Restoring American Exceptionalism: School Choice Week with Dick Morris and Juan Williams

Americans for Prosperity teamed up with National School Choice Week to bring a full week of events discussing the American education system. Events were held in 37 cities around the country from Los Angeles to Augusta Maine to our own Fort Lauderdale area in Deerfield Beach, Florida. I had the pleasure of being invited by State Chairman of AFP-Florida, Slade O’Brien, to attend the event Friday night January 27^th. All events were streamed across America.

The most crucial issue we face today is that America’s 15 year-olds rank 35^th out of 57 industrialized countries in math and literacy. This is a deplorable score for a country that spends more per pupil than any other nation.

Joyce Kaufman, a local radio personality in Fort Lauderdale, gave the opening address regarding the problems in public education. With a PhD in Education she was well versed in the challenges facing the Florida school systems.

The panelists for the event were an unlikely team of Dick Morris and Juan Williams,  Fox News  Analysts, who are both advocates for School Choice. They were joined on stage with Abby MacIver, the Florida-AFP Policy and External Affairs Director.

Morris and Williams each gave 10-15 minute talks about the state of affairs of our public school systems.  Both highlighted, with many examples, the problems associated with staid policies and the union strangle-holds on schools when it comes to removing teachers who are, in many cases, incompetent or deviants. They both told stories about union influence in Washington DC and New York City which have the most expensive and ineffective school systems in the country.

They noted that salary does not directly correlate to student performance.  Both agreed that the national average for teachers should be near $80,000 far above the national average of $56,000, while New York, New Jersey and Washington DC are reputed to exceed $100,000.

In a humorous moment, Dick Morris related that President Clinton’s Arkansas ranked 49^th nationally when Clinton was Governor. The slogan was, “Thank God for Mississippi.” 

Williams advocated that School Choice breeds competition and competition is good in business and good in schools. Morris added, when asked earlier in the week, “What will happen to all the empty schools if everyone chooses a different school?”  Morris’ retort was, “If they are empty why don’t we close them?”  Both agreed that some of the biggest problems are in states held by Democrats due to the union influence.  Morris and Abby MacIver commented on the positive changes taking place under Governor Scott in Florida and mentioned the progress taking place in Wisconsin under Governor Scott Walker, who is being challenged under a Recall Petition for reducing the cost of public education at the expense of union influence. 

The overall consensus is that Charter Schools and School Choice is the first step to improving the quality of education in our school systems.  All liked a Voucher System and disagreed with Tax Credits. 

I had the pleasure of meeting Juan Williams, who stated that School Choice has been a Right Wing agenda item and has finally come around to being partly embraced by members of the Left, with the exception of the union supporters.  I told Juan the following, “Juan I gained a new found respect for you tonight” and he smiled, then I added, “We are going to take you off Mute when you are on Fox from now on.” and  he laughed out loud. 

In a brief discussion with Dick Morris after the event, I asked, “How many states are in play for the Republicans?”  He said confidently, “I think we can win 35-40 States.” I told him I was an advocate for his Electronic Precinct System.  Morris lives and votes in Delray Beach, Florida 

In Closing, it is time to take action. 

Do three things-

1.  Sign up on the www.AmericansforProsperity.org  it is free.
2.  Sign up for your state AFP website, in Florida it is http://www.americansforprosperity.org/florida
3. Send this Blog to three people.

On Facebook?  Join Americans for Prosperity for your State and the National page  to show your support.

By Philip L. Frommholz, a writer from Sarasota, Florida

President Obama Kills 20,000 Jobs on the Keystone Pipeline by Philip Frommholz

Image via Wikipedia

Is President Obama playing politics by pandering to the environmentalists at the cost of the American People? 

The “Right” has accused the president of playing politics with the America People by refusing his commitment to the Keystone Pipeline which was in the Taxpayer Withholding  Extension Bill passed in December.   The president’s failure to implement the pipeline portion of the bill is an arbitrary violation of the law. 

Jay Carney,the boyish White House Press Secretary,  at the January 18^th Press Briefing double talked his way through the briefing invoking concerns about air and water quality by the Republican Governor of Nebraska. When was the last time the president made a decision to support a republican in any capacity? 

