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Social Security unprotected against Republicans, sez Democrat (Sunday, 3/31/02)
Representative Robert Matsui of California says that the Social Security payroll contributions of ordinary Americans are going to cover tax breaks for the wealthy and well-connected.

Scrambling for shelters (Sunday, 3/31/02)
Soon, bank deposits in Japan will no longer be guaranteed fully, and this is causing large numbers of people to search for ways to protect the value of their assets. Here's more from Jun Saito in Tokyo.

A new employment benefit (Sunday, 3/31/02)
If your employer REALLY wants to keep you, you may be offered a new type of benefit. 529 college savings plans could become as popular as 401(k)s, according to some experts.

Mad as hell, so they WILL take it (Sunday, 3/31/02)
Adam Geller writes that employee theft may sometimes be a result of anger.

Thinking about setting up housekeeping in a cardboard box? (Sunday, 3/31/02)
The New York Times' Louis Uchitelle says that millions of Americans are about to reach old age without sufficient resources to support retirement. Jan Rosen reports that, despite an improving economy, the wave of layoffs may not be over, and that means that more people may be retiring whether they like it or not. Some are fortunate enough to be offered buyouts to ease the process. As the American economy comes out of the most recent recession, it is restructuring in much the same way it did following the recession of the early '90s when many blue collar jobs were left behind. Layoffs and hiring are likely to be selective, with overall employment patterns differing significantly after the recession from before. The latest forecast from Manpower, Inc. is generally optimistic. Hiring should increase a bit during the second quarter, which beings tomorrow.

Change of rules (Sunday, 3/31/02)
The recent dot-com boom-bust has helped change the rules on nepotism. Here's more from the Washington Post.

Stressed workers lean on each other (Sunday, 3/31/02)
When your organization is under siege and featured on the front pages of newspapers each day, how do you cope? You may seek support from your co-workers and they from you.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Bank of Canada Investment Calculator (Sunday, 3/31/02)
How does inflation affect your investments and savings? The Bank of Canada Investment Calculator can help you make a guestimate.

Enron wants permission to pay bonuses (Saturday, 3/30/02)
To have a chance of survival, Enron executives believe that they must encourage key employees to stick with the company during this critical time. As a consequence, Enron is asking the bankruptcy court for permission to pay out millions of additional dollars in bonuses.

Both incomes and spending increase (Saturday, 3/30/02)
Americans made more and spent more in February, according to new Commerce Department data. It's taken as a sign of a strengthening economy.

Why is a Chinese labor leader presumably in the hospital? (Saturday, 3/30/02)
The government is saying that it's because of circulatory disorder, but, because he's already being detained, not everybody is buying the official explanation.

Japan's unemployment picture remains grim (Saturday, 3/30/02)
The unemployment rate in Japan remains at 5.3 percent, and the jobless rate for women hits a record.

Too much work, not enough life? (Saturday, 3/30/02)
Alex Kuczynski of the Kansas City Star suggests that it may not be entirely coincidental that a large number of highly successful well-known women are choosing to end or, at least, greatly slow down their careers.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: HUSB (Saturday, 3/30/02)
Howard University is one of America's leading traditionally African American institutions of higher learning and is located in the nation's capital. The Howard University School of Business traces its roots back to 1870, only five years after ratification of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Free to float (Friday, 3/29/02)
Despite the possible contagion of bleeding ulcers throughout Argentina's government, the peso, which has been circling the drain in recent days, will not be re-pegged to the U.S. dollar, according to President Duhalde. Meanwhile, IMF help may be on its way.

Bad news for Fingerhut workers (Friday, 3/29/02)
No deal has been forthcoming that would result in the sale of an intact Fingerhut, thus preserving thousands of jobs, so Federated Department Stores may sell it off piece by piece. Three-thousand-three-hundred workers may get layoff notices by April 5, 2,400 of them in Minnesota, and a large proportion of those in the small city of St. Cloud in which Fingerhut long has been the principal employer.

Is the economy deserting the Democrats? (Friday, 3/29/02)
It's something that no leading Democrat would say while standing in front of hot television cameras, but there's little doubt that the party's prospects in this fall's election would have been helped by a slightly longer recession. As it is, with control of both houses of Congress largely up for grabs this fall, the Democrats will have to cope with a Republican administration headed by a wartime President who is riding high in the polls and with an economy that's been improving since last year as well. The only good thing that the Democrats can find to be thankful for at the moment is that the presidential election isn't being held this fall. Still, there is some genuine question about whether President Bush wears an "Eisenhower coat" (i.e., one without tails), and, of course, state governors' races may be another matter. Also, of course, anything can happen in politics. Unexpected things could blow sky-high at any moment and change everything, so smart politicians know that it's very important to be in position, no matter how things might look at the moment. A large part of success often is a matter of simply being in the right place at the right time, and anybody who gives up early probably won't be.

This summer, new grads may look back on exam week as the "good old days" (Friday, 3/29/02)
The new crop of college grads is about to be released...or escape...from U.S. campuses, but, as L. M. Sixel reports, there won't be an enthusiastic welcome from the job market this year. In Japan, next year's graduates are expected to have a tougher time than the grads of 2002. Meanwhile, Japan's populist PM has been scratching his head with all the rest of them. Why oh why does Japan's economy seem to be "recovery proof?" Those new grads whose economics professors led them to believe that somebody really understands how economies work may have a special need for "real world" adjustments.

Ah, I think this would be a good time to leave (Friday, 3/29/02)
Florida's state pension fund has lost big because of its load of Enron stock, so the fund's head has decided to retire. Florida's is the fourth-largest public pension fund in the U.S.

The Big City's garment industry gets more legal (Friday, 3/29/02)
The U.S. Labor Department reports that New York City's apparel industry has been doing better with respect to minimum-wage and overtime violations.

Italy's trade unions and government prepare to square off (Friday, 3/29/02)
The Italian government wants a more flexible labor market, because flexibility is rewarded in the new economy. However, Italy's trade unions don't see intended changes in policy as in their members' best interest. Stand by for conflict, says John Tagliabue in Rome.

Strike for a day at Philips (Friday, 3/29/02)
Philips Electronics and its workers have been in dispute over pay, so workers withheld their services for a day yesterday.

Cuba's self-employed prepare for an interesting future (Friday, 3/29/02)
Fidel Castro, Bill Gates, and Martha Stewart may have the same potential problem. How can you quit without destroying the organization that has been an extension of your personality? In the case of Gates and Stewart, it might only mean a collapse of stock values, and, besides, given that they're both in their prime, they probably have other things on their minds. Seventy-something Fidel is something else, however. He's far from being the 33-year-old freshly minted dictator of his country who took power when Dwight Eisenhower was still the American president. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Communist Cuba lost its patron who had been paying many of the bills. In order to survive, the Castro government has had to, well, relax some of its principles. For instance, the American dollar has become Cuba's defacto currency, and a lot of people are self-employed, some of them legally, so the country's once-thriving private sector has been coming back to life. More change will be coming sometime soon for obvious reasons, and many people want to be ready. Here's more from Tavia Grant in Havana.

How September 11 has helped right-wing politics in Europe (Friday, 3/29/02)
There has always been widespread resentment of immigrants in Germany, even though the Germany economy has needed them during much of the post-war era. Moreover, right-wing extremism has never entirely gone away in that country, despite its sordid Nazi experience. Recent events have given right-wing politics a boost, but not just in Germany. For more on what has been going on in places like Italy and Denmark, here's a story from the Washington Post.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Careers in Archeology (Friday, 3/29/02)
Here are some frequently asked questions which may not be asked as frequently as you might think. At any rate, Professor David Carlson of Texas A & M University attempts to anticipate the questions of interested persons when it comes to careers in archeology. Dig it?

