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In the year 2000, the Social Security trust funds are expected to show a surplus of revenues over expenditures of more than $100 billion. Because that money is lent directly to the Treasury, the consolidated budget deficit in the year 2000 will be that much smaller because of the trust funds.
So why go after Social Security? Because, you say, Social Security is a very big program and "[a]ny program contributes to the deficit when . . . spending less on it lowers the deficit." Thus, you reject the notion that we should respect the linkage between Social Security taxes and Social Security benefits.
That linkage, however, has been the key to Social Security's political longevity. The quasi-pension nature of the system has, at least so far, persuaded the best-off fifth of the population to pay for almost half the cost of the program in exchange for only about 20 percent of the promised benefits. Although you claim that it is "mind-boggling" to call this situation progressive, I think you're flat wrong. Social Security has succeeded in lifting millions of elderly people out of poverty in a dignified and sustainable way -- very unlike our degrading and declining welfare system. It has made retirement years much happier and less worrisome for millions more middle-income retirees. And it has achieved these impressive results precisely because its contributory, "entitlement" nature has assured its political viability.
So do I worry about "the tender sensibilities of Wall Street tycoons," as you charge? When it comes to sustaining their support for Social Security, the answer is yes -- and if your disdain for Social Security is any indication, perhaps I need to worry more. But do I think those tycoons should pay more of the cost of government? Yes again, but not by slashing their Social Security -- rather, by making the overall tax code more progressive.
Of course, not all is rosy in the entitlements area, as my article noted. In both the short-term and the long-term, public (and private) health care costs are rising far too rapidly to be sustainable. One of the major reasons we need comprehensive health reform -- which sadly is looking ever less likely -- is to put a lid on excessive health cost increases.
You raise the specter that health insurance reform would lead to sharp reductions in beneficial care. But a second central goal of health reform should be to make needed care available at appropriate times and circumstances. The idea that a reformed health insurance system can be both better and cheaper is not pie in the sky. No other industrialized nation in the world spends as much as we do on health care, yet our results in terms of the health of our population lag behind.
The Social Security retirement system also faces long-term problems that will have to be addressed. Twenty years from now, as baby boomers begin to retire in large numbers, taxes and benefits will have to be significantly adjusted if current guesses about the future economy prove to be correct. As I noted in my article, it would be imprudent not to plan ahead for these events. But you only confuse the debate when you insist on citing Social Security's long-term financial problems as a reason why Social Security benefits should be immediately slashed in order to balance the budget by the year 2000.
Your final point on tax and budget policy is to claim that the share of total income received by the rich is so low that it's impossible to raise enough money from progressive tax reform to make a serious dent in the deficit. Well, let's see. According to CBO's most recent count, the richest 1 percent has more total income than the bottom 40 percent and the top 5 percent makes more than the bottom 60 percent (the top fifth makes more than everyone else combined). So the well-off do get quite a large share of total income. That's why, contrary to your assertion, progressive taxes raise more money at any given top tax rate -- with lower taxes on most families -- than do regressive taxes.
According to your book, you want to raise about $200 billion a year in taxes by the year 2000 from your various consumption taxes plus limits on mortgage interest deductions and employee health insurance exclusions. CTJ's working list of income tax reforms could raise at least as much. To illustrate, look only at corporate taxes: if U.S. corporate income taxes in the year 2000 were brought back to the same share of the GDP as they were in the 1960s, the corporate tax would generate $200 billion more in revenue in 2000 than is currently projected. Not every penny of that would ultimately come from high-income people, but because the corporate tax is very progressive, most of it would. If our corporate income taxes were as high a share of GDP as Japan's, the added revenue in the year 2000 would be about $500 billion. That ought to be enough to satisfy even the most rabid deficit-reduction hawk.
So, in conclusion, Pete, it's time to face up. Your "we will all have to sacrifice something -- according to our means" rhetoric simply doesn't match your program, which asks less than nothing from those most able to pay. You really should have to choose between the two. Which will it be?
