Productivity and Jobs-Becker
3 days ago
Friday, February 6, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
South Carolina's property tax swap
http://www.charleston.net/news/2009/jan/14/s_c_paying_piper_act_tax_cuts68293/
The Act 388 property tax reductions for homes were indeed popular, but an analysis by The Post and Courier found that they have made the state's budget crisis worse in several ways.
An $81 million shortfall in the sales tax collections that were supposed to fund property tax relief will account for about 15 percent of the gap anticipated in the next state budget. That means the state will have to cut spending elsewhere to pay for property tax breaks. That was not supposed to happen.
A growing shortfall
When Act 388 exempted owner-occupied homes from the property taxes that fund school operations, the law also increased the statewide sales tax to 6 cents on the dollar.
The Post and Courier
The sales tax increase was supposed to raise the roughly half-billion dollars schools used to collect from homes, and state economists predicted that the sales tax would raise enough to fund extra property tax relief.
Instead, there's been a growing shortfall every year, totalling $143 million since Act 388 was approved in 2006.
"If it hadn't been for the economy, there would have been more than enough," Read said. "They need to increase the sales tax if they need more money."
The Office of State Budget projects that sales taxes will rise enough to cover the tax shift in 2010, before falling short again in 2011. Unlike property taxes, sales tax collections tend to rise and fall with the economy, which nose-dived last year.
"We traded the most unpopular but most stable tax, the property tax, for the least unpopular but most unstable tax, the sales tax," state Board of Economic Advisors Chairman John Rainey said. "It's all snowballing."
House Majority Leader Kenny Bingham, R-Cayce, said it's appropriate to reduce taxes on basic needs such as homes, and the sales tax is preferred by voters.
For more information
"It's how people prefer to be taxed," he said. "They don't like their home being taxed."
The property tax law requires the state to give school districts at least the amount of money they would have collected in property tax from exempted homes, with annual adjustments for population and inflation. However, the state can, and has, reduced other sources of funding to schools.
The Department of Education budget was cut by $253 million in the current state budget.
The Act 388 property tax reductions for homes were indeed popular, but an analysis by The Post and Courier found that they have made the state's budget crisis worse in several ways.
An $81 million shortfall in the sales tax collections that were supposed to fund property tax relief will account for about 15 percent of the gap anticipated in the next state budget. That means the state will have to cut spending elsewhere to pay for property tax breaks. That was not supposed to happen.
A growing shortfall
When Act 388 exempted owner-occupied homes from the property taxes that fund school operations, the law also increased the statewide sales tax to 6 cents on the dollar.
The Post and Courier
The sales tax increase was supposed to raise the roughly half-billion dollars schools used to collect from homes, and state economists predicted that the sales tax would raise enough to fund extra property tax relief.
Instead, there's been a growing shortfall every year, totalling $143 million since Act 388 was approved in 2006.
"If it hadn't been for the economy, there would have been more than enough," Read said. "They need to increase the sales tax if they need more money."
The Office of State Budget projects that sales taxes will rise enough to cover the tax shift in 2010, before falling short again in 2011. Unlike property taxes, sales tax collections tend to rise and fall with the economy, which nose-dived last year.
"We traded the most unpopular but most stable tax, the property tax, for the least unpopular but most unstable tax, the sales tax," state Board of Economic Advisors Chairman John Rainey said. "It's all snowballing."
House Majority Leader Kenny Bingham, R-Cayce, said it's appropriate to reduce taxes on basic needs such as homes, and the sales tax is preferred by voters.
For more information
"It's how people prefer to be taxed," he said. "They don't like their home being taxed."
The property tax law requires the state to give school districts at least the amount of money they would have collected in property tax from exempted homes, with annual adjustments for population and inflation. However, the state can, and has, reduced other sources of funding to schools.
