” After paying your rent or mortgage, transportation, utilities, and any other bills, how much do you have left at the end of the month? The answer probably depends largely on where you live.
FindTheBest created a cost of living index based on 2013 family budget estimates for housing, taxes, healthcare, childcare, transportation, and “other necessities” (like food) from the Economic Policy Institute to compare, in over 600 counties and metro areas across the US, where your dollar goes the farthest.
The average overall index for US cities and metro areas is 100, so a city with an index of 120 is 20% more expensive than average, and a city with an index of 80 is 20% cheaper than average.”
Welcome to the wonderful northeast , land of high taxes , stifling regulation and home to ten of the fifteen most expensive places to live in America , including four out of the top five , and the “winner” of the title of most expensive place to live in the US is … drum roll please …
” 1. Nassau-Suffolk Counties, New York
Nassau-Suffolk index: 155
State index: 120
Nassau and Suffolk Counties, on Long Island, aren’t the highest in the country in terms of housing, taxes, or healthcare, but they’re up there in each category, and that’s enough to make the area the most expensive place to live in America. Also a major New York City commuting hub, it’s known for high property taxes and pricey real estate, especially in Nassau County. Suffolk is home to the Hamptons, a popular summer spot for the wealthy and the famous.”
See about your area at Business Insider . Something to consider as you peruse the map above; which states/areas are producing jobs ? With the exception of the DC area which is awash in record tax receipts , the most expensive areas are also the ones struggling to produce enough growth to meet the local population’s demands .
” Manufacturers will significantly accelerate their use of robots in U.S. factories over the next decade as they become cheaper and perform more tasks, constraining payroll growth, according to a study out Tuesday.
The development is expected to dramatically boost productivity and slow the long-standing migration of factories across the globe to take advantage of low-cost labor, says the Boston Consulting Group report.
” Advanced robotics are changing the calculus of manufacturing,” says Harold Sirkin, a senior partner at the management consulting firm.
A handful of nations, including the U.S. and China, are poised to reap the biggest benefits of the automation wave.
About 1.2 million additional advanced robots are expected to be deployed in the U.S. by 2025, BCG says. Four industries will lead the shift — computer and electronics products; electrical equipment and appliances; transportation; and machinery — largely because more of their tasks can be automated and they deliver the biggest cost savings.
About 10% of all manufacturing functions are automated, a share that will rise to nearly 25% in a decade as robotic vision sensors and gripping systems improve, BCG says.
That’s prodding manufacturers to replace workers. BCG says manufacturers tend to ratchet up their robotics investment when they realize at least a 15% cost savings compared with employing a worker. In electronics manufacturing, it already costs just $4 an hour to use a robot for a routine assembly task vs. $24 for an average worker.”
” A record number of Jewish immigrants from North America arrived in Israel in 2014, the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption reported, calling the wave a 10-year high, according to Ynetnews.
More than 3,700 Jews from the U.S. and Canada as well as 525 from the United Kingdom, moved to Israel over the last year, Ynet reported, citing a 7 percent increase in those arriving from North America and a 32 percent increase overall. About 20,000 immigrants arrived in 2013.
Last year also saw a first with immigrants from France topping the list of countries of origin with 7,000 in 2014. That figure is double the number from 2013, Ynet said of the “aliyah.”
The news outlet said lone soldiers coming to Israel without family members to serve as soldiers in the IDF increased by 10 percent in 2014, with 350 “young Jews from North America” enlisting last year.”
As the title of the accompanying video says , “When Jews flee , a nation is sick” . They are like the proverbial “canary in the coal mine” warning us of impending doom .
” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday lauded the US and Australia for voting against the Palestinian UN Security Council draft resolution on Tuesday, and praised Rwanda and Nigeria for abstaining.
” I want to express appreciation and gratitude to the United States and Australia, as well as special appreciation to the President of Rwanda, my friend Paul Kagame, and to the President of Nigeria, my friend Goodluck Jonathan,” Netanyahu said when he arrived Wednesday morning to vote in the Likud primary.
