Land O Links

TASTY SAVIOR?: An economics blogger argues that Chelsea-based Jiffy Mix can help cure what ails America. (Bridge archive photo)

*Jiffy Mix, the purveyor of delicious cornbread and muffin concoctions, has been given quite a responsibility: Save America.

In his "7 reasons this muffin mix can save America," Cory Suter argues:

1. "Jiffy mix sells over 55% of all muffin mixes in the United States, but doesn't spend a dime on advertising."

2. "Jiffy mix denies Wall Street a chance to make money from other people's work."

*A 2,600-square-foot Tudor-style home in Detroit almost was sold for $150,000. That bargain deal, however, fell through because no bank would finance the purchase – a consequence of the foreclosure epidemic in the city.

In response, a nonprofit group is calling for a $40 million public loan program to bring sanity to the Detroit housing market. 

*A report on voting precinct lines found a disturbing contrast in how long voters were inconvenienced in 2012: “Viewed nationally, African Americans waited an average of 23 minutes to vote, compared to 12 minutes for whites; Hispanics waited 19 minutes. While there are other individual-level demographic difference present in the responses, none stands out as much as race.”

One way to relieve strain on polling places on Election Day is to allow more people to vote early. Unfortunately, the bid to liberalize Michigan’s rules on absentee ballots can’t seem to translate its numerous legislative friends into actual legislative progress. 

*The environment doesn't care about a person's or culture's views on what is and isn't good science: "'Texas does not and will not have enough water' in a bad drought, the state’s water plan warned last year. More than two dozen communities could run out of water in 180 days, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Looking ahead, the already-dry western half of the state is expected to be hit particularly hard by climate change. State leaders generally accept such projections, even as they question the scientific consensus that humans are a major cause of climate change."

*In "Why we need to stop exaggerating the threat to cops," Radley Balko notes, "Last year was the safest year for cops since the early 1960s. And it isn't just because the police are carrying bigger guns or have better armor. Assaults on police officers have been dropping over the same period. Which means that not only are fewer cops getting killed on the job, people in general are less inclined to try to hurt them. Yes, working as a police officer is still more dangerous than, say, working as a journalist. (Or at least a journalist here in the U.S.) But a cop today is about as likely to be murdered on the job as someone who merely resides in about half of the country's 75 largest cities."