Xotels Revenue Management Simulation
30.August, 2009
Hotel revenue management simulation training course by Xotels. Hands on learning in a realistic environment. Powered by REVsim.
Duration : 0:3:15
February 23, 2009–During a Senate Appropriations Committee Hearing, Senator Greenleaf questions Pennsylvania Department of Revenue personnel on the level of participation in the states Property Tax / Rent Rebate Program. Also, the Senator expresses his concern for the high property taxes levied against his constituents, citing an insufficient level of state education dollars for Southeastern Pennsylvania communities.
Duration : 0:7:12
MARTA General Manager CEO Beverly A Scott @ Peoples Agenda
30.August, 2009
Georgia State Universitys forecast for MARTAs FY 2009 budget showed that the authority would be down $40 million in sales tax revenue, which proved to be right on the money. MARTA recently closed the books on its FY 2009 budget, which showed that the Universitys projections came within 0.2% of the final sales tax total.
We take these economic projections seriously because our experience is that they have been extremely accurate in predicting MARTAs sales tax revenue receipts, said Dr. Scott.
Duration : 0:9:45
Caboose Ride on the Hamilton Sub
30.August, 2009
As far as I can tell, this is the only video clip on Youtube of an actual revenue trip on a working caboose on a class 1 railroad. And of course, cabooses are no longer used on railroads, for the most part, so this is really valuable history. This is a movie I made of an inspection trip on the Hamilton Subdivision from MP 68.8 Salters, Indiana to MP 122.4 State Street Yard on the east side of Indianapolis, Indiana, on January 17, 1985. I was the track supervisor on this territory from July 1982 to June 1985, and it was my responsibility to make an occasional train ride over the territory and get an idea of the condition of the track. So on this day, I had Charlie Hutchins, a track man who acted as my office istant, to drive me in my hirail truck out to Connersville, Indiana (my territory went from just outside of Hamilton, Ohio to Marshall, Indiana, about 150 route miles).
By some kind of coincidence, the westbound train I boarded happened to have one of Chessies first female locomotive engineers Jackie Clark. I believe I had met her once before. As her train arrived, I think I saw her in the window of the locomotive (my memory is a bit hazy as this trip took place over 24 years ago). I am going to guess she had 3 units, probably GP 40s or the like, and a fairly long empty grain train with a smattering of other freight; it was likely near-on a mile long. The conductor on the caboose was J. Bandy. I didnt know him very well, but like all working stiffs on this territory, he was quite friendly. This crew started their journey in Cincinnatis Queensgate Yard, and would complete the trip at Moorefield Yard on the west side of Indianapolis.
The caboose had a cupola, which I think is somewhat unusual for Chessie; most cabooses had the bay window type. I liked cupola rides the best because the view up top is better and more interesting, plus the novelty of climbing up into position. I dont think the railroads liked them in the later years because of the risk of injury getting up into the cupola, in a vehicle prone to very sudden stops and starts.
The movie starts just outside of Connersville, headed west to Indianapolis. The first thing to notice are new crossties distributed along the side of the track. We had unloaded our allotment of new ties that summer, expecting to install them in the track. Unfortunately our production tie gang lacked the productivity to get them in before winter and the gang was cut off. The track freezes in the winter and tie installation is almost impossible, so every year the production gangs are laid off. Also note the pole line, still in use and in reasonably good shape. Is it still there today? Perhaps one of you train fans can post a comment about it.
The scene than changes to show the interior of the caboose. Then I get up in the cupola and start filming out the window. Note the grain hopper in front of the caboose; it looks like B&O 601686. The camera than pans across the way and gives a shot of Conductor J. Bandy. Then at 00:39 the train starts crawling up the hill and we get a nice curve shot, showing a couple of gons mixed in with the grain empties. At about 1:00 the camera view is out the back door, and you can hear a flat wheel. This territory is predominantly 115 RE continuously welded rail, so there shouldnt be any clickety-clack. At 1:14, the camera is pointed almost straight down off the rear deck of the caboose, looking down along the side of a trestle we are crossing over. And then the camera pans over and views someones trophy house. At 1:36, we seem to be really crawling, and the flat wheel is helpful in determining how fast we are going.
At 1:46 you can see a high tension line adjacent to the pole line. This is a remnant of the interurban railway (The Indianapolis & Cincinnati Traction Company or I&CT) that ran parallel to the Hamilton Subdivision all the way to Indianapolis from Connersville. At 1:56, the camera is back in the doorway, but the blowing snow (picked up by the train, not falling from the sky) has landed on the camera lens and melted. The next scene is another interior shot. At 2:22 you can definitely see the I&CT roadbed and bridge abutments. Then as we pull into Rushville, there is a shot of bridge piers from the I&CT. At 2:42, we begin to see the old IC&T powerhouse and car shop, then a nice shot looking right down Main Street. Next up at 2:58 is a view of the old Rushville Depot. I dont recall that we ever used this building for anything, or that I even entered it.
