Significance of Black Friday Records

     This past weekend, customers all throughout the country spent their time rushing to the mall and getting their hands on whatever sales were in place for the biggest shopping weekend of the year. Beginning with early store openings on Thanksgiving day, shoppers scooped up "doorbuster" deals left and right. According to a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation, approximately 139.4 million adults visited stores websites over the 4-day weekend.

     According to the NRF, individual shoppers tossed out more money; spending about $423 each this weekend, significantly up from $398 last year. Total spending over the four-day weekend reached a record $59.1 billion, a 13% increase from $52.4 billion last year, according to the National Retail Federation. The same survey found that customers really liked how retailers pushed to open stores earlier. Stores like Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, Sears, and Target, that allowed customers into their stores just as Thanksgiving meals wrapped up, saw a substantial boost. About 10% of this weekend's shoppers were out at stores by 8 p.m. on Thursday and an estimated 28% of weekend shoppers were at the stores by midnight, compared to only 24.4% last year.

     "The only way to describe the Thanksgiving openings is to call them a huge win," said National Retail Federation President and CEO Matthew Shay. "Thanksgiving shopping has really becoming an extension of the day's activities. Whole families are going." In a separate survey, ShopperTrak determined that the number of people shopping in stores climbed about 3.5% from last year to more than 307.67 million. ShopperTrak's founder, Bill Martin, said that traffic has not been this high since 2006. He also said that the return to pre-recession levels indicates a real recovery in consumer behavior. "We've seen that consumers are willing to shop a few extra stores," Martin said. "This could translate into more impulse buying and stronger sales."

     However, not everyone wanted to wait in line during the Thanksgiving weekend. According to statistics, online sales soared more than 17% on the Thursday of Thanksgiving, followed by a nearly 21% increase on Friday over last year, according to IBM Benchmark. Sales made from mobile devices climbed by 16%, with more than 24% of consumers using mobile devices to visit a retailer's website.
The National Retail Federation had predicted that looming fears over the nearby "fiscal cliff" and the struggling jobs market could weigh on holiday spending. That's why they estimated that holiday sales will rise by 4.1%, which is slower than the 5.6% increase last year.

     Matthew Shay says that between 65% and 80% of shoppers factor the overall economic condition of the country into holiday spending decisions. Its survey found that about two thirds of shoppers will pay with cash or debit, highlighting people's aversion to taking on too much debt in a still slow-recovering economy. However, retailers are hopeful that these strong Black Friday figures set a tone for a solid season of spending ahead. The Thanksgiving shopping tradition kicks off the holiday season sales blitz, wherein stores can make up to 40% of their annual sales in the November-December period.
"A single day doesn't make up a holiday season, but if you don't start off well on that day, you have trouble catching up," Martin said.

     Overall, what is significant about all of these statistics is that they are additional signs that consumers all throughout the United States are slowly gathering confidence in the economy once again. If this trend continues through the rest of the holiday season and even into the months following it, our country could be well on its way towards regaining the economic strength we all really miss before 2008 took place.

Source

http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/25/pf/black-friday-sales/index.html

2nd Chapter 7 Post

     According to a recent Gallup survey, Congress’s approval rating is currently at an all time low of 18%. Every year this poll is conducting, asking citizens whether or not they approve of the way Congress is handling its job. And every year, the results are the same: for some reason people simply just don’t like Congress. In 2005, Congressional approval regularly hovered around 40 percent however since then it has plummeted. This year, stockbrokers, funeral directors and lawyers all scored higher in their approval ratings. Even journalists and telemarketers, which are known to be criticized by the public time and time again, have higher approval ratings than Congress. So ultimately the question that must be raised is: why is Congress’s approval rating so extremely low?
     
     “Part of it is just the character of the news about Congress,” said John Pitney a political scientist and professor at Claremont College in Claremont, California.  “If a member of Congress is totally upstanding and a good family person and is scrupulous about finances, that doesn’t make news.”The thing that I find most striking is that everyone seems to love their own congressmen. District representatives continually get high ratings, while Congress as a whole seems to ultimately plunge.Some argue that Congress has shown little ability to get things done and when they have done something, it has proven to be very unpopular. Former Representative Tom Davis stated “Congress has produced nothing but bad outcomes. Two failed wars, stagnant wages [and] economic meltdown.”

