Turn Coal Workers Into Wind and Solar Workers

Supreme Court upholds power plant pollution rule

…............In a 6-2 decision, the justices approved a 2011 regulation issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency which had been challenged by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and officials in states which produce large amounts of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide..........

The EPA regulation calls for 27 states – including Ohio – to limit the emissions from coal-fired power plants. Those emissions scatter across the East coast making it difficult for states without many coal-fired plants to achieve clean air standards required by the nation’s clean air laws. [and the health of all citizens].............It was unclear what the immediate impact would be in Ohio and to the producers of coal-fired electricity in the region like DP&L, Duke Energy and Ohio Edison.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/national/supreme-court-upholds-power-plant-pollution-rule/nfkYx/

Ohio government hypocrisy – what opportunity?

Lisa Peterson Hackley, a DeWine spokeswoman, said the ruling gives the EPA “the power to dictate any state’s plan for controlling air emissions without giving a state a fair opportunity to put in place its own systems to combat cross-state pollution.”

She added the decision allows the EPA “to define the standard and also impose its system without first providing the states that opportunity, which we find disappointing.

In my opinion Ohio coal company interests have been calling the legislative and policy making shots as far as energy production is concerned.

To wit: The [coal] industry's larger financial investment over the past three years appears to have been in the GOP-dominated state Legislature, where associates of the state's two most powerful coal firms — Boich Cos. and Murray Energy — have directed nearly $170,000 since 2011, according to an Associated Press review of state campaign finance filings.

State lawmakers hold sway over the state's clean energy quotas and other environmental laws.

George Elmaraghy, a 39-veteran of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, said in an email widely distributed last week that his departure was being forced by Kasich and Ohio EPA Director Scott Nally after "considerable pressure" from the coal industry. Elmaraghy headed Ohio EPA's Division of Surface Water, which issues permits for mining and other activities.

http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/briefs/x1988589333/Coal-contributors-target-Ohio-GOP-legislators-gov

Ohio Energy Standards Require Utilities Increase Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency. In 2008, Ohio passed an Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS) which includes both renewable energy and energy efficiency requirements. The standards mandate for the state’s utilities to source 12.5 percent their electricity from renewable sources by 2025, and to utilize energy efficiency projects to achieve 22 percent in energy savings by the end of 2025.

http://ecowatch.com/2014/04/08/alec-attack-ohio-renewable-energy/

Paul Hunter

Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place?

We like to avoid taxes whenever possible but many civic minded consumers also want to support the local community by buying from local home town businesses that must collect sales tax at point of sale.

A growing number of internet stores like monster E retailer Amazon can sell their products at a lower price because they are based out of state and are not required to collect sales taxes for Ohio. This means that a $200.purchase from an online store is automatically $14.50 cheaper than the same item purchased locally..

Not only does Ohio lose tax revenue from this arrangement so does the county government.

Twenty states have acted to require out of state tr .

Three more states have joined the growing list where you'll be charged sales tax on Amazon purchases: Indiana, Nevada, and Tennessee. Amazon already collected tax in 16 states, and in 2016, South Carolina will join them, bringing the number up to an even 20.

Recently, the Supreme Court declined to hear an Amazon lawsuit against New York, after the company attempted to fight a ruling that its relationships with local affiliates constituted a physical presence. Though it opposes what it calls a patchwork of state-level taxes, Amazon supports Congressional efforts to establish nationwide online sales tax rules.

In one of the first efforts to quantify the impact of states accruing more tax revenue from Web purchases, researchers at Ohio State University published a report for the week of April 21 that found sales dropped for Amazon when the online charge was introduced. In states that have the tax, households reduced their spending on Amazon by about 10 percent compared to those in states that don't have the levy.

“As analysts have noted, Amazon offers the best prices with or without sales tax,” Ty Rogers, a spokesman for Amazon, said in an e-mail.

New York and others have said the push to tax Amazon is an effort to treat online and brick-and-mortar retailers equally.

In addition to quantifying the sales impact, the researchers concluded that brick-and-mortar stores didn't hugely benefit from households reducing their spending on Amazon. That's because many shoppers simply turned to online alternatives.

In total, brick-and-mortar retailers enjoyed a 2 percent bump in purchases in states that introduced an online sales tax, while competing online retailers got a 20 percent increase, the study found.

The biggest sales uptick—61 percent for big-ticket items—went to merchants that use Amazon Marketplace. These outfits pay Amazon a fee to offer products through the Amazon website, yet don't collect taxes. The products are typically available alongside Amazon's own listings.

Landfill Public Hearing April 26, 2014.

In my educated opinion a public hearing is: A forum to enable the legislative body (council) to receive input from the residents of the city and other parties with an interest in proposed legislation.

What a public hearing is not: A forum for a guest of council, such as the Mayor, to open the hearing by making disparaging comments concerning the contents of a letter written to the local paper on the issue before council. Not only is such commentary out of order, it can have a chilling effect on residents right to offer opinions on public matters.

What a public hearing is not: A debate between residents offering their comments and a member of council arguing each point raised by individual speakers. Solid waste committee chairman, Rob Jaehnig, contested almost all, if not all, comments made by concerned and informed residents.

Also in my opinion, council should listen politely, take notes and if desired, make general summary comments at the end of the public meeting.

When this poster commented publicly during the hearing that the expected capacity of the new expansion of landfill space would, at current dumping rates, last for more than ten years the mayor countered that the time line was only seven years. When it was pointed out that the most current data verified the longer period Mr. Jaehnig added that the ten year number was incorrect and asked a member of the audience to verify the seven year number.

