The Golden State lobbyists for the plastic industry beat plastic bag bar

A plastic bag bar is definitely not something the California State senate wants thinking about the ruling on Wednesday. The state had supporters for the ban from Republican Arnold Schwartzenegger, grocers and retailers. Plastic industry lobbyists wanted the ban to pass. Plastic grocery bags are used by millions of people. Plastic bags are being considered a human health risks when killing an incredible number of birds and marine animals as they cannot degrade. Consumers end up with a burden that isn’t needed if the plastic bags ban passes in California.

Issues in California with plastic bags

The bill would have made California the first state in the U.S. to ban plastic bags at grocery, drug and some convenience stores. The Silicon Valley Mercury News reports that the bill was inspired by growing public awareness of plastic garbage hazards. Each year, 1 million plastic bags pollute the San Francisco Bay. This was explained by Save the Bay. Each and every year, Californians use 19 billion plastic bags. This was shown by state officials. Collecting plastic bags for landfills costs the state a lot. In fact, it costs about $25 million a year. Since The Golden State has an $18 billion deficit, it doesn’t make sense to pay $1.7 million on the issue, as outlined by American Chemistry Council which consists of Chevron, Dow and ExxonMobil.

Business of plastic tries to get on state politicians good side

In California, the plastic bag ban has opposition. This came from the American Chemistry Council mostly. As outlined by the Miami Herald, the group is really in Virginia although it funds all of the opposition in The Golden State with environmental bills anything that is anti-plastic. The council made sure to pay a ton of money to get a campaign going to pay back politicians and pay for TV and radio time. In August at least seven state senators collected campaign donations directly from the council or its affiliates Exxon and Hilex Poly Co., a South Carolina plastic bag manufacturer.

Yes or no to the plastic bag ban

The California plastic bag ban was created to encourage shoppers to use reusable totes. San Francisco is just one of numerous cities in California that already have bans on plastic bags. The bill was authored by assemblywoman Julia Brownley who explained to ABC News that changing habits of shoppers is a better approach than cleaning up the mess. It was explained to ABC News. This originated from Republican Senator Mimi Walters who said that “If we pass this piece of legislation, we will be sending a message to the people of California that we care more about banning plastic bags than helping them put food on their table.”

The Great Pacific filled with the Garbage Patch

In 2008, it was estimated by the EPA that 3.96 million tons of plastic bags were made. 90 percent of those were thrown away. According to the Wall Street Journal, the United States of America goes through 100 billion plastic buying bags annually at an estimated cost to retailers of $4 billion. In 2006, the U.N. did a study. It showed that 10 percent of all plastic end up at the bottom of the ocean. The largest concentration is called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The size of the place is about the size of Texas. It also has about 3.5 million tons of trash in it.

More on this topic

Silicon Valley Mercury News

mercurynews.com/ci_15927563?source=most_emailed and nclick_check=1

Miami Herald

miamiherald.com/2010/08/26/1792991/californias-plastic-bag-ban-opponents.html

ABC News

abcnews.go.com/US/california-votes-plastic-bag-ban/story?id=11526792 and page=1

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Student loans are not susceptible to debt negotiation alleviation

It is a probability that college student loan debt will overtake charge card personal debt as the greatest financial encumbrance on younger individuals. Current students and recent graduates are obviously not astonished, but for many it comes as a shock. Fewer individuals can afford an schooling without needing financial institution loans, federal student loans, or going to other money lender for the help they need. More students have to borrow these days. There are also a increasing number of defaults on these financing options. Getting the American Dream is harder and tougher, and student education loans are a nightmarish part of making it happen. Post resource – Debt settlement relief unavailable when it comes to student loans by Personal Money Store.

It is hard to get via college personal debt free

For college kids, having to borrow money to pay for college is not an if. It’s a when. According to FinAid.org, 66.5 percent of all students that obtained a bachelors’ degree from 2007 to 2008 had to get loans to pay for school and ended up $ 22,656 in debt. Students that attended public universities fared best, as only 61.1 percent had to take out loans and averaged less than $ 20,000 per person. Private schools, of course, are an additional matter. Of private university students, 70.6 percent of students at private nonprofit schools and 97 percent at private for-profit schools have to take out loans. Private nonprofit graduates averaged $ 27,349 and private for-profit students averaged $ 24, 635 in debt for their educations.

