We Will Now See Massive Panic Across World Markets - King World News - Michael Pento - August 24, 2013 - While officials from the Federal Reserve gather in Jackson Hole Wyoming this week to bemoan that inflation isn’t yet high enough for their liking, the truth is that inflation is already ravaging the middle class....
To prove my point, the government’s official reading on core CPI inflation (one of the Fed’s preferred metrics that removes food and energy prices) increased just 1.7% from July 2012. So, in the mind of those who control the value of our currency, inflation is well below their target of 2%; and therefore needs to be increased.
Nevertheless, let’s try another, more real-world way of calculating the data. The labor department correctly judges that prices paid for shelter should be a significant proportion of the core CPI calculation (about a 40% weighting). According to the Labor Department, prices for shelter increased only 2.3% from July of last year.
However, according to the National Association of Realtors, existing home prices surged 13.7% year-over-year. And according to the Commerce Department, new home prices jumped 8.5% year-over-year. If you include the increase in the other items in core CPI ex-housing (up 1.2% year-over-year), a more accurate measurement of core CPI can be achieved. Consumer prices would be up 5.1% from the year ago period -- assuming you simply average the cost of purchasing a new home with that of an existing home.
In reality, existing home purchases exceed the number of new home sales and would therefore increase the core rate reading. The difference between the government’s data and what is collected from private sources is that the Bureau of Labor Statistics measures the imputed rental value of homes, instead of actual increases in what consumers have to pay for real estate.
A core rate of inflation that is rising north of 5% year-over-year should send shivers down the spines of those at the Fed, and consumers alike. However, amazingly Mr. Bernanke is still debating if a $3.6 trillion Fed balance sheet and the $85 billion worth of new credit creation each month is doing enough damage to the value of the dollar. The Fed’s inflation is especially painful to the middle class, due to the fact that real median incomes have fallen 6.1% since the start of the Great Recession, which began in December 2007.
Our economy is so addicted to money printing that the Fed can’t agree on when, or even if, it should reduce the level of its asset purchases. Mr. Bernanke’s confusion over monetary policy is evident, despite the fact that he has built up a stock, bond and real estate bubble. This trifecta of asset bubbles exists concurrently for the first time in American history.
Our central bank will soon have to decide whether or not it will continue allowing these bubbles to grow to a more dangerous level (intractable inflation); or to start selling trillions of dollars worth of bonds and send interest rates soaring. We have already witnessed what a mere one percent increase in mortgage rates did to new home sales (down 13.4% in July, the lowest level in 9 months). This occurred without the Fed tapering its purchases of MBS and Treasuries by even one dollar. Just imagine what will happen to interest rates when the Fed not only stops buying that debt; but also starts unloading its balance sheet.
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Jobless picture is worse than you think: Gallup - CNBC - August 22, 2013 - While Gallup's numbers have offered significant divergences from the Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the two numbers had been running fairly close for most of the year. In fact, Gallup's tally actually briefly slipped below the government's in April when it recorded 7.4 percent, compared to the BLS number then of 7.5 percent. Since reaching that April bottom, though, Gallup's numbers have surged and tracked above 8 percent for August, reaching their highest level since hitting 8.7 percent in mid-March 2012. The trend comes at a ticklish time for the economy. The Federal Reserve is contemplating an exit from its quantitative easing program in which it buys $85 billion a month in Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities. Central bank policymakers have tied the potential QE pullback to an unemployment rate—as recorded by the BLS—in the 7 percent range, while 6.5 percent would be the minimum hurdle before the Fed would start raising its target interest rate again. While Gallup's numbers can be volatile, they have portended rises in the official rate. The data set is limited, but in previous occasions when the divergence was more than 1 percentage point "the BLS unemployment rate was flat to up over the next three months," Bespoke Investment Group said. To be sure, there are major caveats. The Gallup numbers are not seasonally adjusted, and surveying methodologies differ substantially. "The BLS method is statistically more rigorous. With the Gallup, you're basically doing a poll," said Jacob Oubina, senior economist at RBC Capital Markets. "The Gallup is more of a sentiment-type indicator. Either way, the unemployment rate doesn't really give you a good indicator of the true state of the labor backdrop." Instead, Oubina recommends focusing on the employment-to-population ratio. The news doesn't get any better there, though. The government puts that number at 58.7 percent, a level from which it has deviated little over the past four years since the end of the financial crisis and Great Recession. According to Gallup, that measure is 43.8 percent, plunging over the years from 63.5 percent in January 2010. It's not known whether the Fed is paying attention to what Gallup's polling shows. If it is, the discussions at the September Open Markets Committee meeting over tapering QE could take on a different tone. "The employment-to-population ratio is basically bumping along the lows of the cycle," Oubina said. "We definitely still have a long way to go."