“ I spoke with both of them, they promised me personally that they would not support this decision, and they stood by their words. That is what tipped the scales,” he added.
The Palestinian resolution calling for a full Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines by 2017, and the establishment of a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital, did not muster the necessary nine votes Tuesday in the Security Council.
Earlier Wednesday, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said the Palestinian failure to get their statehood resolution passed Wednesday in the UN Security Council should teach them that provocations and attempts to unilaterally impose conditions on Israel will lead them nowhere.
“ The Palestinian disregard for important countries in the international arena, first and foremost the US, stems from the backing they get form some of the states in Europe,” he said, in an obvious reference to the “for” votes cast by France and Luxembourg.
“ Every state that truly wants to move an arrangement forward needs to act responsibly and make clear to the Palestinians that decisions are only made around the negotiating table,” Liberman said.
While France and Luxembourg voted for the Palestinian resolution, two other EU countries – Britain and Lithuania – abstained, illustrating the wide differences on the Mideast that exist inside the 28-state EU.
Liberman praised his ministry for the work it did to thwart the resolution, the second time in three years that Israel dodged a bullet on this issue in the Security Council, and cited Israel’s concentrated diplomatic efforts in Africa, the far East and central Europe. In 2011 the Palestinians failed in their attempt to win full UN statehood recognition in the UN.
In addition to the United States, Australia voted against the resolution on Tuesday. Britain, Lithuania, South Korea, and two of the three African states on the Security Council – Rwanda and Nigeria – all abstained, depriving the Palestinians of their nine votes needed to pass the resolution and force a US veto.”
” North Korea experienced sweeping and progressively worse Internet outages extending into Monday, with one computer expert saying the country’s online access is “totally down.” The White House and the State Department declined to say whether the U.S. government was responsible.
President Barack Obama said Friday the U.S. government expected to respond to the hacking of Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., which he described as an expensive act of “cyber vandalism” that he blamed on North Korea. Obama did not say how the U.S. might respond, and it was not immediately clear if the Internet connectivity problems represented the retribution. The U.S. government regards its offensive cyber operations as highly classified.”
Basically, the method used by the IMF adjusts for purchasing power parity, explained here.
The simple logic is that prices aren’t the same in each country: A shirt will cost you less in Shanghai than in San Francisco, so it’s not entirely reasonable to compare countries without taking this into account. Though a typical person in China earns a lot less than the typical person in the US, simply converting a Chinese salary into dollars underestimates how much purchasing power that individual, and therefore that country, might have. The Economist’s Big Mac Index is a great example of these disparities. “
” Mistakes and missteps in the handling of the first Ebola case in the United States trouble lawmakers, international organizations and some public health experts who say the government needs to step up its strategy to contain the virus.
“ Where is the 1-800-Ebola hotline?” asked Gavin MacGregor-Skinner, an assistant professor of public health at Penn State University who helped set up an Ebola treatment clinic in Nigeria a few weeks ago. “This is a Category 5 hurricane. It just happens to be viral.”
Doctors have diagnosed only one person with Ebola in the United States, but as many as 50 people might have been exposed to the virus in Dallas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Doctors at Howard University Hospital in Washington are monitoring a patient with Ebola-like symptoms who frequently traveled to Nigeria.
The raging epidemic has overwhelmed weak health systems in the West African nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Although hospitals in the United States are better prepared to handle Ebola, travel restrictions or stricter screening of people coming to the United States from Ebola-affected countries might be necessary to curb the crisis, some health monitors said.
“ Unless the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention take extreme measures to prevent the universal spread of the disease, we could possibly end up with a pandemic,” said Phenelle Segal, president of Montgomery County-based Infection Control Consulting Services and a former infection prevention analyst for the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority.”
” Secessionists across the world were inspired by Scotland’s energetic attempt at independence from the United Kingdom earlier this month. Ron Paul, as it turns out, joined them.
In an essay on his eponymous institution’s website Sunday, the former U.S. congressman from Texas wrote that any supporters of freedom should cheer secessionism because it allows for smaller government—a constant mantra for the libertarian and perennial presidential candidate, who didn’t previously realize there were more than a handful of secessionist groups in the United States.