In contrast to the statement made by Carney, today Govenor Heineman said that he was disapointed with the presidents decision and that he is ready to sign an agreement to reroute the pipeline. In reponse to the presidents decision the Governor said, ” Really what he was saying in denying the permit was ‘no’ to American jobs and ‘yes’ to a greater dependence on Middle Eastern oil,” he said. “We want to put America back to work.”

Carney explained that the president’s decision was based on  the advice of the State Department, stating that they did not have time to review alternative routes.  It has been estimated that studying alternative routes could take years.  

When Carney was asked if this deferment of job creation is against the president’ commitment to job creation, his non-answer was “the republicans put an arbitrary issue in the tax cut bill extension.”  Why is creating jobs and becoming energy independent “arbitrary issue”?  Why does the State Department have veto power over the president’s signature on a law? This is nothing short of political posturing. 

In response to the question “Is the president concerned that this is a political lightning rod that also goes against the unions?”  Carney insisted that we have a “process” in the State Department that concerns itself with the health and safety of our children, economics, national security, and other economic issues and this process takes many years. This is another example of stonewalling. 

With all the tap dancing that Carney could muster, he did not overturn the hypocrisy of the president’s position on oil and gas. This is not a prosperity minded president. Economic prosperity never enters the discussion of the president or his staff.  When the sovereignty of the government process outweighs the benefits to the American people, it is time for a change.  

Over the last three years the State Department studied the issues and the process for the proposed pipeline route. Carney said the need for further study is based on national security issues. Does this mean that Western Nebraska could be more of a threat to our national security then Eastern Nebraska?  

The last time I drove through Western Nebraska no one was home. My guess is that the president doesn’t know where Nebraska is. It may be one of the 57 states he hasn’t visited yet and with five (5) electoral votes it is not on his “most wanted list.”  

The president’s decision to delay goes in direct conflict to Carney’s hardy statement that the “president is committed to energy independence and job creation.” 

In summary: The president is not committed to the job creation, economic prosperity, energy independence or the American people. No one in his administration, including the president, discusses prosperity. It is not a focal point of this administration. 

If prosperity was the cornerstone of his administration we would hear it from the rooftops.  What we hear about is “government regulation” which does not promote prosperity.  Instead, it promotes limited freedom and puts chains on the business’ who are the  drivers of economic prosperity. 

The President’s Commitment: The president’s only commitment is to his re-election campaign in November 2012.  With no other political aspirations to improve the country he despises, it is time for a change. 

Best Bumper Sticker So Far– “Vote for Obama 2012- Vote for HOPE” apparently the change has been eliminated from the mantra.  My guess is that the Democrats do not want to run on change again.   That is how the problem started.

To learn more about prosperity click here.

My book The Road to Socialism is now available on Kindle at Amazon.com

 

 

  

Politics As Usual- Screw the People

Obama Monopoly Playing with Our Money

            The latest game in Washington is “Just Say No.” The ridiculous game over the suspension of Employee Payroll Taxes uses the Social Security Trust Fund to highlight the drama in Washington. The two month extension is nothing less than political foolery using our money just like Monopoly money.

             President Obama’s political theater to keep the payroll debate in the forefront was created by idiots or fools, and the Congress, both Houses, decided to confirm that they were just as stupid.  Are these harsh words? You decide.

            The fantasy two month extension of the Tax Holiday continues to take the two percent from the employers and give it to the employees under the guise of creating jobs.  A nice gesture but Congress, the Stinson-Boles Commission and the 12 Surly Congressmen on the Deficit Reduction Task Force have already determined that Social Security must be fixed.  So how are the fixing it, by cutting funding to Social Security.

            In a bi-partisan agreement, both Houses agreed to a two month extension over the demands of the President for a one year extension. The House wanted  one year, with the exception of the Tea Party candidates. The President wanted a year and the Senate only wanted two months.  It is my guess that the level of Congressional Testosterone must have been declining in Washington as all the members neared their holiday sabbatical.

            Where is the stupidity in all this?  There were many issues to debate. The only one that we didn’t hear was the one for small business, you know those people who create jobs so these fools can play with our money. In a recent survey of people in Times Square a couple of weeks ago,  people were asked about the two month tax extension and only one out of dozens had the faintest idea of what it was.  None knew about or remembered why they got a couple of bucks more in their paychecks last year.