Why do we need to change the names of existing substances? To reduce the risk of medication error. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will be in charge of altering selected substance names from British Approved Names (BANs) to International Non-Proprietary Names (rINNs) – the system set down by the World Health Organisation. The Government’s advisory body, the Medicines Commission, recommended the change because some substances are available under two names in UK medicines.
So PROs have work to do?
They will have a key role in ensuring that the relevant people know exactly what substances in their products are now called, since health professionals are being asked to start using rINNs by July. Pharma companies have until December to make the necessary changes to licences and product labelling. Where the rINN is not the active substance of the product, companies will have until December 2005 to reflect the changes.
Isn’t the Government overstating the problem?
In a lot of cases, the BAN and rINN of a product are exactly the same, so no difficulty there. But there are inconsistencies that could create mistakes when it comes to prescribing. That’s unlikely to be a problem between, say, amoxycillin and amoxicillin, but other names are unrelated, such as benzhexol and trihexphenidyl.
Why can’t manufacturers just put both names on packaging?
The consultation on this decided that would prolong confusion, and the industry has been moving towards rINNs anyway.
But these wouldn’t be proper health guidelines without some exceptions?
Spot on. Doctors are being told to continue using the BANs for adrenaline and noradrenaline, not least because they are so widely used in emergency medicine.
How do I know which substances are on the list?
A full list is on the MHRA website.
Ke$ha’s hot start hasn’t let up yet: “TiK ToK” stayed firmly planted at Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 for the eighth straight week. The Animal singer is now the first female artist since 1977 to have her debut single spend that much time consecutively atop the Hot 100, Reuters reports, with Debby Boone’s “You Light Up My Life” the last single to accomplish it. Boone’s debut single spent 10 weeks at Number One, so “TiK ToK” needs another three weeks at the top before another record is shattered.
It seems like only two tracks stand a chance of unseating “TiK ToK,” starting with Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Know,” which jumped from Number Eight to Number Three, marking the first time a country music band has made the Top Three since Lonestar’s “Amazed” in 2000. The other contender: The all-star 25th anniversary recording of “We Are the World,” which benefits Haiti relief efforts. That track, featuring Lil Wayne, Kanye West, the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson and dozens more, will debut tonight during NBC’s broadcast of the Winter Olympics’ Opening Ceremony.
Ke$ha is also responsible for the biggest digital single sales week by a female artist in history as “TiK ToK” was downloaded 610,000 times in the seven days following Christmas. The record for most digital sales in one week is currently held by Flo Rida’s “Right Round,” which features Ke$ha on the hook.
Indian top-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara played a blistering centurion knock of 130* runs to put India in a commanding position on Day One of the ongoing fourth and final Test against Australia here at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday.
Opting to bat first, India managed a total of 303 runs at a loss of four wickets by the end of Day One of the fourth Test.
India did not make the best of the starts on Day one as they lost their first wicket in the form of their opening batsman KL Rahul (9) in the second over of the match. Rahul edged an outgoing delivery of Australian pacer Josh Hazelwood which was caught easily by Shaun Marsh at the second slip.
After the initial jolt Indian innings was stabilised by Mayank Agarwal and Pujara. Together, they stitched a partnership of 116 runs to put India on the driving seat and made their opponents toil hard on the field.
Australia got the much-needed breakthrough in the 37th over of the match when their spin bowler Nathan Lyon gets better off Agarwal (77). The opening batsman gets enticed to play a shot off Lyon's short length delivery which landed straight in the hands of Mitchell Starc at the long on position.
The next batsman on the crease was Indian skipper Virat Kohli. The right-hand batsman, along with Pujara, added 54 runs to the team's total before being picked by Hazelwood at the score of 23 runs. Kohli tried to play a shot of length of delivery but the ball hits the skipper's gloves and Tim Paine caught him behind the stumps. This was twice in two innings that Kohli got out in this fashion.