Harder to eliminate

Student loan debt is the hardest to discharge. You can’t just declare bankruptcy and eliminate student education loans like you can with mortgage loans or credit cards. Student education loans also differ in that it is near extremely hard to get debt consolidation relief. The payments have to be made exactly as demanded; there is no loan refinancing for student loans. There is also a higher chance of default on student loans. From 1995 on, 20 percent of all loans that entered the repayment phase were defaulted on, as outlined by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The rate is higher for students of two-year and private for-profit institutions, and also the likelihood increases each and every year post-graduation.

Schooling is an expensive thing

You will find consequences due to these things, of course. Graduates have to put things off longer. Things like graduate school become secondary to paying down personal debt. Buying a home and having kids become things that have to be put off farther and farther down the road.

Additional reading

Financial Aid

finaid.org/loans/

Chronicle

chronicle.com/article/Many-More-Students-Are/66223/

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Large banking institutions backing up away from financing mountaintop removal mining

Corporations that destroy the environment are having trouble getting loans from financial institutions. Banks have made huge profits financing destructive industries such as mountaintop removal mining. Environmental groups and court decisions have worked together to make that change. Banks are held to the funding they do for environment destruction businesses such as this. A growing number of banks are choosing to avoid environmental risk at the expense of losing business to less scrupulous lenders.

Banks reconsider lending for environmental destruction

It isn’t that hard for an Environment removal mining company to get its money. But the New York Times reports that financial institution industry analysts are saying intense debate about climate change, water quality standards and other environmental issues is compelling lenders to think twice about where they extend credit and to whom. Wells Fargo even is thinking about different changes. This is because “considerable attention and controversy” is being given to mountaintop removal mining recently. The banking behemoth said its financing for mountaintop mining corporations was “limited and declining.” The Wells Fargo decision is something other banking institutions have been doing as well. These consist of J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley. Most of the financial institutions have decided to stop lending to mountaintop mining corporations. If they didn’t choose that, they decided to reco! nsider whether or not to lend.

Coal is cheap with mountaintop removal mining

On Monday, environmentalists from the Appalachian region implored the Obama administration to outlaw mountaintop mining. The Associated Press said the group is preparing a rally for September 27. They even had high hopes in inviting the president to come with them. To get coal via mountaintop removal mining, forests are clear-cut first. They have to use explosives then. This is to break huge rock. Huge machines eight stories high scoop away up to 800 feet of mountaintop to expose coal seams. Streams and wildlife habitats are hurt when the dirt picked up is dumped into valleys. Operators argue it is a good thing for the economy. Electric power plants employ tens of thousands of jobs, and it is the best way to get coal. The Appalachian coal industry could have a Washington rally of its own on Sept. 15 to protest federal regulations it says remove mining jobs.

Making these loans great for other banks

2007 was when the Rainforest Action Network, or RAN, began its work. It wanted to stop banks from giving any financing to mountaintop removal mining companies. As outlined by organicconsumers.org, the top four banking companies within the country have stopped lending to the leading mountaintop mining company in West Virginia, Massey Energy, as a result of these efforts. In April, 29 miners were killed in an Upper Large Branch mine explosion that involved Massey Energy. But other banks have been eager to fill the financing void left behind. According to Bloomberg data, PNC and UBS are presently the lead financiers of mountaintop removal mining. PNC is responsible for a ton of coal getting used within the United States In fact, half of coal from mountaintop mining is financed by PNC.

