ALG's Daily Grind - NSA denies spying on U.S. citizens

May 13, 2013

NSA denies spying on U.S. citizens

NSA statement: "One of the biggest misconceptions about [the] National Security Agency is that we are unlawfully listening in on, or reading emails of, U.S. citizens. This is simply not the case."

IRS admits to targeting conservative groups like the Richmond Tea Party

IRS head of tax-exempt groups Lois Lerner: "That was wrong. That was absolutely incorrect, it was insensitive and it was inappropriate. That's not how we go about selecting cases for further review. The IRS would like to apologize for that."

Austerity versus growth a false choice

What if that spending apparently takes away resources from the private sector? Is government spending then truly a measure of economic health? A new ALG study investigates Keynes' chief claim.

Pethokoukis: Is the real US unemployment rate 11.3% or 7.5%?

"How much of the 2.7 percentage point drop in labor force participation since 2007 reflects structural forces rather than weak demand discouraging workers? Second, is the key structural element mostly the aging of the U.S. population or is it the shift of the workforce into Social Security disability?"

ALG's Daily Grind - Thomas Perez: Too Radical for Labor

May 7, 2013

Thomas Perez: Too Radical for Labor

In his capacity at the Justice Department, Thomas Perez tried to force the New York Fire Department to hire applicants who failed the written exam because he didn't like the racial composition of those who passed.

Cartoon: Cinco de Blameo

Obama's blame tour continues.

Establishment Beware: Lessons From the UK Elections

UK Independents surge to 23 percent of popular vote in British local elections, promise to challenge Tories and Labour in 2015. Is this a warning from across the pond to Republicans?

Woodhill: The Real Story Behind Friday's Unimpressive Unemployment Rate Decline

Trouble: "The number of people with full-time jobs fell by 212,000, while 382,000 Americans took part-time jobs, thus producing the reported 170,000 gain in total employment (which includes everyone who worked at all)."

ALG's Daily Grind - Behind the Unemployment Headlines

May 3, 2013

Behind the Unemployment Headlines

if the Labor Participation Rate had remained steady throughout the Obama years, a full 161 million Americans would be in the workforce and the unemployment rate would be at 10.8 percent. 

Cartoon: Still Finding out What's in it

Obamacare poll finds 42 percent of Americans don't know it's the law.

Labor Force Participation: An Historical Perspective

Continued declines in labor force participation are an indicator of continued weakness in the overall economy.

Daily Currant: Bloomberg Refused Second Slice of Pizza at Local Restaurant

Brooklyn pizzeria owner Antonio Benito to the health nut mayor: "We've decided that eating more than one piece isn't healthy for you, and so we're forbidding you from doing it."

Josiah Bartlett Center - Budgets, NH Unemployment, and the MTBE Lawsuit

Weekly Update from the
Josiah Bartlett Center

Keeping you up to date on our latest research
on the issues impacting New Hampshire

NH Budget Should be Fixed, Not Punted

New Hampshire’s budget experiences the greatest difficulty when short-term fixes solve nothing and merely delay decisions by creating a bigger hole for future legislatures to fix. A budget based on gimmicks and one-time unusual events does nothing to solve anything.

Every New Hampshire budget requires some decisions about which programs can be afforded with existing revenues and which must be curtailed. The weighing of competing options is the whole point of a budget. Programs are never evaluated in and of themselves. Instead, they are weighed against competing alternatives and the resources available... Click here to keep reading.

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NH's Newest Revenue Scheme: Sue the Unpopular!

On the MTBE Verdict

New Hampshire is getting really good at the shakedown.

Last week, a Merrimack County Superior Court jury found Exxon Mobil liable for contaminated well water with the gasoline additive MTBE and awarded the state $236 million, easily the largest jury verdict in New Hampshire history... Click here to keep reading

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NH Unemployment Falls in March

But not for the right reasons

Sound familiar? New Hampshire’s unemployment rate dropped from 5.8% to 5.7% in March, but not due to increased employment. According to the Household Survey Data, the number of unemployed fell by 360 people, resulting in the .1 percentage point drop. However, the number of employed residents increased only by 20, while the labor force shrank by 340... Click here to keep reading.

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The State's Online Checkbook

JBC's Transparency Project

With the budget process underway here in Concord are you curious where all that money is spent? Look no further than NHOpenGov. We have data on every last check the state wrote going back to 2009.... Click here to start looking!

AFPNH - 43,000

Granite State Gatherings April 18 - Monthly Meeting of the Manchester Republican Committee at NHIOP at St. Anselm College at 6PM. Click here for more information. April 18 - Hollis GOP meeting with Sen. Andy Sanborn at the Community Room at Hollis Town Hall at 7PM. Click here for more information. April 20 – Greg Moore at Mont Vernon Republicans Meeting at Chapanga’s Grille at 9AM. April 20 - New Hampshire Young Republicans Convention at New Hampshire Institute of Politics at 10AM. Click here for more information. April 20 - Grafton County GOP Lincoln-Reagan Luncheon w/ Fmr Sen. Scott Brown at Hanover Inn – Dartmouth at Noon. Click here for more information. April 21 - Rollinsford Democrats Breakfast Meeting at American Legion, 551 Foundry Street, Rollinsford at 9AM. Click here for more information.

The House-passed budget contained several business tax increases that are bad news for all of us as they will impede economic expansion and job creation.  As you know, just as we cannot tax our way to prosperity; we cannot create jobs by taxing the job-creators! We need your help to stop the House’s opposition to job creation in New Hampshire. I encourage you to contact your Senator and ask them to remove these job-killing measures contained in the House budget. CLICK HERE to find your Senator and their contact information right away. Among the anti-job creation measures in the House passed budget were: An increase the Business Enterprise Tax (BET), which was scheduled to see its exemption increase by 25%, as well as to be indexed for inflation; and An increase in the Business Profits Tax (BPT) by reducing the loss carry forward and extending BET tax credits against the BPT. CLICK HERE to find your Senator and ask them to remove these provisions from the state budget! Our state was recently ranked 48th for business taxes nationally by the Tax Foundation. This is not good news for the businesses currently in the state or any employers looking to relocate to New Hampshire. It is certainly not good news for the more than 43,000 New Hampshire residents who are out of work and hoping to find jobs.  CLICK HERE to find your Senator and ask them to put pro-job reforms in place so we can get our economy moving forward again! Thank you for your efforts to encourage job creation in New Hampshire. Sincerely,  Greg Moore State Director Americans for Prosperity New Hampshire