Tag: Loss Of Funds

Outta Cash?

The Dem have been running hard and now that a billionaire has come to call they need to spend even more money on votes…..

Looks most 0f the 2020 Dem candidates are running low on cash…..all except Bernie….that is……

At a time in the race when running a presidential campaign is getting more expensive, many of the Democrats remaining have less money. After being camped in Iowa for what seemed like ages, the candidates now have multiple, scattered primaries ahead. And on top of competing with Bernie Sanders’ fundraising surge, they now face a billionaire climbing in the polls who can spend as much as is needed. Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, and Elizabeth Warren are nearly out of cash, Politico reports. Financial disclosures filed Thursday night show Biden down to $7.1 million, Buttigieg with $6.6 million, Klobuchar at $2.9 million, and Warren having just $2.3 million. At the other end is Sanders, who has close to $17 million. For January, the candidates raised $58 million in total and spent nearly $357 million, per the Hill.

The struggling candidates are taking steps. Buttigieg, who raised $6.1 million in January but spent more than twice that, asked supporters this week to kick in another $13 million by Super Tuesday on March 3. “We are now also up against a billionaire who is throwing colossal sums of money on television instead of doing the work of campaigning,” he wrote, referring to Michael Bloomberg. Tom Steyer also is funding his own campaign. Warren has taken out a $3 million line of credit, though she had a strong month in January, collecting $10.2 million. The problem was that she spent twice what she took in. With the new need to buy ads in 14 states, super PACs are stepping in, as well. A new one, Persist PAC, lined up more than $1 million worth of ads this week for Warren.

I have been saying that some will not last past South Carolina but the mass exodus will be after Super Tuesday, 3 of March…..

Soon the candidate count will be down to a more manageable total….one the media can run with in their attempt to influence the voter.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

No Longer Need Book Banning

This from an article in the USA Today.  It is a sad day when the knowledge acquired from books found in libraries has come to this point in our society.

Dwindling tax dollars are forcing libraries to close branches, cut hours and end programs just as more people are turning to them for services.

“Libraries rely on public dollars, and we know there are less public dollars,” says Sari Feldman, vice president of the Public Library Association and executive director of the Cuyahoga County Public Library in Ohio.

• Troy, N.Y., is closing two of three branches today because the budget has been cut 16% to $669,000 this year, says Paul Hicok, executive director of the Troy Public Library. Its circulation of borrowed materials increased 16% last year.

• Muncie, Ind., is closing three of five branches, says library director Ginny Nilles. Its $4.8 million annual budget is facing a cut of $2 million over two years. Circulation increased 7% last year.

• In Philadelphia, Mayor Michael Nutter planned to close 11 of the city’s 54 libraries this month to save $8 million, but a judge ruled he did not have the authority. Nutter is appealing. The branches remain open, but their hours will be reduced.

• Phoenix faces a 27% cut in its $40.6 million budget that would reduce hours at its 15 branches from 72 hours a week to 48 and eliminate some children and adult reading programs, says city librarian Toni Garvey. The number of visitors increased 8% in 2008.

• Darby, Pa., expects to close its only library — the oldest continuously operating free public library in Pennsylvania and believed to be the oldest in the nation — next year.

Cities are making tough choices, says Chris Hoene, director of policy and research at the National League of Cities. As people lose income or curb spending, income tax and sales tax revenue falls. Local officials must choose between core services, such as police and fire protection, and services such as libraries and parks.

“Obviously, when push comes to shove,” he says, city governments facing budget cuts “will protect city services considered more vital to the safety of the community.”

It is true that more people are getting their information from the internet, whgich is great, but not everyone has the access to the internet.  Now that brings up another post (later) about a promise from Obama about a universal broadband access for the US.

Workplace Retirement Suffers

The WSJ is reporting that retirement funds are being ravaged by the crisis.

Americans have lost $2 trillion in their workplace retirement plans in the past 15 months, threatening the security of millions, according to government data.

The Congressional Budget Office disclosed the figures at a hearing by the House Education and Labor Committee, prompting some legislators to question whether retirement-savings plans are inherently too risky. The $2 trillion figure includes 401(k) plans — which have become the primary savings vehicle for 60% of workers — as well as traditional pension plans.

The 401(k) plans, which require workers to manage their own retirement savings, have been the hardest hit, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The losses, which are likely to force many people to delay retirement, are prompting some legislators to take a new look at the legislation that created 401(k)s and subsequent laws that have allowed investment companies to steer workers into riskier funds. Congress created the investment accounts about 25 years ago. Today, 401(k)s have largely replaced traditional defined-benefit pension plans.