            Here is a brief summary of the idiocy. Employers pay With Holding to the IRS that includes Taxes withheld from the employee and the employer’s contribution to FICA (Social Security).  Normally, in days when Congress had a little bit of sense, the Tax Rates were changed on an Annual Basis and this policy always included FICA deductions and Employer Matching Contributions.

 The IRS Report, commonly called a “941,” is sent by the employer to the IRS with the total contributions, both employee and employer, either monthly or quarterly.  There is also a year-end summary that must be completed.  Most small business’ and all large business’ use payroll systems to calculate and report the monthly, quarterly, and annual reports. The annual rate is plugged into the accounting systems  and the employee’s checks, paycheck stubs and summaries, and all payroll reports for the company, including the IRS Reports are calculated using the Congress Approved rate for the year. Sounds pretty simple doesn’t it. It was.

 In discussing this problem with a CPA, I confirmed my belief that most payroll systems were not designed for variable rate processing. Congress, in its infinite wisdom and with a hidden agenda, extended the payroll holiday for two months, not a quarter which is the standard reporting period. Most of the popular small business accounting packages do not have the capability of doing variable withholding rate processing. No one in their right mind would have ever anticipated the need for it. If for any reason, Congress and the President continue the Tax Dance to help 160 million people,  guess who gets the screw job?  Surprise, it won’t be just the business’ that have to prepare hand written tax reports but also the IRS who will not get automated tax reporting and would have to process amended reports manually.  In the effort to create jobs, if you are CPA you are in luck.

How come we haven’t heard about this?  Because it is just another political game played by the Washington Insiders.  The game is called “Screw the People.”

January 3, 2007 the Day the Democrats Took Over

This was passed onto me from Russ Huff, my dear friend and Editor of my book The Road to Socialism.

Remember January 3, 2007

The day the Democrats took over was not January 22nd 2009, it was actually January 3rd 2007, the day the Democrats took over the House of Representatives and the Senate, at the very start of the 110th Congress.

The Democratic Party controlled a majority in both chambers for the first time since the end of the 103rd Congress in 1995.

For those who are listening to the liberals propagating the fallacy that everything is “Bush’s Fault”, think about this: January 3rd, 2007, the day the Democrats took over the Senate and the Congress:

The DOW Jones closed at 12,621.77
The GDP for the previous quarter was 3.5%
The Unemployment rate was 4.6%
George Bush’s Economic policies SET A RECORD of 52 STRAIGHT MONTHS of JOB CREATION!

Remember that day…

January 3rd, 2007 was the day that Barney Frank took over the House Financial Services Committee and Chris Dodd took over the Senate Banking Committee.

The economic meltdown that happened 15 months later was in what part of the economy?

BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES!

THANK YOU DEMOCRATS (especially Barney ) for taking us from 13,000 DOW, 3.5 GDP and 4.6% Unemployment…to this CRISIS by (among MANY other things) dumping 5-6 TRILLION Dollars of toxic loans on the economy from YOUR Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac FIASCOES!

(BTW: Bush asked Congress 17 TIMES to stop Fannie & Freddie -starting in 2001 because it was financially risky for the US economy). Barney blocked it and called it a “Chicken Little Philosophy” (and the sky did fall!). And who took the THIRD highest pay-off from Fannie Mae AND Freddie Mac? OBAMA. And who fought against reform of Fannie and Freddie?
OBAMA and the Democrat Congress, especially BARNEY!!!!

So when someone tries to blame Bush…
REMEMBER JANUARY 3rd, 2007…. THE DAY THE DEMOCRATS TOOK OVER!”

Bush may have been in the car but the Democrats were in charge of the gas pedal and steering wheel they were driving the economy into the ditch.

Budgets do not come from the White House. They come from Congress and the party that controlled Congress since January 2007 is the Democratic Party.

Furthermore, the Democrats controlled the budget process for 2008 & 2009 as well as 2010 & 2011.

In that first year, they had to contend with George Bush, which caused them to compromise on spending, when Bush somewhat belatedly got tough on spending increases.

For 2009 though, Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid bypassed George Bush entirely, passing continuing resolutions to keep government running until Barack Obama could take office. At that time, they passed a massive omnibus spending bill to complete the 2009 budget.

