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Saturday, 31 May 2014
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Monday, 26 May 2014
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Thursday, 22 May 2014
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Saturday, 10 May 2014
American Marines locate abducted girls in Sambisa forest
There were indications yesterday that the 230 female students abducted by Boko Haram terrorists from the Government Girls’ Secondary School, GGSS, Chibok, Borno State, have been sited at the Sambisa Forest in Borno State, by the Special Forces of the United States Marines.
The girls who were abducted on April 14, were part of the 250 students boarded at the school for the West African School Certificate, WASC/ Senior Secondary School Certificate, SSSC, examinations, triggering world-wide condemnations.
This was even as more US military officials arrived Nigeria yesterday to join local officials in the search for nearly 300 school girls taken captives by the Islamist extremist group, Boko Haram, the US Secretary of State John Kerry, and the defence department, Pentagon, said.
The UK team had earlier arrived in Abuja to support Nigerian government in its response to the abduction of over 200 school girls.
The arrival of the foreign troops is coming on the heels of the appeal yesterday by the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar for Nigerians to unite and fight the insurgents to achieve success.
According to Kerry, “Our inter-agency team is hitting the ground in Nigeria now and they are going to be working with President Goodluck Jonathan’s government to do everything that we possibly can to return these girls.”
The CNN also quoted the U.S. Navy Rear Admiral, John Kirby, who serves as Pentagon press secretary, as saying that the small team of seven would join advisers supporting local efforts to find the girls abducted over three weeks ago.
Kerry said the US team, working with the Nigerian government, would do everything possible to free the girls and everything possible to stop the atrocities of Boko Haram.
“We are also going to do everything possible to counter the menace of Boko Haram. The entire world should not only be condemning this outrage but should be doing everything possible to help Nigeria in the days ahead,” he added.
But there are no plans to send American combat troops into Nigeria, Mr. Kirby said.
The abduction of the school girls on April 14 in a remote community in Borno State, one of the most shocking terrorist acts by Boko Haram yet, has drawn widespread anger around the world with calls for a swift action.
President Goodluck Jonathan said Thursday that the kidnapping will be “the beginning of end” of Boko Haram.
US President Obama has said he hopes the abduction by Boko Haram will galvanize the international community to act against the brutal group that has directed much of its cruelty on civilians and the innocent.
This week, more than 100 people were killed in a busy market by militants suspected to be from the group. The attack occurred in Gamboru Ngala, Borno State, near the Nigerian border with Cameroun.
Besides the United States, Britain, France and China have also offered to help rescue the stolen girls.Obama said the team sent to Nigeria comprised personnel from military, law enforcement and other agencies.
France said it will station 3,000 troops in Nigeria’s neighbouring countries to help fight militants in the Sahel region.
British satellites and advanced tracking capabilities also will be used, and China has promised to provide any intelligence gathered by its satellite network.
Meanwhile in a statement yesterday, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson said, “a team of UK experts who will advise and support the Nigerian authorities in its response to the abduction of over 200 school girls touched down in Abuja, Nigeria this morning”.
The team is drawn from across government, including DfID, FCO and the MoD, and will work with the Nigerian authorities leading on the abductions and terrorism in Nigeria. The team will be considering not just the recent incidents but also longer-term counter-terrorism solutions to prevent such attacks in the future and defeat Boko Haram.
The team will be working closely with their US counterparts and others to coordinate efforts.
Us Marines find abducted girls, arrest Boko Haram leader
However, military sources said that apart from abducting the girls, the insurgents also carted away food items and vehicles as well as killing undisclosed number of people in Chibok on the fateful night.
The sources told Saturday Vanguard in Abuja that members of the United States Marines who are already in Maiduguri following the promise by President Barak Obama to assist Nigeria in rescuing the abducted girls, located the girls inside the forest, using some Satellite equipment which combed the forest, located an assembly of the young girls and sent the images back to the Marines on ground in Maiduguri.
Aside locating the whereabouts of the girls in the dense forest, it was also, further gathered that one of the leaders of terrorist group who participated in the abduction of the girls was arrested by a combined team of the US Marines and Nigerian forces.
Sources said that the Boko Haram leader was arrested, through an advanced interceptor equipment which was used to track the terrorist while exchanging information with his colleagues in Sambisa Forest about the movements of American and Nigerian soldiers in Maiduguri.
His phone was subsequently traced to a location in Maiduguri where he was arrested and handed over to the Nigerian military.
The location of the girls in the forest is contrary to widespread reports that the girls had been distributed and ferried to the Nigerian border towns in Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic.
Senator Ahmed Zanna, representing Borno Central District in whose Maiduguri home, an alleged Boko Haram top commander was once arrested told the Senate last week that he gave the Military an up-to-date information on how the girls could be rescued, but lamented that his information was largely ignored.
He spoke against the backdrop of the claim by the Boko Haram leader, Sheik Abubakar Shekau, last week that the girls were booties of war, who would be sold into slavery.
Atiku appeals for unity to defeat Boko Haram
However, the arrival of the foreign military officials is coming on the heels of the appeal yesterday by the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar on Nigerians to unite and fight the insurgents.
Atiku said on his blog, “While I have had and continue to have major policy differences with the government in Abuja and its leadership, as a nation we must remain united.
