KeNo's Housing and Economic Portal: Tuesday April 12 Housing and Economic stories

Monday, April 11, 2011

Tuesday April 12 Housing and Economic stories

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TOP STORIES:

13% of all U.S. homes are vacant - (money.cnn.com) High residential vacancies are killing many housing markets, as foreclosed homes sit on the market and depress sale prices and property values. And it's only getting worse: The national vacancy rate crept up to just over 13% according to last week's decennial census report. That's up from 12.1% in 2007. "More vacant homes equal more downward pressure on home prices," said Brad Hunter, chief economist for Metrostudy, a real estate information provider. Maine had the highest proportion of empty housing stock, at 22.8%. Other states with gluts of empty houses included Vermont (20.5%), Florida (17.5%), Arizona (16.3%) and Alaska (15.9%).

Shrinking Medicaid funds pummel states - (money.cnn.com) Strapped states are scrambling to address Medicaid's ballooning costs before the federal government cuts back a critical source of funding this week. Medicaid is one of state's costliest burdens. And the weak economy swelled the rolls to record numbers. Nearly 49 million people -- or almost one in six Americans -- were covered by the safety net at the end of 2009, the latest figures available. States regularly get matching funds from the federal government to help cover Medicaid burdens. But they've enjoyed an enhanced federal Medicaid match, thanks to the 2009 stimulus bill. The federal government sent an average of $2.68 for every dollar a state spends on Medicaid, up from $1.61 before the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act was passed, according to the Council of State Governments. Now, the feds are incrementally ramping down this enhanced match, before cutting it off completely on July 1. After that, the federal reimbursement will return to pre-stimulus levels.

Man Camps Out in Front of Chase Bank After Receiving Counterfeit Bill - (www.stgnews.com) An Ivins man says he received a counterfeit $100 bill from Chase Bank. Kipp Hagaman has camped out since Tuesday on the street corner in front of Chase Bank, 95 E. Tabernacle St. His large cardboard sign read:“Chase Bank Passed Me A Counterfeit $100 Bill!!” According to Hagaman’s transaction receipt from Chase Bank, on March 15 at 3:53 p.m., he withdrew $2,000 from an account at Chase Bank on 95 E. Tabernacle St. Hagaman said he received his $2,000 from Chase Bank as twenty $100 bills. He said that when he entered the bank he only had $3 on his person. “I know that I had no other $100 bill,” Hagaman said. “I came here because I had bills to pay.” After receiving his money at Chase Bank, Hagaman said he went directly to Check City, 490 W. St. George Blvd. According to his Check City receipt, he paid them $1,000 cash for a bill at 3:59 p.m. According to a second receipt from Check City, he then sent a six-page fax at 4:12 pm and paid $3 cash.

Corporate Money Fuels Attack on Public Protections - (www.ombwatch.org) An ongoing attack on the nation's regulatory safety net is being led by lawmakers with deep financial ties to the corporations and lobbying groups that often complain about federal standards, campaign finance data show. The energy industry and other big polluters donated millions of dollars to the campaigns of top congressional Republicans in advance of the current legislative assault on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other environmental regulators. Other anti-regulatory interests have also donated large sums to campaign war chests, potentially influencing lawmakers' willingness to target other consumer, education, and health agencies. In 2009 and 2010, Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), chair of the influential House Energy and Commerce Committee, received more than $259,000 in contributions from electric and gas utilities and the oil and gas industry, according to data provided by the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP), available at maplight.org.

Economist calls budget plan a 'near suicide pact' - (money.cnn.com) Nobel economics laureate Joseph Stiglitz issued a harsh indictment of the Bowles-Simpson deficit reduction proposal Monday, arguing the plan would slow economic growth and lead to a weaker America. If enacted, the plan would be "counterproductive" and "constitute a near-suicide pact," Stiglitz wrote in an op-ed published in POLITICO. Just what does Stiglitz object to? The Bowles-Simpson plan would cut defense and domestic discretionary spending, end most tax breaks while lowering rates and reduce health care spending. It would make Social Security solvent by raising the retirement age, lowering benefits on the upper end and raising taxes. It would also increase the gas tax.