Gallup: Unemployment Rate Jumps from 7.7% to 8.9% In 30 Days - Breitbart - John Nolte - August 21, 2013 - Outside of the federal government's Bureau of Labor statistics, the Gallup polling organization also tracks the nation's unemployment rate. While the BLS and Gallup findings might not always perfectly align, the trends almost always do and the small statistical differences just haven't been worthy of note. But now Gallup is showing a sizable 30 day jump in the unemployment rate, from 7.7% on July 21 to 8.9% today. This is an 18-month high. At the end of July, the BLS showed a 7.4% unemployment rate, compared to Gallup's 7.8%. Again, a difference not worthy of note. But Gallup's upward trend to almost 9% in just the last three weeks is alarming, especially because this is not a poll with a history of wild swings due to statistical anomalies. Gallup's sample size is a massive 30,000 adults and the rolling average is taken over a full 30 day period. Gallup also shows an alarming increase in the number of underemployed (those with some work seeking more). During the same 30-day period, that number has jumped from 17.1% to 17.9%.
Obamacare, tepid US growth fuel part-time hiring - Reuters through CNBC - August 21, 2013
The end of the dollar store recovery - CNN Money - Nin-Hai Tseng - August 23, 2013 - Dollar stores were one of the few bright spots in U.S. retail during the Great Recession as cash-strapped consumers looked to do more with less. And while many are still going to these discounters for bargains, they're also buying less. On Thursday, Dollar Tree (DLTR) reported that its second-quarter profit rose 4.6% from a year earlier -- its stock jumped after the discount retailer raised its forecast for the rest of the year, but profits reflected a relatively modest increase for a company that saw double-digit earnings growth for the past five years. This follows as other dollar stores saw sales slow down from their rapid rise during the recession. The discounters are still generally pleasing Wall Street, but they acknowledge that shoppers are being more cautious about spending. In July, earnings for Family Dollar (FDO) topped analysts expectations, but Chairman CEO Howard Levin warned consumers are cautious about their spending, adding that while sales of items like food and beauty products did well, sales of discretionary items (wants vs. needs) continued to slow. Similarly, Dollar General (DG) noted many consumers had less to spend.
Why the new homes plunge doesn't tell the full story - CNBC - August 23, 2013 - Don't let the sharp plunge in new home sales mislead you: it's a tale of two housing markets, says one investor. "What we're learning about the housing market over here is that it's really bifurcated in that you have a lot of private-equity type money and more leveraged-type money buying up some of the older houses that have been in foreclosure, short sales," said Yra Harris, partner at Praxis Trading. This sizable investment has propped up sales of existing homes in the U.S. to their highest level in more than three years. But homes fresh to the market aren't faring nearly as well, new data showed on Friday, casting a shadow over the country's housing recovery.
"The new housing market where they're not as involved is showing a different pattern," Harris said.
New home sales drop - Sales of new single-family homes in the United States fell sharply in July to their lowest level in nine months. They dropped 13.4 percent to an annual rate of 394,000 units, the Commerce Department said on Friday. While government housing data is often subject to large revisions, the reading was well below expectations and could be a sign that a recent surge in mortgage rates is weighing on the economy. The data could weaken the case for the U.S. Federal Reserve to reduce its support for the economy by the end of the year. It also casts doubt on Wall Street expectations that the Fed will begin reducing monthly bond purchases next month.
Bee-killing pesticide found in garden store plants: What does it mean? - NBC - Alan Boyle - August 14, 2013 -A type of pesticide that's a focal point in the controversy over endangered honeybees has turned up in garden-store plants sampled by Friends of the Earth. Other bee experts say the pilot study on neonicotinoids adds an important twist to the plight of the bees — but stress that more rigorous research needs to be done. The study, co-authored with the Pesticide Research Institute and titled "Gardeners Beware," reported finding traces of neonicotinoid pesticides, or neonics, in seven of 13 plants purchased from garden stores in California's San Francisco Bay area; the Washington, D.C. area; and Minnesota's Twin Cities. The plants included tomatoes, squash, salvia and flowers that would be attractive to pollinators. “Our investigation is the first to show that so called 'bee-friendly' garden plants contain pesticides that can actually poison bees, with no warning to gardeners," Lisa Archer, director of the Food and Technology Program at Friends of the Earth-US, said in a news release accompanying Wednesday's 34-page report. “Bees are essential to our food system and they are dying at alarming rates. Neonic pesticides are a key part of the problem we can start to fix right now in our own backyards."
Friends of the Earth kicked off a "BeeAction" campaign to draw attention to the pesticide issue. It said petitions bearing more than 175,000 signatures were delivered to Lowe's, Home Depot, Target and other garden retailers, asking the stores to stop selling neonicotinoids and plants pre-treated with the pesticides...