” I was real pleased with that, and a bit surprised,” Paul told National Journal. “But then, on second thought, you think, ‘Why not? Why not more?’ “
Fringe groups calling for states and regions to secede from the U.S., such as the Second Vermont Republic and the Alaskan Independence Party, gained more publicity in the weeks leading up to the Scottish referendum. As the outsized federal government continues to encroach on individual rights, Paul said, he thinks there will be a groundswell of these movements.
” It’s something that I think is going to grow, because the failure of the federal government is going to get much worse,” he said. “When the bankruptcy evolves, and maybe some of these pension funds are confiscated, and the wars never end, and bankruptcy comes forth, people [will say], ‘Hey, we’re getting a bad deal from this. Why don’t we leave?’ “
He added: “I think it’s inevitable people wanting to leave will be there, and the numbers will grow.” “
” In 1973, California State University geography professor George Etzel Pearcy suggested that the U.S. redraw its antiquated state boundaries and narrow the overall number of states to 38.
Pearcy’s proposed state lines were drawn in less-populated areas, isolating large cities and reducing their number within each state. He argued that if there were fewer cities vying for a state’s tax dollars, more money would be available for projects that would benefit all citizens.
Because the current states were being chopped up beyond recognition, part of his plan included renaming the new states by referencing natural geologic features or the region’s cultural history.
While he did have a rather staunch support network—economists, geographers, and even a few politicians argued that Pearcy’s plan might be crazy enough to work—the proposal lost steam in Washington. Imagine all the work that would have to be done to enact Pearcy’s plan: re-surveying the land, setting up new voter districts, new taxation infrastructure—basically starting the whole country over. It’s easy to see why the government balked (though that doesn’t mean it was a bad idea).”
” With more than 40 million immigrants, the United States is thetop destination in the worldfor those moving from one country to another. Mexico, which shares a nearly 2,000-mile border with the U.S., is the source of the largest wave of immigration in historyfrom a single country to the United States.
But today’s volume of immigrants, in some ways, is a return to America’s past. A century ago, the U.S. experienced another large wave of immigrants. Although smaller at 18.2 million, they hailedlargely from Europe. Many Americans can trace their roots to that wave of migrants from 1890-1919, when Germany dominated as the country sending the most immigrants to many of the U.S. states, although the United Kingdom, Canada and Italy were also strongly represented.”
” In 1910, Germany was the top country of birth among U.S. immigrants, accounting for 18% of all immigrants (or 2.5 million) in the United States. Germans made up the biggest immigrant group in 17 states and the District of Columbia, while Mexico accounted for the most immigrants in just three states (Arizona, New Mexico and Texas). Behind Germany, the second-most number of immigrants in the U.S. were from Russia and the countries that would become the USSR (11%, or 1.6 million).”
” Everyone knows that Craigslist is a magnet for crime.
The ubiquitous listing site is the tenth most-highly trafficked website in the United States and has been the go-to place for people looking for everything from used lawn furniture to no-questions-asked sexual partners for nearly two decades. And as with nearly anything that smashes together great swaths of humanity, Craigslist is unavoidably utilized by individuals whose intentions are less than pure.
So everyone knows that Craigslist deals carry certain risks. Yet it’s still difficult to get a big-picture perspective of both the scale and the general tenor of crime on Craigslist.
To this end, we attempted to take a snapshot of what crime on Craigslist actually looks like by collecting every news story that mentioned a crime committed using Craigslist in the United States during the month of April and displayed that information on a single Google map*. Is this method scientific? Not even close. But it does allow us to view crime facilitated by the listing site in fresh light.”
” The US is on the brink of losing its status as the world’s largest economy, and is likely to slip behind China this year, sooner than widely anticipated, according to the world’s leading statistical agencies.
The US has been the global leader since overtaking the UK in 1872. Most economists previously thought China would pull ahead in 2019.
The figures, compiled by the International Comparison Program hosted by the World Bank, are the most authoritative estimates of what money can buy in different countries and are used by most public and private sector organisations, such as the International Monetary Fund. This is the first time they have been updated since 2005.
