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Brazil has a good quarter (Saturday, 11/30/02)
Brazil's economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.38 percent during the third quarter, which was more than expected. Bernd Radowitz reports from Rio de Janeiro that the nation's agricultural sector is a principal reason for the good numbers.

Federal employees to have a slightly less happy new year (Saturday, 11/30/02)
President Bush has scaled back pay raises which will affect most federal workers, citing a "national emergency."

Deflation has been afflicting much of the world--is the U.S. next? (Saturday, 11/30/02)
High inflation can foul up an economy terribly, and, over recent decades, efforts to control inflation have had highest priority throughout much of the developed as well as the developing world, including the U.S. In fact, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan repeatedly has expressed concern that it may be lurking in the shadows, getting ready to kick in at a bad time. But, is he one of those "generals" who keeps preparing for the last war? Steven Pearlstein says that a growing number of economists are wondering if disinflation is about to turn into deflation. Incidentally, according to MSNBC, the Fed expects the American economy to avoid a "double dip," with growth remaining slow for a while.

Generosity, even during hard times (Saturday, 11/30/02)
Americans are willing to give, even during times of economic uncertainty, particularly when encouraged by their employers. Here's more from Steven Savides of the Christian Science Monitor. Also, as Jeff Peterson reports, many people are also very generous with their time. President Bush is encouraging privileged Americans to help the less fortunate with both their time and money.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: State of Working Wisconsin 2002 (Saturday, 11/30/02)
The Center on Wisconsin Strategy examines the state's workforce in its 72-page report, State of Working Wisconsin 2002. Among many other things, they find that, while median family income has increased in the state, so have total work hours.

Mechanics say "no" (Friday, 11/29/02)
Mechanics at United Airlines have rejected a plan to accept concessions as part of the company's effort to avoid Chapter 11 bankruptcy. As a consequence, United's stock value declined badly, and analysts are saying that it now seems virtually certain that United Airlines will follow US Airways into bankruptcy.

Unemployment up in Japan (Friday, 11/29/02)
The unemployment rate in Japan reached 5.5 percent last month, which equals the record set last December. Higher rates are expected, though. Yuri Kageyama reports from Tokyo on some of the reasons.

American consumers urged to boycott Gap products (Friday, 11/29/02)
Workers from Indonesia would like Americans to avoid Gap products and buy something else in order to call attention to what they regard as inhumane working conditions in factories in Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America with which Gap contracts.

Trying to employ the unemployable (Friday, 11/29/02)
Society does contain people who, for a variety of reasons, are essentially incapable of any full-time work, and, in some cases, can't do any work at all. As more people leave the welfare rolls for self-sufficient employment, those left tend to be people who are difficult for anyone to employ. Leslie Kaufman has details about New York City's experience.

Work on the day after Thanksgiving (Friday, 11/29/02)
Many employers give their workers the Thanksgiving weekend off, and many of those heads for the malls. But, since it's such a big shopping day, many retail workers find that it's one of the most frantic days of the year for them. Here's more from Deborah Caulfield Rybak in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Incidentally, with the slumped job market, those applying for seasonal employment include many you wouldn't expect, according to Jim Suhr in St. Louis.

It it seems to good to be true... (Friday, 11/29/02)
...It probably is, and, in fact, even if it's not presented as an opportunity to get rich but simply to earn extra money from home during this holiday season or any season, don't suspend disbelief. Sheryl Harris suggests extreme skepticism instead.

Learning retirement from one who knows how it's done (Friday, 11/29/02)
Elizabeth Dole used to be married to a United States Senator. From now on, it's going to be the other way around. Senator Dole will be the spouse of former Senator Dole. While his wife is busy making laws, the former Senator will be telling people what it will take to be ready for retirement when the time comes. One important thing: money. Bob Dole is encouraging people to start saving as much of it as they can, because, as things are going, far too many people are going to be lacking in what they need to finance their old age.

What rural Canada needs (Friday, 11/29/02)
A $1.5 billion fund is need to attract health workers to rural Canadian communities and improve services, according to the Romanov report. Here's more from the Calgary Sun.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Empowering the Way Out of Poverty (Friday, 11/29/02)
Empowering the Way Out of Poverty: Why It Matters, How It Works is a report from an official of the USDA and presents a plan for assisting poor rural communities with emphasis given to "empowerment."

Some things to be thankful for (Thursday, 11/28/02)
Many of the latest economic indicators are looking fairly good, and the prettier picture in the U.S. has even helped to raise stock prices in Tokyo. Overall, while no immediate boom is anticipated in the United States, there are increasing signs that the economy is unlikely to slip back into recession.

Mexican trucks can travel American highways (Thursday, 11/28/02)
President Bush has moved to allow trucks from Mexico to travel U.S. highways and no longer be restricted to border zones. Here's more from Suzanne Gamboa in Washington.

Schroeder sends Turkey an encouraging word (Thursday, 11/28/02)
Kerstin Gehmlich in Berlin reports that the German Chancellor wants to set a date to start entry talks aimed at eventual Turkish membership in the European Union.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The Concord Coalition (Thursday, 11/28/02)
The Concord Coalition says it is advocating balanced budgets and the protection of such entitlements as Medicare. It also claims to be nonpartisan, and the fact that Republican Warren Rudman and Democrat Bob Kerrey were among its founders supports that claim.

Jobless claims decline for second consecutive week (Wednesday, 11/27/02)
First-time jobless claims continued to decline last week. Does it mean that the economy is gathering momentum? Well...maybe, according to economists, but caution is recommended. Still, there are other positive indicators, as well, such as increased consumer confidence. Consumer spending and incomes also were up last month, according to Commerce Department data. Jonathan Fuerbringer of the New York Times examines possible implications of the good news.

The Big Apple shrinks a bit (Wednesday, 11/27/02)
New York City is retrenching. Mayor Bloomberg is leading the move to make cuts nearly everywhere in order to cope with a humungous $7.5 billion budget deficit, keeping in mind that this represents the financial problems of a CITY, not a country. Also, as part of the austerity effort, property taxes will increase by the greatest amount in the city's 300-year history (sic). Alexandra Marks of the Christian Science Monitor says the retrenchment is affecting nearly everyone in the city.

Movements in, out, and around France return to normal (Wednesday, 11/27/02)
An air traffic controllers strike has ended, and bus service also largely has returned to normal over much of the country. Meanwhile, unions have been having a rough time in Japan, and leaders are trying to convince workers that it's worth their time and money to be members. Also from Japan, Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun reports the results of a survey of executives that finds much concern about the U.S. economy's effect on Japan over the months ahead. Japanese business leaders aren't displaying much optimism.

Update on two troubled airlines (Wednesday, 11/27/02)
US Airways is trying to work its way out of bankruptcy, while United Airlines is trying to keep from slipping in. As part of US Air's effort, 2,500 jobs will be cut, and the company hopes to obtain more concessions from its unions. Meanwhile, United is trying to get a big loan guarantee from the federal government.

The fact that there is at least some Republican support for the bailout idea is interesting, given that many Republicans tend to define their ideology, in part, by the idea that, in a free-market economy, companies need to be free to succeed...and also free to fail. That is, government isn't supposed to intervene and prop up companies that are unable to make it on their own. That seems to be the attitude of many of United's competitors who see government assistance as offering an unfair advantage. Where is Herbert Spencer's social Darwinism when we need it?

President Bush's signing into law the bill that provides a $100 billion guarantee to insurance companies in case of losses due to terrorism seems to be another example of the sort of government intervention in the economy of which Democrats traditionally have been accused. What's going on?

Well, reality may be a good deal different from how it appears to people who try to push everything down the same funnel or who view everything through their favorite ideological filters. These may simply be examples of how insufficiently caricatures or stereotypes represent the real complexities of the world. If these things surprise you, consider that former Democratic Governor Ann Richards has been a long-time good friend of Enron's Ken Lay and is still reluctant to criticize him. Word is that she's also been working with Republicans at a New York consulting firm. Or, consider that former conservative Congressmen Bob Barr and Dick Armey are going to be working for the ACLU.

Is the recession over yet? (Wednesday, 11/27/02)
The quick-'n-dirty definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of "negative GDP growth" ("shrinkage" to those who speak English). However, the National Bureau of Economic Research uses complex formulas which require some time to figure out. The recession's really over when they say it's over, and they haven't said so yet. So there.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Charity Navigator (Wednesday, 11/27/02)
Charity Navigator tracks how efficiently more than 1,700 charities use the money you give them. How much of the money collected typically goes to serve the charities' purposes, for example, as opposed to operating expenses, including salaries?

The U.S. economy had a better summer than expected (Tuesday, 11/26/02)
The American economy grew at an annualized rate of 4 percent during the third quarter, up from the 3.1 percent estimate of a month ago. Nonetheless, Michael Arndt of Business Week says capital spending remains flat, and the third quarter was a bad one for bankruptcy filings. They hit a record, in fact.

Incidentally, the re-election of President Bush in 2004 probably will depend on how the economy is doing plus how things go with Iraq. So far, the economy does appear to be on the mend, at least for now, although it has a long way to go.

If the Bush administration's quiet gamble that a few Iraqi generals will feel the international pressure plus sufficient pressure from the U.S. military build-up to motivate the taking of things into their own hands and make a regime change with little loss of blood other than Saddam's, and, so long as there aren't any other big surprises in the next two years, George Washington himself probably wouldn't be able to defeat George Bush in 2004. If a U.S. military attack does happen, and the war is over in a few days with minimal U.S. and civilian Iraqi casualties, the domestic political result in the United States is likely to be much the same.

On the other hand, if things go very wrong in Iraq or throughout the region because of a major attack, the Democrats probably could make James Traficant the nominee and win, if he's out by then.

Bush says new terrorism insurance law will open up the U.S. economy (Tuesday, 11/26/02)
There's nothing like a major election victory to make things go a president's way. First, the homeland security bill, now new terrorism insurance legislation, which the Administration hopes will be an effective part of its economic recovery plan. The President hardly has had time to put down his pen.

The history of the Department of Homeland Security has been particularly interesting, and is yet another example of how the Republicans have been dancing around the Democrats all over the playing field in the sprightly game of politics.

First, Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman suggests a cabinet-level homeland security department, and the Administration rejects the idea. Later, they accept it and claim it as their own, but put a "poison pill" in the bill that they know many Congressional Democrats will resist before the midterm election--namely a management-oriented limitation on worker security in a department that eventually will employ 170,000 people. Some Democrats who are up for re-election vote against the bill because of this provision, and are accused in the campaign of being obstructionist and not really committed to their country's security. Some of them are turned out of office, including a Senator who lost several limbs in the Vietnam War.

Then, the bill quickly passes with the "poison pill" included, plus a lot of pork barrel stuff added on at the last minute. In general, the Republicans outsmart the Democrats again and get nearly everything they could have dreamed of and more. Still, many Democrats around the country continue to send each other jokes via email about how dumb the President is supposed to be. Isn't there something Freudian going on here?

