George Wenschhof
Obama Twitter Town Hall Today at 2:00 PM ET - the first ever held. It will be a live event from the White House. You can ask your questions and watch here.
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Obama Says No To Two Step Solution on Budget - rejecting a proposal picking up support which would have a short term solution to cut the budget and raise the debt ceiling followed by a larger deal next year during the campaign season. The president said the republican proposal was "just kicking the can down the road" and now is the time for meaningful cuts in the budget. TPM.com has more here.
President Obama has invited Congressional Leaders to the White House tomorrow for talks on the budget. Reuters.com has more here.
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GOP Forces Senate to Delay Vote on Libya - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) postponed the vote to authorize military action in Libya scheduled yesterday. This came after Republican leadership complained all effort should be directed at reaching an agreement on the budget. TheHill.com has more here.
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China Raises Interest Rates - the third time this year as they try to curb inflation. U.S. stocks were not changes as of this morning. However, stay tuned... Bloomberg.com has more here.
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Romney Raises More $ Than All Republican Presidential Candidates - 18.25 million was his take over the last three months and his campaign reported 12 million cash on hand. Rand Paul (4.5 million) and Tim Pawlenty (4.2 million) came closest to the former Massachusetts Governor. Michele Bachmann's campaign is the only one who has not reported figures at this time. They have indicated they will report on July 15. The Washington Post has more here.
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Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Daily Political Wire
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Daily Political Wire
George Wenschhof
NEA Endorses Obama - hardly a surprise, but the early endorsement of President Obama for a second term by the National Education Association signals their concern as to the outcome of the 2012 election. The NEA has 3.2 million members and it was doubtful they would endorse a Republican candidate for president. You can read more here.
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60% Jewish Americans Support Obama - a Gallup poll released today shows the president continues to receive strong support among Jewish Americans heading into the 2012 election. This comes after President Obama gave his speech on the future of the Israel-Palestine peace process. Gallup.com has more here.
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Dominique Srauss-Kahn Charges likely to Be Dropped - NY prosecutors are moving toward dropping the sexual assault charges as more conflicting statements from the Hotel maid have emerged. Reuters.com has more here.
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China's Debt 540 Billion More than Disclosed - in what will be another jolt to the fragile worldwide economy, Moody's Investment Services reports that Chinese bank loans to local government is a bout one-third higher than was reported. The possibility of a decline in their credit rating is expected. Stay tuned... Bloomberg.com has more here.
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Senate to Vote on Libya Authorization Today - the Senate returns today and will take up the authorization of the military action in Libya for up to one year or when the NATO mission ends, whatever comes first. The resolution is expected to pass. It is similar to a measure which failed to pass in the House. TheHill.com has more here.
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Obama Meets with New Afghanistan Team Today - New Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, new Ambassador Ryan Crocker, and Lt. General John Allen who has been nominated by Obama to be the top General in Afghanistan. Politico.com has more here.
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Pakistani Spies Tied To Journalist Slaying - in yet another blow toward U.S./Pakistan relations the slaying of journalist Saleem Shahzad, who had disclosed the existence of militants in the Pakistan military, appears to have been killed with help from Pakistani spies, according to reports from U.S. intelligence. The NY Times has more here.
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New Housing Should Include Jobs
George Wenschhof
Local and state government have tackled the issues surrounding community planning for, it seems, forever. The latest flavor of choice is the concept of "smart growth".
However, tying new housing development to local job availability is not a concept which has been implemented by government.
The basic idea of smart growth is to promote new housing in areas where community services such as road networks, water, sewer, schools, fire, rescue, police services and the like, presently exist or, can be expanded to meet the needs of new housing.
The idea being it makes sense to develop on municipal services such as water and sewer as opposed to well and septic fields, which would lead to “urban sprawl”, a definition created by those who favor smart growth.
The argument goes along the line that allowing urban sprawl to occur would overburden existing community services.
A reasonable argument, one would think. But, looking at the attempts within Frederick County, Maryland to adhere to these principles would lead one to question the validity of the argument.
One only has to look at the gridlock on the road networks in and out of The City of Frederick and the strain on local government services, to see the result of forcing development within the city boundaries.
But, that is a discussion for another day. Instead, the focus, regardless of the planning model used, should be zeroed in on the creation of competitive salaried local jobs.
It is generally agreed commercial development impacts local government services to a less degree than residential development, which triggers many convoluted attempts to pay for new school construction.
Meanwhile, the overall cost of commuting is simply an expenditure government and the taxpayer cannot continue to pay.
