2 lawyers wrote their own meal ticket

The Nashua Telegraph runs an AP story on one of the most egregious cases of rent-seeking I've ever seen.

Every lawsuit filed or even threatened under a California law aimed at electing more minorities to local offices - and all of the roughly $4.3 million from settlements so far - can be traced to just two people: a pair of attorneys who worked together writing the statute, The Associated Press has found. The law makes it easier for lawyers to sue and win financial judgments in cases arising from claims that minorities effectively were shut out of local elections, while shielding attorneys from liability if the claims are tossed out.

The law was drafted mainly by Seattle law professor Joaquin Avila, with advice from lawyers including Robert Rubin, legal director for the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area. Avila, Rubin's committee and lawyers working with them have collected or billed local governments about $4.3 million in three cases that settled, and could reap more from two pending lawsuits.

Basically, these two daring entrepreneurs decided to go into the subsidy farming business in California. They push through a law that not only forces local governments to write them fat settlement checks, but also shields them from the consequnces of frivilous lawsuits. Win-Win, for them.

Clunker pickups traded for new pickups

The Associated Press does some old-fashioned investigation and finds that the Cash for Clunkers program help pick-up owners trade-in their gas-guzzling trucks, for new trucks.

The single most common swap — which occurred more than 8,200 times — involved Ford F150 pickup owners who took advantage of a government rebate to trade their old trucks for new Ford F150s. They were 17 times more likely to buy a new F150 than, say, a Toyota Prius. The fuel economy for the new trucks ranged from 15 mpg to 17 mpg based on engine size and other factors, an improvement of just 1 mpg to 3 mpg over the clunkers.

Owners of thousands more large old Chevrolet and Dodge pickups bought new Silverado and Ram trucks, also with only barely improved mileage in the middle teens, according to AP's analysis of sales of $15.2 billion worth of vehicles at nearly 19,000 car dealerships in every state. Those deals helped the Ford F150 and Chevy Silverado — along with Ford's Escape midsize SUV — climb into the Top 10 most-popular vehicles purchased with the government rebates. The most common truck-for-truck and truck-for-SUV deals totaled at least $911 million.

I've been describing the Cash for Clunkers program as a boondoogle, but I'm beginning to think debacle is bit more on the nose. What do you think?

AP: NH's workers sue to get 'bumping' rights back

The Union Leader runs the AP story on the State Employees Association going to court to restore bumping rights for senior state workers.

The State Employees' Association filed suit Thursday in Merrimack County Superior Court arguing that the Legislature violated senior workers' constitutionally protected contract rights when it suspended bumping rights as part of the budget.

The union argues bumping rights are protected for employees with at least 10 years experience even though bumping is part of personnel rules, not in the union's contract with the state. The union says senior workers have an expectation of the right as part of their overall compensation.

New Hampshire governors from both parties have tried with little success to get rid of bumping rights, which prevent allow highly-paid employees to take the jobs of more junior colleagues if they get laid off. The practice delays the savings from any layoffs, possibly forcing more drastic cuts down the line, and sets off a chain on demotions through state government.

Lynch tells his side of union dispute to voters

The Union Leader runs an AP article reporting that Governor John Lynch is emailing New Hampshire voters about the layoffs he announced last week.

Gov. John Lynch has sent an electronic letter to New Hampshire voters explaining why he ordered roughly 250 layoffs last week after state workers rejected a furlough plan.

Lynch said that New Hampshire's economy is in better shape than some states, but state spending still had to be cut. He said the state budget required him to cut $25 million in labor costs. He said state workers got a 10 percent pay raise over two years and he asked them to give back part with 19 unpaid furlough days.

Setting the wrong kind of records

The Concord Monitor rans an AP article chronicling the staggering amount by which the federal budget deficit set a new record.

The federal budget deficit has surged to an all-time high of $1.42 trillion as the recession caused tax revenues to plunge while the government was spending massive amounts to stabilize the financial system and jump-start the economy.

The imbalance for the budget year ended Sept. 30, more than tripled last year's record. The Obama administration projects deficits will total $9.1 trillion over the next decade unless corrective action is taken.

As a portion of the economy, the budget deficit stood at 10 percent, the highest since World War II, according to government data released yesterday.

Union suspects activists targeted in NH layoffs

The Union Leader runs Holly Ramer's AP piece citing union allegations that correction officers are being laid off in retaliation for union activism.

The governor's office has declined to specify which departments and workers are affected, but some agencies and the union representing most of the state's 11,500 workers have been providing numbers as workers are notified.

Thursday's update included 37 workers laid off from the Department of Corrections, plus at least 20 who were reassigned or demoted. Twenty workers were laid off from the Youth Development Center in Manchester, said Mike Barwell, spokesman for the State Employees Association.

A number of the corrections workers have been vocal participants in union activities, Barwell said, and union officials are looking into whether they may have been singled out for that reason.

