Juanga: El Divo de Juarez - Esta Noche Voy a Verla

A Tribute

Juan Gabriel Rancheras

Another Tribute!

A Radical (Re)Thinking | Poverty: The Biggest Problem In The World

Rethinking Poverty

August 19, 2016

• Poverty the biggest problem in the world
• More money needed to help poor
• Direct transfers more efficient than subsidies

Anti-poverty programs often fail because of an inadequate understanding of poverty by policymakers. So argues Abhijit Banerjee, Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who has worked in dozens of countries to better study the economics of poverty. In a recent podcast interview, Banerjee talked about this main theme in his book, Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty.

Professor Banerjee also shared his views on policies to help the poor in a panel discussion on sustainable economic development in low-income developing countries , during the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in April 2016.

Excerpts:

 IMF News: Why do we know so little about the more than one billion poor people in the world?
Banerjee: Well, it is very expensive to collect data. To be honest, there are a billion poor people in the world, but how many of us would live next door to them? So, we don’t see them. They are mostly invisible except in their most extreme manifestations—you see the person who is begging in the street, or the person who has made it out of poverty and can tell his own story . . .

IMF News : You also speak a lot about poverty traps. Do you think there are circumstances in which people or groups of people do, in fact, find themselves trapped in poverty?
Banerjee: There are two answers to that question.
One is: do I believe it is true? Yes, I believe it’s true.
Do I have any very well-founded reason to believe it’s true? Much harder question. I would say the evidence on these interventions—which help people today and many years later they are still richer—suggests that there might be a trap [for the poor], because if there wasn’t one, you would think that [the people who were helped] would fall back [into poverty].
If it were the case that some people are doomed to be who they are and some people are just poor because they are unskilled or undisciplined or not hardworking enough, then you would imagine that you couldn’t get them out of poverty by doing something today, because tomorrow they will still be lazy and will go back to where they belong. I think the evidence suggests that this is not true, that many people are in a situation where, if given an opportunity, they would be in a different place.

Source: http://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2016/08/19/NA081916-Rethinking-Poverty

Wake Up Mesa! How To Take Acton > Attacking Head-On Current Development Patterns

10 STEPS TO A STRONG(ER) TOWN
August 29, 2016 by Andrew Burleson

Last names oftentimes say a lot -like your MesaZona bloggers : Mello(w) . . .
We often talk about cities needing to change their current development pattern, but we usually offer gentle suggestions intended to prod towns in the right direction a little at a time.
What if we attacked this problem head-on instead?
The author of this article hits it right in the head e.g..read the details
Excerpts from this source:
http://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2016/8/26/10-steps-to-fix-a-city


1. Don't issue any new bonds until the city's current debts are fully paid off.
2. Don't accept unfunded maintenance obligations.
3. Throw out your parking ordinances. 
4. Don't permit greenfield development when existing infrastructure is highly underutilized.
5. Require buildings to front the street.
6. Dramatically simplify your zoning.
7. Dramatically simplify your traffic hierarchy.
8. Stop building stroads.
9. Set a maximum block perimeter of 2000' and enforce it.

10. Fire anyone on staff who believes the above is unworkable.

In today’s municipal world the professionals are a big part of the problem. There are plenty of good people out there who could work well within the constraints above. If the people in your city staff don’t think that’s possible, then the city needs new staff.

----

Each one of these actions marks a dramatic departure from the norm for most places. Take even one of these steps and your town is on its way to becoming stronger. Take them all and you might just have a truly strong town on your hands.

Want another way to assess your city's strength and build a better place? Take the Strong Towns Strength Test.