Like, many similar sized communities, within forty to one hundred miles of a major urban city, the number of Frederick County residents commuting to work located outside of their county, is a huge number.
Within Maryland, the number of workers who commute to jobs outside of the county in which they reside, in Prince George's, Montgomery and Frederick range from 40-60%.
Whether, it is the cost associated with the paving of a highway, metro system or gasoline, the age old approach of daily commuting to work must come to an end.
Implementing telecommuting and job sharing practices will help. But, until competitive salaried posions are located near where one lives, the economic and environmental costs will continue to be severe.
This leads me back to community planning models. Currently, the Frederick Board of County Commissioners, led by Blaine Young and Company is promoting tax breaks for those businesses that expand and create job opportunities.
The only argument on the issue among the commissioners, who ran on a platform of creating jobs, is that small businesses, where most of the job creation comes from, should also benefit. On this, I agree.
However, there is no requirement in the proposed legislation which would require these businesses to hire local workers to fill the newly created positions.
A requirement, I would argue is the most important component to be included in the legislation.
Why give a local tax break to a Frederick County business that is employing workers who live outside of Frederick County?
While, requiring 100% of the new jobs created to be filled by Frederick County residents would be onerous; a reasonable percentage of the new jobs should be required to be filled by local residents.
Expanding this concept further and one can see the benefit of adding a job availability component to the approval process for new housing developments. Egad, a home builder may ask; “First, I have to pass an Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) and now I have to meet job criteria before I can begin building homes”?
My answer would be. like school capacity, county job availability would be one of the means testing components for approval of housing developments.
Master developers already do this to some degree, but local government approval for new housing tied to local job availability has not been done.
I say, Why not?
The value of homes in a community where competitive paying jobs exist would surely be higher as a result. Who wouldn't be willing to pay more for a home in a community where they can also work.
The only way the existing time consuming commute which impacts severely on the economy and the environment can be altered is to begin to change current development models.
Another benefit of requiring local job opportunities being tied to new housing construction would be a lower residential tax rate as higher commercial tax revenue would result.
Implementation of a local job availability requirement for new housing will, of course, be met with much resistance and arguments for why it will not work.
However, state and local community government lawmakers should seriously consider this reasonable option as the benefits of working close to home in a job with a competitive salary, leading to improving the quality of life, is a goal all share.
Having all the players in the development field concentrate on job creation only makes sense.
I say it is long over do and it is time to start seriously examining a job availability requirement tied to new housing development.
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Monday, July 4, 2011
Daily Political Wire
George Wenschhof
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President Hosts Military Families at White House for 4th of July - after, spending the weekend with his family at Camp David. A barbecue, music and fireworks are planned.
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Greek Bail Out Plan in Trouble - seems the European plan backed by France and Germany to lend more billions to debt ridden Greece has had a red flag raised by Standard and Poor's rating agency. S&P's position is Greece would still be in default if they follow the plan suggested. The Washington Post has more here.
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Rebels say Gaddafi Can Stay in Libya if He Steps Down - Mustafa Abdel Jalil, who has emerged as the Rebel leader in the conflict in Libya says Muammar Gaddafi can live the rest of his days in Libya if he relinquishes his rule on the country. Reuters.com has more here.
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Clinton Weighs in on Budget Talks - the most recent president who actually had a surplus in the budget when he left office after two terms. He also says a two step solution is likely with a six to eight month agreement on a raising the debt ceiling and some corresponding cuts. The larger deal would then be put off until next year - a time when the election is heating up. Clinton also called for a reduction in the corporate tax rate which is presently at 35%, suggesting 25% would make more sense today. Politico.com has more here.
Look to see the lowering of the corporate tax rate proposal pick up steam as this would be something Republicans will support in earnest - perhaps a proposal which could bring the two sides together on other points. Stay Tuned...
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112th Congress One of the Least Productive - The Chicago Tribune has a good read today on how this Congress has produced less laws, taken less votes and confirmed fewer nominees since the "do-nothing" Congress of 1948. Polarization brought about by extreme partisanship along with the current non-stop campaign mode are the major reasons behind the lack of action by Congress today. You can read more here.
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New Sexual Assault Case To be filed Against Dominique Strauss-Kahn - just when it seemed like the former IMF Director was going to get off from the current sexual assault case involving a New York City hotel maid, a new charge is being filed by a French writer relating to a case back in 2002. It is being reported that Tristane Banon will file the complaint tomorrow. She will allege she was sexually assaulted by Strauss-Kahn in a hotel room when she was interviewing him. She was 22 at the time and has already publicly discussed the incident. You can read more here.
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