Latest news with #PunxsutawneyPhil
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Punxsutawney Phil could deliver Michigan GOP tax cut proposals
PUNXSUTAWNEY, PENNSYLVANIA - FEBRUARY 2: Groundhog handler AJ Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil after he saw his shadow predicting 6 more weeks of winter during the 139th annual Groundhog Day festivities on Friday February 2, 2025 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Groundhog Day is a popular tradition in the United States and Canada. If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow he regards it as an omen of six more weeks of bad weather and returns to his den. Early spring arrives if he does not see his shadow, causing Phil to remain above ground. (Photo by) As Republicans attempt to regain control of state government next year, I'm reminded of the movie, 'Groundhog Day.' In this 1993 film, Bill Murray plays a cynical weatherman who goes to Punxsutawney, Pa. to film the town's annual Groundhog Day celebration and finds himself reliving the same day over and over again. Likewise, Michigan Republican office holders and those seeking statewide and legislative seats have for decades repeatedly called for tax cuts they say will make us richer and transform the state's economy. They won't, but I'll get to that in a bit. Republicans running for office this year are turbocharging their tax-cut message. Not content to just slash tax rates, some are calling for the elimination of the personal income tax. (Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is term limited and cannot run for reelection.) Former state Attorney General Mike Cox, who is seeking the GOP nomination for governor, is among those attempting to rebrand the income tax as a 'tax on work' and calling for its demise. Cox doesn't say on his campaign website how or if he would replace the approximate $12 billion the personal income tax annually generates. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'Our paychecks should go toward our families, not Lansing's pet projects,' Cox said. Republicans say killing or at least cutting the income tax would put Michigan on a more competitive footing with Florida, Tennessee, Texas and a handful of other states that don't levy income taxes. A bill to trim the personal income tax rate from 4.25% to 4.05% passed the House in March but hasn't been taken up by the Democratic-controlled Senate. 'If we cut taxes now and scale back regulations, we could become one of the nation's strongest economies,' Rep. Bryan Posthumus (R-Rockford) wrote on X this week. The wealthy West Michigan DeVos family is bankrolling a multimillion-dollar effort to return Michigan to GOP control. Former Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has been named CEO of the newly formed Michigan Forward Network. 'We need to make Michigan reliably red,' McDaniel told the Wall Street Journal. 'We need to become a state like Ohio.' Fun fact: Michigan adopted the income tax in 1967 during the administration of Republican Gov. George Romney, McDaniel's grandfather. But taxes aren't the root of Michigan's long-term economic slide. A recent in-depth study of state tax policies by the conservative Tax Foundation shows that Michigan's tax structure stacks up pretty well with other states. The Foundation's 2025 State Tax Competitive Index ranks Michigan 14th best overall, ahead of every Great Lakes state except Indiana, which ranks 10th. The index is a compilation of personal, corporate, sales, property and unemployment insurance taxes. Notably, Michigan ranks ninth best in corporate taxes, ahead of fast-growing states such as Florida, South Carolina and Texas. The study also describes Michigan's 4.25% personal income tax as 'relatively low.' Ohio, McDaniel's model state, ranks 35th in the Tax Foundation's tax competitiveness index. Michigan has the 33rd lowest state tax burden in the country, an April study by Wallet Hub found. State taxes as a percentage of personal income are lower now than they were 25 years ago, according to the Michigan House Fiscal Agency. Yet as business taxes were slashed and the tax burden on residents fell, Michigan became alarmingly poorer compared to the rest of the country. From at least as far back at 1970 until the mid-1990s, Michigan's per capita income was above or about the same as U.S. per capita income. But it has since fallen to about 88 percent of national per capita income, a revealing state Senate Fiscal Agency chart shows. The stunning decline occurred throughout Democratic and Republican administrations, largely caused by the significant loss of high-paying blue-collar auto and other manufacturing jobs. Most of those jobs aren't coming back, despite the focus on restoring manufacturing by both parties. And there's another problem: most Americans don't want to work in factories. Automaking will continue to be a critical part of the state's economy—unless President Donald Trump destroys it with his foolish trade war. But Michigan won't get wealthier unless it shifts from a business-focused to a talent-and-place-centered economic strategy. Boosting educational attainment, making our cities more attractive to young talent, and developing transit are requirements. Detroit 'would be a different city' with transit, billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert once said. 'And again, it would give us the ability to attract more talent here.' The Tax Foundation and Wallet Hub studies show that low taxes don't automatically translate to high incomes. States such as Illinois, Massachusetts and Minnesota have some of the worst tax climates and burdens in the country, the studies show. But they're also among the wealthiest states in the country. Those states feature a high percentage of college graduates, good public transit, and attractive cities and metro areas. Illinois and Minnesota, both blue states, have the highest per capita incomes among Great Lakes states. They should serve as economic models for Michigan, not Ohio. Otherwise, it will continue to be Groundhog Day in the Wolverine State.