The Department of Education budget was cut by $253 million in the current state budget.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Stata codes for Gini and Theil decomposition
ineqdeco does a good job in the decomposition of Theil index, which corresponds to "GE(1)" in ineqdeco's parlance. The by() option defines the subgroups for analysis.
descogini decomposes the Gini coefficient by income source and allows the calculation of the impact that a marginal change in a particular income source will have on inequality. descogini can be used with bootstrap to obtain standard errors and confidence intervals.
Lerman and Yitzhaki (1985) show that the Gini coefficient for total income inequality, G, can be represented as G = sigma(Sk*Gk*Rk), where Sk represents the share of source k in total income, Gk is the source Gini corresponding to the distribution of income from source k, and Rk is the Gini correlation of income from source k with the distribution of total income. The influence of any income component upon total income inequality depends on:
• how important the income source is with respect to total income (Sk);
• how equally or unequally distributed the income source is (Gk); and
• how the income source and the distribution of total income are correlated (Rk).
The product of Gk and Rk is the pseudo Gini for each income source.
descogini decomposes the Gini coefficient by income source and allows the calculation of the impact that a marginal change in a particular income source will have on inequality. descogini can be used with bootstrap to obtain standard errors and confidence intervals.
Lerman and Yitzhaki (1985) show that the Gini coefficient for total income inequality, G, can be represented as G = sigma(Sk*Gk*Rk), where Sk represents the share of source k in total income, Gk is the source Gini corresponding to the distribution of income from source k, and Rk is the Gini correlation of income from source k with the distribution of total income. The influence of any income component upon total income inequality depends on:
• how important the income source is with respect to total income (Sk);
• how equally or unequally distributed the income source is (Gk); and
• how the income source and the distribution of total income are correlated (Rk).
The product of Gk and Rk is the pseudo Gini for each income source.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Be greedy when others are fearful
http://www.cnbc.com/id/27231171/
Buy American. I am.
By Warren E. Buffett
The financial world is a mess, both in the United States and abroad. Its problems, moreover, have been leaking into the general economy, and the leaks are now turning into a gusher. In the near term, unemployment will rise, business activity will falter and headlines will continue to be scary.
So ... I’ve been buying American stocks. This is my personal account I’m talking about, in which I previously owned nothing but United States government bonds. (This description leaves aside my Berkshire Hathaway holdings, which are all committed to philanthropy.) If prices keep looking attractive, my non-Berkshire net worth will soon be 100 percent in United States equities.
Why?
A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. And most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned investors. To be sure, investors are right to be wary of highly leveraged entities or businesses in weak competitive positions. But fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nation’s many sound companies make no sense. These businesses will indeed suffer earnings hiccups, as they always have. But most major companies will be setting new profit records 5, 10 and 20 years from now.
Let me be clear on one point: I can’t predict the short-term movements of the stock market. I haven’t the faintest idea as to whether stocks will be higher or lower a month — or a year — from now. What is likely, however, is that the market will move higher, perhaps substantially so, well before either sentiment or the economy turns up. So if you wait for the robins, spring will be over.
A little history here: During the Depression, the Dow hit its low, 41, on July 8, 1932. Economic conditions, though, kept deteriorating until Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in March 1933. By that time, the market had already advanced 30 percent. Or think back to the early days of World War II, when things were going badly for the United States in Europe and the Pacific. The market hit bottom in April 1942, well before Allied fortunes turned. Again, in the early 1980s, the time to buy stocks was when inflation raged and the economy was in the tank. In short, bad news is an investor’s best friend. It lets you buy a slice of America’s future at a marked-down price.
Over the long term, the stock market news will be good. In the 20th century, the United States endured two world wars and other traumatic and expensive military conflicts; the Depression; a dozen or so recessions and financial panics; oil shocks; a flu epidemic; and the resignation of a disgraced president. Yet the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497.
You might think it would have been impossible for an investor to lose money during a century marked by such an extraordinary gain. But some investors did. The hapless ones bought stocks only when they felt comfort in doing so and then proceeded to sell when the headlines made them queasy.
