribe to the company’s Independent Wealth Alliance for professional investment analysis and recommendations on the latest market trends and progressions. For more information and subscription instructions, visit AbsoluteWealth.com.
























Vocus©Copyright 1997-

, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.









www.ted.com We feel instinctively that societies with huge income gaps are somehow going wrong. Richard Wilkinson charts the hard data on economic inequality, and shows what gets worse when rich and poor are too far apart real effects on health, lifespan, even such basic values as trust.TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the “Sixth Sense” wearable tech, and “Lost” producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at www.ted.com

Spending budget 2012 to Grow Economic Pie for All











Singapore Business Registration Specialist


(PRWEB) February 20, 2012

In spite of a stronger focus on inclusive societal growth in the 2012 Budget, Singapore company incorporation specialists Rikvin is optimistic that the Budget will also lay the ground for long-term economic and productivity growth that will in turn, improve the economic pie for businesses also.

As communicated by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore has enjoyed a wholesome rebound from the 2008 – 2009 crisis in 2010 and has earned a bigger-than-expected spending budget surplus of S$ two.3 billion from the Monetary Year (FY) 2011. In light of the slower growth projection for this year and with the budget surplus in hand, FY 2012 marks an opportune time to restructure the economy so as to accomplish higher incomes and social mobility for lower to middle-earnings Singaporeans as well as to develop a far more inclusive society. To this end, more schemes aimed at assisting the elderly, disabled and lower-revenue families in Singapore had been announced for the duration of the Budget Statement.

Commenting on the observation, Mr. Satish Bakha, Head of Rikvin’s Operations mentioned, “Singapore’s commitment to escalating social mobility for lower-earnings families and inclusive growth for the elderly, disabled and vulnerable is a positive and holistic method that could come at no much better time. The inevitably slow growth climate is the best time to sow the seeds for higher social harmony in the years to come. We are optimistic that far more happiness would mean far more productivity as nicely. On the other hand, measures such as minimizing the inflow of lower-skilled foreign workers and creating an economic climate driven by higher skills, innovation and productivity are not new and are in truth, on pulse with new realities of living and carrying out enterprise in Singapore.”

Rikvin has nonetheless recognized six salient features of the Budget that will grow the economic pie for corporations, especially entrepreneurs wishing to form a Singapore company or tiny to medium-sized firm. i.e. 1) Enhanced Productivity and Innovation Credit Scheme, 2) Simplifying capital allowance for low value assets, three) Enhancing the Double Tax Deduction (“DTD”) for Internationalisation Scheme, 4) Offering Tax Certainty 5) SME Money grants, and 6) Unique Employment Credit.

ENHANCED PRODUCTIVITY AND INNOVATION CREDIT SCHEME

To help organizations invest in innovation and productivity and adapt to the permanent reality of a tight labour marketplace, the PIC scheme will be enhanced in 4 major places – money payouts, coaching, study and improvement expenditure and investments in automation equipment.

First of all, the PIC cash payout has been doubled from 30% to 60% for up to S$ 100,000 of qualifying expenditure, from YA 2013 to YA 2015. Furthermore, businesses might claim the cash payout quarterly rather than annually. Secondly, qualifying in-house coaching expenditure of up to $ ten,000 per YA will not need certification. Moreover, the expenses incurred by coaching agents could qualify for PIC claims if they meet stated circumstances.

Thirdly, expenditure incurred on R&ampD price-sharing agreements will be eligible for PIC claims and multiple sales criteria will be removed to facilitate R&ampD in computer software improvement that is not intended for sale. Lastly, automation equipment that are purchased on employ acquire and are to be repaid more than two year-installments or far more will be eligible for PIC money payouts.

SIMPLIFYING CAPITAL ALLOWANCES FOR LOW VALUE ASSETS

To let businesses to claim capital allowances much more easily, the maximum full cost of every asset that may possibly be written down in a single year has been elevated to S$ 5,000. This alter will take impact from YA 2013 and IRAS will release additional specifics by 30 June 2012.

ENHANCING DOUBLE TAX DEDUCTION FOR INTERNATIONALIZATION SCHEME

In order to encourage Singapore SMEs to discover markets and internationalize, a tax deduction of up to 200% on qualifying expenditure of up to S$ 100,000 per YA, might be granted for four activities with no approval from IE Singapore or Singapore Tourism Board (STB) namely 1) overseas organization improvement trips, two) overseas investment study trips, 3) participation in overseas trade fairs, and 4) participation in approved neighborhood trade fairs.

