All posts by Hutchins AAron

Born in Deutschland 1965, hometown was Bütthart, parents were not U.S. government employees. However, when father was tricked into joining the U.S. Air Force Civil Service, in 1969, with the promise that we could remain in Germany, we were promptly shipped off to Iran. Due to one of my Iranian educators being disappeared, along with her husband, by the U.S. ally Shah of Iran's Israeli & U.S. created Savak (for the then official terrorist act of promoting the idea that women can vote), and due to my U.S. citizen mother being placed on Savak's Terrorist Arrest List (for supporting the idea that women should vote, at that time the U.S. ally Shah of Iran did not allow women to vote, now they can) we left Iran for the United States in 1973, literally in the middle of the night. At the U.S. Embassy airbase the CIA operated Gooney Bird (C-47) was so packed with other U.S. citizens fleeing our ally Iran (because the Shah gave the OK to arrest any U.S. citizen for such terrorist acts as promoting the concept of voting) that we were turned away by the Loadmaster and had to take a chance on a civilian flight out of Tehran's airport. My father told me he and my mother had three culture shocks; first when they arrived in Germany as civilians, then after being shipped off to Iran as U.S. government employees, then again returning to the United States as unemployed civilians (because so much had changed in the U.S. while they were gone, their only news source was the U.S. Armed Forces Radio & Television Service which heavily censored information about the home front). Since I graduated high school in 1982 I've worked for U.S. government contractors and state & local government agencies (in California), convenience store manager in California, retail/property management in Georgia, California and Idaho. Spent the 1990s in the TV news business producing number one rated local news programs in California, Arizona and Idaho. 14+ years with California and Idaho Army National Guard and the U.S. Air Force. Obtained a BA degree in International Studies from Idaho State University at the age of 42. Unemployed since 2015, so don't tell me the economy has recovered.
Idaho

Pay for Local East Idaho City Officials a Bargain

My critical attitude towards local City officials was tempered, a little, after reading the amount of pay they get.

To make it clear what a bargain the officials of Chubbuck, Idaho, are, I’ll remind you that Allstate announced the planned opening of a call center here, with a starting annual salary of $27,000.

According to the Pocatello League of Women Voters, the Mayor of Chubbuck gets $45,000 per year.  Doesn’t seem bad for Chubbuck, but then the official population for the city is only 9,700.  It gets better with the city council. Chubbuck City Council members get $6,300 per year.

Obviously they’ve got to have income from elsewhere, and explains why most are business owners.  As local business owners it means, theoretically, that they are very concerned with the local economy.  This is another reason why your voting attention needs to be focused locally; your local officials have more impact than some fat cat in Washington D.C.

Pocatello, bigger than Chubbuck, with an official 2000 census population of 51,466, pays its officials more.  The mayor gets $74,268, but compare that to the city council.  They get paid $10,033 per year.

I hope local officials don’t push for an increase in their pay.  The local voters and taxpayers, of Chubbuck and Pocatello, are getting a real deal with current salaries.  The League of Women Voters of Idaho have their own website; lwvid.org.  The information about the pay of officials is published in a brochure.  For Pocatello and Chubbuck, it is published by the League of Women Voters of Pocatello. It also contains county, state and federal official’s salaries.

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Bad Loans, Mortgage Notes, Foreclosures all part of possibly the biggest Scam in U.S. History

A mortgage Note is the document that proves who holds the mortgage on the home that’s being bought.  There’s more and more evidence that the big banks can’t find those notes.  That includes Notes on homes that have already been foreclosed.  Another problem is that, in states that require court involvement, the judges never asked for proof of the Note.

The program, Need to Know, on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), interviewed Michael Hudson, an author who revealed how the big banks were intentionally trapping people in bad home loans.  Hudson says The big banks are using the same tactics in foreclosing.  He also says that many of the foreclosures involve home buyers who were looking to refinance their loans to save money, instead they were set up to fail.

OAKLAND, CA - APRIL 26: Homeowners wait to meet with Wells Fargo employees during a free workshop for customers who are facing mortgage payment challenges April 26, 2010 at the Oakland Convention Center in Oakland, California. Over 1,000 people who are in risk of slipping into foreclosure were scheduled to attend the mortgage workshop in hopes of getting loan modifications to avoid losing their homes. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The problem with the Notes is that the big banks quickly sold off the bad loans, and there doesn’t seem to be any record keeping regarding the Notes.  In many cases, mortgages were sold several times over to other banks, and as investment schemes.  Hudson says the push to foreclose is a way of making more money for the big banks.  In other words the bad loans, the reselling of mortgage loans, and now the foreclosures, are all part of a big money making scam by corporate America.