After extensive research on the prices of goods and services, the ICP concluded that money goes further in poorer countries than it previously thought, prompting it to increase the relative size of emerging market economies.
The estimates of the real cost of living, known as purchasing power parity or PPPs, are recognised as the best way to compare the size of economies rather than using volatile exchange rates, which rarely reflect the true cost of goods and services: on this measure the IMF put US GDP in 2012 at $16.2tn, and China’s at $8.2tn.”
Reporters Without Borders recently announced its annual “Enemies of the Internet” list, and it is a real doozy this year. There are some of the usual suspects — China, Sudan, Iran, North Korea and Cuba — but there are also a few surprising additions to the list — especially the U.S. and the U.K.
We in the west should be so proud . Look at the details of the map and hang your heads in shame .
” “How will so-called democratic countries be able to press for the protection of journalists if they adopt the very practices they are criticizing authoritarian regimes for?” asked the report.
The leaders of the US and UK should be absolutely ashamed of themselves to find the homes of the Magna Carta and Declaration of Independence / Constitution / Bill Of Rights in company with the above mentioned dictatorships , oligarchies and theocracies . One can practically feel the earth tremble as the Founding Fathers turn over in their graves .
Deadliest Day In Ukraine Protests Yet, Despite Truce
Published on Feb 20, 2014
” At least 75 people have been killed in violent riots in Kiev, the Ukrainian Health Department has stated. Doctors working on Kiev’s Independence Square, however, claimed that as many as 70 people were killed on the rioters’ side alone on Thursday. The death toll in the most violent wave of clashes between the rioters and the police in Kiev is likely to increase, as there are conflicting figures coming from the Health Department, city officials and the opposition. As many as 550 people have been injured, according to official estimates. Until this week, snipers shooting people in central Kiev have been little more than unsupported hearsay. But on Thursday, both security forces and rioters were filmed stalking the streets with rifles. RT’s Aleksey Yaroshevsky reports to Meghan Lopez that unidentified snipers were firing from buildings all around Independence Square.
On the diplomatic side the EU and US are threatening sanctions …
Published on Feb 20, 2014
” The United States, European Union and NATO are criticizing the Ukrainian government for its role in the increasing bloodshed in Kiev. EU leaders have agreed to impose sanctions on the country, joining the US in threatening consequences. Individual sanctions for 20 Ukrainian politicians have already been imposed by Washington. Critics, including The Nation’s contributing editor, Stephen Cohen, say that threats of sanctions and misunderstanding of the situation on the ground are misguided. RT’s Gayane Chichakyan looks at how the US and EU are reacting to the increasing violence in Ukraine.
Meanwhile Euromaidan In English provides us with this report on the day’s events in Kiev …
” This is what happened today (please share to inform all):
——————————————
Today, after the morning massacres had calmed down a little, opposition politicians began calling for MP’s to gather in Parliament at 3pm. Deputy Lyashko and others pronounced guarantees to Party of Regions MP’s that no demonstrations would be held near the building during this special session – apparently some government MP’s had expressed concern for their own safety in the wake of that morning’s violence and deaths.
The session did not start until around 5pm, and MPs gathered very gradually. Initially, only 227 registered (minimum quorum: 226), but as the evening wore on, more and more MP’s from the Party of Regions and nominal independents arrived. By 10pm, 238 had registered to vote.The key test came just after 10pm when the speeches ceased and a draft document was put to a vote. In the end 236 voted in favor of the “Postanova” that orders the following:
1. All Interior Ministry troops currently in Kyiv are ordered to cease fire and return to barracks.
2. All live ammunition and lethal weapons that have been issued to government forces are to be returned immediately.
3. Blocking roads and rail lines for the purpose of limiting the movement of people is to cease.
4. All anti terrorist operations currently undertaken by the State Security Service and Interior Ministry are to be stopped immediately.
5. Circumstances that have led to deaths and casualties are to be investigated and the guilty brought to trial forthwith by the Prosecutor General.
6. The Cabinet of Ministers is ordered to provide financial compensation to all victims of the recent violence and their families.