Have you noticed that "reform" seems to be one of those Rorschach kinds of words? (Tuesday, 11/26/02)
It can mean whatever you want it to mean, but it does usually refer to change of some sort. A lot of French workers across various sectors don't like the "reforms" planned by the French government, and an increasing number of them are striking in order to display their displeasure. Catherine Bremer reports from Paris.

Bad news for Ukraine (Tuesday, 11/26/02)
Paul Starobin and Roman Olearchyk report from Odessa and Kiev, respectively, on how a government scandal may have a devasting impact on Ukraine's economy, even to the point of threatening eventual membership in the EU.

Life on the supply side (Tuesday, 11/26/02)
Entropy may or may not be rising, but the deficit certainly is. The odd thing is that, for years--at least a generation--it was the Republicans who were complaining about the need to get our "financial house in order" and the Democrats who didn't seem particularly bothered by Keynsian deficit spending, rather than the other way around. Here's more from Peter Grier in Washington for the Christian Science Monitor.

Another example of over-capacity (Tuesday, 11/26/02)
The U.S. telecommunications industry is in a bad frump because we're not using anywhere near the capacity we already have, so why build more? Moreover, at a time that we're over-wired with fiber optics, and so on, everything seems to want to go wireless.

Similarly, corporations loaded up on technology during the booming '90s, and, with the downturn, won't need anymore for a while. Not good news for people who make their living manufacturing and selling tech.

But, as Mike Musgrove of the Washington Post reports, the consumer market for computers is in a slump for similar reasons. Computers have gotten so powerful that most people aren't using much of the capability they already possess, so they aren't greatly interested in buying the "next great thing" anymore. If your current hard drive never gets more than a third full, do you really need to buy one that's twice as capacious?

You may be attracted to the next generation machine only if it also makes ice cubes and does cold fusion. That's a bit of stretch, but if you'd like a pocket device that combines your PDA, wireless phone, garage door opener, and maybe a radio, those kinds of things are beginning to enter the market. Get everything in one little package, and you'll REALLY feel bad when you lose it.

Too important to be on time (Tuesday, 11/26/02)
"Time and tide wait for no man," or maybe not. Maybe everything waits for your CEO. A new survey of several thousand corporate big shots finds that most of them are late most of the time, or something like that.

Will your kids be elderly by the time your will is read? (Tuesday, 11/26/02)
With life-expectancy lengthening in the U.S., and some privileged people living far longer than anyone had a right to expect, you may want to start giving early when members of the younger generation can really use it. Scott Burns has some suggestions on how to go about it. Meanwhile, here's a depressing story about some parents taking from their children instead of giving to them.

To many people, "retirement" is a four-letter word, no matter how you spell it (Tuesday, 11/26/02)
Gregory Weaver of the Indianapolis Star reports on the growing number of older people who seem to want to die with their boots on.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Life Expectancy Calculator (Tuesday, 11/26/02)
How long are you likely to live? You can make a guestimate based on medians with the Life Expectancy Calculator.

U.N. wants to deliver food as well as inspectors to Iraq (Monday, 11/25/02)
It's not really good timing, but the United Nations humanitarian program is expiring, and the Security Council agrees that it should be extended for six months.

The end of a non-zero-sum game (Monday, 11/25/02)
Steven Greenhouse of the New York Times says that both sides seem to have gained in the new port agreement, which a mediator calls "historic."

Inflation's still on his mind (Monday, 11/25/02)
Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan often appears to worry about inflation, even when few other people are doing so, but that's part of his job. A new study seems to confirm that the Fed typically is more concerned about inflation than unemployment, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Something that Britain and France have in common (Monday, 11/25/02)
Strikes, strikes, strikes, particularly in France. However, British military personnel have been standing in for 50,000 striking firefighters in Britain, while the PM is NOT offering support. Across the channel, truckers have called off their blockade, but plenty of other labor disputes and stoppages are underway or threatening.

Less holiday hiring (Monday, 11/25/02)
Retailers are hiring fewer workers for the holiday season, according to L. M. Sixel, at least in the Houston area. For those who have jobs all year around, the holiday season may be happier because of better bonuses this year. Here's more from Guy Halverson of the Christian Science Monitor, who also reports that charitable giving has been on the rise a bit, despite a fairly rough economy.

Who are the millions of Americans without health benefits? (Monday, 11/25/02)
It's not just the poor. John Broder, Robert Pear and Milt Freudenheim of the New York Times tell how the middle-class is being affected by America's chronic problem of making health care available to its citizens, despite its being the most economically successful nation in human history by most measures.

Meanwhile, China would like to have a middle class, rather than mostly an increasing but small number of rich and vast numbers of poor people, but, because of residual ideological baggage, would prefer to call it something else. The most successful modern societies tend to be those with a large proportion of their populations who must work to make a living, but who also have considerable discretionary income.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: How to Survive a Lost Job (Monday, 11/25/02)
How to Survive a Lost Job is advice from Bankrate.com.

Bush reviews his economic options (Saturday, 11/23/02)
The President's economic advisors have been providing him with a range of possibilities for stimulating the American economy so that it will begin growing at an impressive rate again and also create jobs in very large numbers. Meanwhile, the 107th Congress has adjourned without extending the jobless benefits of hundreds of thousands of unemployed Americans. Those benefits will run out for large numbers of people a few days past Christmas. Here's more from Susan Milligan and Sue Kirchhoff of the Boston Globe. What these people and others really need much more than additional unemployment checks are jobs, but neither will be coming real soon, it appears.

Argentines regain access to their own money (Saturday, 11/23/02)
Argentina's President has lifted the banking freeze that has gone on for nearly a year. The country, whose economy has been rocked by problems, is trying to re-start talks with the International Monetary Fund, which its leaders are hoping will help them secure a major loan.

Unions rally at 100 Wal-Mart stores (Saturday, 11/23/02)
If union leaders manage to organize Wal-Mart's 1.3 million workers, it will be a major coup for organized labor and its ability to influence political events, as well as affecting labor-management relations in the world's largest retailing organization. Here's more from Caryn Rousseau. Meanwhile, Diane Carponi reports from New Haven, Connecticut on a nonconventional approach to contract negotiations at famed Yale University.

And, speaking of labor, Japanese jobs are being exported to China, according to USA Today's Paul Wiseman in Dongguan. Japan has good reason to worry about its economic future with China only a few miles away, particularly considering the Japanese economy's weakened state, which threatens to move from chronic to permanent. China's total population is more than ten times as large as Japan's, and it has a nearly inexhaustible supply of very inexpensive labor which happily will accept the jobs of the far-better-paid Japanese workers. None of this would make much difference if China were still a weak, impoverished country. However, suddenly, it has the fastest growing economy in the world and is attracting tremendous amounts of foreign investment. Rather than being backward, parts of China are now super-modern, as the Chinese "leapfrog" over several stages of development their competitors have gone through. All is means that China is achieving major international economic clout, and, over time, China could completely swamp Japan.

Moreover, despite its current hegemonic position, the United States, with less than five percent of the world's population, could be threatened later this century as well. At the moment, the U.S. is preoccupied by the implications of an increasingly radicalized global Muslim population which is roughly equal to China's huge numbers. On the other hand, how long before China itself will become a target of radical Islam?

Informal foreign aid (Saturday, 11/23/02)
Latin American immigrants working in the United States send a lot of money home to their families. Leonel Sanchez of the San Diego Union-Tribune says that it added up to about $23 billion last year.

The quieter tech boom (Saturday, 11/23/02)
The tech industry, including the dot-coms of the late '90, has scaled back considerably, in large part because of the "irrational exuberance" of the period, which resulted in over-capacity and a stock value balloon that has since deflated. However, as we've said repeatedly, this should not be interpreted to mean that the tech revolution is over or that the Internet is not changing the world. A new United Nations report shows how true this is. Internet use throughout the world continues to expand at a furious rate, as does e-commerce. Meanwhile, the U.S. IT sector will get a major boost from the new Department of Homeland Security.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Center for a New American Dream (Saturday, 11/23/02)
The Center for a New American Dream is a nonprofit organization working toward a reduction of consumption and a redefinition of "quality living" in the United States.

Conference Board's index levels off (Friday, 11/22/02)
The much-watched Index of Leading Economic Indicators held steady in October after falling previously, suggesting that better times may lie ahead. A new report from the Economic Cycle Research Institute reaches a similar conclusion.

Happy holidays (Friday, 11/22/02)
Jobless benefits are set to run out at a bad time for a million Americans, according to Leigh Strope in Washington. Here's more from Jonathan Weisman in today's Washington Post. Congressional Democrats are asking the President for assistance in providing an extension in order to make the new year somewhat happier while Americans wait for the economy to begin producing jobs in large numbers again.

French truckers prepare for another blockade (Friday, 11/22/02)
We provided daily reports in 1997 when truckers blockaded French highways as part of an earlier dispute. Paule Bonjean reports from Paris that pay talks aren't going well, and that French truckers are preparing to snarl things up all over again if necessary. Negotiations will continue through the weekend, though.

American exports (Friday, 11/22/02)
The U.S. has been exporting products to much of the world for years. More recently, it's been exporting jobs. Now, as David Cay Johnston reports, more and more companies are moving their principal assets offshore in order to save on U.S. taxes. Overall, it means that many American companies are trying to turn themselves into non-American companies. In the long-run, that can't be good for the country, can it?

New Fed report on affordable housing (Friday, 11/22/02)
The housing problem for low-income people, at least in the Twin Cities region, has to do with the low income, not so much a shortage of housing, according to a report from the Federal Reserve.

The cost of grief (Friday, 11/22/02)
A new report from the Grief Recovery Institute indicates that it is in the enlightened financial self-interest of employers to provide support when their workers are going through very hard times. Here's more from Connie Cone Sexton of the Arizona Republic.

Houston lags in number of women at the top (Friday, 11/22/02)
The Houston Chronicle's columnist, L. M. Sixel, compares how women are doing in Houston's corporate community with how they're doing in executive suites across the nation.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Low-Wage Workers in the New Economy (Friday, 11/22/02)
Low-Wage Workers in the New Economy is a 386-page collection of essays edited by Richard Kazis and Marc Miller and published by the Urban Institute.

Better job market news (Thursday, 11/21/02)
First-time jobless claims hit their lowest level in four months last week, and experts think that it might really mean something this time. Here's more from Campion Walsh and Joseph Rebello in Smart Money.

Still, layoffs continue, particularly in the troubled travel and telecommunications sectors. Many airlines continue to cut back and are parking many of their planes in the Arizona desert, meaning that they're certainly not in the market for new ones. As a consequence, demand for many of Boeing's products has declined, so they intend to cut 5,000 jobs in 2003. One of the most troubled airlines is United, which has been trying to avoid bankruptcy by making deals with its unions. The latest is a cost-cutting arrangement with its machinists.

Meanwhile, WorldCom, which, not only must compete in the depressed telecommunications sector, is also one of those companies that was in the news so much recently because of its own very special management problems. It's under new leadership now, though, and hopes to pull out of bankruptcy next year. Christopher Stern reports that the company will lay off 3,000 workers in December as a cost-cutting effort toward that end.