Army GeoSpatial Center Gets DSM-10 Digital Surface Modeling For An Entire Country from Single- Source Contract Award

U.S. Government Awards Vricon Sole-Source Contract
August 26, 2016 09:32 ET

MCLEAN, VA--(Marketwired - August 26, 2016) - Vricon was awarded a General Services Administration (GSA) contract to support the Army Geospatial Center (AGC) with 10-meter and 0.5-meter geospatial data. Vricon's mission is to build The Globe in 3D by producing photorealistic 3D products and digital elevation models with unmatched coverage and delivery timelines.
Under the contract, Vricon will provide AGC with DSM-10 -- a digital surface model (DSM) with 10-meter postings -- for an entire country. Vricon also will provide the Vricon Data Suite -- a bundle of products that includes Vricon 3D Surface Model, Vricon DSM, Vricon Point Cloud, and Vricon True Ortho -- for specific areas around the world. All Vricon Data Suite products possess a 0.5-meter resolution.

"This is a tremendous award for Vricon," said Magnus Brege, CEO of Vricon. "It validates the quality of our products and the importance of our global coverage. Moreover, the US Government recognized our pricing model as 'extremely affordable' -- we create this value through our unique automated processing techniques that help keep costs down while maintaining superior accuracy."
To learn more about Vricon, visit www.vricon.com.
About VriconVricon serves the global professional geospatial market with world-leading 3D geodata and 3D visualization solutions. Vricon is headquartered in McLean, Virginia. For further information, visit http://www.vricon.com.

Contact Information

Vricon Media Contact
• Craig Brower
  +1 (703) 283-4588
  media@vricon.com

Train Pie - What's The Actual News???

Gotta wonder sometimes what the stories in the news are - any ACTUAL NEWS?... Jonathan Pie on a train and here in Mesa it was the One-Year Anniversary for Valley Metro Light Rail into downtown Mesa, observed with a Tweet from City Manager Chris Brady, with Mesa Mayor John Giles observing the momentous occasion by re-Tweeting the same thing . . . now that's Leadership, huh?

Published on Aug 28, 2016

Views: 4,804

Corbin v Branson: A rare insight into Jonathan Pie's off air persona.

RightWing ALEC Really Likes AZ Gov Doug Ducey

State of the States
An Analysis of the 2016 Governors’ Addresses

About the ALEC Center for State Fiscal Reform 
The ALEC Center for State Fiscal Reform strives to educate those who share a commitment to our principles and shared goals and to educate our legislative members on how to achieve greater economic prosperity by outlining which policies work and which ones fail.
How does ALEC do this? By "briefings" if you ever wondered why you get the same "newspeak" from states all the country, or why the same legislative initiatives appear in all those same states - ALEC = the source.
This is done by personalized research, policy briefings in the states and by releasing nonpartisan policy publications for distribution such as

• Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index;
• The Unseen Costs of Tax Cronyism: Favoritism and Foregone Growth;
• Tax Myths Debunked;
• Keeping the Promise: State Solutions for Government Pension Reform
• The State Budget Reform Toolkit. 

 Managing Editors:  

• Theodore Lafferty  Legal Research Analyst, Center for State Fiscal Reform  American Legislative Exchange Council 
• Jonathan Williams  Vice President, Center for State Fiscal Reform  American Legislative Exchange Council    

Contributing Authors:  

• Joe Horvath Research Analyst, Center for State Fiscal Reform American Legislative Exchange Council 
• Jack King Summer Research Associate, Center for State Fiscal Reform American Legislative Exchange Council 
• Theodore Lafferty Legal Research Analyst, Center for State Fiscal Reform American Legislative Exchange Council 
• John R. Richardson Summer Research Associate, Center for State Fiscal Reform American Legislative Exchange Council 
• Kati Siconolfi  Legislative Manager, Center for State Fiscal Reform  American Legislative Exchange Council  
• Jonathan Williams  Vice President, Center for State Fiscal Reform  American Legislative Exchange Council    