7. Activists arrested for their participation in protests are to be released and all criminal cases against them closed.
8. It is now the exclusive right of parliament to declare a state of emergency.All of the above was passed as a “Postanova” – a one time legislative order that has the force of law, but according to Ukraine’s Constitution, and unlike other laws, need not be signed by the President. Postanova’s are signed by the Chairman/Speaker of the Parliament, or in his absence, by one of his Deputies. Tonight’s session of Parliament was chaired by Svoboda MP Koshulynsky, and he has signed the document making it legal.
Two points of significance:
1) Parliamentary Speaker Rybak and First Deputy Speaker Kaletnyk (Communist Party) were not present at tonight’s session; neither were 167 deputies from the Party of Regions, nor any of the Communist MP’s. Nevertheless, a temporary majority was assembled with all members of the 3 opposition parties and most independents in attendance together with 20+ Party of Regions MPs who have now effectively defected from the government camp. According to rumors many Party of Regions MPs left the country today – including (according to some reports) Speaker Rybak.
Does this signal a permanent end to the pro-Yanukovych majority in Parliament? If so, it signifies the beginning of the end of his regime.2) Although a Postanova is a legislative order that has the force of law, and cannot be vetoed by the President, it is unclear what happens if Yanukovych issues a Presidential Decree cancelling the Postanova. Furthermore, it is unclear which should take precedent: the Law on Counter-Terrorism which has been the formal document used to authorize the use of lethal force and abrogation of civil rights during the past 2 days, or the one-time Postanova. Finally is highly unclear whether Interior Ministry forces will obey this Postanova at all.
After passing their document, Ukraine’s 3 opposition leaders immediately left Parliament for the Presidential Administration building where, reportedly, they were joined by 3 visiting EU foreign ministers. Apparently they will attempt to collectively convince Yanukovych to accept the need for constitutional changes – these are to be voted on tomorrow. Whether enough votes can be gathered, and whether Yanukovych will budge are all open questions…
(written by Prof. Mychailo Wynnycky, Kyiv Mohyla Academy) .. #euromaidan “
In other news from Kiev , protestors , after heated debate , pulled down the statue of Lenin and in short order he was broken up for souvenirs .
” Близько першої ночі, після тривалого стояння і нетривалої боротьби за п’єдестал, в Житомирі не стало Леніна. Тиран впав під переконливими аргументами місцевого євромайдану.
На вождя накинули троси. Ілліч пручався. Тоді люди вдарили автотранспортом по ідейному лідеру комунізма. Під тиском техніки Ілліч впав і пішов по шматочках на сувеніри. На місті того хто давав наказ армії Муравйова завойовувати Україну замайорів наш прапор. Тепер активісти міркують, хто вартий честі стояти на головній площі міста.”
To round out this evening’s update on Ukrainian news we present this report regarding an alleged conspiracy of sorts as to the “grassroots” nature of the viral video “I Am A Ukranian” and thus the riots themselves .
” As they seize weapons, take over government buildings and fire on media outlets, the US-backed Ukrainian protesters are being afforded legitimacy with the aid of a Kony 2012-style viral video which triumphs the grass roots nature of the demonstrations yet is linked to shadowy NGOs that have been directly involved in staging phony ‘color revolutions’ in the past.
The woman encourages viewers to “help us only by telling this story….only by sharing this video,” thereby framing the debate around the naive narrative that the crisis is solely about Ukrainians wanting “freedom,” and in essence blacklisting the real reasons behind the western-instigated revolt, which focus on the geopolitical isolation of Russia.
The origins of the video are not quite as ‘grass roots’ as is portrayed. The clip was produced by the team behind A Whisper to a Roar, a documentary about the “fight for democracy” all over the world, which was funded by Prince Moulay Hicham of Morocco. The “inspiration” behind the documentary was none other than Larry Diamond, a Council on Foreign Relations member. The Council on Foreign Relations is considered to be America’s “most influential foreign-policy think tank” and has deep connections with the U.S. State Department.