At a time when India was losing some crucial wickets in the match, middle-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane walked down to the crease. At the score of 18 runs, Rahane also lost his wicket when a snorting bouncer puts the batsman in a tangle and brushed his top glove to go in the hands of keeper Paine who took an overhead catch.
After Rahane's departure, Pujara and Hanuma Vihari added collective 75 runs to solidify India's position in the match. Both are currently holding the crease for India at the respective scores of 39 and 130.
For Australia, Hazelwood emerged as the highest wickets taker on the day with two wickets in his kitty while Starc and Lyon contributed with one wicket each on Day One of the match.
India are leading the ongoing Test series 2-1 and are eying to clinch the final Test in order to register a historic Test series win in Australia.
Property tycoon Ron Medich, accused of murdering Sydney businessman Michael McGurk, has been released on bail from a Sydney prison.
Medich left the Silverwater prison complex in a silver Jaguar about 3.35pm (AEDT) today with two men believed to be members of his legal team.
The 62-year-old was expected to be released on Saturday but the process was delayed because authorities were unable to fit him with an electronic ankle tag at the time.
He has been charged with the September 2009 murder McGurk, who was killed by a single gunshot to the head outside his Cremorne home on Sydney's lower north shore.
Medich is one of five men charged in connection with Mr McGurk's killing, and one of three charged with murder.
Medich is alleged to have contracted out the killing.
On Friday, NSW Supreme Court Justice Derek Price granted Medich bail, saying the prosecution case against him was ‘‘not strong’’.
The accused murderer’s brother Roy Medich agreed to provide $1 million surety.
His bail conditions include that he live at a Bathurst Street address in the city, abide by a night-time curfew, report daily to police and not leave a restricted area of Sydney.
The father-of-six was fitted with the self-funded electronic tracking device which will alert police if he moves outside Sydney’s CBD or eastern suburbs.
Furthermore, he will have limited use of telephones.
Medich, whose matter is next due for mention at Sydney’s Central Local Court on January 27, made no comment to waiting media as he was driven from the prison.
Marvel Studios has finally debuted the first teaser trailer for Avengers: Infinity War. Since the very beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008, there has been a plan in place should all things succeed. Marvel has followed that plan, raking in box office dollars and praise in the process. With their seventeenth film (Thor: Ragnarok) now in theaters, many eyes have already turned to Infinity War - the culmination of the entire MCU to this point.
The hype has continued to build since the start of filming video showed several stars side by side on the Infinity War set, and only grew when descriptions of the D23 Infinity War trailer hit the 'Net. After over a four month wait, Marvel confirmed yesterday that the Infinity War teaser trailer would be arriving today. Now, the time has finally come for everyone to see what Infinity War is all about.
Marvel debuted the first teaser trailer for Infinity War this morning on GMA. Joe and Anthony Russo's third MCU directorial effort looks to deliver on all fronts thanks to their most impressive cast to date by far - not to mention Thanos (Josh Brolin), the villain who's been teased for years. Unfortunately for both Earth's Mightiest Heroes and the Guardians of the Galaxy, his arrival will test them like nothing before.
Expectations for the trailer were high, and it looks like Marvel Studios has matched and possibly exceeded them based on the initial reaction. There is plenty of new Infinity War footage that wasn't previously shown at either D23 or San Diego Comic-Con earlier this year, giving even those lucky people who saw that preview something new here. However, the trailer also leaves out a few scenes from the D23/SDCC preview - such as Thanos hurling pieces of a moon at the Avengers, Thor's first encounter with the Guardians of the Galaxy, and more.
