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March 11th, 2010
Party Committees Report Slight Increase Overall in 2009 Receipts
Source: Federal Elections Commission
The national, state and local committees of the Republican and Democratic parties collected a total of $425.8 million in contributions in the first calendar year of the 2010 election cycle, an increase of 1.5% over the same period in the 2008 election cycle, according to campaign finance disclosure reports filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Republican party committees reported raising $206.2 million in federal funds in 2009, down less than 1% from the $208.3 million they raised in 2007. Their Democratic counterparts reported raising $219.5 million—4% more than the $211.3 million they raised during the same period in the last cycle.
National committees of the major parties are required to submit financial reports on a monthly basis. As a result, it is possible to compare their activity over a 13-month period from January 1, 2009, through January 31, 2010. During this period, the three national committees of the Democratic party—the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) —reported raising a total of nearly $202 million. This represents an increase of 6% over the same period in 2007-2008 and 33% over the first 13 months of the 2006 election cycle. The three Republican national party committees—the Republican National Committee (RNC), the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) —reported raising a combined $188.7 million during the same period. This represents an increase of over 1% from 2007-2008 and a decrease of more than 17% from 2005-2006.
The DSCC and DCCC each reported a decrease in their total receipts compared to the same 13-month period in prior cycles, while the DNC reported an increase. The DSCC and DCCC reported a total of $48.7 and $60.3 million in receipts—a drop of 18% and 16%, respectively, from the last cycle. The DNC raised nearly $93 million through January 31, 2010, representing a 54% increase in receipts from the same period in 2007-2008 and a 52% increase from that period in 2005-2006.
Of the six national party committees, the RNC raised the most, disclosing $101.7 million in receipts, an increase of over 4% from its 13-month total in 2007-2008, but a decrease of almost 15% from its 2005-2006 total for the same period. The NRSC saw its receipts increase by 31% over its 2007-2008 period total, disclosing $46.3 million in receipts. The NRCC reported receiving $40.7 million, a decrease of almost 24% from the amount raised for the same 13-month period in the last cycle.
Tables in PDF or xls
Posted in Business and economics, Government and politics, Political process | No Comments »
March 11th, 2010
Briefing for the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (PDF; 508 KB)
Source: European Parliament Directorate-General for Internal Policies
Abstract:
The 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES will take place in Doha, Qatar from March 13th-25th, 2010 and will see the 175 Parties of CITES make key decisions on over 40 proposals to amend the Appendices to CITES, as well as debate crucial implementation and institutional issues, and related Resolutions and Decisions affecting species trade and conservation. This briefing examines a number of the issues to be discussed, focussing on Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, African elephants, polar bears, sharks, tigers and corals, and concludes with some of the strategic issues that need to be addressed at this important Conference.
Posted in Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Business and economics, Canada, Environment, Europe, International, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East, Science, Veterinary Medicine/Animal Welfare | No Comments »
March 11th, 2010
New survey indicates more than 17 million cosmetic procedures performed last year in U.S. (PDF; 9.9 KB)
Source: American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery
A procedural survey conducted by the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery says more than 17 million cosmetic surgery procedures were performed in the United States in 2009.
The total number of procedures from this first-time study far surpasses any number that has previously been reported in the U.S. This is the first nationwide survey of its kind done by the AACS. In addition to the annual polling of its own members, the AACS also surveyed random physicians across the country to find out who is performing cosmetic surgery procedures.
The total number of procedures performed by AACS members has increased by eight percent since 2008.
…
Among AACS member practices, the biggest increase in invasive procedures in the last five years are in blepharoplasty (eyelid lift), abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) and rhinoplasty (nose). For less-invasive procedures, the biggest increase over that five-year period is in laser resurfacing, chemical peels and fillers.
+ Cosmetic Procedures
Posted in Health and healthcare | No Comments »
March 11th, 2010
Forecast Links Aviation and National Economic Growth
Source: Federal Aviation Administration
The FAA’s forecast underscores the need for the Next Generation Air Transportation System and continued investment in airport infrastructure projects.
+ FAA Aerospace Forecasts FY 2010-2030
+ Fact Sheet
+ Press Release
Posted in Air travel, Business and economics, Government and politics, Infrastructure, Technology, Transportation and travel | No Comments »
March 11th, 2010
US Labor Department’s OSHA notifies 15,000 workplaces nationwide of high injury and illness rates
Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration surveys employers to collect workplace injury and illness data it uses to identify employers whose injury and illness rates are considerably higher than the national average. A letter has been sent to about 15,000 workplaces with the highest numbers of injuries and illnesses resulting in days away from work, restricted work activities or job transfers, known as the DART rate.
