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Are trade war clouds gathering? (Sunday, 11/30/03)
Business Week's David Ethridge says that there are increasing signs of protectionism in the air. Are we in for a trade war? Christopher Farrell is optimistic about the short-term, but concerned about the long-term, and the U.S. President's "wobblyness" on trade is one of the reasons.

Not a sign of recovery (Sunday, 11/30/03)
There have been indictors that Japan's long-struggling economy has been getting to its feet, but a new governmental report shows that the nation's unemployment rate increased in October for the first time since the end of the first quarter.

Will prescription drugs clinch the election for Mr. Bush? (Sunday, 11/30/03)
The new Medicare bill which has cleared Congress is virtually certain to be signed by the President of the United States. Given the fact that older people tend to vote in large numbers, will this be enough to push the President over the top for a second term? Nobody really knows, including Liz Marlantes of the Christian Science Monitor, but she has some thoughts on the subject. While it may be a prescription for re-election, Howard Gleckman says it won't be a satisfactory solution to the problem itself. It's a cobbled-together set of compromises that won't satisfy anybody, even though the presidential election will be over before it takes effect and millions of older people learn what it's going to be like to live with it. That's probably not a coincidence.

Alright now, everybody sing: "Getting to know you, getting to know all about you" (Sunday, 11/30/03)
In a tight job market, the number of applicants can greatly outnumber the positions available. One way to reduce the pool is to have applicants complete pre-employment tests, which, with computers and the Internet, can be easier, faster, and cheaper than before. Eilene Zimmerman has more about psychometrics in the workplace.

Incidentally, do standardized tests work? It depends upon what "work" means. Are they perfectly accurate? Of course not; is anything? Can they be useful to employers and prospective employees? Yes, IF they are well-developed and possess high statistical reliability and validity, and IF they are properly used.

As Ms. Zimmerman reports, standardized tests are widely used as part of the hiring process. They're also widely used as part of the career consultation process in order to assist a person's career decisions, as opposed to assisting the employer in making hiring decisions.

It's important to keep in mind a fundamental difference between psychological tests and, say, medical tests. While the latter, such as blood tests and X-rays, often are taken as the "last word" that settles things, psychological tests shouldn't be seen as the end of anything, but only the very beginning. Their results can generate hypotheses as well as issues and possibilities to consider, but they shouldn't be used as confirmation for anything.

For instance, remember all that stuff about "margin of error" when TV people tell us about public opinion polls? The real name for that is "standard error of measurement," and it applies to psychological test results too. It means that, given a particular score on the test, you can be relatively confident that, if you had taken the test under different circumstances at a different time, your score is likely to be within a certain range. How confident? That depends on how large the standard error of measurement is. When it comes right down to it, in order to interpret standardized test results, you or somebody whose competence and good will you trust should know a lot about statistics and psychometrics.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty at the Weingart Center (Sunday, 11/30/03)
The Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty is located at the largest homeless service organization in Los Angeles, which, despite the image projected by Hollywood and the many TV shows that are shot in L.A. neighborhoods, has its share of poverty.

Another budget deficit (Saturday, 11/29/03)
Not the federal budget, not the states. This time, we're referring to AFL-CIO's big shortfall. Workers are taking two days off without pay in an effort to preserve jobs.

Goners (Saturday, 11/29/03)
It isn't uncommon during an economic downturn for American businesses to learn how to get along without many of the jobs from which people have been laid off, so that the economy that emerges from a slump is structurally different from the one that went in. It happened with corporate middle-management jobs during the early 1990s, and John Berry of the Washington Post thinks it may be happening again now. Increased productivity means that the economy is doing more with fewer people. If we wait for all the lost jobs to come back, we may be waiting the rest of our lives. Instead, the economy must create a sufficient number of new ones, and that may not be easy, particularly now that many American jobs are being exported as well.

Is the housing market preparing to deflate? (Saturday, 11/29/03)
There has been much debate during recent months about whether a real estate bubble has been building in the United States. For the moment, though, even with an increase in mortgage rates since the summer, the housing market remains strong. However, as David Leonhardt reports, an oversupply of apartments throughout the nation seems to be forcing rents lower. For some segments of the market, this may provide increased options which might eventually affect housing sales.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: World Development Report 2004 (Saturday, 11/29/03)
Here's the 2004 World Development Report from the World Bank. Among other things, it describes the conditions that will be necessary for the achievement of improved human welfare throughout the world.

Some members of the press actually are reading the Medicare bill, but it's taking awhile (Friday, 11/28/03)
When it comes to legislation, the so-called "law of unintended consequences" may apply largely because some bills print out on enough paper to sway the back of a mule. It's been reported that the new Medicare bill that's passed both houses of Congress and is on its way down Pennsylvania Avenue for the President's signature is 1,300-pages long. How many of the people in Congress who voted for it actually read the final bill? What are the chances that Mr. Bush will read it before he signs the whole humongous thing into law? We don't know either, but, presumably, this is one of the reasons that Senators and Representatives have fairly large staffs. It also helps explain why Lincoln had only two assistants, while hundreds of people work in the White House now.

Over the days since the bill completed its passage through Congress, journalists have been reading the fine print, and it's all fine print. Albert Crenshaw tells how a provision of the bill will allow workers to turn a high deductible into tax savings. Also, Mark Sherman reports that the bill will essentially freeze the growth of physician-owned hospitals to give the feds an opportunity to see if "cherry picking" is going on. One feature of the bill that has been known and has provided the basis for a good deal of argument is the seven-year experiment that would have Medicare competing with managed-care plans. Many health policy experts don't expect much to happen. Milt Freudenheim of the New York Times explains why.

Holiday hope (Friday, 11/28/03)
Karin Miller writes from Nashville that many Americans are hoping to obtain holiday jobs that will turn permanent as the economy improves.

Where does AARP get its money? (Friday, 11/28/03)
Some comes from the $12.50 membership fee, and this is not inconsiderable, given its huge membership. However, Sharon Theimer reports that far more of its $636 million yearly revenue comes from other sources, because, in part, AARP is a business.

The U.S. gets a stay (Friday, 11/28/03)
The United States has requested and has been granted a nine day-delay of a critical WTO session while the American government decides whether or not to rescind its tariffs on imported steel. Japan is the latest country to tell the U.S. that it is prepared to impose retaliatory tariffs of its own.

Generation gap flap in Germany (Friday, 11/28/03)
Germany has been trying to reduce pension spending as part of its cost-cutting economic revitalization effort. Some younger Germans resent having to pay for the generous retirement benefits for older Germans. Here's more from Geir Moulson in Berlin.

Arizona State University partners with Chinese government (Friday, 11/28/03)
Peter Goodman writes from Shanghai about the first American-run MBA program conducted on Chinese soil. China wants to learn from the U.S. on matters having to do with markets and capitalism. It may be a while before American courses on constitutional democracy are taught in China.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Drucker Archives (Friday, 11/28/03)
Ninety-four-year-old Peter Drucker is the author of three-dozen books, and has been a productive scholar, teacher, and consultant since the late 1930s. He's widely regarded as the inventor of modern management as well as the profession of management consulting. The Drucker Archives are located at Claremont Graduate School in California.

Optimism at the Federal Reserve (Thursday, 11/27/03)
The latest report from the Fed expresses optimism that the U.S. economy really is gathering momentum, and that it will last. They've been surveying business conditions themselves, and they've also been looking at other reports, governmental and private. Sue Kirchhoff of USA Today reports that, in addition to rapid GDP expansion, a still-hot real estate market, and other things, corporate profits are also up.

