This past week during the mainstream media coverage of the Weiner Saga and Casey Anthony highly publicized mock trial, there were mixed in reports on the continuing budget political in-fighting and fiasco, and an associated report on the boomers and how retirement for them may be postponed - until most of them are likely dead by 80.
What has been truly laughable about all of this is the fact that the boomers, more than any other generation before, have paid in more to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid than any prior generation, or the ones following.
Medicare, after all, was legislation that was established and included with the Social Security overhaul of 1965 under Lyndon Johnson. So anyone who began working prior to 1965 and who has not retired has contributed more really than those born before during the prior generations.
And the boomers, after all, are the largest generation and then subsequently had the fewest children due to the "discovery" of birth control in the 1960's. And also due to those "Zero Population Growth" wackos and their agendas who focused on U.S. birth rates, (thus also Roe and its ramifications which have even been expanded affording almost unrestricted late term abortions even which were not addressed by those Supremes since that decision was handed down in the early 70's) now instead support unlimited immigration and taking in all those war refugees from all the wars we have been unconstitutionally involved with since the 60's, in addition to then educating the "brightest" and most "promising" young people from other countries at U.S. taxpayer's expense, rather than our own youth in the name of "diversity."
I hope AARP and Betty White get the message, with all those flyers and advertisements that most boomers began receiving at 50. We most likely will not live long enough to enjoy all those cruises or have enough money to buy all those low cost term and whole life policies, or even those much ballyhooed Medicare supplements.
It has been interesting to see how both political parties continue to portray Social Security as a "broke" program, and bad mouth these taxpayer funded "entitlement" programs which involve these also ever expanding tax rates taken out of their pay before they even get what is left.
I mean, in my immediate family and my ex-spouse's, there have been several members that unfortunately passed on prior to reaching age 62, much less 65 or 80. Both my spouse's parents passed away at 36 and 54 respectively. An uncle of mine at 60. A brother-in-law's brother at 48.
All had contributed during their lifetimes to those programs, yet had received not one penny of those benefits for themselves.
Few qualify for Medicaid, since you do have to be under the poverty level in order to qualify with no real assets left. In other words, you are homeless and most likely in ill health as a result, but at least part of your prescriptions are paid.
While we then also create more and more sick veterans who will need treatment for those PTSD drugs and counseling, literally tens of thousands in the past ten years alone from both Iraq and Afghanistan. I heard there are now 5 million less men than women in this country now due to this war - I guess a statistic that just thrills the average male noncombatant, in order to also, too, make room for more foreigners and immigrants to repopulate and re-educate in the "new" American history being taught in our schools.
Also missed is the fact that in most unemployment offices throughout the country, the people on those computers searching for jobs (and for one legitimate listing are about six illegitimate ones used for the ad revenues those job postings generate) are those over 40.
Perhaps the reason so many boomers are having trouble finding work has nothing to do with all those articles written by those job center employees or their paid writers, portraying most boomers as "not tech savvy" enough for the new job market, or not flexible enough to work under people less than half their ages, in many cases, and unable to resist parenting all those up and coming CEOs and higher level management personnel or giving them in politically incorrect terms the benefit of their literally years and years of experience and training many times filling the positions which are now denied them.
Perhaps it is the fault of many of those "post application" questions which you are advised during the online application process are "voluntary?"
Like those tax credit questions.
Are you Hispanic? (A "no" on this one will get you another drop down box where you can fill in what ethnic group or race you are other than Hispanic).
Are you under 40? (Used to be "50 or over" for those tax credits - maybe this is why there are so many blond 20 somethings on FOX as political analysts, "lawyers" and commentators?)
Are you a veteran?
Are you on Social Security, Aid to Dependent Children, or any other form of state or federal low income subsidy?
If not, even with those all important key words and enhanced resumes, your application will go to the bottom of the pile, never to be seen by those Human Resources personnel who basically read applications sort of like the average citizen searches the Internet, using only the first page of the Goggle results in order to make their purchase, or get their information. And then soon, you too will qualify when you can answer "yes" to at least that government subsidy question, but the jobs you envision will not at all be one in which you have any prior experience, or training most likely but those created under those "jobs" bills in order to work for your lower welfare "work" subsidy.