Not wishing to engage in a time consuming argument I stepped down.

Facts from the permit to build document received by the city in March.

“The anticipated life of the facility will be 14.5 years based on the facility’s anticipated average daily waste receipt of 59 tons.”

Paul Hunter

A City Landfill Plan

One person's proposal

1. Change the new cell expansion financing method from cash in advance because:

a. Based on the service directors statement of new construction cost being $680,000, the present method depletes the land fill reserve fund from $630,000 to $50,000.

b. The present method causes a technical default of the $100,000 annual payment due the city for a past expansion costs. This causes the landfill debt to the city to remain at its present $300,000 balance.

2. Suggested method of financing:

a. Use $300,000 of the reserve fund to pay off the balance of the debt owed to the city.

b. Finance the construction by either borrowing from the city or issuing a seven bond revenue bond.

3. The reduced tipping at the landfill by outside the county haulers should extend the life of the of the new cell expansion well into the next decade.

a. The reserve fund can grow over the next 10-15 years in anticipation of the eventual closure of the facility.

4. If low tipping volume and/or increased operating costs in the future negatively effect the reserve funds growth, three options are available.

a. Request a one dollar per ton reduction from $7.50 in the amount the landfill must pay to the Clinton County Solid Waste District.

b. Increase the fees paid by “in city” commercial haulers whom, by ordinance, are required to use the city landfill.

c. Increase the fees for city performed residential and commercial waste collection.

Note: The landfill got in trouble in 2010-2012 by undervaluing airspace in an effort to increase volume. By lowering tipping fees without authorization from Council out of district tipping volume increased but revenues declined at the same time airspace consumption increased.

Paul Hunter

Income Disparity

Informed opinion:

This statement appears rational. Globalization puts pressure on U. S. corporations to cut labor costs in order to stay in business.

However, if corporations are forced by competition to reduce labor costs, why are corporate profits as a share of the economy near their all-time high? Such profits make it particularly hard to argue that companies do not have the ability to support higher wages.

Data from the St. Louis Federal Reserve, hardly a radical institution, shows that corporate profits as a share of Gross Domestic Product have reached a record level.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/19/our-broken-social-contract/?_php=true&_type=blogs&nl=opinion&emc=edit_ty_20130620&_r=1

Before the 1980s, C.E.O. pay, according to Alan Krueger, the chairman of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers was set with close attention to norms of fairness, so that the range of compensation between janitors and top executives was kept within limits. This “social compact began to fray in the 1980s,” Krueger, argued in a Cleveland speech. He provided a chart, showing “how labor compensation has failed to keep pace with productivity growth.”

In my opinion the groundwork is being laid that will result in the eventual weakening of the national and world economies. Eventually less money in the pockets of the consuming public means less demand for products. When savings are exhausted and borrowing has reached its limit who will buy the widgets?

Paul Hunter

A Sign Of The Times

 Dollar General to add 3 more stores in [Dayton] region

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/business/economy/dollar-general-to-add-3-more-stores-in-region/nfcrc/

An indicator of the growing disparity in the nation's wealth distribution. Even Walmart has become too pricey for the growing ranks of underpaid working Americans.

Wilmington is front and center of this trend. We have: Family Dollar, Dollar General, Dollar Tree etc.

We are adding jobs but, for the most part, they are low paying jobs that can force many workers to depend on the assistance of social services to provide for their families. Over 50% of Wilmington school's students qualify for free lunches.

Paul Hunter

Is The Fair Tax Really Fair?

An informed opinion:

Over the past several years the “Fair Tax (FT)” scheme has been pushed by some Libertarians and other right wing commentators as a means of eliminating the present income tax system.

Basically the tax is a national sales or consumption tax on all new goods and services consumed by all U. S. residents.

The claim of fairness comes from the fact that all residents pay the same tax for consumption. regardless of income.

a. The FT rate would be 23%-25% on all new goods and services.

b. The tax on first $25,000 worth of purchases would be rebated to all residents

c. The tax is revenue neutral in that the rates would be set to provide the same national revenue that the current income tax system provides.

d. An unproven theory holds that manufacturers would be able to offer goods at lower prices due to lower tax costs but even the theory ignores the fact that a large portion of goods come from overseas and would not be affected.

The problem: The tax burden is shifted to those households that spend all their earnings on taxable consumption and from those households that only spend a portion of their income on consumption. For example a family of four with a gross income of $50,000 would spend all of their income on goods and services. The same family with a $500,000 income would save and invest a significant amount of income and only pay taxes on the consumption portion.

I quick trip through the IRS Form 1040 tax schedule quickly reveals that the lower earner would see a significant increase in federal taxes while the more affluent would see a significant decrease.

In the end it's the same old regressive tax that is typical of all sales taxe ideas.

Regressive tax explained: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/regressivetax.asp

Some examples include gas tax and cigarette tax. For example, if a person has $10 of income and must pay $1 of tax on a package of cigarettes, this represents 10% of the person's income. However, if the person has $20 of income, this $1 tax only represents 5% of that person's income.

Sales taxes that apply to essentials are generally considered to be regressive as well because expenses for food, clothing and shelter tend to make up a higher percentage of a lower income consumer's overall budget. In this case, even though the tax may be uniform (such as 7% sales tax), lower income consumers are more affected by it because they are less able to afford it.

Paul Hunter