NH Supreme Court hears JUA case

The Concord Monitor runs Norma Love's AP preview of today oral arguments in the JUA case at the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

The policyholders, who include doctors and medical providers, also argue that if the state takes the $110 million and the fund fails to retain enough reserves to pay claims, their costs would be driven up to cover the claims.

Kevin Fitzgerald, the policyholders' lawyer, argues that the constitution requires the state to pay compensation if it takes property, but that can't happen if the property is money.

"If the state takes $1, it has to pay $1 for it. At the end of the day, it can't take it," Fitzgerald said last week.

The state is arguing that it set up the fund, the Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Association, in 1975 to fill a gap in the availability of malpractice insurance and did not give policyholders a vested interest in any surplus.

NH House to hear and talk about taxes

The Nashua Telegraph runs the Associated Press preview of next week's Tax Summit at the State House.

The Ways and Means Committee sessions will be Oct. 21 and Oct. 22. Participants will be asked to address the current situation and what they perceive the revenue structure would be in the future. Guest presenters will also be asked what they like and dislike about the current tax structure and how they would change it.

NH legislators to propose repealing tax on campers

The Union Leader runs an AP piece on efforts to repeal the recently enacted 9% tax on campgrounds.

Campgrounds were added to the state's rooms and meals tax in June. The tax, which went into effect July 1, applies to recreational-vehicle and tent-sites.

Many campers protested the tax. Greg Pitman, director of the New Hampshire Campground Owners Association, told the Conway Daily Sun that his association was angered by how hastily the tax was enacted.

Monopoly of Information is always a bad idea

The State Employees Association is so upset that the Governor wants to share his side of ongoing contract dispute that they are filing an unfair labor practices complaint, according to the AP's Holly Ramer, published online by the Union Leader.

At issue is an e-mail Lynch sent to department heads framing the tentative contract between the State Employees' Association and the state as a choice between furloughs if the agreement is ratified and layoffs if it's rejected. Lynch encouraged department heads to share it with employees, prompting union complaints that he was trying to influence the vote. Lynch's spokesman said the governor was just trying to answer questions from agency heads.

The union apparantly wants to be the sole source of information to state employees prior to the October 12th vote that will determine whether most state employees are forced to take unpaid furloughs, or 750 state employees will lose their jobs. The union is free to counter the Governor's arguments and urge the defeat of the contract, but it shouldn't try to keep employees from even hearing both sides of the issue.

The Union Leader runs an AP update on the I-93 widening project that has been delayed for years by environmental lawsuits.

After a series of delays, the Interstate 93 widening project is back on track in New Hampshire with some bridge and roadwork expected to be done by next year.

Construction is currently focusing on exit 3 in Windham. The goal is to add additional lanes and longer ramps and give drivers less of a curve to navigate.

The I-93 project is a classic example of opponents of a construction project using convoluted federal laws to block in court what they couldn't stop politically. The environmental impact paperwork requirements are so vague and byzantine that there will always be grounds for nearly endless review. The review process needs to be streamlined. There's a place for the courts to review if state and local governments are complying with the law, but the courts should not be used as a stalling tactic to drive up the cost and the wait of public works projects.

NH employee unoin, state continue contract talks

The Union Leader runs an AP update on contract talks between the state and state employees.

New Hampshire's largest employee union and the state return to the bargaining table Wednesday to try again to negotiate a contract and avoid at least 750 workers being laid off.

Trade war unlikely between 2 powers

The Nashua Telegraph runs an AP piece looking at the fallout from the Obama Administration's decision to impose import tariffs on Chinese tires.

China quickly took its case to the World Trade Organization after President Barack Obama ordered steep additional U.S. tariffs on Chinese tires for three years, including 35 percent in the first year. The increases come on top of the current 4 percent tariff.

For China, barriers on its exports to the U.S. mean job losses at home. Still, private economists say they expect both sides to avoid a conflict that would harm producers in each country.

"The big message from China to the United States is think twice, think three times before repeating this kind of relief for a U.S. industry because if you do this again, we are going to hit you again," said Gary Hufbauer, a trade expert at the Peterson Institute, a Washington think tank.

Leaders of a people's veto effort to overturn Maine's newly enacted tax law changes plan to turn in petitions seeking a referendum to state election o

The Portsmouth Herald runs an AP story on efforts to rescind new taxes in Maine.

Leaders of a people's veto effort to overturn Maine's newly enacted tax law changes plan to turn in petitions seeking a referendum to state election officials on Friday.

The Republican-led campaign called Still Fed Up With Taxes needs to turn in more than 55,000 certified voters' signatures in order to force a June 2010 referendum.

We would certainly miss Maine as a valued member of the New Hampshire Economic Recovery Coalition if this effort succeeds in reducing taxes over the border.

SEA kinda, sorta coming back to bargaining table, maybe

The Nashua Telegraph runs an AP report that the State Employees Association will decide tonight whether to resume stalled negotiations about a new contract.

Leaders of New Hampshire’s largest employee union are meeting to discuss whether to keep negotiating over the latest contract proposal, end talks or send the proposed agreement to union members with the recommendation they vote it down.

