Tag Archives: Boston

Aetna Next to Leave Connecticut for Better Business Climate

Wednesday, 07 June 2017 05:41

This article appeared online at TheNewAmerican.com on Tuesday, June 6, 2017:

Aetna Insurance Company and Aetna National Ban...

Aetna Insurance Company and Aetna National Bank, Hartford, Conn, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views

Aetna, the $50 billion health insurer that has had its headquarters in Hartford, Connecticut, since 1853, confirmed rumors last week that it was looking to move out of state. The company said, “We are in negotiations with several states regarding a headquarters relocation, with the goal of broadening our access to innovation and the talent that will fill knowledge-economy type positions … and hope to have a final resolution by early summer.”

Hartford’s Mayor Luke Bronin expressed his disappointment:

Keep Reading…

Hartford, Connecticut’s Troubles Mounting; Looking to Invoke Bankruptcy

Wednesday, 07 June 2017 05:26

This article appeared online at TheNewAmerican.com on Tuesday, June 6, 2017:

The Connecticut State Capitol in downtown Hartford

The Connecticut State Capitol in downtown Hartford

Joseph De Avila, writing in the Wall Street Journal following Aetna’s announcement of its imminent departure from Hartford for more business-friendly climes, used the “B” word: “Hartford, Connecticut’s capital city and hub of the state’s insurance industry, is edging closer to a small club of American municipalities: those that have sought bankruptcy protection.”

As a hanging tends to focus the mind, so is Aetna’s departure focusing more and more attention on Hartford’s financial problems and, to a greater extent, those of the state of Connecticut itself. After being headquartered in Hartford since before the Civil War, Aetna said

Keep Reading…

What’s Wrong with Connecticut?

Tuesday, 06 June 2017 05:18

This article was published by The McAlvany Intelligence Advisor on Monday, June 5, 2017:

English: Aetna building in Hartford, Connectic...

Aetna building in Hartford, Connecticut

The state has a staggering deficit of more than $5 billion, home prices are about where they were a decade ago, unemployment is rising (not falling as it is elsewhere in the northeast), and big companies who have been there for decades are leaving.

What is going on?

Keep Reading…

Restaurants Add “Labor Surcharge” to Tabs to Cover Minimum-wage Increases

Tuesday, 14 March 2017 05:36

This article appeared online at TheNewAmerican.com on Monday, March 13, 2017:

Instead of increasing their menu prices in response to increased minimum-wage levels, restaurant owners are burying their increased labor costs at the bottom of each tab. The increase, between three and four percent, only comes after the customer has completed his meal. The increase also increases the tip customers leave behind as most customers leave a gratuity based on the check’s total. This is going to raise the average customer’s check, which has already increased by nearly 11 percent since 2012, close to five or six percent.

Some restaurant and fast-food owners aren’t burying the increase but are instead calling attention to it so that customers know that they’re the ones actually bearing the brunt of the forced increase in the minimum wage. Sami Ladeki, the owner of six Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza & Grill restaurants in San Diego and eight others across California, used to call it a “California mandate” but removed it after getting a call from the city attorney. Ladeki, who says he makes a profit of around one percent charging $12 to $14 a pizza, told the Wall Street Journal:

Keep Reading…

Former Reagan Economic Advisor Warns: Debt Ceiling “Hard Stop” for Economy

Tuesday, 28 February 2017 06:47

This article appeared online at TheNewAmerican.com on Monday, February 27, 2017:

Cabinet - Class Photo, 1984: Front row: David ...

Cabinet – Class Photo, 1984: Front row: David Stockman, Director, Office of Management & Budget; Back row : Malcolm Baldrige, Secretary of Commerce; Samuel Pierce, Secretary of Housing & Urban Development

David Stockman, former President Ronald Reagan’s director of his Office of Management and Budget from 1981 to 1985, told Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog that March 15, two days after President Trump presents his budget to Congress, will be a “hard stop” for the economy:

Keep Reading…

Number of Former Sanctuary Cities Reversing Policy

Tuesday, 14 February 2017 07:10

This article appeared online at TheNewAmerican.com on Monday, February 13, 2017:

In response to President Donald Trump’s executive order issued on January 25 — “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States” — a number of cities that formerly considered themselves as “sanctuary cities” for illegal immigrants are reversing their policies. The first to do so was Miami-Dade County in Florida the day after Trump issued his order.

Miami-Dade was followed by

Keep Reading…

Trump’s Travel Ban Halted (for Now); Could Go to Supreme Court

Monday, 06 February 2017 07:08

This article appeared online at TheNewAmerican.com on Sunday, February 5, 2017:

English: United States Supreme Court building ...

United States Supreme Court building in Washington D.C.

