Archives

All posts for the day January 18th, 2013

Heloise Shares Hints on Creating a Flu-Free Home

Posted by danetteoneal1 on January 18, 2013
Posted in: Special Interest. Leave a comment

1/16/13; HouseLogic: Syndicated advice columnist Heloise chats about how to make your home a healthier place during flu season.

Hand-washing is key, says the Texan columnist and advisor on all things domestic; and vigorous hand rubbing is more important than water temperature or type of soap. Also, place paper towels or napkins at the sink that you can use and toss, don’t use hand towels that just absorb and pass along germs.

More Anti-Flu Tips: Line trashcans with plastic bags from the grocery so you can throw away used tissues without touching them. Clean door handles and faucets with inexpensive rubbing alcohol — 70% or 90% — rather than commercial anti-bacterial wipes. Don’t forget to sanitize TV remote controls, especially if a sick person has touched them. Crack a window or door to let in fresh air, rather than just breathing the same stale, germy air. Wash sheets on sick beds at least twice a week in the hottest water they can stand: add a splash of chlorine bleach.

Critics say Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s legacy will be forever tainted by a failure to help stem the housing crisis. But Geithner contends that there just wasn’t much more he could do.

Posted by danetteoneal1 on January 18, 2013
Posted in: Economy, education, Home Ownership. Leave a comment

“Even with more money and broader authority, I don’t believe that you would have had a dramatically different outcome,” Geithner told The Wall Street Journal in a recent interview. “It just was not possible.”

The Obama administration’s housing programs have not met their own expectations, helping fewer people than promised and resulting in re-defaults for many. Some housing experts say this is largely because the government did not pursue mass principal reductions, which would have reduced the burden placed on underwater homeowners by the crisis.

“We didn’t have $500 billion or three-quarters of a trillion dollars to provide principal reduction to the American homeowner, and doing so would have been a very inefficient way to help the economy, and really unfair in many ways,” Geithner told the WSJ. “We also didn’t have the legal power to compel.”

20130118-203012.jpg

Louisiana’s Self Inflicted Fiscal Cliff

Posted by danetteoneal1 on January 18, 2013
Posted in: Economy, education. Leave a comment

Louisiana is facing a $1.2 million gap in the budget and now the Governor wants to eliminate almost $3 billion in taxes.

Last year Louisiana collected $2.9 billion through the individual and corporate income taxes and another $2.6 billion through the general sales tax. Maintaining current revenues with Jindal’s plan would require that sales tax revenues more than double, which means that, absent a significant broadening of the tax base, the tax rate would also have to rise substantially. For working people who pay fewer income taxes- the sales tax increase is huge and amounts to close to a 4 percentage point drop in after-tax income.

New mortgage rules aimed at preventing the type of risky lending that led to the financial crisis are expected to tighten lending options for low- to middle-income borrowers across the nation. But local lenders say the rules could have a negative impact in New Orleans, where property insurance rates expected to rise.

Posted by danetteoneal1 on January 18, 2013
Posted in: Economy, education, Home Ownership. Leave a comment

Read more: http://neworleanscitybusiness.com/blog/2013/01/18/benefits-of-mortgage-rules-could-bypass-new-orleans/#ixzz2INBJOXfX

Kids Who Want President Obama to Do Something About Gun Violence

Posted by danetteoneal1 on January 18, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment

In the days and weeks after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, President Obama heard from Americans from all over the country asking him to do something about gun violence in our communities. From signing We the People petitions to sending handwritten letters to the President, hundreds of thousands of people raised their voices on all sides of the issue. Below, listen to Hinna, Taejah, read the letters they wrote to President Obama. Then, learn more about his plan to reduce gun violence and add your voice the conversation.
On Wednesday, when President Obama announced the concrete plan he was putting forward to reduce gun violence, he shared the stage with four of the people who wrote him letters. The four had something in common besides their concern; each of them represented a group of Americans President Obama’s proposals are specifically designed to help protect — our nation’s children.