Talks broke off last week following a tentative agreement between the union and the state. That increases the chances that Gov. John Lynch will lay off at least 750 state workers to achieve a required $25 million in personnel costs.

It's worth noting that because of the "Evergreen Clause", the SEA has no real incentive to sign a new contract or accept any cuts. The only leverage Governor John Lynch has to force a deal is to start laying people off. Otherwise, every day taht goes by makes it less likely that he can meet the $25 million savings mandated in the state budget.

Union drafts furlough pact

The Concord Monitor runs an AP story that the State Employees Assocation has reached a tentative forlough deal to take 18 days off, without pay, over the next two years.

If ratified by State Employees Association of New Hampshire members, the deal would avoid 750 layoffs in state government.

The first of 12 state government shutdowns would occur Oct. 12, according to the union.

The tentative shutdown dates were agreed upon Friday evening during talks between the union and the governor's office, said union spokeswoman Diana Lacey. The union agreed to the dates for the shutdowns after examining how they would affect public services and the employees who would have to absorb the loss of pay, she said.

AP IMPACT: Politics can drive stimulus priorities

Earlier the month public officials in northern New Hampshire spoke out publicly against spending $14 Million to upgrade the US border crossing in Pittsburg. Coos County Commissioner Bing Judd put it this way:

"There are roads and bridges up here that desperately need to be fixed. Among them is a bridge over the Connecticut River that is so bad off that fire trucks can no longer cross it. That bridge could be fixed for a lot less than $14 million, but instead Obama's "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" is going to spend that much on a new facility at one of the least-used border crossings we have." (more)

At the time people couldn't understand why the government was throwing money at a problem that didn't exist. Now Yahoo News has an article that may explain what's really going on.

By EILEEN SULLIVAN and MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writers
2009-08-26

WASHINGTON – A sleepy Montana checkpoint along the Canadian border that sees about three travelers a day will get $15 million under President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan. A government priority list ranked the project as marginal, but two powerful Democratic senators persuaded the administration to make it happen.

Despite Obama's promises that the stimulus plan would be transparent and free of politics, the government is handing out $720 million for border upgrades under a process that is both secretive and susceptible to political influence. This allowed low-priority projects such as the checkpoint in Whitetail, Mont., to skip ahead of more pressing concerns, according to documents revealed to The Associated Press.

It wasn't supposed to be that way. In 2004, Congress ordered Homeland Security to create a list, updated annually, of the most important repairs at checkpoints nationwide. But the Obama administration continued a Bush administration practice of considering other, more subjective factors when deciding which projects get money. (more)

Follow the Money

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune publishes an Associated Press report that political allies of President Obama are raking in cash from the ObamaCare Offensive.

Coalitions of interest groups running at least $24 million in pro-overhaul ads hired GMMB, which worked for Obama's 2008 campaign and whose partners include a top Obama campaign strategist. They also hired AKPD Message and Media, which was founded by David Axelrod, a top adviser to Obama's campaign and now to the White House. AKPD did work for Obama's campaign, and Axelrod's son Michael and Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe work there.

The firms were hired by Americans for Stable Quality Care and its predecessor, Healthy Economy Now. Each was formed by a coalition of interests with big stakes in health care policy, including the drug maker lobby PhRMA, the American Medical Association, the Service Employees International Union and Families USA, which calls itself "The Voice for Health Care Consumers."

The Obama Administration has scratched the back of Pharma, the SEIU, and the AMA. Now, they are returning the favor, with Obama's political allies taking a healthy cut off the top.

It's the Chicago way.

Supremes schedule next step in JUA Lawsuit

The Union Leader runs an AP story on the Supreme Court's scheduling of oral arguments in the JUA Lawsuit.

The New Hampshire Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments on Oct. 15 in a dispute between the state and medical providers over $110 million in a malpractice fund.

The state had asked the court to expedite the appeal. The court shaved two weeks off the time the state has to file its briefs but gave the medical providers the full 30 days it requested. (more)

SPIN METER: $3 billion buys not-so-green vehicles

USA Today has an interesting follow up story on the Cash for Clunkers program. The Department of Transportation has been extolling the success of the program but for some reason won't share the data behind those claims so that they can be verified.

By BRETT J. BLACKLEDGE, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON – Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the nation's top car salesman in recent weeks, has cited the Obama administration's best-seller list of mostly smaller, fuel-saving cars like the Ford Focus to describe the success of the Cash for Clunkers rebate program.

But what LaHood and other administration officials usually don't mention is that some trucks and sport-utility vehicles that get less than 20 miles per gallon, like the Ford F-150 truck and one version of the Cadillac SRX Crossover, also are being purchased with the new government subsidies. Both are bulky vehicles weighing more than 6,000 pounds when loaded that boast at least 248 horsepower.

Just how many consumers used the federal rebates to buy these larger, not-so-green vehicles is unclear. (more)