Big Japanese bank to reduce pensions (Thursday, 11/21/02)
The Japanese economy has been in a slump for more than a decade, technically in and out of a series of recessions during this period. Things probably won't get significantly better until the country's major banks get their houses in order, and that will mean having to do something about the huge bad loans that are weighing everybody down. Meanwhile, one major bank has begun other actions as part of an effort to clean up its finances. According to the Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi is reducing pension payments by as much as 20 percent.

Workers sue big retailer for overtime pay (Thursday, 11/21/02)
As we've been reporting, there are stepped-up efforts on the part of labor organizers to bring unionization to the more than 1 million people who work for the world's largest retailer. Andrew Kramer reports from Portland, Oregon on a class-action suit brought by employees of most Wal-Mart stores in Oregon which alleges that they have not received overtime pay due them. Dozens of similar suits have been filed throughout the country.

Women encouraged to be more assertive in negotiations (Thursday, 11/21/02)
On average, American women who work outside the home still earn less than three-quarters of what men earn. At least one executive coach says that many women could earn more if they weren't so willing to take "no" for an answer. Here's more from Eileen Alt Powell in New York.

Practicing vs. preaching (Thursday, 11/21/02)
Columnist Diane Stafford discusses the frequent gap between what corporations are saying about diversity and their policies.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Top Business Schools: Results at a Glance (Thursday, 11/21/02)
Here are the best business schools in the United States in the judgment of corporate recruiters as surveyed by the Wall Street Journal.

Mexican President reintroduces farm price supports (Wednesday, 11/20/02)
Mexico's President Fox is concerned that his country agricultural sector will be devastated by the lifting of remaining agricultural tariffs at the beginning of the year under NAFTA, particularly considering the existence of farm subsidies in other countries, including the United States. In other international trade news, officials of the European Union are prepared to formally complain to the World Trade Organization about U.S.-imposed trade barriers.

The Fed still has tools available, Greenspan says (Wednesday, 11/20/02)
Even if the Federal Reserve were to reduce the federal funds rate to zero, there will be additional things that it can do to stimulate the American economy, which is still growing, by the way, according to the Fed chief.

Hard consequences of a hot real estate market (Wednesday, 11/20/02)
Low mortgage rates have encouraged new home sales as well as refinancing, and real estate prices have inflated sufficiently to make some worry about the kind of "bubble" that afflicted hi-tech recently. Rising values have nearly priced more and more working families out of the market, according to a new study. An increasing number of families are spending more than half of their incomes simply for the roofs over their heads, leaving too little for everything else. However, as Mark Felsenthal reports from Washington, the housing market may be cooling a bit. Housing starts were down 11.4 percent in October, the largest monthly drop in eight years.

Black & Decker to export jobs (Wednesday, 11/20/02)
The big toolmaker intends to cut 1,300 jobs, closing its Easton, Maryland plant entirely. Most of the Maryland jobs will go to Mexico and Brazil, but some to North Carolina. Bank of America also plans to cut 900 jobs.

A tale of two cities (Wednesday, 11/20/02)
Many of Washington, D.C.'s women are doing better than women in other parts of the country, while many others are doing worse. Kirstin Downey describes some recent statistics, including the bi-modal distributions on the graphs.

China might rather have nearly anybody else's unemployment problems (Wednesday, 11/20/02)
China's economy is growing faster than any other economy in the world. Roughly 300 million people in the major cities are participating in this latest Chinese revolution, some becoming prosperous or even unimaginably wealthy overnight. However, a far larger proportion of the world's largest national population has been left out entirely, either facing increasing poverty in the vast Chinese countryside, or struggling with unemployment and scarce jobs following the shutdown of the huge, failed, formerly state-run factories. In fact, China has more unemployed persons than most of the world's countries have total population. Needless to say, as Dexter Roberts of Business Week reports from Beijing, job creation is a very high priority for the Chinese government, because the alternative to moving rapidly and effectively on this front may be the sort of social upheaval and fragmentation that plagued China for so much of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Effects of "Enron" on your resume (Wednesday, 11/20/02)
Eric Berger writes from Houston that a new survey of laid-off Enron workers reports that 70 percent of persons responding say that they've found new situations with which they are satisfied, suggesting that the job market isn't blaming the victims of the Enron debacle.

Your "other family" at work (Wednesday, 11/20/02)
Stephanie Armour of USA Today writes about how many people receive needed support from their work colleagues when they face very hard times.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: A Classification of American Wealth (Wednesday, 11/20/02)
A Classification of American Wealth tracks wealthy families throughout American history.

Anxiety on the rise in Brazil... (Tuesday, 11/19/02)
...And it's related to the rising inflation rate. Here's more from Tony Smith in Sao Paulo. Brazil has the largest economy in South American, and, while its problems so far are nowhere nearly so great as those of its neighbor, Argentina, the newly-elected leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has being making observers nervous. A return to double-digit inflation wouldn't encourage general relaxation across the country.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Consumer Price Index rose by 0.3 percent in October, but most of that is attributable to energy price increases. Overall, inflation still isn't regarded as a likely problem during the foreseeable future.

Status report on corporate women (Tuesday, 11/19/02)
Catalyst has issued its latest report on women in corporate life, and finds that, while there has been some progress making it through the glass ceiling, for most working women, it's still just a "looking glass" seen from below. Here's more from columnist L. M. Sixel of the Houston Chronicle. Meanwhile the Detroit Free Press' Jennifer Dixon reports on how fourteen of Detroit's top women leaders are working together to help other women make it big in the workplace.

Okay, it's your turn--what would YOU do? (Tuesday, 11/19/02)
How would you fix the American economy if you didn't have to think about political considerations? Business Week's Peter Coy has some thoughts on the subject, and, of course, in the real-world, politics can't be left out of it, so dream on.

Meanwhile, are you worrying about the return of the deficit? Edmund Andrews of the New York Times says many economists aren't alarmed about budget shortfalls over the next few years. However, once they begin thinking about the longer-term--such as 2010 and beyond, it's hard for them to get much sleep. The future of the American economy may very well be at stake.

The child-care credit system apparently isn't working (Tuesday, 11/19/02)
The National Women's Law Center reports that most companies aren't taking advantage of their states' allowable tax credits to help cover the cost of helping employees pay for child care.

Job cuts at Xerox (Tuesday, 11/19/02)
At one time, Xerox helped define the meaning of "hi-tech," not only because of various breakthrough products of its own, but also because of R&D at its PARC that led to innovative products brought to market by other companies. For instance, the now-ubiquitous graphical user interface on computers was largely invented at Xerox, but they didn't benefit much from it. Instead, Apple and, then, Microsoft, developed products that made it the standard way of interacting with computers throughout the world. For various reasons, including the overall economic downturn, Xerox has been struggling in recent years. The latest news is that it will cut more than 2,400 jobs, but not all through layoffs.

Target isn't just Wal-Mart's competitor (Tuesday, 11/19/02)
It's also what labor leaders have been trying to paint on the world's largest retailer. So far, organized labor has failed to unionize the Wal-Mart, which employs more than a million workers, but, as Leigh Strope reports from Washington, labor leaders are setting up a "full-court-press."

Advice for boomers who don't plan to die early (Tuesday, 11/19/02)
Americans have a world-wide reputation for spending, borrowing in order to spend more, and saving little. Moreover, the boomer generation has a reputation, which may or may not be deserved, for being particularly self-indulgent. For whatever reason, now that the huge postwar cohort is approaching "near-elderly" status, many people are noticing how poorly prepared the "forever-young" folks are for retirement.

In fact, the great majority of American workers won't have anywhere near what they will need to supplement Social Security payments during their late years unless they start saving much more NOW. This, plus the fact that the Social Security and Medicare systems, without fundamental changes, could bend the entire U.S. economy out of whack means that a severe national crisis is beginning to peek over the horizon. And have we mentioned the cost of caring for the greatly enlarged number of Alzheimer's patients who are likely to be part of a greatly enlarged elderly population?

With the increase in longevity, many people may spend nearly as much time in retirement, if they can afford to retire at all, as they have spent in their active careers. Social Security won't be nearly enough to retire on, and Scott Burns explains why it's less than it used to be and why a re-thinking of the program is necessary.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: National Center for Children in Poverty (Tuesday, 11/19/02)
The National Center for Children in Poverty is part of the School of Public Health at Columbia University in New York City. Its mission is to identify and promote strategies for preventing child poverty and improving the lives of low-income families.

Still more cuts at United (Monday, 11/18/02)
United Airlines has been scrambling to prevent a descent into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company's efforts have involved working out cost-cutting deals with several of its unions. The latest news is that 9,000 jobs will be eliminated over the next year or so. The number of flights also will be reduced by 6 percent, making the company almost a quarter smaller than it was before September 11, 2001.

Update from Poland (Monday, 11/18/02)
The Polish economy has been in its worst slump since the end of Communism. However, inflation decreased in October, and the country's central bank cut interest rates for the seventh time this year.

Hiring expected to improve in 2003 (Monday, 11/18/02)
A new survey from Manpower, Inc. of 16,000 businesses finds that employers expect to increase their hiring a bit during the early part of next year.

Much too much debt (Monday, 11/18/02)
By many ordinary criteria, the United States is the wealthiest nation in the history of humanity. However, even though it has the world's largest economy, the nation's wealth is very unevenly distributed, leaving many persons struggling with debt as part of their effort to remain financially afloat from month to month. Still other Americans have borrowed heavily in order to artificially inflate their standard of living. Even if your income is high, you may be tempted to make use of other people's money in order to have things you really can't afford, resulting in a situation in which much of your labor goes simply to pay interest. As Caroline Mayer reports, too many Americans are carrying too much debt, and this can hurt the entire American economy.

Chipping and chiseling (Monday, 11/18/02)
Not many years ago, employers were having to offer lavish benefits in order to attract and hold the workers they needed in a tight labor market. Times have changed, in case you haven't noticed. Stephanie Armour reports that worker benefits are being chipped away a little here, a little there, and it's all adding up, er, "subtracting down?"

Outsourcing industry may send a "thank you" card to the President (Monday, 11/18/02)
Despite their intentions, conservative politicians aren't always able to reduce the overall size of government, as President Bush has been finding now that he's about to launch a huge new federal agency. However, one way of having it both ways, in a sense, is to let the private sector compete for government jobs. The President will be happy if 850,000 jobs could be sucked up by private contractors, and it's all expected to boost the outsourcing industry which has been in a slump along with much of the rest of the economy.

Roughly half of federal employees will be eligible for retirement during the next few years, suggesting that a shortage has been building on the horizon. For one thing, the government usually employs a lot of lawyers, but the need to pay off big school debts is pushing new law grads toward private sector jobs.

Now that the election's over, you can expect changes in Social Security (Monday, 11/18/02)
However, Kansas City Star columnist Jerry Heaster says it won't happen as "privatizing" was portrayed by some candidates in the recent election. He doesn't think that seniors, who tend to vote regularly, fell for what he says were distortions in the political ads. Social Security reform is coming now, though, and it won't mean the end of civilization as we know it.