Japan's 2004 is expected to be mixed (Thursday, 11/27/03)
Japan's economy has been expanding, and is expected to continue during the first half of next year. However, the second half is likely to be something else again. Here's more from Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun.

Revolt of the AARP members (Thursday, 11/27/03)
We don't know if some of the people who are burning their AARP cards also burned their draft cards years ago, but many are about the right age. Martin Finucane reports that many of AARP's members are angry that the organization supported the Republican Medicare bill and probably made the difference in insuring its passage.

If you're off work tomorrow and feeling good about it, your boss is likely to be happy too (Thursday, 11/27/03)
The Washington Post's Kirstin Downey reports that an increasing number of employers are trying to build morale by providing more paid holidays. It costs less than some of the other things they might try.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Center for Collaborative Organizations (Thursday, 11/27/03)
The Center for Collaborative Organizations at the University of North Texas focuses on work teams and other forms of collaborative work systems that promote the effectiveness of work organizations.

More good signs (Wednesday, 11/26/03)
New reports provide additional reasons for optimism about the American economy's upward trend. For instance, durable goods orders were up 3.3 percent last month.

Bush's position for the 2004 election seems strengthened (Wednesday, 11/26/03)
Many Americans seem dissatisfied with progress in Iraq, but the Administration would caution against emphasizing only the bad news. Also, many Americans--perhaps even more--are dissatisfied with the current state of the job market. Still, when voters prepare to cast their ballots early next November, they won't be choosing between Mr. Bush and some idealized Democratic superperson, but between Bush and a single Democratic presidential candidate, the identify of whom we still can't know. The polls are showing that many Americans would rather have that idealized Democrat, but, when paired with each of those who have a real chance of obtaining the Democratic nomination, more seem to prefer the re-election of President Bush at this point. That may or may not continue.

If the election were being held this month, the President could claim credit for the new Medicare prescription drug benefit, and also for taking one of the Democrats' issues away from them. He could also point to the stunning revised GDP growth figures for the third quarter and claim that job creation will follow sometime soon. By the time we know whether it has or not, he would be preparing to begin his second term. However, with the election still nearly a year ahead, there will be time for voters to learn more about the job market's relationship to GDP growth, and also about whether this growth is real and can be sustained.

Incidentally, despite an improving national economy, the Detroit Free Press' Ken Moritsugu points to Commerce Department data indicating that 15 states lost jobs during the month of October.

Will the new Medicare encourage companies to drop current benefits? (Wednesday, 11/26/03)
The Minneapolis Star Tribune's Gwendolyn Freed says it's important to remember that employers already have been cutting back on health benefits for a long time because of costs.

Finding yourself in that 1,300-page bill (Wednesday, 11/26/03)
What will Medicare's new prescription medication benefit mean to you? Here are some details from Howard Walsh and Bill Brubaker of the Washington Post.

Why AARP supported the Republican Medicare bill (Wednesday, 11/26/03)
Previously, AARP most often has supported Democratic policy recommendations, but, as Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Milt Freudenheim report from Washington, the big older-person lobby chose to back the Republicans this time. Why? The organization's chief executive offers a one-word answer: boomers.

France and Germany get an extension (Wednesday, 11/26/03)
Two of Europe's most important economies have been granted more time to get their deficits under control, and this is causing worries about the stability of the euro among many leaders throughout the 12-member monetary union. Here's more from Mark Landler and Paul Meller.

AIDS orphans (Wednesday, 11/26/03)
There are millions of them. In fact, according to UNICEF, there are more than 11 million children in Africa who have been orphaned by history's worst pandemic.

Seniors who prefer the Big City to Sun City, or the suburbs (Wednesday, 11/26/03)
Sabine Kortals tells why so many older people prefer to be right in the middle of things, right in the middle of Manhattan.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The 2000-2010 Job Outlook in Brief (Wednesday, 11/26/03)
The 2000-2010 Job Outlook in Brief isn't all that brief. It prints out to about 35 pages. It's based primarily on the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics Industry-Occupation Matrix.

Medicare bill to become law (Tuesday, 11/25/03)
The United States Senate has given its final approval to the bill that is likely to make the greatest change to Medicare since it started in the mid-1960s. President Bush has wanted the bill, so, barring a meteor strike, he will sign it. The new law will affect the late years of tens of millions of older Americans beginning in 2006 by providing some degree of assistance in obtaining costly prescription medications. However, the bill prints out at about 1,300 pages, so it may be a while before everybody knows exactly what the new law will cover, including many of the people in Congress who voted for it.

Wow! Third-quarter growth was even stronger than estimated (Tuesday, 11/25/03)
For a few weeks, it has seemed as if U.S. GDP surged at a 7.2 percent growth rate during the third quarter, and that seemed amazing. More amazing might be that the final number is in and it was really 8.2 percent, the highest rate of growth in two decades.

Teamsters attempt to help striking grocery workers (Tuesday, 11/25/03)
Striking grocery clerks in California are saying that they intend to expand their picket lines, and Teamsters will help disrupt the flow of food into targeted stores. Nonetheless, Marilyn Elias and John Ritter report that California supermarket chains are saying that they have plenty of turkeys to sell for the holiday.

Incidentally, which state produces the most turkeys with the help of 10,000 workers? If you said "Minnesota," you're entitled to the coveted NewWork News handshake award.

Economic clouds begin to part in Germany (Tuesday, 11/25/03)
Business confidence in Germany has been WAY up this month, according to the closely-watched Ifo index.

Squandered subsidies (Tuesday, 11/25/03)
Over the past decade of Japan's economic struggle, about 5.1 billion yen intended to help create jobs has been misused, some of it through outright fraud. Here's more from Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun.

Leapfrogging in poor countries (Tuesday, 11/25/03)
If the world's underdeveloped countries attempt to raise their standards of living by retracing the steps of the rich world through its stages of development, they'll fail. And, of course, why try to do it that way? For instance, with wireless telecommunications technology developing so rapidly, why would a country that needs a phone system start putting up a lot of telephone poles and installing miles and miles of wires? Along similar lines, Bob Tedeschi tells about the increasing importance of online commerce to the world's emerging economies.

Incidentally, in related news, some global corporations are finding that the Czech Republic can be a better place to set up call centers than India or the Philippines.

Philanthropy without giving money (Tuesday, 11/25/03)
Stacy Teicher tells about people who want to give. Some give their time, and at least one gives lollipops, an act of kindness which, under some circumstances, the significance of which should not be minimized. Dave Donelson tells about workers who are donating their time.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Classifying Contract Workers (Tuesday, 11/25/03)
Classifying Contract Workers can help you determine the difference between an independent contractor or contract worker with emphasis on tax issues.

Will market forces control drug prices in the new Medicare? (Monday, 11/24/03)
Robert Pear reports from Washington, where the U.S. Senate is debating the prescription medication bill, that, if it becomes law, the government will be prohibited from negotiating lower drug prices for the millions of people on Medicare. That's the principal matter of contention at the moment, he says. A vote should come relatively soon, and Republicans are saying that they will have what it will take to send the bill to the President and make the greatest changes to Medicare in its history.