CBS News
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Former Punxsutawney Groundhog Club president dies
Former Punxsutawney Groundhog Club president William "Bill" Deeley died. Deeley was the president of the Inner Circle, as well as Punxsutawney Phil's handler. "With heavy hearts," the club shared the news of his death on Facebook Thursday. "Bill embodied the magic and cheer that is Groundhog Day. He was at the forefront of the worldwide expansion that took the holiday from our little town to the entire world," the Groundhog Club said in a social media post. It's with heavy hearts that the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club shares the news of the passing of former President and... Posted by Punxsutawney Phil on Thursday, May 1, 2025 The top hat- and tuxedo-wearing members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, which was founded in 1887, are responsible for making the trek every Feb. 2 to Gobbler's Knob, where Punxsutawney Phil predicts whether there will be six more weeks of winter or an early spring. According to lore, there is only one Punxsutawney Phil, the same way there is only one Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. Phil's Inner Groundhog Club attributes his longevity to the elixir of life, which he drinks every summer. The Inner Circle president has a cane which, according to legend, allows him to speak Groundhogese and hear Phil's yearly prediction. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club shared photos on Facebook, remembering Deeley. "He made our community a better place, and his contagious smile will live on in our hearts forever. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bill's family. Thank you for everything and for simply always being you," the club wrote. Groundhog Day is a big deal in the town of Punxsutawney, drawing tens of thousands of visitors, including the governor. This year's crowd was one of the largest ever, the current Inner Circle president said. Phil saw his shadow, meaning six more weeks of winter.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Feds must stop going easy on foreign patent thieves who hurt Pennsylvania
In the past few months, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have received more than a dozen patents, including for an experimental probiotic weight-loss therapy, a more durable and flexible solar cell and a new method of detecting and treating pancreatic cancer. But Pitt doesn't have the ability — or the desire, for that matter — to spend the billions of dollars it'd take to turn these good ideas into real world products. Instead, Pitt and other research universities across the Commonwealth typically license these patents to startups and small businesses. Those firms then take the initial breakthroughs and invest enormous sums in further research and development. Unfortunately, these firms face a growing threat from foreign countries, which are increasingly invalidating or ignoring American patents and letting favored local companies steal the technology with impunity. And over the past few years, the federal agency tasked with calling out such abuse has — much like Punxsutawney Phil — been scared of its own shadow, refusing to speak up for fear of offending trading partners. It's time for Pennsylvania's congressional delegation to hold this agency accountable — and force it to hold foreign intellectual property thieves accountable in turn. For nearly 40 years, Congress has required the Office of the United States Trade Representative to issue an annual report detailing how effective our trading partners are at preventing the theft of American intellectual property. For decades, the USTR wasn't shy about naming and shaming violators. But starting in 2021, that annual document — known as the Special 301 Report — became noticeably less forceful in its defense of American firms' IP rights. It's hard to overstate the importance of strong, predictable IP protections to Pennsylvania's prosperity. From advanced manufacturing to energy, biotech, and medical technology, most of our state's top industries wouldn't exist without reliable patents. Pennsylvania isn't alone in this respect, of course. Nationally, IP-intensive industries support over 62 million jobs and generate more than 40% of national GDP. Simply put, it's IP rights that make it worthwhile for inventors to take risks on new ideas and to do the hard work of translating scientific breakthroughs into real-world products. But would-be copycats abroad have no respect for property rights. By one estimate, IP violations now cost the U.S. economy as much as $600 billion annually. One might expect that such widespread theft would provoke a harsh response from our trade officials. And yet in recent years, the USTR has grown less assertive in defending American IP. The Special 301 Report clearly illustrates this trend. Take the issue of compulsory licensing. Under this practice, foreign governments give permission to domestic companies to violate U.S. patents with impunity. Previous Special 301 Reports have been highly critical of compulsory licensing by countries including India, Ecuador, and Indonesia. But beginning in 2021, the Special 301 Report shied away from criticizing compulsory licensing -- and in some cases, even condoned the practice. In the wake of this recent shift, many of our trading partners have shown a new willingness to employ compulsory licenses improperly. For instance, in 2023, the European Commission began work on a new system for granting these licenses. The following year, Colombia issued its first-ever compulsory license