Further reading

New York Times

nytimes.com/2010/08/31/business/energy-environment/31coal.html?_r=1 and dbk

Associated Press

google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iRFjIvp7yDpMnistp_aolQIRAj_QD9HTVS4O0

Organic Consumers

organicconsumers.org/articles/article_21396.cfm

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Consumer confidence bump makes the monetary view just a little better

The consumer confidence report showed the monetary perspective going up a few points on the metric used to gauge it. It showed this in the Conference Board’s monthly report in August. The humble gain gave the stock exchange a jolt into good territory Tuesday morning.

Consumer confidence index beats forecast

August predictions showed consumer confidence less than it was. Bloomberg showed that a five month low of 51 points within the consumer confidence report was shown in July while in August it went up to 53.5. This shows the economic system may really be getting improved rather than going down as every person expected. Bloomberg spoke to an economist that said the August consumer confidence level was still a “stunningly low level,” despite the increase. Consumer spending is 70 percent of the United States overall economy and may recover with the small bit of hope from the higher confidence. Corporations should start hiring more soon. Yet as outlined by the Labor Department, companies created an average of 51,000 jobs from May via July — down from 200,000 the previous two months.

Consumer confidence report info

There were other information given by the Conference Board besides the consumer confidence index. MarketWatch reports that more consumers are pessimistic about the present situation of the economy, yet optimistic that conditions will improve. The present-situation index is the Conference Board’s way of measuring attitudes toward job opportunities and the business climate. It has dropped from 26.4 in July to 24.9 in August. The expectations index — a measure of expectations for a better business climate and more job creation — rose to 72.5 in August from 67.5 in July. 1.9 percent to 2 percent was how the consumers preparing to buy a home moved. There are no 5 percent of people planning to buy an automobile, versus the 4.7 percent from before. An economist told MarketWatch that despite the August gains, consumer confidence is at “incredibly depressed levels,” in contrast to previous economic recoveries.

Consumer spending may not happen with index increase

The Associated Press explains that a healthy economy generally runs under a consumer confidence index over 90. Tuesday morning, there was nevertheless a change within the stock exchange because of the August bump. About two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. This likely won’t last for long. Most economic reports show economic growth is slowing, and the slight uptick in consumer confidence doesn’t guarantee a rise in consumer spending. Personal finance shows that it is great that unemployment is moving more people to save and reduce debt. Unless more individuals pull cash out of their pockets to spend, there may be a double dip recession. This would only happen with more job creation.

Additional reading

Bloomberg

bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-31/consumer-confidence-in-u-s-rose-more-than-economists-forecast-in-august.html

MarketWatch

marketwatch.com/story/august-consumer-confidence-rises-to-535-2010-08-31-102600

Associated Press

google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jmT59dgLTTziX4p9X9MRBRpWZGdQD9HUH2I80

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Credit cards are utilized less lately

There sometimes is some very good news about this recession. A lot of individuals are tightening up their belts, financially. Individuals are using more fast cash towards paying down debt. It’s starting to show. Less individuals are using their charge cards lately. Reduced remainders are being recorded nationwide. Not as numerous individuals are falling into delinquency, either. More people are getting debt relief with their own honest labor.

Reduced nationwide balances on credit cards

The normal balance that people carry on charge cards has been falling, and has done so for the last five quarters in a row. Level of outstanding charge card debt is falling steadily, but that’s not all. According to CNN, the average balance is at an eight year low. That’s a low point within the economy that you need to have. Lots of people are probably sick of practically having to run for pay day loans every time they get a charge card bill, and want for making that worry stop. Not only do your bills decrease, your credit rating begins to increase. That’s like giving a cash advance to yourself.

Not the only great news

More individuals paying down balances means lower balances nationwide. There are also reduced rates of delinquency. Defaults on charge cards, or 90 days past due payments, have plummeted to just .92 percent countrywide. Since last year, that’s a decrease of 21.3 percent. It’s also a 17.1 percent decrease from last quarter. Second quarter of this year was tax return time. A lot of those returns were evidently wisely invested. Individuals paid bill. They didn’t just blow the cash on a new TV or phone. Credit companies have to be happy with some instant money, and customers are well served by paying down their debts.