The dot-com boom is gone, but the new economy certainly isn't (Monday, 11/18/02)
It's always been a mistake to interpret "new economy" to mean doing everything on the Internet. The recent bubble economy was not the new economy. Much of the hype is gone, but the transformation has been continuing, just more quietly. Laurent Belsie of the Christian Science Monitor has been examining the evolving workplace.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Duke Occupational & Environmental Medicine (Monday, 11/18/02)
North Carolina's Duke University medical center maintains a division specializing in occupational and environmental medicine.

Bankruptcy reform bill dies in the House because of...abortion opponents? (Sunday, 11/17/02)
Yes, there IS a connection, but it requires explanation. It all means that, for the time being, at least, it won't get harder to walk away from debts. Here's more from today's Minneapolis Star Tribune.

China wants to help North Koreans have good reason for staying home (Sunday, 11/17/02)
The vast gap between the world's rich and its poor has stimulating an historic migration over much of the globe, as poor people attempt to move to regions where they can expect greater economic security and opportunity. Examples are the movement of Mexicans across the U.S. border, the continual flow of people into Shanghai from the Chinese countryside, and, increasingly, the effort of so many impoverished North Koreans to get into China. Jonathan Ansfield writes from Beijing about the multiple reasons for China's plans to send grain to North Korea with the help of the United Nations.

Don't think of China as a single economy (Sunday, 11/17/02)
Mark Clifford examines the provocative new book by economist Kenichi Ohmae that provides a novel interpretation of what's REALLY happening in China, and why all the world needs to pay close attention. Speaking of important books for the 21st century, here's Christopher Farrell's over-due examination of one by 18th century philosopher Adam Smith, and it's probably not the one you're thinking of. It's Smith's The Theory of Moral Sentiments, which he regarded as the companion to his much more famous The Wealth of Nations.

Some nontraditional career changes (Sunday, 11/17/02)
Some people choose to change careers for practical reasons having to do with market demand. Others do it because of the feeling of being called by social need. Theresa Agovino writes about a person who certainly knows about markets, but may have other reasons for wanting to become a nurse, and she's not alone. Incidentally, if you're qualified and willing, you'll have little difficulty obtaining a job in nursing right now, but what if you're aiming at some other line or work that really requires a search? Gratification isn't likely to be instant in today's job market, so here's some practical advice for keeping motivated and focused.

When somebody's stuck in a hole, will it help to throw money in with them? (Sunday, 11/17/02)
William Prillaman of the Washington Times writes about the controversy over what to do about Argentina, which seems to be sinking ever more deeply into a financial sinkhole. They would like another $9 billion in aid during the next several weeks, but they've already received $48 billion in less than two years. What's really needed?

Roth minefields (Sunday, 11/17/02)
Albert Crenshaw says that there are good reasons why Roth IRAs have become so popular, but, watch out. There can be pitfalls for some people.

Does anyone really need FOUR majors? (Sunday, 11/17/02)
Karl Marx and Thomas Jefferson may not have a whole lot in common other than that both were effective writers and both may be twisting in their graves right now over how some things have turned out. Marx likely would be nearly apoplectic over recent developments in China, while Jefferson, as we've suggested recently, likely would be disappointed at how the American academic culture has developed over the years since he established the University of Virginia.

There seems to be little doubt that the modern university and its satellite institutions--e.g., liberal arts, community, and technical colleges--have been socially important devices contributing enormously to the collective good. But, so have public libraries, which also tend to enjoy very heavy use. However, we doubt that any value whatever would be added to them if their use were highly formalized and official "gatekeepers" were to award gold stars or other certificates to patrons. Thankfully, with respect to public libraries, at least, we've managed to avoid the morbid condition of having symbols take on more social importance than the substance they were intended to represent.

Among prominent early Americans, Jefferson and Adams did complete courses of study at the two leading higher educational institutions in North America at that time--the College of William and Mary and Harvard, respectively. In fact, Jefferson studied law under George Wythe longer than most students spend in law school in the U.S. now.

However, the "indispensable man," the first president and the person without whom there could not have been a United States of America, in the judgment of most historians, may not have attended school at all; there's no convincing record of his having done so. Benjamin Franklin, probably America's greatest diplomat plus one of the most influential scientists of all time, had about a year of school, plus a little tutoring in basic skills. Lincoln, widely regarded as our greatest president, attended school for about six months, but, given the nature of schools at that time, he probably achieved his enormous intellectual sophistication in spite of that experience, rather than because of it.

So, why on earth do so many Americans believe that it's so important to attend a famous, expensive school, and have multiple degrees, even multiple majors, listed in somebody's formal record? It might help if employers were in better touch with reality and not so gullible as to allow people with lots of "degrees" to sell them other people with lots of "degrees." Nearly everybody benefits when individuals are knowledgeable, competent, and live quality lives. However, in the long-run, it may be only universities as employment centers that benefit from the production of degree holders who may enjoy none of those attributes.

There seem to be a limited number of fundamental issues: Do I really know anything, can I really do anything, and do I live a quality life, for whatever reasons, by whatever means? If the answer is "yes," there aren't any other important questions. If the answer is "no," there aren't any other important questions either.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: National Labor Relations Board (Sunday, 11/17/02)
The National Labor Relations Board investigates unfair labor practices, among other things, and, in 1935, was established to enforce the National Labor Relations Act.

New Turkish PM (Saturday, 11/16/02)
Prime Minister Abdullah Gul intends to carry out economic reforms so as to meet membership standards in the European Union.

More news from a deeply troubled continent (Saturday, 11/16/02)
You name it--famine, war, AIDS, contaminated water, overpopulation--Africa has nearly all conceivable problems in abundance. As examples, Cris Chinaka reports on Zimbabwe's worsening economy, while Danna Harman provides evidence that it isn't always drought that causes famine in some regions of Africa. Sometimes, it's self-inflicted.

Another deal at United (Saturday, 11/16/02)
United Airlines has reached another cost-cutting agreement, this time with its flight dispatchers.

Wholesale prices rise, but, not to worry? (Saturday, 11/16/02)
Wholesale prices in the United States increased by the largest amount in two years during the month of October, but many economists caution against over-interpretation.

Woolworth has been gone for years, but not quite forgotten (Saturday, 11/16/02)
At one time, Woolworth and Kresge were the leading "five-and-dime" stores. Kresge became Kmart, and, for a time, had great success before being displaced by Wal-Mart as the leading retailer. Woolworth tried to remain on its original trajectory, and gradually faded over the years before closing its last store in 1997. In what may be the final chapter, a bias suit brought by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has been settled for $3.5 million.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (Saturday, 11/16/02)
The National Study of Postsecondary Faculty is an ongoing research project conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics at the United States Department of Education. Data were first collected during the 1987-1988 academic year with additional collections at intervals since. Additional data will be collected next academic year.

The Bush push toward privatization (Friday, 11/15/02)
The Bush administration wants to allow private contractors to compete for as many as 850,000 government jobs. Here's more from the New York Times' Richard Stevenson in Washington.

New low for mortgage rates (Friday, 11/15/02)
Fixed rates on 30-year mortgages were at 6.11 percent last week. They are 5.94 percent this week, which is a new record low. The real estate sector has been very hot as a consequence, and many Americans are refinancing their mortgages in order to save considerably on monthly payments. This is because during the early years of a mortgage, in particular, most of the monthly payment goes to cover interest on the large amount of borrowed money, with chipping away at the principal occurring gradually over a long period. Over the years, the payment balance gradually shifts in the direction of paying off principal as the amount owed diminishes, and, as a consequence, the amount of interest incurred each month.

Can tech go nowhere but up now? (Friday, 11/15/02)
Matt Berger reports from Santa Clara, California that some key forecasters are saying that the expect that the tech sector finally has bottomed out, and they expect things to improve from here on with growth rates recovering to their pre-2001 levels within four years. This is particularly important because the new American economy has become increasingly dependent on its information technology sector.

Rally in Philadelphia (Friday, 11/15/02)
Jane Von Bergen reports in the Philadelphia Inquirer on what affected persons are saying about the low rate of pay for child-care workers.

The latest news about job mobility (Friday, 11/15/02)
Futurists have been saying for years that most American workers can expect to change, not only jobs, but also careers, several times during their work lives. According to new research sponsored by the New York Times, increased job mobility seems to be happening, at least in the New York City region.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Employment Outcomes for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care (Friday, 11/15/02)
What happens to young people in foster care when they grow up? Employment Outcomes for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care is a report from research conducted at the University of Chicago.

So far, so good; now, when can we expect an election? (Thursday, 11/14/02)
China needs more law. That is, it needs more standardized definitions and more orderly procedures, not only in its international economic life, but also in its political life. It's been making progress on several fronts. For instance, as Jeremy Page and Brian Rhoads report from Beijing, the world's largest country may be in the process of solving the oldest problem with authoritarian government, the problem of orderly succession. A new leader will be taking over, this time, apparently, without people being exiled, locked up, or murdered in their beds. Still, the transfer of power is not complete. Jiang Zemin is stepping out of the spotlight, but, unlike George Washington, he's certainly not simply retiring to his farm. At any rate, China's desire for more economic development and a larger role in the global economy is providing a strong incentive to modernize the way it does things and bring its procedures more in line with the world's industrial democracies, and that can mean becoming more and more a nation of laws and less an international outlaw.

Sprint to cut jobs (Thursday, 11/14/02)
Is the American economy doing well or poorly? Answer: yes. The real estate and automotive sectors have been doing great, while the airline and telecommunications sectors have been perfectly awful (if there be perfection in this world). Sprint is one that has been struggling, and it's decided to cut costs in its wireless phone division by hanging up on 1,600 employees and 500 contractors. According to some independent observers, part of their problem has been customer service. Will having fewer workers help that?

The feds don't side with the shippers (Thursday, 11/14/02)
Shipping companies affected by the recent strike that closed 29 West Coast ports for a while blamed the workers for slowing down production, but a federal prosecutor says that both sides should share the blame.

Aw, go ahead--give yourself a raise (Thursday, 11/14/02)
You'll remember Wisconsin's Senator Feingold as half of the McCain-Feingold team that worked so long for campaign finance reform. More recently, Senator Feingold has been opposing a Congressional pay raise, believing that it's not a good time. Needless to say, he was overruled. The Senate vote was 58 to 36 to accept and deposit the larger checks.

Columnist kisses her raise good-bye (Thursday, 11/14/02)
The Kansas City Star's noted career columnist, Diane Stafford, says that her share of increased health insurance costs has consumed her raise, and she's not alone. In another recent column, Ms. Stafford examines means for assessing personalities and helping to make bosses and their workers more compatible.

The poor help the poorer (Thursday, 11/14/02)
Vietnam is contributing $300,000 worth of educational supplies and equipment to the children of Afghanistan.

401(k) participation declines (Thursday, 11/14/02)
Many people are abandoning their 401(k) plans for reasons which may not be hard to understand, but it still may not be a good idea. Here's more from Christine Dugas of USA Today.