     
     This does actually have some validity to it. If you take a long over the last several years of Congressional action, there have been many failed attempts at things such as overhauling Social Security, the Mark Foley page scandal, the healthcare slog and the budget showdown just to name a few. What also makes things even worse is the prevelance of our media that did not exist decades ago. The existence of 24-hour cable news, Facebook and Twitter means that minor problems get major league attention. A few years ago, such issues may have held a small newspaper article, but nowadays you can hear about it right when you turn on your television or the computer.

    
     Furthermore, the period of heightened economic anxiety has facilitated this low approval rating. Many have resorted to pessimism, as they are frustrated with America’s position on the world stage. Jobless rates also peaked in the last several years, which would inevitably cause the American people to be skeptical. According to former Texas Representative Chet Edwards, people are more forgiving of Congress when they have a job and those that have jobs feel secure in them.
     
     Overall, it is a combination of Congress’s lack of meaningful accomplishments, combined with the country’s negative bent that has driven down the approval number of the House and the Senate.

Hostess Brands Closing!

     Hostess Brands, the maker of such iconic baked goods like Twinkies and Wonder Bread, announced on Friday that it is asking a federal bankruptcy court for permission to close its operations, blaming a strike by bakers protesting a new contract imposed on them. Because of this decision, Hostess' nearly 18,500 workers will lose their jobs as the company shuts thirty-three bakeries and 565 distribution centers nationwide, as well as 570 outlet stores.

     "We deeply regret the necessity of today's decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike," said Hostess CEO Gregory Rayburn in a statement.
Hostess will now move to sell its assets to the highest bidder. That could mean new life for some of its most popular products, which could be scooped up at auction and attached to products from other companies. According to a letter that Hostess sent to its network of stores that carry its product, Hostess expects that "there will be great interest in our brands." However, it said it could not give a time frame for when the sales would take place and when its products would be available again.

     The horrible part of all of this though is that even if those brands are bought and restarted, the Hostess workers will not get their jobs back. Hostess filed for bankruptcy in January, its second trip to bankruptcy court since 2004. They previously emerged from restructuring in 2009 after a four-and-a-half year process. The company is now controlled by a group of investment firms, including hedge funds Silver Point Capital and Monarch Alternative Capital. Frank Hurt, president of the bakers' union, called the liquidation "a deep disappointment" but said his members weren't the ones responsible, blaming the various management teams in place at Hostess over the past eight years for failing to turn the firm around.

     While approval of the bankruptcy court is needed before Hostess can start selling its assets in liquidation, the company said production at all of its bakeries stopped effective Friday, and that stores will no longer receive products from Hostess Brands after the final round of deliveries of products that were made Thursday night. However, products that are already in stores can be sold, and the outlet stores will remain open for about a week to sell the products they already have.

     Back in September, membership of one of its major unions, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, voted narrowly to accept a new contract with reduced wages and benefits. The Bakers' union rejected the deal, however, prompting Hostess management to secure permission from a bankruptcy court to force a new concession contract on workers. The Teamsters union, which represents approximately 6,700 Hostess workers, issued a statement blaming mismanagement by Hostess executives for the company's problems.

     Overall, this is a sad moment for Twinkie lovers all throughout the United States. Personally, I've never been a fan of their products; I'm pretty sure I actually got sick from one of their products. Regardless of my opinion however, I find it horrible that the 18,500 workers at Hostess are going to lose their jobs. I wish them the best and I hope that they can find work in a reasonably short amount of time.