IE Singapore or STB will continue to approve claims, on a case-by-case basis, created by

businesses that require larger funding support in excess of S$ 100,000 on other qualifying activities.

Supplying TAX CERTAINTY

To minimize compliance fees and improve Singapore’s competitiveness, the Budget has clarified the tax treatment of companies’ share disposal gains. In gist, gains derived from the disposal of equity investments are tax exempt if 1) the divesting organization holds at least 20% shareholding in the firm whose shares are becoming disposed and 2) the divesting company maintains at least 20% shareholding for a minimum period of 24 months prior to the disposal.

This adjust will take impact on or after 1 June 2012 and this scheme will be reviewed following five years.

SME Cash GRANTS

To help SMEs offset escalating business costs, a a single-off cash grant – pegged at 5% of the company’s income for YA 2012, capped at S$ 5,000 – will be provided for all companies. SMEs want only make CPF contributions to at least one staff to qualify for this grant. The grant will be issued automatically immediately after the YA 2012 Form C has been filed and assessed.

Unique EMPLOYMENT CREDIT FOR SILVER GENERATION WORKERS

To help the tight labor marketplace, the Singapore government will incentivize businesses to attract and retain silver generation workers via the Specific Employment Credit (SEC). Businesses which hire or preserve Singaporean workers who are over 50 years old and earning up to S$ three,000 monthly will take pleasure in an SEC of 8% of the employee’s wages. Firms also take pleasure in a lower SEC for workers with a monthly wage of between S$ 3,000 and S$ four,000. Altogether, the SEC scheme will cover 80% (up to 350,000) of older Singaporean workers and will run for the next five years.

“These measures are developed to keep Singapore attractive to entrepreneurs and companies for the extended haul. Although a lot of of the measures introduced in Budget 2012 are focused on stronger social improvement, Rikvin is optimistic that the measures targeted at business will assist them adjust to the new realities of carrying out enterprise in Singapore and improve the economic pie for all in the coming years. ” added Mr. Bakhda.

ABOUT RIKVIN

Rikvin is a Singapore-based consultancy that delivers company solutions for both local and foreign experts, investors and entrepreneurs. Rikvin’s locations of expertise include Singapore business registration, incorporation, offshore firm setup, accounting, taxation and other associated corporate services. Rikvin also offers Singapore operate visa and immigration services for foreign pros wishing to relocate to Singapore.

Rikvin Pte Ltd

20 Cecil Street, #14-01, Equity Plaza, Singapore 049705

(65) 6438 8887

http://www.rikvin.com/

###









Attachments
































Vocus©Copyright 1997-

, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.







A lot more Derivatives Press Releases

Asset Constructing: A Discussion with Matt Unrath on Economic Security Economists claim America is two years past the worst recession since the Wonderful Depression, but the slow recovery has continued to sow widespread hardship. The Occupy Wall Street demonstrations and a flurry of new information are calling attention to the pervasive poverty and growing inequality that are markers of the post-recession economy. To make sense of what this data tells us about how households are actually doing post-recession and how we may well design a lot more successful public policies, the New America Foundation convened a panel of specialists to weigh in with their take. In this interview, Matt Unrath, the Director of the National Family Economic Security Plan at Wider Opportunities for Females, discusses WOW’s efforts to capture family wellbeing by making Simple Economic Security Tables (Very best), which indexes family spending budget items and projects the essential earnings that families would have to earn in order to cover those costs. He also offers policy prescriptions to boost the wellbeing of economically insecure households. In this video, Rachel Black talks with Matt Unrath about Economic Security. www.newamerica.net
Video Rating: / five

Article by Bruno Korschek









Given the recent spate of poor economic news and statistics, there is now no doubt that the American political class has failed miserably more than the past couple of years when it comes to operating a wholesome, growing economy. All of the recent political class economic programs have been ineffective relative to their objectives which includes Money For Clunkers, Initial Time Residence Buyers Rebate Program, mortgage salvation programs such as HAMP, and worse of all, the economic stimulus program. All these economic failures did was to add to the skyrocketing national debt with out offering any long lasting economic benefit.

