• JUSTICE FOR JOHN LOXAS
    Ofc. Jim Peters shot JOHN LOXAS while he was holding his grandchild just after he called his daughter to tell her to come because of the police commotion. Mr. Loxas had no weapon, was turning away from officers to walk back into the home, and probably was setting his grandson down as the reports say he was lowering the child from around his head to the lower right side of his body. In other words, when Ofc. Peters shot and killed Mr. Loxas, Mr. Loxas was not an imminent physical threat to anyone, not police, not his grandson, not anyone.
    243 of 300 Signatures
    Created by Scottsdale Resident
  • Oppose Budget Cuts to Florida Atlantic University and the State University System of Florida
    Budget cuts to Florida Atlantic University and the State University System are short-sighted and will have long-term detrimental effects to both higher education and the economy. Florida Atlantic University has an estimated economic impact of $4 billion annually in its six-county service region. Economists estimated that the universities and related businesses are responsible directly and indirectly for about 771,000 jobs in the state, or 7.9 percent of the state's work force. 1. Cutting FAU's budget will hurt not only the students, faculty and staff directly, but also the community at large..."Florida Atlantic University has an estimated economic impact of $4 billion annually in its six-county service region, according to a recently released sponsored project report to the Board of Governors of the State University System of Florida. The study was led by Alan W. Hodges, Ph.D., at the University of Florida, and Julie Harrington, Ph.D., at Florida State University. To put it into perspective, the $4 billion economic impact is the equivalent impact of 10 Super Bowls, 15 Oasis of the Seas cruises or seven Fort Lauderdale boat shows. The report also states that FAU has had a positive direct or indirect impact on 59,000 full-time and part-time jobs across the service region. According to the study, present value over a 30-year period of a bachelor’s degree from a state university in Florida is $550,000, while a graduate degree is worth $1.87 million." In terms of percentage of gross national product, the economic impact resulting from an SUS-earned degree is comparable to the economic impact of all defense spending in Florida — 7.25 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively," Harrington said.” “The study found that the 11 public universities had a nearly $52 billion value-added economic impact on the state's economy during the 2009-2010 fiscal year, which ended in June 2010. That represents a little more than 7.25 percent of the state's total economic activity and includes regional multiplier effects produced by government and household spending by those who work for, attend or conduct business related to the State University System. The economists estimated that the universities and related businesses are responsible directly and indirectly for about 771,000 jobs in the state, or 7.9 percent of the state's work force. The study did not include spending on college sports events, nor did it include spending by university technology "spinoff" companies.” Since 2008, state spending on education has dropped by 24 percent. 2. Budget cuts to FAU and the State University System will affect the long-term development of industries and jobs and the earning potential of Florida's residents for years to come. If well-educated workers are unavailable companies won't be attracted to Florida. If Florida doesn't have well-paying jobs the individual earning power of Florida residents will be affected. This in turn will affect their spending power and Florida’s overall economy. “A new economic study suggests that having a degree from one of Florida's 11 state universities can be a financial lifesaver — equivalent to more than $1 million in a worker's lifetime earnings. Using data from the state's Department of Education, the study found these average annual earnings for Florida high school and university graduates in fiscal year 2009-2010 who were employed in Florida that year: those with a high school diploma, $20,924; those with a bachelor's degree, $36,520; those with a master's degree, $58,698; those with a doctorate, $66,743, and professionals, such as physicians or attorneys, $70,716. The salary gap between college degree holders and those with high school diplomas was not unexpected, but the results were substantive nonetheless, Harrington said. The Board of Governors of the State University System (SUS) requested the economic study to update earlier figures, said Julie Harrington, director of Florida State University's Center for Economic Forecasting and Analysis. The team included economists from FSU and the University of Florida.” Sources: http://www.fred.ifas.ufl.edu/economic-impact-analysis/pdf/SUS-of-Florida-FY-2009-10.pdf https://fauf.fau.edu/wordpress/?p=3648 http://www.fsu.edu/news/2012/02/14/bog.study/ http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/us/florida-set-for-new-cut-in-spending-on-colleges.html?_r=1&hp http://www.fau.edu/mediarelations/releases0212/021222.php
    560 of 600 Signatures
    Created by Owl Fan
  • Include eyes, ears and teeth in Medicare
    Currently, Medicare pays for routine eye exams, but does not pay for glasses, especially not bifoals or trifocals, unless a senior has had glaucoma surgery (which it does cover). Medicare does not cover routine hearing exams or hearing aids of any type, despite the fact that most seniors need these. Medicare will not cover routine dental checkups, cleanings or pay for fillings, and will never pay for dentures, although a large proportion of seniors need dentures. Why are these parts of the body not included in our Medicare coverage? Seniors have problems with their eyes, ears, teeth, that need to be taken care of. Medicare should include all health-related issues, not ignore some for unknown reasons.