Duration : 0:6:25
Testimony before the Senate: Canada Revenue Agency – Part I
30.August, 2009
On February 7, 2008, Doug Hoyes and Ted Michalos testified before the Senate Banking Committee on proposed changes to bankruptcy legislation. The Senators asked a number of questions about CRA and proposals.
Duration : 0:8:29
Guam Rebate Checks On Track To Get Mailed; EITC On Hold
30.August, 2009
Guam – Rebate checks are to be mailed out this week, whereas Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC) claims are still on hold, although on the Department of Revenue and Taxation’s task list.
The Department of Revenue and Taxation, Deputy Director John Camacho says the department is on track to mail out the rebate checks. As of now, 246 returns have been sent out totaling $1.9 millions.
Camacho adds that the status of EITC claims are on temporary hold as legal issues connected with those claims need to be settled. A meeting with the department’s legal counsel is scheduled for this week.
Camacho says 1999 EITC claims are next on the list.
Duration : 0:0:55
Debating Arizona’s 2007 Budget
30.August, 2009
Darcy Olsen of the Goldwater Institute debates with a panel on the legislative budget in 2007. The state government, thinking it was awash with cash plunged into the summer of 2007 and emerged with a budget replete with earmarks. Shortly after, Arizona’s housing market, the main drive behind state revenue growth, collapses, leading to a budget which will leave the state $1.2 billion in the hole over the next to years. It’s not as if the state hasn’t had enough cash over the last few years either, Arizona state spending has increased 54% since 2003 (with only a 41% increase in the average individual income). Looks like the state should have heeded the warnings of the Goldwater Institute and brought its spending habits under control.
Duration : 0:16:31
First, Why We Need a Fair Tax
30.August, 2009
Under present law federal expenditures will soar past federal revenues. To increase revenues we have to increase GDP. To increase GDP we have to reform taxes. The best proposal to reform taxes is the Fair Tax. An overview of the Fair Tax.
Duration : 0:8:54
On-line Video Revenue Opportunities
30.August, 2009
How to make money making videos for on-line revenue sharing sites. Learn how to make money on YouTube, Metacafe, Veoh and Blip TV.
Duration : 0:5:5
Conservative Americans have morality on their side
30.August, 2009
Bailouts for financial firms and billions in tax revenue lost because of the recession drove the deficit to a record $1.3 trillion in July, according to the independent Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
Tax receipts that have fallen due to the poor economy and increased spending to save car companies, banks and mortgage firms were major contributors to the federal deficit, according to CBO, which provides official budget numbers for Congress. The federal deficit grew by another $181 billion in July.
Falling tax receipts and increased spending on bailouts for auto companies and the financial sector and for the economic stimulus package added to the deficit, according to CBO, which provides official budget numbers for Congress.
Spending through July of 2009 has increased by $530 billion, which is 21 percent over the same period in 2008. The bailout money for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae accounted for almost half of the spending increase. Unemployment benefits have more than doubled, Medicaid spending has grown by a quarter and Medicare spending has increased by 11 percent.
Tax revenue for the first three quarters of 2009 has fallen by approximately $350 billion, or 17 percent compared to the same period last year, due mostly to the effects of the recession on payroll, income and corporate taxes. A third of the decline is due to tax breaks in the stimulus, including the middle-class tax cut that President Obama campaigned on during last year’s election.
The independent budget scorekeeper has projected the deficit to reach $1.8 trillion by the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30. The deficit in 2008 reached $455 billion, which was a record at the time.
The latest deficit projections come as Democrats in Congress and the White House are pushing for healthcare reform criticized by Republicans as too costly.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) stressed during a town-hall meeting in Colorado this week that the healthcare bill won’t add to the deficit or restrict benefits and instead will increase access to care. But lawmakers have yet to settle on a way to pay for the bill, expected to cost roughly $1 trillion over the next decade. Pelosi has supported an income surtax on the highest earners, those making more than $280,000, while senators are considering a tax on insurance companies that offer expensive health plans.
Sen. Judd Gregg (N.H.), the top Republican on the Budget Committee, said that Democrats in Congress aren’t doing anything to address the record deficit and are instead pushing ahead with wildly expensive healthcare legislation.
To allow the deficit to hit these previously unthinkable levels while still planning to implement massive new spending programs shows an incredible lack of fiscal responsibility, especially toward the future generations who will be saddled with the consequences of todays actions, Gregg said.
One poll released last week suggests that the GOP attacks are starting to work. A Rasmussen survey of likely voters found that 71 percent believe Obama’s policies have increased the deficit. While most — 54 percent — blamed the recession that started during the Bush administration for the country’s fiscal situation, 39 percent blamed Obama’s policies.
Duration : 0:11:0