The IRS may be looking for you (Thursday, 11/14/02)
No, wait--96,000 American taxpayers still have refunds coming.

Forbes has seen a lot of changes (Thursday, 11/14/02)
The esteemed business magazine is celebrating its 85th anniversary, and has been asking a number of leading figures about the most influential advances since they started publishing. For example, Ted Turner thinks one of the most important was the invention of...well, we'll give you a hint. It starts with a "c" and ends with an "n."

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education (Thursday, 11/14/02)
In some areas of life, it has become routine for as much change to occur in a few years as used to require a thousand years. This should give people in higher education pause for thought, if the beginnings of the modern university institution can be traced to Bologna around 1076. In fact, it appears that higher education is now in the early stages of a fundamental reorganization, and some forecasters expect the majority of colleges and universities, as we know them, to be gone within a quarter century or less. It's probably a good time for those who have a stake in higher education to engage in vigorous discussion. This is what the Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education is for. It's located on the campus of one of the world's great public higher ed institutions, the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

The first modern public university was established at Charlottesville, Virginia by Thomas Jefferson. Like the United States itself, it was an outgrowth of the Enlightenment and represented a fundamental change of direction for higher education. Previously, colleges and universities were church-supported, which is to say that scholarship didn't start with questions of all kinds: some answers, particularly those having to do with religion, were assumed from the beginning, and, at least, by implication, questioning many of these assumptions was regarded as off-limits.

As a consequence, Jefferson had quite a lot to do with helping to redefine the nature and purpose of a genuine university in the contemporary world. However, he would be disappointed to find that the American academic culture has evolved in a way that resembles the European aristocratic system which he felt America was created to reject. He didn't want the University of Virginia to grant degrees, for instance.

Well, yes and no (Wednesday, 11/13/02)
Can we expect improvement in the American economy over the months ahead? It depends on whom you ask, and, if you ask Administration officials who can't describe something like that without influencing it, you're likely to get fairly optimistic forecasts, which many are hoping will be self-fulfilling. The President is said to be considering ways his administration might stimulate more growth, so they're not simply hoping for the best. A new survey of business executives finds less optimism, and Alan Greenspan acknowledges uncertainty, in part, because of concerns about a war with Iraq.

Incidentally, it isn't that war with Iraq is an increasing possibility. More accurately, an ESCALATION of the war with Iraq is now a strong possibility. There have been regular military encounters during most of the time since the Gulf War more than a decade ago as part of the enforcement of the "no fly zones." If Iraq were located in the Klondike or some other area far from Middle East's oil fields, there would be less economic concern. The worry is that even a brief full-scale invasion could send crude oil to $60 per barrel or more, just from anxieties alone, which would tend to suppress the U.S. economy and that would suppress the global economy. If the war's over in ten days or so, the long-term economic effects should be minimal. On the other hand, if it lasts more than a month, the economic issues may be the least of our worries.

The U.S.-led coalition should be able to take out many of Iraq's key military command and control installations in outlying parts of the country quite quickly, as well as secure buffer regions between Iraq and its neighbors to help protect them from Iraqi retaliation. This would isolate the regime as well as the large population of Baghdad, and, if overwhelming force is on its way, we can hope that people in the Iraqi government and military will overcome their fears of Saddam's internal terror organization sufficiently to further isolate Saddam and, then, remove him themselves, thus saving everybody from large-scale warfare in and around Baghdad itself. The anti-war protests in the U.S. and Europe have served the Bush administration's purposes by adding to the credibility of the threat, from the point of view of people close to Saddam, perhaps helping to convince them that they will have more future by turning against Saddam than by sticking with him.

We believe that there are potentially catastrophic risks on both sides--either from invading or not invading, which is to say that the situation is far worse than many of those demonstrating against an invasion appear to believe. Many of the anti-war protesters seem to be ignoring at least half of the problem. The whole thing is reminiscent of the late 1930's as well as the period around January 2000.

Much of the protesters' rhetoric sounds like a verbatim transcript of what many Americans were saying about Hitler during the isolationist 1930s. There were even some Americans who believed that President Roosevelt, not Hitler, was the real villain, and, when news about Nazi atrocities and the death camps began to filter out, many Americans, particularly those who had never liked the President in the first place, chose not to believe it, and, instead, claimed that it was all a U.S. government plot. Moreover, of course, some people continue to claim that the Holocaust never happened.

When we managed to get through January 1, 2000 without major computer disruptions, some people claimed that it was proof that there never had been a problem in the first place, rather than that disaster was averted because of a lot of advance work done by a lot of experts. If the Bush administration and its coalition partners manage to avert a Saddam-inflicted disaster, some will take it to mean that he was never a threat in the first place, and that it was all a plot on the part of the Administration. If Hitler had been stopped early, it could have resulted in the saving of tens of millions lives. Instead, we now look back at World War II as the principal defining event of the bloody 20th century.

Are there serious risks associated with an invasion of Iraq? Could everything really go to hell as a consequence? Absolutely. Is Saddam a serious threat to the stability of the Middle East and the security of the world? Could everything really go to hell if there is no invasion? Absolutely. Needless to say, stay tuned, and swallow some aspirin.

The Edwards economic plan (Wednesday, 11/13/02)
Senator John Edwards of North Carolina is among those frequently mentioned as a possible Democratic nominee for president in 2004. He's young, bright, attractive, and so on, and also has the advantage of little history and no political baggage to drag along with him of the sort that could complicate the candidacies of Al Gore and others. However, Senator Edwards really hasn't done much of anything either, so he has a need to distinguish himself, not only from the Republicans, but also from many of the other Democrats. Dan Balz of the Washington Post describes the Senator's economic plan.

Japan's ever-so-minimal fractional growth (Wednesday, 11/13/02)
The Japanese economy managed to expand during the third quarter, but by less than the quarter before, and there is reason to believe that the growth could be over for awhile. Here's more from Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo. Investors certainly don't seem all that optimistic. The Nikkei has declined to its lowest level in 19 years.

Why be nervous about increased productivity? (Wednesday, 11/13/02)
It's because, while there may not really be two sides to EVERYTHING, there are two sides to productivity. The Philadelphia Inquirer's Andrew Cassel explains.

When in doubt, go in debt (Wednesday, 11/13/02)
Debt-ridden Americans are coping with the stresses of economic uncertainty by going even deeper into debt, according to Jeannine Aversa in Washington. Lower interest rates make mortgages more attractive, but not just for new purchases. Refinancing has gotten more attractive too, which may not be exactly what the Fed had in mind when it lowered rates again.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Policy Briefs and Economic Indicators (Wednesday, 11/13/02)
Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO) has gathered together an extensive collection of policy briefs and economic indicators from a variety of sources.

Japan expects its mild recovery to lose momentum (Tuesday, 11/12/02)
In its November report, a Japanese government agency scales back its assessment of the nation's economy for the first time in a year. Here's more from Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo.

Get ready for the Bush push on economic policy (Tuesday, 11/12/02)
Richard Stevenson of the New York Times says that little stands in the President's way now which would prevent him from fulfilling much of his economic agenda. The World Economic Forum expects good times ahead for the American economy, at least, compared to other countries. The U.S. is now ranked number one in competitiveness and has the best growth prospects, according to the Forum.

Greenspan likes what he sees in Mexico and Chile (Tuesday, 11/12/02)
Voice of America News reports that the Chairman of the American Federal Reserve says that Mexico and Chile's economic policies are providing relative insulation from the economic problems plaguing much of Latin America.

Gates leaves $500 million in India (Tuesday, 11/12/02)
Bill Gates' company is investing $400 million to assist India's hi-tech industry in helping to develop the next generation of technology, which Intel's Andy Grove says will be what it will take to make tech surge again. The world's richest businessman and philanthropist is also contributing $100 million to fight AIDS in India.

India is the world's second-most-populous nation, still on track to surpass China as the largest sometime later in the century. Both countries are paradoxical at the moment, in that both can be seen as smaller very advanced, prosperous societies contained within very large, very poor societies. India has a highly developed, internationally-important tech industry, including sophisticated software engineering firms, but, like much of the international technology sector, India's tech sector needs to ascend to a new level of achievement. Also, like China, India has hundreds of millions of some of the world's poorest people, but, in addition, it has an educated middle-class equal in number to the combined populations of Germany and France, which is also one of the more important consumer markets.

American CEOs still do well (Tuesday, 11/12/02)
Despite everything, a report from the Conference Board shows that CEO salaries and perks still went up last year.

How to build equity with a mortgage that doesn't pay anything on the principal (Tuesday, 11/12/02)
Catherine Burrough of the Arizona Republic tells about interest-only mortgages in which payments do nothing pay cover the interest. Some people are attracted to them because they provide use of a house while keeping payments lower. However, so long as real estate values increase, being in control of the property can mean increased equity anyway.

You may be a source of charitable funding in two ways (Tuesday, 11/12/02)
It's been fairly common practice for the hundreds of thousands of charities and non-profit organizations in the U.S. to sell mailing lists. That's why people who make contributions tend to be inundated with additional begging appeals. It can make you want to quit giving, but Sandra Block suggests how you can give and maintain your privacy...and sanity...too.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Social, Economic, and Political Change (Tuesday, 11/12/02)
When societies change, HOW do they change, and WHY do they change, and develop in the first place, the way they do? The Social, Economic, and Political Change site explores these questions. It is supported by the International Consortium for the Advancement of Academic Publication.

Another deal at United (Monday, 11/11/02)
United Airlines continues its effort to remain in the air and out of bankruptcy court. The company has reached another cost-cutting deal, this time with its flight attendants.

What it means to win an election, and who will benefit (Monday, 11/11/02)
Democratically-oriented TV comedians are discovering that it's probably time to stop making jokes about how dumb George W. Bush is supposed to be. If politics were basketball, it would be hard to keep believing that a particular player is a fumbling incompetent when he's scoring more points than anybody else. On the day following the election, one commentator said that many big-time Democrats, when they look in the mirror now, will have to say, "I'm dumber than George Bush."

If you want to win elections, it's necessary to have a good grasp on where much of the country is, and recently, at least, the Republicans have been more sure-footed in that area than the Democrats, although Dems have insisted on playing Santa Clause and giving gifts to their opposition. That doesn't mean that you will necessarily like where the country is at a particular moment, but, in a popular democracy, you don't win elections if you lose contact with most of the voters or get out too far ahead of them.

So, now what? Mike Meyers--not the movie star--writes about the kinds of economic initiatives we can expect for a while now, whether or not we like them, and whether or not they will do more good than harm.

Incidentally, if you're having difficulty keeping your Mike Myerses straight, you may also think that former Senator Paul Simon doesn't look like he sounds on his records.

China decides to help entrepreneurs rather than putting them in dungeons (Monday, 11/11/02)
When the breeze changes direction in a huge place like China, it can be felt as a hurricane in surrounding regions, so what happens to the world when China makes really radical changes? The remainder of the 21st century certainly will be interesting, as in the presumed Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times." The Washington Post has people in Beijing watching closely as government leaders attempt to follow the revolutionary changes of the past 20 years with even bigger changes. Entrepreneurism is in, which is man-bites-dog-news from the world's largest country.