Today people who hold cash equivalents feel comfortable. They shouldn’t. They have opted for a terrible long-term asset, one that pays virtually nothing and is certain to depreciate in value. Indeed, the policies that government will follow in its efforts to alleviate the current crisis will probably prove inflationary and therefore accelerate declines in the real value of cash accounts.
Equities will almost certainly outperform cash over the next decade, probably by a substantial degree. Those investors who cling now to cash are betting they can efficiently time their move away from it later. In waiting for the comfort of good news, they are ignoring Wayne Gretzky’s advice: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.”
I don’t like to opine on the stock market, and again I emphasize that I have no idea what the market will do in the short term. Nevertheless, I’ll follow the lead of a restaurant that opened in an empty bank building and then advertised: “Put your mouth where your money was.” Today my money and my mouth both say equities .
Buy American. I am.
By Warren E. Buffett
The financial world is a mess, both in the United States and abroad. Its problems, moreover, have been leaking into the general economy, and the leaks are now turning into a gusher. In the near term, unemployment will rise, business activity will falter and headlines will continue to be scary.
So ... I’ve been buying American stocks. This is my personal account I’m talking about, in which I previously owned nothing but United States government bonds. (This description leaves aside my Berkshire Hathaway holdings, which are all committed to philanthropy.) If prices keep looking attractive, my non-Berkshire net worth will soon be 100 percent in United States equities.
Why?
A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. And most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned investors. To be sure, investors are right to be wary of highly leveraged entities or businesses in weak competitive positions. But fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nation’s many sound companies make no sense. These businesses will indeed suffer earnings hiccups, as they always have. But most major companies will be setting new profit records 5, 10 and 20 years from now.
Let me be clear on one point: I can’t predict the short-term movements of the stock market. I haven’t the faintest idea as to whether stocks will be higher or lower a month — or a year — from now. What is likely, however, is that the market will move higher, perhaps substantially so, well before either sentiment or the economy turns up. So if you wait for the robins, spring will be over.
A little history here: During the Depression, the Dow hit its low, 41, on July 8, 1932. Economic conditions, though, kept deteriorating until Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in March 1933. By that time, the market had already advanced 30 percent. Or think back to the early days of World War II, when things were going badly for the United States in Europe and the Pacific. The market hit bottom in April 1942, well before Allied fortunes turned. Again, in the early 1980s, the time to buy stocks was when inflation raged and the economy was in the tank. In short, bad news is an investor’s best friend. It lets you buy a slice of America’s future at a marked-down price.
Over the long term, the stock market news will be good. In the 20th century, the United States endured two world wars and other traumatic and expensive military conflicts; the Depression; a dozen or so recessions and financial panics; oil shocks; a flu epidemic; and the resignation of a disgraced president. Yet the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497.
You might think it would have been impossible for an investor to lose money during a century marked by such an extraordinary gain. But some investors did. The hapless ones bought stocks only when they felt comfort in doing so and then proceeded to sell when the headlines made them queasy.
Today people who hold cash equivalents feel comfortable. They shouldn’t. They have opted for a terrible long-term asset, one that pays virtually nothing and is certain to depreciate in value. Indeed, the policies that government will follow in its efforts to alleviate the current crisis will probably prove inflationary and therefore accelerate declines in the real value of cash accounts.
Equities will almost certainly outperform cash over the next decade, probably by a substantial degree. Those investors who cling now to cash are betting they can efficiently time their move away from it later. In waiting for the comfort of good news, they are ignoring Wayne Gretzky’s advice: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.”
I don’t like to opine on the stock market, and again I emphasize that I have no idea what the market will do in the short term. Nevertheless, I’ll follow the lead of a restaurant that opened in an empty bank building and then advertised: “Put your mouth where your money was.” Today my money and my mouth both say equities .