Thankfully, there is plenty of time to see more from the movie, as even key characters like Hawkeye are not included in the footage. The focal point of the trailer is Thanos, and he's already making things difficult for the Avengers with only a few Infinity Stones. The trailer shows Loki giving him the Tesseract (aka the Space Stone) he took at the end of Thor: Ragnarok, but Thanos has also gained control of The Orb aka the Power Stone already, based on his gauntlet. The trailer even shows Corvus Glaive attempting to take the Mind Stone from Vision's head, but since it isn't featured in Thanos' glove, either that doesn't work out or Marvel is keeping the trailer semi-spoiler free by removing it from the Infinity Gauntlet.
All in all, the trailer is going to be a huge point of discussion for days to come, and early indications may show Marvel delivering on the promise of Thanos (and a great look for Josh Brolin's motion capture performance). There's plenty to dive into with the trailer, so stay tuned to Screen Rant for the full breakdown, theories, and more!
There’s practically no end the to the number of smartwatches, fitness bands, and health trackers that’ll measure the steps you’ve walked, the calories you’ve burned, the metric distance you’ve covered, and even the maximum heart rate you’ve achieved in a day. But few collate that data into a single, easy-to-understand metric. It’s tough to tell exactly how intensely you’ve been working out from calories burned alone, and that’s where Garmin’s new Forerunner 735XT sports tracker, which replaces the company’s aging 920XT, comes in.
The Garmin Forerunner 735XT is in many ways unremarkable. It’s got all the standard components you’d expect in a modern-day sports tracker, including a GPS and Garmin’s in-house Elevate optical heart rate monitor. It provides fitness feedback on a variety of activities like running, swimming, hiking, cross-country skiing, and cycling; and can track your restful sleep. But the Forerunner stands out from the crowd in one important respect: It’s the first smartwatch to feature fitness platform Strava’s “Suffer Score,” a measure of physical masochism calculated by comparing your elevated heart rate during a workout to your resting baseline. The larger the delta between heart rate zones and the longer you maintain it, the higher your score.
“The deeper you dig, the longer you can hold on, the higher the Suffer Score,” Strava explains on its website.
No fitness tracker would be complete without bells and whistles, of course, and the Forerunner’s got those in spades. It’ll show incoming notifications, calls, emails, and text messages from a Bluetooth-connected phone, plus let you control music playback. It pairs with Garmin’s Connect IQ store for a steady supply of new watch faces and apps; syncs your data with Garmin’s online fitness service; and, if you so choose, lets you share your most impressive workouts publicly and compete against friends. And it’s compatible with Garmin’s Vector pedal tracking, Varia radar accessories, and a chest strap that’ll feed granular data like stride length, vertical ratio, and ground contact time balance to your Garmin fitness profile.
Those features command a hefty premium. The Forerunner 735XT starts at $450 — presumably high enough to elevate most people’s Suffer Score. It’s available in soft silicon black/gray or blue/frost blue combinations, and lasts up to 11 days on a charge (or 16 hours if you’re using it to train).
Remember that New Year's resolution about getting in shape?
Time to make good on it.
The 2011 Valley Runner of the Year Series kicks off Saturday with the Break the Barriers Dream Run at Woodward Park.
"I hear it all the time over the winter, 'I gained a few pounds and need to start running,' " series organizer Ken Takeuchi said.
At the series' end, the top finishers in each category are honored at a champions' breakfast.
Winners from 2010 were J.K. Lundberg of Fresno (men's open), Becky Cutler of Fresno (women's open), Joe Amendt of Clovis (men's masters), Molly Friel of Fresno (women's masters), Nestor Ayala of Coalinga (men's seniors) and Valerie Zacharchuk of Fresno (women's seniors).
Amendt was the only repeat winner from 2009.
"That's a good sign," Takeuchi said. "It gives everyone the chance to run for a championship."
All series races double as charity events. Proceeds from Saturday's Dream Run provide scholarships for local families and to expand Break the Barriers' Buddy Program in area schools.
Besides the 6-mile main event at 8:05 a.m., worth 20 series points, there is a 2-mile run open to walkers and wheelchair users and three kids' races.
