Datasets:
Recag
/
C4_1

Dataset card Data Studio Files Community
1
text
stringlengths
10
56.7k
A: House and Senate party leaders each have appointed bargainers to hash out differences over the bill, following Congress' tradition of naming conference committees to craft compromise legislation. But as usual when high-profile battles are being resolved, party leaders will have tight control over the ultimate deal. Still, conference committee members will play a role in writing details, and their endorsement of a package would let leaders argue that they didn't jam something down the throats of rank-and-file lawmakers.
Q: Who are these 20 lawmakers?
A: They range from formidable committee chairmen to lowly freshmen, but each has a stake in the fight.
The chairmen of Congress' two tax-writing committees are included: Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., of the Senate Finance Committee.
Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., is the Senate's No. 2 Republican and a close ally of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, facing re-election this fall in the pivotal state of Pennsylvania, has repeatedly been given a visible role in the payroll tax fight by party leaders.
Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., a party leader, should be a leading opponent of Republican proposals to help finance the plan by effectively denying the child tax credit to many illegal immigrants. Freshman GOP Rep. Nan Hayworth is from a closely contested district in New York's Hudson River Valley.
Hayworth and Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., are doctors, which could give them roles in the talks involving Medicare. A pair of Maryland Democrats, Sen. Ben Cardin and Rep. Chris Van Hollen, are sure to battle a Republican proposal to make federal employees contribute more to their pensions.
Q: Do they bring other experience to the bargaining table?
A: Seven have participated in recent, failed bipartisan efforts to contain mammoth budget deficits. Those were Congress' supercommittee, talks led by Vice President Joe Biden, the "Group of Six" senators, and a presidential commission headed by former Wyoming GOP Sen. Alan Simpson and former President Bill Clinton's White House chief of staff, Erskine Bowles.
None of those groups succeeded, largely because party leaders could not agree to the controversial tax increases and cuts in entitlement programs like Medicare that would have been required for the trillions of dollars in savings needed.
Far smaller savings are needed to resolve the payroll tax fight, and the consensus is that this time, the president and leaders in both parties want a package that can become law.
But why will this bailout work when an earlier one failed and has Greece now surrendered control of its own economy?
After more than 14 hours of negotiations in Brussels an agreement has been reached on a rescue package to the tune of $170bn that will allow Greece to pay its debts, which are due in less than a month.
The deal ensures that Greece will not be forced into defaulting on what it owes in the short term.
"It was a bad deal, reached at gunpoint as far as the Greek government is concerned. The new government will have to work around this in order to enhance growth measures and reduce austerity levels because austerity on top of austerity will not do the trick. If you keep milking a cow without feeding it you are not going to end up with the desired results."
Despite reservations over Greece's ability to deliver on austerity measures, eurozone finance ministers have given Athens billions of euros to rescue the country from its financial woes.
Reacting to the second tranche of the bailout, Lucas Papademos, the Greek prime minister, described the day as a historic one for the Greek economy.
"With today's decisions, we are given an opportunity to move towards more stable conditions, to reduce the uncertainty which has affected the economic activity and enhance confidence in the prospects of the Greek economy," he said.
"In this way, the adjustment process of the economy can be facilitated and also better conditions for its recovery can be provided and new jobs can be created."
But some financial experts argue that once again the can has been kicked down the road to be dealt with later.
The conditions of the second bailout include $399m cutbacks in military spending, a $40m saving by reducing staff numbers in central government, and reducing the minimum wage, as well as slashing overtime pay for doctors in public hospitals by at least $66m.
What this means is further budget cuts which are already deeply unpopular with the Greek people who have continuously opposed harsh austerity measures imposed following the first bailout in 2010.
"The political system has very low credibility and in order to proceed with these tough measures you need to have credible political personnel, which we are lacking right now. Hopefully there will be an inflow of new people from the private sector. There is a huge debate as to whether the major parties will survive this economic crisis."
As before, eurozone finance ministers say they want assurances Greece will stick to its promises.
Their comments were backed by the contents of a leaked report from the European Commission, the Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.
The report predicts that Greek debt could stay at a staggering 160 per cent of the country's GDP by 2020, unless drastic changes are made.
Critics say the new measures to bail out struggling countries have to be matched by economic reforms.
Jan Kees de Jager, the Dutch finance minister, said: "When you look at the derailments in Greece which have occurred several times now, it is probably necessary that there is some kind of permanent presence of the troika in Athens, not every three months, but more on a permanent basis. I am in favour of that."