The economic stimulus program was the worst culprit, if only since it wasted the most amount of taxpayer dollars, billion, according to the latest Congressional Spending budget Workplace estimates. The economic models employed to predict what would occur with increased government spending were disasters from a prediction perspective. They had been fatally flawed in the assumption that 1 dollar in government spending would miraculously several numerous times more than to produce a cascade of economic growth. This did not happen. In reality, some academic economic specialists have estimated for each spent in the economic stimulus program, far less than one dollar in benefit was received.

How then do you aid the economy grow? Contemplate some of the following actual life scenarios where much less government spending intervention in the economy in fact spurred economic growth. The first two examples have in fact happened in genuine life, giving them the advantage more than economic theory which we now know failed horribly in real life. The third example is an analogy employing the concept of water in a swimming pool and also makes use of no economic theory, just common sense.

At the end of Globe War II, the United States necessary to do a enormous retooling and refocusing of the domestic economy, going from a wartime based economy to a peace time based economy quite swiftly. Why? There was no longer a require to create military goods and there had been millions and millions of service men and girls coming property to look for a job. Today’s political class would have introduced a huge economic stimulus spending program, with the corresponding improve in government taxes and spending budget, to “produce jobs.”

Luckily, the political class in 1945 did the precise opposite:

- From 1945 to 1948, the government in fact decreased its size and spending by about 68%, going from a Federal spending budget in 1945 of .7 billion to a much smaller size of below billion by 1948.

- In the course of that 3 year time frame, the economy grew by over 6% a year, going from a GDP of three billion in 1945 to more than 9 billion by 1948.

- Despite millions of ex-military folks flooding the job marketplace, unemployment never went above four% in the course of the identical time period, a level of unemployment that today’s politicians would kill for.

Let’s evaluation: 1940s government spending is slashed, economic growth skyrockets, and unemployment is kept under an unheard of four% in spite of the enormous influx of new workers. This is the precise opposite method of the economic stimulus program. The government expanded in size (as did the national debt) but economic growth has been anemic, unemployment has been stubbornly high, and there was no enormous influx of new workers.

If you read the history of this time period from an economic perspective, there actually had been economists of the time that never ever believed this non-interventionist government method would work. They advised that the government continue to fund the war time factories and continue to create unneeded wartime munitions and weapons in order to develop function for individuals. Never ever mind, that the output of their effort would never ever be utilized in the economy, it would just burn by way of taxpayer resources to develop function.

This is eerily similar to the the recent economic stimulus package which also created work but not long lasting, economy developing, permanent jobs. Thankfully, the politicians of the 1940s ignored the suggestions of these economic wizards and let the economy sort itself out, which it did magnificently. High growth, minimal government taxes, expenditures and debt, and low unemployment. It was that easy.

Let’s jump ahead 65 years to present day reality and evaluation what is going on down in Puerto Rico.The following example is based on an interview completed in the June, 2011 issue of Reason magazine. The topic of the interview was Luis Fortuno who is the existing governor of Puerto Rico. Highlights of the interview article consist of the following:

- When he became governor in 2008, he located a fiscal scenario that was far worse than he imagined.

- As soon as he came into workplace he identified that the government did not have enough money to make payroll, necessitating the want to get a loan for the fundamental function of paying government staff.

- The bond rating agencies had been about to classify Puerto Rico bonds as junk status.

- Within two years, he had decreased government spending by 20%, had started to lower taxes across the board, and had averted the junk status rating for the bonds of Puerto Rico.

- He did all of this despite the fact that Puerto Rico’s spending budget was worse than the budget shortfall of any state in the union, coming up 44% short of the income needed to cover current costs at the time.

- In addition, unemployment in Puerto Rico was 17%.

- He set a cost cutting example by cutting his own salary by 10%, the salaries of his cabinet secretaries and the size of government contracts by 15%.

- Inside two years he had reduced government employee headcount by 17,000 people on a total base of 140,000 or about 12%.

- He lately decreased government employee headcount by an additional 4,000.

- He achieved the reduction by encouraging retirement or delivering workers incentives to start their own businesses and leave government employment.

- Unemployment is nonetheless high at 14.five% but is down from a high of 17% (a 15% reduction) and is still trending downward.

- For the first time in 5 years, Puerto Rico is lastly seeing positive economic growth indicators.