China has had the world's fastest-growing economy for a while now too, and officials expect the rate of growth to be even higher for the year. If the fruits of this growth were evenly distributed throughout the country, it would be an unqualified good thing for China. So far, though, it has been exacerbating the big have-vs.-have not gap, which has become almost cosmic. The life circumstances of China's overnight-wealthy in places like Shanghai, for instance, could hardly differ more from those of the far larger numbers of people in the countryside where things have been getting worse rather than better. China has some of the world's richest people. It also has a major proportion of the world's poorest. It is in a desperate race, not only to grow its overall economy, but to better meet the needs of hundreds of millions of people before social upheaval sets in that could once-again return the country to its chaotic state before the Communist victory in 1949. All the world should be watching, because all the world will be affected by how all this shakes out.

Even in the prosperous cities, there's a major unemployment problem, in part, because people have been flooding in from the rural regions in search of work. Christopher Bodeen reports on the Labor Minister's unemployment estimates.

Employers and employees struggle together (Monday, 11/11/02)
You may remember a time during the not-so-distant-past when overall inflation was in double-digits, and how that bent everything out of shape. At the moment, we're told that inflation isn't a problem, and, in fact, that deflation may be threatening, which also can produce tremendous economic distortions. However, one sector in which double-digit inflation is back is healthcare. Kim Norris tells how this unhappy condition is complicating the lives of both employees and their companies. She also tells how flexible spending accounts can help.

Incidentally, having an employer who no longer can carry so much of the benefit burden is one thing, but an employer who can't afford to pay you is something else. Heads up--beware of bouncing paychecks. Here's more from Stephanie Armour of USA Today.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Financial Planning Calculators (Monday, 11/11/02)
Would you like to have an online financial planning calculator to help you plan your future? How about more than 100 of them? You will have the American Savings Education Council to thank for making them accessible.

Jiang calls for new thinking (Sunday, 11/10/02)
China's President offers Shanghai's rapid development as a model for his country, and suggests that it's time to abandon "old communist ways." He has been emphasizing the need for radical economic changes at the 16th Communist Party Congress.

One problem with the EU's expansion (Sunday, 11/10/02)
Jennifer Lord writes about a meeting at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies where many have expressed anxiety that the European Union's expansion could result in stepped-up trafficking in human beings, an attribute of the new economy that is familiar from the very old economy.

The difference between news and history (Sunday, 11/10/02)
The daily news has been referred to as "history's first draft." But, sometimes being so close to something can make it appear from important than it really is for the long-term. Richard Stevenson says that news about productivity might turn out to be the most important story in a crowded week.

Making an unsubtle point (Sunday, 11/10/02)
Taiwan's once white-hot economy has cooled, and its unemployment rate has been rising. Protesters in Taipei used trash to help them make their point about a lack of sufficient government help in finding jobs.

Hard times in the Valley (Sunday, 11/10/02)
First there was boom, now there is bust in Silicon Valley where the unemployment rate exceeds both the national and state rates. Along related lines, Steven Pearlstein of the Washington Post examines the reasons why the recent bubble economy wasn't recognized for what it was.

Little things mean a lot...and they add up (Sunday, 11/10/02)
Washington Post columnist Amy Joyce asks about the ethics of her readers at work, suggesting that highly publicized lapses at the top may reflect a climate that can permeate a company. Meanwhile, Lauren Weber examines some of the reasons some executives have been able to get away with excessively creative resumes.

You can stop worrying about how you're going to spend that extra money (Sunday, 11/10/02)
If you've gotten a raise this year, Julie Appleby of USA Today says you shouldn't be surprised to see much of it go to the increased cost of health care.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Brookings Economic Studies (Sunday, 11/10/02)
Washington, D. C. is infested with private "think tanks," organizations that attempt to connect scholarship with policy recommendations. The Brookings Institution may be the first; it traces its roots back to 1916. It's never been accused of being a "conservative" organization, but whether you regard it as "liberal" or "centrist" depends on the ideological position from which you're viewing it. Interestingly, its board includes Alan Batkin, Vice Chairman of Kissinger Associates, as well as former Republican Senator Warren Rudman. However, Lawrence Summers, former Clinton administration Treasury Secretary and current president of Harvard University also is a member. At any rate, a principal reason for its existence is to study economic issues affecting the United States as well as the industrialized and developing world.

The unholy mess at the SEC (Saturday, 11/9/02)
You may remember the odd situation several months ago when the Congress thought it was investigating the FBI, while, at the same time, the FBI was supposed to be investigating some members of Congress.

A similar "Keystone cops" kind of situation that would be hilarious if it were not so serious seems to be going on at the Securities and Exchange Commission. SEC officials aren't trusting the accuracy of the financial statements that they've received from a majority of Fortune 500 companies, while outgoing Chairman Pitt is calling on Wall Street to clean up its act. However, the SEC's chief accountant is resigning under fire following Pitt's own unceremonious termination by the White House, which Harvey doesn't seem to understand at all, although the reasons seem fairly obvious to quite a lot of other people, both within the Administration and outside it. Matthew Mogul says that, all in all, Pitt's departure at this particular time under these circumstances is, well, the pits. Who will succeed Harvey? Paula Dwyer and Amy Borrus reports on Washington speculations, while Deepa Babington tells why that question is making accountants ever more nervous.

Bush reinforces the Republican stereotype (Saturday, 11/9/02)
If your political thinking relies on dumb stereotypes and caricatures--and whose doesn't--you will think that Republicans believe that tax cuts can solve any problem, while Democrats feel that government spending can do the same. In actual fact, part of what "economic conservatism" has meant traditionally has been a minimal role for government in the economy, meaning that as much money as possible should be left in the hands of consumers and businesses to use as they see fit, while "economic liberals" are more likely to believe that collective action is more appropriate more of the time. Most big-time politicians in Washington agree that the U.S. economy has lost too much momentum and needs a boost. There continues to be considerable disagreement as to how that will be best accomplished, however. Now, the President wants to make the big cuts permanent and make more cuts if possible, believing that this is what the economy needs in order to pump more gas into its engine.

Against their better judgment, many Congressional Democrats voted to support the President on Iraq, thinking that this would take that issue off the table during the campaign so that they could shift voter attention to the struggling economy. However, the Dems didn't seem to have much to say about the economy other than that it should be better, and lots of Congressional Democrats already had signed on to the Bush tax cut, leaving them with little wiggle room during the campaign. TV's Chris Matthews quoted Harry Truman yesterday, who said that when voters are given a choice between voting for a Republican or a Democrat who acts like a Republican, they'll vote for the Republican every time. Of course, the Democrats' problem during the campaign was complicated by the sniper in the D. C. region who managed to push campaign issues off the front page during a critical time, leaving them with little opportunity to make whatever case they had in mind.

Another try in Japan (Saturday, 11/9/02)
Japan's Prime Minister has appointed a new official to take responsibility for pulling the world's second-largest economy out of the hole it's been in for more than a decade. The dilemma is to find a way to get rid of the bad loans that have been paralyzing the economy for so long without causing corporate bankruptcies and exacerbating the already serious unemployment situation.

Caroline Mayer reports that U.S. lenders also are beginning to strain under the radiating burden of consumers who are becoming overwhelmed by owing too much during hard times. If deflation sets in, it will make the whole problem harder for anybody who owes money, and Business Week's Christopher Farrell feels that the danger of deflation shouldn't be underestimated. It's already causing problems in Japan, Germany, and other places around the world.

United makes itself into a smaller airline (Saturday, 11/9/02)
If United Airlines were to attempt to maintain itself as it has been accustomed, given the new realities of the airline industry, it would likely become the second major carrier to slip into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In an effort to avoid that fate and maintain its viability, it has been cutting personnel and its flight schedule. The latest to go will be about 2,700 flight attendants.

Meanwhile, over at American West, customer service workers have turned down an opportunity to unionize, but Teamsters officials don't believe the vote was on the up and up; i.e., that the choice hasn't been an entirely free one on the part of the employees. They think the airline has been intimidating workers, so they're going to sue.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Help in cleaning up the financial mess that's exhausting you and consuming your life (Saturday, 11/9/02)
Do many of your work hours each month go simply to pay interest? Are you wondering how you'll ever be able to do anything other than continue this routine until shortly before you take your last breath? Is "retirement" something only other people can expect to do? Probably not.

First, develop a realistic plan for getting out of debt. Then, get started, and stick to it. Here's help from the famed Kipplinger organization.

Secondly, start saving, and here are some tools and resources from the American Savings Education Council to help with that.

Prepare to hear a lot more about Social Security (Friday, 11/8/02)
In many regions of the country, judging from campaign TV commercials, it might have appeared that there were no issues of interest to American voters other than whether candidates favored "privatizing" Social Security. There was a bipartisan effort to scare the hell out of older people, in large part, because older Americans tend to vote in large numbers. Following the highly publicized corporate accounting scandals as well as the overall stock price decline, it seemed to be a sure-fire strategy.

But what does "privatizing" mean, specifically, and to whom? What information is needed in order to be able to make a fully informed judgment on the issues, and what are the issues? Specifically, that is. Campaign rhetoric is one thing. Reality is something else.

Leigh Strope reports from Washington that the Republican sweep means that we are likely to see an immediate push toward fashioning Social Security reform along the lines of the recommendations from the President's hand-picked, nominally bipartisan commission that already has studied the matter. Expect resistance from many Democrats, though, and keep in mind that the Republicans can set the agenda in the Senate now that they're back in control, but, in most cases, it will take 60 votes to get anything done, which means that nothing can happen without the help of quite a number of Democrats.

News from another Congress (Friday, 11/8/02)
In this case, it's the Communist Party Congress that is opening in Beijing where a change of leadership is underway...sort of...and where economic issues are very much on the minds of delegates. China's chief contortionist, President Jiang, is leading the effort to mix oil and water, in a sense, by describing how compatible China's version of socialism really is with capitalism. Really. We don't know whether an angry roar has been coming from the general direction of Mao's Mausoleum across Tiananmen Square.

Big Swedish engineering firm to cut thousands of jobs (Friday, 11/8/02)
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is reporting that ABB may slice as many as 10,000 jobs as part of its cost-cutting restructuring plan. In the U.S., Jeannine Aversa reports that first-time unemployment benefit claims were down over the month of October. Finally, columnist L. M. Sixel of the Houston Chronicle tells about the downside of trying to keep your job loss a secret...even from your spouse.

How low can they go? (Friday, 11/8/02)
Michael Wallace of Business Week says that the Fed may have done about all it can do now that short-term interest rates are at their lowest level since only about a half-year into the presidency of John Kennedy, while Rich Miller tells how an apparently fearful Alan Greenspan is trying to convince Americans that they have nothing to fear.

Organized labor targets Wal-Mart (Friday, 11/8/02)
Expect an all-out effort to unionize the world's largest retailer which employs more than a million workers. Here's more from Steven Greenhouse of the New York Times. Meanwhile, the U.S. company that's often regarded as a symbol of American "economic imperialism" is about to draw back a little. McDonald's is about to close its stores in three countries, but they aren't saying which ones they will be. Odds are pretty good that the United States won't be one of them.