”We have come to a turning point in our war against terrorism in Nigeria. It is a critical moment for us; the war will not be won without us winning this battle. In short, if one is not part of the solution, they become part of the problem.
”And at a moment like this, we can no longer afford anything but a united commitment to stamping out a great evil that threatens the very existence of the only place we call home.
”On social media, I have been amazed by the outpouring of solidarity from within and outside Nigeria. While on the one hand it is sad to see Nigeria in the news for its inability to protect its most vulnerable citizens, it is also clear that in the age of social media no concerns or problems are local.
”It is in light of this that I welcome the offer of military support from the United States, United Kingdom, France and others, and the acceptance by the Nigerian government. While I believe that we waited too long to get to this point of admitting our need for external help, I will also insist that it’s better late than never.
”We must make it clear that under no circumstances should any person, group of persons, or organization ever be permitted to prey on the children of Nigeria, or any other country. We must make it easy for everyone who has information about this crime against humanity to contact the authorities at once.
”We must make it easy for the innocent population of the affected areas to see the Nigerian military and authorities as friends, not enemies. We must make it easy for our soldiers to be loyal and committed to this great and difficult task ahead of them.
”We must make it easy for the world to see Nigeria as a country that cares for all its citizens, regardless of their age, gender, religion, ethnic group or economic class. We must remember the people most affected, trapped on the frontlines of the battle.
They need support, relief and rehabilitation. ”We must remember they will need help when they are returned home to their families and their loved ones. And we must make it difficult for anyone to play politics with this crisis.
’’Nothing, absolutely nothing, is worth the bloodshed and the destruction we have come to associate with this campaign of terror. Not party affiliations, not the 2015 elections. We are in a race against time. For every day we delay our response, or allow ourselves to be caught up in needless bickering, we hand victory over to the forces of darkness and despair, like Boko Haram.”
No Boko Haram activities in Lagos —Police
In a related development, the Lagos State Police Command said yesterday that the rumour about activities of Boko Haram members in some parts of the state was false.
The Public Relations Officer, PRO, of the state Police Command, DSP Ngozi Braide, made this known at a news conference yesterday, at Premier College Group of Schools, Palm Avenue, Mushin, where the sect members allegedly invaded.
“It is not true that there is any act of terrorism anywhere in Lagos State. It is a lie that the terrorists invaded Premier College to abduct students.
“Somebody just sat down somewhere and cooked up the lies to cause panic in the state.
“Premier College and other schools in the state are safe and secure; let the public discountenance the rumour,“ she said.
The Executive Director of the college, Mr Abraham Martins, spoke in the same vein, describing the rumour as ”false and baseless.”
There are indications that with the confirmation that the girls are still within Nigerian territory, contrary to widespread reports that the girls have been distributed and ferried out, the original plan to storm Sambisa forest which was put on hold, would now be activated.It is however not clear if and when the the rescue operation would begin.
Nigerian Girl Guides Association expresses worry
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Girl Guides Association,NGGA, has joined millions of Nigerians to express worry over the continued abduction of 234 female students and called on the Federal Government to ensure that the girls are rescued unhurt to re-unite with their families.
The association, in a statement signed by its Chief Commissioner, Dame (Dr) Christie Toby also challenged Nigerians to be security conscious and assist law enforcement agencies in fighting the enemies of the nation.
“The NGGA joins all well-meaning people all over the world to express shock over the abduction of 234 innocent school girls in Borno State.
“We are sad that up till this moment, these girls are still missing. The NGGA, being a female organisation, is specially concerned, and condemns such a heinous act.
“We declare our support for these girls and their families and pray God to strengthen them in these trying times. We appreciate the fact that government is fighting terrorism in Nigeria, but we are appealing to President Jonathan to ensure that these girls are returned safely to their families so that they can continue with their education.
“We also appeal to all security agencies and people of goodwill to support President Jonathan as they work to bring back our dear girls,” the statement added.
Saturday, 3 May 2014
Top Ten Fastest Players In The World
The ten quickest stars in world football.
On Thursday morning West Ham United youth player Matthias Fanimo posted the results of a speed test conducted by the club to show how they compared to the world’s best players in terms of speed.
Measured using a GPS radar the London born youngster clocked up 9.8 metres per second, which is impressive considering who is on the list.
The whole youth team measured up on the scale too, but the best of the best can be found below.
On Thursday morning West Ham United youth player Matthias Fanimo posted the results of a speed test conducted by the club to show how they compared to the world’s best players in terms of speed.
Measured using a GPS radar the London born youngster clocked up 9.8 metres per second, which is impressive considering who is on the list.
The whole youth team measured up on the scale too, but the best of the best can be found below.
The 10 Greatest WWE Champions of ALL Time
NEW YORK (TheStreet)
-- For decades the WWE Championship has been the top prize in the world
of professional wrestling. Every wrestler, or "superstar," as the
company prefers to call them, dream of attaining the coveted belt. It's
an honor that only a few who train their entire lives get to have.
While there are many great champions in the history of the company, some of them stand out from the others. This list hopes to single out ten of the best champions in the history of the company. What makes them the best varies from wrestler to wrestler. Some made history by holding the championship longer than anyone else. Others participated in stories that are still remembered and talked about fondly years later, while still others are simply immensely popular.
Note: while WWE used to be the WWF, the company has switched to using "WWE" in all references to the past, so we will do the same.