Introduction  In 2016, 44 governors across America delivered State of the State addresses. These addresses included numerous economic policy proposals that will affect the states’ economic competitiveness.
This report observes and analyzes the economic policy proposals discussed in each governor’s State of the State address. In those states where no State of the State address was given, the equivalent inaugural or budget address is discussed when applicable. Also included are special session addresses that had significant discussions of economic policy.  
A number of different trends and priorities regarding economic policy were observed when reviewing these addresses.
1. Following a similar trend observed in the majority of 2015 State of the State addresses, many governors focused a considerable portion of their addresses on the issue of tax relief. 2. For the second year in a row, more governors proposed reducing taxes to facilitate economic growth than governors who proposed increasing taxes. 
3. Aside from tax proposals, many governors discussed a number of different policy topics which, while less directly related, can still significantly affect state economies.
Some of the most important of these issues included pension reform, expanding or shrinking Medicaid, changes to the state’s minimum wage and government efficiency.  
4. The majority of governors seem to understand that lower tax rates and limited government give citizens and businesses a greater incentive to reside and operate in their states compared to others with higher tax rates and more regulations.
 
This concept is further explored in the Center for State Fiscal Reform’s Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index, in which years of economic data and empirical evidence from each state are examined in order to determine what economic policies lead to prosperity.
1. Generally, states with lower tax rates, fewer regulations and responsible spending habits outperform other states in terms of economic growth.
2. Based on the observations made in reviewing the 2016 State of the State addresses, many governors are following these policies to help their states better compete for residents, jobs and capital.  

Best and Worst State of the State Addresses, 2016 
The following lists contain the best and worst State of the State addresses of 2016, based on the economic policy proposals included in each address.
The “best” addresses include proposals that are proven to enhance economic competitiveness and growth, while the “worst” addresses include proposals that are proven to hinder economic competitiveness and growth.
The addresses are ordered by the state’s economic outlook ranking in the 9th edition of Rich States, Poor States

On top of the list - and best - The State of Arizona, beating out Florida Governor Smith and  in third place Maine's loud-mouthed Governor LePage

Best : Arizona – Governor Doug Ducey 
Rich States, Poor States 2016 Economic Outlook Ranking: 5 
 “A year later, the big spenders who told us we couldn’t balance the budget, are beating the drum—celebrating our hard work with plans to spend and party like it’s 1999. Some people never learn, no matter how much their heads hurt in the morning.” 
Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona delivered one of the most impressive State of the State addresses this year, emphasizing the need to continue on a path toward greater prosperity and freedom by eliminating waste and getting government out of the way of businesses and residents.
The governor lauded his proposed budget which responsibly prioritized government spending in areas such as education, child safety and public safety.
In addition, he stated the budget does not raise taxes and promised the legislature and the people of Arizona that “we will lower taxes this year. Next year. And the year after.” 

• While continuing to highlight the success Arizona has had under his administration, Governor Ducey emphasized that the state cannot go back to their old spending habits which previously led them down a path of economic decline. The policies put in place under Governor Ducey’s leadership have led to an Arizona that isn’t just strong, but on the rise, with Arizona ranking 5 in the 2016 Rich States, Poor States economic outlook rankings

• 
  About the American Legislative Exchange Council 
  The 2016 State of the States Report was published by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) as part of its mission to discuss, develop and disseminate model public policies that promote limited government, free markets and federalism. ALEC is the nation’s largest non-partisan, voluntary membership organization of state legislators, with more than 2,000 members across the nation. ALEC is governed by a Board of Directors of state legislators. ALEC is classified by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, public policy and educational organization. Individuals, philanthropic foundations, businesses and associations are eligible to support the work of ALEC through taxdeductible gifts.  Acknowledgements and Disclaimers 
  The authors wish to thank Lisa Nelson, Bill Meierling, Nathan Brinkman, Ashley Varner, Shana Sally, Christine Phipps, Christine Smith, Elliot Young and the professional staff at ALEC for their valuable assistance with this project. 
  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without the prior permission of the publisher. The copyright to this work is held by the American Legislative Exchange Council. This study may not be duplicated or distributed in any form without the permission of the American Legislative Exchange Council and with proper attribution.  
  Contact Information:  American Legislative Exchange Council  2900 Crystal Drive, Suite 600  Arlington, VA 22202  Tel: 703.373.0933  Fax: 703.373.0927