According to a report in the New York Times, income inequality in the US is reaching frightening levels.
Income inequality grew significantly in 2005, with the top 1 percent of Americans — those with incomes that year of more than $348,000 — receiving their largest share of national income since 1928, analysis of newly released tax data shows.
The top 10 percent, roughly those earning more than $100,000, also reached a level of income share not seen since before the Depression.
Two partisans enter…two partisans agree!??! No, the chainsaw didn’t run out of gas and the hammer didn’t break in mid-strike. Rather, the idiocy of two separate initiatives by Gov. Bredesen has brought right and left together. I’m talking about two issues: tobacco taxes to fund education and toll roads to fund new roads, quite eloquently brought up and torn asunder by fellow blogger Mike Faulk over at Mountain ‘Publican.
Continue reading ‘This ain’t how it’s supposed to go in the Thunderdome’
This is something the state of Tennessee desperately needs to consider. TN is one of the leading states in terms of the number of cash advance, title loan, and payday loan companies we have operating throughout the state. We are also one of the leading states for personal bankruptcy filings. These companies, sometimes called predatory lenders, are no different than loan sharks in how they take advantage of people and in many ways they are worse.
The war on terror is coming to a mall near you. No, really, –I mean it. Sell a tasty Cinnabon treat or t-shirt to someone on the list and you’re in violation. Worse, have a middle name that might possibly resemble even a nickname of someone on the list and a nice red flag accompanies your credit report and in turn the man in the fancy suit turns down your mortgage. Apply for a car loan and the process repeats. What’s more you might never be told why you are being turned down.
Continue reading ‘War on Terror Expands to Businesses and Ordinary Citizens’
Well as bemoaned several months ago, the Rocky Top Brigade is Dead and Gone. Despite months and no signs of life, I kept hoping it would return. Alas, I’ve even refused to take down my banner or fly it in distress in the hopes that some digital necromancer, or just some guy named Bubba, would come along and forcibly resurrect its pixelated spirit. Knoxviews, technorati and others (as good as they are) are no replacement.
Continue reading ‘The Rocky Top Brigade is Dead: Can BNN Help?’
In what has been interpreted as an act of war by some state republicans, Union County’s native son, Senator Mike Williams, declared his independence last Wednesday by announcing that he was leaving the GOP to become a political Independent. His decision returns the balance of power in the state senate to an even 16-16 split between Republicans and Democrats.
Williams explained his decision to leave stating that, “Some in the party are leading us down a path of bitterness and divisiveness and, in doing so, they have left me. I have not left them.”
Williams, who is known for voting his conscience even when it strays from the party line, first found himself in GOP crosshairs after his vote for John Wilder in 2005. Back then, he crossed the aisle along with fellow Republican Senator Tim Burchett of Knoxville to give Wilder the votes needed to retain his position as Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate. While Burchett was forgiven by party loyalists, Senator Williams was not. The intervening years saw a build-up of GOP scorn for Williams that culminated in online Mike Williams “watches,” that monitored the senator’s every move. The 2006 midterms produced a 17-16 split between senate Republicans and Democrats and yet another opportunity arose for the control of the senate to go to either party.
Continue reading ‘Senator Mike Williams: A Declaration of Independence’
MAYNARDVILLE CITY HALL — When the plan to update the City of Maynardville’s municipal code was first brought up by city attorney John Roach a few months ago, it sounded like a good idea. At council, it was presented by Roach as a simple revision that would bring the city into compliance with state laws by making sure the city wasn’t stepping out of its jurisdiction. In addition, the council could add new misdemeanor offenses to the code that would allow the city to levy more fines, providing much needed revenue. However, a closer examination of the proposed laws reveals a code filled with regulations and an unnerving amount of government interference into the lives of city residents.
Perhaps the most disturbing of the proposed municipal laws has to do with modifying the city’s curfew for minors. Under section 11-802, Maynardville would establish a curfew Monday through Thursday between the hours of 11:00 pm to 6:00 am for those between the ages of 17 and 18. Friday through Sunday, the curfew would extend until midnight.
Continue reading ‘Proposed Maynardville City Laws: More than Just an Update’
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