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Sunday, August 25, 2013
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Protesting is the American way.
I saw people are protesting Obama at overpasses with "Impeach Obama" signs. A couple of guys were arrested last weekend at an overpass in Missouri. They basically had their First Amendment rights impeded upon and the police said that it was a failure to obey orders. If the police are violating your Constitutional rights, and you are breaking no valid law, then you have every right to express yourself and anything they say or do is superseded by your Constitutional rights. If they order you to go jump off a building, you don't have to.
And by the same token I have seen people associated with the right of the Republican Party here in North Carolina getting beyond upset over the people on the left of the Democrat Party protesting through what they call "Moral Mondays" and thinking that government officials should forcibly put a stop to it.
The Moral Monday Protesters - Civitas - Database
Art Pope-funded group launches database targeting Moral Monday arrestees - Facing South
Protesting is the American way. I don't necessarily agree that these protests are effective, but I do believe in these people's right to protest. Expressing oneself about issues one is passionate about is a healthy exercise in Democracy. Freedom of expression is one of the founding principles of this nation and yet we see every side of the political spectrum, especially those in power, aiming to shut those that they disagree with down. We see people on the left wanting to see people on the right arrested and people on the right wanting to see people on the left arrested. Would you want to be arrested for lawfully protesting what you oppose?
We should be tolerant of one another and do more listening. In the above examples we see that this authoritarian desire to control others and suppress expression has become all to prevalent in our modern culture. In my opinion, the final outcome of shutting people down if those in power do not agree with them takes us to a very bad place.
And by the same token I have seen people associated with the right of the Republican Party here in North Carolina getting beyond upset over the people on the left of the Democrat Party protesting through what they call "Moral Mondays" and thinking that government officials should forcibly put a stop to it.
The Moral Monday Protesters - Civitas - Database
Art Pope-funded group launches database targeting Moral Monday arrestees - Facing South
Protesting is the American way. I don't necessarily agree that these protests are effective, but I do believe in these people's right to protest. Expressing oneself about issues one is passionate about is a healthy exercise in Democracy. Freedom of expression is one of the founding principles of this nation and yet we see every side of the political spectrum, especially those in power, aiming to shut those that they disagree with down. We see people on the left wanting to see people on the right arrested and people on the right wanting to see people on the left arrested. Would you want to be arrested for lawfully protesting what you oppose?
We should be tolerant of one another and do more listening. In the above examples we see that this authoritarian desire to control others and suppress expression has become all to prevalent in our modern culture. In my opinion, the final outcome of shutting people down if those in power do not agree with them takes us to a very bad place.
Friday, August 23, 2013
Newsletter about the City Council meeting of August 20, 2013
` I began recording the City Council late last year, because of my desire that the City do it on their own as any modern 21st century community began doing long ago. I had people tell me that they couldn't make it to the meetings, but they would like to see what is going on. I was also told by some council members that my summaries did not truly reflect the record, so having a video/audio recording cannot be misinterpreted.
So below is the City Council meeting. Beside each agenda item, you will see the minute:second. You can drag the marker on the video display to the point in the broadcast that you are interested in seeing.
Due to a technical difficulty the Video starts at the 5:49 mark
Agenda about the City Council meeting of August 20, 2013
Special Presentations
A. (2:30) Presentation of the Carolina Cycle Challenge by Mandy Pitts and John Link
* Carolina Cycle Challenge Website
Hound: (Brett's father responds to this in the comment section. I did not mean to say that the bike ride that Vicar Powell created at Mt. Olive was Brett's Ride or she had anything to do with it. Sorry if I caused a misunderstanding in my writing. My point was in my personal disappointment about Brett's name being taken off of the ride.
It is a shame to me that this bike ride will no longer be known as Brett's Ride. The origins of a bike ride were at my church, Mount Olive Lutheran. Vicar Vickie Powell (now Reverend) back in 1999 helped to create a bike ride as part of her mission. Each Vicar has to fulfill a mission during the year they spend with us before heading back to the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina. Brett was a teenager and participated in it and like the many young people at Mt. Olive he really enjoyed it. Brett's Grandfather Walter Hitchcock was a Pastor at Mount Olive for 24 years.
We had the Bike Ride at Mount Olive for a few years. When Brett faced his battle with cancer, he was asked what he wanted to do and this Bike Ride was part of his mission. He was a brave young man and an inspiration to all who face the ultimate adversity. He had so many friends. My cousin's were his age and knew him very well. His name needs to always be synonymous with this bike ride.
(In the comments section, Brett's father explains the origins of the bike ride and why they decided to take Brett's name off of the Bicycling event. Thank You for the information Mr. Gosnell. Sorry for having some of this wrong.)