Article Links

http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/16/news/companies/hostess-workers/index.html?iid=HP_LN

http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/16/news/companies/hostess-closing/index.html?iid=Popular

Chapter 7 Post

     Chapter 7 in our American Government textbook deals with one of the major aspects of our government, the United States Congress. For today's blog post, I want to talk about the various powers of Congress that they can utilize to help govern the country. In addition to forming laws and determining the nation's budget, Congress possesses numerous other roles. Congress is able to check the power of both the judicial and executive branches, conduct congressional review, approve nominations, and impeach high ranking officials. For the post, I want to describe Congress' power of making laws and determining the nation's budget.

     Congress is known as the primary law-making group in the United States. It plays a crucial role in the development of new laws since only the Senate and House can formally submit a bill for consideration. When a bill is presented to the House and Senate, it is assigned a number and delivered to the appropriate committees and sub-committee to be reviewed. When it is given to the sub-committees, they end up being thoroughly researched and the sub-committee then decides when to hold hearings on them. After conducting the hearings, the bill is revised and goes into a vote by the subcommittee where it is either approved or rejected. If the bill is approved, it is then sent to the fully committee where it can be revised further, or even just get rejected before making it onto the floor. During this part of the process, the House Committee on Rules will determine the limits on the floor debate, consider the bill, and then places a date on the calendar. The Senate on the other hand can truly debate the bill since it isn't as large as the House. If two different versions of the bill in question are approved, the two sides try to compromise on the bill or it faces a slow death if nothing can be accomplished. Finally, if the bill is passed, it is sent off to the President where it is passed, vetoed, or pocket vetoed. 

     In addition to making new laws, Congress plays a significant role in the national budget. In 1921, Warren G. Harding signed the Budget and Accounting Act. This act forced the president to submit a budget to Congress for approval. Due to conflicts with Nixon, the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 was passed. This act established the congressional budget process by outlining a plan to allow congressional action on the annual budget resolution, reconciliation, and appropriations. In addition, the Congressional Budget Office was created to help estimate the budget. The act also included a guideline and timetable to make sure the budget situation was always figured out in a timely manner.

     Overall, Congress has numerous powers that help keep the United States functioning as well as it can. In my opinion, Congress has been a giant influence in how the United States is today. However, I feel that some changes need to be made in order to keep the progress moving at a reasonable pace. If Congress continues its recent non bipartisan ways, then our country will unfortunately move in the wrong direction; something that would definitely hurt the US.

Due to Obama's Win, Coal Company Announces Layoffs

     On CNN Money this past week was this interesting article that I personally did not like at all. A coal company headed by a prominent Mitt Romney donor has laid off more than 160 workers after President Obama won the 2012 Presidential election. Murray Energy, the company that laid off the workers, said that it had been "forced" to make the layoffs in response to the bleak prospects for the coal industry during Obama's second term. In a flyer passed out by the company, CEO Robert Murray said Americans had voted "in favor of redistribution, national weakness and reduced standard of living and lower and lower levels of personal freedom." "The American people have made their choice. They have decided that America must change its course, away from the principals [sic] of our Founders," Murray said in the flyer, which was delivered in a meeting with staff members earlier in the week.

     Murray cited pending regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency and the possibility of a carbon tax as factors that could lead to the "total destruction of the coal industry by as early as 2030." One hundred and two layoffs are planned for Murray operations in Utah, with 54 from Illinois and seven from West Virginia. In August, Murray shuttered an operation in Ohio, again blaming the Obama Administration and its alleged "war on coal."
   
     On his campaign trail, Mitt Romney repeatedly mentioned this line, accusing Obama of undermining the country's energy security during a rally at a Murray-owned mine in Ohio. Footage from this rally was actually used in a Romney ad. Oddly though, workers in the spot later complained to a local radio host that they were forced to attend the rally and weren't paid for the time, claims that were eventually denied by Murray Energy.
 
     Administration officials responded to Romney's attacks by affirming that Obama supports "clean coal." They also pointed out that more coal miners were on the job in the U.S. this year than at any time since 1997, and that U.S. coal exports have risen 31%. However, coal production within the United States has dropped sharply, falling roughly 15% in 2011 versus years prior, according to the National Mining Association.The industry's woes go way beyond Obama's policies however. According to statistics, utility companies are increasingly ditching coal in favor of cheaper, cleaner natural gas. In addition, the recession and improved energy efficiency have decreased the demand for power.
 