So why should this bailout work when a previous one has failed, and in accepting the stringent conditions attached, has Greece surrendered control of its own economy?
To what extent will this second bailout rescue Greece's shattered economy, at what cost and how is this going to impact Greece's internal politics?
Joining presenter Mike Hanna on Inside Story are guests: Fokion Zaimis, a small business owner and the CEO of Science Park; Vicky Pryce, a Greek-born economist and the former joint head of the UK government economic service; and Constantine Michalos, an economist and president of the Athens chamber of commerce and industry.
"There is already an EU task force here and they are trying to make sure that the various ministries that are important to the economy do the right thing. But there is a concern that actually some of that money will never be spent, it won't be spent correctly, it won't be value for money and it won't benefit the economy."
Finance ministers meeting in Brussels approve $170bn rescue package needed to avoid default by debt-ridden nation.
Review: This double disc is a complete overview of pianist Dharmawan's stunningly broad stylistic span. Not everything here is world-centric and it is not always pretty, but the gems are worth it, where he addresses the relationships between Indonesian music & modern jazz in unexpected and startlingly creative ways. Mark Wingfield adds some sonic guitar in places.
BEAVER — After every practice and every game, coach Greg Huston reminds his Beaver girls basketball team that everything they do on the basketball court is a learning experience.
On Thursday night, the young and inexperienced Bobcats learned again that they can compete with any team in their section.
But to consistently win games against the better teams in the section, they have to play a little bit better than they did in a 63-61 loss to Avonworth.
The bright spot for Beaver, 7-2 overall and 3-1 in the section, was how it battled back after trailing by 11 points, 53-42, midway in the fourth quarter.
From that point, the Bobcats went on a 19-8 run and tied the game, thanks to some clutch outside shooting. In the last 3 minutes, they knocked down five three-pointers.
Sophomore guards Anna Blum and Natalie Priest each made two 3s down the stretch. Freshman forward Payton List added one.
With 3 seconds left, Priest’s bomb from long distance tied the game, 61-61.
But just when it seemed like the game was headed to overtime, Avonworth guard Harris Robinson was fouled just past the midcourt line with less than a second on the clock … 0.2 seconds to be exact.
She calmly sank both free throws for a win that put Avonworth (6-3, 4-0) in sole possession of first place.
Hayden Robinson, a 5-foot-10 senior forward who’s going to Quinnipiac University on a track scholarship, led Avonworth with a game-high 22 points. Kathryn Goetz, a 5-9 junior forward, added 16 for the Antelopes.
Sophomore guard Emma Pavelek led Beaver with 20 points. Sophomore forward Maddi Weiland and Payton List scored 11 and 10, respectively.
“Huge win,” said Avonworth coach Mark D’Alessandris, an Aliquippa native who used to coach the Quips’ girls team. “We’re both competing for first place, and now we’re in sole possession. We got a big game Monday when Neshannock comes to our gym.
It was Beaver who handed Neshannock its only section loss, 47-46, on the Lancers’ home court on Dec. 13.
“Avonworth is really good,” Huston said. “I had them and Neshannock as the top two teams in the section. So I feel pretty good that we’re playing right with them for as young as we are.
and the angels did sing.
and the savior of our world.
to where the Christ child was asleep.
until the time that we grow old.
will be filled with eternal delight.
A Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #5 Review – Where Is Walter Jones?
PENCILLERS: Thony Silas, Corin Howell. Cover by Jamal Campbell.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #5 tells us that before Tommy became Rita Repulsa’s evil Green Ranger, she made a play for Zack, the Black Ranger. After being “upstaged” by Jason during a fight, Goldar and the putties abduct Zack so Rita can make her pitch. Obviously, Zack doesn’t accept. But how do the events of this issue impact Zack’s relationship to the team? And what happens when Zack tells Zordon?
Rita tempting one of the Rangers toward the dark side is such a simple, classic tale. It’s perfect for this series. I’m not sure I wouldn’t have gone with Billy instead of Zack, especially considering the scene we saw in issue #2. He was comparing himself to the others, and he seemed to become self conscious and bitter. If Rita could have seen that, she might have exploited it. On the other hand, we’ve seen some curious behavior from Zack in this series. He’s been very suspicious and apprehensive about Tommy. This issue seems to explain why. This experience gives him a negative connection to the Green Ranger that we never knew about.
The Zack we’ve seen in this series isn’t the one I expected. On the show, Walter Jones played a fun-loving dancer. Zack is in love with life, and he’s not afraid to show it. That’s not the character we’ve seen in this series. For the most part he’s been very straight faced. I understand he’s in a very tense storyline. But flashes of personality aren’t going to hurt anything, are they?