And where was Barack Obama during this time? He was a member of that very Congress that passed all of these massive spending bills, and he signed the omnibus bill as President to complete 2009. Let’s remember what the deficits looked like during that period:

If the Democrats inherited any deficit, it was the 2007 deficit, the last of the Republican budgets. That deficit was the lowest in five years, and the fourth straight decline in deficit spending. After that, Democrats in Congress took control of spending, and that includes Barack Obama, who voted for the budgets.

If Obama inherited anything, he inherited it from himself.
In a nutshell, what Obama is saying is “I inherited a deficit that I voted for, And then I voted to expand that deficit four-fold since January 20th.”

There is no way this will be widely publicized, unless each of us sends it on!

“The problems we face today exist because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living.”

Will a Flat Tax or Cain’s 9-9-9 Save Money? You decide

There has been considerable controversy over a variety of Republican proposed tax plans. With the Super Committee’s efforts to decide how to save $1 trillion the US Treasury Department could cough up a little chunk.

 The proposed 2012 Budget for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is $14 billion, a long way short of the 1 Trill we need, but a good start.  With the adoption of any plan: Flat Tax, Fair Tax, or Cain’s 9-9-9 will eliminate about 80% of the IRS funding.  That would result in a budget reduction of over $11 Billion- that’s a lot of bananas. That money would go straight to the bottom line of our tax payers and eliminate an estimated $14 Billion in tax preparation in the private sector.

The below link is from the official US Treasury budget, The Executive Summary.  This will verify the numbers I have outlined and you can apply your own assumptions, but we know that the IRS Tax Code is definately a make work program that is neither fair nor effectively adminstrated.

http://www.treasury.gov/about/budget-performance/budget-in-brief/Documents/FY2012_Exec_508.pdf

“The Greatest Recession” since “The Great Depression,”

I don’t know if I can classify myself as an economist because I don’t have a degree in Economics, but I wrote an economics  book so that must count for something. Maybe that makes me a “qwaz-I economist.”

I have two family members who have been impacted by “The Greatest Recession” since “The Great Depression,”  The real economists said the recession is over, but my unemployed friends don’t believe them anymore then they believe in the “boogie man”, with the exception of the current resident at 1600 Pennsy Ave.

I keep reading about Paul Krugman, whose credentials classify him as an economist. I classify him as an idiot, but he is more a “pitchman” for the far left and very large mouth piece for the Obamanation White House.

Krugman keeps coming up with unorthodox revelations in the economic world.  Recently he stated that Republicans are “uncompassionate” because they don’t support big government programs that give away “benefits” that have been re-termed “entitlements”

If you don’t believe unemployment should be extended another year, then you don’t believe that you should be able to get a degree in unemployment. It would definitely be a BS Degree. It comes with a minor in Leisure Activities.

My two family members who have been impacted by “the Greatest Recession since the Great Depression”  which is protracted in the same fashion as FDR by providing programs that do not end the recession are taking different approaches to the recovery.

Relative #1-  He works as an auto detailer for used car lots and private individuals.  Cash for Clunkers hurt his business.  He hustles and works hard and often makes over $1,000 per week detailing cars.  Recently, a customer asked if he could do some landscaping.  He said yes and spent two days planting, laying gravel,  and beautifying her yard.  She gave him $1,000 for his effort because of the professional job he did.  While he is suffering from the recession he manages to feed his family without any government assistance.

I have another relative, Relative #2,  who was fired from his last job over a year ago.  He moved in with his mother and looks for “the perfect job” on-line  and e-mails resumes.  He is in no hurry to find a job because he lives rent free and has an income, which may carry him 3 years if the latest  Jobs Plan goes through.

For those who would never wash cars for a living, one relative made $2,000 last week.  The other spent most of his time on the couch eating potato chips complaining about all the day time re-runs, while wondering when dinner would be ready.  Krugman believes that relative #2 is the product of compassion and relative #1 who busts his butt everyday is forced to work due to his lack of compassion.

As a comparison consider this:  There is a $10,000 fine for feeding dolphins because giving them handouts creates dependency.  While dolphins are entertaining to watch, people sitting on couches eating potato chips, wondering if their unemployment check has been deposited in their account yet, are not as much fun to watch. I don’t have much compassion for the person who has to get up from their couch to go on-line to check their bank balance to see if their unemployment check has been deposited.