Third-quarter growth number may have been an underestimate (Monday, 11/24/03)
The final third-quarter report from the Commerce Department is due tomorrow. There are suggestions that GDP grew even faster last quarter than the stunning 7.2 percent early estimate. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, Stephanie Armour of USA Today writes that businesses are beginning to spend money again and are also increasing their hiring. So, maybe--just maybe--job creation will begin to accelerate soon.

On the other hand, should we expect more "jobless growth" (Monday, 11/24/03)
Well, not jobless, exactly, but, at least, modest job creation, despite economic growth that some experts are saying could be sizzling along at its highest rate in 20 years next year. Those who are good at waiting--a long time--may find things getting better once they're older. Other experts are still forecasting another labor shortage once demographic trends kick in to a greater extent. For instance, who's going to do all the work once the huge baby-boomer generation finally leaves the workforce?

How will the big insurance merger affect workers? (Monday, 11/24/03)
As St. Paul Companies and Travelers become a single company, how will employees be affected? Usually, mergers mean redundancy and layoffs. However, Gwendolyn Freed of the Minneapolis Star Tribune says that many experts are not expecting too much disruption.

Remember when "conservative" meant wanting to minimize government? (Monday, 11/24/03)
The meaning of words like "conservative" and "liberal" are mostly in the eyes of beholders, whether you utter them with reverence or toss them out as epithets.

For instance, Winston Churchill was regarded by many as a "conservative," and for him, this meant being an unapologetic imperialist and colonialist who believed in the fundamental superiority of the cultures of the English-speaking peoples, particularly of those who invented the language. Most current American "conservatives" probably wouldn't claim that the U.S. should build a worldwide colonial empire at this point. Churchill opposed Gandhi and Indian independence, which, even to many self-styled American "conservatives" today, would seem utterly outrageous now. But, of course, despite these and other attitudes from a different era, Winston Churchill is widely recognized as one of the great men of the past thousand years.

Traditionally, many "conservatives" have regarded public safety as the first responsibility of government, and, until Otto von Bismarck established the first "welfare state" in Germany during the second half of the 19th century, perhaps its only legitimate responsibility. There are some self-identified "conservatives" in the United States who would like to see government doing little more than supporting a military and a police force now, but they still seem fairly small in number.

Nonetheless, some Republicans, particularly in the House of Representatives, would like to dismantle much of Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society," including Medicare. Is President George W. Bush a like-minded "conservative?" Apparently not, because it appears that he is about to get what he wants: a huge new federal program that will provide a prescription medication benefit for many older Americans. Here's more from Gail Russell Chaddock of the Christian Science Monitor.

And, oh yes--if you believe that Republicans are generally "conservative" and that Democrats are generally "liberal," what does that mean? A few years ago, it was mostly the Republicans who seemed opposed to budget deficits, while Democrats tended to maintain a certain Keynesian casualness about government spending more than it takes in. Now, it appears to be the other way around.

In recent years, as political attitudes seem to have become more polarized, many people tend to behave as though the words "conservative" and "liberal" have specific agreed-upon meanings, but that isn't true. It isn't that these words have no meaning, but that they have dozens or hundreds or thousands of meanings, or, more properly, that people have their own meanings for them. There is great individual variability, which is not to say that, at any particular time in a particular place, there isn't some sort of "family resemblance" among many of the people who call themselves either "liberals" or "conservatives." However, in the overheated partisan atmosphere of contemporary American political life, many people, instead of responding to realities in all their complexity, respond to caricatures, or simply to words, which tends to reinforce the polarization.

Moms find many non-financial benefits accruing from work (Monday, 11/24/03)
Chicago Tribune columnist Carol Kleiman says that new research finds that two-thirds of working mothers say they would continue working even if they didn't need the money.

Remembrance of work weeks past (Monday, 11/24/03)
Eight-hour work days are only a dream for many Americans. The Orlando Sentinel's Harry Wessel writes about American workers who spend a great many hours at work.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Computers and Health (Monday, 11/24/03)
Computers and Health tracks potential health risks associated with computing and comes from Indiana University.

Will there be a filibuster in the Senate? (Sunday, 11/23/03)
Now that the Republican Medicare bill has passed the House of Representatives, it's time for the Senate to decide. The bill is intended to provide some help to some elders who are suffering under the crush of prescription medication costs. However, Senate Democrats want to kill the bill, and a filibuster may be in the works. If the bill becomes law, it will amount to the biggest change to Medicare since the entitlement program was created.

Talks resume in Southern California (Sunday, 11/23/03)
Jeremiah Marquez reports from Los Angeles that representatives of striking grocery clerks are talking with supermarket chain representatives again.

Heading off corruption in Iraq (Sunday, 11/23/03)
We've reported recently that developing countries around the world have been changing their attitudes recently about the extent to which corruption may impede their economic development. Jackie Spinner reports that Treasury official George Wolfe, just back from Iraq, has similar concerns about corruption in that country as it attempts to rebuild.

No longer a champion of free trade? (Sunday, 11/23/03)
Countries around the world appear prepared to retaliate against U.S. trade policies affecting steel and clothing imports.

Bringing them back (Sunday, 11/23/03)
Like many other American companies, Dell has sent jobs to India, but, because some customers are indicting that they don't like it, the big computer company has decided to bring some of those jobs back home. Meanwhile, even though very inexpensive labor beckons from China, here's one company that has decided to remain in North America.

Perceptions vs. realities (Sunday, 11/23/03)
A new survey suggests that many benefit managers in U.S. corporations could use more reality testing when it comes to minority workers' health issues.

Because the economy is a "wholly-owned subsidiary of the environment" (Sunday, 11/23/03)
Chemistry Nobel Laureate Roald Hoffmann is credited with this remark, which emphasizes that economic and environmental issues are not mutually exclusive. Quite the contrary. Economies cannot function well if the environment is sufficiently degraded. Barnaby Feder writes that pension fund executives are telling corporate leaders as well as leaders on Wall Street to pay more attention to the potentially enormous economic consequences of global warming.

The cost of illness on the job (Sunday, 11/23/03)
The Detroit Free Press' Kim Norris writes about a well-attended conference that examined the losses associated with employee illnesses and disability.

From lockup to lockout (Sunday, 11/23/03)
Former prisoners are having an especially tough time in the current job market. Here's more from Stephanie Armour of USA Today.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The Workplace Bullying and Trauma Institute (Sunday, 11/23/03)
The Workplace Bullying and Trauma Institute says it exists for the purpose of research, education, and advocacy to end psychological violence at work. The Institute intends to serve individuals and organizations in the United States and Canada.

House approves Medicare bill (Saturday, 11/22/03)
It took until very early this morning for the House of Representatives to pass the Medicare prescription drug bill, but it happened. Now, the Senate begins what is likely to be a vigorous debate. Senator Kennedy, who was in the Senate when the original Medicare legislation was passed many years ago, is leading Democratic opposition to the new legislation. Here's more from David Espo in Washington.

Bush wins on overtime changes (Saturday, 11/22/03)
Senator Arlen Specter has agreed to drop his opposition to a bill that critics say will deny 8 million Americans overtime pay. Alan Fram reports from Washington that the President appears likely to get what he wants.

Venezuelan economy shrinks again (Saturday, 11/22/03)
Venezuela's economy got 7.1 percent smaller during the third quarter, as the country's oil industry continues to try to recover from a failed strike.

