Alabama Voters Tax Plan (NYT): “Alabama voters overwhelmingly rejected a $1.2 billion tax increase today, delivering a crushing blow to their Republican governor, Bob Riley, who had staked his political career on the vote. His ambitious plan was to close a $675 million budget deficit, ease taxes on the poor and catapult the state’s school system from among the nation’s worst to one of the best. Mr. Riley’s background as a congressman and acolyte of Newt Gingrich, who had never voted to raise taxes, cast a national spotlight on Alabama’s fiscal crisis, even as other Republican governors from Georgia to Nevada have turned to tax increases to keep afloat. None, though, was as daring as Mr. Riley, who sought to bring his state’s antiquated finances into the 21st century in one fell swoop. But voters made clear that they believed that Mr. Riley had overreached. With 88 percent of precincts reporting, opponents outnumbered supporters of the referendum to enact Mr. Riley’s program by 68 percent to 32 percent.”
Legal Tangles Over Wiring(NYT): “A recently issued fire-safety standard has resulted in new pressure to remove abandoned cable. This has led to a new issue in commercial lease negotiations: whether the landlord or the tenant should bear the removal costs. The National Electrical Code does not become law until a jurisdiction adopts it. Although there is no way to know just how many of the nation’s 42,000 jurisdictions have adopted the latest code, Mr. Earley said it had been approved by most states, including New Jersey, where it goes into effect next month. New York and Connecticut are still governed by the 1999 code, he said.
Bernanke Stays(NYT): “President Bush said today that he would nominate two prominent members of the Federal Reserve Board, Roger W. Ferguson and Ben S. Bernanke, to additional terms on the board. Mr. Ferguson will be nominated to a second four-year term as vice chairman, a post that he holds in addition to that of governor. Mr. Bernanke, a former economics professor who has become prominent in many of the Fed’s policy debates, will be nominated to a full 14-year term.
Argentina in New Debt Default(BBC): “Argentina has defaulted on a $2.9bn (£1.8bn) debt payment due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after it failed to agree a last ditch loan deal.”
War Tab Shifting DC Agenda (CSM. via Antiwar.com): “The cost of America’s involvement in Iraq is rising to the point where it appears likely to influence Washington’s agenda in ways that go far beyond foreign and military policy. Instead of a quick war paid for by a new flood of $20-a-barrel Iraqi oil, policymakers are hunkering down for a much more protracted and costly engagement. The tab - some $150 billion, including much of the $87 billion requested by President Bush this week - could affect some of the most cherished programs of both parties, including an unusually ambitious presidential agenda with another $878 billion in hoped-for tax cuts this year.”
Eminent Remains (Gary North, LRC): “The Twin Towers project was a combination of four crucial factors: (1) David Rockefeller’s desire to raise property values in lower Manhattan; (2) Gov. Nelson Rockefeller’s appointees, who controlled the Board of the Port Authority; (3) taxpayers’ credit, which was used to underwrite bonds to build the Twin Towers; (4) exemption from all New York City building codes and taxes. Brian C. Anderson provided a good summary in the November, 2001 issue of City Journal. This story is known to very few Americans, let alone Islamic terrorists.”