Moral of the Story:  Teach a man how to wash a car and you have taught him how to feed his family. That is real compassion.

Donuts at 5 a.m.

I am in Phoenix on a book tour visiting several Tea Party Groups this week. I have lots of things to write about but couldn’t resist publishing this item from the road.

Being 3 times zones away from real life I get up very early and start my day way before the chickens get up.  I drive around and experience the best Columbian coffee I can find in what ever shop is open at 5am.  Today I found the Dunkin Donuts at  24th St near Wal-Mart.  I was followed in by seven of Phoenix’ Finest.

One of the officer’s saw my Manatee Tea Party shirt from the back  which says “Defend Your Constitution.”   He asked what I was doing in Phoenix and I told him I was speaking to Tea Party groups all week.  This lead to a litany of  questions and interesting discussions.

I  had seen a number of Grow Shops and I asked about them and they confirmed what I suspected:  medical marijuana.  (Everyone in Phoenix is now eligible for a disease. You just have to pick the right Doctor to diagnose what you want to have. )

 

I asked how it was working?  They said crime is up and requires more man power.  The growers are being raided by gangs who steal the  crops in the  houses. Also, since it is a “cash crop” they are not realizing any tax money from the legal shops.

I asked how the shops were established and was told me “the pot heads put the initiative on the ballot and it passed.”  Also he pointed out that the drug issue is controlled by Federal Law and they have limited authority to control the situation.

My tee shirt was right- we need to “Defend the Constitution.”

President Obama Attempts to Swim to Alcatraz

             Last week a secret meeting of the world’s nine economic super powers met in San Francisco. The meetings discussed the current policies of each nation and their plans for the future in the wake of the Global Turn-Off.   (In California that means Recession, “the Big R word,” Got it, Dude?  Wow!!!)

          As one of the planned closing events of the meeting, the nine leaders met at North Beach. The event: The Economic Leaders Swim to Alcatraz.  It was a nice sunny day for San Francisco, about 65 degrees. Mark Twain said, “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” In San Francisco, 65 degrees is considered a heat wave. What could they possibly know about Global Warming?

          As each Economic Leader lined up near the sandy beach they were handed a wet suit and swimming fins. They immediately prepared for the difficult swim in 49 degree water.  President Obama, the tallest and most youthful, lined up last. He was his usual 20 minutes late. He probably stopped for a cheese burger and fries with Michele out of sight of the media.

          He was handed a blind fold to hold while ankle weights were attached to his legs. His hands were tied behind his back. Looking at the others, he asked, “How can I get my wet suit on like this?”

         The reply was, “You won’t be getting a wet suit.” He said, “Hey, that water is 49 degrees I could freeze in that water if I don’t drown first.”  “Yes, we know,” said the organizer of the event.

          Obama looked around and noticed all the Economic leaders had not only wet suits but swimming fins. Obama yelled, “Hey, that’s not fair I can’t compete like this. I have weights on my legs, no wet suit, my hands are tied behind my back, and they are using flippers.”

          “Mr. President, you are exactly right. The other nations competing against you are swimming in the same treacherous, cold waters as you.  They are neither shackled nor blinded with the restraints that we have offered you.

          The rubber in their wet suits represents their maximizing the use of their natural resources. They do not have the weights of heavy handed government regulation. They are not handcuffed with Transportation, Energy, EPA, and Department of Homeland Security policies like America. They have flippers to aid them through the currents of the dangerous waters that await you. Your blindfold represents how you have developed your economic policies ignoring what history has taught you.”

          President Obama shouted out, “This isn’t fair. I have no chance of winning this way. I may even die.” 

       A reply came from someone wearing a zebra colored referee outfit.  “Now you know how the American people feel.” And he yelled, “On your Mark – Get Set – GOOOOOO.”

 

 

The 6 Wonders of the Obama Jobs Bill, by Barack Pinocchio Obama (BPO)

The 6 Wonders of the Obama Jobs Bill, by Barack Pinocchio Obama (BPO)

            The long awaited  “jobs speech” had a lot of red meat for everyone.  The seas will part and the heavens will open, we know that because he ended his speech with “God, Bless America,” instead of “God Damn America” as he was faithfully taught by “Rev Right.”