Why AMD went to Dresden (Saturday, 11/22/03)
Dresden, located in an area that was part of the former East Germany, may be best-known in the West because of its having undergone merciless and still controversial bombing by the Allies during World War II. Mark Landler tells why Advanced Micro Devices is building a second plant in the historic old German city rather than moving to a third-world country with very low labor costs.

Their commencement speaker is likely to tell them that graduation is a beginning rather than an end (Saturday, 11/22/03)
Many of this year's college seniors are going to have a hard time jump-starting their work life in the current job market, according to career specialists at the University of Michigan. Here's more from Maryanne George of the Detroit Free Press. The U.S. economy has to create about 150,000 new jobs each month in order to simply absorb increased population, and, so far, it's falling far short of that level.

Customer become employees (Saturday, 11/22/03)
L. M. Sixel reports that many people are going to their favorite stores in search of jobs this holiday season.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Center for the Child Care Workforce (Saturday, 11/22/03)
The American Federation of Teachers says that it wants to "improve the quality of early care and education for all children" through its Center for the Child Care Workforce.

Republicans battle Republicans on overtime issue (Friday, 11/21/03)
The Bush administration wants changes in the qualifying criteria for overtime pay. Some Republicans in Congress support the idea, but others oppose it. Here's more from Leigh Strope in Washington.

Selective interpretation--what else is new? (Friday, 11/21/03)
How much elderly Americans can expect to save on prescription medications under new Medicare legislation depends on whom you ask, and with a presidential election less than a year away, the differing use of numbers by Republicans and Democrats is fairly predictable. Mark Sherman will help you sort through the numerical assumptions used by both sides.

Key index up in October (Friday, 11/21/03)
The Conference Board's well-regarded Index of Economic Indicators has a reputation for being able to forecast economic activity several months ahead. The Index rose 0.4 percent in October, reinforcing the increasingly common view that the American economy is gathering momentum. Among the states in which things are looking brighter is Arizona. Here's more from Jonathan Higuera of the Arizona Republic.

Japan to China: "Thanks" (Friday, 11/21/03)
Japan's long-struggling economy may finally be working its way out of its slump, and, as James Brooke writes from Tokyo, Japan's burgeoning exports to China are a major part of the reason.

GAO study finds persistent gender earnings gap (Friday, 11/21/03)
On average, women earned a fifth less than men during the year 2000, even when factors such as the tendency of women to leave the work force for longer periods are taken into account, according to a new study from the General Accounting Office.

Talks end early (Friday, 11/21/03)
Representatives of Brazil and the United States have been discussing the possible development of a trade agreement involving 34 Western-hemisphere nations along the lines of NAFTA. Talks were scheduled to continue through tomorrow, but they've decided to end them early, according to Simon Romero in Miami. However, Zoellick and Amorim of the U.S. and Brazil, respectively, hasten to indicate that this should not be interpreted to mean that things have been going badly. However, observers aren't so sure.

The improving state of the states (Friday, 11/21/03)
Most U.S. states have been experiencing their worst budgetary problems in a half-century, but, as Robert Tanner reports, conditions are beginning to get better.

Is the American middle class eroding? (Friday, 11/21/03)
Interesting things tend to happen when a major proportion of a society's people have to work, but earn enough to support a relatively prosperous lifestyle. That is, societies made up of a small percentage of idle rich plus a large percentage of poor people don't progress as well as societies that have a broad middle class. Economic colunnist Paul Krugman says that America's middle class has been taking lots of hits lately, but, so far, isn't expressing its outrage to any significant extent.

The coming age of transparency? (Friday, 11/21/03)
In part because of the Internet, Don Tapscott and David Ticoll see corporate transparency as an unstoppable force. The current edition of the Economist magazine discusses their book, The Naked Corporation: How the Age of Transparency Will Revolutionize Business.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Unemployment Statistics by State (Friday, 11/21/03)
Here are Unemployment Statistics by State from the Heritage Foundation, although not always entirely up to date.

Decline exceeds expectations (Thursday, 11/20/03)
The number of people filing for first-time unemployment assistance fell by 15,000 last week. Economists had expected a decline more in the neighborhood of 5,000.

Major corporations still cautious about hiring new workers (Thursday, 11/20/03)
A new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers finds that fewer than half of the senior executives with mulinationals based in the U.S. intend to add workers over the next several months, even though a majority indicated increased optimism about the U.S. and global economies.

Greenspan worries about protectionism (Thursday, 11/20/03)
Increasing international financial flexibility is needed if the U.S. is to cope effectively with record trade deficits, according to the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Alan Greenspan is worried that increased protectionism could derail globalization.

Enough is enough? (Thursday, 11/20/03)
Nicholas Carr told Silicon Valley things it didn't want to hear a few months ago. He believes that corporate information technology has reached maturity and has become a commodity. For instance, many applications, such as word processors, have become so mature that "upgrades" often don't add significant value and may simply represent change for change sake, making some things harder rather than easier. It's not what people in the business of selling hi-tech like to hear, though, and many experts disagree. Here's more from the Washington Post.

Maybe AARP doesn't like to be taken for granted (Thursday, 11/20/03)
Mark Sherman writes from Washington about how Democrats are stewing over AARP's decision to support the Republicans' prescription drug bill. Some Democratic critics say that AARP is too cozy with insurance companies.

They do Windows (Thursday, 11/20/03)
The Wall Street Journal reports that domestic servants in Hong Kong are now expected to handle nontraditional tasks such as eradicating computer viruses as well as other hi-tech chores.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Work Index (Thursday, 11/20/03)
Work Index is a human resources gateway from Human Resource Executive.

Housing fuels recovery (Wednesday, 11/19/03)
Residential construction soared to its highest level in 17 years during the month of October, helping the U.S. economy to move ahead. This, plus improvement in other sectors, leads Business Week's Rich Miller to conclude that conventional wisdom about interest rate increases early in 2004 may be wrong.

Protesters in Georgia claim election was stolen (Wednesday, 11/19/03)
It's not the state of Georgia. Well, yes, it IS the STATE of Georgia. The sovereign country, that is. We're talking about the Black Sea nation that used to be one of fifteen parts of the old Soviet Union. Eduard Shevardnadze was a Soviet official during its last days, but has been president of his native Georgia during more recent years. Protesters have been demanding his resignation, which he says could wreck his country's economy.

Tech job losses continue, but at a lower rate (Wednesday, 11/19/03)
Hi-tech employers will have laid off about 234,000 workers this year. About the only thing that can make that seem good is to compare it with the loss of 540,000 jobs last year. The pace of tech job destruction seems to be in its late stages, according to a report from AeA.

Meanwhile, Matt Richtel and Laurie Flynn say that the job situation in Silicon Valley is improving, but not so much that slightly-less-than-perfect job seekers would notice. Employers can afford to be extremely selective, and they don't have to pay as much as they used to in order to hire high-quality people.

Insurance merger is likely to cost jobs (Wednesday, 11/19/03)
Usually, when companies merge, redundancy results which leads to staff reductions. It appears that this will be the case now that two large insurance companies have become one. Here's more from Dee DePass in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The new company, St. Paul Travelers, will be headquartered in Minnesota.

Speaking of Minnesota, 8,500 jobs were created last month to help compensate for those merger losses, according to the state's Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Would you like to be among the overpaid? (Wednesday, 11/19/03)
If so, Chris Pummer of CBS Marketwatch suggests some occupations you may want to enter. It's his "top 10" list.