In essence, what we need in this book is a little more Walter Jones.
Fussy Fanboy Moment: After Zack is abducted, he wakes up in Rita’s Dark Dimension, which we saw in the show. But in one of the “Green Candle” episodes, which these events obviously predate, Jason says he and Tommy are the only Rangers that have been there.
On the plus side, Higgins sneaks in what seems to be a hint at Zack going to the Peace Conference later in the series. He tells Zordon, “I need to do more … I don’t care about leading. It’s not like that.” I like that second line. It speaks to why Rita’s plan for Zack doesn’t work. He’s imperfect like anyone else, but in the end he’s selfless. It’s more about the good that’s being done, as opposed to the glory you get from it.
The opening sequence, set in Italy, is a lot of fun. The Rangers face Rita’s monstrous take on The Vitruvian Man, who can apparently only speak in da Vinci quotes. Afterward, they receive some fanfare on the ground. We even have the prime minister in the middle of the action. This is yet another example of Higgins doing something that never could have happened on the show.
Thony Silas tags in on pencils for this issue. His style isn’t dramatically different from Hendry Prasetya’s, though his characters are slightly better at emoting. His Rita is particularly sinister. Again, his Zack seems very reserved and stoic, which is not the character we’re used to.
“The Ongoing Adventures of Bulk & Skull” still doesn’t do much for me. Though we do get a surprise in this issue: The BOOM! Studios debut of Lieutenant Stone, Bulk & Skull’s foil from seasons 3 and 4. I’d always been under the impression they’d never met before. Either way, I’m glad to see the putty patroller story is over. On to (hopefully) better things.
Higgins pleasantly surprised me with this Zack story, by following up on a plot seed he’d planted as far back as issue #1. It makes you wonder what else he might come back to in future issues. Whether it’s how Billy sees his role on the team, Jason feeling threatened by Tommy, or something else fans may have wondered about. There’s so much fertile ground to cover, and I’m hopeful that we’ve only scratched the surface.
This entry was posted in Comic Books/Graphic Novels and tagged Billy Cranston, Black Ranger, BOOM! Studios, Bulk & Skull, comic book reviews, comic books, Corin Howell, Green Ranger, Jamal Campbell, Kyle Higgins, Leonardo da Vinci, Megazord, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #5 (2016), Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (BOOM! Studios), Pink Ranger, Power Rangers, Red Ranger, Rita Repulsa, Rob Siebert, single issue reviews, Steve Orlando, superhero comics, superheroes, The Vitruvian Man, Thony Silas, Tommy Oliver, Walter Emanuel Jones, Zack Taylor, Zordon on 07/21/2016 by primaryignition.
Another day, another feud for Wendy Williams.
Aretha Franklin‘s estate was ripping into the talk show host for comments Williams made about the upcoming film “Amazing Grace,” which is about The Queen of Soul recording her iconic 1972 gospel album.
Franklin’s estate quickly clapped back, according to the Detroit Free Press.
“While Franklin had initially imposed an injunction on ‘Amazing Grace,’ her objections had nothing to do with its quality; negotiations were incomplete at the time of her death… Contrary to Williams’ derisive reference, there is no ‘Cousin Junebug’ making decisions for the Estate,” the statement said in part.
In addition, the film’s director, Sydney Pollock, didn’t use one camera — there were five.
Wendy also caught heat last week from Howard Stern after she said she is “of the people” while insisting the shock-jock went Hollywood. Stern unleashed a verbal assault on Wendy on his Sirius XM show on Friday morning. Listen below, the language is brutal.
After a series of guest hosts during a brief hiatus, Williams returned to her talk show on March 4 and the drama has been non-stop ever since.
The City collects garbage weekly from 600,000 households along 350 daily routes. The City has long organized garbage collection services on a ward-by-ward basis. The City assigns the laborers and motor truck drivers who collect garbage in individual wards, where they work on truck routes that do not cross ward boundaries.
However, the City’s recycling pickup is organized based on a regional routing system that does not take into account ward boundaries.
Under this option, the City would shift its garbage collection to a regional, grid-based system. By comparing the efficiency of recycling collection with garbage collection, we can estimate what efficiencies might be achieved through a regional, grid-based system of garbage collection.
According to the City’s Mobile Asset Tracking system (CMAT), the City currently has 43 recycling trucks. Assuming that these trucks are all continually operational, the City is providing recycling services to 241,000 households every other week using 43 daily routes.36 The table below compares the difference in annual pickups per daily route of garbage collection and recycling.