Out of sight, out of mind (Friday, 11/8/02)
Bill Gates was on Charlie Rose's PBS talk show last night, and, among other things, the two discussed Gates' foundation and philanthropic activities. At forty-seven, Billionaire Bill has been the richest businessman in the world for many years and acknowledged that, while he has intended to give most of his great wealth away, he expected to start doing it in his 60s, rather than his 40s. However, he has discovered that the needs of the world's sick and poor can't wait for him to reach semi-retirement. He has said that he believes that many of the world's wealthy would be motivated to help impoverished children if they could see them every day. The isolation that most of the world's privileged experience doesn't help solve a growing problem. To many Americans, being REALLY poor is thought to mean not having cable. James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, might agree with Mr. Gates on at least some issues. Wolfensohn attempted to remind several dozen major CEOs of their social responsibilities yesterday.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Career Guide to Industries (Friday, 11/8/02)
the Occupational Outlook Handbook is a standard source of occupational information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the United States Department of Labor, and is widely used in college and university career centers. The Career Guide to Industries is its companion and offers information about careers within more than 42 industries which together account for about 70 percent of the wage and salary jobs in the American economy.

What can we expect from the latest Fed action? (Thursday, 11/7/02)
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates again yesterday, which was expected, but the magnitude of the cut was not expected. Shannon Buggs reports that the federal funds rate is now at its lowest level in more than four decades. If the economy's problem were that interest rates have been too high, we could expect that cutting them should help, but it isn't, so it probably won't, according to many economists. So, why has the Fed taken its latest action? PR and a hope that it can stimulate public confidence seem to be part of the reason. Here's additional analysis from Detroit Free Press columnist Susan Tompor.

Unemployment declines a bit in Germany (Thursday, 11/7/02)
The German unemployment rate was down to 9.4 percent in October, the third monthly decline in a row. Incidentally, there are no consistent definitions of "unemployment" across national economies, so unemployment rates can't be compared directly. That is, what does it take to be counted among the "unemployed?" How much paid work can you do during a given time period and still be called "unemployed?" An hour, a day, a week? Are you unemployed if you have given up and are no longer searching for a job, or are you counted as "no longer in the labor force?" All these criteria differ from country to country. Generally, unemployment rates that are considered fairly moderate in some Western European countries would represent a desperate situation in Japan, for instance, given differing definitional criteria.

Meanwhile, in the United States, the Labor Department sees little improvement in the jobs picture, despite a decrease in first-time unemployment claims last week. The American economy has been experiencing a net loss of jobs lately. Instead, it needs to create millions of new ones.

Good summer for productivity (Thursday, 11/7/02)
Labor productivity in the American economy grew at an annualized rate of 4 percent during the summer after a reduced rate during the second quarter of the year. Productivity, which is a measure of how much work is being done by how many people, also relates to a society's long-term standard of living, because if fewer people are producing more, there tends to be more for fewer people to consume as well. If the economy is trying to hold output constant, despite layoffs, or, if the amount of work is increasing, but employers aren't sufficiently optimistic about the future to hire more workers, productivity tends to increase.

Port negotiators take some time off (Thursday, 11/7/02)
It was thought that the main issues had been settled in the West Coast port dispute, and that the remaining parts would come quickly. So far, though, there has been no agreement on a pension package, and federal mediators think there should be a "cooling off period" within the Taft-Hartley Act cooling off period that sent longshoremen back to work for a while. Contract talks will be suspended for a week.

Too much emphasis on "saving face?" (Thursday, 11/7/02)
Brian Bremner says that a key obstacle to Japan's being able to take the effective action that can get the country out of its economic doldrums is a willingness to accept failure so that they can move on.

Pension problems at Northwest (Thursday, 11/7/02)
In part because of stock market declines, Northwest Airlines pensions plans are short $961 million. Chris Woodyard and Marilyn Adams of USA Today write about shattered dreams as part of the troubled airline sector. In this case, it's about United Airlines and how its efforts to make major cost cuts are changing quite a lot of plans.

SRI stage II (Thursday, 11/7/02)
Guy Halverson reports that "socially responsible investing" seems to entering a new phase with its emphasis on greater activism with more ambitious objectives. Simply doing well by doing good isn't enough anymore for many people.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Peter F. Drucker Foundation (Thursday, 11/7/02)
The Peter F. Drucker Foundation is named after the father of modern management, now in his 90's, who has been one of the most influential authors and consultants for more than 60 years.

Cheaper money (Wednesday, 11/6/02)
As expected, the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates again, but there are widespread doubts about how helpful it will be. Rates already have been at their lowest point in 40 years, and, while this has helped stimulate the real estate market, it's done little to encourage business purchases. The American economy has become more dependent on its tech sector, and many businesses already have excess capacity in that area, so lower interest rates aren't likely to make companies buy what they don't feel they need. Increased consumer demand would help some, but there is a strong need for increased business to business activity.

According to one of the indexes of consumer confidence, American consumers don't seem to be getting more inclined to spend, but, at least, the ABC News/Money Magazine Consumer Comfort index suggests that their pessimism may be leveling off.

How to demote a major story to "below the fold" and put another into the history books (Wednesday, 11/6/02)
There is growing evidence that the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission decided to jump only after receiving an unsubtle shove from the Bush administration. It's probably not coincidental that Chairman Pitt's "resignation" was announced in the middle of last night's election reports. The timing certainly diminished the attention that the story would have received otherwise. However, it may also symbolize the Administration's post-election change of direction with respect to economic policy, or, at least key personnel. Pitt's resignation is likely to be the first of several, and Jonathan Weisman of the Washington Post thinks that would be a good idea, while Amey Stone wonders about the darkness before the dawn.

Wall Street may be a little happier now that both Congress and the Administration are under control of the Republicans, but White House insiders have been saying off the record that it could turn out to be a mixed blessing for the 2004 presidential election, because there won't be anybody to blame shortcomings and failures on; i.e., there won't be anything to run against.

However, judging from recent events, that may not be a problem. The Democratic Party always has been a little chaotic, as a very old wisecrack by Will Rogers reflected many decades ago. However, during recent years, it has perfected the circular firing squad, causing many people who have deep commitments to some of the Democrats' traditional issues to get madder at the Democrats than at the Republicans.

Since the untimely death of Senator Paul Wellstone, the Democrats may have become finalists for the Harvey Pitt Political Sensitivity and Sophistication Award by providing another major gift to the Republicans. Within a short period after Wellstone's death when it was apparent that Walter Mondale would be the replacement Senatorial candidate, many Republican leaders seemed to be assuming that Mondale would win, particularly considering that Wellstone finally had solidified a slight lead in the polls at the time of his death.

But that was before the grotesque memorial/rally in Minneapolis which was televised throughout Minnesota and which gained so much national publicity. Shortly after the beginning of the first strident speech, the White House is likely to have smelled blood and began scheduling another Presidential visit to the Twin Cities. The speech by Wellstone's old friend could be attributed to a spontaneous expression of his grief. However, by the time Iowa's Senator Tom Harken, himself running for re-election at the time, acted as "closer," delivering what Hubert Humphrey used to call "a real stem-winder," the whole thing was looking less spontaneous or accidental and more like a monumental gaffe.

Suddenly, for whatever reason, the Minnesota Senate seat was back in play, and, as it turned out, the unseemly rally, which offended so many Democrats as well as others, may have been all that was needed to precipitate the national Republican sweep that strengthened the party's hold on the House and put the Senate back in Republican hands.

It remains to be seen whether history will credit this event as the precipitator of a new political equilibrium in the United States capable of redirecting American history and the nature of American society. White House advisor and strategist Karl Rove has had a long-term plan for bringing about this sort of realignment, but may not have expected to receive so much help from the Democrats.

Has the Democratic Party become the "gang who can't shoot straight?" If it intends to continue making gifts to the Republicans, it may not be necessary for the President to have a campaign organization at all in 2004. He can simply let the Democrats win the election for him.

Koizumi defends plan for getting rid of bad loans (Wednesday, 11/6/02)
Japan's Prime Minister is trying to sell Parliament on his plan for economic recovery, but, as Audrey McAvoy reports from Tokyo, he is still encountering major opposition.

Boiling cauldron (Wednesday, 11/6/02)
There are quite a lot of unemployed in the United States, but Labor Department data suggest that, despite common assumptions, they aren't all the same people for very long.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Producer Price Indexes (Wednesday, 11/6/02)
As an overall measure of inflation, the Consumer Price Index is mostly often reported in the press. However, economists often prefer to "move upstream" a bit and look at the Labor Department's Producer Price Indexes.

For many workers, it was Halloween all month long (Tuesday, 11/5/02)
More American workers lost their jobs during October than during any month since last January. The Washington Post tells about the particularly difficult situation for laid-off telecommunications workers, because weakness across the entire sector means that supply greatly outstrips demand, and that's likely to be the case for sometime.

ASEAN members consider building world's largest free-trade zone (Tuesday, 11/5/02)
Ten nations belong to the Association for South East Asian Nations. One of these has the world's second-largest economy, and two are the most populous and second-most populous countries in the world, respectively. Ed Cropley reports from the ASEAN meeting in Phnom Penh about the internal competition for influence.

Incidentally, if you think that there are American adults who are not aware that this is an election day, you're probably right. But, as Erik Eckholm reports from Guangzhou, many prosperous Chinese seem generally unaware of major political developments in their own country. Quick--how many know who Mao Zedong was? Perhaps when people have CDs and cell phones, they take politics for granted.

Auto workers end strike in South Korea (Tuesday, 11/5/02)
Tens of thousands of auto workers have declared victory after striking for a day. The government has decided to shelve a bill for a five-day work week. Labor leaders don't object to the five days part, but say they believe it would result in lower pay and fewer holidays.

Pension bomb still ticking in Germany (Tuesday, 11/5/02)
Kerstin Gehmlich reports from Berlin on the controversy over Germany's pension system and how future pensions will be financed.

The recovery that feels like a recession (Tuesday, 11/5/02)
Andrew Cassel of the Philadelphia Inquirer says that the so-called recovery that's going on right now is only technical in that it meets statistical definitional criteria. It's so weak, though, that few people notice the slight overall growth, in large part, because the job situation is grim. But wait--a newspaper quote which seems like it could be from yesterday's paper was really from ten years ago, and that was before the big boom.

Return of the "generation gap" (Tuesday, 11/5/02)
During the 1960s, the "generation gap" was mostly political. That seems to have subsided somewhat, with the almost exactly even political split in the United States breaking down along cultural lines now, rather than generational. However, USA Today reports that we may be seeing growing resentments and conflict as the generations compete in the U.S. workplace.

Becoming a first-time home buyer has gotten harder (Tuesday, 11/5/02)
Interest rates are at 40-year lows and may be about to go even lower, but, even for people who are earning more, increasing home prices are making it harder to get into the market. Moreover, even if you've gotten a raise lately, it may not seem like it because of the rising cost of health insurance.