Major Supreme Court ruling on undocumented workers (Thursday, 3/28/02)
A Mexican national was fired by a company in California when he tried to form a union. He sued for back pay, and the case ended up in the Supreme Court, which has ruled against him, saying that undocumented workers do not have the same rights as immigrants working in the U.S. legally. Here's more from today's Washington Poston the decision that will affect as many as 7 million undocumented workers in the U.S.

Is North Korea about to follow China's model? (Thursday, 3/28/02)
Not so many years ago during the 20th century, many people around the world considered Communism to be the "wave of the future," but it's now clear that it's a tide that has gone out. Communism's centrally managed economies have been a resounding failure in the old Soviet Union as well as in China. Russia has abandoned its failed Communist experiment and is trying to develop a viable market economy and democratic political system, while China's rulers have been trying to decentralize their country's economy while maintaining a high degree of centralized political control. Meanwhile, even though there is widespread debate about the merits and demerits of extensive "globalization," North Korea seems to be an instructive case study of what happens as a consequence of almost total isolation. Now, as Sang-Hun Choe reports from nearby Seoul, North Korea's government has announced that it intends to begin following a modified economic path, while, like China, presumably continuing to call itself "Communist" or "socialist."

Andersen expects major job cuts (Thursday, 3/28/02)
Because of its connection to the Enron scandal, the accounting firm that once was considered to be the "gold standard" of its profession is facing obstruction of justice charges and an almost daily loss of clients. Job cuts also are coming, but company executives aren't saying how many.

Argentina thinks again about its free-floating currency (Thursday, 3/28/02)
For a long time, Argentina's peso was linked to the American dollar, but, in an effort to repair its economy, the peso was allowed to float free and find its own level. Now, that's causing problems too, given that the peso has lost two-thirds of its value against the American dollar in only about two months.

Japan worries about declining birthrate (Thursday, 3/28/02)
Japan's younger generation is more interested in work and career than in raising children, it seems, and this could result in a demographic disaster with major destructive economic consequences. The government is encouraging young people to work less and have more children, according to the Boston Globe. The global population explosion continues, but at a diminished rate, and it's far more of a problem in the poorer countries. Population in industrialized countries has been leveling off. Incidentally, speaking of generational changes in Japan, young workers seem less inclined to drink with their managers after work, which is causing some to worry about communication and bonding.

UK's economy may be slowing (Thursday, 3/28/02)
During the immediately pre-Thatcher era, when British trade unions more or less controlled politics in the UK and everybody seemed to be fighting over who would get to eat the seed corn, in effect, Britain's standard of living remained stuck about where it was immediately after World War II, while Germany and much of the rest of Western Europe was thriving. During recent years, Germany has been struggling with the costs of reunification and an effort to transform itself from an old industrial to a new information economy, while Britain has been experiencing good times. Germany's still struggling, but the blossom may be wilting at bit in Britain too. New data have led to a downgrade of official estimates of last year's growth rate. Across the Atlantic, the U.S. economy has been growing at a slower rate than Britain's, but the latest American recession seems to be over, and the Commerce Department has upgraded its estimate of 4th quarter growth to 1.7 percent.

Companies may pay because of embarrassment (Thursday, 3/28/02)
Seth Stern writes in today's Christian Science Monitor that some legal authorities consider the chances of success in the class action slavery suit to be fairly unlikely, but companies that allegedly profited from slavery and owe some of their present success to the use of unpaid forced labor may be inclined to pay anyway, given that there probably won't be any effective way for the companies' PR people to finesse something like this. While current African American workers are paid for their labors, it doesn't necessarily mean that their work experience is equivalent to that of other workers. For instance, workers at a Chicago firm have been awarded $1.82 million to settle a racial harassment suit.

Who will heal the healers? (Thursday, 3/28/02)
If you're interested in ironies, consider this one: According to a study reported in the current edition of the American Journal of Public Health, 1.36 million health care workers in the United States don't have health coverage themselves.

Making telecommuting successful (Thursday, 3/28/02)
Houston Chronicle colonist Jim Barlow passes along some advice from the Harvard Business School on what makes telecommuting a good choice for a company. It's becoming increasingly popular, but there are lingering questions.

The maturing of the Internet (Thursday, 3/28/02)
The growth of the Internet seems to be settling down to more "normal" rates, according to research from Nielsen/NetRatings. However, people who go online are spending more time in cyberspace, and those with broadband connections spend the most time of all.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Inflation Calculator (Thursday, 3/28/02)
Here's the Bank of Canada's Inflation Calculator.

Conoco workers prepare to strike (Wednesday, 3/27/02)
Members of PACE at three Conoco refineries appear to be pessimistic about reaching a new contract agreement with the company and are making preparations for a strike.

Consumer confidence bounces back (Wednesday, 3/27/02)
American consumers are feeling better about the future than at any time since the September 11 terrorist attack, according to the latest data from the Conference Board.

Mortgage crunch in New York City (Wednesday, 3/27/02)
A vast wave of foreclosures may be coming in New York where there has been a great increase in the number of people behind on their mortgage payments. Here's more from the New York Times' Sarah Kershaw.

Retirees demonstrate in Beijing (Wednesday, 3/27/02)
It doesn't appear to be quite so dangerous to engage in public protest in China as it used to be, although being elderly and fairly feeble may make it somewhat less likely that you will disappear into a dungeon. Jonathan Ansfield reports that 200 car plant retirees blocked traffic to protest overdue pension payments.

You now have a little more time to be old (Wednesday, 3/27/02)
Social Security and Medicare won't run out of money quite as quickly as thought earlier. It was announced yesterday that, left as they are presently, Medicare isn't expected to run out of money until 2030 and Social Security will have money until about 2041.

The stresses of pharming (Wednesday, 3/27/02)
Michael Diamond reports on at least one person who has found that being a pharmacist isn't quite what was expected and plans to try another profession. It all suggests that we could do a better job of helping people explore alternative career paths BEFORE they invest heavily in preparation.

Giving temp workers a voice (Wednesday, 3/27/02)
A nonprofit organization in Silicon Valley is starting a print magazine for the big hi-tech corridor's temporary workers.

At least, it means time out of the cell (Wednesday, 3/27/02)
Peter Kilborn reports on the increasing use of prison inmates for manual labor, particularly in rural or small communities, and particularly in the South and Southwest.

Why many workers don't like their bosses (Wednesday, 3/27/02)
Matt Moore writes about the results of a new survey finding that a fifth of people polled would get rid of their bosses if they could. Problems with job satisfaction seem to be central to employee-boss relationships.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Showbiz Jobs (Wednesday, 3/27/02)
There are thousands of jobs sites, and Showbiz Jobs is another one. However, it specializes in jobs in the entertainment industries.

Crisis worsens in Argentina (Tuesday, 3/26/02)
Many fear that the peso may be heading into a free fall, as Argentines try to use the U.S. dollar as a life raft.

Economists don't expect another dip soon (Tuesday, 3/26/02)
Members of the National Association for Business Economics seem agreed that the most recent recession already is a slump of the past and that a new recession before long isn't likely.

Unions get a boost from new appeals court decision (Tuesday, 3/26/02)
Workers in unionized work settings cannot choose to withhold part of their fees because of organizing drives. Here's more from Steven Greenhouse of the New York Times.

UK's postal services company cuts back (Tuesday, 3/26/02)
Consignia wants to save $1.7 billion, so, as part of the effort, will cut 15,000 jobs over the next three years.

When jobs are scarce, go fishing (Tuesday, 3/26/02)
People who never expected to make fishing a career are now being encouraged to do so by the Japanese government.

Giving cons confidence, and more (Tuesday, 3/26/02)
If finding work can be hard for just about anybody during an economic downturn, think of what's it like for people who have just gotten out of prison. Most can use all the help they can get.

Illegal immigrants try to make their economic impact known (Tuesday, 3/26/02)
The Minneapolis Star Tribune's Lucy Her tells about the novel way that undocumented workers are attempting to make the community aware of their economic importance.

Learning at Grandma's knee (Tuesday, 3/26/02)
People who have lived long enough to have experienced a lot of economic ups and downs can be the perfect mentors for children who need to learn about money. Caralee Adams of the Christian Science Monitor tells about grandparents who are taking on the role of financial educator for their families' children.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Just Labour (Tuesday, 3/26/02)
Just Labour is, as they say, a "Canadian journal of work and society," and comes from York University in Toronto. Full-text versions of its articles are available free on line.

Promises, promises (Monday, 3/25/02)
President Bush has been telling Latin American leaders about how much he wants to open up trade with them, but, as Sandra Sobieraj reports, others in Washington will have something to say about that. Increased free trade faces a range of obstacles.

Wages of sin remain unpaid (Monday, 3/25/02)
Class-action status will be sought in a suit against several current American companies that are alleged to have profited from slavery in the United States before 1865. The Civil War, along with Lincoln's "reinvention" of the United States in his Gettysburg Address, finally resolved the legal contradiction that had been part of the American system from the beginning as expressed by people such as Thomas Jefferson who was a slave owner at the time he wrote "All men are created equal."

The U.S. was not the first country to outlaw slavery, and another century would pass before African Americans would achieve full voting rights throughout the country. Informally, the lingering effects of history's most primitive institution persist until the present day. Some argue that the loss of more than 600,000 American lives during the Civil War amounts to the price paid for slavery and that the whole era should be put behind us. However, others will say that many of those lives were African Americans who were victimized twice. And, anyway, penance isn't the same as reparations. Suffering as a consequence of one's offenses is one thing; repairing damage is something else.

Slavery has existed since at least classical times, but race-based slavery is of somewhat more recent origin. Incidentally, if you think slavery has been consigned to history, think again. For a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that world population is about six times as large as it was about 160 years ago, it is estimated that there are more slaves in the world today than at any previous time. Here's an example from Larry Rohter who reports from Brazil.

Going back to school after finishing school (Monday, 3/25/02)
Grad school enrollments usually benefit from a recession, because many new grads will elect to stay on the campuses if they can't find jobs. While it appears that the recession is essentially over, which is to say that the American economy isn't shrinking anymore, it will be awhile before the job market responds significantly. Turning the huge American economy around is like turning a battleship around. It takes awhile, and it can't be done on a dime. This spring's new grads face a fairly unreceptive job market in which they will be competing with a lot of recent grads who jumped overboard from sinking dot-coms.

Still, some new grads, particularly those with advanced training, will become reluctant or involuntary entrepreneurs, but not necessarily by starting even more Internet companies.

Most new businesses fail within a few years, and among the principal reasons are incompetent or inexperienced management, on the one hand, or inadequate capitalization, on the other, which is another way of saying essentially the same thing. Overall, it helps to know what you're doing. One way to start a business is to partner with people who DO know what they're doing and will do all they can to prevent you from making stupid mistakes. One example of this approach is to become a franchisee with a major successful company. However, if this were easy, nearly everybody would be doing it. Here's more from the Arizona Republic on why it's hard and probably should be.

The problem with women and money (Monday, 3/25/02)
Well, actually, there's more than one problem. Cheryl Winokur Munk of the Dow Jones News service reports on the findings of a recent study that a gender pay gap persists among senior professionals in the financial service industry. Another problem directly affecting far more women has to do with the realities of retirement. Kathleen Lynn of The Record writes about the danger so many American women face of outliving their money because of earning less and living longer, as well as for other reasons.

Self-managed 401(k)s (Monday, 3/25/02)
In a self-directed brokerage account, employees choose their own investments from the full range of available stocks. Linda Stern reports that the idea is gaining momentum in the wake of the Enron debacle.

Microcosm in the desert (Monday, 3/25/02)
The Reno Gazette-Journal's Don Cox says that if you want to see a truly international workforce, go to Nevada where dozens and dozens of countries are represented. Nationally, of course, the largest foreign-born segment of the American workforce speaks Spanish, and, as Ginger Thompson reports, many are sending part of their earnings back to family members in Mexico. Many of the world's poor people would like to come to the United States to work, but it's not necessarily all sweetness when they arrive, even for descendants who have been born here. Jim Jopkins of USA Today reports on the big increase in workplace deaths among Hispanics, and Steven Greenhouse of the New York Times tells about a movement on the New York City Council to strengthen protections for housekeepers and nannies.

Helping people get the most and best out of themselves at work (Monday, 3/25/02)
It's commonly believed that nearly everybody knows and understands human nature, in part because it's so familiar and obvious, but it's difficult to think of any assertion that could possibly be further from the truth. If you doubt this, think about the malignant effects of racial and gender assumptions over many centuries which modern research has demonstrated to be flat-out wrong. Managers and supervisors tend to believe that they know all about human nature too, including worker motivation. But, as Bruce Rosenstein of USA Today suggests, that would be a joke if it weren't so serious. People who would like to be effective leaders might want to read the new best-seller by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee, called Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Incentive Programs and Intrinsic Motivation (Monday, 3/25/02)
Critics of work incentive programs often claim that they tend to reduce motivation that comes from the work itself. Bob Nelson of the Foundation for Enterprise Development says it doesn't have to be that way, and offers three tips for enjoying the benefits of extrinsic motivation without destroying intrinsic motivation.

African leaders worry that Zimbabwe's problems could slow economic recovery (Sunday, 3/24/02)
Leaders will meet in Nigeria beginning tomorrow and are worrying that the crisis in Zimbabwe could dampen international support.

The Bush push for trade and democracy (Sunday, 3/24/02)
President Bush wants to support democracies in Central America by helping to establish a free-trade zone linked to the U.S.

Strategic hiring (Sunday, 3/24/02)
Hiring freezes are beginning to melt throughout the American corporate world, but, even though many companies are adding personnel again, new policies and principles apply. Here's more about the new hiring strategies from Stephanie Armour of USA Today. Michael Diamond of the Ashbury Park Press tells about another strong trend in the American work world: moonlighting in a second job, but for a variety of reasons.

The government was stimulating the economy even before there was new stimulus legislation (Sunday, 3/24/02)
The big leap in federal spending may have been responsible for making the recession short and only mildly sour, according to the New York Times' Louis Uchitelle, so remember to send your government a "thank you" card. Also, if you're tired of worrying about recession, maybe you can start worrying about inflation again. Growth this time may not be without inflation as it was last time. Here's more from Martin Crutsinger in Washington.

The Social Insecurity system (Sunday, 3/24/02)
One thing that members of Congress of both parties agree on is that Social Security's still in trouble, and it's probably the other guy's fault. Moreover, the other guy's plans for fixing it are even worse. If you've noticed that you haven't heard much about saving Social Security for a while, it's time to pay close attention again or cover your ears and hope for the best. Richard Stevenson writes from Washington that the rhetoric is about to heat up again as Congress attempts to work things out. Meanwhile, Sandra Block of USA Today advises looking before leaping. Many Americans continue to maintain misunderstandings about their Social Security eligibility.