     Looking ahead into the future, the coal industry faces a law going into effect in 2015 that tightens the amount of mercury coal plants can emit, as well as regulations on mountain-top mining. Both issues will make coal production and coal-fired power plants more expensive. The rules themselves are not from Obama's origins, although he has implemented them fairly quickly. Most stem from the Clean Air Act, which was signed by Richard Nixon and strengthened during the first Bush presidency.
   
     Overall, what I didn't like about this situation was the fact that a company would lay off so many workers just because of the presidential election. Yes, I know it is the company's decision and right to do whatever they want and cite whatever reason for their actions, but I just find it silly that they would do this. Sure, there may be some laws coming into effect that will hurt the industry down the road, but until there are actually some negative results from those laws, I feel that the company should keep working hard and at full force until they can't anymore. It's like they're just giving up and hurting their employees before actually giving a fight. It sucks that the government can't really do anything about this, but I hope for the best for the employees that were laid off.

Second Chapter 8 Post

     Chapter 8 focuses mainly on the President of the United States and pretty much everything the position is involved with. For this blog post, I wanted to talk about one of major powers of the president, which is their power of the veto. The veto power is one of the most crucial actions the president can utilize to keep the judicial and legislative branches in check.

     The textbook defines the President's Veto Power as the "formal, constitutional authority of the president to reject bills passed by both houses of Congress, thus preventing them from becoming a law without further congressional action." Basically, once a bill is passed through both the House of Representatives and the Senate by majority votes, it lands on the President's desk. When a bill arrives to the President, there are three things he can do. First, he can sign the bill which would then make the bill a law. Another thing the President can do is veto the bill, which means that the bill won't be signed and it is stopped in its track. Lastly, the President can utilize the "pocket veto," which means that he does nothing at all. If Congress is in session, it will become a law after ten days. However, if Congress is not in session, it doesn't become a law.

     If the President decides to veto the bill, the bill is then sent back to the House of Representatives. If at least two-thirds of the members of the House support the bill, the President's veto is negated and the bill ends up becoming a law. This process is outlined in the Constitution and has actually not been used that much in the course of U.S. history. Over the course of the history of the United States, only about 100 or so bills were successfully overridden of about the 2,500 bills that have been vetoed or pocket vetoed.

     Article II, which describes the veto powers, is something I completely agree with. The Framers, who developed the Constitution, did not want too much power to be given to any single person or group of people, which goes back to the whole idea of checks and balances. With the veto power, both the President and the legislative branch can make sure that neither party does something completely biased and against what's good for the overall country. If it weren't for the veto power, there would be so many unfair laws and bills passed that would negatively harm the United States. 

Hyundai & Kia to Pay Owners Due to Overstated MPG

     This past week, it has been revealed that Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia had overstated the fuel economy of many of their models, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday. In response, Hyundai and Kia said that they will pay owners for additional fuel costs associated with the mileage difference. Meanwhile, the EPA will post new lower fuel economy figures for many Hyundai and Kia models on its website, fueleconomy.gov, and new window stickers will be printed for cars still on dealer lots.

     According to the EPA, mileage figures on most car labels will be lowered by one or two miles per gallon. The discrepancies involve about 900,000 Hyundai and Kia vehicles already sold and on the road. The largest drop will be for the Kia Soul. Its highway fuel economy estimate will be lowered by six miles per gallon, taking it down from 35 mpg to 29 mpg. In addition, fuel economy for the Hyundai Elantra, a compact model that was named Car of the Year at last year's Detroit Auto Show, will be reduced by one mile per gallon. However, two of the automakers' most popular models, the Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima mid-size sedans, are not involved.