Obama and the Democratic Party are now stating that perhaps the reason so many are not working is due to "technology," and the fact that so many jobs have gone the way of the dinosaur due to the tech sector's time saving gadgets. Time savings that are not "passed on" to the public, instead the expensive costs of those gadgets upping the costs for most goods and services.
Of course, this position has been mentioned while the 2012 elections are in full swing, in order to garner the votes of those unemployed and underemployed, and after signing all those appropriations bills for those grants that have fed this sector lo these many years, and their outsourcing and jobs killing agendas. Not to mention also the security risks with Americans personal and financial information in their databases waiting for the next huge "hacker" story, in order to feed the identity theft "new jobs" sector using crime itself as a job stimulus.
Gee, the boomers came to that conclusion over thirty years ago when all those monies started getting earmarked for the technology sector at the cost of almost every other sector (other than medicine, another heavily dependent on those devices and computers to streamline the delivery of healthcare, of course, at higher and higher costs).
Maybe it is due to the fact that even most of those technology jobs that even are left, have gone to India then progressively.
While most of the construction jobs, those there are on these shores and not in Afghanistan or Iraq, have gone to the Mexican illegals.
And manufacturing jobs to China.
I heard several members of Congress from Arizona, my former home state, also were sponsors of a bill to provide unemployment benefits to Americans whose jobs were lost due to "globalization."
Is this insanity, or what?
Showing posts with label jobless. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jobless. Show all posts
Monday, June 20, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Federal Taxpayer Monies Go To Study The Unemployed
As one who has been seeking employment in several fields for many months as are literally thousands of other Americans, especially the empty nesters now in the boomer generation, last week while visiting the local job force center I was amazed to see just where some of those stimulus monies are now going.
Posted throughout the center were advertisements from a local college requesting the jobless to be interviewed or videotaped in order to "tell their story" about their quests to seek work in this depressive U.S. economy by both the unemployed and underemployed.
The work force center, of course, was packed and every single computer was taken, even those in the overflow rooms.
Seminars on resume writing, computer skills and training, and even mock interviewing are also provided by the local communities through federal grants aimed at "getting Americans back to work." Putting many people to work or providing jobs aimed at both studying and assisting the jobless. Of course, many are jobless due to the fact that most of those jobs are taken by former state workers and teachers who are already collecting pensions or retirement from their former governmental positions, or students who go unpaid but are getting their credit hours at the unemployed's expense.
Connections with also local social services agencies or taxpayer funded special interest groups receiving federal grants aimed at assisting the jobless are also provided, along with classroom space and time.
Most of these centers also contain individuals who "market" to the unemployed, as if they had the monies to even pay for their services, rather than their rent or utilities with what little savings they have left, or their unemployment.
A changed job market (with online applications which take over an hour each to complete using "keywords" that will set your resume apart from the pack) and fewer and fewer jobs due to the tech focuses of many industries which have outsourced or computerized all those former jobs resulting in fewer middle income positions is this boomer's opinion.
With the majority of those jobs paying less than $11.00 per hour, especially those call center jobs which are nothing more than mills due to the focus on gaining those training dollars and meeting conflicting performance matrixes, rather than employee development and retention just might also be at work here. I mean most of those large cell phone companies and insurers and financial concerns which have seen better days did grab at those billions in stimulus monies, and of course big brother never gives without having at least some strings attached. Most are "temp" jobs actually due to the actual working conditions and performance standards which must be met in order for those employees to "earn back" some of their taxpayer dollars since, of course, most of those businesses would like to keep as much of those stimulus monies for corporate profits rather than providing new jobs as they can.
Recently, I saw a job posted by a local real estate company asking for an administrative assistant (with graphic design skills). The individual would be responsible for handling creating all the flyers and brochures on a weekly and monthly basis for all the agents in several publications which were used by the company each week/month to stimulate their sales, tracking the agents sales and listings, handling any and all secretarial/administrative tasks assigned and creating and maintaining spreadsheets and reports for the company.
It was represented as a part-time position of 30 hours per week paying $11.00 per hour, which "might" go to full time in a few months as "anticipated" sales increased.
A local bank just announced that it will now be charging its customers for using their ATM cards to check their balances, rather than using the internet and raising its minimum balances for free checking and upping its monthly fees for accounts under those minimums by about 40%. About the same amount Americans now face in raising gas prices throughout the nation, post Deepwater and the greed of the global oil industry during both this war, and after that disaster.
Bet those observations don't make the final cut.
Posted throughout the center were advertisements from a local college requesting the jobless to be interviewed or videotaped in order to "tell their story" about their quests to seek work in this depressive U.S. economy by both the unemployed and underemployed.
The work force center, of course, was packed and every single computer was taken, even those in the overflow rooms.
Seminars on resume writing, computer skills and training, and even mock interviewing are also provided by the local communities through federal grants aimed at "getting Americans back to work." Putting many people to work or providing jobs aimed at both studying and assisting the jobless. Of course, many are jobless due to the fact that most of those jobs are taken by former state workers and teachers who are already collecting pensions or retirement from their former governmental positions, or students who go unpaid but are getting their credit hours at the unemployed's expense.
Connections with also local social services agencies or taxpayer funded special interest groups receiving federal grants aimed at assisting the jobless are also provided, along with classroom space and time.
Most of these centers also contain individuals who "market" to the unemployed, as if they had the monies to even pay for their services, rather than their rent or utilities with what little savings they have left, or their unemployment.
A changed job market (with online applications which take over an hour each to complete using "keywords" that will set your resume apart from the pack) and fewer and fewer jobs due to the tech focuses of many industries which have outsourced or computerized all those former jobs resulting in fewer middle income positions is this boomer's opinion.
With the majority of those jobs paying less than $11.00 per hour, especially those call center jobs which are nothing more than mills due to the focus on gaining those training dollars and meeting conflicting performance matrixes, rather than employee development and retention just might also be at work here. I mean most of those large cell phone companies and insurers and financial concerns which have seen better days did grab at those billions in stimulus monies, and of course big brother never gives without having at least some strings attached. Most are "temp" jobs actually due to the actual working conditions and performance standards which must be met in order for those employees to "earn back" some of their taxpayer dollars since, of course, most of those businesses would like to keep as much of those stimulus monies for corporate profits rather than providing new jobs as they can.
Recently, I saw a job posted by a local real estate company asking for an administrative assistant (with graphic design skills). The individual would be responsible for handling creating all the flyers and brochures on a weekly and monthly basis for all the agents in several publications which were used by the company each week/month to stimulate their sales, tracking the agents sales and listings, handling any and all secretarial/administrative tasks assigned and creating and maintaining spreadsheets and reports for the company.
It was represented as a part-time position of 30 hours per week paying $11.00 per hour, which "might" go to full time in a few months as "anticipated" sales increased.
A local bank just announced that it will now be charging its customers for using their ATM cards to check their balances, rather than using the internet and raising its minimum balances for free checking and upping its monthly fees for accounts under those minimums by about 40%. About the same amount Americans now face in raising gas prices throughout the nation, post Deepwater and the greed of the global oil industry during both this war, and after that disaster.
Bet those observations don't make the final cut.
Friday, February 5, 2010
APP Reports Decrease in American Unemployment Rate
The APP (American Propaganda Press) reported today that unemployment figures are in, and according to the U.S. Department of Labor there was a slight decrease in the number of unemployed Americans for January over December, from 10 percent to 9.7%.
I suppose a .3 percent decrease warrants heralding by the press corp and Obama Administration. However, it does appear that several factors have been left out of the equation since the U.S. Department of Labor basically uses the amount of Americans that are collecting unemployment as their guideline in their reporting figures most of all.
Without, of course, reporting that many Americans are still quite jobless (and homelessness is increasing in the West and Southwest particularly) and have simply run out of their unemployment benefits at this point in this almost four year economic depression which began in earnest during the summer of 2006 under a Republican president and Democratic Congress (including Mr. Obama).
Also, those figures are offset by the number of "new jobs" the Obama Administration has created at the cost of the American taxpayers in further expanding governmental jobs, especially in the gadget and spying on Americans industry, most of which are employed by that governmental agency and department created by the Bush Administration post 9-11, the Department of Homeland Insecurity.
The Department that believes that using gadgets primarily strip searching Americans and expanding Silicon Valley's bottom lines is less costly and more effective and efficient than truly securing our national borders with Mexico and Canada per the 2006 Secure Fence Act (even in going so far as Congress appropriating and giving more and more foreign aid to Mexico so that the Mexican government can "buy" some of Silicon Valley's gadets which are then billed to the American people under that SPP (Security and Prosperity Partnership "No Trade" Agreement and while California still cries poverty due to its extra-Constitutional excesses over the years under Mr. Schwartzenegger).
Of course, most of those terrorists, drug cartel members, human smugglers and auto theft rings that operate cross borders do not enter this country at the ports of entry but in the middle of the desert in the middle of the night.
The West and Southwest, due also to this manipulated economic crisis for the international bankers, Wall Street and the global stock exchanges now has more Canadians full time and "part time" winter or seasonal home owners living there due to their higher currency rate actually than illegal Mexicans. Who only live there during about six months of the year, but for which the American and Arizona residents have paid the bulk of those taxes funding all the programs, extra roads, golf courses, fountains and such that this mecca for the Canadian (and East Coast) snow birds demand.
And the numbers are increasing, since there are also quite a few British and Canadians moving into Louisiana and the New Orleans area post Katrina.
In fact, I was informed there is a local city ordinance which has been enacted by the City of New Orleans calling for a deadline for people who lost their homes during the hurricane to either rebuild, or forfeit their land and ownership rights.
The ultimate tragedy, it appears, is going to be used by the government in order to facilitate the ultimate land grabs for the state and city coffers, developers and foreigners - Brad Pitt's efforts notwithstanding.
And with that latest Supreme Court decision which came down the pike for the financial sector and industries eventual benefit now that the corporate lawyers are lining up in order to expand the applicability of that redefinition of the American citizens (not corporate special interests) First Amendment protections, I just wonder how long it will be before all land in this country is "corporately" owned and all those company towns circa the 1800's are re-established as MacDonaldsville, DuPontville and Microsoft City?
The only new jobs which have been created actually have been in the science and technology propaganda fields (global warming) and "spying on Americans" government jobs at this point.
While our industrial and manufacturing base (especially the U.S. auto industry, one of our primary exports in years gone by) has been outsourced by this Administration, as with the last Administration in their "go global" globalists beliefs, to China, India and Mexico, and our military are now protecting and defending those foreign plants and workers in foreign nations more and more, not to mention foreign governments such as our continued involvement with Israel, which to many Americans at this point should be simply declared another U.S. territory or state with all the military and financial support it has been given since World War II, even after its development of its own crack military and nuclear bomb capabilities.
Mention in the article was made of the "devastated" construction industry.
Say what?
In Louisiana, Texas and Florida the construction industry is the only sector that has seen an increase in jobs due to the numerous disasters which have occurred in that region, and most of the hotels and such are full of government contractor and other construction related employees and where most of the hotel industry is getting their revenue at this point, in addition to those winter visitors to DisneyWorld from Canada and Japan.
Problem is, most of those construction workers are also "outsourced" workers either from other states (as one family member of a local construction company in Louisiana related to me upon a visit to New Orleans recently since I have family living there), or from Mexico.
Relying on the U.S. Department of Labor for such statistical data does appear that our fourth estate is now also the beneficiary of outsourcing to both foreigners (as with the purchase of a great deal of our print and television media by a former Brit), and U.S.A., Inc. itself.
http://enews.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20100205/c525c829-b013-4915-9b57-884960e17075
I suppose a .3 percent decrease warrants heralding by the press corp and Obama Administration. However, it does appear that several factors have been left out of the equation since the U.S. Department of Labor basically uses the amount of Americans that are collecting unemployment as their guideline in their reporting figures most of all.
Without, of course, reporting that many Americans are still quite jobless (and homelessness is increasing in the West and Southwest particularly) and have simply run out of their unemployment benefits at this point in this almost four year economic depression which began in earnest during the summer of 2006 under a Republican president and Democratic Congress (including Mr. Obama).
Also, those figures are offset by the number of "new jobs" the Obama Administration has created at the cost of the American taxpayers in further expanding governmental jobs, especially in the gadget and spying on Americans industry, most of which are employed by that governmental agency and department created by the Bush Administration post 9-11, the Department of Homeland Insecurity.
The Department that believes that using gadgets primarily strip searching Americans and expanding Silicon Valley's bottom lines is less costly and more effective and efficient than truly securing our national borders with Mexico and Canada per the 2006 Secure Fence Act (even in going so far as Congress appropriating and giving more and more foreign aid to Mexico so that the Mexican government can "buy" some of Silicon Valley's gadets which are then billed to the American people under that SPP (Security and Prosperity Partnership "No Trade" Agreement and while California still cries poverty due to its extra-Constitutional excesses over the years under Mr. Schwartzenegger).
Of course, most of those terrorists, drug cartel members, human smugglers and auto theft rings that operate cross borders do not enter this country at the ports of entry but in the middle of the desert in the middle of the night.
The West and Southwest, due also to this manipulated economic crisis for the international bankers, Wall Street and the global stock exchanges now has more Canadians full time and "part time" winter or seasonal home owners living there due to their higher currency rate actually than illegal Mexicans. Who only live there during about six months of the year, but for which the American and Arizona residents have paid the bulk of those taxes funding all the programs, extra roads, golf courses, fountains and such that this mecca for the Canadian (and East Coast) snow birds demand.
And the numbers are increasing, since there are also quite a few British and Canadians moving into Louisiana and the New Orleans area post Katrina.
In fact, I was informed there is a local city ordinance which has been enacted by the City of New Orleans calling for a deadline for people who lost their homes during the hurricane to either rebuild, or forfeit their land and ownership rights.
The ultimate tragedy, it appears, is going to be used by the government in order to facilitate the ultimate land grabs for the state and city coffers, developers and foreigners - Brad Pitt's efforts notwithstanding.
And with that latest Supreme Court decision which came down the pike for the financial sector and industries eventual benefit now that the corporate lawyers are lining up in order to expand the applicability of that redefinition of the American citizens (not corporate special interests) First Amendment protections, I just wonder how long it will be before all land in this country is "corporately" owned and all those company towns circa the 1800's are re-established as MacDonaldsville, DuPontville and Microsoft City?
The only new jobs which have been created actually have been in the science and technology propaganda fields (global warming) and "spying on Americans" government jobs at this point.
While our industrial and manufacturing base (especially the U.S. auto industry, one of our primary exports in years gone by) has been outsourced by this Administration, as with the last Administration in their "go global" globalists beliefs, to China, India and Mexico, and our military are now protecting and defending those foreign plants and workers in foreign nations more and more, not to mention foreign governments such as our continued involvement with Israel, which to many Americans at this point should be simply declared another U.S. territory or state with all the military and financial support it has been given since World War II, even after its development of its own crack military and nuclear bomb capabilities.
Mention in the article was made of the "devastated" construction industry.
Say what?
In Louisiana, Texas and Florida the construction industry is the only sector that has seen an increase in jobs due to the numerous disasters which have occurred in that region, and most of the hotels and such are full of government contractor and other construction related employees and where most of the hotel industry is getting their revenue at this point, in addition to those winter visitors to DisneyWorld from Canada and Japan.
Problem is, most of those construction workers are also "outsourced" workers either from other states (as one family member of a local construction company in Louisiana related to me upon a visit to New Orleans recently since I have family living there), or from Mexico.
Relying on the U.S. Department of Labor for such statistical data does appear that our fourth estate is now also the beneficiary of outsourcing to both foreigners (as with the purchase of a great deal of our print and television media by a former Brit), and U.S.A., Inc. itself.
http://enews.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20100205/c525c829-b013-4915-9b57-884960e17075
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Jobless Rate Shows Minor Decline: Happy Days Are Here Again?
For Any And All Conserve-ative Constitutionalists:
It was reported in the mainstream media today that the jobless rate had a minor decline the month of July, the first such decline since August of 2008, with the Obama Administration then taking credit and predicting this was a "strong indication" that perhaps the jobless rates and unemployment would begin to correct after the losses which have occured this past few years.
The jobless rate according to the Department of Labor is hovering at about 9%. I would say those figures would be low, since it doesn't take into consideration those individuals who have lost their small businesses during this economic tsunami (who are not eligible to collect unemployment) nor those whose benefits have expired and are still not working with little likelihood that their situations will change anytime in the near future in their former lines of work. Also July is a big vacation month for many, and vacation pay can and is lower than workweek pay in many instances and also many are now working as temporary help for any overflow. Temporary labor needs are higher now in seasonal industries such as retailing and the needed temporary "back to school" workers specifically hired for short term employment needs.
After all, Obama himself laid off literally thousands in Detroit with the prediction that those jobs would not be coming back. So what is an ex-autoworker really to do that has spent his entire life on a production line what with the outsourcing that has occurred that has eroded our industrial base here at home to less than half it was during the Industrial Revolution which, along with our agricultural base, kept this country a major economic power for well over 150 years?
Mr. Obama and this Administration's focus is on green jobs and science based technology. In other words, promoting Silicon Valley most of all and the large public utility companies. But these measures have been tried before, in the late 1960's and 1970's and it actually was the environmentalists and such that actually prevented new energy sources from being developed and utilized during the last gasoline crisis when prices went from less than 30 cents per gallon to well over $1.00. The largest price increase since the automobile was invented by Henry Ford.
The wind tunnels and turbine energy sources were banned since none of those liberals wanted those ugly towers in their communities. Nuclear power was developed as an alternative source of energy with promises to local communities that cleaner nuclear energy would result in lower energy costs for all. What then happened after all those bond elections and federal grant and ratepayer's monies were spent to build those nuclear power plants?
Those public utility companies were then privatized by the local governments for added revenue in sales taxes, and the rate payers utility bills did not go down - they went up in order to provide for the investors dividends and other capital gains on their investment.
Thus, the costs of energy now in Phoenix who has the largest, Palo Verde Generating Station, less than 50 miles from the metro area have exploded due to its privatization and lack of any true regulation anymore by the state in the costs it now passes on to the ratepayers for their investors' profit.
And now has stooped so low as to recently institute a rate increase based upon an "inspection" done by the Federal Nuclear Regulatory Agency (instituted after both the Chernobyl and Three Mile Island disasters) supposedly calling for some expensive repairs that were then passed off once again to the rate payers for the fines and costs of bringing the plant now into compliance (although this plant is actually much newer than some on the East Coast which was finished in 1988, and thus was built after those disasters and included upgraded safety precautions and measures during its construction).
After work on Palo Verde was finished, Arizona unemployment also climbed considerably since it had started also on the science and technology bandwagon as the home of Hughes, Honeywell, and other government contractors, and its reliance on its historic sustainable industries - copper, cattle, cotton and citrus - fell by the wayside in furtherance of those objectives, and as a state marketing itself mostly to retirees for their early retirement years. In the process, the climate which had made the state a haven for those with respiratory diseases and afflictions, ended up driving out more than it brought in insofar as permanent or long term residents, which has contributed to the urban sprawl and transient nature for the majority of those that call Arizona a "temporary," at best home.
Now it is also one of the states facing the largest number of unemployed and homeless due to the mortgage foreclosure mess, since along with many of those new and "transient" residents came also the East Coast, Western and Midwest real estate speculators and land fraud "get rich quick" artists.
The focus now of the state has swung to the Obama agendas in the health care sector specifically, although at this point most of the retirees that do end up retiring in Arizona usually when their health begins to truly fail end up moving back to their homes of origin in order to be closer to extended family members.
But I digress except to make a point.
Since a good portion of the population is not at all gifted in the field of science and technology naturally, no matter how much the focus of our state and private universities and money is poured into them in order to facilitate this agenda, just where is Washington planning to "outsource" our agricultural base for all the land that is going to be needed for these wind towers, nuclear generating plants, and new "green" manufacturing plants anyway?
Are they planning on turning Kansas and Nebraska into one huge wind turbine, or nuclear generating station in order to meet the entire Northern Hemisphere's future energy needs? And the State of Texas or New Mexico into one huge solar panel for those in the Southern?
We already have the technology, but the people were not at all impressed with the technology that came along with that technology, after all, in the 1970's.
So what does Mr. Obama and this Administration think has changed since that time, other than the fact that due to those same environmentalists our petroleum reserves and offshore wells have been literally hamstrung by regulatory codes and laws on limits of production, atmospheric or environmental particulates that have been so broad based that Nebraska's farmers are fined during planting seasons for excess particulates, and we are now in wars and buying more and more foreign oil due to a segment of the population that is never satisfied no matter what "alternative" fuels or greener technology is proposed.
Including, from Mr. Obama's positions during the election campaign, himself as one of those liberal leaning wackos for whatever reason, Wall Street or his base.
So other than placing all Americans health care records on a national database and invading their rights to privacy over their most personal property and information, their very own physical health, and passing a stimulus for Wall Street again at the American public's expense fining now those power plants or setting up galactic bidding wars for Wall Street's benefit without removing the environmental restrictions which have gotten us into this mess to begin with, just where are all those now laid off GM workers and the other now unemployed going to find their own job stimulus for jobs in which they are qualified since it is clear they would also not meet the criteria for the loans now being offered up by those banks and lenders for educational purposes due to either their age, or their financial prospects and ability to repay?
I suppose what I am really saying here is that I'd put the cork back on that champagne if I were you.
It was reported in the mainstream media today that the jobless rate had a minor decline the month of July, the first such decline since August of 2008, with the Obama Administration then taking credit and predicting this was a "strong indication" that perhaps the jobless rates and unemployment would begin to correct after the losses which have occured this past few years.
The jobless rate according to the Department of Labor is hovering at about 9%. I would say those figures would be low, since it doesn't take into consideration those individuals who have lost their small businesses during this economic tsunami (who are not eligible to collect unemployment) nor those whose benefits have expired and are still not working with little likelihood that their situations will change anytime in the near future in their former lines of work. Also July is a big vacation month for many, and vacation pay can and is lower than workweek pay in many instances and also many are now working as temporary help for any overflow. Temporary labor needs are higher now in seasonal industries such as retailing and the needed temporary "back to school" workers specifically hired for short term employment needs.
After all, Obama himself laid off literally thousands in Detroit with the prediction that those jobs would not be coming back. So what is an ex-autoworker really to do that has spent his entire life on a production line what with the outsourcing that has occurred that has eroded our industrial base here at home to less than half it was during the Industrial Revolution which, along with our agricultural base, kept this country a major economic power for well over 150 years?
Mr. Obama and this Administration's focus is on green jobs and science based technology. In other words, promoting Silicon Valley most of all and the large public utility companies. But these measures have been tried before, in the late 1960's and 1970's and it actually was the environmentalists and such that actually prevented new energy sources from being developed and utilized during the last gasoline crisis when prices went from less than 30 cents per gallon to well over $1.00. The largest price increase since the automobile was invented by Henry Ford.