Registration is $15 until Friday or $20 on race day beginning at 6:15 a.m. at the Mt. View Shelter. Details: runthedream.com.
Accepting a North Korea with a reduced nuclear arsenal may be the best course of action.
The United States Defense Intelligence Agency has concluded that North Korea does not intend to yield all of its nuclear weapons. Yet the administration is proceeding as if nothing was amiss, which may be the best strategy. Although Washington and Pyongyang’s neighbors might have had trouble living with the nuclear North Korea on display last fall, the world should get along just fine if the North turns out to be a version of Pakistan.
The DIA report, described by the usual unnamed officials to the Washington Post, concluded that despite Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un’s summit appearance, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea does not intend to turn over its entire nuclear arsenal. In fact, this conclusion was already essentially the consensus of most experts who has ever dealt with the North Korea issue, even before hearing the DIA’s opinion.
Also, the agency believes that Pyongyang has a secret uranium enrichment facility. DPRK officials are thought to be downplaying the number of North Korean nuclear weapons, which some U.S. intelligence officials believe could be as high as sixty-five. Additionally, the DIA warned that Pyongyang is considering how to conceal any undeclared warheads as “denuclearization” proceeds.
All very hard to prove, but frankly, it would be surprising if it was not true. Indeed, it may be the best strategy the Kim government could follow. Pyongyang could turn over a sizable number of warheads, say twenty, and claim they to constitute North Korea’s entire arsenal. They will declare what is obvious and allow inspections, while carefully hiding and disguising the rest.
That number should be enough to win the administration kudus in Washington and the North sanctions relief at the United Nations. But North Korea will secretly keep the rest, say forty-five if the DIA’s numbers are right, and add more over time if s secret fissile production plant exists. North Korea would never admit anything, but also wouldn’t worry if deception is suspected. After all, Pyongyang would enjoy plausible possession of a deterrent without appearing to pose a significant threat to anyone. Furthermore, all of this would happen while they enjoy the economic benefits of joining the rest of the world.
In fact, North Korea’s behavior suggests that this could have been Kim’s strategy. Last fall President Trump could plausibly threaten war against the North. Even the most outlandish claim about the Hermit Kingdom was assumed to be true. The regime started the Korean war and has a long history of turning the peninsula’s peculiar cold war briefly hot multiple times. For instance, North Korea seized an American spy ship, the U.S.S. Pueblo, in international waters and blew up a South Korean airliner. Pyongyang also kidnapped Japanese and South Korean citizens, and as late as 2010 sank a South Korean naval vessel and bombarded a South Korean island, all while routinely threatening its neighbors and America with nuclear annihilation.
Kim Jong-il, the current ruler’s father who favored bouffant hair, platform shoes, and oversize sunglasses, was easily caricatured in the film Team America. Even more so did Kim Jong-un created his own stereotype, by executing his uncle, assassinating his half-brother, terrorizing those who served under him, and threatening to nuke America. Although those who studied the issue did not believe any of the Kims were suicidal, average Americans were more likely to view the leadership as crazy, irrational, and dangerous.
Kim has created a new North Korea. For instance, after the summit, the regime eliminated anti-U.S. propaganda, which was a highlight on both my visits to the North. Equally dramatic is Kim’s new image of reasonableness, a statesman comfortable on the international stage.
As this year dawned, he talked peace and diplomacy. Kim took his place on the international stage with class, demonstrating spontaneity and charm. He met three times with Chinese President Xi Jinping, twice with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and once with President Trump. He has received an invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin, and a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also may be in the offing.
Equally important, there have been no additional North Korean threats to turn cities into lakes of fire, no geopolitical trash talk, and no more missile or nuclear tests. The North remains remote and mysterious, but no longer appears dangerous.
Let’s assume this continues. Indeed, imagine if North Korea joins international development organizations, expands diplomatic relationships, increases foreign trade, and welcomes more tourists. At the same time, Pyongyang goes through the motions of denuclearization. Summits are held, agreements are signed, toasts are made. The new, responsible North Korea will be on display.