    32 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Joby McClendon
  • End Political Privilege
    end special treatment for politicians
    1 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Gary Esmond
  • U.S. Trademarks and Patents
    U.S. Trademarks and Patents are impossible to obtain without thousands of dollars. President Obama has spoken about the importance of U.S. inventions being made in the U.S. The President and the U.S. Congress members are capable of making the application process easier and prices lowered for average Americans.
    2 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Lolita Smith
  • Talking on phone in a Commerical Truck
    This is about a law already on the books. About cars and talking on texting. Right now the Commerical Trucking businesses get hit with higher fees because its a commerical trucking business. I do not think that this is fair. Everyone should pay the same thing when it comes down to a violation in a truck or a car.
    2 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Lucia Ann Huffman
  • Stop the THC Crackdown
    The Obama administration has broken its word. When Obama was running for office, he promised he would leave the question of the use of medical marijuana to state law. In December the DOJ began raiding marijuana growers and dispenseries in California. Now the effort is spreading, next is Colorado, which makes $2.3 billion in taxes for the state from the sale of medMJ. Despite what the DOJ claims most MedMJ is for treatment og chronic pain
    7 of 100 Signatures
    Created by GEORGE S MEYER
  • Pay Raise for Senators / Represenatives
    This is about Congressional Senators and Represenatives that feel that they are entittled to a pay raise. Right now the way the ecomony is i tend to disagree . Many people are out of work and i firmly believe that this money allocated for them should be spent more wisely.
    1 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Lucia Ann Huffman
  • Stop Selling Our Country
    Big money is buying our elections and the running of our country. It should be against the law to spend ANY money on running for public office. We, the government should allot a finite amount of equal time, donated by the media, to be spent on explaining stances on issues and could not be used to talk about opponents, for each candidate that had a determined number of potential supporters signing a petiton to run.
    1 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Jeraldine Mordaunt
  • CONGRESS' PENSION DEAL IS BETTER THAN OTHER FEDERAL WORKERS!
    Members of Congress will get more lucrative pensions than new federal employees under a little-known provision in the bill that extends payroll tax relief and unemployment insurance. Congressmen will retain a luxurious benefit that lets them retire years earlier than federal workers, without any reduction in their pension. They will be able to retire at age 50 with 20 years of service without the significant penalty most federal employees receive for retiring early. Federal employees’ pension will be reduced by 50 percent for retiring early while the congressman will be able to retire years earlier and start receiving their full pension immediately.
    69 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Franklin Marshall
  • Hawthorne Deserves Better
    We don't feel that Walmart is a good fit for our community and is absolutely a step in the wrong direction. Hawthorne deserves better.
    3 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Hawthorne Deserves Better
  • US Congress/President: Reign In Lobbyist Money/Gifts
    Stopping the conflict of interests/undo influence between the congress/president/federal agency officials AND lobbyists, arising from gifting/giving money to them. This is critical to citizens having equal input/fair outcomes to/from their elected/appointed officials. As an adjunct to this, the FCC should require, as part of broadcasting licensure, euqal time for candidates to represent themselves on television--with nominal fees, if any, for their appearances. Corporations should only be allowed to contribute to campaigns in the amount equal to an individual.
    1 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Joseph Sherman