Mr. Gosnell comment,
"Brett’s family preferred that his name not be associated with the new ride. We believe that the new event would be better served developing their “brand.” Quite frankly, many members of the Brett’s Ride committee, including Brett’s family, were exhausted after nine years of planning and organizing the event. Since none of Brett’s family planned to be involved with the new ride and Brett wasn’t around to approve the use of his name, we felt it was better that they give the event another name.
Brett’s family, as well as the Brett’s Ride Committee, strongly supports the Carolina Cycle Challenge. We are honored that the Rotary clubs and the City of Hickory decided to continue an annual cycling event. I am very much looking forward to riding in the coming event – something I was never able to do at Brett’s Ride."
B. (10:15) Business Well Crafted Award: Lenoir-Rhyne University by Alan Jackson and Lenoir-Rhyne University President Wayne Powell
Hound: Lenoir - Rhyne is a vital part of this community. It is also "THE" Lutheran University here is the mid atlantic region. So many of us have a connection with family members, friends, and associates who received their formal education at LR. They do deserve recognition for their work in the community.
* Lenoir-Rhyne a "Business. Well Crafted." - Hickory Inc. Statement
* Business Well Crafted - Lenoir Rhyne Web Page
C. (19:20) Announcement of a Community Gift to the City by Andrea Surratt, Robert Lackey, and Robert Lackey Jr.
* Hickory Inc. statement on this gift of property development at Geitner Park
* Deidra Templeton Lackey obituary from December 2011
* Donation to expand Geitner-Rotary Park announced at Hickory City Council meeting - Hickory Daily Record - John Tinkelenberg - August 20, 2013
Hound: This is an amazing gift and legacy provided by the Lackie family to the people of Hickory. And it would be wonderful if other's could/would be generous in such a fashion related to benevolent endeavors in the community going forward.
Persons Requesting to Be Heard
A. (43:00) Cliff Moone thanked City Staff Attorney for providing some information about the City's Video Recording of Council meetings that he had requested.
New Business - Public Hearings
1. (44:45) Voluntary Satellite Annexation of Property Located at 1076 Fox Chase Drive containing .42 acres.
New Business - Departmental Reports:
1. (49:50) Vacant Building Revitalization and Demolition Grant Agreement for ZLoop Knitting Mill, LLC.
Hound Comment on the meeting
Wonderful coincidence that what I have mentioned as part of the 21st Century Hickory Platform was incorporated into this meeting. John Link talks about Fitness Well Crafted, where I have mentioned Dr. Jody Inglefield's Wellness Well Crafted. It is more than words folks. It is actions. And the City Inc. has nothing to do with this bike ride other than providing some police officers to monitor it and propaganda.
Then we have the mention by Alan Jackson of Microlending. Microlending came from Harry Hipps campaign four years ago. And we have seen the actions taken upon this subsequently - none. Joe Brannock is taking up this cause along with Dr. Inglefield. As a person who has a finance background it is something I truly believe in and that is probably the reason why it hasn't seen the light of day. Mayor Wright and Mick Berry are smothering the opportunity. The BDC can talk about it all day long, but talk is cheap. We need people that can help them facilitate such endeavors.
So below is the City Council meeting. Beside each agenda item, you will see the minute:second. You can drag the marker on the video display to the point in the broadcast that you are interested in seeing.
Due to a technical difficulty the Video starts at the 5:49 mark
Agenda about the City Council meeting of August 20, 2013
Special Presentations
A. (2:30) Presentation of the Carolina Cycle Challenge by Mandy Pitts and John Link
* Carolina Cycle Challenge Website
Hound: (Brett's father responds to this in the comment section. I did not mean to say that the bike ride that Vicar Powell created at Mt. Olive was Brett's Ride or she had anything to do with it. Sorry if I caused a misunderstanding in my writing. My point was in my personal disappointment about Brett's name being taken off of the ride.
It is a shame to me that this bike ride will no longer be known as Brett's Ride. The origins of a bike ride were at my church, Mount Olive Lutheran. Vicar Vickie Powell (now Reverend) back in 1999 helped to create a bike ride as part of her mission. Each Vicar has to fulfill a mission during the year they spend with us before heading back to the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina. Brett was a teenager and participated in it and like the many young people at Mt. Olive he really enjoyed it. Brett's Grandfather Walter Hitchcock was a Pastor at Mount Olive for 24 years.
We had the Bike Ride at Mount Olive for a few years. When Brett faced his battle with cancer, he was asked what he wanted to do and this Bike Ride was part of his mission. He was a brave young man and an inspiration to all who face the ultimate adversity. He had so many friends. My cousin's were his age and knew him very well. His name needs to always be synonymous with this bike ride.