On the other hand, if being overpaid really isn't necessary, and you're willing to settle for a good job that is easier to find than most, you might be interested in another list presented by Smart Money's Stacey Bradford. Here's a list of what may be the hot jobs for the year 2004.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Women's Bureau (Wednesday, 11/19/03)
The United States Department of Labor says that its Women's Bureau is intended to "promote profitable employment opportunities for women," among other things.

Governator calls special session (Tuesday, 11/18/03)
Attempting to move quickly, newly inaugurated California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is calling the state's legislature back into session in order to change the workers' compensation law and confront other major-mess issues.

Agreement in L.A. (Tuesday, 11/18/03)
It's about to get easier to move from point A to point B in Los Angeles again. Alex Veiga reports that tentative agreement has been reached that is expected to end the strike of mechanics that has left buses and trains idle.

AARP officials removed from Democrats' Christmas card list (Tuesday, 11/18/03)
David Espo writes from Washington that AARP's decision to support the Republican prescription drug plan is leaving Democratic opponents of the legislation shaking their heads, and maybe scratching them as well. The older people's lobbying organization is spending $7 million on a supportive advertising campaign. AARP has 35 million members.

Congressional Republicans prepare to risk veto (Tuesday, 11/18/03)
The President has threatened to veto spending legislation that doesn't contain what he likes in relation to overtime pay and other issues, but Congress seems prepared to push ahead anyway during the end-of-session sprint. Here's more from Alan Fram in Washington.

Welch says that the U.S. economy really is in recovery (Tuesday, 11/18/03)
The celebrated former CEO of General Electric offers some opinions in an interview conducted by the Arizona Republic's Brahm Resnik.

Here are jobs for which there is little competition (Tuesday, 11/18/03)
If you're a qualified teacher, it's likely that you can land a job in the remote regions of North Dakota where schools are having a very hard time attracting and holding the people they need, according to Danna Harman who writes from Fort Yeats, N.D. Miserably low pay is only one of the reasons.

Another sign that it's time for boomers to grow up (Tuesday, 11/18/03)
Many members of the huge American baby boom generation have relied on their parents for quite a lot, which may have helped them maintain the fiction of eternal youth. However, now that the boomers themselves are nearing retirement age, many are surprised to find that they have parents who are genuinely elderly. Many won't be leaving their aging children the large inheritance they've been expecting.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Labor Research (Tuesday, 11/18/03)
The Heritage Foundation says that American labor law still tends to reflect conditions and perspectives of the 1930s. It examines a number of contemporary labor issues on its labor research page.

Prescription drug bill not quite a done deal, but... (Monday, 11/17/03)
Senator Edward Kennedy has said that he doesn't believe that prescription medication legislation worked out by Republicans will pass the Senate, and he says he will fight it. However, AARP has decided to endorse the plan, apparently thinking that, if not this, then probably nothing for quite a while.

Verizon workers feel they've been given an offer they can't refuse (Monday, 11/17/03)
Or, at least, they don't want to. Nearly 10 percent of Verizon Communications' large workforce--some 21,600 employees--have chosen to take advantage of an early buyout offer. Here's more from Ben Klayman in Chicago.

Corporations find spirituality (Monday, 11/17/03)
"Spirituality" is one of those Rorschach ink blot-like words that can refer to whatever you want it to refer to, and it's been popular lately among people who apparently have a wide variety of different ideas in mind. With business under so much fire, corporations have been discovering value issues. Here's more from Jane Lampman of the Christian Science Monitor.

Incidentally, Ms. Lampman quotes the World Business Academy's Rinaldo Brutoco as saying that he believes that scientific materialism has been leading to a "respiritualization of society," which seems to reflect a complete misunderstanding of the nature and role of science. Questions of value and questions of observable (empirical) fact are different kinds of questions requiring different approaches and methods of analysis, so he seems to be implying a false dichotomy.

One of the principal defining attributes of the modern period has been humanity's success in learning what it takes to produce trustworthy answers to questions about observable things and events in the natural world, past and present. If these methods do not work, nearly all of the modern world that we see around us could not be possible. However, one of the prinicpal findings of modern inquiry is that the natural world is not all that "material" in a conventional sense. In fact the concept of "energy" seems to get closer to the essence of the universe, including ourselves, than the concept of "matter."

The prinicpal issue, though, has to do with knowledge, and science--a brilliantly self-correcting enterprise--is defined in terms of its methods, not its subject matter, and cerrtainly not its conclusions at any particular time. The great American materialistic preoccupation surely hasn't resulted because Americans know too much. Moreover, the opposite of systematically verifiable knowledge is not value-orientation or "spirituality," but ignorance, and ignorance has had a perfectly horrible record over many centuries.

Economic improvement accompanied by anxiety (Monday, 11/17/03)
Things are looking better in Atlanta, but, as David Leonhardt reports, that doesn't mean that folks there are relaxing, let alone complacent. Caution is in the air.

Adult education comes at sobering grownup cost (Monday, 11/17/03)
The word is out. The new economy greatly favors and rewards knowledge workers. For centuries, most of the work that needed doing could be done by unskilled people with their bare hands or a pitchfork or shovel. Then, with early industrialization, skills were needed, but, with a highly fractionated division of labor, relatively brief training was required for, say, factory work. Then, economically-useful skills became more complicated and required longer training periods. Now, it's not just a matter of skills, but of knowledge as well, and adults are flooding back to school to get what they need in order to take advantage of opportunities and build financial security. Lindsay Hearne has some suggestions for coping with the vexing problem of paying for the school that one needs.

The attraction of fiscal opposites (Monday, 11/17/03)
Detroit Free Press columnist Susan Tompor discusses Mary Hunt's new book about finding financial harmony in marriage.

Doing well while doing good (Monday, 11/17/03)
People who have been investing their money in what they regard as a "socially responsible" manner have been feeling somewhat vindicated lately.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: European Centre for Minority Issues (Monday, 11/17/03)
The European Centre for Minority Issues was established seven years ago, but has roots that extend back five years earlier. The Centre studies a variety of issues having to do with minorities throughout Europe including ethnic tensions.

Agreement on prescription medications (Sunday, 11/16/03)
Medicare appears about to undergo the greatest expansion in its history. Mark Sherman reports that tentative agreement has been reached in Congress on the addition of a prescription drug benefit, and President Bush would like to see the legislation passed quickly so that he can sign it. Among other things, he no doubt wants to see the prescription medication issue taken out of the presidential campaign.

Economists expect respectable GDP growth to continue (Sunday, 11/16/03)
Nobody who hasn't been smoking some exotic herb expects the spectacular 7.2 percent growth of the third quarter to continue, but solid, though more modest growth is likely to persist on into 2004, they say. One reason for their optimism has to do with corporate earnings data. Here's more about that from Matt Krantz of USA Today.

What's on the menu? (Sunday, 11/16/03)
This is the time of year when you may be able to pick and choose your benefits. Albert Crenshaw has some advice on how to make high-quality choices.

The office furniture index (Sunday, 11/16/03)
Noam Scheiber says that economic forecasters might have gotten some strong hints about where the U.S. economy is going by visiting the big office furniture show in Baltimore.

Privatization gone wrong? (Sunday, 11/16/03)
Is it always less expensive to use private contractors than to have government employees do the work? Apparently not, and, as Robert Gehrke reports from Washington, many people displaced from the Forest Service think it's a joke, except that it's not funny.