Why so many girls aren't aspiring to business careers (Tuesday, 11/5/02)
The Washington Post's Amy Joyce writes about a new survey that finds that many girls who want to help and make a social difference in their careers don't see business as offering that opportunity.

Road scholars organize (Tuesday, 11/5/02)
Corporations in the new economy have come to rely more and more on temporary and contract workers, because a non-permanent workforce provides more flexibility at lower cost. Colleges and universities do the same thing. Nearly half of the people who teach the courses lack permanent status, and, as Mark Clayton reports, there is a growing move to organize.

A $2 billion weekend (Tuesday, 11/5/02)
A judge's acceptance of the deal worked out between Microsoft and the Justice Department, as well as a number of states, has helped the company's stock, and that's helped Billionaire Bill become a billionaire a couple more times over.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: NACElink (Tuesday, 11/5/02)
NACElink is a new nonprofit job-posting service from a consortium of 27 major universities and the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Another deal at United Air (Monday, 11/4/02)
United Airlines has followed up on the agreement with its pilots with another agreement with the Transport Workers Union. The company is trying to cut costs in order to avoid bankruptcy. In other labor news, nurses at a hospital in northern Michigan threaten to strike.

Lower interest rates expected (Monday, 11/4/02)
Martin Crutsinger says that it is widely expected that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again this week, even though they're already at forty-year lows. However, Barbara Hagenbaugh of USA Today reports that many economists are afraid that another cut won't help boost the American economy. Nonetheless, the Fed has been reading the signals, and another decline in factory orders during the month of September isn't encouraging.

Change in China (Monday, 11/4/02)
The Chinese Communist Party has changed its official position on quite a lot of things and will soon change leaders, but, despite the receptiveness shown to capitalism and capitalists, don't expect it to change its name. That will be left to some future Congress. The "Chinese Capitalist Party" might seem like a possibility, but the "Chinese Authoritarian Dictatorship Party" might be more accurate. One thing is sure: it's hard to see what is still "communist" about the party at this point, except that it has retained as much of Mao's political autocracy as it can. The Beijing government's ambivalence and distrust of economic freedom can be seen in controversial new laws apparently intending to tighten its control of Hong Kong where people have been used a free-wheeling atmosphere under the British, both economically and politically. Still, centrifugal forces have been loosening Beijing's control to some extent. Now and then, there are demonstrations by large numbers of people who sometimes even get away with them, in contrast to years past when such behavior would have been an immediate invitation to a dungeon or a grave.

Westerners often make much of the fact that Adam Smith's seminal The Wealth of Nations was published in the same year as the American Declaration of Independence. Together, the two unleashed the economic and political freedom that have transformed much of the world and seem, to many, to be inseparable. For the moment, though, China's leaders are still trying to have the one without the other. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, China has become expansionist in its own new ways. The Chinese tend to have a long time perspective, and they are patient. Nonetheless, with the world's largest population distributed over a large land area and the world's fastest growing economy, many people are becoming very nervous, particularly in Asia, according to Dirk Beveridge in Phnom Penh. Japan still has Asia's largest economy, by far, as well as the world's second-largest, but it's struggling. Few people in the region doubt that China intends to surpass Japan and dominate the region as soon as it can, and if you believe that China would be reluctant to replace the United States as the world's dominant economic, political, and military power later this century, you might also be willing to buy a seaport in South Dakota.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Making the Most of Your Gift (Monday, 11/4/02)
When the economy slows down, charitable needs tend to increase while charitable contributions tend to decrease. The Washington Post's Albert Crenshaw describes the various kinds of contributions you can make and also how to get the most out of them for recipients as well as yourself.

Pilots' union agrees to pay cuts (Sunday, 11/3/02)
The membership still has to vote on the cost-saving plan. If it's approved, it will save United Airlines $2.2 billion, and everybody is hoping that will be enough to keep United from becoming the next big airline bankruptcy. Here's more from Lynne Marek of Bloomberg News

The economy is much on the minds of voters as they prepare to head for the polls (Sunday, 11/3/02)
Tuesday, Americans--hopefully a lot of them--will engage in democracy's sacred ritual, calmly and quietly gathering in schools, churches, fire halls, and other community centers all across America in order to do what most people in human history have not been able to do--choose their governmental leaders.

The deafening quiet will occur in part because there soon will not be a single brutalizing, intellectually dishonest, fallacious, mud-slinging political ad on all of American television. But, if you think campaigning has gotten rough only recently, you need only study the campaigns of the 1790s or the years leading up the Civil War. However annoying, compared to alternatives, the strident sounds of an American political campaign are simply part of the sweet music made by a free, self-governing people.

A new poll from CBS and the New York Times indicates that voters are more concerned about the American economy, which still seems to be balancing precariously on the edge of the tank, than about other issues. However, this doesn't mean that the Democrats necessarily will emerge as the overall winners, because, while dissatisfied with the economy, many Americans don't seem to be blaming the Republicans and don't feel the Democrats necessarily have an alternative strategy for making conditions better. In fact, voters seem to be almost exactly divided...again. We apparently believe that neither party has a clear vision for the future. Will the winners demand a recount?

How dangerous is the world today? (Sunday, 11/3/02)
The end of the Cold War certainly didn't mean that the world suddenly became a warm, fuzzy place, but is life in the 21st century so far really more dangerous than during earlier times? No, not according to Mark Memmott of USA Today. Despite everything, we seem to be facing less overall danger now, not more. Humans often have a tendency to idealize the past. Wasn't it Plato who complained that the "younger generation" was going straight to hell? Despite common assumptions, maybe there never were any "good old days."

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The Carl Frost Center (Sunday, 11/3/02)
Holland, Michigan long has been known for its tulip festival for non-mysterious reasons, but it's also well-known for little Hope College. That's where TV's Robert Schuller of Orange County, California's Crystal Cathedral once was, and where David Myers, author of the English-speaking world's leading psychology textbook, still is.

It's also home of the Carl Frost Center in recognition of Dr. Frost's decades of work in developing the Scanlon Plan in companies throughout the region, as well as internationally. He was trained as a clinical psychologist at Clark University before spending some early years on the faculty of M.I.T. where he worked with the legendary Douglas McGregor and began the process of helping to develop modern organizational psychology.

Dr. Frost spent more than forty years on the faculty of Michigan State University during which time he became recognized as a principal proponent of the Scanlon Plan, a means by which organizational performance and job satisfaction can be maximized through company-wide participation in governance and rewards.

Dr. Frost is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association.

Longshoremen and shippers make a deal (Saturday, 11/2/02)
It's only a partial deal, but it's the biggest part, and it's expected that remaining issues will be settled without too much difficulty. If the strike at 29 West Coast ports had resumed following the "cooling off period" mandated by the President's invoking of the Taft-Hartley Act, it could have put the gasping U.S. economy through a major wringer. Here's more from Justin Pritchard on the agreement that has resulted in collective exhalation nationwide.

Billionaire Bill has a good day (Saturday, 11/2/02)
Many people had expected U.S. District Judge Colleen-Kollar-Kotelly to strengthen the sanctions against Microsoft, but that didn't happen. Instead, she has approved most of the deal reached last year between Microsoft, the Justice Department, and several states. Steve Lohr of the New York Times doesn't expect the outcome to change too many of Microsoft's major plans.

Northwest gets smaller (Saturday, 11/2/02)
Northwest Airlines intends to lay off 820 flight attendants as the airline sector continues to struggle. US Airways expects to cut more jobs too, but, as Marcia Gelbart of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, the big carrier also expects to emerge from bankruptcy early next year as a much-trimmed-down company. With airlines cutting flights, laying off personnel, and grounding planes, not many of them are in the market for new aircraft, and that's hurting companies such as Boeing, which intends to cut jobs from its 767 assembly operations.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: China's 100 Richest (Saturday, 11/2/02)
China has the world's largest population, most of whom still live in the countryside and are still very poor. However, the number of people living in the cities who are part of the latest Chinese revolution is roughly equal to the total population of the United States. In a sense, China is an increasingly rich country within a larger, very poor country. With the world's largest population and the world's fastest growing economy, it's difficult not to notice China and think about its future. China's richest individuals are among the richest people in the world, and many of them have built their wealth almost overnight. Forbes has been noticing, and its list of China's 100 Richest is already in its fourth annual edition.

Unemployment up in October (Friday, 11/1/02)
The U.S. unemployment rate hit 5.7 percent in October, up 0.1 percent from the month before. Those who have been waiting for the American economy to create jobs in large numbers will have to wait a while longer. Five-thousand jobs were lost in October, and that was the second month in a row of "negative job growth," to put it euphemistically. Forecasters are taking little solace from the GDP growth spurt during the third quarter, which was a blip, apparently, not the beginning of a trend. In fact, the more recent slowdown is leading to expectations of another interest rate cut. Even though personal incomes were up a bit in September, spending has been down, as more consumers seem to go into a retrenchment mode.

Germans look for work (Friday, 11/1/02)
The Copenhagen Post reports that unemployed Germans have been crossing the border into Denmark in search of jobs.

The decline of farm income (Friday, 11/1/02)
New data from the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis show that Virginians have been receiving three times as much income from unemployment benefits as from farming. Nationally, it's much the same. During the third quarter, in only a dozen states did a larger proportion of personal income come from farming than from unemployment checks.

How to reward good care (Friday, 11/1/02)
The National Academy of Sciences is telling the Congress that government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid should pay more to the best hospitals, doctors, nursing homes, etc., in order to reward and encourage quality medical care. The argument over "merit pay" has gone on in public education for years. Now, it's moving to other professions.

What some people regard as "common sense" is also consistent with findings in psychological research: we tend to get more of whatever gets recognized and rewarded and less of whatever gets ignored. So, why isn't it a slam-dunk no-brainer in all work settings? Why don't all factories use "piece work" systems which reward each individual based on measured individual output, for example?

One reason is that humans don't function in isolation. We're social creatures, and social systems, whether they be small groups or large complex organizations, are as real as individuals. Sometimes, rewarding individuals is counterproductive because it diminishes effective group or overall organizational functioning. There have been various efforts to link rewards to individual, group, and overall organizational performance, an example of which is the Scanlon Plan.

Are corporate boards still made up mostly of old, rich, white guys? (Friday, 11/1/02)
Gary Strauss of USA Today reports that, as America moves toward becoming a nation of minorities with no ethnic majority, white males still predominate on corporate boards.

Writer thinks union power exceeds membership (Friday, 11/1/02)
Dan Seligman believes that organized labor retains monopolistic power to influence the American economy, even though union membership continues to decline. Mr. Seligman writes for a business publication that has the same name as a former presidential candidate. Hint: the candidate favored a flat tax. Another hint: his first name's Steve. Another hint: his last name's Forbes.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Poverty in the United States 2001 (Friday, 11/1/02)
Poverty in the United States 2001 is the latest report on the topic from the U.S. Census Bureau, and includes definitions, levels, and distribution of poverty in the U.S.

Here are NewWork News stories from previous months

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