(In the comments section, Brett's father explains the origins of the bike ride and why they decided to take Brett's name off of the Bicycling event. Thank You for the information Mr. Gosnell. Sorry for having some of this wrong.)
Mr. Gosnell comment,
"Brett’s family preferred that his name not be associated with the new ride. We believe that the new event would be better served developing their “brand.” Quite frankly, many members of the Brett’s Ride committee, including Brett’s family, were exhausted after nine years of planning and organizing the event. Since none of Brett’s family planned to be involved with the new ride and Brett wasn’t around to approve the use of his name, we felt it was better that they give the event another name.
Brett’s family, as well as the Brett’s Ride Committee, strongly supports the Carolina Cycle Challenge. We are honored that the Rotary clubs and the City of Hickory decided to continue an annual cycling event. I am very much looking forward to riding in the coming event – something I was never able to do at Brett’s Ride."
B. (10:15) Business Well Crafted Award: Lenoir-Rhyne University by Alan Jackson and Lenoir-Rhyne University President Wayne Powell
Hound: Lenoir - Rhyne is a vital part of this community. It is also "THE" Lutheran University here is the mid atlantic region. So many of us have a connection with family members, friends, and associates who received their formal education at LR. They do deserve recognition for their work in the community.
* Lenoir-Rhyne a "Business. Well Crafted." - Hickory Inc. Statement
* Business Well Crafted - Lenoir Rhyne Web Page
C. (19:20) Announcement of a Community Gift to the City by Andrea Surratt, Robert Lackey, and Robert Lackey Jr.
* Hickory Inc. statement on this gift of property development at Geitner Park
* Deidra Templeton Lackey obituary from December 2011
* Donation to expand Geitner-Rotary Park announced at Hickory City Council meeting - Hickory Daily Record - John Tinkelenberg - August 20, 2013
Hound: This is an amazing gift and legacy provided by the Lackie family to the people of Hickory. And it would be wonderful if other's could/would be generous in such a fashion related to benevolent endeavors in the community going forward.
Persons Requesting to Be Heard
A. (43:00) Cliff Moone thanked City Staff Attorney for providing some information about the City's Video Recording of Council meetings that he had requested.
New Business - Public Hearings
1. (44:45) Voluntary Satellite Annexation of Property Located at 1076 Fox Chase Drive containing .42 acres.
New Business - Departmental Reports:
1. (49:50) Vacant Building Revitalization and Demolition Grant Agreement for ZLoop Knitting Mill, LLC.
Hound Comment on the meeting
Wonderful coincidence that what I have mentioned as part of the 21st Century Hickory Platform was incorporated into this meeting. John Link talks about Fitness Well Crafted, where I have mentioned Dr. Jody Inglefield's Wellness Well Crafted. It is more than words folks. It is actions. And the City Inc. has nothing to do with this bike ride other than providing some police officers to monitor it and propaganda.
Then we have the mention by Alan Jackson of Microlending. Microlending came from Harry Hipps campaign four years ago. And we have seen the actions taken upon this subsequently - none. Joe Brannock is taking up this cause along with Dr. Inglefield. As a person who has a finance background it is something I truly believe in and that is probably the reason why it hasn't seen the light of day. Mayor Wright and Mick Berry are smothering the opportunity. The BDC can talk about it all day long, but talk is cheap. We need people that can help them facilitate such endeavors.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Platform for a 21st Century Hickory - Better Dialogue with the Public
7) Dialogue - we need all Hickory governmental agencies and their staff to be open, truthful, honest, helpful and transparent. Willing to discuss and carry on open dialogues with the citizens.
In speaking with Jeff Brittain about his Mayoral Candidacy, he espoused his support to have regular townhall meetings with the people of Hickory. This is something that I have believed in for years, but I was told by City Council members that they had reservations, because they didn't want to sit through an attack session. I honestly don't think that people are going to verbally attack the City Council during such a meeting. People might express disagreements with the council, but I wouldn't expect shouting matches.
The problem is that this Mayor and Council seem to have an obsession about controlling messages. Somehow saying the same talking points over and over again is supposed to lead to results. Constantly spinning the message is supposed to keep the message on track until the final desired outcome is achieved.
Unfortunately that isn't how life works. You have to cite the goal you are looking to achieve and allow open input and free thinking methodology to define, design, and map out processes and then keep all options available moving forward. There must be defined targets of accountability along the way to assess whether you are on the path towards successfully achieving the goal. Adaptability, Flexibility, and Nimbleness are the keys towards successful endeavors in life.