MIAMI - OCTOBER 01: A pre-foreclosure sign is displayed outside a home on October 1, 2009 in Miami, Florida. Declining home prices, low mortgages rates and government stimulus programs have helped push up the number of pending home sales according to the National Association of Realtors, as they rose by 6.4 per cent in August and were up by 12.4 per cent from a year ago. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Michael Hudson says the Federal government has done almost nothing about this probable crime against American home buyers.  It’s the states that have taken the most action.  But each state has their own foreclosure laws, which seem to be adding to the mess.  Hudson says that the reason why President Obama isn’t ordering a halt to foreclosures, is that he could be held politically responsible for any crash in the housing market.  That would suggest that the current housing market is actually being driven by the foreclosures.

LAS VEGAS - MARCH 21: Countrywide Home Loans home mortgage consultant Al Lizarralde (L) and RE/Max Central realtor Brenda Zablockis leave a bank-owned house during a RE/MAX Central bus tour of foreclosed homes March 21, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. RE/MAX Central of Las Vegas co-owner Ruth Ahlbrand said the Las Vegas area has been one of the top three worst foreclosure markets and one of the top three worst markets for slumping home prices in the United States since late 2007. Ahlbrand said the real estate group began giving tours for prospective buyers three times a week in February 2008, in an effort to clear inventory of foreclosed properties. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Another article, in the Executive Intelligence Review, says that this is all part of the dying last gasp of our country’s financial system.  For too long investments have been sold, that were on paper only, no real assets.  So the bad loan scandal was how the big banks set things up to grab some real assets, and the foreclosure scandal is how the big banks are cashing in those assets to pay off the investors.

Business/Economics, International

Food Crisis: Drought, Floods, now Locust in Australia

Australia is struggling to keep it’s lucrative agriculture industry booming.  Some areas of Australia are dealing with the worst drought on record.  Other areas are dealing with floods, and now Locust.

PARKES, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 26: A lamb stands in a dry paddock on the 10,000 acre property owned by the Orr family on January 26, 2010 in Parkes, Australia.The Orr family received 13 inches of rain in 2009 and have been hand feeding stock for approximately 8 years. Drought in New South Wales has increased by 1%, the state is now believed to be 95% marginally or fully in drought despite some rain during the Christmas period. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
Parkes, Australia, dealing with drought.WANGARATTA, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 06: Floodwaters surround Painters Island Caravan Park on September 6, 2010 in Wangaratta, Australia. Many parts of Victoria were devastated by flood waters when heavy winds and rains inundated the area causing the worst flooding in over a decade. The State Emergency Service has ordered the evacuation of several cities and are warning residents that the threat is not yet over. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
Wangaratta, Australia, dealing with floods.
This is a major threat to Australia’s economy.  Their economy is based mainly on service industry, but, it’s their agriculture industry that’s boosting their economy.  Australia has profitable agriculture trade deals with other countries, that’s helping Australia see a 1.20% growth rate this year.  It’s also helping to keep their unemployment rate around 5.10%.
Margaret River Western Australia. 13/01/2010 Voyager Estate Winery www.voyagerestate.com.au Netting protects the crop from Silvereyes Photo Roger Parker
Margaret River, Australia, using Locust nets.

The struggles against Mother Nature in Australia will add to the growing price of agriculture commodities, and the looming Food Crisis.

Business/Economics, International

Senate Passes Retirement Reforms People say Strikes will Continue

The French Senate passed the controversial bill to increase the retirement age, as well as other rules.  At last count there were 250 amendments to the bill.  President Sarkozy issued a directive which allowed the Senate to vote without further deliberation.

General view inside the French Senate where debate on the government's pension reform bill continues in Paris October 22, 2010. French unions hardened their stance on Friday ahead of a final vote on the French government's pension reform raising the retirement age which is expected later in the day. REUTERS/Charles Platiau (FRANCE - Tags: POLITICS EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS CIVIL UNREST)

Most university students, and union members, voted to continue strikes.

French university students raise their hands to vote during the General Assembly at the Tolbiac University in Paris October 22, 2010. Elsewhere refinery labour unions hardened their stance ahead of a final vote on French government's pension reform expected later in the day. REUTERS/Julien Muguet (FRANCE - Tags: POLITICS EDUCATION BUSINESS)
Striking workers of French oil giant Total vote to continue the strike during a general assembly in the oil refinery of Donges, near Nantes, October 22, 2010. French police cleared access to the main refinery supplying fuel to Paris early on Friday as unions hardened their stance ahead of a final vote on French government's pension reform expected later in the day. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe (FRANCE - Tags: EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS CIVIL UNREST ENERGY)

Part of the reforms include the number of years a worker must contribute to the retirement plan; increased to 41.5.  The French reforms are still not as drastic as other countries, such as Greece or the United Kingdom (Britain).

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Details about Allstate Chubbuck Call Center jobs

It seems the local East Idaho television news didn’t tell the story clearly concerning the Allstate Customer Information Center (CIC), planned to be built in Chubbuck, Idaho.

