TN Higher Ed Bleeding Money from the Head

Tennessee has long been bleeding millions in higher ed administration. But no one has had the guts or means to do much about it. This Op Ed very credibly illustrates it.

Tennessee has three organizations providing oversight to higher education. The 2010-11 Tennessee budget submitted by Gov. Phil Bredesen recommended $9.7 million for the Tennessee Higher Education Commission administration, $21.5 million for University of Tennessee university-wide administration and $19.1 million for Tennessee Board of Regents administration. READ MORE

By Grover L. Porter --Ph.D., CPA-retired

We have 3 administration boards and 2 separate, competing higher education systems in one state!

Global Wa... What?!

Today there was snow (various forms of frozen precipitation) in 49 states! All but, you guessed it, Hawaii. The evidence is piling on that Al Gore is full of ...SHUT UP AL, just shut up!
Here(AP)
Here(Digital Journal)
and Here(USA Today)

Social InSecurity

Rash of retirements push Social Security to brink (USA Today)
Social Security's annual surplus nearly evaporated in 2009 for the first time in 25 years as the recession led hundreds of thousands of workers to retire or claim disability. The impact of the recession is likely to hit the giant retirement system even harder this year and next. The Congressional Budget Office had projected it would operate in the red in 2010 and 2011, but a deeper economic slump could make those losses larger than anticipated. "Things are a little bit worse than had been expected," says Stephen Goss, chief actuary for the Social Security Administration. "Clearly, we're going to be negative for a year or two." Since 1984, Social Security has raked in more in payroll taxes than it has paid in benefits, accumulating a $2.5 trillion trust fund. But because the government uses the trust fund to pay for other programs, tax increases, spending cuts or new borrowing will be required to make up the difference between taxes collected and benefits owed.

More R's Getting In

Enthusiastic Republicans crowd primary races (Tribune)
As the Republican Party's chances of success in the fall elections increase, so too has the number of Republican candidates jumping into primaries across the country. Party officials claim to welcome the enthusiasm, but in many places it's the sort of welcome reserved for an uninvited guest. Or eight uninvited guests, as is the case in Arkansas, where the lineup of candidates wanting to challenge Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln has swelled to nine. Retiring Murfreesboro Rep. Bart Gordon's seat in Ten-nessee has four Republicans vying for the nomination and one erstwhile Republican running as an independent. Two competitive districts in Virginia have drawn 11 hopefuls between them. Races in Nevada, New Hampshire and California also are crowding fast. In cases such as Arkansas', a surplus of candidates is evidence of an eagerness to take on a politically weak Democrat. Lincoln's approval ratings are among the lowest in the Senate. In other cases, it's a result of internal strife between the party's establishment and the often more conservative newcomers.

Mid-South Keeps Moving Right

GOP eyes potential for picking up U.S. House seats in Mid-South (CA/Sullivan)
A Republican operative reviewing a map of open seats and conservative districts now held by Democrats calls the Mid-South "ground zero" for GOP pickups in the House of Representatives this fall. To academics surveying the same scene, the analysis seems to hold up. Long-held Democratic seats may fall this year to a historic trend that has steamrollered the South for Republicans since Richard Nixon unwrapped his "Southern Strategy." Outside of Memphis -- whose 9th District seat will likely be held by a solid blue Democrat whether former Mayor Willie W. Herenton or incumbent Steve Cohen wins the August primary -- the capital of the Mid-South looks to some experts to be surrounded by a wave of blue districts turning Republican red. Rhodes College professor Marcus Pohlmann said the old Yellow Dog or Blue Dog seats Republicans are targeting represent "the last gasp of the old Roosevelt Coalition." "Some of those seats are holdovers from an old era and were probably due to go red anyway, eventually," Pohlman said.

Tea Party finds its voice

Like other blocs, Tea Party finds its voice, limits (Associated Press/Sidoti)
First, the independent Ross Perot contingent. Then, the liberal "net-roots" mobilization. Now, the conservative "Tea Party" coalition. No doubt this is democracy at work, a quintessential part of America. Will the latest political phenomenon become a society-changing movement influencing elections and beyond? "We are people who understand something wrong is going on in this country, and we want to change it," says Dan Garner, a married 40-year-old sales representative from Carthage, Tenn., who is new to politics. Like so many others, he has had enough. "The core thing is a loss of individual liberty." Retirees, stay-at-home moms, small-business owners, corporate executives and everyone in between — many political neophytes who aren't hardcore ideologues — are using the latest technology to come together and vent their frustrations about their country and plot to install a new group in charge of the government. They formed a loose network of grass-roots groups to speak out against President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress.