Jason Smith, Vice President of Midland Communications, to Share His Vision on the Future of Unified Communications

DAVENPORT, IA - June 5, 2012 - Midland Communications, a leading provider of unified communications, announced today that Vice President, Jason Smith, has been invited by Technology Assurance Group (TAG), an international organization representing nearly $350 million in products and services in the industry, to share his vision on the future of unified communications with some of the industry's top manufacturers, vendors, suppliers and resellers at TAG's national convention. The 12th Annual TAG Convention will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana on September 9th-12th.
With more and more businesses headed to the cloud, networking and IT infrastructure has grown substantially more complex in the past year. Today's unified communications providers require unprecedented levels of technical expertise, industry foresight and customer service in order to remain competitive. Midland Communications has been invited to attend this year's convention due to its superiority in each of these areas.
"Midland Communications has dominated their marketplace for quite some time," states Brian Suerth, Executive Vice President & Partner of TAG. "They are continually striving to stay on the leading edge of technology, and that's why no one can compete with them. Midland Communications knows what's coming down the pipeline and how it's going to ultimately affect their customers. That's why they are able to proactively support their customers and implement powerful technologies before their competitors even realize that they're behind the curve."
Several industry topics will be covered at the convention and best business practices will be revealed in areas ranging from cloud technologies, virtualization, hosted solutions, managed IT services to customer service. "The only constant in life is that it never stops changing. It's no different in our industry," commented Jason Smith, Vice President of Midland Communications. "That's why we continue to remain active in the industry and share our views at these kinds of events. We always come back to the office with something new and valuable that we can pass on to our customers. We're passionate about what we do and we feel that it's our duty to our customers to find out what's on the horizon. We're often able to leverage new developments and find ways to boost our customers' productivity, and more importantly, their bottom line profitability."
Midland Communications is among the top unified communications providers in the nation and its success is due largely to its innovative approach to business.

ABOUT MIDLAND COMMUNICATIONS

Midland Communications began more than 60 years ago in 1946 as the Worldwide Marketing Arm of Victor-Animagraph Projectors. In 1977 a communications division was formed due to a partnership with NEC America. Today, As a distributor of NEC America, for 33 years, Midland Communications has a customer base of more than 3,000 satisfied customers that include general businesses, government agencies, Universities, colleges, hospitals, and hotels.
Midland provides a wide range of communication services including VOIP, PBX and key systems, Wide Area and Local Area networking, computers, Computer integration, voice mail, CCIS, and video conferencing and paging systems. Our philosophy is simple, provide quality products at a fair price, backed by an average emergency response time of twenty minutes, and the best service in the industry. For more information on Midland Communications, call (563) 326-1237 or visit www.midlandcom.com.


ABOUT TECHNOLOGY ASSURANCE GROUP (TAG)

Technology Assurance Group, LLC (TAG) is an international organization of leading independently owned unified communications companies. TAG provides its members with the competitive advantages necessary to achieve a dominant position in their marketplace. Members benefit from programs including strategic partnerships with communication solution providers, best business and management practices, and advanced sales training programs.  TAG's mission is to increase its Members' sales and profits through education and to ease their introduction of new technology to the marketplace by leveraging their combined intellect and purchasing power. For more information on TAG, please call 858-673-5800 or visit www.tagnational.com.



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DES MOINES - Today, the Senate voted down the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would have closed loopholes that prevent women from fighting for equal pay and help stop pay discrimination before it starts. Former Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge and Iowa Women for Obama Steering Committee member released the following statement after the vote:

"We are disappointed that the Paycheck Fairness Act did not pass the Senate floor.  It would have helped ensure that all women receive equal pay for equal work.  The Act would have built on efforts by President Obama to protect and advance policies that promote fairness, equal opportunity and a level playing field for all Americans, like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

"The result of this vote could have been different if Mitt Romney had showed leadership and stood up for women and stood up to Republicans in Washington who deny millions of women a fair shot at what we've earned.  To this day, Mitt Romney has refused to support for the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Act.  Iowans were watching to see if Romney would come out on the side of women and equal rights, but instead we saw yet another example of his failed leadership on women's issues."

"Congress needs to remember that denying equal pay for equal work doesn't just discriminate against women - it also jeopardizes the economic security of families across the country."

New graduates have good reason to celebrate their academic achievements.  After all, on average, a college degree remains a good indicator for boosting one's lifetime earning potential.  For many Americans, a college education is a lasting investment in future economic mobility.

 

After the gilded glow of the cap and gown and the pomp and circumstance of the commencement ceremony fade into memory, reality sets in.  The soaring costs of higher education and growing student debt are climbing to unprecedented levels.

 

College debt creates a significant financial burden on many new graduates.  For those fortunate to land a job in the still struggling economy, many will discover how hard it is to stretch a paycheck to cover the bills.  Making ends meet - let alone trying to get ahead - is that much harder with more than $1 trillion in outstanding student loans in the United States.

 

The lion's share of four-year degree recipients borrows money to attend college.  The percentage has increased from 45 percent to about 66 percent in the last decade.  After these graduates rejoice in flipping their tassels to the other side of the mortarboard, they not only walk away with a diploma, but they also walk away with an average debt of $23,000.  That figure jumps to nearly $50,000 for less affluent students who choose to attend private colleges and receive less need-based financial aid.

 

So, what factors are causing the explosion in college tuition?  And, does the student's debt burden square with his or her earning potential post-graduation?