What's going on in China? (Sunday, 3/24/02)
It depends on whose book you read, according to William Holstein. In an effort to achieve some sort of balance, you might want to read both David Sheff's China Dawn: The Story of a Technology and Business Revolution and Joe Studwell's The China Dream: The Quest for the Last Great Untapped Market on Earth.

Tell Marx about China if you want to disturb his long sleep (Sunday, 3/24/02)
The principal 19th century theorists and 20th century practitioners of Communism might feel that the current Chinese government is misusing the word by insisting that it continue to be part of their party's name. Scholars such as American social psychologist Milton Rokeach have distinguished among the major 20th century political ideologies in terms of the relative emphasis given to "freedom" and "equality." For instance, fascists were thought to value both almost not at all, while Western-style "conservatives" valued freedom highly but equality much less so. Communists tended to value equality far more than freedom.

Where does China fit into this model at this point? There's still virtually no political freedom, and its former aspirations to social and economic equality seem to have been abandoned too. Does this make China "fascist?" Well, certainly not in a mid-20th century sense. For one thing, China is testing the hypothesis that freedom is indivisible by trying to encourage economic freedom while continuing, at least for now, to restrict political freedom. It's likely to be a very interesting century. Stay tuned, and remember what is supposed to have been that ancient Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times."

Job sharing in Japan (Sunday, 3/24/02)
When an economy requires less labor, is it better to eliminate some jobs entirely or spread the pain by cutting back everybody's hours? A group made up of representatives from labor, management, and government has been studying this issue in Japan and comes down on the side of work-sharing.

What techies know about power and why it makes a difference (Sunday, 3/24/02)
Technical people have an advantage when it comes to office politics, according to Michael Dobson, author of Enlightened Office Politics.

Your account is outstanding, and that's NOT a compliment (Sunday, 3/24/02)
The Internal Revenue Service says that federal employees and retirees tend to be more conscientious about paying up than taxpayers in general. Still, they owe a collective $2.5 billion in back taxes.

Deciphering the dress code (Sunday, 3/24/02)
For maximum effectiveness in the new economy, should your business be more like a paramilitary organization with a high degree of standardization, or should it be more like an academic "think tank" filled with creative individualists? Your answer to that question may influence your attitudes toward the standardization of dress at work.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Economic Development Directory (Sunday, 3/24/02)
This Economic Development Directory provides access to thousands of economic development agency sites worldwide.

Workplace violence in Indiana (Saturday, 3/23/02)
Five are dead following shootings at an aircraft parts plant in South Bend, Indiana.

Monterrey conference focuses on global poverty (Saturday, 3/23/02)
Many of the world's major political leaders seem to agree that, if you want to create conditions that provide fertile soil for terrorism, just keep large regions very poor. A war on poverty is a war on terrorism, say some, and the American President seems to agree, although an exclusive emphasis on economics might constitute a great oversimplification. Nonetheless, the alleviation of poverty seems to be a necessary if not sufficient condition for reducing the developed world's vulnerability to terrorism, and many rich nations have agreed to offer major money in exchange for serious local efforts to encourage economic and political stability. While the rich countries have been emphasizing what they think the poor countries should do, poor countries have their own grievances. Here's more on a somewhat different issue from Jenalia Moreno in Monterrey, Mexico.

Finally, Argentina's President Duhalde has been in attendance at the conference. He has the distinction of heading a fundamentally and historically wealthy country that has been getting poor recently. As Traci Carl reports, he described what his own government is doing to bring Argentina's disabled economy back to its feet , but he also has some complaints that may burn the ears of others in the international community.

Business picks up at United (Saturday, 3/23/02)
United Airlines is recalling 1,300 laid-off workers as well as adding additional staff in some markets.

Behind the latest numbers, things are looking better (Saturday, 3/23/02)
The Japanese economy is worsening, but underlying conditions seem a bit improved, so better results may be coming, according to Japan's central bank.

Free-trade between Japan and North Korea is a possibility, but... (Saturday, 3/23/02)
There are strings from the Japanese government's point of view. A critical issue has to do with abducted Japanese citizens. Here's more from Keisuke Kinomoto in Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun.

Somebody who has personal experience with "power shifts" (Saturday, 3/23/02)
Those who have been thinking about the future quite a bit will recognize "power shift" as the title of one of the books in the influential trilogy by Alvin and Heidi Toffler, of which Future Shock was the first. In his "Just a Minute" column in Darwin Magazine, former Apple Computer Corporation CEO John Sculley discusses the shifting of power and the reinvention of work in a "connected economy."

In the trivia-which-may-not-really-be-trivia department, before heading Apple, Sculley had been Pepsi-Cola's youngest president for several years, and is credited with the "Pepsi Generation" ad campaign that put his company's colored sugar water on an essentially equal market share footing with Coca-Cola. At about the same time, Bill Gates of Microsoft was talking about how he wanted to draw on the marketing expertise of the cosmetics industry in the selling of software. Somehow, both major computer industry figures felt that those with demonstrated success in the creation of perceptual differences within homogeneous product categories could offer a lot to the hi-tech industry. Finally, it may be interesting to note that the Tofflers' highly influential Future Shock was published in 1970, a year BEFORE the first microprocessor, perhaps history's most powerful engine of change, was released by Intel.

The feds ask for help (Saturday, 3/23/02)
Federal government agencies have been struggling to bring their information technology systems up to date, and a worker exchange idea brewing in the House of Representatives might be a solution. One critical agency during a time of terrorism is looking to the Mormons for advice. The FBI thinks that the Mormons know something about handling very large databases, and there's good reason to believe that they are exactly right.

The latest in Germany's ambivalence about immigration (Saturday, 3/23/02)
Many Germans have been unreceptive to the idea of allowing foreign workers into the country, even though millions have come. During earlier years, many Turks and others have entered Germany to take jobs that Germans haven't wanted, while, at the same time, having to endure inhospitable attitudes, discrimination, or abuse. More recently, Germany has been trying to make the transition from an old heavy industrial economy to one driven by high-technology, and this has meant the need for outside tech experts. Still, despite its own economic needs, popular resistance persists. Peter Finn and Shannon Smiley of the Washington Post report that the German Parliament passed a major immigration bill yesterday by a single vote, but it may not stand because of conservative challenges to its constitutionality.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Immigration and Politics in Germany (Saturday, 3/23/02)
Barbara Weber provides an overview of immigration and politics in Germany in her 2001 article in the Journal of the International Institute, which is published at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Japanese economy improves a bit (Friday, 3/15/02)
The March numbers for Japan's troubled economy are more encouraging. Here are some details from Jun Saito in Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun.

Andersen employees express dismay (Friday, 3/15/02)
Many employees of Arthur Andersen believe that the indictment isn't fair and misplaces blame.

Bush proposes billions for poor nations (Friday, 3/15/02)
President Bush wants to provide $5 billion in aid for poor nations over the next three years, but with strings attached.

Reality and the big tech fair (Friday, 3/15/02)
Those who have been hoping that the world's largest technology fair going on in Hanover, Germany would mark the beginning of a big comeback for the tech economy may be disappointed. Meanwhile, if you're going to be looking for office space in Silicon Valley, you won't have to look far or long.

Local police take on role in search for illegal immigrants (Friday, 3/15/02)
Susan Sachs reports on how the September 11 attack has led to a change of policy in local police organizations.

Apparently not a champion of "states' rights" (Friday, 3/15/02)
There has been argument over the proper relations between the federal government and the states since the very beginning of the country, and the issues of "states' rights" were central to the conditions that led to the Civil War. The 1996 welfare reform law shifted some responsibilities away from Washington and to the states. Now that President Bush is part of the federal government, rather than a state governor, he seems to be talking more like a traditional Democrat in some ways. Here are some thoughts on an apparent welfare reform turnaround from Washington Post columnist E. J. Dionne.

ADA too vague, Justice says (Friday, 3/15/02)
Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, while supportive of some parts, has voted to restrict job discrimination aspects of the disabilities act. She feels that its criteria and formulations are insufficiently precise.

New emphasis on non-technical career skills (Friday, 3/15/02)
Neal Learner reports on the shortage of so-called "soft skills" throughout much of the American economy, and Sara Terry writes about increasing efforts to match people with the right "styles" to the right jobs.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Welfare Reform State Links (Friday, 3/15/02)
From the Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, here is access to State Welfare and Children and Families home pages.

Gays forced out of the military at the highest rate in 15 years (Thursday, 3/14/02)
More than 1,200 people were dismissed from the U.S. military last year either because of homosexual conduct or because of stating that they are gay. It's the greatest number since 1987

Greenspan's optimism reinforced (Thursday, 3/14/02)
Alan Greenspan seems even more confident that the recession--if it really was a genuine recession--has ended. The improved employment situation is one of the reasons.

Millions of children die each year unnecessarily, according to the UN (Thursday, 3/14/02)
Global poverty costs nearly 11 million children their lives each year, and the deaths are preventable. The World Health Organization and the UN Children's Fund say that 600 million of the world's children live in poverty.

Tens of thousands of former oil workers protest in China (Thursday, 3/14/02)
The workers have been laid off from jobs in China's oil fields and are protesting cuts in their severance benefits.

Another work culture change in Japan (Thursday, 3/14/02)
For as long as many people are able to remember, many Japanese workers have received regular pay increases based on seniority. However, those increases aren't likely to remain essentially automatic. Takao Nakagawa writes in Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun that the increases are beginning to become issues in labor negotiations.

Silicon Valley teens ponder career issues (Thursday, 3/14/02)
Two-thirds of the teens in America's big hi-tech corridor have decided that they don't want to become techies, according to a new report. Here's more from the San Jose Mercury News.

Study says "living wage" laws really help the poor (Thursday, 3/14/02)
Critics of the "living wage" movement claim that it benefits only a few and leads to the elimination of jobs. A new study doesn't support this idea. Here's more from USA Today in San Francisco. The "living wage" is mandated locally and is intended to require greater pay than the federal minimum wage requires. Many economic conservatives claim that the market itself should determine what things cost, including labor and that efforts to mandate higher pay will simply result in the exportation of jobs to regions of the world where people are willing to work for much less. However, this clearly wouldn't apply to jobs that cannot be exported, such as janitorial and other service occupations.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Living Wage Resource Center (Thursday, 3/14/02)
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) is one of a number of activist organizations promoting adoption of living wage legislation. Here's their Living Wage Resource Center.

Immigration bill passes the House (Wednesday, 3/13/02)
The bill is a combination of one pushed by Administration and one favored by the Democrats, but its chances in the Senate are still uncertain. If it becomes law, the bill will allow many illegal Mexican immigrants to remain in the United States, rather than having to return to Mexico to file applications for entry.

Duhalde wants support for the peso (Wednesday, 3/13/02)
Argentina's President wants the country's Central Bank to prop up the peso which has been slipping to all-time lows and hampering the Duhalde government's efforts to pull Argentina out of its long, painful recession.

Democrats respond to Bush welfare plan (Wednesday, 3/13/02)
The Bush administration wants to increase work requirements for welfare recipients, but Congressional Democrats say that more help with child care would have to be part of the plan.

Texas Attorney General wonders about possible Enron illegalities (Wednesday, 3/13/02)
The Texas Attorney General is inquiring as to whether former workers at Enron were forced to give up state unemployment benefits in order to receive severance payments.

Why isn't genuine English spoken in Washington? (Wednesday, 3/13/02)
Washington Post columnist David Broder tells about one Senator who doesn't like the special way the language is used in official Washington and the special meanings given to words like "stimulus." Senator Tom Carper doesn't think the government should be spending money that it doesn't have to promote recovery from a recession that's already over.

Are you ready for a tech recovery? (Wednesday, 3/13/02)
If the hi-tech sector does rebound this year, as seems increasingly likely, which tech jobs will be hottest? Jay Lyman speculates about the kinds of tech workers who will benefit first the most. Overall, the American economy seems to be picking up speed. The signs are popping up everywhere. For instance, David Francis of the Christian Science Monitor reports on the results of a new poll, and also discusses other indicators. However, temp workers are still waiting for improvement in their situations.

Quarter-century trend reversed (Wednesday, 3/13/02)
The percentage of American mothers of young children who are choosing to remain home with their children rather than working outside the home has been increasing, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. It isn't a huge change, but it reverses a trend in existence since at least 1976.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: At Home Mothers (Wednesday, 3/13/02)
In America, there's an organization for nearly everybody. This one may be for you: It's the National Association of At-Home Mothers, and it has a magazine as well as a web site.

Treasury official sees strength ahead (Tuesday, 3/12/02)
The U.S. Treasury Department's Under Secretary for International Affairs will indicate confidence in the American economy in remarks at a Chamber of Commerce gathering in Brazil. Meanwhile, his boss back in the states is expected to do a bit of legal fiddling with federal employee retirement funds in order to avoid exceeding the debt limit. His actions will not be unprecedented. The Clinton administration did something similar in the mid '90s.

California's Senators oppose subsidy limit (Tuesday, 3/12/02)
Both U.S. Senators from California, both of whom are Democrats, don't like the idea of placing a $275,000 per-farm limit on agricultural subsidies.

Work-sharing takes hold in Japanese localities (Tuesday, 3/12/02)
A dozen Japanese prefectures and 64 municipalities will be using work-sharing plans to create jobs, particularly for the young.

Nurses plan to stop work tomorrow, but very temporarily (Tuesday, 3/12/02)
Paul Anderson reports in the Irish Times that members of the Nursing Alliance intend to stop work for two hours tomorrow. As many as 800 nurses at 30 hospitals are affected by the labor dispute.

The Bank in its own defense (Tuesday, 3/12/02)
The Bush administration has been critical of the World Bank recently, but Bank officials claim that their policies have helped to ease poverty, among other things. Here's more from Joseph Kahn in Washington.

Change is coming to Roth I.R.A.'s (Tuesday, 3/12/02)
A new Roth 401(k) will be available beginning in 2006, and will offer the benefits of Roth I.R.A.'s to high-income individuals, according to David Cay Johnston. Julie Connelly has some advice on preparing for retirement. It can be a full-time job, she says, but it will be made easier if you know exactly how long you're going to live.

Buffett is critical of executive remuneration (Tuesday, 3/12/02)
The rationale of stock options is that executives should be rewarded for performance, but that isn't necessarily the way it works out. Warren Buffett, the world's second-richest business person, says that top corporate managers often profit even if their companies' share prices decline, and he doesn't think that's right. Meanwhile, many people are scratching their heads over the fact that Kmart's CEO will be leaving with at least $9 million in bonuses after presiding over the big retailer's bankruptcy.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Federal Retirement Programs (Tuesday, 3/12/02)
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management offers information on federal retirement programs as well as services for former federal employees.