Diamond has also worked closely with the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The National Endowment for Democracy is considered to be the CIA’s “civilian arm” and has been deeply embroiled in innumerable instigated uprisings, attempted coups and acts of neo-colonial regime change since its creation in 1983, including the contrived 2004 “Orange Revolution” that brought US puppet Viktor Yushchenko to power in Ukraine. “
Color us unconvinced but read the rest at Red Ice and decide for yourself .
Officials in advance of this meeting say the focal point will likely be the new agreement that will speed up border crossings for executives, business people and other “trusted” frequent travelers, via a continent-wide, pre-screening system, The Guardian reported.”
Never fear , this measure is only designed to apply to those that follow the rules and cross the borders legally . Those that choose covert entry into the US will continue unimpeded. Read more at Washington Times
” A fresh blast of arctic air will deliver some of the coldest weather in 20 years to the country’s midsection during the second half of the weekend and into the start of this week.
This brutal cold will bring danger to millions from the northern Plains to the Midwest and down into the Tennessee Valley. Overnight lows are forecast to dip well below the zero-degree mark in these areas, even dropping to 30 below zero in parts of Minnesota and North Dakota.”
” Almost as long as there have been trains, there have been train robberies. These dramatic stickups have become the stuff of legend thanks to dime novels and Hollywood westerns, but they also account some of the most fascinating—and lucrative—true crimes ever committed. From high profile capers by the likes of Jesse James and Butch Cassidy to a raid by a gang of Indian political dissidents, find out more about six of history’s most audacious rail heists.”
5. The Rondout Train Robbery ” The biggest rail heist in American history was the work of the “Newton Boys,” a band of four Texas brothers who robbed at least 60 banks and six trains during their lucrative criminal careers. The caper came on the night of June 12, 1924. Working on a tip from a crooked postal inspector, two of the Newton brothers boarded a mail train on the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad. After pulling guns on the engineer, the men forced the train to stop near Rondout, Illinois, where the rest of the gang waited with a small fleet of cars.
The thieves then threw bottles of noxious formaldehyde into the windows of the passenger cars, leaving the train’s 17 armed mail clerks gasping for air. When the guards surrendered, the bandits made off with several mail sacks containing a staggering $3 million in cash and bonds. The gang escaped in their cars, but in the confusion of the robbery an accomplice accidentally shot one of the Newton brothers several times. The thieves were later arrested after they tried to get medical assistance in Chicago.”
” The U.S. debt, which has jumped 55 percent under President Obama, is now so high that if working Americans had to pay their full share, the bill would be over $123,000, according to a new Harvard University Institute of Politics study of the nation’s empty bank accounts.
– If converted into pennies and stacked, would be a column that would reach to the moon and back more than 3,350 times “
” That’s not a concept that Americans contemplate lightly. But it’s one that many of them seem to be considering – and acting on.
The number of expatriates renouncing their US citizenship surged in the second quarter of 2013, compared with the same period the year before – 1,131 cases to 189 in 2012. It’s still a small proportion of the estimated six million Americans abroad, but it’s a significant rise.
The list is compiled by the Federal Register and while no reasons are given, the big looming factor seems to be tax.
A new law called the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (Fatca) will, from 1 July next year, require all financial institutions around the world to report directly to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) all the assets and incomes of any US citizens with $50,000 (£31,000) on their books. The US could withhold 30% of dividends and interest payments due to the banks that don’t comply.
It’s an attempt by the US authorities to recover an estimated $100bn a year in unpaid taxes on US citizens’ assets overseas. Unlike other countries, Americans are taxed not only as residents of the US but also as citizens, wherever they live.”
” People in the U.S. and China view each other with increasing suspicion, and many others around the world see the U.S. losing its place to China as the leading economic and political power, a new public opinion poll shows.
According to a survey of around 38,000 people in 39 countries released on Thursday by the Washington-based Pew Research Center, majorities or pluralities in 23 of the nations surveyed said China either has replaced or eventually will oust the U.S. as the world’s top superpower. The Chinese don’t question their nation’s eventual dominance, but Americans are split on the question, the poll found.”
YouViewed/Editorial 