Pam B., whose son was murdered with a gun - I Demand A Plan

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Housing emerges as economic bright spot after years in the dark

The nation’s housing market is surging again after years of historic declines, and the unique forces powering its return could last well into 2013.

The number of homes for sale is at its lowest level since before the recession, sparking competition among buyers that has led to 10 straight months of price increases. The volume of activity is the highest since 2007.

Builders broke ground in December on the most new housing developments in four years. And interest rates on mortgages are expected to remain near all-time lows through much of the year, galvanizing once-skeptical buyers.

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Encouraging Quote

“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.

~Epictetus~

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Obama to nominate CEO of outdoor gear retailer REI to become interior secretary

President Obama has nominated Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) chief executive Sally Jewell to head the Interior Department, according to a White House official who asked not to be identified because the public announcement has not yet been made.

The choice of Jewell, who began her career as an engineer for Mobil Oil and worked as a commercial banker before heading a nearly $2 billion outdoors equipment company, represents an unconventional choice for a post usually reserved for career politicians from the West.

But while she boasts less public policy experience than other candidates who had been under consideration, Jewell, who will have to be confirmed by the Senate, has earned national recognition for her management skills and support for outdoor recreation and habitat conservatio

In 2011 Jewell introduced Obama at the White House conference on “America’s Great Outdoor Initiative,” noting that the $289 billion outdoor-recreation industry supports 6.5 million jobs.

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Democratic Senator Floats Plan To Raise $200 Billion By Closing Corporate Tax Loopholes

A Democratic Senator wants to raise $200 billion over ten years by closing corporate tax loopholes, according to Bloomberg News. Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) wants to ditch a slew of goodies for corporations, as well as a loophole that allows wealthy money managers to pay far less in taxes than middle-class families:

Senator Carl Levin’s push to close tax loopholes will target corporate deductions for stock options and rates on investment income known as carried interest, seeking to raise at least $200 billion by one estimate.

Republicans (and plenty of Democrats) like to talk about revenue-neutral corporate tax reform, in which every dollar raised if offset by a reduction in the corporate tax rate. Levin has consistently opposed this approach, and for good reason.

Corporate profits are currently at record highs while corporate taxes have plummeted. Corporations paid just a 12.1 percent effective tax rate in 2011. The corporate income tax used to make up about one-third of federal revenue, but today it makes up less than 9 percent. The corporate income tax used to follow along with corporate profits, but the two have become decoupled, with negative impacts for the federal budget:

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How President Obama Can Reverse America’s Worsening Hunger Metrics

Domestic hunger, poverty, food insecurity—and, as a result, the use of supplemental nutrition assistance—all soared under the presidency of George W. Bush. In October 2008 then-candidate Barack Obama pledged to end childhood hunger in the United States by 2015 as a down payment on ending all domestic hunger. At the time he made that pledge, however, he was unaware of the full extent of the economic downturn that he would inherit upon taking office, as well as the extent to which conservatives in Congress would—despite their embrace of corporate welfare—consistently and harshly oppose government efforts to fight hunger.

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