Fighting for firefighters

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Some of the most vital jobs in local communities are being threatened daily by budget cutbacks and the struggling economy – including firefighters and police officers. While the White House says the stimulus bill saved thousands of these kinds of jobs from being taken away, some local stations are reporting that these types of jobs are still falling victim to state budget cuts.

Michigan Radio this week reported on some steep cuts in Flint.

Flint Mayor Dayne Walling says the city will lay off 57 police officers. According to the Flint Police Officer’s Association, that will leave the city with fewer than 100 officers for a population of around 113,000. That is less than one officer for every thousand people.

The U.S. average is three officers for every thousand people.

The mayor says 23 firefighters will also get pink slips. The Firefighters Union says that will leave just 65 firefighters for the city.

In Colorado Springs, Colo., cost-cutting measures have already slashed firefighting and police coffers, and now even keeping the streetlights on and park restrooms open, are line-items, NPR reports:

All the restrooms have been closed. There’ll be very little watering, and crews will mow just once a month instead of weekly.

The city even trimmed its police and fire budgets and is auctioning three of its police helicopters on the Internet. Still, that’s not enough.

EconomyBeat wrote yesterday about the mounting conservative movement in Colorado Springs to prevent raising taxes at the same time that city services are being cut.

Colorado as a state is facing overall budget woes, and Governor Bill Ritter recently spoke about his cost-saving plans for the state.

In Atlanta, Mayor Kasim Reed addressed the Atlanta Press Club in January and outlined his fiscal plans for the city, including the choices he’s had to make in securing pensions for police and firefighters (watch his segment on the General Fund, around 8:00).

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What are the most vital needs in your community? Would you be willing to pay more in property taxes to keep the status quo?

The gold standard

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Alexandre Bilodeaus Gold Medal/ Credit Flickr user: thelastminute

Alexandre Bilodeau's Gold Medal/ Credit Flickr user: thelastminute

All these medals floating around with the Olympics this week have me thinking, “What’s a gold medal really worth?” Turns out I’m not the only one with things that glitter on the brain.

The Wall Street Journal’s Brett Arends takes a look at whether all the Olympic medalists just should melt down their prizes and take them to the bank when they get home. Unfortunately, the athletes would be in for a surprise.

The deal: No, those gold medals aren’t solid gold. They’re actually silver, and then plated with 6 grams of gold.

The medals at the Vancouver games are worth a lot more–in purely bullion terms, at least–than medals handed out in the past few decades. That’s because they’re pretty big–and, more to the point, because gold and silver prices have been on a 10-year tear.

But there can be more at stake than just the medal for some athletes. A contest run by a sponsor of the Canadian Luge Team will award a $1M paycheck to the Canadian team – if they take home Olympic gold.

One person who is investing in real gold is billionaire philanthropist George Soros. He recently doubled his investment in gold, which analysts fear may not be a good sign for the economy overall.

The BBC spoke with a gold expert about Soros’ sudden change of heart.

Mark Heyhoe, senior mining analyst at Westhouse Securities, said: “He has previously said that gold is the ultimate hedge against inflation – if you think inflation’s going to rise, then I’m not surprised he bought into gold.”

For those of us with less than Ft. Knox in our accounts, NewsHour’s Paul Solman gives practical advice on how and when to invest in gold — it’s not for everyone. Nightly Business Report also investigates the right time for putting your money into metals and other alternative investments.

Putting stock in gold may have about as much chance of return as winning a gold medal, but it does have a similar sense of patriotism and nostalgia. To get your gold fix without breaking the bank, watch American Experience’s The Gold Rush and see where the ‘49ers got lucky.

A year of recovery

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This morning, President Obama marked a year since signing the Economic Recovery Act. So has the stimulus package worked? Here are just a few examples from EconomyStory’s partners examining the industries and projects that have benefited the most, and areas of the country that are still waiting for their funding to arrive:

Propublica’s Eye on Stimulus looks at opinions from the left and the right about the package’s successes and failures, and provides tools to check up on projects in your local area.

Has the stimulus lived up to its promise? As we’ve reported before … where you stand depends on where you sit.

The White House is marking today’s anniversary with a stimulus progress report [2] (PDF), which claims the Recovery Act has created or saved 2 million jobs; extended unemployment benefits for almost 20 million Americans; and cut taxes for more than 95 percent of working families. The administration says that by the end of last month, the combination of tax cuts and obligated funds came to a total of $453 billion.

Dante Chinni at NewsHour’s Patchwork Nation reports on what types of communities have gotten the most out of the stimulus package.

NPR features snapshots from around the country of various stimulus projects, including health care facilities in West Virginia, and a jobs program for young people in Washington, DC.

Nightly Business Report answers pressing questions about the extension of TARP benefits.

And PBS’s Blueprint America series focuses on infrastructure projects around the country.

Do you think recovery funds are going to the right places? What should the government’s next step be? Take your pulse on the issue with KQED’s You Decide.

Prizes galore

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Grammys, Golden Globes, Oscars. It’s awards season in Hollywood, but entertainment isn’t the only industry getting in on the act.