It is not part of the Pine Ridge Mall property.  It will be built on a vacant lot that is part of the Home Depot plaza, aka The Crossings.  The vacant lot was originally intended for smaller retail spaces, but, no contracts were signed so it sat vacant for several years.

The Crossings, Hawthorne Road, Chubbuck, Idaho.

In reading several articles in the Idaho State Journal newspaper, it became clear that the claimed 500-600 jobs is just an optimistic goal.  Only 25 people will be hired in February 2011.  More people will be hired closer to the opening date, and the total amount of employees will depend on how many calls the CIC gets.

For those worried about making sales calls, Chubbuck Mayor Steve England says there will be no “soliciting calls”.  However, employees will be required to get a state insurance license.  Sorry, state law.  Also, employees will have to get a license from every state they handle calls from.  Allstate says part of their training will include prepping for the license exam.

Training will be 6 weeks, plus one week for the license prep.  Allstate encourages college courses, and, after one year of employment, they will reimburse employees for college courses that pertain to the job.

Pay will start at $27,000 per year.  The maximum you could get is $50,000.  There are no details about how you could get the maximum, other than bonuses, but the number of licenses you have, and college courses, probably factor in.

Business/Economics, International

French Government Cracks Down, Because they want to go on Holiday

On the day the French Senate is to vote on a controversial retirement plan, French police have been ordered to crack down on protesters.  The first plan of attack for the police; get the oil refineries running again.

French gendarmes stand next to the entrance of the Grandpuits oil refinery southeast of Paris October 22, 2010 as striking workers continue to block the refinery. Police took over the Total installation, the CGT union said on Friday, in an attempt to end a blockade by workers striking over a planned reform of the pensions system. Police were expected to bring in workers who are not on strike later in the day. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier (FRANCE - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS CIVIL UNREST)

The French government issued a ‘requisition’ order, which means they believe the strikes threaten public order.  A recent poll shows that 69% of the French support the strikes, but, when asked specifically about the shut down of the oil refineries the support drops to 52%.   It looks like the French government’s crackdown is actually motivated by upcoming November holidays.  Prime Minister Francois Fillon’s office issued this statement; “At a time when many French people wish to travel for the November 1 holiday weekend, it is in everyone’s interest to make all necessary efforts to return the situation to normal, which will take several more days.”

ATTENTION EDITORS : FRENCH LAW REQUIRES THAT THE FACES OF MINORS ARE MASKED IN PUBLICATIONS WITHIN FRANCE A high school student holds a sign as students French police during a demonstration over pension reform at Place Bellecour in Lyon October 21, 2010. France faced another day of strikes and confrontation on its streets on Thursday as the government grappled to restore fuel supply with senators just a few days away from voting on pension reform. The sign reads, Police everywhere, justice nowhere . REUTERS/Robert Pratta (FRANCE - Tags: POLITICS EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS CIVIL UNREST EDUCATION)

French high school and university students continued to protest.  Trash collectors joined the strikes as well.

The delay on the Senate vote is because 250 amendments, to the retirement bill, are being argued over.

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Chubbuck, Idaho, to get 500 Allstate Jobs?

Allstate announced that Chubbuck, Idaho, will be the home of a new call center.  The building will go up across from the Chubbuck Home Depot, and could employ more than 500 people (if call volume supports that many jobs).

Lot where Allstate will build a Customer Information Center, in Chubbuck, Idaho.

They hope to have the 75,000 square foot building open by September 2011.  The Customer Information Center will handle not only incoming calls, but conduct outgoing customer calling.  This will make the fourth center for Allstate.  They have call centers in Texas, Illinois and North Carolina.

The Crossings, home to Chubbuck Home Depot, and now Allstate Customer Information Center.

There is some conflicting information about when hiring will start, and how much the starting pay is.  Some local media reports have stated that hiring will begin in November 2010, yet, the official Allstate press release says hiring will not begin until February 2011.  Allstate will post job openings for the call center “At the beginning of the New Year.”  Also, local media reports say starting salary will be $25,000 per year, some say $27,000.  The official press release does not indicate how much starting salaries will be.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Here we go again, Toyota recalls Millions of Vehicles

Today, Toyota announced that they are recalling 1.5 million cars and sport utility vehicles, in Japan and the United States, for faulty power brake systems and faulty fuel pumps.

NEW YORK - JANUARY 21: A Toyota Avalon is seen in a dealership lot in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York City on January 21, 2009. Toyota has toppled General Motors as the world's largest automaker for the first time in more than 70 years. . (Photo by Ramin Talaie/Getty Images)

The US recall includes 2005 and 2006 Avalon, 2004 to 2006 non-hybrid Highlander and Lexus RX330, and 2006 Lexus GS300, IS250, and IS350.