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Rueda Calls
* Pa´abajo — closed position, girls step back both times, guys step forward with the right and to the side with the left
* Exhibela - girls do a full turn after the back rock step with the right foot
* Dile que no (dlqn) - cross body lead; guys turn to the side to create a "doorway" for the girls to walk straight through and face the guys at the last second
* Woperia - (not called) single hand hold, the basic position, both go back at the same time (girls with right and guys with left) and forward at same time
* Dame - everyone turns toward the middle of the circle, guys pick up the girl on your right, dlqn
* Enchufla - reverse underarm turn, pass partners
o Enchufla doble - begin enchufla, during the girls´ underarm turn guys put their right hands on the girls´ backs to stop them from making a full turn, girls come back out of the turn then everyone does an enchufla
o Enchufla festival - do enchufla three times, one immediately after the other, clap on the one beat
* Adios - same footwork as Enchufla for men, only starts with embrace hold before passing partners
o Adios con la hermana - do adios followed directly by enchufla; keep same partner through all
o Adios festival - 3 adios in a row, clapping in between passing of partners
* Vasila - both tap on 8, girls do full turn toward guys´ right side, then girls take three step back for the guy to pick them up, dlqn
* Suena - stomp toward middle of circle
* La bulla - this is called after suena, suena toward middle again and yell
* Sombrero - vasila with arms, meaning you start with double crossed hand-hold, right on bottom
* Balser - sombrero twice; girl passes behind guy in between the UATs
* Alrededor - turn toward middle, guys walk in front of and around girl to their right, girls walk behind and around guy to their left, dlqn
* Dame y no le llegues - guys turn right, girls left, as if going to do a dame, then guys do half turn while girls back rock, then everyone does second part of alrededor
* El medio - turn toward middle, everyone holds hands, guys rock into middle at the same time, then girls, then guys etc., do what is called (guys/girls to the left/right)
o La flor - after el medio is called, when rock into the middle sweep hands in circular motion from low to high
o Se fue is called to finish, guys do la flor and this time put arms on girls´ shoulders, girls then do the same to the guys
o leader can call ladies/gents to the left/right, in which case you move the called direction via inner circle
o Ladies/Gent Ocho: ladies, make figure 8 around two guy partners to left, starting back; gents, make figure 8 around two lady partners to right, starting forward
* Dame con los manos - open into dame, girls do left spin to each guy (remember "1,2,3 latch!") until sacabo called, at which time girls and guys take turn twisting into circle until se fue is called, then gentlemen to the right, end dlqn
* El dedo - single cross-hand hold, girl does under arm turn which end with her back toward the middle of the circle, girls do another under arm turn guys do one too, girls do one more underarm turn, dlqn
* Besito - sombrero turn, girl passes behind guy, hammerlock for "kiss," guy turns right out of it, loops right arm over head, dlqn
* Montana - el dedo with double cross hand hold
* Kentucky - double hand hold, like a sweetheart in swing, girl is in the guys’ arms goes from his right side to his left side then turn out from under, guy puts girls hand on his left shoulder, dlqn
* El Indio - right to right hand hold, begin enchufla; after the girls’ underarm turn, guys jump in to middle of circle on 7, dlqn
* Evelyn - starts like adios, but guys to spin their right and pass their hand to the girls’ right hand, dlqn
* El dos - single hand hold, enchufla but do not let go of partner as girls go behind guys, both rock step from side to side on opposite sides
o Se fue - guys switch grip in their right hands, bring the girl around to front while spinning them toward their right side (like sonbrero), dlqn
* Dame dos… - instead of the guys picking up the first girl on their right like in dame, they pick up the second girl on their right
* Siete - tap, girls wrap into guys’ left arm, tap, unwrap
o Siete con coca-cola - siete, full left UAT on 5,6,7 girls; follow by 360 degree dlqn