The newly established Dynamite Prize is an effort to be to the global economy what the Razzies are to film. Marketplace’s Scott Jagow reports the Dynamite would go to the economists who “contributed the most to blowing up the global economy.” The top contenders include Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, former Fed chair Alan Greenspan and Nobel prize winner Paul Samuelson, of economics textbook fame.

Jagow places bets on who will win:

“Based on the comments I’ve read so far, Mr. Greenspan seems to be an overwhelming favorite to take down the top prize. I’m guessing Larry Summers will get quite a few votes as well.”

You can cast your vote for the Dynamite Award here.

But not all the news in the economics world has been depressing in the past year. One person who’s unlikely to be up for the Dynamite Prize is last year’s Nobel winner Elinor Ostrom. She is the first woman to win the prize, and someone whose research focuses on managing public resources responsibly.

Interview: Olympics economics

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Olympic Torch / Credit: Flickr user kk+

Olympic Torch / Credit: Flickr user kk+

The opening ceremonies kick off the Winter Olympics in Vancouver tonight, but the lead up to the games has been fraught with concerns over cost and whether the games will pay off for the Canadian economy. PRI’s The World reporter Jason Margolis spent some time in Vancouver recently and I spoke with him over GChat about his impressions ahead of the games:

EconomyStory:
What was the mood like in Vancouver? Most of the people I know who live there sound pretty excited about the Games, but from your reports it sounds like there’s a bit of a debate about how much of an impact they’ll have in boosting the economy there?

Jason Margolis:
To me, it felt like a mixed mood. Much excitement mixed in with some Olympic fatigue. A lot of people there have been eating, breathing and sleeping Olympics for the past seven years. The attitude is like, “Let’s go already!”
And yes, there is major debate about whether all the spending was worth it. I think one former reporter for the Vancouver [Sun] summed it best. He said: “The boosters will reach one conclusion and the skeptics will reach another. But they’re both looking at the same data.”

EconomyStory:
How much is Vancouver hurting due to the economic crisis compared with other parts of Canada?

Jason Margolis:
In general, the recession hasn’t hurt Canada as badly as the U.S. Canada’s unemployment rate is lower than the U.S., which bucks recent trends. Canada’s banks didn’t get involved in the sub-prime mess and other “creative” ways to make money.
With regards specifically to Vancouver, its been spared the worst of the recession. “Lower British Columbia,” which is where the Olympics will be held, did not technically go into recession in 2008, when much of the U.S. was sliding into an economic downturn. There’s a strong argument to be made that that’s because of all the Olympic spending. While the construction industry had come to a standstill in the U.S., Lower British Columbia was busy getting ready for the Games, putting a lot of people to work.

EconomyStory:
Are there any social issues you came across in B.C. that the city or province was trying to address before the games, such as homelessness, etc.?

Jason Margolis:
Vancouver has a notorious homeless problem. From what I can piece together, that’s due to two factors: the city’s welcoming attitude and its warm climate. There’s an area downtown just a few blocks from where the opening ceremonies will be held, which is a blight on the city. It seems that Vancouver’s civic leaders are split on how to deal with the problem. Do they sweep the city’s problems — which also include prostitution and drug-use — under the table or try and paint a false nirvana, as China did with its problems at the Beijing Olympics? Or should Vancouver let reporters see the reality and write about these problems? It seems that Vancouver has chosen option #2, which is a calculated risk. It can make Vancouver look bad. Or real, depending on your vantage.

[Note: check out this Morning Edition piece on Vancouver’s “skid row”]

EconomyStory:
Do you think that could hurt coverage of the games, or are people mostly looking for the good sports stories and aren’t really focused on the other stuff about the city? Has the funding for the Olympics helped solved those problems at all?

Jason Margolis:
If you have more than 10,000 reporters fighting for stories, somebody is going to cover these problems. I don’t see that as a bad thing. It’s reality. I give Vancouver credit for talking openly about its problems.
Vancouver is building an athletes village, which will later become public housing. As with everything related to Olympic spending, people are split on this too. The social housing was badly needed, but very expensive, partly because it was built in a hurry for the Games. But no, as far as I was able to uncover, little was done to address the city’s homelessness problem with regards to the Olympics.

EconomyStory:
You did a great report on the Paralympics that follow the games — can you talk a little about how that works and if it was a smart idea for B.C. to bank on those as well?

Jason Margolis:
The Paralympics aren’t going to be a moneymaker, but I think it’s a nice story. Let’s be honest, the Olympics ain’t what they used to be — today’s Olympics are about sponsored athletes, some in professional leagues like the hockey players, competing in another competition. As a winter athlete myself, I love watching the Games. But for purity of sport and good feeling, the Paralympics are really nice. Unfortunately, they get little media attention. So no, the Paralympics won’t make money for B.C., but there are small bonuses like turning Whistler into a resort that is very friendly for the disabled.

EconomyStory:
You’re a winter athlete?

Jason Margolis:
Calling myself a “winter athlete” might be a bit of a stretch, but I love to ski. I also love watching the bobsled and ski jump. Once you see those two events live in person, it’s hard not to become a fan.