The wind tunnels and turbine energy sources were banned since none of those liberals wanted those ugly towers in their communities. Nuclear power was developed as an alternative source of energy with promises to local communities that cleaner nuclear energy would result in lower energy costs for all. What then happened after all those bond elections and federal grant and ratepayer's monies were spent to build those nuclear power plants?
Those public utility companies were then privatized by the local governments for added revenue in sales taxes, and the rate payers utility bills did not go down - they went up in order to provide for the investors dividends and other capital gains on their investment.
Thus, the costs of energy now in Phoenix who has the largest, Palo Verde Generating Station, less than 50 miles from the metro area have exploded due to its privatization and lack of any true regulation anymore by the state in the costs it now passes on to the ratepayers for their investors' profit.
And now has stooped so low as to recently institute a rate increase based upon an "inspection" done by the Federal Nuclear Regulatory Agency (instituted after both the Chernobyl and Three Mile Island disasters) supposedly calling for some expensive repairs that were then passed off once again to the rate payers for the fines and costs of bringing the plant now into compliance (although this plant is actually much newer than some on the East Coast which was finished in 1988, and thus was built after those disasters and included upgraded safety precautions and measures during its construction).
After work on Palo Verde was finished, Arizona unemployment also climbed considerably since it had started also on the science and technology bandwagon as the home of Hughes, Honeywell, and other government contractors, and its reliance on its historic sustainable industries - copper, cattle, cotton and citrus - fell by the wayside in furtherance of those objectives, and as a state marketing itself mostly to retirees for their early retirement years. In the process, the climate which had made the state a haven for those with respiratory diseases and afflictions, ended up driving out more than it brought in insofar as permanent or long term residents, which has contributed to the urban sprawl and transient nature for the majority of those that call Arizona a "temporary," at best home.
Now it is also one of the states facing the largest number of unemployed and homeless due to the mortgage foreclosure mess, since along with many of those new and "transient" residents came also the East Coast, Western and Midwest real estate speculators and land fraud "get rich quick" artists.
The focus now of the state has swung to the Obama agendas in the health care sector specifically, although at this point most of the retirees that do end up retiring in Arizona usually when their health begins to truly fail end up moving back to their homes of origin in order to be closer to extended family members.
But I digress except to make a point.
Since a good portion of the population is not at all gifted in the field of science and technology naturally, no matter how much the focus of our state and private universities and money is poured into them in order to facilitate this agenda, just where is Washington planning to "outsource" our agricultural base for all the land that is going to be needed for these wind towers, nuclear generating plants, and new "green" manufacturing plants anyway?
Are they planning on turning Kansas and Nebraska into one huge wind turbine, or nuclear generating station in order to meet the entire Northern Hemisphere's future energy needs? And the State of Texas or New Mexico into one huge solar panel for those in the Southern?
We already have the technology, but the people were not at all impressed with the technology that came along with that technology, after all, in the 1970's.
So what does Mr. Obama and this Administration think has changed since that time, other than the fact that due to those same environmentalists our petroleum reserves and offshore wells have been literally hamstrung by regulatory codes and laws on limits of production, atmospheric or environmental particulates that have been so broad based that Nebraska's farmers are fined during planting seasons for excess particulates, and we are now in wars and buying more and more foreign oil due to a segment of the population that is never satisfied no matter what "alternative" fuels or greener technology is proposed.
Including, from Mr. Obama's positions during the election campaign, himself as one of those liberal leaning wackos for whatever reason, Wall Street or his base.
So other than placing all Americans health care records on a national database and invading their rights to privacy over their most personal property and information, their very own physical health, and passing a stimulus for Wall Street again at the American public's expense fining now those power plants or setting up galactic bidding wars for Wall Street's benefit without removing the environmental restrictions which have gotten us into this mess to begin with, just where are all those now laid off GM workers and the other now unemployed going to find their own job stimulus for jobs in which they are qualified since it is clear they would also not meet the criteria for the loans now being offered up by those banks and lenders for educational purposes due to either their age, or their financial prospects and ability to repay?
I suppose what I am really saying here is that I'd put the cork back on that champagne if I were you.
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