States Still Owe US Treasury $30 Billion For Jobless Benefits Borrowing

The story was reported here in May:

"For decades, states have been offering benefit checks to the unemployed for 26 weeks. During recessions, Congress typically steps in and offers extended benefits for up to 99 weeks. States are supposed to build up their unemployment accounts during good times by taxing employers, based on wages. But their tax rates vary. Prior to the recession, most states lowered taxes on employers. Between 1995 and 2005, 31 states reduced unemployment insurance taxes by at least 20 percent, according to the Tax Foundation. That brought contributions down to 0.65 percent of total wages from 2000 to 2009 — a record low, according to NELP [National Employment Law Project]. ...

"Thanks to the 2009 federal stimulus law, states were able to borrow money interest-free to make up their gaps. But now Washington wants its money back. States now owe the Treasury $29.8 billion. That amount has actually dropped from $37.3 billion back in November 2011. ... 

"Employers pay unemployment insurance taxes based on wages — but not all wages. The federal government requires states to tax only the first $7,000 in wages, a standard that hasn't increased in 30 years. Some states, such as Oregon and New Jersey, impose taxes on more than $30,000 worth of wages. But the national average is about $13,000."

Who Knew The American Red Cross Was UNIONIZED?!

They went on strike today in Michigan!

I must be the last person alive to realize this. The photo shows Red Cross workers on strike in Ohio in February (image source here).

Story here:

More than 200 American Red Cross workers in Michigan went on strike this morning.

Staff members represented by the Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 459 and Teamsters Local 580 walked out because of a dispute over health care benefits.

The strike affects blood collection centers in Kalamazoo, Jackson, Lansing, Flint and parts of northern Michigan.

That's the last time I give them any dough. If they can go on strike, so can I.

Author Estimates Underground Economy Worldwide at $10 Trillion a Year

There is a story about the new book, Stealth of Nations by Robert Neuwirth, here:

More than half of all employed people worldwide work off the books. And that number is expected to climb over the next decade.

"Estimates are that the informal economy around the world is [worth] about $10 trillion a year," says journalist Robert Neuwirth. "That's an astounding figure because what it means, basically, is that if the informal economy was combined in one country, it would be the second-largest economy on Earth, rivaling the United States economy."

At a tax rate of 25 percent, which is what the US budget, if we had one, effectively requires because we are spending $3.8 trillion per year in a $15 trillion economy, worldwide we are talking lost tax revenue of $2.5 trillion. 

NPR Notices Obama Riffing on Jesus, But Prefers a Different Reference

NPR story here. Ours here.

The World, Upside Down

From Joel Miller at National Review, here:

In short, Palin basically got the whole story wrong.

From Robert Allison interviewed by NPR, here:

BLOCK: So you think basically, on the whole, Sarah Palin got her history right.

Prof. ALLISON: Well, yeah, she did. ...

Methinks the professor wants Palin to be the candidate as much as we all want Anthony Weiner not to resign.

The true mother of the child would give it up rather than see it hewn in half.

The Original Birthers: NPR.ORG Refers To Obama As "Kenyan-Born"