In a study by Arthur Laffer on the effects of the stimulus plans concocted and implemented in 34 industrialized nations, the clear conclusion is that increasing the government spending as a percentage of GDP (stimulus) has not had the intended consequences anywhere. Furthermore the raw data shows that the more a country stimulated the more damage was done and that the lower the stimulus package the less damage was done. The four nations—Estonia, Ireland, the Slovak Republic and Finland—with the biggest stimulus programs had the steepest declines in growth.

It is largely proven that when government spending is at or near 18% that growth is maximized. When government spending deviates from 18% either direction economic growth is blunted. American government spending as a share of GDP rose to a high of 27.3% in 2009 from 21.4% in late 2007. This increase is virtually all stimulus spending, including add-ons to the agricultural and housing bills in 2007, the $600 per capita tax rebate in 2008, the TARP and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailouts, “cash for clunkers,” additional mortgage relief subsidies and, of course, President Obama’s $860 billion stimulus plan that promised to deliver unemployment rates below 6% by now. Our GDP growth as a result of this increase in government spending was -8.4%.

Link to article and data.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444873204577537244225685010.html

Whirlpool has announced that it will close the last working division that is in Evansville by the end of 2014. This comes on the heels of the 2009 announcement that all manufacturing jobs would be gone in 2010 that was followed through on. At it’s peak Whirlpool had about 10,000 Evansville based employees and was the biggest reason for Evansville’s title as the “Refrigerator Capital of the United States”.

This is a developing story.

The Dental Hygiene Program at the University of Southern Indiana recently received a $2,000 service learning grant from the University to help promote opportunities for faculty to engage students in service learning projects related to dental assisting and dental hygiene. Service learning projects at USI foster community engagement and fall somewhere between volunteering and internship/field placement. They provide a clear benefit to the community and are excellent learning opportunities for students.

The grant funded a two-day program, August 1-2, for faculty members who provided free services for local dental patients with a financial need. Retired dentist and full-time faculty member Sam Euler conducted full examinations for patients and gave free advice on oral issues ranging from simple checkups to extensive dental work.

“Our main reason for doing this is to help our faculty understand the importance of service learning projects for both students and the community that is served,” said Emily Holt, clinical assistant professor of dental hygiene and dental assisting, who secured the grant.

Over the two days, the team saw more than 31 patients. In addition to Euler and Holt, team members included Jennifer Bartek, instructor in dental hygiene; Sheri Kipling, instructor in dental hygiene and dental assisting; and Kim Parsons, assistant professor of dental hygiene and dental assisting. Two of the faculty with previous service learning experience served as mentors for the group.

“Any time we can get our faculty on board and help them to understand the impact that service learning can make, it helps them become more creative about incorporating these kinds of opportunities into their classes,” added Holt. “We also knew that we could benefit the community while serving our own needs. Knowing that the Vanderburgh County Community Dental Clinic was closing, we thought that this would be a good service to offer the community.”

In addition to a full exam, patients received a complete dental hygiene treatment, x-rays, fluoride treatments and a rechargeable power toothbrush to take home. Patients were also offered paid roundtrip transportation through the METS bus system.

Clinic offers ongoing services
The USI Dental Hygiene Clinic, located in Room 1044 in the Health Professions Center, continues to offer low cost, professional services to adults and children of all ages. Services are performed by students in the Dental Hygiene Program and are supervised and evaluated by USI faculty.

The clinic offers dental hygiene treatment, radiographs (x-rays), fluoride, and sealants, all for one low fee. Appointments range from 90 minutes to several hours, depending on the age of the patient and services included.

During the fall (September through December), appointments are available at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday and Wednesday and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. During the spring semester (January through April), appointment times are 8 a.m., 1 p.m., and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Call 812/464-1706 to make an appointment or receive more information.

Source: USI.edu

Evansville, Indiana – From January through June, more than 2,000 volunteers from every corner
of Evansville joined together as a part of Keep Evansville Beautiful’s 2012 Great American
Cleanup. More than 1,000 of the volunteers were recruited through Clean Evansville Initiative,
a new partnership between the City of Evansville, Keep Evansville Beautiful and corporate
sponsors.