o Siete montana - siete con coca-cola, only lead switches to girl's left hand after curls in
o Siete loco - siete, establish cross-hand hold at curl in, left UAT and 360 degree dlqn; tap on 8; both spin under (guy's left) with hand hold maintained; girl ends up on guy's right side with arms crossed in front; do two enchuflas maintaining two-hand hold; dlqn
* "called move" Y Ariba - guy does not pass around his partner to pick up girl to the right as usual, but rather continues forward to pick up girl to left with normal dlqn
* "called move" Dame Una - tagged onto end of moves where usually keep partner; this tag asks you to go ahead and pass your partner for the next
* DGB (Dedo Guarapo Y Bota) - starts like el dedo, guy places hand on right shoulder as turns left to face partner on 5,6,7; place both hands around girl's waist as both spin to man's right; pick up next girl, qlqn
* Abrazala - starts like el dedo, girl passes back of guy while he establishes hammerlock; hug 5,6,7; guy turn to right; enchufla; dlqn (similar to a one-handed Besito)
* Paseala - on dame, girl dances full circle around guy over 8 counts
* Setenta - two-hand hold, tap to center on 8; right UAT for girl, establish hammerlock for girl; step 5,6,7; push hip of girl to lead into left UAT girl; right hand over man's head as realign to center; dlqn
* Habana - two-hand hold, cuddle twice (like Kentucky), third time enchufla, followed by setenta
* Cinturon - start adios embrace but swith lady's hand behind her back to ask right turn (establishes cross hold); two sets of el dedo reverse UAT for lady; dlqn with right-to-right hold
* 3-way stop - tap 8, partners face outside circle with girl infront, girl turns L then R, then both turn L, ask for dlqn but both spin out of it to go to next partner
* Cadeneta - chain move with enchuflas and exibelas until call se fue; end with coca-cola, vasila dame una
* Juana la Cubana -
* Ponle Sabor - cross-hand hold; guy behind girl twice; @ the end of second time – he turns; she turns – he turns; enchufla; he turns ccw; ask her to turn clock-wise but stop her left hand with your left hand half way through; turn her around; dlqn
* Bebe -
* Sambuca -
* Exhibela - girls do a full turn after the back rock step with the right foot
* Dile que no (dlqn) - cross body lead; guys turn to the side to create a "doorway" for the girls to walk straight through and face the guys at the last second
* Woperia - (not called) single hand hold, the basic position, both go back at the same time (girls with right and guys with left) and forward at same time
* Dame - everyone turns toward the middle of the circle, guys pick up the girl on your right, dlqn
* Enchufla - reverse underarm turn, pass partners
o Enchufla doble - begin enchufla, during the girls´ underarm turn guys put their right hands on the girls´ backs to stop them from making a full turn, girls come back out of the turn then everyone does an enchufla
o Enchufla festival - do enchufla three times, one immediately after the other, clap on the one beat
* Adios - same footwork as Enchufla for men, only starts with embrace hold before passing partners
o Adios con la hermana - do adios followed directly by enchufla; keep same partner through all
o Adios festival - 3 adios in a row, clapping in between passing of partners
* Vasila - both tap on 8, girls do full turn toward guys´ right side, then girls take three step back for the guy to pick them up, dlqn
* Suena - stomp toward middle of circle
* La bulla - this is called after suena, suena toward middle again and yell
* Sombrero - vasila with arms, meaning you start with double crossed hand-hold, right on bottom
* Balser - sombrero twice; girl passes behind guy in between the UATs
* Alrededor - turn toward middle, guys walk in front of and around girl to their right, girls walk behind and around guy to their left, dlqn
* Dame y no le llegues - guys turn right, girls left, as if going to do a dame, then guys do half turn while girls back rock, then everyone does second part of alrededor
* El medio - turn toward middle, everyone holds hands, guys rock into middle at the same time, then girls, then guys etc., do what is called (guys/girls to the left/right)
o La flor - after el medio is called, when rock into the middle sweep hands in circular motion from low to high
