Iowa Senator Tom Harkin says he doesn’t see many problems with the budget proposed by fellow Democrat President Barack Obama. Harkin says he thought the president’s budget was right on target, although the senate is making some changes. "We are sort of arguing on the edges here, because most of what the president wanted is in our budget," Harkin says. Harkin says he would have liked to have seen more of the budget savings come from the defense department, but does agree that there should not be any more money put into the so-called "TARP" bail out programs. The president visited with senate democrats Wednesday to talk about the budget. Harkin says the president was very strong on the fact they have to pass healthcare reform this year, and within this Congress do something to strengthen education and also moving to renewable, clean energy. Harkin says the president told Democrats that as long as they continue working toward the same principles, they’ll be able to come up with a budget both can agree on.
Harkin sees few problems with President’s budget
Man arrested for stalking Shawn Johnson
A 34-year-old Florida man is being held in a California jail for "stalking" 17-year-old Shawn Johnson — the Iowa gymnast who won gold at the Olympics.
Johnson is in Los Angeles right now as one of the contestants on the A.B.C. television show "Dancing with the Stars."
According to police, Robert O’Ryan drove from Florida to L.A. and jumped the fence outside the studio on Monday afternoon to try to get to Johnson.
He was stopped by studio security. Police found two loaded guns inside O’Ryan’s car, as well as duct tape and other materials which could have been used in a kidnapping.
There were love letters to Johnson in the car, too, and O’Ryan told investigators he believed Johnson was speaking to him through the TV and they were destined to have a child together. On Wednesday, Johnson’s family got a restraining order against O’Ryan. Johnson’s family has also hired a bodyguard for the gymnast’s protection.
You can see a of the restraining order here .
Iowan thinks economy on the way to recovery
Some financial experts are maintaining a gloom-and-doom forecast but a portfolio manager in central Iowa has a more optimistic outlook. Jim Tausz, a financial planner in Clarion, says there are clear signs the economy is recovering and is on the brink of a bounce-back.
Tausz says, "Investors are as scared of the stock market as they’ve ever been, probably in the history of the market, and these spikes of fear and panic always precede a major stock market rally." In recent weeks, the stock market has seen encouraging rebounds, of seven-percent one day, four-percent more another day, and he says solid gains are being made.
"The price action tells me that probably a rally has arrived, that’s my opinion," Tausz says. "I think we’ve hit our low. I think we’re on our way to greener pastures here very shortly." He says the "ultimate bottom" has already been hit and believes the upcoming rally may last a full year, though he says there will be more ups and downs along the way.
"We started taking our people out of the (stock) market a year ago in October," Tausz says. "We carefully went in a little bit as time went on but we didn’t go in much. Most of the people we have at this current time are anywhere from 70 to 100-percent out of the market and they’re in money markets right now." He says the new lows should be seen as a "foundation" that’s under the market "and the bulls are going to ultimately be in control."
Kingsley man’s probation revoked
A Kingsley man who was convicted of two crimes while he was on probation for charges of theft from a funeral home and tax evasion will now go to prison. A judge in Plymouth County District Court on Wednesday revoked the probation of 50-year-old Mark Rohde.
Rohde pleaded guilty in August of last year and was ordered to repay the Mauer-Johnson funeral business of Le Mars about $180,000. He was convicted of taking the money while he was a percentage partner. A judge had suspended prison sentences and placed him on probation.
Earlier this month, a jury found Rohde guilty of two harassment charges involving his former partners in November of last year. A judge Wednesday ruled that Rohde violated conditions of his probation and should serve up to five years for tax evasion and up to ten years for theft.
He was also ordered to serve up to 30 days for each of the harassment convictions. The sentences are to be served at the same time.
Woodbury County official says North Dakota flooding won’t impact Sioux City
Severe flooding in North Dakota has residents along the Missouri River in Iowa and Nebraska wondering what impact they’ll see. Gary Brown, the Woodbury County disaster services director, says flooding up north likely won’t bother anyone in the Sioux City area.
"We’re just fine," Brown says. "The ground’s thawed out, the grass is coming out, any rain that falls will soak into the ground." Brown says spring storms can bring heavy rain in a short period of time, which is why his team is keeping a close eye on area creeks and tributaries.
He says: "The community has, over the years, made great strides to try to fix a lot of the flood hazards, but we still have some. Depending on the amount of rain, even those tributaries that’ve had work done on them can be a problem."
Brown encourages residents to keep trash away from the creeks and tributaries, as that would create unnecessary problems downstream.
Mason City door maker furloughs employees
A Mason City manufacturer of hollow metal doors and frames for non-residential construction is announcing furloughs for all office employees. Curries director of human resources Mark Evers says that due to seasonal and economic conditions, they plan to require a one-week furlough of all office employees. The furlough will impact about 210 employees and will be spread over the second quarter of 2009. Evers says the temporary furloughs will allow the company the ability to continue to serve the needs of their customers as they look to await order levels to increase.
Economist says economy getting close to 1982 level
A Nobel prize winner in economics who has written about "depression economics" is set to speak on the current economy at the University of Iowa Friday. Paul Krugman would not say the current situation is depression, but says it is quickly closing in on being as bad as things were in 1982.
He says we are certainly in the realm of depression economics where all the usual policy tools have lost all traction.
"And it could become very, very severe," Krugman says. He says most forecasts assume that the economy is going to turn around in five years, but he says "that’s more of an assumption than a result" as he says they don’t know where the turnaround is coming from. Krugman says Treasury Secretary Tim Geitner’s plan to turnaround the banks doesn’t do enough.
Krugman says the plan is an attempt on a shoestring budget to do something without more money from Congress. He says the plan is "financial hocus pocus" that doesn’t involved a lot of up front money to make the assets get better. Krugman says he doesn’t think the plan will work and says they need a full out plan to fix the banking system — using the same methods applied to the Savings and Loan situation in the 1980′s.
He says you restore confidence in the banks by guaranteeing their liabilities and then take over the banks that aren’t solvent and restructure them. Krugman says that turning the banks around probably won’t be enough to create recovery, as he says the government will have to spend a lot more money to do that. Krugman says he would have put in 50-percent more money than what the plan calls for now, as he says the plan won’t lead to full recovery.
Krugman says the plan is to mitigate the slump and count on "spontaneous recovery to take place from other directions," as he says it’s not really a recovery plan, it’s a mitigation plan. Some economists say this plan is better than nothing — Krugamn doesn’t necessarily argue with that.
Krugman says it’s probably true unless it "forecloses the option of doing the right thing." He says there’s the political question of whether a failed plan convince congress to get behind something more comprehensive, or does it squander the president’s credibility and make it impossible to do the right thing. Krugman says he expects the economic free-fall to stop eventually.
Krugman says though the economy will still probably keep growing so slowly that unemployment will keep on rising, just at a slower rate. "And I don’t see anything that will produce a genuine bounce back….quite a ways out. I looks like things probably continuing to deteriorate right through nesxt year, and after that, who knows," Krugman says.
Krugman, who is a columnist for the New York Time, will give a lecture Friday at four p.m. called "Improving the U.S. Economy in the Short and Long Term" in the McBride Auditorium at the University of Iowa.