     The fuel economy figures shown on automobile window stickers are usually based on testing done by the automakers themselves according to a strict laboratory testing procedure dictated by the EPA. In this case, Hyundai and Kia would be the ones conducting the testing. Then, the EPA tests about 15% of all models itself to ensure automakers are performing the tests properly and reporting accurate results.
While those audits occasionally result in fuel economy adjustments for a vehicle, this is the first time any automaker has shown such a consistent overstatement in its mileage results, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. According to Hyundai and Kia, this whole situation stems from a problem creating an error that involved a particularly complex part of the testing procedure.

     In order to make up the problem, the automakers have agreed to issue debit cards to owners of models that were sold with overstated mileage figures. Vehicle owners will be able to take their car or SUV to their local dealership to have the odometer checked and the number of miles driven recorded.
Owners will then receive a debit card based on the miles driven and the average local price of gasoline, plus an additional 15%. Owners can then have their odometers checked and get a debit as often as they like as long as they own the car. For owners who have already sold their Hyundai or Kia vehicle, they will be able to receive a single debit card based on the mileage recorded on the car's bill of sale.

     Personally, I applaud the initiative that the Environmental Protection Agency took to get the correct, accurate information out to consumers throughout the United States. By doing this, consumers will be able to make better decisions on what car they should purchase. In addition, I like the response that Hyundai and Kia both took in order to try and remediate the situation. Even though this problem shouldn't have taken place to begin with, it is great to see companies stepping up, admitting their mistakes, and offering a solution to those affected in order to set things right and move on. It is truly refreshing to see these actions being taken instead of doing nothing and hoping that the situation will disappear on its own.

Sources

http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/02/autos/hyundai-kia-mpg-overstated/index.html 

Chapter 8 Post

     With Election Day only two days away, I think it would be appropriate to talk about the Presidency itself and all of the regulations, qualifications, and rules that could affect the President. Since Chapter 8 deals with the President and their role in the Oval Office, it is definitely the perfect time to cover the topic. There are a few rules that written in the Constitution that must be followed as well as a few qualifications not specified within the Constitution that are considered crucial towards becoming a President.

     As of today, there are millions of Americans throughout the country that do not even know some of the basic qualifications that a person must possess in order to be able to run for President. To be considered for the presidency, a candidate must be a natural-born American citizen, be at least 35 years old, and be a resident of the United States for at least 14 consecutive years. These specific rules are written in the Constitution. In addition to these rules, there are a few unwritten qualifications that have applied to most of the elected presidents. Examples of these qualifications are: being a male and having a college education. While it is not absolutely necessary to have these qualifications, over time, it has been proven to be a common, consistent characteristic amongst presidents.

     Once a candidate is elected, they must follow additional rules and guidelines that have been put in place. In the 18th century when the Constitution was being written, the Framers wanted to avoid the policies from country they just left (England). Because of this, the Framers decided to create "terms," which defined how long the president was to stay in office. The questionable part of this situation was the number of times a president could be reelected. Eventually, it was decided that the president would be elected to 4 year terms with the possibility to be reelected to an indefinite number of terms. However, this changed in 1951 with the passing of the 22nd Amendment after an uproar occurred due to Roosevelt being elected to four terms from 1933 to 1945. The Twenty-Second Amendment specifies that no president can serve more than two terms. In addition, a president can not serve more than 10 years, a specification that only applies to presidents who come into power during the middle of a term because of an impeachment or assassination.

     While some people may have their objections to these qualifications and regulations, I feel that, for the most part, are perfect. I think it is necessary that the person in charge of this country is someone who was born here and has lived his or her life in the United States. By fulfilling this specification, the candidates will overall be more exposed to the issues that are hurting this country so they will be able to fully develop ideas and policies to try and help the country. This can't be done if the candidate hasn't lived the majority of their life in the United States. In addition, I agree with the two term limit because if a president is in charge for too long, it may eventually feel like the country is ruled by a monarch. This wouldn't be too good considering that it would then feel like the US is transforming into the government that the Framers wanted to get away from back in the 18th century. I think if we keep going with the same rules and qualifications, the United States will continue on the right direction as long as the right candidates come along who will actually make the effort to make a difference.