Randy Orton
The son of "Cowboy" Bob Orton, Randy Orton is one of the top wrestlers in the WWE today. Orton is a 12-time champion, holding the WWE Championship eight times, and the World Heavyweight Championship four times. Orton is the youngest-ever World Heavyweigt Champion, capturing the title at age 24, and, more recently, is the first-ever WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Orton won his first world championship when he was part of the Evolution faction with Triple H, Ric Flair, and Batista. His championship reign lost his a spot in the faction, leading to a feud with Triple Hand Flair. Orton would later go on to have memorable feuds with The Undertaker, Edge, and John Cena.
Recently Orton was involved in a months-long feud with Daniel Bryan, during which time Orton unified the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Champion belts before ultimately losing the unified title to Bryan.
While there are many great champions in the history of the company, some of them stand out from the others. This list hopes to single out ten of the best champions in the history of the company. What makes them the best varies from wrestler to wrestler. Some made history by holding the championship longer than anyone else. Others participated in stories that are still remembered and talked about fondly years later, while still others are simply immensely popular.
Note: while WWE used to be the WWF, the company has switched to using "WWE" in all references to the past, so we will do the same.
The son of "Cowboy" Bob Orton, Randy Orton is one of the top wrestlers in the WWE today. Orton is a 12-time champion, holding the WWE Championship eight times, and the World Heavyweight Championship four times. Orton is the youngest-ever World Heavyweigt Champion, capturing the title at age 24, and, more recently, is the first-ever WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Orton won his first world championship when he was part of the Evolution faction with Triple H, Ric Flair, and Batista. His championship reign lost his a spot in the faction, leading to a feud with Triple Hand Flair. Orton would later go on to have memorable feuds with The Undertaker, Edge, and John Cena.
Recently Orton was involved in a months-long feud with Daniel Bryan, during which time Orton unified the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Champion belts before ultimately losing the unified title to Bryan.
Unhappy Mourinho issues Hazard warning
Cobham (United Kingdom) (AFP) -
Jose Mourinho has criticised Eden Hazard by claiming the Chelsea winger
is not yet ready to sacrifice himself fully for the sake of his team.
Hazard, a
reported summer target for Paris Saint-Germain, was apparently critical
of Mourinho's tactics during this week's 3-1 Champions League semi-final
second-leg defeat by Atletico Madrid that denied Chelsea a place in the
final.
Quizzed about his player's comments on Friday, the Chelsea manager insisted Hazard's words had been taken out of context."There was nothing critical in what he said," Mourinho told reporters at Chelsea's training ground in Cobham, south of London, on Friday.
"It's the same type of words he said in relation to the Belgium side a few weeks ago."
But Mourinho then highlighted the mistake made by Hazard for Atletico's opening goal –- the Belgium international was caught out at the far post -- as an example of a weakness that remains in the player's game.
The error contributed to Adrian's equaliser that cancelled out Fernando Torres' opening goal immediately before half-time at Stamford Bridge, laying the platform for Atletico to secure victory after the break.
"Normally you get this kind of comment from players like him: from players who can't resolve a problem like we had with the first goal," the Portuguese boss went on.
"Against Atletico in Madrid, Willian played on the left side and Ashley Cole was protected all game. Against Liverpool, Andre Schuerrle played on the left and a dangerous player like Glen Johnson was completely under control.
"Eden is the kind of player who is not so mentally ready to look back at his left-back and live his life for him.
"If you see Atletico's first goal, you understand where the mistake was and why we conceded that goal.â€
- 'Hazard won't sacrifice himself' -
Hazard, 23, has been Chelsea's most impressive attacking player but Mourinho admits he has worked all season to improve the defensive side of his game.
The manager added: "I just say the perfect team at the top level cannot make this kind of mistake.
"When the comments come from a player like Eden, it's normal. He's not the kind of player ready to sacrifice himself 100 percent for the team and his mates. But at the same time, the comments were not critical.
"I'm not happy (a player doesn't sacrifice himself), and I've spoken all season and I've tried to improve him."
Chelsea's exit from the Champions League means the Premier League title remains their last hope of silverware this season although Mourinho's side are currently rated third favourites behind leaders Liverpool and Manchester City, who are three points off top spot but with a game in hand on their title rivals.
To maintain a realistic chance of clinching the championship, second-placed Chelsea, two points behind Liverpool after their win at Anfield last weekend, must beat relegation-threatened Norwich City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Centre-back David Luiz insisted after the Atletico defeat it would be an unsuccessful season if Chelsea finished the campaign empty-handed.
But Mourinho disagreed, saying progress had been made in a period of transition.
"I don't think it's a bad season. I think it's a transitional season and, for a transitional season, to arrive where we did is very good.
"If you tell me that, for two to four years in a row, we don't do more than fight for the title until the last game or don't do more than a Champions League semi-final, I would say we should do better.
"But, for a transitional season, to fight for the title until the last moment and go to the Champions League semi-final I think is a good step, especially because what you do normally is compare with the season before.
"If you do that,
Chelsea lost the title in November last season. Chelsea were many points
behind. And in the Champions League Chelsea were the first team to be
knocked out in the group phase as champions.
"So it's been a big step in terms of fighting for the title and for the Champions League. A good step.â€
10 ways to fix America
The job market may be limping back, but many people — from both the
99% and the 1% — sense America desperately needs a revival. Living
standards have been stagnant for a decade. Many Americans struggle to
raise themselves up. The Washington politicians charged with crafting
better laws and policies are, in some ways, doing more harm than good.
