"Gas Will Never Be Below $3 A Gallon Again"

According to AAA, the average cost of gas has been more than $3 per gallon for 1,000 days straight.

It’s the longest streak ever for gas prices at this level. Right now, the average in Minnesota is $3.50 per gallon, slightly lower than the national average of $3.54 per gallon.

Bob Darbelnet, president and CEO of AAA, says kiss the days of cheaper gas prices goodbye.

“Paying less than $3 per gallon for gasoline may be automotive history for most Americans, like using 8-track tapes or going to a drive-in movie,” Darbelnet said. “The reality is that expensive gas is here to stay, which is tough on millions of people who need a car to live their lives.”

Experts say paying less than $3 is a thing of the past because of supply and demand. According to Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy.com, more people in the world want oil, and there are fewer places producing it. Read more >>

Bee-killing pesticide found in garden store plants: What does it mean?

A type of pesticide that's a focal point in the controversy over endangered honeybees has turned up in garden-store plants sampled by Friends of the Earth. Other bee experts say the pilot study on neonicotinoids adds an important twist to the plight of the bees — but stress that more rigorous research needs to be done.

The study, co-authored with the Pesticide Research Institute and titled "Gardeners Beware," reported finding traces of neonicotinoid pesticides, or neonics, in seven of 13 plants purchased from garden stores in California's San Francisco Bay area; the Washington, D.C. area; and Minnesota's Twin Cities. The plants included tomatoes, squash, salvia and flowers that would be attractive to pollinators.

“Our investigation is the first to show that so called 'bee-friendly' garden plants contain pesticides that can actually poison bees, with no warning to gardeners," Lisa Archer, director of the Food and Technology Program at Friends of the Earth-US, said in a news release accompanying Wednesday's 34-page report. “Bees are essential to our food system and they are dying at alarming rates. Neonic pesticides are a key part of the problem we can start to fix right now in our own backyards." Read more >>

Minnesota’s pension plans underfunded by $16.7 billion

Minnesota’s public pension plans for government employees are underfunded by $16.7 billion — a deficit that’s $4 billion larger than it was when lawmakers took steps to fix the problem in 2010.

The underfunded pensions aren’t a reason for alarm, experts say, but they say it is a problem that 11 of the state’s 12 public pension plans open to new members don’t have enough money coming in to cover promised benefits. Plans for state troopers, public safety workers, and local police and firefighters are among those with the largest gaps. Lawmakers will consider changes to those plans this year.

“Is there a need for concern? Yes,” said Larry Martin, executive director of Minnesota’s Legislative Commission of Pensions and Retirement. “We’re departing — significantly — from what we think we ought to be doing.”

The commission released the numbers last month. The figures are current through last June 30. The plans pay for retirement for more than 729,000 current and retired state and local government workers and pay out about $3.8 billion in benefits annually. Read more >>

Minnesota employers cut 8,100 jobs in October

Minnesota employers cut 8,100 jobs statewide in October, by far the worst monthly job report of the year.

A massive positive revision to the September numbers helped offset the loss, but the state’s employment and economic development agency, DEED, reported major losses in administrative support and lower-paid business services jobs, which shed 4,800 jobs. State government lost 1,900 jobs, mostly in education, and durable goods manufacturing lost 800 jobs.

“Employment data for October does certainly reinforce the concerns we’ve expressed here, that the recovery, while it does continue, is a fragile one,” said Steve Hine, DEED’s labor market economist. “We’ll be paying a great deal of attention to Congress as they grapple with the so-called fiscal cliff.”

Hine said the weakness in business-to-business service jobs is a bad sign for the economy, even though many of the positions are on the low end of the pay spectrum and a large portion of them are temporary positions.

 “You could see it as a leading indicator,” he said. Read more >>

Goodbye NDAA, PATRIOT Act, Federal Reserve Act and Wars if Paul Wins

No other Republican Presidential candidate has ever received the enthusiastic popular support in the Republican Stronghold of Orange County that Ron Paul received in his visit to Cal State University, Fullerton, on May 3rd, 2012.

Six thousand enthusiastic fans crowded into the Titan Stadium, which was not designed to hold 6000. The line stretched around the stadium. Seats ran out, but supporters continued to pile in, standing to see their candidate. Mitt Romney has never received that kind of support in Republican Orange County.

Once in office, Paul will repeal the NDAA, the PATRIOT Act and the Federal Reserve Act. The audience, by its standing ovations and chants showed its agreement with the plan. Paul noted that 75% of Americans want America out of Afghanistan. He pointed out that we are less respected and less liked in the world because of war policies. He said that a lot of innocent children and people are dying from our drone attacks. People are asking, “Why are we being terrorized by bombs falling out of the sky when we haven’t done anything to America?” More...

The Daily Paul

Alaska: Ron Paul supporters team with Joe Miller to take over Alaska Republican Party
Colorado: Ron Paul wins Minnesota, Colorado delegates to Republican National Convention
Iowa: “I Think Ron Paul Just Won Iowa!” Rachel Maddow April 23, 2012
Louisiana: CONFIRMED: Ron Paul Wins Louisiana!
Maine: Maine GOP Convention: Paul shakes up the party
Massachusetts: Ron Paul Destroyed Mitt Romney In Massachusetts This Weekend
Minnesota: CONFIRMED: Ron Paul WON Minnesota!
Missouri: Ron Paul Sweeps Missouri Caucus!
Nevada: Ron Paul WINS Nevada! More...

In Minnesota the use of arrest warrants against debtors has jumped 60 percent

Image by G Travels via Flickr

startribune.com
In Minnesota, which has some of the most creditor-friendly laws in the country, the use of arrest warrants against debtors has jumped 60 percent over the past four years, with 845 cases in 2009, a Star Tribune analysis of state court data has found.

Not every warrant results in an arrest, but in Minnesota many debtors spend up to 48 hours in cells with criminals. Consumer attorneys say such arrests are increasing in many states, including Arkansas, Arizona and Washington, driven by a bad economy, high consumer debt and a growing industry that buys bad debts and employs every means available to collect.

Whether a debtor is locked up depends largely on where the person lives, because enforcement is inconsistent from state to state, and even county to county.

In Illinois and southwest Indiana, some judges jail debtors for missing court-ordered debt payments. In extreme cases, people stay in jail until they raise a minimum payment. In January, a judge sentenced a Kenney, Ill., man "to indefinite incarceration" until he came up with $300 toward a lumber yard debt. More...