 

In the U.S. Senate, I've led efforts to make it easier for families to save for college.  In the landmark 2001 federal tax laws, I secured a provision to make tax-free savings plans for college a permanent part of the tax code.  Encouraging families to save for college rather than relying on student loans can help many future graduates get off to a stronger start after graduation.  As then-Chairman of the Senate tax-writing committee, I also helped secure the tax deduction for college tuition and the tax deductibility of interest on student loans.

 

Now, even the longstanding sky-high rate of medical spending in the United States is less than the exploding growth of college tuition and fees.  Public policy needs to find a better way to expose the true costs of paying for a higher education and educate consumers.  That's why I'm working to give American families better tools to make informed decisions when sending their students off to college.  More useful information is necessary to help students check the value and earning potential of various college degrees.  Not all degrees are created equal.  Congress should have a serious debate about helping members of the next generation find the best path for their own personal pursuit of happiness as productive members of society.  Those pathways ought to be as broad and diverse as the next generation, from military and public service to vocational training, college, and post-graduate degrees.

 

My efforts to address escalating tuition hikes and student debt include my crusade to shine a bright light on public and non-profit private colleges with well-funded endowments that park their assets in tax-preferred vehicles.  Hoarding exorbitant assets in tax-preferred "rainy day funds" ought to be redirected towards lowering tuition for students and their families.  Through my rigorous oversight of the tax-exempt sector, including universities, hospitals and media-based ministries, I'm working to make sure non-profits are holding up their end of the bargain for the public good.  Tax-exempt colleges bear a unique responsibility to leverage their tax-advantaged resources to educate the public.  That's why I spearhead efforts to bring greater transparency to college revenues and expenses.  The public has a right to know how tax-advantaged dollars at tax-exempt higher education institutions square with their mission.  My review of soaring growth at college endowment funds a few years ago prompted several prominent schools to offer more generous student aid assistance.  As public awareness builds, let's hope the trend continues.  Whereas attending college is not an entitlement, colleges that benefit from tax-advantaged vehicles and tax-exempt status do bear a social contract to make higher education more affordable and accessible to the public.

 

Congress can take steps aimed at reining in college costs.  In May, I joined bipartisan forces in the U.S. Senate to try to bring greater transparency to the true cost of college tuition and fees.  The bill we proposed would cut through the clutter of financial aid letters that families receive from prospective colleges.  Decoding these letters to understand what is actually given, borrowed and owed can be next to impossible.  By having a clear picture in standardized language what students' debt burden will be after graduation, families would have an apples-to-apples cost-comparison to make with other colleges.  This ought to help students avoid taking on excessive debt and become more discriminating shoppers.  That alone could help control the soaring costs of college.  Colleges are increasingly competing to one-up each other to attract students, either through apartment-style housing, gourmet food services or amazing amenities that other institutions cannot match.  Empowering students and their families with better information about the cost and worth of a degree would help spark a race among colleges to provide a high-quality education at a good price.

 

Diplomas tied down with overwhelming student debt make it harder for the next generation to scale the ladder of opportunity.

 

Monday, June 4, 2012

Q:        What is required of Congress in making a budget plan?

A:        The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 says Congress should annually adopt a budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year and at least the following four fiscal years.  The annual budget is to be adopted as a concurrent resolution, so it is not presented to the President for his signature and doesn't become law.  Rather, when adopted by Congress, the budget resolution is as an agreement between the House and Senate on a congressional budget plan.  It provides the budget framework for subsequent legislative action during each congressional session.

Q:        Is there an annual deadline?

A:        The congressional budget timetable sets April 15 as a target date for completing action on the annual budget resolution.  Before 1986, the date was May 15.  According to the Congressional Research Service, budget resolutions have been adopted, on average, almost 37 days after the target date.

 

Q:        How is it that the Senate hasn't passed a budget for more than three years?

A:        The Senate last adopted a budget resolution on April 29, 2009.  Since then, the majority leadership of the Senate has not produced even a proposal for consideration.  The only conclusion a person can draw is that the Democratic leadership either doesn't have a plan or doesn't want its fingerprints on one.

 

Q:        The President proposed a budget; why not just use that?

A:        The President's budget proposal has been unanimously rejected.  In April, the House of Representatives voted 414 to 0 against President Obama's budget.  In May, the Senate voted 99 to 0 against the President's budget.  President Obama's proposal would do little to change the nation's dangerously unsustainable debt path.  And, rather than reduce spending, President Obama proposed $2 trillion in tax increases to increase government spending above current levels.  The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the President's policies would lead to a fifth consecutive year of $1 trillion deficits, 2009 to 2013.  In addition, under the President's plan, after 10 years, the national debt would be 76.5 percent of America's gross domestic product.  The historical average since World War II is just 43 percent.

Q:        What are the repercussions of the Senate's not passing a budget?

A:        As President Obama has said, the annual budget is "an economic blueprint for this nation's future."  A budget blueprint would lay out priorities for deficit reduction, economic growth or a path to balance.  Today, along with having now gone more than three years without a budget, America is in the midst of the fourth consecutive year of trillion-dollar deficits.  Yet, there is no one in the Democratic leadership, which controls the U.S. Senate, willing to take charge, even while our nation continues on a path of deficits and debt.  Republican senators offered three alternative budgets for consideration this year, yet all were rejected by the Democratic majority.  The President has refused to get involved in a serious way to provide moral and political leadership.  Instead, a commitment to solutions is needed for today and future generations.

Monday, June 4, 2012