At the Milken Institute’s recent global conference in Beverly Hills, business leaders, economists and academics debated the nation’s top economic problems — and offered many solutions. America still has profound advantages and is far from beaten, most believe. “We never lost the baton,” said Walmart CEO Bill Simon, referring to the suggestion that China or some other nation has overtaken the United States. “We just forgot we had it. American businesses and American consumers have to remember they do have that baton.”
There’s no shortage of ideas for how to boost the economy. The problem, of course, is making them happen. The list below includes ideas that tend to be pragmatic rather than partisan. Some but not all require government involvement, and there are many things state and local officials can accomplish more effectively than the feds. Not all of these ideas would necessarily pan out, but none would be disastrous if they flopped, either, making the risks worthwhile. If restoring America’s economic might were a top national priority, these would be 10 ways to get started:
Recruit more immigrants. There are two types of immigrants: Those who sneak in illegally and those who come for work, school or other legitimate reasons. The two tend to get lumped together in the stymied immigration reform effort in Washington that’s turning a U.S. economic advantage into a liability. Legal immigrants have always been good for the U.S. economy. They open businesses and earn patents at higher rates than natives. Yet the United States has strict limits on the types of talented, well-educated immigrants who would most help the U.S. economy. Canada, by contrast, works hard to lure immigrants and even has an immigration minister who must meet a stretch quota or face the consequences. “We need to stop linking [legal immigration] to illegal immigration,” said Edward Conard, bestselling author of Unintended Consequences, at the Milken conference. “We could skim the cream of the world.” Raising immigration quotas or eliminating them altogether might do the trick.
Streamline corporate taxes. One reason U.S. drug giant Pfizer (PFE) wants to take over British firm AstraZeneca (AZN) is to relocate its headquarters to the U.K. and take advantage of lower tax rates there. CEOs have a lot of overblown complaints, but they’re right that the U.S. corporate tax rate, at 35%, is among the highest in the developed world, and the U.S. tax code needlessly convoluted. Even President Obama favors a lower corporate tax rate, if combined with fewer loopholes, since the current rate encourages U.S. multinationals to stash and spend money overseas instead of repatriating it to the United States. “Corporate America has never sat on so much cash, and it’s been deploying it abroad,” said Ken Griffin, CEO of the investing firm Citadel. “They’ve created millions of jobs — in Mexico, Canada and Asia.”
Make it easier to start a business. The rate of business creation has been declining since 2010, partly because some people who got laid off during the recession are returning to traditional jobs — but also because it’s just plain complicated to start a business. “We used to be able to start businesses faster than we do now,” Blackstone Group CEO Steve Schwarzman noted. Government — at all levels — could help by streamlining or even axing regulations for new businesses, or perhaps offering a moratorium until the business gets off the ground. Free or inexpensive mentoring groups can also be helpful, so entrepreneurs can get advice about accounting, payroll or other things they may not be able to hire a professional for.
Fast-track energy independence. Cheap energy is becoming a huge advantage for the U.S. economy. It lowers bills for consumers but, even more importantly, cuts manufacturing and production costs enough to persuade big firms to locate facilities in the United States instead of, say, China or Mexico. That means jobs. There are plenty of sticky issues involving pipelines, exports, environmental regulations and many other things, with no obvious answers on either side. But one thing state and federal regulators can do is create expedited processes for making decisions and quickly securing as many energy advantages as possible.
Try a new type of unemployment insurance. Four million Americans have been unemployed for more than six months, and many more have given up looking for work completely. Yet Washington has stopped offering extended jobless aid as the costs have risen and concerns have mounted about government checks dulling the desire to work. So why not try something else?
One idea is “worksharing,” a scheme in which employers cut everybody’s hours during a downturn, without laying anybody off. Companies can do that on their own, but the government could help — as it does in Germany — by paying jobless benefits equal to the amount of pay lost for each worker. Then, when the economy improves, everybody’s hours go back up, with nobody having to endure a ruinous bout of unemployment. Another idea from Kevin Hassett of the American Enterprise Institute is to pay jobless benefits in the form of a single lump sum of cash that the unemployed get to keep even if they find a job the next day. That would create an incentive to find a job quickly — since the worker would get the cash and a paycheck both — yet the total payment could still be capped at traditional levels.
Create incentives for reviving old factories. The Boston Consulting Group and others argue that cheap energy and rising labor costs overseas are beginning to generate a U.S. manufacturing renaissance. That’s an opportunity for state and local officials to draw new occupants to shuttered facilities. Old factories can’t just be turned back on, because most manufacturing these days is high-tech. But facilities close to rail spurs or other transportation hubs could be good rehab candidates.
Supercharge vocational training. One reason many companies can’t find the workers they need is nobody knows what skills are needed where. Siemens (SI) has tried to solve this problem by teaming with community colleges in places such as Charlotte, N.C., to devise specific training programs with guaranteed jobs for those who complete them. Local governments can play a role in getting companies and schools together, but this is one initiative that doesn’t require much political activity or taxpayer money. “There can be a role for government as an integrator,” says Diana Farrell, global head of the McKinsey Center for Government, “but these can be public-private partnerships, or purely private.”