“Receipt of this letter means that workers in that particular establishment are being injured at a higher rate than in most other businesses of its kind in the country,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “Employers whose businesses have injury and illness rates this high need to take immediate steps to protect their workers.”
Employers receiving the letters also were provided copies of their injury and illness data, along with a list of the most frequently cited OSHA standards for their specific industry. The letter offered assistance in helping to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses by suggesting, among other things, the use of OSHA’s free safety and health consultation services for small businesses provided through the states.
OSHA identified businesses with the nation’s highest rates of workplace injuries and illnesses through employer-reported data from a 2009 survey of about 100,000 worksites. (This survey collected injury and illness data for calendar year 2008.) Workplaces receiving notifications had DART rates more than twice the national average among all U.S. workplaces.
+ 15,000 High Rate Workplaces Receiving OSHA Letters
Posted in Business and economics, Health and healthcare, Labor, Safety | No Comments »
March 11th, 2010
Regional and State Employment and Unemployment (January 2010)
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
In January, 30 states and the District of Columbia recorded over-the-month unemployment rate increases, 9 states registered decreases, and 11 states had no change. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 31 states and the District of Columbia, decreased in 18 states, and remained unchanged in 1 state.
Posted in Business and economics, Labor | No Comments »
March 10th, 2010
Country Analysis Brief: Yemen
Source: Energy Information Administration
Yemen’s location on the Bab al Mandab, one of the world’s most strategic shipping lanes through which an estimated 3.7 million barrels of oil pass daily, makes Yemen important to the global oil trade. Disruption to shipping in the Bab el-Mandab could prevent tankers in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Aden from reaching the Suez Canal/Sumed pipeline complex, requiring a costly diversion around the southern tip of Africa to reach western markets.
Posted in Energy, Middle East | No Comments »
March 10th, 2010
Briefing for the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES
Source: European Parliament
Abstract:
The 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES will take place in Doha, Qatar from March 13th-25th, 2010 and will see the 175 Parties of CITES make key decisions on over 40 proposals to amend the Appendices to CITES, as well as debate crucial implementation and institutional issues, and related Resolutions and Decisions affecting species trade and conservation. This briefing examines a number of the issues to be discussed, focussing on Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, African elephants, polar bears, sharks, tigers and corals, and concludes with some of the strategic issues that need to be addressed at this important Conference.
+ Direct link to document (PDF; 508 KB)
Posted in Environment, International, International Relations, Veterinary Medicine/Animal Welfare | No Comments »
March 10th, 2010
How Working Women Are Reshaping America’s Families and Economy and What It Means for Policymakers
Source: Center for American Progress
In the fall 2009, the Center for American Progress and Maria Shriver launched The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Changes Everything, a comprehensive look at how working women have transformed today’s workplaces and today’s families. That report concluded that the institutions around us— government, faith communities, business— have yet to adapt to this new reality.
Today, CAP launches the long-awaited policy roadmap based on the findings of The Shriver Report. This roadmap, “Our Working Nation: How Working Women Are Reshaping America’s Families and Economy and What It Means for Policymakers,” offers detailed, practical solutions that will help American workers and families meet the dual demands of work and family, while bolstering our economy.
The report outlines a set of policy recommendations for our government and our businesses to adopt that address the needs of today’s workers and families as they really are—not as our outdated policies imagine them to be. Women now make up half of all workers in the United States, and two-thirds of mothers are breadwinners or co-breadwinners in theirfamilies. Workplaces can no longer assume that every worker has a wife at home to take care of their family’s needs. The recommendations in the report will strengthen our economy and enhance the well-being of families.
+ Executive Summary (PDF; 298 KB)
+ Full Report (PDF; 607 KB)
Posted in Business and economics, Children and families, Gender and sexuality, Government and politics, Labor, Social and cultural issues | No Comments »
March 10th, 2010
“Amazon Taxes” Will Worsen Budget Problems, Deter Business
Source: Tax Foundation
As more states consider enacting so-called “Amazon tax” laws to force online retailers to collect sales taxes, a new Tax Foundation report cautions that such policies would not only fail to relieve short-term budget problems but also hurt long-term economic growth.
New York, Rhode Island, North Carolina and Colorado have Amazon taxes, and the Multistate Tax Commission last week indicated its plans to draft model legislation based on the laws in place in those states.
“Enactment of an Amazon tax is an aggressive and unconstitutional assertion of state power,” said Joseph Henchman, the Tax Foundation’s Tax Counsel and Director of State Projects, who authored the report. “These taxes are the latest in a series of efforts to eliminate the long-standing ‘physical presence’ standard and replace it with a nebulous, arbitrary ‘economic presence’ standard, where businesses can be taxed in every state where they have customers – meaning retailers large and small must track more than 8,000 sales tax rates and bases.”