In search of the eight-hour workday (Sunday, 11/16/03)
You may think that attempts to secure the forty-hour work week belong to the history of Britain, the U.S., and some other industrial nations of about a century ago or so. However, as Harry Wessel reports, some individuals routinely work 55-60 hour weeks, which may help explain some of the productivity increases reported recently.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Department of Employment Services (Sunday, 11/16/03)
Here's the Department of Employment Services for the District of Columbia. Even if you're outside D.C., the site contains access to information in which you may have interest.

Foreign workers scramble to beat deadline in South Korea (Saturday, 11/15/03)
Today is the deadline set by the South Korean government. One-hundred-twenty-thousand illegal foreign workers have to be out of the country or face deportation.

Bankruptcy boom (Saturday, 11/15/03)
More than 1.6 million Americans have filed for personal bankruptcy during the current fiscal year, and the bankruptcy rate during the past decade is nearly double that of the previous decade. Experts say it's part of the hangover following the intoxication of the 1990s.

Divide remains as wide as ever as summit approaches (Saturday, 11/15/03)
The World Summit on the Information Society will be held during two days in early December in Geneva, Switzerland with the hope of working to narrow the global digital divide. However, during preliminary meetings, rich and poor countries remained greatly divided on the issue and how to approach it. Here's more from Richard Waddington in Geneva.

India bets on private schools (Saturday, 11/15/03)
India, the world's largest democracy with the world's second-largest population, has a lot of nearly everything, including a large number of highly educated, affluent persons, as well as enormous numbers of some of the world's poorest people. In the new global information economy, knowledge workers worldwide tend to do much better in life than the uneducated, and Indians in all socioeconomic strata have noticed. Amy Waldman reports from Manua that even India's poor are doing all they can to send their children to private schools.

Bush expresses appreciation to the employers of people called to active duty (Saturday, 11/15/03)
President Bush said yesterday that the country owes a debt to the employers of workers in the National Guard and Reserves who have been called to serve in Iraq and other areas of the world. Bush himself served in the Air National Guard when he was young, but was not called to active duty.

Suburban job losses (Saturday, 11/15/03)
In large part because of its diversified economy, the Twin Cities metropolitan area tends to fare better during recessions than the nation as a whole and usually has a lower unemployment rate than the country overall. However, John Reinan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune says a new report finds that many of the Twin Cities' normally prosperous suburbs have lost jobs at a double-digit rate during the past two years.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Committee on Ways and Means (Saturday, 11/15/03)
Here's the influential Committee on Ways and Means in the United States House of Representatives. How many subcommittees does the committee have? If you said "six," you're entitled to the coveted NewWork News handshake award.

Retail sales slip again (Friday, 11/14/03)
Retail sales declined by 0.3 percent in October, the second month in a row that they've dipped.

Have Bush's steel tariffs done their job? (Friday, 11/14/03)
The Administration will have to make a decision soon on tariffs it imposed some months ago to protect the U.S. steel industry long enough to help some companies stay in business. Now that the WTO has ruled that the tariffs violate agreed-to trade rules, the President will have to decide what to do. Understandably, the American steel industry generally wants him to stick with the tariffs, but, if he does, there's likely to be retaliation, particularly from the EU, which would hurt other American companies that depend on exports. It could also destroy efforts to reduce trade barriers throughout the world, as the Administration has said it would like to see. However, Greg Schneider reports that some are saying that the tariffs already have accomplished their purposes and could be removed without dealing a death blow to American steel producers.

"Cash balance" pension switch blocked in Congress (Friday, 11/14/03)
Negotiators in the House and Senate decided Wednesday to block President Bush's plan to allow companies to convert existing pensions to "cash balance" plans, and employers aren't happy.

Where 100,000 new nurses have come from (Friday, 11/14/03)
There has been a growing nurses shortage in the United States for years. That shortage has been eased somewhat by the hiring of 100,000 nurses last year, most of whom are either foreign-born or over 50-years-of-age. A few years ago, hi-tech companies were claiming that it was necessary to import tech experts in large numbers, a claim that has been disputed by many American-born programmers, engineers, etc. Now, nurses are being imported in large numbers, and the need seems to be indisputable. Also, despite current efforts, the nurses shortage continues.

Many of the people seeking work or staying with their jobs are considerably older than 50 and are found in all walks of life, even if the walking is slower than during earlier years. A new survey conducted by AARP finds that American society contains more and more "stickies." Nearly half of its members indicate that they intend to stick with their jobs until age 70 or older.

Incidentally, AARP used to be short for their official name at the time, the "American Association of Retired Persons." But, as you know, if you're in the over-50 category, an invitation to join arrived in your mailbox approximately 90 seconds after you turned 50. Many of AARP's members aren't all that old and more and more of them of any age won't be retired either. "AARP" is the organization's official name now.

How to live off your home while you're living in it (Friday, 11/14/03)
"Reverse mortgages" are becoming more popular among older people who need cash to live on, and, with the huge, largely under-financed baby-boom generation approaching retirement, they're likely to become more popular still. However, it can be a costly way to raise cash, according t the experts. Here's more from the Detroit Free Press.

Greenspan on change (Friday, 11/14/03)
The Chairman of the Federal Reserve says that economic change is both certain and uncertain. While it certainly will occur, the uncertainty is in the direction it will take. All of which makes the Fed's job difficult, of course.

Workers express their frustrations online (Friday, 11/14/03)
Jennifer LeClaire tells about the growing tendency for employees to "let off steam" in "blogs," as well as the hazards of doing so.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Home Economics Archive: Research, Tradition, History (Friday, 11/14/03)
Cornell University's Professor Joan Jacobs Brumberg believes that its long past time for a reassessment of home economics' historical importance. The Cornell University library's Home Economics Archive contains hundreds of thousands of pages of digitized information.

New data improve the moods of some Europeans (Thursday, 11/13/03)
Despite some expectations to the contrary, both French and German economies grew a bit during the third quarter, leading experts to hope that it will mean increased energy throughout the 12-nation euro zone. Europe has been holding back global growth, although it hasn't been the only factor. Until recently, the U.S. economy has been sluggish as well, and Japan's economy, the world's second-largest, continues to sputter.

Increased jobless claims last week aren't distressing the experts (Thursday, 11/13/03)
Even though there was an increase in last week's first-time jobless claims, a four-week moving average of initial claims declined, suggesting labor market improvement.

Seventy-thousand grocery workers are still idle (Thursday, 11/13/03)
The dispute between California grocery clerks and supermarket chains has been going on for a month, and, following three additional days of talks, there's still no agreement. Incidentally, this is happening mostly because Wal-Mart is getting into the grocery business, putting great pressure on supermarkets which tend to have higher labor costs. When a company can make workers go out on strike against other companies, that seems to represent a special kind of influence.

A big IT company is sued for unpaid overtime (Thursday, 11/13/03)
An attorney representing the plaintiffs says that the new suit brought by workers against Computer Sciences Corporation is the first of its kind in the computer industry. The lawsuit claims that thousands of people were forced to work unpaid overtime.

Does the 1967 act cover discrimination against younger people? (Thursday, 11/13/03)
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act was intended to protect older workers, but does it cover younger workers as well? That's what the Supreme Court--which is made up entirely of people who could easily be retired by this time--will decide. Here's more from Kirstin Downey of the Washington Post.