Make the R&D tax credit permanent. This credit encourages business to spend more in the U.S. on research and development, which is closely linked with innovation and jobs. Yet since 1981 it has always been a temporary credit requiring regular renewal by Congress, and sometimes it lapses only to be restored retroactively. The latest version expired at the end of 2013 and will probably get renewed or expanded this year, but that’s not certain. Some businesses plan their R&D budgets assuming the credit will be available, but others don’t. Making this a permanent part of the tax code would give businesses more clarity about their costs and improve the case for ramping up R&D activities in the United States.
Improve ways to move things around. Infrastructure sounds like a boring topic, yet the ease and cost of moving stuff around is a huge consideration for businesses deciding where to locate plants and other facilities. Many nations in Asia and elsewhere have newer and better roads, train networks, ports and air-traffic systems than the United States. Infrastructure projects aren’t just job programs — they’re investments in future economic activity. This, too, can take place in the form of public-private partnerships with the government serving as organizer and investors footing some or all of the bill.
Fund more basic science. The Chinese are doing it, plus stealing all the Western trade secrets they can get their hands on, which could produce a double advantage before long. One key area requiring research: energy, including better ways to produce and store massive quantities of it. “This is an important role for the government,” said Stephen Hoover, CEO of PARC, the famed R&D lab in Palo Alto. “We may miss a window of opportunity. I wonder if we get this.” Let’s hope we do.
At the Milken Institute’s recent global conference in Beverly Hills, business leaders, economists and academics debated the nation’s top economic problems — and offered many solutions. America still has profound advantages and is far from beaten, most believe. “We never lost the baton,” said Walmart CEO Bill Simon, referring to the suggestion that China or some other nation has overtaken the United States. “We just forgot we had it. American businesses and American consumers have to remember they do have that baton.”
There’s no shortage of ideas for how to boost the economy. The problem, of course, is making them happen. The list below includes ideas that tend to be pragmatic rather than partisan. Some but not all require government involvement, and there are many things state and local officials can accomplish more effectively than the feds. Not all of these ideas would necessarily pan out, but none would be disastrous if they flopped, either, making the risks worthwhile. If restoring America’s economic might were a top national priority, these would be 10 ways to get started:
Recruit more immigrants. There are two types of immigrants: Those who sneak in illegally and those who come for work, school or other legitimate reasons. The two tend to get lumped together in the stymied immigration reform effort in Washington that’s turning a U.S. economic advantage into a liability. Legal immigrants have always been good for the U.S. economy. They open businesses and earn patents at higher rates than natives. Yet the United States has strict limits on the types of talented, well-educated immigrants who would most help the U.S. economy. Canada, by contrast, works hard to lure immigrants and even has an immigration minister who must meet a stretch quota or face the consequences. “We need to stop linking [legal immigration] to illegal immigration,” said Edward Conard, bestselling author of Unintended Consequences, at the Milken conference. “We could skim the cream of the world.” Raising immigration quotas or eliminating them altogether might do the trick.
Streamline corporate taxes. One reason U.S. drug giant Pfizer (PFE) wants to take over British firm AstraZeneca (AZN) is to relocate its headquarters to the U.K. and take advantage of lower tax rates there. CEOs have a lot of overblown complaints, but they’re right that the U.S. corporate tax rate, at 35%, is among the highest in the developed world, and the U.S. tax code needlessly convoluted. Even President Obama favors a lower corporate tax rate, if combined with fewer loopholes, since the current rate encourages U.S. multinationals to stash and spend money overseas instead of repatriating it to the United States. “Corporate America has never sat on so much cash, and it’s been deploying it abroad,” said Ken Griffin, CEO of the investing firm Citadel. “They’ve created millions of jobs — in Mexico, Canada and Asia.”
Make it easier to start a business. The rate of business creation has been declining since 2010, partly because some people who got laid off during the recession are returning to traditional jobs — but also because it’s just plain complicated to start a business. “We used to be able to start businesses faster than we do now,” Blackstone Group CEO Steve Schwarzman noted. Government — at all levels — could help by streamlining or even axing regulations for new businesses, or perhaps offering a moratorium until the business gets off the ground. Free or inexpensive mentoring groups can also be helpful, so entrepreneurs can get advice about accounting, payroll or other things they may not be able to hire a professional for.
Fast-track energy independence. Cheap energy is becoming a huge advantage for the U.S. economy. It lowers bills for consumers but, even more importantly, cuts manufacturing and production costs enough to persuade big firms to locate facilities in the United States instead of, say, China or Mexico. That means jobs. There are plenty of sticky issues involving pipelines, exports, environmental regulations and many other things, with no obvious answers on either side. But one thing state and federal regulators can do is create expedited processes for making decisions and quickly securing as many energy advantages as possible.
Try a new type of unemployment insurance. Four million Americans have been unemployed for more than six months, and many more have given up looking for work completely. Yet Washington has stopped offering extended jobless aid as the costs have risen and concerns have mounted about government checks dulling the desire to work. So why not try something else?