The table shows that recycling collection, which uses regional routing, averages significantly more pickups per route than garbage collection, which uses the ward system.
This is despite the fact that recycling trucks only have one laborer assigned, while some garbage trucks have two. However, garbage collection averages nearly 11 tons collected per daily route per day, while recycling collection averages only 4.65 tons per daily route per day.
Because garbage collection is collecting significantly more tonnage per route, workers spend less time collecting because the trucks must make more frequent trips to dump their loads.
In 2008, the average load dumped at City-owned dumpsites was 6.65 tons. Based on the average tons collected per route per day, garbage collection averages 1.65 loads per day and recycling averages 0.7 loads per day.
For simplicity, assume that garbage collection dumps two loads per day and recycling dumps one load per day, and one load in each program is dumped after the 8-hour collection shift is over through the City’s night shuttle program.
Under these assumptions, garbage collection is interrupted by one dump during the 8-hour collection shift, while recycling collection is not. Assuming an average dump takes 1.5 hours, garbage is collected an average of 6.5 hours per route per day, while recycling is collected for the full 8-hour collection shift.
The table below compares the estimated pickups per hour for garbage and recycling collection and shows that recycling collection using regional routing is more efficient in terms of pickups per hour than garbage collection based on the ward system.
If garbage collection averaged the same number of pickups per hour as recycling collection, the number of daily routes could be reduced to 264, or a 24.6% reduction.
Assuming that a 24.6% reduction in routes would yield a 24.6% reduction in staffing devoted to garbage collection, the table below details the reduction in personnel and associated personnel costs that would be realized.
The table shows that if the City were to move to a grid-based routing system for garbage collection and achieve the same efficiency that the regional routing of recycling is currently achieving, the City might reduce its 2010 personnel costs by up to $24.1 million through the elimination of up to 297 positions.
Because of contractual increases in personnel costs, the savings from implementing this option would grow in future years.
The 2011 and 2012 salaries of Laborers and Motor Truck Drivers will be higher due to collective bargaining agreements, which call for salary increases of 3.25% in 2011 and 3.5% in 2012.
Assuming that there are no increases in salaries for the other positions and that the furloughs are continued in their current form, the table below shows the increase in compensation costs over the next two years for the 297 eliminated positions.
In addition to the savings from a reduction in the number of daily routes, additional savings could be generated by reducing the number of laborers on the remaining routes to one laborer per truck.
With 264 daily routes, operating approximately 250 days a year, there are approximately 66,000 annual routes. Assuming that the average sanitation worker works 200 days per year (after holidays, vacation days, and sick and disability leave) to ensure that there would be a sufficient reserve to avoid un-staffed routes, 330 sanitation laborers would be needed to fully staff the 66,000 routes.
This would mean an additional reduction in the number of laborers by 122. At an average compensation of $75,579, their total compensation in 2010 would equal $9.2 million.
The 2011 and 2012 compensation will be higher due to the Laborers collective bargaining agreement, which calls for a salary increase of 3.25% in 2011 and 3.5% in 2012. Assuming that the furloughs remain in place, the compensation for these 122 positions will cost $9.5 million in 2011 and $9.8 million in 2012.
These savings will be slightly reduced because under the current collective bargaining agreement with the Laborers Union, sanitation laborers working on one-laborer garbage trucks are to be paid 9 percent more than their regular hourly rate.
Thus, the reduction in 122 laborers would on average result in 122 additional laborers working on a one-laborer garbage truck, resulting in a 9 percent increase in their salaries. This would cost an additional $856,000 in 2011 and $885,000 in 2012.
Additionally, under the agreement between the City and Coalition of Union Public Employees (COUPE) to impose furlough days from July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2011, if the City chooses to lay off employees during this period, all laid off employees will be paid for any unpaid holidays or furlough days taken since July 1, 2009.
Thus, if the City were to lay off the 269 total sanitation laborers and 110 motor truck drivers, the affected employees would have to be paid approximately 13.5 percent of their salaries to compensate for unpaid days they have taken over the last year and a half, since the furlough agreement has been in place. This would reduce the savings in 2011 by an additional $3.8 million.
Therefore, the total estimated savings from switching to regional routing system of garbage collection and reducing the number of laborers on the remaining routes to 1 would be $29.6 million in 2011 and $34.5 million in 2012.
Of course, there would be additional savings from reducing the City’s fleet of garbage trucks such as savings in future truck purchases, maintenance costs, gas, oil, etc.