Bush's boomerang? (Monday, 3/11/02)
Economists meeting in Brazil express concern that the Bush administration's decision to impose tariffs on imported steel could have widespread unintended consequences. Given the Administration's rhetoric about free trade and conventional Republican economic ideology, the tariffs bring to mind President Nixon's imposition of wage and price controls, suggesting that there might be something in the ice that big-time Republicans put in their drinks.

Oil managers go on strike (Monday, 3/11/02)
Venezuela is a big oil producer, and, in fact, is a member of OPEC, which most Americans inaccurately associate exclusively with the Middle East. Oil is a state-owned monopoly in Venezuela, and managers who went on strike last week are threatening more action in the face of threats to fire them. Meanwhile, neighboring Argentina is getting some support from other Latin American countries in its quest for financial aid.

More corporations welcome military personnel (Monday, 3/11/02)
Many military skills are transferable to the civilian economy, but employers often find that people who have performed successfully in military organizations often have many of the personal attributes that help in the civilian workplace as well. More people are finding interesting opportunities in the civilian work world when they turn in their uniforms for civilian work clothes.

E-commerce targets students (Monday, 3/11/02)
It's estimated that the 15 million or so American college students have about $100 billion in discretionary cash available each year. So far, e-commerce web sites haven't been getting as much of it as they would like. Meanwhile, Steve Alexander reports that wireless companies are also targeting the young. Finally, in other campus news, there are increasing efforts to unionize. Here's more from Arlene Levinson.

What to do about your taxes (Monday, 3/11/02)
Jennifer Bott says that you have about six choices for coping with the April 15 tax filing deadline. Liz Pulliam Weston of the Los Angeles Times says that more than half of American taxpayers turn to someone else for help, in part because of the hazards of doing it themselves. If you're unemployed, April 15 can be particularly taxing in more ways than one, and stressful. And, by the way, remember that unemployment and severance payments ARE taxable.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: IRS Information (Monday, 3/11/02)
Here's an information site from the Internal Revenue Service where you can obtain forms as well as link to sites which will allow you to prepare and file your taxes electronically for $9.95 or less, according to the IRS.

Has free-trader Bush declared international trade war? (Sunday, 3/10/02)
Real-life politics regularly confounds reflexive partisans who look at life through ideological filters and, thus, see things in very clear "us vs. them" terms. During the 1990s on some issues, Democrats Clinton and Gore behaved like traditional Republicans, while George W. Bush has disappointed ideologues on both extremes of the political spectrum by sometimes behaving in ways that are inconsistent with somebody's "pure conservative" image of him. For instance, he named the Department of Justice Building after Robert Kennedy at about the time he was also working closely with the late Attorney General's younger brother on new education legislation. Now, he's done what President Clinton did not do: impose tariffs on imported steel in order to protect the American steel industry, which, it should be noted, contains a lot of people who vote. So much for ideological consistency. But, what will be the practical consequences of the new tariffs? Swaha Pattanaik writes from Brussels that there is growing concern that the President's action could set off a trade war that might threaten global economic recovery. Many Republicans are angry that he imposed tariffs at all, while some Democrats don't believe that he went far enough, all of which should surprise precisely nobody.

Power monopoly claims damages from union (Sunday, 3/10/02)
Thousands of power company workers in South Korea have been engaged in an illegal strike for two weeks. They've been protesting plans for privatization which would cost jobs. Now, management wants a court to collect $4.8 in damages from the union.

How's the recovery going, and, by the way, was there a recession in the first place? (Sunday, 3/10/02)
In the half-full, half-empty department, some see strong signs that the American economy is growing again, while many corporate heads aren't impressed. It appears that the recession is/was one of the briefest and most shallow on record, assuming that it really was a recession. Anna Willard writes from Washington on the disagreement over that basic question.

It takes awhile to reassemble rubble (Sunday, 3/10/02)
For various reasons extending over decades, much of Afghanistan looks like "ground zero" in Manhattan. Mehrdad Balali writes from Kabul that the Afghan people seem to enjoy the freedoms that have resulted from the elimination of the Taliban government, but there has been no improvement in their economic situation over the past three months. No kidding. While it is sometimes possible to eliminate political barriers to personal freedoms in one swell foop, economic development takes time. However, people in pain can get very impatient, so it remains to be seen if Afghanistan's new political leadership will have the time or necessary resources available to do what they will need to do. As an example of what it takes, Germany's Chancellor says his country, one of the world's most wealthy, is about halfway through the process of rebuilding what used to be East Germany twelve years after reunification.

Gilbert is new SAG president (Sunday, 3/10/02)
Melissa Gilbert is best-known to many Americans as a child star of the long-running TV hit, "Little House on the Prairie." However, she's 37-years-old now, and she's also the new president of the Screen Actors Guild, defeating Valerie Harper, another former American television star.

Coke accused of denying workers overtime pay (Sunday, 3/10/02)
Three class-action suits have been filed against Coca-Cola alleging that workers have not been paid at least $200 million in overtime pay owed to them.

More job cuts at Global Crossing (Sunday, 3/10/02)
Bankrupt Global Crossing will try to cut $600 million in expenses, in part, by slicing another 1,600 jobs.

The American tourism industry continues to recover (Sunday, 3/10/02)
The September 11 terrorist attack that destroyed the World Trade Center and thousands of lives also did considerable damage to the travel industry, costing tens of thousands of jobs. Peter Corbett of the Arizona Republic says that there has been considerable recovery so far, but further progress will depend on the overall economy.

Birth rates decline, even without improved living standards (Sunday, 3/10/02)
Poor women throughout much of the world are taking control of their lives, and perhaps the world's future as well. Barbara Crossette reports that demographers are downsizing their estimates of total world population by the end of the century.

Signs of burnout (Sunday, 3/10/02)
Working too much too hard under the wrong conditions can make you vulnerable to "burnout." Here are some of the signs from the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The Foundation of Teaching Economics (Sunday, 3/10/02)
The Foundation of Teaching Economics is a nonprofit organization supporting programs for students as well as teachers throughout the United States and Eastern Europe.

Kmart drops the other shoe (Saturday, 3/9/02)
Bankrupt Kmart is restructuring in an attempt to turn a sick large company into a healthy smaller one. Glen Creno reports that 284 stores will close, and Constance Hays says that this means the elimination of 22,000 retailing jobs.

Stimulus bill becomes stimulus law (Saturday, 3/9/02)
The President has signed into law the stimulus bill that passed both houses of Congress after three previous failed attempts. Among other things, it will extend laid-off workers' jobless benefits for an additional quarter year.

New jobs created (Saturday, 3/9/02)
February was the first month since last July during which new jobs were created, suggesting that the American economy is out of recession and growing again. Sixty-six-thousand new jobs materialized last month, while the unemployment rate from to 5.5 percent, a tenth of a percent lower than the previous month.

CalPERS will oppose HP-Compaq merger (Saturday, 3/9/02)
CalPERS is the largest pension fund in the United States, and it doesn't favor making one company out of two if the two are Hewlett-Packard and Compaq Computer.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Central Banks and Stock Exchanges (Saturday, 3/9/02)
You can find listings of all of the world's central banks and stock exchanges, as well as other information on the Economiclinks site. Click on the respective links in the left column.