One idea is “worksharing,” a scheme in which employers cut everybody’s hours during a downturn, without laying anybody off. Companies can do that on their own, but the government could help — as it does in Germany — by paying jobless benefits equal to the amount of pay lost for each worker. Then, when the economy improves, everybody’s hours go back up, with nobody having to endure a ruinous bout of unemployment. Another idea from Kevin Hassett of the American Enterprise Institute is to pay jobless benefits in the form of a single lump sum of cash that the unemployed get to keep even if they find a job the next day. That would create an incentive to find a job quickly — since the worker would get the cash and a paycheck both — yet the total payment could still be capped at traditional levels.
Create incentives for reviving old factories. The Boston Consulting Group and others argue that cheap energy and rising labor costs overseas are beginning to generate a U.S. manufacturing renaissance. That’s an opportunity for state and local officials to draw new occupants to shuttered facilities. Old factories can’t just be turned back on, because most manufacturing these days is high-tech. But facilities close to rail spurs or other transportation hubs could be good rehab candidates.
Supercharge vocational training. One reason many companies can’t find the workers they need is nobody knows what skills are needed where. Siemens (SI) has tried to solve this problem by teaming with community colleges in places such as Charlotte, N.C., to devise specific training programs with guaranteed jobs for those who complete them. Local governments can play a role in getting companies and schools together, but this is one initiative that doesn’t require much political activity or taxpayer money. “There can be a role for government as an integrator,” says Diana Farrell, global head of the McKinsey Center for Government, “but these can be public-private partnerships, or purely private.”
Make the R&D tax credit permanent. This credit encourages business to spend more in the U.S. on research and development, which is closely linked with innovation and jobs. Yet since 1981 it has always been a temporary credit requiring regular renewal by Congress, and sometimes it lapses only to be restored retroactively. The latest version expired at the end of 2013 and will probably get renewed or expanded this year, but that’s not certain. Some businesses plan their R&D budgets assuming the credit will be available, but others don’t. Making this a permanent part of the tax code would give businesses more clarity about their costs and improve the case for ramping up R&D activities in the United States.
Improve ways to move things around. Infrastructure sounds like a boring topic, yet the ease and cost of moving stuff around is a huge consideration for businesses deciding where to locate plants and other facilities. Many nations in Asia and elsewhere have newer and better roads, train networks, ports and air-traffic systems than the United States. Infrastructure projects aren’t just job programs — they’re investments in future economic activity. This, too, can take place in the form of public-private partnerships with the government serving as organizer and investors footing some or all of the bill.
Fund more basic science. The Chinese are doing it, plus stealing all the Western trade secrets they can get their hands on, which could produce a double advantage before long. One key area requiring research: energy, including better ways to produce and store massive quantities of it. “This is an important role for the government,” said Stephen Hoover, CEO of PARC, the famed R&D lab in Palo Alto. “We may miss a window of opportunity. I wonder if we get this.” Let’s hope we do.
10 ways to fix America
The job market may be limping back, but many people — from both the
99% and the 1% — sense America desperately needs a revival. Living
standards have been stagnant for a decade. Many Americans struggle to
raise themselves up. The Washington politicians charged with crafting
better laws and policies are, in some ways, doing more harm than good.
At the Milken Institute’s recent global conference in Beverly Hills, business leaders, economists and academics debated the nation’s top economic problems — and offered many solutions. America still has profound advantages and is far from beaten, most believe. “We never lost the baton,” said Walmart CEO Bill Simon, referring to the suggestion that China or some other nation has overtaken the United States. “We just forgot we had it. American businesses and American consumers have to remember they do have that baton.”
There’s no shortage of ideas for how to boost the economy. The problem, of course, is making them happen. The list below includes ideas that tend to be pragmatic rather than partisan. Some but not all require government involvement, and there are many things state and local officials can accomplish more effectively than the feds. Not all of these ideas would necessarily pan out, but none would be disastrous if they flopped, either, making the risks worthwhile. If restoring America’s economic might were a top national priority, these would be 10 ways to get started:
Recruit more immigrants. There are two types of immigrants: Those who sneak in illegally and those who come for work, school or other legitimate reasons. The two tend to get lumped together in the stymied immigration reform effort in Washington that’s turning a U.S. economic advantage into a liability. Legal immigrants have always been good for the U.S. economy. They open businesses and earn patents at higher rates than natives. Yet the United States has strict limits on the types of talented, well-educated immigrants who would most help the U.S. economy. Canada, by contrast, works hard to lure immigrants and even has an immigration minister who must meet a stretch quota or face the consequences. “We need to stop linking [legal immigration] to illegal immigration,” said Edward Conard, bestselling author of Unintended Consequences, at the Milken conference. “We could skim the cream of the world.” Raising immigration quotas or eliminating them altogether might do the trick.
Streamline corporate taxes. One reason U.S. drug giant Pfizer (PFE) wants to take over British firm AstraZeneca (AZN) is to relocate its headquarters to the U.K. and take advantage of lower tax rates there. CEOs have a lot of overblown complaints, but they’re right that the U.S. corporate tax rate, at 35%, is among the highest in the developed world, and the U.S. tax code needlessly convoluted. Even President Obama favors a lower corporate tax rate, if combined with fewer loopholes, since the current rate encourages U.S. multinationals to stash and spend money overseas instead of repatriating it to the United States. “Corporate America has never sat on so much cash, and it’s been deploying it abroad,” said Ken Griffin, CEO of the investing firm Citadel. “They’ve created millions of jobs — in Mexico, Canada and Asia.”