o Se fue is called to finish, guys do la flor and this time put arms on girls´ shoulders, girls then do the same to the guys
o leader can call ladies/gents to the left/right, in which case you move the called direction via inner circle
o Ladies/Gent Ocho: ladies, make figure 8 around two guy partners to left, starting back; gents, make figure 8 around two lady partners to right, starting forward
* Dame con los manos - open into dame, girls do left spin to each guy (remember "1,2,3 latch!") until sacabo called, at which time girls and guys take turn twisting into circle until se fue is called, then gentlemen to the right, end dlqn
* El dedo - single cross-hand hold, girl does under arm turn which end with her back toward the middle of the circle, girls do another under arm turn guys do one too, girls do one more underarm turn, dlqn
* Besito - sombrero turn, girl passes behind guy, hammerlock for "kiss," guy turns right out of it, loops right arm over head, dlqn
* Montana - el dedo with double cross hand hold
* Kentucky - double hand hold, like a sweetheart in swing, girl is in the guys’ arms goes from his right side to his left side then turn out from under, guy puts girls hand on his left shoulder, dlqn
* El Indio - right to right hand hold, begin enchufla; after the girls’ underarm turn, guys jump in to middle of circle on 7, dlqn
* Evelyn - starts like adios, but guys to spin their right and pass their hand to the girls’ right hand, dlqn
* El dos - single hand hold, enchufla but do not let go of partner as girls go behind guys, both rock step from side to side on opposite sides
o Se fue - guys switch grip in their right hands, bring the girl around to front while spinning them toward their right side (like sonbrero), dlqn
* Dame dos… - instead of the guys picking up the first girl on their right like in dame, they pick up the second girl on their right
* Siete - tap, girls wrap into guys’ left arm, tap, unwrap
o Siete con coca-cola - siete, full left UAT on 5,6,7 girls; follow by 360 degree dlqn
o Siete montana - siete con coca-cola, only lead switches to girl's left hand after curls in
o Siete loco - siete, establish cross-hand hold at curl in, left UAT and 360 degree dlqn; tap on 8; both spin under (guy's left) with hand hold maintained; girl ends up on guy's right side with arms crossed in front; do two enchuflas maintaining two-hand hold; dlqn
* "called move" Y Ariba - guy does not pass around his partner to pick up girl to the right as usual, but rather continues forward to pick up girl to left with normal dlqn
* "called move" Dame Una - tagged onto end of moves where usually keep partner; this tag asks you to go ahead and pass your partner for the next
* DGB (Dedo Guarapo Y Bota) - starts like el dedo, guy places hand on right shoulder as turns left to face partner on 5,6,7; place both hands around girl's waist as both spin to man's right; pick up next girl, qlqn
* Abrazala - starts like el dedo, girl passes back of guy while he establishes hammerlock; hug 5,6,7; guy turn to right; enchufla; dlqn (similar to a one-handed Besito)
* Paseala - on dame, girl dances full circle around guy over 8 counts
* Setenta - two-hand hold, tap to center on 8; right UAT for girl, establish hammerlock for girl; step 5,6,7; push hip of girl to lead into left UAT girl; right hand over man's head as realign to center; dlqn
* Habana - two-hand hold, cuddle twice (like Kentucky), third time enchufla, followed by setenta
* Cinturon - start adios embrace but swith lady's hand behind her back to ask right turn (establishes cross hold); two sets of el dedo reverse UAT for lady; dlqn with right-to-right hold
* 3-way stop - tap 8, partners face outside circle with girl infront, girl turns L then R, then both turn L, ask for dlqn but both spin out of it to go to next partner
* Cadeneta - chain move with enchuflas and exibelas until call se fue; end with coca-cola, vasila dame una
* Juana la Cubana -
* Ponle Sabor - cross-hand hold; guy behind girl twice; @ the end of second time – he turns; she turns – he turns; enchufla; he turns ccw; ask her to turn clock-wise but stop her left hand with your left hand half way through; turn her around; dlqn
* Bebe -
* Sambuca -
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