          The 32 minute speech could have gotten us to the opening of football season 10 minutes sooner if he eliminated most of  the “Pass this Bill right away” chants. One or two would have been okay. I find over twenty shout outs to Congress a bit excessive for a bill they don’t have time to read. BPO will be adding more details next week. Apparently, the team of writers he hired from Comedy Central for last night’s speech didn’t invent the details yet.  (I am glad he got rid of those speech writers who kept calling us a bunch of racists. But as I always say, It Takes One to Know One.)

 Here are the  6 Wonders  from the Main Event.

1.  Do not use the bridge between Ohio and Kentucky because it needs major repairs and it is ready to fall down. “Pass this Bill immediately to save the innocent fish who might be killed.”

2.  Do not send your children to school:  There are 35,000 dangerous schools in America.  He didn’t mention which ones had the dangerous liberal teachers in them or how many need more police protection. He did mention that some schools have  leaky roofs.  Therefore, kids can’t learn on rainy days. All schools need new windows too. (I thought we fixed that problem with the “Cash for Caulkers Program in the Stimulus Package.”)  I do agree that there is further suffering due to slow internet service which is causing undue hardships on our youngest and brightest. “Pass this bill to stop the frustrated internet nerds from going to the “Fat Food Cafeteria” and stealing  Healthy Low-Cal lunches from dumb kids. ”

3.   Save the Millionaires and Billionaires from the needless suffering and humiliation of paying low taxes. According to Pinocchio they are demanding higher taxes to pay their fair share so they don’t have to hold their heads in shame when they walk by their high tax rate secretaries. Therefore, “Pass this Reform Bill immediately to relieve the undue suffering of our richest Americans .”

 4.  We are laying off teachers while South Korea is hiring.  “ Pass this bill so our teachers can take Rosetta Stone Korean Language lessons and get better jobs.”

 5.  My favorite of all, “This jobs bill will not add one dime to the deficit because my 12 Deficit Disciples will be asked to find another $1 trillion by Thanksgiving so pass this bill.”

 6.   “In closing I would like to say that I have already taken care of the poor and the rich.  We need a jobs bill to put the middle class back to work. Anybody here have any ideas?   If you do, then Pass this bill.”

 See my book above The Road to Socialism.  Thank you Phil

The Unemployment Figures May Be Better than We Thought

The Unemployment Figures May Be Better than We Thought

  Based on the latest Jobs Report released after
the 4^th of July Weekend, jobs were up by 18,000 jobs last week.  Obama reported that while unemploy-ment was up a tad bit, he saw some sunny spots on the horizon.   After further analysis by CNBC, it was discovered that the increase in jobs was not a temporary blip on the job scene.

 The single largest category to see full employment was Life Guards at our nation’s beaches. When the Presidents Press Secretary, Jay Carney was challenged by the discovery, Carney said, “Look at the bright side of this, Labor Day Weekend is only two months away, the third largest weekend for life guards.”

 Carney was quick to add, “Then we will have the Temporary Santa Jobs Program that was a big success last year.  In fact, the Santa Jobs Training Project, called “Project Ho, Ho, Ho” will begin right after the Labor Day weekend this year.  We will be expanding the program to 17 languages.  The ACLU has demanded that we have Santas who are fluent in both Hebrew and Yiddish this year.”

Here is something that confuses me. We give people money to be unemployed and tell them to look for a job but, many on the Left believe that asking people to look for work, especially when the Casey Anthony Trial was on TV, was cruel and unusual punishment.

The heartless Republicans believe if all benefits were ended then those on unemployment would have to look for work.  The Left fears that many of the
unemployed will seek jobs currently held by illegals, the fasting growing voting block in America.  The President’s campaign strategy is based on the theory that “working illegals” will vote for him, while “working Americans” will not. This theory is brilliant for the Democrats.  It is a Win, Win, Win, Lose Proposition.  Illegals get jobs, Americans get Unemployment Checks, and Obama gets votes, but we, the American People, lose because we pay for all of it. What a country!

             In a related story: Using the latest economic indicator, it was reported that many people are taking Spanish as a second language in order to apply for “Green Jobs,” lawn mowing and gardening jobs. Many former corporate executives have been seen at the beach without sunscreen in order to look more ethnic.  Tanning Salons are doing a booming business in non-beach towns.  Wal-Mart reports that sales of straw hats is on the rebound indicating that the economy is improving.