Kentucky owes U.S. $500 million for jobless aid

Unemployment rates rose in all 120 Kentucky counties between October 2008 and October 2009, according to the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training.


FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky has borrowed roughly half a billion dollars from the federal government this year to pay benefits to unemployed workers — money the state likely will have to pay back when the economy recovers.


The fast-growing deficit in the unemployment insurance trust fund has alarmed a group of business and labor leaders who have been tasked by Gov. Steve Beshear to recommend solutions that would be considered by the 2010 General Assembly.

“I can tell you that there is unanimity among the members who recognize the severity and depth of the problem that is before us, that we understand that a partnership is necessary for us to come to a resolution on these issues,” said Helen Mountjoy, secretary of the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet and the chairwoman of the group.

The task force met behind closed doors in small groups for more than five hours Wednesday, trying to reach agreement on solutions for the $501.7 million deficit.

But reaching a compromise likely won’t be simple because the general solutions involve raising taxes on employers or reducing benefits for unemployed workers.

Mountjoy said at the end of the meeting that a “framework” was developed but more information is needed from the group's actuarial consultant. The group is expected to reconvene in two weeks to finalize its recommendations, she said.

Kentucky's unemployment rate was 10.9 percent in September, down from 11.2 percent in August.

House Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark, a Louisville Democrat who is a member of the task force, implored labor and business to reach a compromise.

“This is about how the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and organized labor can sit down and have meaningful discussions and find resolutions to tough issues,” he said. “I think this is a lot bigger than unemployment insurance.”

Clark told members that any compromise they reach would pass in the House.

“I can assure you that,” he said.

Kentucky's unemployment insurance trust-fund dilemma actually started in 2000, well before the current economic recession. Since that time, it has paid out more in benefits than it has collected from employers each year. Source: courier-journal.com

Flip and Grow Rich a Scam?

Is Flip And Grow Rich is a scam? There are many reviews from people who actually bought the program, and the majority of them say it IS a scam. Flip And Grow Rich is suppose to teach you how to buy and sell houses. Armando Montelongo is the author and he was also in the show Flip This House. The program cost is right around $1000. Is it worth the risk when most say it is a scam? Probably not. But that' an opinion.

On November 7, Emotions raged when people began hearing about Armando Montelongo arrested. The charges filed against the A&E Flip this house star were extremely threatening. He was being accused of felony theft charges while he was in Austin, TX.

The charge was all over not paying a bill that was over $4000 for an Austin passed property company that work had been rendered on in 2005 as well as 2006. According to the charges, Mr. Montelongo was accused of hiring appraisal services to perform an appraisal on a home and never paid them for their services.

Mr. Montelongo’s charge is being regarded as a felony, which in the state of Texas is punishable by two years in jail, and a fine up to $10, 000. This information was actually first submitted in 2008, since then Mr. Montelongo claims that things have changed.

The case according to a recent blog entry by Mr. Montelongo was dropped against him. The Flip this house star claims that all of the charges that were given to him were done under false pretences. He still does not fully understand why he was arrested for such an outlandish charge.

According to Mr. Montelongo he plans on filing a suit against the company that was inadvertently out to get him. If the case behind the star ever had any kind of standing, no one truly knows. However, for the police of Travis County to come after Mr. Montelongo and try to accuse him of such a horrendous crime there has to be something that backed up their claims.

So far, this year it looks like the stars arrest record has stayed relatively clear. No companies are trying to come up against him and file claims. No one knows if the claim against the company that accused Mr. Montelongo of not paying for their services was filed or not. The term don’t mess with Texas has some big pull now with this renovation star. Published by: flipandgrowrichreviews.com

Us Debt Clock (Why America is Broke)

1. Foreigners are scaling back their bond purchases. You need people to pay your debts. The only way to do that is to issue Treasury bonds and auction them off to foreigners. But you can’t auction off too many or it dilutes the value of the Treasury bonds you already issued. Right now, the Treasury is frantically issuing record amounts. The big question is when do the foreigners say “no mas” and refuse to buy?
2. Uncle Sam doesn’t have the future earnings to pay for all these bonds. In other words, you have to repay your deficits. Right now, the Treasury is issuing a record amount of debt in the form of bonds. The Treasury is on the hook to pay a staggering $11.9 Trillion in outstanding Treasury securities. Now in future years, they’ll have to pay the interest when those bonds mature. They have issued so many Treasuries lately that the government won’t be able to rely on just tax receipts to match the interest. That could lead to a sovereign bond default (economic suicide for a country). Or more likely, the U.S. will just issue more bonds to cover that interest…issue more debt to pay for debt.
3. With every new auction, the buyers thin out. That’s why the Federal Reserve has stepped in to buy whatever bonds are not purchased in the auction. How does the Fed get the money to purchase these bonds? They print it out of thin air! The Fed prints new dollars, thus diluting the value of all the dollars that are in the system.
4. Investors are dumping dollars. When the dollar’s value has been diluted, forex traders become very concerned and the “selling of the dollar” begins.
5. Every dollar you hold is worth less. When the “selling of the dollar” begins, all of us who pay our bills with dollars lose purchasing power! Things begin to cost more, and your dollar buys less. It’s that simple.
6. In depending on the “kindness of strangers” the U.S. loses control of its own destiny. Countries like China and Japan hold HUGE amounts of dollars and Treasuries (40% of our Treasuries), so they have more bargaining chips. They could begin to make demands on the U.S. and we will have to listen to them otherwise deal with the fact that these key nations won’t buy at the next Treasury auction! Source: WorldCurrencyWatch.com