Public officials should listen to everyone, whether they are actual supporters or not. Just because people have different ideas than you may have does not mean that they want to tear down the City. You must get outside of the group of like minded friends and yes men to find out what is really going on around here socially and economically. Having open-minded, democratic governance brings buy-in and acceptance from the public at-large versus doing things behind closed doors and manipulating processes to avoid input, which leads to ambivalence and eventually hostility when you are seen as picking winners and losers and the winners are always the circle that surrounds you. Any wonder why we don't have "Unity" in the Comm"UNITY"?
Jeff Brittain for Mayor Flyer
Click on the Flyer and Ctrl+ will magnify it.
Platform for a 21st Century Hickory - Public Information
Platform for a 21st Century Hickory - Helping Small Business, Start-ups, and Entrepreneurs
Platform for a 21st Century Hickory - an Agenda on Health and Wellness
Platform for a 21st Century Hickory - Learn from National Studies & Surveys
Platform for a 21st Century Hickory - Independent Boards and Commissions
Platform for a 21st Century Hickory - Term Limits
In speaking with Jeff Brittain about his Mayoral Candidacy, he espoused his support to have regular townhall meetings with the people of Hickory. This is something that I have believed in for years, but I was told by City Council members that they had reservations, because they didn't want to sit through an attack session. I honestly don't think that people are going to verbally attack the City Council during such a meeting. People might express disagreements with the council, but I wouldn't expect shouting matches.
The problem is that this Mayor and Council seem to have an obsession about controlling messages. Somehow saying the same talking points over and over again is supposed to lead to results. Constantly spinning the message is supposed to keep the message on track until the final desired outcome is achieved.
Unfortunately that isn't how life works. You have to cite the goal you are looking to achieve and allow open input and free thinking methodology to define, design, and map out processes and then keep all options available moving forward. There must be defined targets of accountability along the way to assess whether you are on the path towards successfully achieving the goal. Adaptability, Flexibility, and Nimbleness are the keys towards successful endeavors in life.
Public officials should listen to everyone, whether they are actual supporters or not. Just because people have different ideas than you may have does not mean that they want to tear down the City. You must get outside of the group of like minded friends and yes men to find out what is really going on around here socially and economically. Having open-minded, democratic governance brings buy-in and acceptance from the public at-large versus doing things behind closed doors and manipulating processes to avoid input, which leads to ambivalence and eventually hostility when you are seen as picking winners and losers and the winners are always the circle that surrounds you. Any wonder why we don't have "Unity" in the Comm"UNITY"?
Jeff Brittain for Mayor Flyer
Click on the Flyer and Ctrl+ will magnify it.
Platform for a 21st Century Hickory - Public Information
Platform for a 21st Century Hickory - Helping Small Business, Start-ups, and Entrepreneurs
Platform for a 21st Century Hickory - an Agenda on Health and Wellness
Platform for a 21st Century Hickory - Learn from National Studies & Surveys
Platform for a 21st Century Hickory - Independent Boards and Commissions
Platform for a 21st Century Hickory - Term Limits
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Platform for a 21st Century Hickory - Public Information
6) Public Information should be user-friendly, open, and accessible in accordance with North Carolina General Statute 132. We understand that when legal issues and private negotiations related to Economic Development arise that there will be a need to keep certain information secret, but as those issues are resolved that information should be immediately accessible. To the greatest extent possible, information should be available electronically online. When information is from the pre-electronic era, it should be made accessible for a minimal cost (10-cents per page) and within 5 business days of the request being made. The key is that there should not be games played with Public Information.
Hickory Incorporated has long played fast and loose with the spirit of the law when it comes to providing Public Information. This led to the arrest of Rebecca Inglefield on September 13, 2012. Most people walk away in frustration when they find obtaining information to be riddled with such obstacles. Some people seem to think that this is alright and people should have to jump through hoops to obtain information or that they should not be provided information. If that is the case, then kiss free society goodbye. The level of control of information defines the level of Liberty (less) versus Tyranny (more).
Hickory City Officials tell you that the information you are going to get is the information you are entitled to under the law. What they don't tell you, but imply, is that it is going to be their interpretation of what they can get away with under the law and not a gram or an inch more. If you are a regular citizen and you don't understand the information, then tough, you'll have to go get a lawyer. If you are a lawyer, then you will have to meet them in court, because they aren't going to be forthright until a judge orders them to be and they have exhausted all appeals.
I don't want to say this. No one wants to say this, but it is what we have experienced as we have sought the costs associated with the Sails on the Square project. We have sought the actual and associated costs of the fabric the "Sails" are made of and we have met a stone wall every step of the way.
Any of the candidates who embrace this platform will help to tear down that wall!
(Play Song) John Crone’s new single “Blurred Lines” featuring TI, Pharrell, Robin Thicke, and Rudy Wright
I am in no way associated with the site that created the song above. I have been accused of being the creator of this tumblr site, but it is very raw and has vulgar material. These vulgarities damage the credibility of the message, but I don't think the author cares, because it is a parody site.