“This flies in the face of the argument that Amazon taxes ‘level the playing field’ between brick-and-mortar and Internet-bases businesses,” Henchman said.
+ Full Document
Posted in Business and economics, Consumer issues, Government and politics, Internet, Taxation | No Comments »
March 10th, 2010
Fiscal Policy Choices (PDF; 447 KB)
Source: Congressional Budget Office
From CBO Director’s Blog:
I spoke yesterday at the annual economic policy conference of the NABE, the National Association for Business Economics. The theme of the conference was “The New Normal? Policy Choices After the Great Recession,” and naturally I discussed fiscal policy choices. My slides and remarks were based on CBO’s January report on the budget and economic outlook and preliminary analysis of the President’s budget released last Friday.
The first part of my presentation focused on the next few years. CBO forecasts that the economic recovery will be fairly slow, with the unemployment rate returning to near its long-run sustainable level of 5 percent only in 2014. One factor underlying that forecast is declining support for economic activity from fiscal policy. CBO’s baseline budget projection, which follows current law, shows the budget deficit dropping from about 9 percent of GDP in this fiscal year to about 4 percent of GDP two years from now. That decline of roughly 5 percentage points would be the sharpest two-year reduction in the budget deficit that we have seen since the end of World War II.
Most of that decline can be attributed not to improving economic conditions (although those play some role) but to the diminishing impact of last year’s stimulus legislation and the scheduled expiration of earlier tax reductions. The effects of last year’s stimulus package on government outlays and receipts peaks in fiscal year 2010, as can be seen in the following picture, and CBO estimates that the effects of the package on output and employment will begin to wane later this year.
Posted in Business and economics, Government and politics | No Comments »
March 10th, 2010
Fatigue Endangers Transportation Workers and Passengers Across All Modes, NTSB Chairman Warns
Source: National Transportation Safety Board
National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman today encouraged the sleep research and healthcare community to continue their efforts to educate transportation policy makers of the dangers of fatigue in all modes of transportation.
Speaking before the annual conference of the National Sleep Foundation in Washington, D.C., Chairman Hersman remarked that fatigue has been a concern for the Board since the creation of the agency in 1967 and it has been an issue on the Board’s Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements since the list was established in 1990.
“The work of the National Sleep Foundation and other organizations and individuals is critical to improving transportation safety policy,” said Chairman Hersman. “The NTSB is interested and willing to partner with you in developing a greater awareness of fatigue.”
Hersman highlighted a number of accident investigations across all transportation modes that included fatigue as the probable cause or a contributing factor to accidents. As a result, the Board has made safety recommendations that range from deploying fatigue detection systems to reduce the occurrence of accidents to installing electronic on-board recorders that collect and maintain hours of service data on vehicle operators.
“We can’t always prove fatigue as a cause of an accident, but the frequency with which we now routinely document the presence of fatigue-related factors in transportation operations is alarming,” Hersman stated.
+ Full text of speech
Posted in Diseases and conditions, Health and healthcare, Safety, Transportation and travel | No Comments »
March 10th, 2010
Amtrak Long-Distance Trains Running Strong (PDF; 57 KB)
Source: Amtrak
The long-distance trains that serve as the backbone of America’s national intercity passenger rail network are attracting more passengers as Amtrak continues to implement its comprehensive and multi-year Route Performance Improvement (RPI) program.
“Amtrak long-distance trains are running strong,” said President and CEO Joseph Boardman. “We are making changes, improving our service and passengers are responding favorably,” he said. Boardman noted total ridership on Amtrak’s 15 long-distance trains reached nearly 4.2 million in fiscal year 2009, an increase of 13 percent from fiscal year 2006. During the same period, the on-time performance of long-distance trains improved from 30 percent to 75 percent contributing to higher customer satisfaction scores, increasing from 65 percent to 80 percent.
This turnaround in long-distance trains is the result, in part, of the RPI process initiated by Amtrak in 2007 that focused on several routes addressing all elements of train service that impact the passenger experience. Employee-passenger interactions, staffing levels, food service and amenities, equipment cleanliness and reliability, stations, and schedules are part of the in-depth RPI analysis. Changes were made based on the findings.