A Lexus sign seen at the Pohanka Lexus dealership in Chantilly, Virginia, on April 14, 2010. Toyota Motor Corp. suspended sales of the car after Consumer Reports warned shoppers not to buy the sport utility vehicle because of roll over concerns on sharp turns. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg Photo via Newscom

The brake master cylinder leaks fluid, causing reduced brake performance.  The electrical fuel pumps can shut off, stalling the engine.  Get with your local Toyota or Lexus dealer to have the problems fixed (at Toyota’s expense of course).

Business/Economics, International

Britain Enacts Huge Budget Cuts, Will the British People Rise Up Like the French?

I was watching a debate on the French strikes, and a British commentator said that what was going on in France would never happen in Britain, because there are laws against such demonstrations.  I wounder, after the British government will start the deepest cuts in 60 years?

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 22: Protestors dressed as Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg demonstrate against the budget in Parliament Square on June 22, 2010 in London, England. The Chancellor has announced a raft of tax increases and spending cuts to deal with the United Kingdom's growing debt. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

By 2015, the cuts would amount to about 130 billion U.S. dollars.  490,000 government jobs would be cut over 4 years.  The retirement age would be raised to 66, four years sooner than first planned.  Even the rents on subsidized housing will be increased.  Also, the Value Added Tax (a type of sales tax) will increase to 20% (don’t go shopping there).  However, the British government plans to increase spending on things like cracking down on tax fraud, and anti-terror security.  Officials also claim that Health Care Services will not be cut, and that school funding will kept in “…real terms” every year.

A boy holds a poster at a public services protest during the second day of the Liberal Democrat conference in Liverpool, northern England,September 19, 2010.REUTERS/Nigel Roddis (BRITAIN)

But what will the People think?  There has already been past protests about the cuts,  as far back as June, so i don’t think that British commentator knows what he’s talking about.  According to al Jazeera, small protests have already started.

Business/Economics, International

French Senate Votes Friday, Travellers Walk to Airports, Lady Gaga Stays Home

Reuters is reporting that the French Senate will vote on a proposed increase to the retirement age, on Friday, October 22nd.  Originally the Senate was to vote Thursday, October 21st.  That proposal has sparked on again, off again strikes.  But the latest strikes have gone on for more than a week now, and involve everyone from teenagers to retirees.

To clarify the retirement age in France, because there has been some misreporting going on by the main stream media.  The current retirement age in France is 60, but that is not for full retirement benefits.  Full retirement is 65.  The proposal, of which the main elements have been approved by the French Parliament, would raise the age of partial retirement from 60 to 62, and full retirement from 65 to 67.

Passengers walk past a striking worker blockade as they arrive at the Marseille-Provence airport October 21, 2010. France faced another day of strikes and confrontation on its streets on Thursday as the government grappled to restore fuel supply with senators just a few days away from voting on pension reform. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier (FRANCE - Tags: EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TRANSPORT)

People using air transport had to walk to the airports because public transportation has been shut down.  Train workers joined the strike today, by forming blockades, and burning railroad ties.

Striking railway workers burn railway tracks during a demonstration at the old port of Marseille October 21, 2010. France faced another day of strikes and confrontation on its streets on Thursday as the government grappled to restore fuel supply with senators just a few days away from voting on pension reform. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier (FRANCE - Tags: EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

The French Interior Ministry said that on Tuesday, October 19th, 1.1 million people went on strike across France. Union officials claim it was 3.5 million. Either way that’s a lot, when was the last time you saw even 1 million people protest on a single day in the United States? Even the Million Man March fell short.

ATTENTION EDITORS : FRENCH LAW REQUIRES THAT THE FACES OF MINORS ARE MASKED IN PUBLICATIONS WITHIN FRANCE. High school students shout slogans as they attend a demonstration over pension reform with private and public sector workers in Bordeaux, southwestern France, October 21, 2010. France faced another day of strikes and confrontation on its streets on Thursday as the government grappled to restore fuel supply with senators just a few days away from voting on pension reform. The banner reads High school students don't beat a retreat . REUTERS/Regis Duvignau (FRANCE - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS EDUCATION)

French high school students continue to protest.  Victor Colombani, a 16-year-old student and President of the National Union of Students explained; “Extending the age of retirement means reducing almost a million jobs for young people. We call for a fairer reform that takes into account years of study and periods of forced unemployment for young people.”

The Video Music Awards 2010 Arrivals held at The Nokia Theatre LA Live in Los Angeles, California in September 12th, 2010. Lady Gaga Fame Pictures, Inc

The strikes have also forced entertainer Lady Gaga to cancel her French tour. According to her website; “Unfortunately, as there is no certainty that the trucks can make it to the Bercy for this weekend’s shows, the Lady Gaga performances are now postponed.”