More bad news: U.S. water bills to triple

http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/washington-secrets/2012/02/more-bad-news-us-water-bills-triple/317086

First high gas prices, now water. A shocking new report about the nation’s crumbling drinking water system says that Americans should expect their bills to double or triple to cover repairs just to keep their faucets pouring. That means adding up to $900 a year more for water, nearly equal the amount of the newly extended payroll tax cut.
Fixing and expanding underground drinking water systems will cost over $1 trillion in the next 25 years and users will get socked with the bill, according to the American Water Works Association.
As with most infrastructure investments, spending heavily now means less costs down the road. But with little appetite in the country for even trickling taxes now, a delayed and more expensive fix is almost guaranteed. The association figures that spending to fix leaky water systems will double from roughly $13 billion a year today to $30 billion annually by 2040.
“Because pipe assets last a long time, water systems that were built in the later part of the 19th century and throughout much of the 20th century have, for the most part, never experienced the need for pipe replacement on a large scale,” said the report provided to Washington Secrets. ”The dawn of an era in which the assets will need to be replaced puts growing stress on communities that will continue to increase for decades to come.”
What kind of stress? Families can expect to pay at least $300-$550 more for water in taxes and fees just to keep their current systems operating. Add growth and improved systems, and that bill jumps to $900 for a family of three, said the report.
Currently, Americans pay about $400 a month in water taxes and fees.

Economic and Political News Feb. 28th, 2012

 

Emerging economies to challenge US hold on World Bank

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/emerging-economies-to-challenge-us-hold-on-world-bank/articleshow/12061556.cms

Berkshire Hathaway selects Warren Buffett successor

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/berkshire-hathaway-selects-warren-buffett-successor/articleshow/12050303.cms

Wall Street closes at highest since mid-2008

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/global-markets/wall-street-closes-at-highest-since-mid-2008/articleshow/12063267.cms

Oil price rise raises spectre of global recession

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/oil-price-rise-raises-spectre-of-global-recession/articleshow/12058490.cms

Bill Clinton, Helmut Kohl, EU among 231 candidates for Nobel Peace Prize

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/Bill-Clinton-Helmut-Kohl-EU-among-231-candidates-for-Nobel-Peace-Prize/articleshow/12062398.cms

Risk On: Was 2008 Just a Bad Dream?

With volatility back to low, pre-crisis levels, safety is being shunned for excitement

http://www.businessweek.com/finance/risk-on-was-2008-just-a-bad-dream-02262012.html

FHA to Increase Cost of Up-Front Mortgage Insurance Premiums

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-27/fha-to-increase-cost-of-up-front-mortgage-insurance-premiums.html

State Street Investigated by New York, U.S. on Foreign Exchange

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-27/state-street-investigated-by-new-york-u-s-on-foreign-exchange.html

Buffett Says Banks Victimized by Excesses of Evicted Homeowners

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-27/buffett-says-banks-victimized-by-excesses-of-evicted-homeowners.html

A Ponzi Scheme That Never Gets Dull

Scott Rothstein relied on bribes and a “rock star” lifestyle to keep his $1.2 billion scam rolling along

http://www.businessweek.com/finance/a-ponzi-scheme-that-never-gets-dull-02272012.html

Why investors should be prepared for violent market swings

http://www.firstpost.com/investing/why-investors-should-be-prepared-for-violent-market-swings-224875.html

Silver faces last hurdle before blast off, but there’s a caveat

http://www.firstpost.com/investing/silver-faces-last-hurdle-before-blast-off-but-theres-a-caveat-224862.html

Occupy London protest camp eviction under way

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17187180

U.S. intelligence agencies agree: no evidence of Iranian nuclear weapons program

http://www.activistpost.com/2012/02/us-intelligence-agencies-agree-no.html

MSM says just a small amount of children killed by Drone attacks… So its OK?

http://deadlinelive.info/2012/02/26/msm-says-just-a-small-amount-of-children-killed-by-drone-attacks-so-its-ok/

 

Wikileaks Reveals Possible Israeli Covert

Action Campaign Against Iran

http://www.worldjewishdaily.com/wikileaks-iran.php

Hillary Clinton Urges Muslims To ‘Not Pay Attention’ To Republicans

http://nation.foxnews.com/muslim/2012/02/26/hilary-clinton-muslims-dont-pay-attention-republicans#ixzz1ndVTbkxn

Hauling hedge funds into the 21st century

By Jay Eisenhofer, Grant & Eisenhofer P.A.

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-a-budget/212827-jay-eisenhofer-grant-a-eisenhofer-pa

Comprehensive approach is the only way to control gas prices

By Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D-Hawaii)

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-a-environment/212773-rep-colleen-hanabusa-d-hawaii

H.R. 7 – more than just roads and bridges

By Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.)

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-a-budget/212751-rep-randy-hultgren-r-ill

Protecting the Homeland, Safeguarding Privacy

By Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.)

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/homeland-security/212531-rep-patrick-meehan-r-pa

Fiddlers, foreign oil and failed policy

By Lt. Col. Steve Russell, US Army (Ret.)
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-a-environment/212487–lt-col-steve-russell-us-army-ret

Anonymous targets lawmakers for defeat

By Brendan Sasso

http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/212793-anonymous-targets-lawmakers-for-defeat

News bites: WikiLeaks publishes intelligence firm’s emails By Brendan Sasso

http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/212685-news-bites-wikileaks-publishes-intelligence-firms-emails

FTC chief: Google forcing consumers to make ‘brutal choice’ with privacy changes

By Brendan Sasso

http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/212741-ftc-chief-google-forcing-consumers-to-make-brutal-choice-with-privacy-changes

George Osborne: UK has run out of money

The Government ‘has run out of money’ and cannot afford debt-fuelled tax cuts or extra spending, George Osborne has admitted.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9107485/George-Osborne-UK-has-run-out-of-money.html

What If????

 

By: Andrew P. Napolitano
Date: 2012-01-11

What if Democrats and Republicans were two wings of the same bird of prey? What if elections were actually useful tools of social control? What if they just provided the populace with meaningless participation in a process that validates an establishment that never meaningfully changes?

  What if that establishment doesn’t want and doesn’t have the consent of the governed? What if the two-party system were actually a mechanism used to limit so-called public opinion? What if there were more than two sides to every issue, but the two parties wanted to box you in to one of their corners? What if there’s no such thing as public opinion, because every thinking person has opinions that are uniquely his own? What if public opinion were just a manufactured narrative that makes it easier to convince people that if their views are different, there’s something wrong with that – or something wrong with them?

What if the whole purpose of the Democratic and Republican parties was not to expand voters’ choices, but to limit them? What if the widely perceived differences between the two parties were just an illusion? What if the heart of government policy remains the same, no matter who’s in the White House? What if the heart of government policy remains the same, no matter what the people want? What if both parties just want power and are willing to have young people fight meaningless wars to enhance that power?

*** The speaker on this Fox news clip, Andrew P. Napolitano, is a former judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey. His most recent book is It Is Dangerous to Be Right When the Government Is Wrong: The Case for Personal Freedom.

Can Congress Steal Your Constitutional Freedoms?

By Judge Andrew P. Napolitano
Published December 01, 2011
| FoxNews.com

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/12/01/can-congress-steal-your-constitutional-freedoms/#ixzz1ndDfWjAl