Sherman A1
Sherman A1's JournalMay 9: National Butterscotch Brownie Day and National Moscato Day
Those may or may not be good to have together!
McCaskill Holds Hearing On 'Kafkaesque' Credit Report System
Millions of consumers have an error on their credit report. In response, Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri held a hearing Tuesday on the consumer report industry.
One out of every five consumers has an error on at least one of their major credit reports, according to a study released a few months ago by the Federal Trade Commission. Those errors can cause consumers to pay more or be denied credit or housing.
McCaskill, who recently became chairman of the Senate subcommittee on consumer protection, called the system “kafkaesque.”
“What happened in many of these instances is the consumer comes forward and says, ‘You’ve got an error,’ and all you do is put it into a two digit code," McCaskill said. "I can’t believe you’re so clogged up because all you do is put it into a two or three digit code and send it to the lender, the lender says ‘No’ and you say ‘Okay.’”
http://www.news.stlpublicradio.org/post/mccaskill-holds-hearing-kafkaesque-credit-report-system
Mo. Gen. Assembly Sends Targeted Prevailing Wage Bill To Gov. Nixon
Yet another attack on working people by the GOP Controlled Missouri General Assembly.http://www.news.stlpublicradio.org/post/mo-gen-assembly-sends-targeted-prevailing-wage-bill-gov-nixon
The Missouri General Assembly has sent Governor Jay Nixon (D) legislation that would provide a targeted roll back of the state's prevailing wage.
House Bill 34 would eliminate the prevailing wage in third and fourth-class rural counties, and only for school construction and other public works projects. It was sponsored by State Representative Casey Guernsey (R, Bethany), who represents four counties in rural northwest Missouri.
"There hasn't been a school built in my district, aside from one, in my lifetime – I’m 31 years old," Guernsey said. "Every single one of them, and I represent 19 school districts, has significant construction or maintenance projects that (have) to be done."
The bill was passed by the Missouri House Monday and the Missouri Senate last week. It would require wage surveys to be split between union and non-union employers, and the prevailing wage would be set by the group that reported more hours of work. Labor union groups have fought against several bills this year proposing to either limit or completely scrap the prevailing wage, saying that it could lead to cut-rate contractors flooding into Missouri from other states.
3 Reasons Employees Leave: Their Managers
When I was 17, in an attempt to save up for the gorgeous (but absurdly unaffordable) prom dress of my dreams, I picked up an after-school job at a cards and gift shop. My boss, the owner of the store, was a tall man with a short temper who spent most of the workday barking orders ("Hey you, cover the register!"
and asking me to lie to customers ("Hey you, don't tell them that item is on sale!" . And, yes, he referred to me as "hey, you" for the entirety of my employment.
Needless to say, as soon as I saved up enough cash to purchase something halfway decent from the clearance rack at Lord & Taylor, I jumped ship and never looked back.
In short, my boss made my time at work unbearable-and that's obviously why I left. It turns out, I'm not alone-Florida State University conducted a comprehensive study to analyze the reasons why dissatisfied employees leave their jobs, and it revealed that most of the time, employees leave managers, not companies.
http://shine.yahoo.com/work-money/3-reasons-employees-leave-managers-211800866.html
May 3, 1921 – West Virginia becomes the first state to legislate a broad sales tax
West Virginia has the distinction of being the first US state to enact a sales tax.[168] It currently stands at 6%. The sales tax on food currently stands at 1%. Effective January 1, 2006, the sales tax on food was lowered to 5%, and on July 1, 2007, it was lowered further to 4%. The sales tax on food was again lowered to 3% on July 1, 2008, to 2% on January 1, 2012, and then to 1% on July 1, 2012.[169] However, the reduced rate of tax does not apply to sales, purchases and uses by consumers of prepared food. Prescription drugs are not subject to sales tax. Credit is allowed for sales or use taxes paid to another state with respect to the purchase.
An individual who titles a motor vehicle with the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles must pay a $10 title fee and a 5 percent title privilege tax (rather than the 6 percent sales tax). For vehicles purchased new by West Virginia residents, the measure of this tax is the net sales price of the vehicle. For used vehicles, and for vehicles previously titled in other states, the tax is measured by the National Automobile Dealers Association book value of the vehicle at the time of registration. No credit is issued for any taxes paid to another state. Trailers, motorboats, all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles are also subject to this tax.[170] As of June 7, 2007, new residents of West Virginia no longer have to pay the 5 percent title privilege tax on vehicles, as long as the vehicles were validly titled to the same owner outside the state.[171]
West Virginia is a member of the Streamlined Sales Tax Project. The streamlined sales tax agreement has effected significant in-state tax changes. West Virginia's Energy Star Sales Tax Free Holiday was inspired by similar holidays in other states. The reduction of the food tax was similarly influenced. West Virginia adopted the definition of food found in the Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement in deciding what food is subject to preferential tax rates.[172
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_taxes_in_the_United_States#West_Virginia
How a retired Peabody miner found himself at the mercy of Patriot Coal’s bankruptcy plan
St. Louis – Carlyn Rehbein worked for 27 years in the coal mines of Peabody Energy. Now the 76-year-old retired miner from Mascoutah, Ill., has lung cancer and is facing the potential loss of his health coverage in the bankruptcy proceedings of Peabody spinoff Patriot Coal.
Rehbein, a member of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), never worked for Patriot, but found himself dependent on the company for his health care and pension benefits after Peabody spun-off the coal company in 2007.
The UMWA says Patriot was “designed to fail” in a bid to rid Peabody of its pension and health care obligations to union retirees.
Peabody, the world’s largest private-sector coal company, assigned Patriot approximately 43 percent of its pension and health care liabilities but just 11 percent of its productive assets.
http://labortribune.com/how-a-retired-peabody-miner-found-himself-at-the-mercy-of-patriot-coals-bankruptcy-plan/
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