Lean mean saving machines

Numerous things, for instance Wall Street collapses and sky high rates of foreclosure, have made it ever apparent that too much bill is a bad thing. Recession or not, there is never a bad time to free yourself from the worries of debt.

Further reading

CNN Money

money.cnn.com/2010/08/25/news/economy/credit_card_transunion/index.htm

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The stock market gets a modest increase thanks to slighter jobless claims

It has been a when since the number of new jobless claims dropped. The common theme of employment has been of becalmed waters, though a slight reprieve was as a result of the census and seasonal hires for the holiday retail season. That is some good news on that front, though housing remains abysmal. However, the news is a nearly Pyrrhic victory, as unemployment has held somewhat steadily since November of 2009. The news got stock markets to climb ever so slightly. Source of article – Stock market climbs as jobless claims are reduced by Personal Money Store.

Brand new unemployed cases fall somewhat

The Department of Labor got to release some happy news. There was a reduction in the amount of brand new unemployed cases this week. The number of jobless claims nevertheless sits, adjusted seasonally, at 473,000, however that number dropped by 31,000 over the last week. A drop in new unemployment claims is encouraging, but the average of the last four weeks is still 486,750, the highest levels since November 2009, as outlined by Forbes. One must take lower winter unemployment with a grain of salt, though. Winter provides some seasonal employment for retail. There was also the U.S. census, which temporarily employed lots of people.

Report of fewer jobless cases gives small boost to stock market

The news of lower jobless claims led to an uptick within the stock exchange, according to the Wall Street Journal. The uptick was modest at best; the greatest gain was a .3 percent boost for Standard and Poor’s. The Nasdaq climbed only .2 percent, and the Dow Jones managed a paltry .1 percent gain. The large news on Wall Street recently has nothing to do with unemployment cases though. The big story right now is the bidding wars for 3Par, which Dell seems to be winning. There’s a large bidding war going on, and it’s even bigger news than the Potash saga. Hewlett Packard and Dell are fighting it out for 3Par, and it is causing a huge firestorm of coverage.

Not much improvement

This is not really an indicator of much within the way of unemployment radically decreasing. There just aren’t the jobs accessible anymore, and the economy keeps contracting. Real estate shows few signs of life, and it is believed that up to 10 percent of all homeowners may have foreclosure as a significant possibility in their future.

Additional reading

Forbes

forbes.com/feeds/ap/2010/08/26/real-estate-industrials-us-economy_7879865.html

Wall Street Journal

online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100826-709681.html

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You can also consider auto loan modification

Some individuals can be led to believe that loan modification is just for house loans, but that really isn’t the case. You can refinance more loans than you would believe, including auto loans. Right now is not a bad time, either. Rates for vehicle loans are fairly low. You can turn your automobile loans into low interest loans if you refinance at the right time.

New Loans not simply pertaining to home loans

You are able to get mortgage loan modification on your home. You can also get re-loaned on your auto loan as well. You will find low rates for auto loans right now, so looking into it would be better faster instead of later. Numerous interest rates on loan products have been trending downwards. As outlined by the Washington Post, that includes auto loans. Dealers want to sell vehicles, and lenders want to lend. That said, bear in mind that dealership financing, and financial institution financing are a bit different. One is generally more expensive than the other. Dealerships have an incentive to get you to take their loan. The reason is that dealerships are middlemen, and they get a bonus if they get you into a loan at a higher rate.

What is the issue?

There is a slight hitch. There typically always is. Financing that large is always tied to your credit rating. The lower your score, the higher the rate. So auto loans for bad credit may not be able to be refinanced or even modified. The very same article in the Washington Post puts high credit rating auto loans at 5.7 percent, however those for low credit score borrowers are as high as 18.5 percent. Fees and other conditions may exist, depending on the lender. It behooves one to shop around.

So should I refi?

Unfortunately, credit is only being lent these days to people with good, almost unrealistically good, credit scores. Also, you need to be careful of who advertises loan modification. Make sure to check out everyone who you are thinking of enrolling in a loan modification program with before you commit to anything at all.

Further reading

Washington Post

washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/28/AR2010082800170.html

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