Posted in Transportation and travel | No Comments »
March 10th, 2010
Area under organic farming increased by 7.4% between 2007 and 2008 in the EU-27
Source: Eurostat
The increase of 7.4 % in the total area under organic farming between 2007 and 2008 illustrates the continuing positive trend in the organic sector in EU-27. In 2007, the area under organic farming accounted for 4.1 % of the Total Utilised Agricultural Area. Between 2007 and 2008, the number of producers (agricultural holdings) using organic farming methods within EU-27 rose by 9.5 %. Cattle and sheep are the most popular species reared using such methods. The main industrial activities in the organic sector are the processing and preserving of meat and the production of meat products as well as the processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables. The aim of this publication is to describe the situation of the organic sector in 2008 and the more recent developments, paying particular attention to organic farming. Wherever possible, it also includes comparisons with and references to agriculture as a whole.
+ Direct link to document (PDF; 131 KB)
Posted in Business and economics, Europe, Food and agriculture, Industries, International | No Comments »
March 10th, 2010
The Trouble with Pensions: Toward an Alternative Public Policy to Support Retirement
Source: Levy Economics Institute of Bard College
Pension funds have taken a big hit during the current financial crisis, with losses in the trillions of dollars. In addition, both private and public pensions are experiencing significant funding shortfalls, as is the government-run Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, which insures the defined-benefit pension plans of private American companies. Yeva Nersisyan and Senior Scholar L. Randall Wray argue that the employment-based pension system is highly problematic, since the strategy for managing pension funds leads to excessive cost and risk in an effort to achieve above-average returns. The average fund manager, however, will only achieve the risk-free return. The authors therefore advocate expanding Social Security and encouraging private and public pensions to invest only in safe (risk-free) Treasury bonds—which, on average, will beat the net returns on risky assets.
+ Full Paper (PDF; 894 KB)
Posted in Age and Aging, Business and economics, Investments, Labor | No Comments »
March 10th, 2010
Troubled Partnership: U.S.-Turkish Relations in an Era of Global Geopolitical Change
Source: RAND Corporation
A strong security partnership with Turkey has been an important element of U.S. policy for the last five decades. However, in the last few years, U.S.-Turkish relations have seriously deteriorated, and today they are badly in need of repair. The arrival of a new administration in Washington presents an important opportunity to put Washington’s relations with Ankara on a firmer footing. Turkey plays a critical role in four areas of increasing strategic importance to the United States: the Balkans, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the Middle East, and the Persian Gulf. In each of these areas, Ankara’s cooperation is vital to achieving U.S. policy objectives.
Posted in Asia, Europe, International Relations | No Comments »
March 10th, 2010
Country Analysis Brief: South Africa
Source: Energy Information Administration
South Africa’s energy sector is critical to the economy as the country relies heavily on its large-scale, energy-intensive mining industry. South Africa has only small deposits of oil and natural gas and uses its large coal deposits for most of its energy needs. As a result, carbon emission and intensity levels for South Africa are relatively high. The country also has a highly developed synthetic fuels industry, producing gasoline and diesel fuels from coal and natural gas.
In 2007, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) in 2007, South Africa consumed an equivalent of 5.3 quadrillion Btu. Of this, coal/peat accounted for 72.1 percent of total primary energy supply, followed by oil (12.6 percent), and combustible renewables and waste (10.2 percent).
Posted in Africa, Energy | No Comments »
March 10th, 2010
OPEC Oil Export Revenues
Source: Energy Information Administration
Based on projections from the EIA March 2010 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) could earn $767 billion of net oil export revenues in 2010 and $823 billion in 2011. Last year, OPEC earned $573 billion in net oil export revenues, a 41 percent decrease from 2008. Saudi Arabia earned the largest share of these earnings, $154 billion, representing 27 percent of total OPEC revenues. On a per-capita basis, OPEC net oil export earning reached $1,554 in 2009, a 42 percent decrease from 2008.
Posted in Business and economics, Energy, International | No Comments »
March 10th, 2010
Hunger in America 2010
Source: Feeding American
From press release:
A landmark study released today from Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, reports that more than 37 million people, one in eight Americans — including 14 million children and nearly 3 million seniors — receive emergency food each year through the nation’s network of food banks and the agencies they serve. The findings represent a staggering 46 percent increase since the organization’s previously released study in 2006.
Hunger in America 2010 is the first research study to capture the significant connection between the recent economic downturn and an increased need for emergency food assistance. The number of children and adults in need of food as a result of experiencing food insecurity has significantly increased.
More than one in three client households are experiencing very low food security—or hunger—a 54 percent increase in the number of households compared to four years ago.
An estimated 5.7 million people receive emergency food assistance each week from a food pantry, soup kitchen, or other agency served by one of Feeding America’s more than 200 food banks. This is a 27 percent increase over numbers reported in Hunger in America 2006, which reported that 4.5 million people were served each week.
Posted in Food and agriculture, Poverty, Social and cultural issues | No Comments »