The firestorm that erupted following President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration and refugees issued on January 27 has resulted in more than 50 lawsuits being filed against it. One of them, filed by the state of Washington and then joined by the state of Minnesota, resulted Friday in a temporary restraining order that halted nationwide Trump’s travel ban preventing nationals of seven foreign countries and refugees from entering the United States. The order, issued Friday by U.S. District Court Judge James Robart in Seattle, set off a flurry of tweets from the president deriding the ruling and a White House promise that Robart’s order would immediately be appealed.

The Trump administration filed an emergency motion Saturday night asking that Judge Robart’s temporary restraining order be stayed, allowing the administration to enforce the travel ban while the judge’s decision is being appealed. On Sunday morning, the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said it would not stay Robart’s order immediately, but would consider the administration’s request after receiving more briefs from both parties. The administration was asked to file a second brief by 3:00 p.m. Monday.

Tweets from the president came fast and furious. His first tweet on Saturday, posted at 4:59 a.m., stated: “When a country is no longer able to say who can, and who cannot, come in & out, especially for reasons of safety &.security – big trouble!” As the day unfolded, his other tweets included:

Keep Reading…

Miami-Dade County First to End Sanctuary Status

Saturday, 28 January 2017 08:37

This article appeared online at TheNewAmerican.com on Friday, January 27, 2017:

Embed from Getty Images

The mayor of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Carlos Gimenez, ordered his prison director “to honor all immigration detainer requests received from the Department of Homeland Security” on Thursday, following President Donald Trump’s executive order. He added: “Miami-Dade County complies with federal law and intends to fully cooperate with the federal government.” (See protesters above)

This was music to Trump’s ears, who immediately tweeted

Keep Reading…

Another Setback for Big Taxi: Uber, Lyft OK’d to Serve Atlanta Airport

Tuesday, 03 January 2017 07:03

This article appeared online at TheNewAmerican.com on Monday, January 2, 2017:

Embed from Getty Images

Following months of negotiations with Uber, Lyft and other ride-sharing (e-hailing) companies, the city of Atlanta, which owns and operates the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (shown), is allowing them to serve passengers effective on Sunday, January 1, 2017.

They have been serving them for months despite restrictions, but those rules were rarely enforced. Now it’s legal.

But not without costs. First,

Keep Reading…

A Bald-faced Daylight Robbery in Massachusetts

Thursday, 25 August 2016 04:26

This article was published by The McAlvany Intelligence Advisor on Wednesday, August 24, 2016:

Embed from Getty Images

One has to give Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker credit: he has devised a plan to punish ride-sharing newcomers, save the state’s failing taxi cartel, and fund much-needed “infrastructure improvements,” all with free money: a new tax on ride-sharing customers that won’t be paid by either the driver or his customers. Instead, it will be levied on those evil newcomers – Uber, Lyft, and the like – who dared to innovate and take business away from the existing cartel.

Here’s how it works:

Keep Reading…

Big Taxi Wins Big in Massachusetts

Wednesday, 24 August 2016 05:07

This article appeared online at TheNewAmerican.com on Tuesday, August 23, 2016:

Massachusetts is now the 35th state to regulate ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft, but with a vengeance not seen elsewhere: A portion of a new 20-cent tax per ride will be used to fund improvements for the old taxi cartel.

First, the new tax is not called a “tax” but a “fee.” Second, the tax won’t be charged either to the driver or to his customer, but to the ride-sharing company itself. Third,

Keep Reading…

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey Fits the Definition of Tyrant

Friday, 22 July 2016 11:08

This article was published by The McAlvany Intelligence Advisor on Friday, July 22, 2016:

Summer's End. Lexington Green, 11 September 20...

Photo taken in Minute Man National Historical Park.

Tyrant is commonly defined as an absolute ruler unrestrained by law or constitution. It would include a ruler inflicted with passions that led to punishing innocents for perceived injustices. The definition of tyrant so inflicted with those passions is perfectly provided by theEncyclopedia of Diderot & d’Alembert:

Keep Reading…

GE’s Move to Boston: Corporate Welfare Through Tax Incentives?

Monday, 25 January 2016 08:57

This article appeared online at TheNewAmerican.com on Friday, January 22, 2016:

In his rejoicing last week over the decision by General Electric (GE) — a company employing more than 300,000 employees and with annual revenues of $150 billion — to move its headquarters from Fairfield, Connecticut, to the South Boston Waterfront, Mayor Marty Walsh claimed that his city had just won the lottery:

Keep Reading…

Behind Chattanooga: Radicalization, Gun-free Zones, and U.S. Foreign Policy

Saturday, 18 July 2015 05:19

This article appeared online at TheNewAmerican.com on Friday, July 17, 2015:

The "black flag of jihad" as used by...

The “black flag of jihad” as used by various Islamic terrorist organizations (since the late 1990s)

Narratives that Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez was a nice, polite, well-behaved, friendly, and funny young man of 24 appeared all across the mainstream media following his murderous attack on a military recruiting center in Chattanooga on Thursday that left four dead and three wounded. According to the media and the president, he was “acting alone” as a “lone wolf.”

