Sunday Morning Coming Down

I'm unsure of the impact the sequester will have on me personally.  My immediate direct contact with the federal government is much more limited than it once was. In the past it was much, much, much more important.  I lived through a sequester in 2004 when the Welfare to Work Program from which I was paid was defunded and unspent funds were recaptured by government.  It was originally part of welfare reform legislation.  Locally funds were used to provide part time employment to welfare recipients that were no longer eligible to receive "cash" because of time limits in the existing welfare reform legislation.  Customers were limited to receiving cash benefits for a maximum of 60 months during their lifetime. The part time employment was with local, state, and non profit agencies.  Participation in the program also meant that subsidized child care and food stamps were available. I was the program administrator of this project and it was an ...

I'm a little bit amused by the government (the Postal Service) trying to get its money back from Lance Armstrong for sponsoring the team of riders in the Tour de France. At the time I thought it was an odd use of public funds but at least they were trying something different and who knows what kind of advertising works and I thought promoting an American team was ok. I have heard there were clauses in the contract regarding complying with rules related to being drug free and not using performance enhancing drugs. Armstrong's record in the biggest bike race of them all was amazing, as was his ability to hide the use of the drugs that helped him win titles, make a ton of money, promote a good charity, and have access to celebrities that further promoted the life style he had taken up. The simplest argument regarding this behavior and why he should be taken down is one of fairness.  What about the others that ran clean?  Were they ever really in the race? Regarding...

Only in Florida would a public university take money from a private company that manages correctional facilities.  I'm sure they take comfort from the fact that the CEO of the GEO Company is an FAU alumni and the deal is worth a reported five million dollars. The GEO Company is a child of the Wackenhunt Security Company.  As with many governmental agencies or governmental agencies that now contract with the private sector to provide public services a review of postings shows that the company has paid many fines and has been sued for the services it has or has not provided. Private companies that run public facilities are not restricted from donating to political campaigns.  What political figure would not like to increase the number of names in the roladex when asking for contributions.  Public employees vote also and I'm sure their contributions also contribute to free political speech which isn't very free any more. The irony of it all!  The list of sp...

Miami has 46 times the national average of tax refund cases and the amount of money involved in the cases is about 70 times the national average. According to Wifredo Ferrer, U.S.Attorney "we always tend to lead the country when it comes to fraud". Medicare fraud cases are also very common and only the largest cases that get prosecuted are reported on in the newspapers. Most of the cases are in Miami and the Tampa area.  While these cases have spread throughout the country we seem to be a business incubator for this kind behavior.  I guess some people have taken it to heart that the rules really are different down here.

A chilly day in South Florida greeted a big crowd at horse racing's most beautiful venue.  Four stakes races for quarter horses from 300 to 1000 yards and the highlight for many was the South Florida Quarter Horse Derby. The Derby matched the 10 fastest qualifiers from races on January 26, 2013 and the winner in a big upset was Habits Secret who lit up the board paying $28.40 for a deuce.  The Sailfish "Marathon" went to Classy Cora.  $24.80 was the reward for her backers in the win pool.  Mr. Commando won the Invitational and he was the biggest long shot of the day paying $48 and change for dos pesos. I was not alone in finding the winner in the stakes races today,  But I saved my best for last and cashed the last superfecta of the 2012-13 meet.  A small profit for the day, after beer, program and a hot dog. The crowd which was a little over 5,000 showed up in their winter finest as the temperature barely got to 60 degrees.  Next year the "New H...

The Quarters running 1000 yards at Hialeah Park on closing day.  This will be an interesting race because there are not too many quarter horses running this far.  Sort of like a marathon and almost all of the horses in the race have not run around a turn at Hialeah this year. And they are giving a vintage red 1957 Chevy to some lucky fan.  You have to be in attendance to win and I wonder how many names will be called before they find some one who put their name in the drum and is at the track on Sunday.  I would bet more than a couple of names will be called before a winner is found. Saturday was a  big improvement over Friday on a number of fronts.  I cashed some relatively meaningful tickets, ate some good food, got promoted to equipment manager for one of Weidner's horses, drank a couple of cervezas bien fria and got home at a reasonable hour. I'm going to miss Hialeah Park as it gets ready to be a racino. The next season can't come soon eno...

Got up early, but not way to early for a trip to Hialeah Park to see "Zippy" under tack and out for a jog.  The Quarter Horse meet at Hialeah is done this weekend and many outfits without runners this weekend have moved on to Oklahoma or Louisiana.  It was a quiet morning except for the construction noise related to a casino facility that will occupy most of the old grandstand area of the track. Zippy was quiet and very well behaved upon arrival at the track.  The tunnel under the grandstand was no problem and the flamingos were quiet.  The clocker could have had the day off because she had nobody to clock and  the race track chaplain was busy speaking the improvements at the Citation Pond and a baptism on Sunday morning.  This is also where jockeys that break their maidens also go for a bath. A couple of stray trainers went out to the finish line to say hello and get a quick look as their horses came off the track and were on their way back to the...