Make it easier to start a business. The rate of business creation has been declining since 2010, partly because some people who got laid off during the recession are returning to traditional jobs — but also because it’s just plain complicated to start a business. “We used to be able to start businesses faster than we do now,” Blackstone Group CEO Steve Schwarzman noted. Government — at all levels — could help by streamlining or even axing regulations for new businesses, or perhaps offering a moratorium until the business gets off the ground. Free or inexpensive mentoring groups can also be helpful, so entrepreneurs can get advice about accounting, payroll or other things they may not be able to hire a professional for.
Fast-track energy independence. Cheap energy is becoming a huge advantage for the U.S. economy. It lowers bills for consumers but, even more importantly, cuts manufacturing and production costs enough to persuade big firms to locate facilities in the United States instead of, say, China or Mexico. That means jobs. There are plenty of sticky issues involving pipelines, exports, environmental regulations and many other things, with no obvious answers on either side. But one thing state and federal regulators can do is create expedited processes for making decisions and quickly securing as many energy advantages as possible.
Try a new type of unemployment insurance. Four million Americans have been unemployed for more than six months, and many more have given up looking for work completely. Yet Washington has stopped offering extended jobless aid as the costs have risen and concerns have mounted about government checks dulling the desire to work. So why not try something else?
One idea is “worksharing,” a scheme in which employers cut everybody’s hours during a downturn, without laying anybody off. Companies can do that on their own, but the government could help — as it does in Germany — by paying jobless benefits equal to the amount of pay lost for each worker. Then, when the economy improves, everybody’s hours go back up, with nobody having to endure a ruinous bout of unemployment. Another idea from Kevin Hassett of the American Enterprise Institute is to pay jobless benefits in the form of a single lump sum of cash that the unemployed get to keep even if they find a job the next day. That would create an incentive to find a job quickly — since the worker would get the cash and a paycheck both — yet the total payment could still be capped at traditional levels.
Create incentives for reviving old factories. The Boston Consulting Group and others argue that cheap energy and rising labor costs overseas are beginning to generate a U.S. manufacturing renaissance. That’s an opportunity for state and local officials to draw new occupants to shuttered facilities. Old factories can’t just be turned back on, because most manufacturing these days is high-tech. But facilities close to rail spurs or other transportation hubs could be good rehab candidates.
Supercharge vocational training. One reason many companies can’t find the workers they need is nobody knows what skills are needed where. Siemens (SI) has tried to solve this problem by teaming with community colleges in places such as Charlotte, N.C., to devise specific training programs with guaranteed jobs for those who complete them. Local governments can play a role in getting companies and schools together, but this is one initiative that doesn’t require much political activity or taxpayer money. “There can be a role for government as an integrator,” says Diana Farrell, global head of the McKinsey Center for Government, “but these can be public-private partnerships, or purely private.”
Make the R&D tax credit permanent. This credit encourages business to spend more in the U.S. on research and development, which is closely linked with innovation and jobs. Yet since 1981 it has always been a temporary credit requiring regular renewal by Congress, and sometimes it lapses only to be restored retroactively. The latest version expired at the end of 2013 and will probably get renewed or expanded this year, but that’s not certain. Some businesses plan their R&D budgets assuming the credit will be available, but others don’t. Making this a permanent part of the tax code would give businesses more clarity about their costs and improve the case for ramping up R&D activities in the United States.
Improve ways to move things around. Infrastructure sounds like a boring topic, yet the ease and cost of moving stuff around is a huge consideration for businesses deciding where to locate plants and other facilities. Many nations in Asia and elsewhere have newer and better roads, train networks, ports and air-traffic systems than the United States. Infrastructure projects aren’t just job programs — they’re investments in future economic activity. This, too, can take place in the form of public-private partnerships with the government serving as organizer and investors footing some or all of the bill.
Fund more basic science. The Chinese are doing it, plus stealing all the Western trade secrets they can get their hands on, which could produce a double advantage before long. One key area requiring research: energy, including better ways to produce and store massive quantities of it. “This is an important role for the government,” said Stephen Hoover, CEO of PARC, the famed R&D lab in Palo Alto. “We may miss a window of opportunity. I wonder if we get this.” Let’s hope we do.
At the Milken Institute’s recent global conference in Beverly Hills, business leaders, economists and academics debated the nation’s top economic problems — and offered many solutions. America still has profound advantages and is far from beaten, most believe. “We never lost the baton,” said Walmart CEO Bill Simon, referring to the suggestion that China or some other nation has overtaken the United States. “We just forgot we had it. American businesses and American consumers have to remember they do have that baton.”
There’s no shortage of ideas for how to boost the economy. The problem, of course, is making them happen. The list below includes ideas that tend to be pragmatic rather than partisan. Some but not all require government involvement, and there are many things state and local officials can accomplish more effectively than the feds. Not all of these ideas would necessarily pan out, but none would be disastrous if they flopped, either, making the risks worthwhile. If restoring America’s economic might were a top national priority, these would be 10 ways to get started:
Recruit more immigrants. There are two types of immigrants: Those who sneak in illegally and those who come for work, school or other legitimate reasons. The two tend to get lumped together in the stymied immigration reform effort in Washington that’s turning a U.S. economic advantage into a liability. Legal immigrants have always been good for the U.S. economy. They open businesses and earn patents at higher rates than natives. Yet the United States has strict limits on the types of talented, well-educated immigrants who would most help the U.S. economy. Canada, by contrast, works hard to lure immigrants and even has an immigration minister who must meet a stretch quota or face the consequences. “We need to stop linking [legal immigration] to illegal immigration,” said Edward Conard, bestselling author of Unintended Consequences, at the Milken conference. “We could skim the cream of the world.” Raising immigration quotas or eliminating them altogether might do the trick.