Rising protectionism? (Thursday, 11/13/03)
Is the sun beginning to set on the free-trade movement? Gary Shilling writes in Forbes that protectionism seems to be on the increase, and he doesn't feel good about it. In related news, the WTO's ruling against U.S. steel tariffs has placed the Administration in a position of having to make a difficult choice. Many in the American steel industry are wondering if President Bush will eliminate the tariffs on steel imports, which the industry feels have rescued some American companies.

Rural America's employment problems (Thursday, 11/13/03)
It isn't just the small towns that depend on American agriculture that are withering. Jobs are in trouble in many other rural areas as well. Here's more from Sue Kirchhoff of USA Today.

Why the Wal-Marts and Microsofts of the world don't worry too much about lawsuits that may simply cost them money (Thursday, 11/13/03)
The world's largest retailer is also the world's largest corporation in terms of sales, and it earned $2.03 billion during the third quarter. Wal-Mart has been defending itself in many lawsuits for a long time, as has Microsoft, the world's largest software company, and possibly the world's most influential company of any kind. However, during all the time that the lawyers are haggling, company cash machines are running. Some suits can be interpreted simply as costs of doing business. However, as we reported yesterday, the suit brought against Wal-Mart by workers who were arrested recently may bring RICO into the picture, which may be a different matter entirely. Also, the Justice Department's effort to break Microsoft up into several smaller companies certainly got Bill Gates' attention, but that danger has passed.

Changing international attitudes toward corruption (Thursday, 11/13/03)
For many years, the only way to get anything done over much of the world was to be prepared to pay each person along the line who was in a position to help you make things happen. However, David Francis reports that it's becoming more common now to see corruption as hindering economic development and hurting the poor.

Sand-related problems (Thursday, 11/13/03)
Silicon plays a significant role in the information technology sector because it's the stuff the computer chips are made of. So, it may or may not seem ironic that it's also used in the production of glass, given the "glass ceiling" metaphor that Catalyst says applies in the information technology sector as well as others. Women continue to face obstacles to advancement in the computer industry, despite widespread beliefs to the contrary, says the nonprofit organization. Here's more from the San Jose Mercury News.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: GLOBIO (Thursday, 11/13/03)
GLOBIO is supported by a variety of international organizations, including the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research and the United Nations Environment Programme. It maps how humanity, in its growing numbers, impacts on the biosphere.

A prescription drug benefit seems near (Wednesday, 11/12/03)
Congress seems near to reaching a compromise on a prescription medication benefit to be added to Medicare, but, as Mark Sherman reports from Washington, the remaining snag has to do with conflict over private competition issues. If new legislation is to be passed by November 21, agreement has to be reached sometime today, according the Senate Majority Leader.

High Court to decide age discrimination issue (Wednesday, 11/12/03)
The Supreme Court is hearing arguments today on whether General Dynamics Corporation discriminated against younger employees with respect to health benefits during retirement.

Advisors expect its economic funk to characterize Germany for the whole year (Wednesday, 11/12/03)
Germany's "Five Wise Men," a group of independent economic advisors, have issued their report for 2003. Here's more from Berlin. Meanwhile, Business Week's Jack Ewing examines the reform that most experts feel Germany's economy needs, and what's holding it up.

Suit seeks class-action status (Wednesday, 11/12/03)
A lawsuit brought by recently arrested workers charges that Wal-Mart has engaged in a criminal conspiracy with cleaning contractors in violation of RICO. If the suit achieves class-action status, it will represent thousands of workers.

Will the U.S. economy make the difference for President Bush? (Wednesday, 11/12/03)
Some political forecasters are saying that the persistent mess in Iraq will turn out to be the President's principal handicap in his effort to achieve re-election, but others are saying that, despite recent good news, it would be premature to rule out the economy. Mike Madden has more about the tendency of many voters to "vote their pocketbooks," and why that may still make the difference in the 2004 presidential election.

Better not to assume too much (Wednesday, 11/12/03)
Mary Williams Walsh tells how unmet expectations are playing a role in failing pensions.

Interest rates hold steady, despite fears (Wednesday, 11/12/03)
There seems to be growing fear of inflation, but interest rates haven't responded as one might expect. Here's more from Jonathan Fuerbringer of the New York Times.

The cost of pain (Wednesday, 11/12/03)
Research published in the latest edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association estimates that workers' painful ailments result in $61.2 billion in lost production each year.

Diversity hits Dakota (Wednesday, 11/12/03)
Many years ago, a wave of immigration hit North Dakota. Over the decades since, most of its Caucasian residents have been descendants of people from countries such as Norway, Russia, Poland, and Germany who came to the middle of the vast North American continent during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in search of a better life. Danna Harman writes from Fargo, North Dakota's prosperous, largest city, which sits on the edge of a state that has lost population as its dominant agricultural sector has struggled in recent years. If you still think of Fargo as having a homogenous population, you haven't been paying attention. Another wave of immigration is washing up against the eastern edge of North Dakota, according to Ms. Harmon, bringing increased diversity with it.

Incidentally, the Coen brothers, originally from the Minneapolis region, chose "Fargo" as the name for their movie that's really about Minnesota. And, in case you're wondering if the city of Fargo has any connection to the Wells-Fargo company, once famous for its stage coaches and now famous because of its banks, the answer is "yes." Fargo, North Dakota was named after William G. Fargo who helped finance the building of the Northern Pacific railroad that crosses the state, and he was a founding partner of the Wells-Fargo Express Company as well. Don't say we've never given you any information useful for showing off at a party.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The History of the Income of the US Government from Taxes (Wednesday, 11/12/03)
Dr. Michael Gherrity has compiled data from government sources and presented them graphically as the History of the Income of the US Government from Taxes covering the period from 1940 until the mid-1990s.

Bush ponders WTO ruling (Tuesday, 11/11/03)
Lara Jakes Jordan writes from Washington that the new ruling against U.S. tariffs intending to protect the American steel industry places the Administration in a dilemma, particularly in an election year, given that the original reasons for the tariffs were at least partially political in the first place.

Some economists see a VERY good year ahead for American and world economies (Tuesday, 11/11/03)
If those surveyed are right, the U.S. economy may expand faster in 2004 than it has for six years. The global economy might expand at its fastest rate since 1998 as well. If your circulatory system can withstand the shock of even more good news, Kevin Plumberg writes that Federal Reserve banks around the country are reporting accelerating activity in the nation's factories.

Prospects for the long-term unemployed begin to brighten (Tuesday, 11/11/03)
People who had mostly given up their search for full-time employment are beginning to look again after finding some reason for confidence in the new numbers. Here's more from Ron Scherer of the Christian Science Monitor.

However, despite the general brightening, David Francis doesn't expect a booming job market. But wait--that seems to be exactly what analysts at Global Insight DO expect. Look for the American economy to produce 2.7 million jobs during the next year, they say. If that actually happens, it will mean that employment in the United States will be about back to where it was at the beginning of the Bush II administration. What's actually going to happen? We don't know either.

'Tis the season to be jolly for job seekers (Tuesday, 11/11/03)
People looking for holiday season work are likely to find more opportunities than last year. Here's more from the Arizona Republic's Dawn Gilbertson.

Republicans seek AARP support (Tuesday, 11/11/03)
Republicans in Congress would like AARP to support their prescription medication bill, so they're trying to address the influential organization's concerns about private competition for government health care.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Higher Education Statistics Agency (Tuesday, 11/11/03)
The Higher Education Statistics Agency has been gathering and reporting statistics for higher education in the United Kingdom since 1993.