Besides, even if multiple intelligence services suspected that some number of North Korean nukes remained after formal "denuclearization," there probably would be no smoking mushroom cloud. So what could the U.S. administration do?
No one would want to admit that one of the president’s chief foreign policy initiatives was a failure. Reconstructing the sanctions regime alone might be to attempt the impossible after North Korea has been integrated into global trade. Imagine trying to win popular support in America for war against a country that posed no obvious threat and which many Americans would remember having been described by the president as a friend and partner.
It would be easiest to go with the public fiction and celebrate the fantastic step forward for world peace. Privately, Washington would make explicit any use of nuclear weapons against America would be met with massive retaliation and America would encourage allies to create non-nuclear deterrents. Moreover, the United States would seek further progress on conventional arms control, border issues, and other potential threats of conflict.
This is why it helps to think of North Korea as similar to say Pakistan, but without religion. A slightly unsettling place with nuclear weapons, but not one seen as particularly threatening. Although no one familiar with Islamabad’s internal politics wants that government to possess an arsenal of around 120 to 130 warheads, people who think of Pakistan typically don't fixate on the fact that it is a nuclear state. Only when India and Pakistan risk colliding, do their neighbors worry about what might result. But other countries don’t believe Islamabad would shoot their nuclear weapons at them. Certainly not the United States, which has no reason to be targeted by the Pakistani authorities.
Of course, America should pursue real denuclearization with North Korea. And maybe Kim has had a genuine conversion and really wants to get rid of his troublesome arsenal. But not likely. Even without the DIA report, there aren’t many people who are familiar with the North who believe that to be the case.
Which means America will almost certainly end up with a second-best result—that is, something short of denuclearization. But much good still could be done, and that is an improvement. For instance, ending testing, shrinking the North’s arsenal, and reducing common triggers to war all would make the region and world a safer place.
Eliminating North Korea’s nuclear weapons would be good but preventing another Korean War is essential. The DIA report reminds America that succeeding on the second might mean failing on the first.
Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. A former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, he is the author of Tripwire: Korea and U.S. Foreign Policy in a Changed World and coauthor of The Korean Conundrum: America’s Troubled Relations with North and South Korea.
Peter Madoff had agreed when he pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy and falsifying the books and records of an investment adviser that he would not challenge a 10-year sentence.
Peter Madoff faces some of the heartbroken investors who lost their savings when Bernie Madoff's fraud was revealed four years ago this month.
Apple submitted the list after a jury found Samsung copied the iPhone and iPad in creating and marketing the products.
That boosts Apple Inc.'s market capitalization by $18 billion. If the stock stays at that level in regular trading, it will also be a new all-time high for the company.
Apple Corp. argues that Samsung Electronics Co. should pay the Cupertino-based company $2.5 billion for ripping off its iPhone and iPad technology when it marketed competing devices.
Battered Women's Hotline is located at 1035 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA. This location is in the Wellington - Harrington neighborhood. This business specializes in Social Services.
Battered Women's Hotline can be found at Massachusetts Ave 669. The following is offered: Social Services. The entry is present with us since Sep 9, 2010 and was last updated on Nov 14, 2013. In Cambridge there are 31 other Social Services. An overview can be found here.
Two Franklin County teams placed in the 2018 District 3 5A tournament.
Two Franklin County boys basketball teams found themselves on Wednesday evening at Mechanicsburg High School, both already with state playoff tickets in hand and simply playing for seeding.
Here's a breakdown of each team's final game, and how they're feeling after rigorous tournament runs.
After two straight losses and a normally strong-shooting starting lineup going cold, Greencastle-Antrim desperately needed a strong performance in its final game before state playoffs.
Despite some adversity, the Blue Devils returned to form on Wednesday night, hitting 11 threes a victory that clinched seventh in the 5A tournament.

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