It's passed both houses of Congress, but we don't know what to call it (Friday, 3/8/02)
You can call it a "recession relief bill" if you want, except that the recession appears to be over. Whatever you want to call it, it passed the House yesterday and the Senate this morning, and the President intends to sign it. It provides tax breaks to companies that make some kinds of new investments, and, of most interest to the unemployed, perhaps, is the 13-week extension of unemployment benefits, for a total of 39 weeks of checks. The extension will come not a moment too soon for many people, according to Peter Kilborn. But what happens when it isn't just a temporary layoff, but, instead, the job disappears forever? Of course, this relates at least indirectly to the argument Congressional Republicans and Democrats have been having. How much of the emphasis should be given to helping the unemployed as opposed to stimulating job creation?

Saxophonist plays a happier tune (Friday, 3/8/02)
Former dance band musician Alan Greenspan was upbeat in his assessment of the U.S. economy yesterday as he testified before Congress. The recession is over, he says.

Recession worsens in Japan (Friday, 3/8/02)
Japan's fourth recession in a decade slipped deeper in 2001's final quarter, but this doesn't seem to have discouraged investors.

Many former Enron employees in Europe find that other opportunities are looking for them (Friday, 3/8/02)
It may be that few companies will want to do business with Enron from now on, but many in Europe are rushing to hire their former employees. Here's more from Suzanne Kapner in London. Meanwhile, in the U.S., Jesse Jackson has been trying to help free up some significant money for laid-off Enron workers, and he expects success to come soon.

Error in farm bill (Friday, 3/8/02)
A farm bill that has been passed by the Senate would cost $6 billion more than intended and exceed the congressional budget spending limit. Analysts found the error after the Senate had already voted on the bill.

The price of a child (Friday, 3/8/02)
Barry Bearak reports from Afghanistan on the increasingly common practice of bartering children for food.

Tech fair in Hanover (Friday, 3/8/02)
It's the world's largest such get-together, and hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend. Organizers hope that it will be prelude to the recently slumping tech sector's recovery, and that this will mean a re-energizing of the increasingly tech-driven major economies.

Greater gender equality to be mandated in Norway (Friday, 3/8/02)
The Norwegian government intends to require that at least 40 percent of the members of corporate boards be women.

Starting from behind (Friday, 3/8/02)
Diana Jean Schemo reports that a major proportion of new college graduates start their careers with so much debt that they may spend a significant part of their careers paying it off.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Resumania (Friday, 3/8/02)
If you need to take time out for a few laughs, here's Resumania, which offers real-world examples of how not to prepare your resume.

Jobless claims decline a bit again (Thursday, 3/7/02)
The number of persons filing for first-time unemployment benefits fell again last week. The decline was modest, but it seems to continue a trend, which, when combined with new productivity numbers, bolsters the view that the American economy is out of recession and growing again. In Germany, however, the news is not as good. Unemployment remained steady during the month of January.

Fourth attempt may be successful (Thursday, 3/7/02)
It appears that House Republicans and Democrats are about to agree on a stimulus bill with a mix of jobless aid and tax cuts that seems to satisfy members of both parties. Curt Peterson reports that, unlike previous attempts, the bill has a good chance of becoming law. Speaking of tax cuts, those passed into law last year are resulting in tax refunds that are surprising a lot of people. Here's more from USA Today.

EU files complaint against the U.S. (Thursday, 3/7/02)
The Bush administration's decision to apply tariffs to a number of imported steel products is not being met with much enthusiasm among other steel-producing countries. The European Union has filed a formal complaint with the World Trade Organization.

The Administration wants a new federal agency (Thursday, 3/7/02)
Conservative Republicans who wanted to abolish the Department of Education a few years ago and would like to see less government regulation and a reduction in the size of government generally may not be too happy about the fact that the Bush administration wants to establish a whole new agency. Scott Lindlaw reports that President Bush wants a new agency to monitor the accounting industry, among other things. If you need a clue as to why this is happening at this particular time, think "Enron" and "Arthur Andersen."

Kmart attempts to persuade managers to stay with the ship (Thursday, 3/7/02)
A big corporate ship that's been taking on water is trying to prevent some key employees from jumping overboard and swimming for shore. Kmart is attempting to reorganize and will need the help of key managers. It's offering bonuses to get them to stay.

South Korea to privatize banks (Thursday, 3/7/02)
The South Korean government took controlling interest in some of its banks during the "Asian contagion" crisis of several years ago. Now, it wants to get out of the banking business again. Don Kirk reports from Seoul on plans to privatize.

UN chief says you shouldn't fear people simply because they're poor (Thursday, 3/7/02)
There's more to international terrorism than poverty, according to the Secretary General of the United Nations. Barbara Crossette reports from UN headquarters in New York on Secretary General Annan's remarks. Not that global poverty isn't an important issue for a variety of reasons. Harry Dunphy reports on the World Bank President's new call for rich nations to step up efforts to reduce poverty.

Welfare workers to receive minimum wage (Thursday, 3/7/02)
The Bush administration's Secretary of Health and Human services is saying that the Administration's emphasis on work requirements for welfare recipients should not be interpreted to mean that the federal minimum wage will not apply.

Diversity's unhealthy side-effects (Thursday, 3/7/02)
Not only do many minorities in the U.S. lack access to healthcare, many of those who are able to see a doctor may have difficulty communicating with him or her.

America's superstrength and what it means (Thursday, 3/7/02)
The Washington Post's noted commentator Jim Hoagland has been examining the implications of America's being the only remaining superpower, not only militarily, but also economically. The world is impressed, but not all favorably.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: 3P Jobs (Thursday, 3/7/02)
3P Jobs is an executive search and headhunter organization in India. India is the world's largest democracy and has the second-largest national population after China, with expectations that it may surpass China later this century. India's huge population contains vast multitudes of impoverished people, but it also includes a large number of educated and privileged persons. In fact, its educated middle-class is larger than the combined populations of Germany and France and makes up one of the world's most important consumer markets. India also has a vigorous hi-tech sector with global importance.

Bush imposes tariffs on imported steel (Wednesday, 3/6/02)
The American steel industry has been crying for help for a long time, and the Administration has been listening, but industry leaders say that the new tariffs won't be enough to insure the recovery of an industry that has been battered by cheap imports. The imposition of tariffs is not something one might ordinarily expect from a Republican free-market president, and one might expect that the apparent inconsistency will be noticed by many. For example, leaders in the European Union are very angry this morning and will file a complaint with the World Trade Organization. Treasury Secretary O'Neill defends the Administration's action, and insists that it's not simply an effort to gain a trade advantage. In his New York Times analysis, Richard Stevenson says that the Bush administration's action will weaken the President's influence internationally at a bad time.

Ratification at United Airlines (Wednesday, 3/6/02)
Mechanics at United Airlines have ratified a new five-year contract with their airline, thus averting a strike. Meanwhile, a strike has been authorized by workers at Lockheed Martin.

Budget approved in Argentina (Wednesday, 3/6/02)
Argentina's Senate has approved a frugal budget that is expected to help the troubled country obtain economic assistance from the International Monetary Fund. Argentina's government is trying what it can in order to get control of an economy that has had the flu and may have slipped into pneumonia. One of the latest decisions is to tax all exports and use the money to support social programs.

More big cuts at Verizon (Wednesday, 3/6/02)
Verizon Communications reduced its payroll by nearly 30,000 jobs last year. The Wall Street Journal reports that the big telecommunications company intends to follow with an additional 10,000 cuts this year. Actually, these are "equivalent" cuts, because many will be accomplished through attrition and the offering of early retirement incentives.