on a state-of-the-art HIV drug. Opinion: Judicial independence is under threat. It's essential to our republic's survival The U.S. Trade Representative's recent failures are especially bad news for Pennsylvania's biotech industry. The life sciences sector is one of the Commonwealth's most important, responsible for more than $61 billion in annual economic activity and directly employing more than 100,000 workers. Between 2016 and 2020, Pennsylvania bioscience researchers qualified for an impressive 20,564 patents — placing us in the top five of all states. By diluting both the substance and the rhetoric of these reports, the U.S. Trade Representative effectively signaled to American entrepreneurs and inventors that the federal government wouldn't try to stop foreign countries from stealing the fruits of their labor. That message needs to change in the next report, which is expected sometime this spring. Pennsylvania's representatives in Congress should make this a priority in their constitutional oversight responsibilities. The next Special 301 Report must take a strong stand against compulsory licensing — as well as other unfair practices such as restrictive patenting requirements and price controls. A robust account will be crucial for fulfilling the White House's new trade policy, which aims to reinvigorate U.S. leadership in promoting a strong global IP network. Left unchallenged, IP violations will undermine the spirit of experimentation, risk-taking, and ingenuity that has powered Pennsylvania's economy since Ben Franklin. Former Democratic Congressman Ron Klink served four consecutive terms representing Pennsylvania's 4th Congressional District. This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Patent thieves threaten Pennsylvania IP and innovation | Opinion
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Punxsutawney ‘Phantastic Phil' statue featured in national ‘Tour of Honor'
JEFFERSON COUNTY (WTAJ) – Punxsutawney Phil is nationally known for his weather predictions, but now one of his statues is being recognized as one of the seven Pennsylvania stops in the 'Tour of Honor' Every state participates in the tour by designating different memorials that honor American heroes as stopping points for people to check out. The Phantastic Sergeant Phil statue outside of the Mahoning Valley VFW in Punxsutawney was chosen as one of this year's stops. The VFW said they're excited to bring people into town for something other than Groundhog Day. 'This is just one of those things that is going to draw people into the community. People will be coming on this tour to see this Phantastic Sergeant Phil and they're going to be spending money in town here. So we're glad that we can help that way to support the community,' Post 2076 Quartermaster Bob Lott said. The tour runs through October and you can find a list of the national stops on the tour website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Farmers' Almanac predicts rainy spring and hot summer in Erie. What to expect on Easter
For 2025, the Farmers' Almanac is calling for some interesting forecasts in the Erie area. In the Farmers' Almanac, Erie falls under the Northeast/New England forecast area region which covers Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Washington D.C. In this region, the almanac is calling for pleasant weather for both Patriot's Day on April 15 and Easter on April 20. For Memorial Day on May 26, the almanac is calling for some pleasant then breezy weather with showers hopefully holding off until later that week. Easter events: Where to look for Easter egg hunts, Easter Bunny events around Erie this year In the Northeast/New England area, the almanac is predicting a 'thunder and zing spring.' Just like groundhog Punxsutawney Phil predicted, the almanac says that this spring will take it's time arriving which will allow winter to linger especially across the Midwest, Great Lakes, New England and northeast regions. This spring, the almanac says you can expect plenty of showers and thunderstorms for most of the areas. Most areas across the United States are predicted to see a cool and stormy season. On the water: Great Lakes water levels decline in March. Could seasonal rise be on the way? In the Northeast/New England region, the almanac predicts that the rest of March will be 'fair and unsettled' followed by some clearing weather around March 28 through March 31. For the rain forecast, the almanac says that May-June will see a 33-44% probability of rain. For the month of April, the Farmers' Almanac calls for a mix of fair skies, unseasonably warm weather, cold rain, sleet, wet snow and breezy conditions. In other words, expect a normal April for Erie. April 1-3: Fair skies, unseasonably warm. April 4-7: Cold rain, sleet and wet snow. April 8-11: Clearing weather, breezy. April 12-15: Fair skies. April 16-19: Thunderstorms, some with heavy rain followed by fair and pleasant weather. April 20-23: Pleasant weather. April 24-30: Heavy and wet snow followed by fair and sunny weather. The first official day of summer begins on June 20. The Old Farmers' Almanac says that this summer will be 'warmer than normal with rain above average.' The hottest periods are predicted to be in mid-June, early-to-mid July and then early August. For rain probability, the months of July through November are predicted to have equal chances of precipitation. Find more predictions on the Farmers' Almanac's website. Contact Nicholas Sorensen at Nsorensen@ This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Farmers' Almanac offers weather forecast for Erie's Easter, summer