I think whomever created the site is very creative, but way over the top when it comes to the message. They took my material and the Conover Crusader's material and enhanced it in a very creative way. So I wanted to allow you to be able to hear the song without going to the actual site, because it fits very well with what we are discussing when it comes to the Hickory Incorporated relationship with Citizens and the spirit of Public Information Laws.
Hickory Incorporated has long played fast and loose with the spirit of the law when it comes to providing Public Information. This led to the arrest of Rebecca Inglefield on September 13, 2012. Most people walk away in frustration when they find obtaining information to be riddled with such obstacles. Some people seem to think that this is alright and people should have to jump through hoops to obtain information or that they should not be provided information. If that is the case, then kiss free society goodbye. The level of control of information defines the level of Liberty (less) versus Tyranny (more).
Hickory City Officials tell you that the information you are going to get is the information you are entitled to under the law. What they don't tell you, but imply, is that it is going to be their interpretation of what they can get away with under the law and not a gram or an inch more. If you are a regular citizen and you don't understand the information, then tough, you'll have to go get a lawyer. If you are a lawyer, then you will have to meet them in court, because they aren't going to be forthright until a judge orders them to be and they have exhausted all appeals.
I don't want to say this. No one wants to say this, but it is what we have experienced as we have sought the costs associated with the Sails on the Square project. We have sought the actual and associated costs of the fabric the "Sails" are made of and we have met a stone wall every step of the way.
Any of the candidates who embrace this platform will help to tear down that wall!
(Play Song) John Crone’s new single “Blurred Lines” featuring TI, Pharrell, Robin Thicke, and Rudy Wright
I am in no way associated with the site that created the song above. I have been accused of being the creator of this tumblr site, but it is very raw and has vulgar material. These vulgarities damage the credibility of the message, but I don't think the author cares, because it is a parody site.
I think whomever created the site is very creative, but way over the top when it comes to the message. They took my material and the Conover Crusader's material and enhanced it in a very creative way. So I wanted to allow you to be able to hear the song without going to the actual site, because it fits very well with what we are discussing when it comes to the Hickory Incorporated relationship with Citizens and the spirit of Public Information Laws.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Platform for a 21st Century Hickory - Helping Small Business, Start-ups, and Entrepreneurs
5) We need to do what we can to help small business, start up businesses, and local Entrepreneurs move forward. This encourages entrepreneurship, which puts people to work. We will find a way to create and facilitate a microlending-entrepreneurial plan in this community. We think this is a vital mission and purpose that the city's Business Development Commission should embrace.
The BDC needs to be diverse and aggressive in its work. Marketing and promoting current business is fine, but it will not grow an economy that has lost thousands of jobs over the last several years. The BDC should be trying to attract “magnet” large businesses and focus on Cluster and Niche Economic Development that feeds off of the manufacturing and technical service skills of local citizens. This will generate “spin off” supportive small businesses. The Goal would be to expand and empower the scope of the BDC to facilitate tangible Economic Activity.
Hickory City Government has stood in the way of all of this. Rudy Wright has specifically stood in the way of this as he espoused on Hal Row's radio show in May 2011. The City Manager actually told a local citizen that it was illegal for Hickory Incorporated to get involved in a Microlending function, even though there are other local governments and other governmental agencies involved in such Economic Mechanisms/Activities.
This is a new day and we must think in a new way!
The BDC needs to be diverse and aggressive in its work. Marketing and promoting current business is fine, but it will not grow an economy that has lost thousands of jobs over the last several years. The BDC should be trying to attract “magnet” large businesses and focus on Cluster and Niche Economic Development that feeds off of the manufacturing and technical service skills of local citizens. This will generate “spin off” supportive small businesses. The Goal would be to expand and empower the scope of the BDC to facilitate tangible Economic Activity.
Hickory City Government has stood in the way of all of this. Rudy Wright has specifically stood in the way of this as he espoused on Hal Row's radio show in May 2011. The City Manager actually told a local citizen that it was illegal for Hickory Incorporated to get involved in a Microlending function, even though there are other local governments and other governmental agencies involved in such Economic Mechanisms/Activities.
This is a new day and we must think in a new way!
Monday, August 19, 2013
Platform for a 21st Century Hickory - an Agenda on Health and Wellness
4) an Agenda on Health and Wellness... The Gallup-Healthway study is a prime example of a valid scientific study that casts a negative light on Hickory. How do we address what this study finds? Dr. Jody Inglefield admits that he doesn't have all of the answers, buts says that is why we need local health professionals to weigh in, but what does stand out is the negative issues this community faces involving health.