The 2012 Great American Cleanup theme, “Green Starts Here: Renew, Restore, Regrow”
encouraged volunteer groups, community leaders and people of all ages and walks of life to
create a more sustainable community through their efforts as volunteers and through their
daily choices and actions.

“We live in a great community of people coming together to make sustainable changes in their
environment,” said Tim Hollander, General Manager Administration Division for Toyota Motor
Manufacturing, Indiana, and board member for Keep Evansville Beautiful. The theme, Green
Starts Here: Renew, Restore, Regrow captured the passion of the local citizens working to
take care of our community. “I believe this year’s program was well executed, and overall the
project was very successful,” said Hollander.

Keep Evansville Beautiful coordinated 56 events including Ivy Tech’s Dream Day Project; Master
Gardener’s beautification of Sunrise Park; North High School student’s DECA Clothing Drive
project; and Mayor Lloyd Winnecke’s Clean Evansville monthly cleanups.

This year, Keep Evansville Beautiful logged the participation of 2,060 volunteers with a total
of 177 volunteer hours of work valued at $141,504. Nearly 50,000 pounds of litter, debris
and bulky waste were collected in Evansville. Volunteers collected 184 pounds of recyclables
and 400 pounds of clothing to reuse. Among cleanups and beautification projects, 14 covered
487 acres of city parks; and 166.5 miles of roadways were cleaned. An estimated 255 people
attended educational sessions, and 500 residents participated in a variety of events.

Jennifer Mason, Public Affairs for Keep Evansville Beautiful said the 2012 Great American
Cleanup was well received by the community. “I believe this is one of the best projects to get
involved with as a volunteer. It takes very little time, skill and effort to make a huge impact for
everyone in our community, and being a part of it has been a great experience.”

About Keep Evansville Beautiful
Keep Evansville Beautiful is a catalyst for citizen action creating a beautiful, inviting, healthy
outdoor environment to assure an improved quality of life and enhanced economic growth for
the greater Evansville area.

KEB is a private not-for-profit organization founded in 1972 as a special committee of the
Metropolitan Evansville Chamber of Commerce. At the time, the President of Mead Johnson
and Company, Dr. James Tulholski presented a $10,000 challenge grant to the Chamber of
Commerce for creation of an entity to promote civic pride and image.

KEB has grown independently to become a regional partner for economic development via a
progressive plan of green-infrastructure, sustainable conservation education and citizenship
training.

Great American Cleanup Local Sponsors
The local sponsors of the 2012 Great American Cleanup are: Allied Waste Republic Services;
West Side Nut Club; Toyota Indiana; Evansville Courier & Press; Heritage Petroleum; Plato’s
Closet; Peabody Energy; Coca-Cola; Deaconess Hospital; Veolia Environmental Services; 93.5
WOLF; Rally’s; Wendy’s; Hardee’s; Denny’s; Grandy’s; Long John Silver’s; Lewis Bakeries;
Department of Metropolitan Development; Vanderburgh County Solid Waste Department;
Lowe’s; and Home Depot.

Great American Cleanup National Sponsors
The national sponsors of the 2012 Great American Cleanup are: The Dow Chemical Company;
The Glad Products Company; LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc.; Lowe’s Companies, Inc. through the
Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation; Nestlé® Pure Life® Purified Water; PepsiCo’s
Pepsi-Cola and Gatorade companies; The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company; Solo Cup Company;
Troy-Bilt® Lawn and Garden Equipment; Waste Management, Inc.; and Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.
Promotional Partners are: Crescent Art and Framing Products, Miss America Organization and
Valvoline, a division of Ashland, Inc. Educational Partners are: Owens-Illinois, Inc., Rubber
Manufacturers Association and WM Recycle America. Retail Promotional Partner is: Colgate-
Palmolive Company.

According to one of our key Republican moles, presidential candidate Mitt Romney will be visiting tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 at the Stepto’s Bar-B-Q Shack on Evansville’s North Side.

Check back as the event nears for mole updates. Any readers who happen to pass by the event are encouraged to post their perspective in the comments.