- He also slashed each corporate and individual income tax rates but nonetheless expects to have a balanced spending budget by 2013.

- The beauty of his tax reduction method is that if the spending budget is not balanced by 2013, some of the future tax reductions will not occur. This encourages all taxpayers to remain on best of their politicians to to get spending under manage. Otherwise, taxes go up, a tremendously clever leveraging approach.

- When he took workplace, Puerto Rico was dead last relating to the relative size of the budget deficit in comparison to the fifty states. Right now, it has improved all the way up to 20th, enhancing its spending budget circumstance more than 31 other states.

What a fantastic story. A bold leader cuts taxes, reduces government spending, reduces the number of government employees, absorbs the slings and arrows of doubters and what happens: unemployment goes down, taxes go down and the government’s fiscal circumstance gets drastically healthier. This is not economic theory, this is the economic reality of today when a intelligent and courageous leader follows the tenets of freedom and makes government smaller and the individuals it is supposed to be serving, freer.

And everyone wins. Households get to maintain far more of their tough earned dollars, corporations have more funds to expand and pay for much more workers, and government is smaller and much more effective as it narrows its focus onto only crucial priorities.

Two quotes from the post truly fly in the face of the attitudes we get from our politicians in Washington:

“There are some that have a philosophy that the government can manage our dollars much greater than we can. I completely disagree. I believe that, actually, folks are working tough, sometimes with two or three jobs, to earn that funds. They ought to keep it. And they know much greater than any government how to handle it, beginning with their own.”

“Surely the minority in our state legislature (have been sources of opposition). The unions have been trying to block us as well. But at the finish of the day, there’s nothing much more powerful than individual freedom to start to grow and do greater for oneself and your loved ones. And that’s far more effective than any union, any government, any party, and I’m convinced that that is why this (economy improvement) will be permanent.”

A freedom lover, a guy who understands reality and human behavior, and whose ego is not so large that he thinks the world revolves around him. Totally contrary to those currently sitting in the White House and in Congress. And most importantly, he has a productive economic track record, they have a record of failure and futility.

Two examples from two distinct time periods with the very same effective results. Freedom of option, low taxation, and minimal government interference wins out. Seems funny that the New York Times never reviewed these two economic good results stories, still stuck in the old failed theories that government knows very best.

The third example is not based on actual economic success stories, just common sense. The analogy likens the economy to the water in a huge swimming pool. The political class has this brilliant concept that it wants to grow the economy. How does it do it?

Simple, it takes water out of the left side of the pool and carries it over and pours it into the appropriate side of the pool. Even though the pouring procedure may have elevated the water on that appropriate side of the pool, the effects are limited and minimal because the water ultimately equalizes out, with no net gain of water or economic activity and growth.

The dilemma is that government spending does not develop wealth, it does not create water. It just takes wealth out of the economy (the left side of the pool), repackages it as economic stimulus (the correct side of the pool) and absolutely nothing is gained.

In fact, you could make the case that water is lost (i.e. economic vitality is lost) as the politicians splash water onto the pavement in the process of moving it. This would be equivalent of spending stimulus money on such inane economic stimulus projects as insect investigation in Africa and replacing windows in a government developing that was not in use and will most likely by no means be in use.

The wealth and funds they took out of the economy on the left side of the pool would have been a lot greater spent and spent much more efficiently if it had been left in the hands of people, families, and organizations. They would have had sufficient ingenuity to locate a water hose and really increased the amount of water in the pool. The political class could not even uncover the tax cheaters that got awarded stimulus dollars, never mind obtaining a water hose and employing it.

The stimulus program is a bust, it turns out to be absolutely nothing a lot more than moving water form the left side of the pool to the correct side of the pool, losing water int he transfer method. It has not decreased unemployment, it has not led to substantial economic growth, and it is negative impact on the national debt will last for decades to come. Truman in World War II and Fortuno nowadays have shown the way to economic growth, a way that works and nobody, not even the New York Times, can argue with success.



About the Author

Walter “Bruno” Korschek is the author of the book, “Really like My Country, Loathe My Government – Fifty 1st Steps To Restoring Our Freedom and Destroying The American Poltiical Class,” which is available at http://www.loathemygovernment.com and on the web at Amazon and Barnes &amp Noble. Our everyday dialog on freedom in American can be joined at http://www.loathemygovernment.blogspot.com