Putting People Out Of Work
Fed Policy Succeeding In Its Goal Of Using Joblessness To Cool Inflation
Also on today’s menu:
Insufficient Evidence To Convict Environmentalist
NH AG Praises Injunction Against Water Protection
Pasquaney Snowshoe Club Remains Active
The United States Congress gave the Federal Reserve the task of maintaining both maximum employment and low inflation, but in addressing the inflationary economy that followed the government’s economic stimulus packages, supply-chain disruptions, easing of COVID policies, and the war in Ukraine, the Fed imposed interest-rate hikes with an additional goal of increasing the jobless rate as high as 7.5 percent in order to reach its 2 percent target rate for inflation.
It is succeeding: Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 239,000 for the week ended April 8. Claims are much higher this year than had been previously estimated, with a rush of high-profile layoffs in the technology industries and other sectors highly sensitive to interest rates.
Economists say that, if claims reach the 270,000 level, it would indicate a deterioration in the labor market. Time reports that a growing number of economists are questioning whether the Fed’s approach to combating high inflation makes sense. Robert Reich, who served as secretary of Labor during the Clinton Administration, said the central bank’s approach fails to acknowledge the other inflationary forces. “A large piece of the inflation puzzle is not coming from wages,” he said.
Insufficient Evidence To Convict Environmentalist
Chris Balch, an environmentalist who represented Antrim, Bennington, Francestown, Greenfield, Greenville, Hancock, Hillsborough, Lyndeborough, Wilton, and Windsor as a Democrat in the State House from 2018 to 2020, was found not guilty on charges connected to tree-spiking at Russell-Abbott State Forest and in the adjacent Heald Tract, property owned by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. Circumstantial evidence, including video of Balch walking in the area at the time of the tree-spiking, was not enough to prove the state’s case.
Tree spiking is the practice of driving large metal spikes into trees in order to damage chain saws and saw mill equipment when trees are harvested for lumber. The spikes can cause heavy damage to equipment and pose a potential risk to the life and safety of foresters and mill workers, according to Jack Savage of the Forest Society. “You’re looking at, at a minimum, some significant damage to the expensive equipment in the mill, and possible serious harm to a mill worker,” Savage said.
Wood is harvested as part of land management and to create better conditions for wildlife.
NH AG Praises Injunction Against Water Protection
The United States District Court for the District of North Dakota has issued a preliminary injunction, preventing the Environmental Protection Agency from implementing its final rule redefining Waters of the United States. New Hampshire Attorney-General John Formella, who had joined a coalition of 24 states in a lawsuit against the EPA, praised the decision as the federal court considers the states’ request to vacate the newly published final rule redefining “Waters of the United States” as published in the Federal Register on January 18.
The rule took effect on March 20, establishing the boundary of waters subject to federal protection. “When upstream waters significantly affect the integrity of waters for which the Federal interest is indisputable — the traditional navigable waters, the territorial seas, and interstate waters — this rule ensures that Clean Water Act programs apply to protect those … waters,” according to the executive summary. “Where waters do not significantly affect the integrity of waters for which the Federal interest is indisputable, this rule leaves regulation exclusively to the Tribes and States.”
Formella, however, claimed, “This new rule would redefine ‘navigable waters’ and expand the definition of that term to include ponds, streams, ditches, potholes, and other bodies of water — temporary or otherwise — under the Clean Water Act, as determined by the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers. This would affect not only farmers, but private landowners as well, who may be unaware that they may need to get permission from the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to make changes to their property.”
The executive summary of the rule stated, “it is important to note that the fact that a water is one of the ‘waters of the United States’ does not mean that no activity can occur in that water; rather, it means that activities must comply with the Clean Water Act’s permitting programs, and those programs include numerous statutory exemptions and regulatory exclusions.”
Pasquaney Snowshoe Club Remains Active
The Newfound Landing has a feature story about the Pasquaney Snowshoe Club, noting that, since 1912, the organization has met throughout the year, not just during the winter. As the oldest snowshoe club in New Hampshire, it was formed for winter outings, but it has become a social group that extends activities beyond snow melt, through the month of June.
The group does a New Year’s Day hike up Little Round Top to Inspiration Point in Bristol and snowshoe treks up Sugar Hill on the north side of downtown Bristol, Lynch Farm in Hill, Plymouth’s Rainbow Falls, Mount Cardigan in Alexandria, Little Sugarloaf, and other hikes that members choose to make.
A loose collection of hiking enthusiasts, there is no requirement to take part in any hike; it is up to each member to choose which of the designated hikes they wish to take. For more information on the club, email catlover06053@ gmail.com.
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