Streamline corporate taxes. One reason U.S. drug giant Pfizer (PFE) wants to take over British firm AstraZeneca (AZN) is to relocate its headquarters to the U.K. and take advantage of lower tax rates there. CEOs have a lot of overblown complaints, but they’re right that the U.S. corporate tax rate, at 35%, is among the highest in the developed world, and the U.S. tax code needlessly convoluted. Even President Obama favors a lower corporate tax rate, if combined with fewer loopholes, since the current rate encourages U.S. multinationals to stash and spend money overseas instead of repatriating it to the United States. “Corporate America has never sat on so much cash, and it’s been deploying it abroad,” said Ken Griffin, CEO of the investing firm Citadel. “They’ve created millions of jobs — in Mexico, Canada and Asia.”
Make it easier to start a business. The rate of business creation has been declining since 2010, partly because some people who got laid off during the recession are returning to traditional jobs — but also because it’s just plain complicated to start a business. “We used to be able to start businesses faster than we do now,” Blackstone Group CEO Steve Schwarzman noted. Government — at all levels — could help by streamlining or even axing regulations for new businesses, or perhaps offering a moratorium until the business gets off the ground. Free or inexpensive mentoring groups can also be helpful, so entrepreneurs can get advice about accounting, payroll or other things they may not be able to hire a professional for.
Fast-track energy independence. Cheap energy is becoming a huge advantage for the U.S. economy. It lowers bills for consumers but, even more importantly, cuts manufacturing and production costs enough to persuade big firms to locate facilities in the United States instead of, say, China or Mexico. That means jobs. There are plenty of sticky issues involving pipelines, exports, environmental regulations and many other things, with no obvious answers on either side. But one thing state and federal regulators can do is create expedited processes for making decisions and quickly securing as many energy advantages as possible.
Try a new type of unemployment insurance. Four million Americans have been unemployed for more than six months, and many more have given up looking for work completely. Yet Washington has stopped offering extended jobless aid as the costs have risen and concerns have mounted about government checks dulling the desire to work. So why not try something else?
One idea is “worksharing,” a scheme in which employers cut everybody’s hours during a downturn, without laying anybody off. Companies can do that on their own, but the government could help — as it does in Germany — by paying jobless benefits equal to the amount of pay lost for each worker. Then, when the economy improves, everybody’s hours go back up, with nobody having to endure a ruinous bout of unemployment. Another idea from Kevin Hassett of the American Enterprise Institute is to pay jobless benefits in the form of a single lump sum of cash that the unemployed get to keep even if they find a job the next day. That would create an incentive to find a job quickly — since the worker would get the cash and a paycheck both — yet the total payment could still be capped at traditional levels.
Create incentives for reviving old factories. The Boston Consulting Group and others argue that cheap energy and rising labor costs overseas are beginning to generate a U.S. manufacturing renaissance. That’s an opportunity for state and local officials to draw new occupants to shuttered facilities. Old factories can’t just be turned back on, because most manufacturing these days is high-tech. But facilities close to rail spurs or other transportation hubs could be good rehab candidates.
Supercharge vocational training. One reason many companies can’t find the workers they need is nobody knows what skills are needed where. Siemens (SI) has tried to solve this problem by teaming with community colleges in places such as Charlotte, N.C., to devise specific training programs with guaranteed jobs for those who complete them. Local governments can play a role in getting companies and schools together, but this is one initiative that doesn’t require much political activity or taxpayer money. “There can be a role for government as an integrator,” says Diana Farrell, global head of the McKinsey Center for Government, “but these can be public-private partnerships, or purely private.”
Make the R&D tax credit permanent. This credit encourages business to spend more in the U.S. on research and development, which is closely linked with innovation and jobs. Yet since 1981 it has always been a temporary credit requiring regular renewal by Congress, and sometimes it lapses only to be restored retroactively. The latest version expired at the end of 2013 and will probably get renewed or expanded this year, but that’s not certain. Some businesses plan their R&D budgets assuming the credit will be available, but others don’t. Making this a permanent part of the tax code would give businesses more clarity about their costs and improve the case for ramping up R&D activities in the United States.
Improve ways to move things around. Infrastructure sounds like a boring topic, yet the ease and cost of moving stuff around is a huge consideration for businesses deciding where to locate plants and other facilities. Many nations in Asia and elsewhere have newer and better roads, train networks, ports and air-traffic systems than the United States. Infrastructure projects aren’t just job programs — they’re investments in future economic activity. This, too, can take place in the form of public-private partnerships with the government serving as organizer and investors footing some or all of the bill.
Fund more basic science. The Chinese are doing it, plus stealing all the Western trade secrets they can get their hands on, which could produce a double advantage before long. One key area requiring research: energy, including better ways to produce and store massive quantities of it. “This is an important role for the government,” said Stephen Hoover, CEO of PARC, the famed R&D lab in Palo Alto. “We may miss a window of opportunity. I wonder if we get this.” Let’s hope we do.
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