2012 Underemployment Rates at the U.S. News Top 25 Law Schools

If you're planning to be a lawyer, you may want to look into doing something else.  I'm not trying to be a downer or anything, but things aren't looking too bright in the U.S. News Top 25 Law Schools.  Just sayn'.

Here are the percentage of graduates who are unemployed or in short-term, part-time, or non-professional jobs 9 months after graduation.

The Jobs Crisis at Our Best Law Schools Is Much, Much Worse Than You Think

Could this just be a sign the U.S. News rankings are way off and don’t really reflect the job market? In part, yes. The magazine’s annual list does incorporate employment outcomes as part of its formula, and some law firms pay an absurd amount of attention to it. But after going back through the data and ranking the 25 schools with the lowest underemployment, I found that only 15 of them could be found in the U.S. News Top 25. The other 10 included schools like number #76 LSU and number #126 Campbell University.

Read more. [Data: Law School Transparency]

WTF Has Obama Done? - Issue No. 006 - Economy

I almost have one week down.  Only 39 more weeks to go, LOL.  I may have to cut these to five a week, they're so time consuming.

On today's issue I will focus on the number one issue facing our country - the Economy.  

If you've been watching the news like I have all day; You would have noticed that another week of private sector jobs were added to the 22 straight weeks of employment growth.  While Republicans continue to berate the President and deny seeing any type of improvement, the economy is slowly improving.  Unemployment is now at 8.3% which was the case in February 2009, a month after the president took office.

But how was this possible?  Well, we can thank a President who's been resilient, despite no help from Republicans in Congress.  Today we'll look at one broad policy and two targeted actions (WTF-15, WTF-16) in regard to the Economy.

WTF-14

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA): a $789 billion economic stimulus plan.

(1) To preserve and create jobs and promote economic
recovery.
(2) To assist those most impacted by the recession.
(3) To provide investments needed to increase economic
efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and
health.
(4) To invest in transportation, environmental protection,
and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic
benefits.
(5) To stabilize State and local government budgets, in
order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services
and counterproductive state and local tax increases. [Reference]

WTF-15

Raised the small business investment limit to $250,000 through the end of 2009.

Stimulus raised the expensing limit - During the campaign, Barack Obama promised to extend a tax break for small businesses to give them a boost during the recession. The tax change raised the expensing limit — the amount that small companies can claim as their business expenses for investments.

A sharp-eyed reader brought to our attention a tiny provision in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the economic stimulus package, that did exactly that. Section 1202 of the stimulus legislation raised the limit to $250,000. A May 2009 memo from the Internal Revenue Service confirms the change.[Reference]
 

WTF-16

U.S. Economy: Manufacturing grew by most since 2004.

In early 2011, The Institute for Supply Management’s factory index rose to 60.8, exceeding the most optimistic forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists and the highest level since May 2004, figures from the Tempe, Arizona-based group showed today. Readings greater than 50 signal growth. 

Stocks rose, extending a global rally, as factory reports from China to Europe bolstered the outlook for American companies like Caterpillar Inc. The ISM’s employment gauge climbed to the highest level since 1973, indicating manufacturers may be more willing to hire as sales pick up. 

“Businesses have figured out the economic recovery has legs so they’re growing more confident about expanding production and new orders and increasing hiring,” said John Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina. “Manufacturing is making a very decent contribution to growth.”[Reference]

As promised, I will come back to the Economy in another issue.  Please make sure to read Issue No. 007 tomorrow as I continue with WTF-17
Everyday on BLADE 7184

WTF Has Obama Done? - Issue No. 005 - Taxes

One of the most prominent issues of the current political climate are TAXES!  President Obama's Achievements on this subject are extensive, so I will be listing three today.  

As with my previous issues, I will come back to each category at a later time.  

When I read, and research all that our president has accomplished in the last 3 years, it is mind-boggling to me how much the Tea Party and Republican Party has lied, and continues to lie the American people.  I've even fallen into their traps in the past, but not anymore!.  I'm here to help fix that.

Today we will look at the president's broad policy and one targeted action (WTF-13).

WTF-11

Adopted Economic Substance tax doctrine.

A policy that states that tax changes must have significant economic justification, as a federal law.

It's called the "economic substance doctrine." It's a law that set a rule to prevent tax dodgers.  What it means is that people aren't allowed to find creative ways to avoid paying their taxes.

The measure is expected to generate a relatively small amount of new tax revenue, about $4.5 billion over 10 years, according to the the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. [Reference]

WTF-12

Cracked down on tax cheats (Exec Order).

On January 20, 2010, President Barack Obama ordered a new crackdown on federal contractors who don't pay their taxes. 

Obama signed an executive order telling federal agency chiefs to take steps to bar those companies from receiving new government contracts. The order also directed the IRS to review contractor filings to make sure companies are not lying about the taxes they've paid.  Obama said the practice is inefficient, wasteful and, above all, wrong.

"It is simply wrong for companies to take taxpayer dollars and not be taxpayers themselves," Obama said. "We need to insist on the same sense of responsibility in Washington that so many of you strive to uphold in your own lives, in your own families and in your own businesses." [Reference]

WTF-13

Temporarily suspended taxes on unemployment benefits.

When the economy deteriorated in 2008, Congress extended benefits, giving more money and setting longer time frames for the states with the highest unemployment numbers. The economic recovery bill that Obama signed extended those time periods again. Depending on circumstances, most people receiving benefits should get an extension, with the hardest hit states winning extended benefits through Dec. 31, 2009.

Unemployment benefits are normally taxed as regular income, but the bill exempted the first $2,400 of unemployment from 2009 income taxes.

"Today, I signed the unemployment insurance extension to restore desperately needed assistance to two and a half million Americans who lost their jobs in the recession.  After a partisan minority used procedural tactics to block the authorization of this assistance three separate times over the past weeks, Americans who are fighting to find a good job and support their families will finally get the support they need to get back on their feet during these tough economic times.  Now it’s time for Congress to act on more proposals that support our economic recovery, including passing critical aid to our states and support to small businesses.  Small businesses are the engine of job growth, and measures to cut their taxes and make lending available should not be held hostage to partisan tactics like those that unconscionably held up unemployment insurance." - President Obama on July 21, 2010 after the Senate passed an extension of unemployment insurance. [Reference-1, Reference-2]

Please make sure to read Issue No. 006 tomorrow as I continue with WTF-14
Everyday on BLADE 7184

Don't You People Have Jobs?

LMAO, Isn't this the truth?

Post Secret Fridays - Issue 076

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.

The PostSecret App is now live for the iPhone. See details and sign-up for the future Android release: www.postsecretapp.com

See More Secrets. Follow PostSecret on Twitter.

Want to see older Post Secret Friday issues? Go here.

Isn't This The Truth? "The Secret's Out"

It's sad, but the comic below actually is quite true.  Why pay for a gym membership, study law, rent a house, or buy food, when you can get it all for free in prison?  I mean, sure you'll have some burly man, cozying up to you at night, but you can't beat the benefits anywhere else.  Everything is paid for!

click to enlarge

Like the circle of life.... it's the circle of finding a job.

What's the real reason you can't find a job? Is it the fact you don't know how to present yourself during the interview, or is it not having the job - to give you the money - to purchase the gas - that takes you to the interview?

click to enlarge