Precious little was being said about the possibility of him being influenced by radical elements of his faith calling for Muslims to wage war against unbelievers. The media focused instead on his background:

Keep Reading…

Neo-Luddites in Paris are Losing to Uber

Wednesday, 01 July 2015 05:26

This article was published by The McAlvany Intelligence Advisor on Monday, June 29, 2015:

View image | gettyimages.com

Although the definition of “neo-Luddism” is a “movement of passive resistance to the … frightening technologies of the computer age,” in Paris the resistance is hardly passive. Last week taxi-drivers shut down entrances to and exits from the Charles De Gaulle International Airport, attacked cars driven by Uber drivers (including their passengers), overturned some of them, and set tires on fire. All this to express their frustration over how Uber is slowly, inexorably, putting them out of business. Since they were on strike, even when customers wanted a ride, the cartel members turned them down. After all, they were on strike! (Shown above are passengers toting their own luggage away from De Gaulle airport.)

As the head of taxi company G7 said on French television,

Keep Reading…

Boston University Economist Calls Out Congress on Enormous Fiscal Gap

Friday, 13 March 2015 05:08

This article first appeared online at TheNewAmerican.com on Thursday, March 12, 2015:

Logo of the United States Government Accountability Office

During his annual trek to Washington, D.C., to lecture Congress on its spendthrift habits, Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff took the gloves off this year. He dressed down Senator Mike Enzi, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, along with the committee’s members:

Let me get right to the point. Our country is broke. It’s not broke in 75 years or 50 years or 25 years or 10 years.

It’s broke today.

Indeed, it may well be in worse fiscal shape than any development country, including Greece.

It isn’t just Enzi, or his committee, or the present Congress, that’s responsible for a fiscal gap that’s vastly larger than that projected by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). It’s the idea that the country can borrow without limit because

Keep Reading…

Market Basket Workers Win, Restore Beloved “Artie T” as CEO

Friday, 05 September 2014 05:37

This article was first published at The McAlvany Intelligence Advisor on Monday, September 1, 2014:

The internecine warfare between Arthur T. DeMoulas and his cousin Arthur S. has finally come to an end. Arthur T. will buy out cousin Arthur S.’s 50.5 percent interest in the Market Basket grocery chain for $1.5 billion. The intra-family squabbles had been going on for decades, but hit a low point in June when Arthur S. fired Arthur T. – referred to fondly by his employees as “Artie T” – in June, and replaced him with two joint CEOs. This so outraged upper management and store managers that

Keep Reading…

Uber: The Smartphone App That Eats Taxis

Wednesday, 04 June 2014 10:11

iPhone apps

iPhone apps (Photo credit: ilamont.com)

This article first appeared at The McAlvany Intelligence Advisor on Wednesday, June 4, 2014:

When software inventor and now venture capitalist Marc Andreessen looked at investing in Uber just after its launch, he said “Uber is the software [app that] eats taxis.” At the end of its fourth year, Uber is not only eating taxis, but providing thousands of new jobs for people every month. Last week Uber’s founder, Travis Kalanick said:

Just four years ago we set out to build a better option for people to move around cities: to make getting a ride safer, easier and affordable.

But Uber’s positive impact goes further. Hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs are using the platform to build their own small business, resulting in a huge job growth engine….

The first rule to making a startup successful is to determine precisely and exactly who its customers are. With Uber, it’s both the customer needing a lift, and the driver providing it. The service is predicated on a simple premise:

Keep Reading…

Ride-Sharing Revolution Adding Thousands of new jobs Every Month

Tuesday, 03 June 2014 09:37

The ride-sharing revolution continues to accelerate, adding 20,000 new jobs every month, according to the head of Uber, the initiator of the revolution. Said Uber’s CEO Travis Kalanick:

Just four years ago we set out to build a better option for people to move around cities: to make getting a ride safer, easier and affordable.

But Uber’s positive impact goes further. Hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs are using the platform to build their own small business, resulting in a huge job growth engine…

When economist Mark Perry’s plane arrived at Reagan National Airport late Tuesday night, May 27, it sat on the runway for another hour and a half waiting for a gate to open. When he finally deplaned at 12:30 a.m., he just wanted to get home and go to bed. But so did everyone else:

Keep Reading…

ICE Solicits then Withdraws Bid for National car tag Database

Thursday, 20 February 2014 11:21

The pushback from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency’s request for bids to build a national database of all license plate data now being collected elsewhere across the country was immediate, and for the moment at least, effective: within a week the agency withdrew its request.

ICE said such a national data base would just make its job of tracking illegal immigrants easier, that it

Keep Reading…

Page 1 of 2

1
2
Next