Study: California Public Pensions Underfunded by Over $500B

Study: California Public Pensions Underfunded by Over $500B
"California's three major public pension funds are underfunded by more than half a trillion dollars, according to a report released Monday, the San Jose Mercury News reports."

Health insurance, police contract among pressures of Muskegon city finances | - MLive.com

Health insurance, police contract among pressures of Muskegon city finances
"Meanwhile, both the Police Officers Labor Council, representing approximately 63 city patrol officers, and the city commission have ratified a two-year labor agreement retroactive to Jan. 1 and expiring Dec. 31, 2011.
The contract includes a 1 percent pay hike in each of the two years.
If any nonunion city employee group receives a higher increase, so would the patrol officers."

Apple third highest stcok capitialization in US!Investors await iPad’s cliffhanger launch

Investors await iPad’s cliffhanger launch
"Spurred in part by iPad anticipation, shareholder enthusiasm has more than doubled Apple’s market capitalisation in the past year, driving it past Google and Walmart.
At $214bn, Apple is worth more than every US company but ExxonMobile and Microsoft."

State Websites Give History a Rewrite

State Websites Give History a Rewrite
Readers of the state of Michigan's various Web sites would be hard pressed to find evidence of one of the more embarrassing incidents to have happened this year to the Granholm administration."

Muskegon County jobless rate drops, slightly, to 16.3 percent in February

Muskegon County jobless rate drops, slightly, to 16.3 percent in February
"Like most labor market areas in Michigan, Muskegon County reported drops in labor force levels, employment and unemployment because of likely educational staff recalls and seasonal layoffs at retail and leisure establishments."

School Pension Reform Stalls in Senate

School Pension Reform Stalls in Senate
"A plan to reform public school pensions and set them more in line with private-sector retirement standards — and thus save Michigan taxpayers an estimated $3.5 billion over the next 10 years — stalled in the Michigan Senate as that chamber prepared to leave for its spring break.

Although GOP senators cast blame for the failure at Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Democrats, Republican sources said that only 18 votes could be mustered for the measure, leaving it two votes shy of passage in a chamber where Republicans hold a 22-16 majority."

“Watching the Commander of the Pacific Fleet’s deadpan face as Congressman Hank Johnson…

MARK STEYN:
“Watching the Commander of the Pacific Fleet’s deadpan face as Congressman Hank Johnson (D., Ga.) asks him about the danger of the island of Guam tipping over and capsizing is a glimpse of how the viziers to the loopier Ottoman sultans must have felt.”

UPDATE: Johnson says it was just an out-of-control metaphor.
Frankly, I find this explanation more plausible. . . .
Posted by Glenn Reynolds at 6:35 pm"

Underemployment Rises to 20.3% in March

Underemployment Rises to 20.3% in March
: "Gallup Daily tracking finds that 20.3% of the U.S. workforce was underemployed in March -- a slight uptick from the relatively flat January and February numbers."

Toyota's US sales jump 35.3 percent in March

Toyota's US sales jump 35.3 percent in March
"Toyota on Thursday reported a 35.3 percent jump in US sales in March, rebounding from a series of mass safety recalls which have undermined the embattled Japanese automaker's reputation."

Embracing Liberty, Not Big Government

Embracing Liberty, Not Big Government
"Over the past 14 months, our political debate has been transformed into an argument between the heirs of two fundamental schools of political thought, the Founders and the Progressives.

The Founders stood for the expansion of liberty and the Progressives for the expansion of government.

It's an argument that has been going on for a century but was largely dormant over the quarter-century of low-inflation economic growth that followed the Ronald Reagan tax cuts.
It's been raised again by the expand-government policies of the Obama administration and Democratic congressional leaders."

Steve Gunn: Lawmakers need a dose of courage to deal with deficit

Steve Gunn: Lawmakers need a dose of courage to deal with deficit
"According to statistics, Michigan’s private sector has lost 12.1 percent of its jobs since 2000, while the number of state government jobs has actually increased.

State employees make an average of $57,788 in total compensation, which is 6 percent higher than the national state employee average, according to the Anderson Economic Group of East Lansing. State employees make about $17,000 more than the average private-sector employees in Michigan.

Michigan public employees also collect about $5.7 billion more in benefits than they would if they worked in the private sector."

UAW members at GM plant in Wyoming reject contract changes, risk closing plant

UAW members at GM plant in Wyoming reject contract changes, risk closing plant
"Members of Local 167, United Auto Workers, soundly rejected a package of changes to their contract Wednesday at the former Delphi Corp. plant, now held by General Motors Components Holding.
Workers voted 136 yes to 258 no, nearly 2-1 against the Memorandum of Understanding dated on St. Patrick's Day 2010."

Just wait 'til "card check" is the law of the land.
We won't have any factories left in our country.