31.2% of the people in this community are defined as Obese and this does not include those who are overweight. A recent Gallup survey, related to the Well-Being index, from July 22 of this year shows that the Heart Attack Rates Double in Low-Wellbeing Metro Areas - Average of 5.5% in metros with lowest wellbeing have had heart attack. The Hickory Metro is ranked as the 5th lowest Metro area in the country in relation to Gallup's Well-Being study. In the survey on Obesity, we are the 19th most obese metropolitan area in the nation with 31.2% of the residents of this area defined as obese. Our community is the lowest ranked metro in North Carolina when it comes to obesity and also physical activity.
We need an Agenda on Health and Wellness. "Wellness Well Crafted" would encourage, not mandate, healthy lifestyles. We do this by creating programming and opportunities to exercise, eat right, create personal health goals, and preventative care that are user friendly and can be maintained through the various stages of life.
We talk about people having a negative outlook in the community. Healthy people tend to have better mental attitudes. That is a fact. When you take away opportunities for people to be active and lead healthy lifestyles and turn a blind eye towards people leading unhealthy lifestyles, then it leads to what we have here in Hickory. Parks, Greenways, and recreation programming need to become a key component of this wellness agenda.
According to an article from the Live Science Website entitled The Skinniest and Fattest US Cities Revealed - Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience Managing Editor - March 07, 2012
There are direct links that show that Health Disparities Across Incomes Are Wide-Ranging (Gallup - October 18, 2010); comparing those making less than $24,000 per year versus those with more income. Those in the lower income strata have greater chances of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attack, asthma, cancer, depression...
Those with more wealth do not seem to understand that the overall physical health of the community, as a whole, affects the economic health of the community and thus their own individual personal well-being. These are investments well worth making.
31.2% of the people in this community are defined as Obese and this does not include those who are overweight. A recent Gallup survey, related to the Well-Being index, from July 22 of this year shows that the Heart Attack Rates Double in Low-Wellbeing Metro Areas - Average of 5.5% in metros with lowest wellbeing have had heart attack. The Hickory Metro is ranked as the 5th lowest Metro area in the country in relation to Gallup's Well-Being study. In the survey on Obesity, we are the 19th most obese metropolitan area in the nation with 31.2% of the residents of this area defined as obese. Our community is the lowest ranked metro in North Carolina when it comes to obesity and also physical activity.
We need an Agenda on Health and Wellness. "Wellness Well Crafted" would encourage, not mandate, healthy lifestyles. We do this by creating programming and opportunities to exercise, eat right, create personal health goals, and preventative care that are user friendly and can be maintained through the various stages of life.
We talk about people having a negative outlook in the community. Healthy people tend to have better mental attitudes. That is a fact. When you take away opportunities for people to be active and lead healthy lifestyles and turn a blind eye towards people leading unhealthy lifestyles, then it leads to what we have here in Hickory. Parks, Greenways, and recreation programming need to become a key component of this wellness agenda.
According to an article from the Live Science Website entitled The Skinniest and Fattest US Cities Revealed - Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience Managing Editor - March 07, 2012
Supporting an abundance of research linking obesity with a long list of health ailments, those living in the 10 most obese areas were much more likely, compared with the skinniest cities, to report chronic diseases, including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and depression, at some point in their lives. For instance, compared with people living in the lowest-obesity cities, residents of the most obese areas were 70 percent more likely to report diabetes, 58 percent more likely to have had a heart attack, 30 percent more likely to report a diagnosis of depression, and 23 percent more likely to report high cholesterol, Gallup noted. [Infographic: Diabetes & Obesity in US]We are paying a price for not seriously investing in the community's health. You can read the above and see that serious investment in fitness pays for itself many times over. And yet, over the past decade we have seen recreational and fitness facilities/opportunities reduced and destructed. Exercise and Recreation should be more than afterthoughts in a city budget.
Obesity not only plagues the individual, it can also drain Americans' wallets, with the National Institutes of Health estimating the average incremental health-care cost for an obese person is $1,429 every year. With that number, Gallup estimates that in the 10 metro areas with the highest obesity rates, Americans cumulatively pay about $1 billion more in annual health-care costs than if those states had obesity rates of 15 percent.
For example, the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area pays more than $400 million in unnecessary health-care costs each year because of its high obesity rate. If it reduced the obesity rate to 15 percent, the area could potentially save more than $250 million annually, Gallup estimates.
There are direct links that show that Health Disparities Across Incomes Are Wide-Ranging (Gallup - October 18, 2010); comparing those making less than $24,000 per year versus those with more income. Those in the lower income strata have greater chances of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attack, asthma, cancer, depression...
Those with more wealth do not seem to understand that the overall physical health of the community, as a whole, affects the economic health of the community and thus their own individual personal well-being. These are investments well worth making.
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