Features

By the Numbers: Follow the Money

February 3, 2012
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Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s effective tax rate for 2010 ………………………………………………. 13.9%The speaking fees income Romney characterized as “not very much” ……………………………………………………….. $374,327 President Obama’s reported effective federal tax rate on his 2010 family income……………………………………………… 26%Top tax rate for wages and salaries, which constitute most earnings for the vast majority of people………………….. 35%Romney family...

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Forced Pooling

December 1, 2011
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On November 22, in Tunkhannock, Terry Engelder of Penn State University gave a PowerPoint presentation advocating forced pooling. Our regular contributor Ralph Kisberg presented the following counterpoint to Engelder’s presentation. On the surface, no pun intended, compulsory pooling flies against the instincts of most of us. My property, my rock, my gas, my consent...

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By the Numbers: Why we need the Occupy Wall Street Movement

December 1, 2011
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State grants given to build Kohl’s department store in downtown Williamsport … $5 million Retail jobs at Williamsport Kohl’s … 130Personal pay “earned” by NY hedge fund profiteer John Paulson last year by suckering investors & betting that the U.S. real estate market would collapse … $5 billionNumber of high-paying jobs John Paulson claimed...

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By the Numbers: Who’s waging class warfare now?

October 1, 2011
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Take-home pay of the chairman of Merck in 2010 … $17.9 millionNumber of workers Merck plans to lay off this year … 13,000What the CEO of Bank of America takes in annually … $10 millionNumber of workers Bank of America has announced it’s laying off … 30,000Amount of nation’s income taken in 1979 by...

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By the Numbers: the Pennsylvania 2011-12 State Budget

August 1, 2011
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Amount of Pennsylvania’s budget surplus at the end of fiscal 2010-11 … $785.5 millionAmount of surplus predicted by Governor Corbett’s March budget proposal … $78 millionAmount of a year-end surplus available by law for appropriation in the next fiscal year … 75%Average monthly enrollment in Medical Assistance (MA, or Medicaid) in fiscal 2010-11 …...

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By the Numbers: June 2011

June 1, 2011
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Annual cost per capita for public broadcasting in the U.S. as of 2008 … $3.75 Annual cost per capita to Canadian government for public broadcasting, 2008 … $30 Annual cost per capita to Australian government for public broadcasting, 2008 … $34 Annual cost per capita to U.K. government for public broadcasting, 2009 … $90.70...

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Scarnati gets it wrong again

June 1, 2011
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State Senator Joseph “Super Bowl” Scarnati, along with Senator Eugene Yaw, among others, introduced Senate Bill 1100 (SB1100) last week. The bill, “An Act Amending Title 58 (Oil and Gas) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes,” imposes a natural gas impact fee tied to a model zoning ordinance. Watchdog groups around the state quickly dissected...

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By the Numbers: April 2011

April 1, 2011
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Gourmet cupcakes delivered by AT&T to F.C.C .headquarters in Washington, D.C. last December as commissioners debated rules for Internet traffic… 1,500 Spending by AT&T to court T-Mobile for a merger, which requires F.C.C. approval… $39 billion Percent of the cellular market that would be controlled by just two companies, A.T.&T. and Verizon, if the...

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DRILL BITS: April 2011

April 1, 2011
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Compiled by Ralph Kisberg “ looking forward to discussing topics involving shallow gas migration, the ultimate fate and risk of contamination from frack water, documentation and tracking of waste products,inadequate bonding laws, setbacks, fines,well pad siting issues, floodplain concerns,an exploration of alternative fracking methodologies that may have fewer environmental and...

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