China's Premier Zhu begins final year in office with a focus on economic problems (Wednesday, 3/6/02)
China has it all. You will find some of the world's wealthiest, most advanced companies and individuals in some regions of the country, and you will also find great poverty in the countryside and a world-class unemployment problem in the major cities. Moreover, because China contains a quarter of the earth's people, the numbers are absolutely staggering. For instance, China has far more unemployed workers than many countries have total population. A principal reason is that the country has been shutting down the huge old inefficient state-run plants that used to employ millions of people during the orthodox Communist years when the Chinese economy was highly centralized. China's Premier says he will focus much of his energy during this remaining year in office on attempts to alleviate poverty and unemployment. He'll also do what he can to eliminate the corruption that aggravates all of the other problems, he says.

Resistance to German government's plan to cut unemployment benefits (Wednesday, 3/6/02)
Germany has a generous support system left over from the days when the German economy was one of the world's wonders. Now, as it attempts to make a full transition from an old industrial economy to a new information economy and get itself out of recession, painful adjustments are necessary, according to some government leaders, including Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. A plan to make significant cuts to unemployment benefits is meeting with considerable resistance from the country's major unions.

New York raises job-loss count (Wednesday, 3/6/02)
New York City employment was hit hard by the September 11 terrorist attack as well as by the recession. Job losses in the city were up a third over the previous year, according to an updated count. Moreover, many people who lost their jobs as a consequence of 911 are also about to lose their unemployment benefits. Meanwhile, the President would like to see some major changes in the country's unemployment insurance system. The President wants to overhaul the 1996 welfare law too, and many low-income people aren't favoring his ideas. Robin Toner reports on a demonstration yesterday on the D. C. Mall.

Some former Enron workers will get small checks, but soon (Wednesday, 3/6/02)
A bankruptcy judged has decided that former Enron employees should receive $1,100 each in immediate aid. Here's more from Eric Berger of the Houston Chronicle.

Optimism detected in Japan (Wednesday, 3/6/02)
A new survey of Japanese business leaders paints a brighter picture than many have been used to for years. Many business people think the worst is over and that improvement can be expected. Hans Greimel has more from Tokyo.

Okay, let's settle this (Wednesday, 3/6/02)
Has the U.S. economy been in a recession or hasn't it? Well, yes and no. It depends on whom you ask, because the indicators are mixed. The American economy certainly took its foot off the accelerator pedal, but maybe it wasn't (notice the past tense) a genuine recession after all. Now that quite a lot of numbers are looking pretty good again, there is argument about whether the downturn met the right criteria. If you have a job or can find a job or can get your old job back, do you really care about the technicalities? Maybe not, but some people have good reason to worry about things like this.

The two-tier pension system (Wednesday, 3/6/02)
In many companies, retirement will be more secure from some than for others, and rank does have its privileges. Here's more from David Leonhardt of the New York Times.

Unionization at the University of Massachusetts (Wednesday, 3/6/02)
Undergraduates who serve as resident assistants at the University of Massachusetts have voted to form a union.

The impact of living wage laws (Wednesday, 3/6/02)
Montgomery County Maryland may pass a living wage law very soon. A number of U.S. communities already have them, but, according to this Washington Post story, some observers say that their effects have been fairly minimal.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Individualized Competence Based Education (Wednesday, 3/6/02)
If you've managed to work your way up to head of the corporate accounting department over the years and decide now that you would like to earn a college degree, should you have to take "Accounting 101" along with people who aren't sure they've ever heard of a debit or a credit? Isn't competence really competence, no matter how it is acquired? Shouldn't your college recognize your expertise and not insist that you retrace familiar and well-worn paths, particularly since the new economy is far more competence-oriented and less credentials-oriented than the old industrial economy? Still, there can be many good reasons for attending college as well, because higher education isn't just about education for work or career. It's also about education for living and for democracy.

Minnesota's Normandale Community College has long been an innovator in helping people get the most and best out of themselves for work and life. For many years, their Individualized Competence Based Education program has allowed students to obtain genuine college credit for competencies they already possess and can demonstrate systematically. The College is located near the Mall of America in Bloomington, which used to be a suburb of Minneapolis, but is now Minnesota's third-largest city in its own right.

The Bush push on Social Security (Monday, 3/4/02)
President Bush still wants Americans to be able to invest part of their Social Security money in stocks, and, as Elisabeth Bumiller writes, you can expect this question to become a major campaign issue in this fall's election. Noted columnist William Raspberry says, after thinking about the issue a lot, he may be losing a bit of his agnosticism.

Bush is worried about Japan's bad loans (Monday, 3/4/02)
He's not the only one, of course, but he may have somewhat greater ability to influence the Japanese PM's policies. Here's more from Takeshi Yamawaki in Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun. In the rare but increasingly welcome good news department, Japan's unemployment rate has declined for the first time in nearly a year. It's been hovering at record levels.

Tech sector begins to bounce back (Monday, 3/4/02)
David Francis of the Christian Science Monitor says that tech is showing signs of life, but it isn't yet clear how strong the signs are. Meanwhile, Steve Loh reports on one part of the tech sector that clearly is surging.

Preventing workplace homicides (Monday, 3/4/02)
Work life has gotten more dangerous during recent years, and Emery Dalesio reports that it doesn't take sophisticated hi-tech approaches to reduce homicides in work settings. Much success has been achieved through means that are decidedly low-tech, he says.

Hollywood politics (Monday, 3/4/02)
The Screen Actors Guild has nearly one-hundred thousand members, many of whom are not able to make a living as screen actors, incidentally. However, they will soon choose a president of their union. Laura Holson reports from the big film factory town on the campaign battle that's going on and the division that it reflects. Incidentally, a previous president of SAG also served as president of the United States, but, of course, not at the same time. If you don't know who that was, you must be Rip Van Winkle.

"Poorer" is relative (Monday, 3/4/02)
While you may believe that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, at least some of the rich are getting poorer too, according to the latest survey of the world's most wealthy persons conducted by Forbes magazine. It's not as easy to hang on to a billion as it used to be, although Gates and Buffett have managed to hang on to quite a few. They remain the richest individuals in the world. However, Bill Gates is down to nearly half of his peak several years ago, when, for a brief moment, his net worth was estimated at $100 billion. That was before the recession, before the "tech wreck," and before Microsoft stock took a big hit because of all that antitrust business. Meanwhile, in Argentina, many of the once-rich are no longer rich, and, as Larry Rohter reports, many of the great old estates are in a state of accelerating disrepair. Argentina's greatly troubled economy is producing an increasing number of people who are poor by virtually any definitional criterion. The government plans to level a one-time corporate tax to fund social programs to help them.

Another disadvantage of being poor in the U.S. (Monday, 3/4/02)
If you're in the low-income category, you're more likely to be audited by the IRS. The big tax collector has been doing fewer audits of high-income people and large corporations. Why is that? We don't know either.

Headhunters hunting (Monday, 3/4/02)
Many are looking for work for themselves now, though. Here's more from L. M. Sixel on how the recession has been influencing executive recruiters.

Can you make a living from a hobby? (Monday, 3/4/02)
Maybe, but look both ways before you step into the busy intersection where crashes are routine. If you've been dreaming about turning your avocation into a business, here are a few things to consider courtesy of the Arizona Republic.

Mexico as America's backdoor (Monday, 3/4/02)
Many of the people attempting to enter the United States from Mexico aren't Mexicans, writes Ginger Thompson.

How to avoid climbing aboard a sinking ship (Monday, 3/4/02)
Challenger, Gray & Christmas offers advice on how to do a little financial research on a prospective employer.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: How to get a better-than-average raise (Monday, 3/4/02)
Here are some tips on effective salary negotiations from the Hard@Work site.

Here are NewWork News stories from previous months

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