How we define things probably more important than ever.  Who does the defining is also a huge factor in how things go.  Money and resources are also important parts of the puzzle.  The most recent Economist Magazine weighed in on the issue. Is meritocracy all it is cracked up to be if merit is supported by study aid drugs, coaching related to test taking, and other benefits that those already at the top are able to shower on their children. Is it really meritocracy, or something else.

 The Pope gives two week notice. I think this process is better than having somebody calling his name while tapping his head with a silver hammer and then declaring him dead, as is the ritual We are told that this was a historic event.  The Pope's may come and go but they almost never resign and we are in uncharted territory according to those with a better perspective than mine.  An ex-president is a member of an exclusive club, but an ex-Pope is unique as things go in the Catholic Church. Just about everywhere in life an 85 year old is winding down.  I think this is a wise decision even if it may be a little awkward for his successor.  Ask Joe Paterno, he probably wished he would have retired, rather than getting fired. We're #3. The University of Miami has reached #3 in the AP poll behind Indiana and Duke.  This is another historic week.  Whether UM will finish the season ranked #3 is an open question.  The ACC Tournament an...

Did I Zoom out of the five hole in the 2nd race at Hialeah Park. In his first race last year the horse stumbled and finished up the track.  He's not a pretty horse but he likes to run.  I've carried the halter for this horse while his owner walks him out to the track.  He's a handful.  The horse is sound, tries, but still needs to learn what it is to be professional at the track.  he's made great strides but his record should be better Ditto for short broke well and was ahead by a length in a race that lasted a little more than 12 seconds.  If he had seen the outside horse flying at the end he might have dug in a little bit more but it wasn't to be.  I think the jockey thought he had won the race and eased up a jump too soon. Randy, the owner/trainer was disappointed and I really would have liked to cash a win ticket at 6-1, but hitting the board wasn't a total loss. Usually the horses that hit the board are tested for drugs or o...

In the middle of the night ESPN Radio had a program about high school football players that suffer paralysis playing football and the lack of adequate insurance coverage for such injuries.  Even where there is insurance coverage, maximums are reached and families are left holding the bag for bills and care that no one can full appreciate. According to the program about eight young men are paralysed each year from these injuries, college football programs and professional teams have insurance, but tragically coverage for high school players is inadequate in most districts. You would think that there would be a national pool to insure high school players that experience such injuries, and while the cost of such insurance might seem high for some small schools or state legislatures, it would actually reflect the costs of playing the game. I doubt that parents would sign up for the current programs if they realized the coverage they were getting assumed...

From Kiplinger Personal Finance Adviser: The top 1% of income tax filers(agi of $369,691) paid 37.4% of all federal income tax. The top 5% of income tax filers(agi of $161,579) paid 59.1% of all federal income tax. The top 10% of income tax filers(agi of $116,623) paid 70.1 of all federal income tax. The bottom 50% paid 2.36% of the total federal income tax take, mainly because tax credits wiped out tax liability. I'm of the opinion that there are some political issues here that need some honest discussion.  When those that pay income tax cite the fact that about 50% pay no income tax, I think there needs to be a discussion about tax policies and a jobs policy, and in some part an income policy, that goes hand in hand with the federal income tax policy. One person's welfare is another person's job creating policy.  I'm sure there are people that have incomes higher than mine that are living paycheck to paycheck and people who have been hammered by the housing...

The NFL is telling the owner of Sunlife Stadium that improvements need to be made if the area hopes to host the 50th Super Bowl.  It is estimated that the cost of the improvements will be about $400 million dollars.  The owner of the Miami Dolphins, Stephen Ross "generously" offers to pay for 51% of the cost of the improvements, while the rest of the money will come from rebates on sales taxes at the stadium and a 1% increase in the bed tax for hotels in Miami.  The proposal exempts hotels in Miami Beach. Some people say this should be approved because it will be paid for by people that visit the area and not by local residents.  The Super Bowl is a big event and it will draw a lot of people to the area...  There are other studies that indicate that money spent for stadiums for sporting events makes little impact on tax receipts.  Maybe the hotels are a little more crowded and the wait at restaurants is longer but the overall tax receipts really don't c...

Last night's Super Bowl was a smashing game.  I did not have a financial interest in the game but was glued to the game, hoping that the 49'ers would be able to pull it out and beat the Ravens.  The gods were also kind enough to give those of us that were otherwise busy watching the first half time show a chance to bugout and get some more beer or ice cream during the electrical grid failure in New Orleans. As an aside, having brothers coaching against each other in a big game would have given me a reason to question the outcome of the game, sibling rivalry aside. On another front, I think that Phil Mikelson played some really good golf over the weekend and was handsomely rewarded for it to the tune of $1.116 million dollars.  It used to take a long time to have career earnings of a million dollars, times have changed from when Arnie and Jack, Tom and Lee were headliners on the PGA tour. And finally, I think the advertisers need to review their buys for the up comin...