By Steve Rhodes
I’ve got to fly to Minneapolis today and I’ll be there until Friday morning. I’ll still be posting the fabulous work of our writers and maybe even a few columns and other stuff; we’ll see how it goes. Of course, I’ll also still be on Facebook and Twitter.
The [Monday] Papers
“State budget cuts are leaving many Illinois social services agencies scrambling, especially homeless shelters,” AP reports.
“The result is many of the state’s poorest and most vulnerable are left with fewer options and more uncertainty. This comes at a time when census data show Illinois’ highest poverty rate in nearly two decades and a high jobless rate.
“Legislators chopped the Department of Human Services budget by hundreds of millions of dollars, including $4.7 million for homeless services.”
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In related news . . . state gives Motorola Mobility $100 million in tax incentives . . . Google buys Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion . . . Sanjay Iha walks out the door with $66 million . . . reminds me of this scene . . .
Futures Shock
“CME Group Inc. is making progress in talks with Illinois officials about a tax deal to keep its headquarters in Chicago, even as it expects to receive concrete proposals this week from five states seeking to lure the futures exchange operator away, people familiar with the conversations tell Crain’s.”
Maybe the homeless have to threaten to leave the state. Er, wait. Maybe they ought to threaten to loot; that’s what rich people do.
Sara Lee CEO’s Compensation Rises 80%
And he didn’t even have to lengthen his work day.
Beer Goggles
“John Edel, director of Chicago’s innovative vertical farm and food business incubator, The Plant, has been awarded a total of $1.5 million in grant funds from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO),” the company announced on Friday.
“DCEO awarded two grants to support a comprehensive renewable energy system that will accept up to 12,000 tons of food scraps annually. Most of that material will be spent grain from an onsite craft brewery, New Chicago Brewing Company, as well as other breweries around Chicago – material that is currently sent to landfills. What was once thought of as food waste will now help feed a digester which then powers The Plant.”
This sounds good but it’s really no different than subsidies to corporations like Boeing and Groupon. Why should taxpayer money fund business ventures – no matter how desirable?
I’m not even sure it should be legal. As I’ve written before, we should keep government and business separate. And that goes for charity, too. No more business foundations. That’s not an appropriate use of resources that otherwise would benefit workers and consumers.
It’s like business being a health insurance provider . . . no! Not their responsibilty – and is it any wonder, then, that we are chained to crappy policies and practices?
Business, government, charity . . . the federal government, states, counties and cities . . . each has its own responsibilities. Let’s get clear on it.
Jobs Plan
Maybe a more focused approach is in order. For example, what if the Obama administration announced it was going to create the greatest postal service known to mankind. Included: e-mail services provided by usps.gov.
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And maybe we need more post offices, not less! Construction jobs to build them, workers to staff them . . . and some ideas to keep them profitable. For example, off-track betting at some of the facilities.
Here are some other ideas.
Englewood Freight Plan
Maybe if the jobs were promised to residents of the neighborhood. Start training them now.
Patented Obama
“President Barack Obama signed legislation Friday that will overhaul the U.S. patent system for the first time since 1952,” CNN reports.
“‘We have to do everything we can to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit wherever we find it,’ Obama said at a signing ceremony at a high school in Arlington, Virginia. This measure ‘cuts away the red tape that slows down our inventors and entrepreneurs.'”
Really?
“The provision of the America Invents Act, which passed the Senate on Sept. 8 and is awaiting President Barack Obama’s signature, is intended to weed out bad patents by allowing for any party to petition a post-grant review within nine months of a patent being issued by the USPTO,” Law360 reports. (link not available)
“The new procedure is likely to cost patent owners hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend, putting individual inventors and startup companies at a huge disadvantage, according to Paul Vickrey, a partner at Niro Haller & Niro Ltd.
“‘I foresee this as being a very expensive headache and very problematic for folks who can’t afford to effectively defend against a post-grant review,’ he said.
“Patent owners with limited resources may run into problems trying to retain counsel for a post-grant review if they are seeking attorneys to work on a contingency fee basis, Vickrey said. If there are no infringing products on the market from which to seek damages, lawyers willing to work on contingency will be hard to come by, he said.”
Campus Creep
GOP Sees Opportunity In Waning Obama Enthusiasm Among College Students
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Ironically, as I warned in 2008, this president just may end up creating the most cynical generation of all time. They believed.
Barry Manilow Likes Ron Paul
No kidding.
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This was as far as I got:
His name was Ron Paul, he spouted freedom
Like the right to horribly die, ’cause you don’t have an insurance guy
He said liberty, was an unsafe SUV
Let the market sort it out, let that burger give you gout
And a pandemic flu, and industrial goo
Tainted blood and a poisoned apple
And you’re not allowed to sue!
At the Copa, uninspected Copa
The fire doors don’t work, and asbestos is a perk
At the Copa, libertarian Copa
Cancer and rat poop were always in fashion
At the Copa . . . they got real sick
Bears Back To Reality
Isn’t Jerry Angelo tired of it?
$1.3 Trillion In Misreported Funds
“U.S. continues to lack genuine accountability for government spending.”
Reaches Out And Grabs Them!
A Chicago TV Station With A Special Appeal For The Young Adult Of 1970.
The Weekend In Chicago Rock
Shellac, Material re-Issue, Erasure, Rockit Girl and more.
The Cub Factor
“And just like your thought-to-be well-adjusted uncle, after Mike was let go from the cannery he would still show up every morning and wait outside as if they would change their minds and ask him to come in and can some fish.”
The 57th Street Children’s Book Fair
Donuts and monkeys.
The Joseph Rosenberg Fountain
So a thirsty man can drink.
Losing Team, Great Experience
Not the Cubs.
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The Beachwood Tip Line: Thirsty.
Posted on September 20, 2011