Labor violence in South Korea (Monday, 11/10/03)
Dozens of people were injured in the South Korea's largest violent protest in years. The protest, although not the violence, was organized by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. Here's more from Sang-Hun Choe in Seoul.

So much for the "free trade" ideology? (Monday, 11/10/03)
The Bush administration has advocated greater reduction of trade barriers over the world, including the Western Hemisphere. However, the World Trade Organization has decided that it may be more talk than walk, saying that steel import duties imposed by the U.S. violate WTO rules. Poor countries also have been complaining about farm subsidies which are common in the U.S., European countries, and Japan, saying that these put them at a disadvantage when they try to sell their own agricultural products worldwide. Edmund Andrews writes that the American Congress has been trying to hide some tax cuts for this and other reasons. Meanwhile, Jonathan Higuera tells about economic developers who believe that economic growth will do more to preserve American jobs than protectionism.

The limits of charisma (Monday, 11/10/03)
When Junichiro Koizumi became Japanese prime minister, it was as if a rock star had taken over. However, as Vicente Fox has been learning in Mexico and Arnold Schwarzenegger is likely to learn in California, it takes more than "charisma" to solve major economic problems. Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun reports that Prime Minister Koizumi's party has lost ground in the most recent election, but George Nishiyama and Masayuki Kitano write from Tokyo that it could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the PM.

San Franciscans hope to lead the nation (Monday, 11/10/03)
Voters in San Francisco have approved a "living wage" proposal which will guarantee most workers in the city at least $8.50 per hour. Advocates are hoping that the idea will spread across the country. Opponents feel that buyers and sellers should be free to determine mutually-agreed-upon prices for products and services, and that allowing market forces to work unimpeded is more likely to help the poor than setting minimum wages by law that are likely to drive some jobs overseas and simply eliminate others which employers can't afford. It's part of an eternal argument, or, at least, one that's been going on since shortly after Adam Smith published his Wealth of Nations book in 1776. Over the centuries, Adams enthusiasts have tended to believe in an "invisible hand" that most efficiently regulates and distributes capital as well as opportunity. Skeptics are less inclined to believe in some things they can't see.

More problems for Wal-Mart (Monday, 11/10/03)
Wal-Mart has been notified by the federal government that it is being investigated, suggesting that government officials don't necessarily believe that company executives did not know that their contracted cleaning firms were allegedly employing illegal immigrants. Now, nine of the persons who were arrested in a recent raid are suing Wal-Mart for discrimination.

Look who's teaching business ethics (Monday, 11/10/03)
Actually, perhaps thinking that they may not know enough about it themselves, Tyco has decided to bring in an outside firm to instruct 260,000 of their workers on what it takes to remain in legal compliance as well as operate ethically.

Retailers expect big spenders this holiday season (Monday, 11/10/03)
The latest survey conducted by The National Retail Federation forecasts that consumers will spend an average of $671.89 by Christmas. That would be a 3.5 percent increase over last year.

More debts are outlasting the people who incur them (Monday, 11/10/03)
Ronald Lipman explains the complexities that can arise from dying in debt, while USA Today's Thomas Fogarty says that an increasing number of people are still making mortgage payments after they have retired. No one is recommending that you write your last check to the undertaker and hope it bounces.

Time to lighten up (Monday, 11/10/03)
Traditionally, the highly regimented Japanese have addressed each other by title in their paramilitary-organized workplaces. Some are deciding that this is not a good idea anymore in the new economy, and are advocating a reduction in formality. Here's more from Norimitsu Onishi in Hiroshima.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: RePEc (Monday, 11/10/03)
People in the Department of Economics at the University of Connecticut claim that RePEc is the largest economic database in the world. Of the hundreds of thousands of economic research items, more than 110,000 can be downloaded in full text form.

Snow expects job growth to pick up (Sunday, 11/9/03)
During the past three months, about 300,000 new jobs were added to the American economy, which certainly is better than the net loss of jobs that had gotten to be routine during previous months. However, over the August-October period, it's still about 150,000 jobs short of what it takes to serve normal population increases, let alone employ any of the millions of people who have been seeking full-time work, some of them for many months. America needs for the rate of job creation to increase substantially, and Treasury Secretary Snow thinks that's exactly what is going to happen from now on. Meanwhile, the President likes what he sees in the latest numbers, but recognizes that they're only a start.

More individual decision making (Sunday, 11/9/03)
At one time, a larger proportion of the American workforce belonged to unions. Companies also were more inclined to employ people for many years, through good times and bad. In effect, both unions and employers provided various layers of "protection" for individual employees by having specialists making many of the decisions affecting them and by absorbing many of the shocks emanating from the world outside the company

Now, though, individuals increasingly are on their own. The "just-in-time workforce" that has become characteristic of the new economy shifts more of the responsibility for coping with market fluctuations and other changes in the business environment to individuals. Similarly, individual workers are having to make more of their own decisions regarding retirement accounts and healthcare. As Darrin Schlegel suggests, there is a kind of Darwinian process in operation in which the clever, sophisticated, and well-informed are rewarded. Simply being able to do one's job no longer is enough.

Currently, many people aren't very well-prepared to make the choices and decisions affecting their own well-being that they're being called on to make, or they're lacking in motivation. For instance, did you know that your disability benefits will be taxed if your employer paid the insurance premiums? Michelle Singletary tells when it might be a good idea to supplement employer-paid disability insurance.

Also, Albert Crenshaw reports that, for various reasons, nearly half of workers who change jobs seem to find ways to subvert their own self-interest so far as their 401(k) plans are concerned.

Money still attracts more money (Sunday, 11/9/03)
Rich colleges that tend to serve the affluent often receive far more federal aid per student than poorer schools filled with poor students. Here's more from Greg Winter of the New York Times.

CEO disputes new dictionary entry (Sunday, 11/9/03)
McDonald's CEO Jim Cantalupo doesn't like the fact that the new Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary lists "McJob" in its new edition.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: FindLaw (Sunday, 11/9/03)
Sometimes you need to find a lawyer, but sometimes you simply need FindLaw.

It appears that the recession's REALLY over, finally (Saturday, 11/8/03)
Technically, it's been a long time since the last recession ended, but the nine million or so people looking for full-time employment may not have noticed. John Berry writes that job growth seems to be accelerating now, and hit its highest level in October since the end of the recession.

Nearly 300,000 jobs have been added during the past three months, but, at that rate, it would take another two years to return to the employment levels in effect when President Bush took office, with the election one year away. Still, if the economic expansion turns out to be durable, which seems increasingly likely, it bodes well for his re-election chances. One-hundred-twenty-six thousand new jobs were created in October, and that may not be the best we see during the months ahead. During the 1990s, it was not unusual for more than 200,000 new jobs to be created each month.

The other strong numbers (Saturday, 11/8/03)
Ken Moritsugu writes from Washington that labor productivity has been increasing much faster than usual. It reached an annualized rate of 8.l percent during the summer, which, like the third-quarter GDP growth rate, clearly is unsustainable. Still, as Fed Head Greenspan pointed out the other day, the high productivity rate, made possible through the more effective use of technology plus longer hours, temporarily enabled employers to meet growing demand while still laying off workers. According to economist Paul Krugman of the New York Times, the economy has to create about 150,000 new jobs each month simply in order to accommodate population increases. However, with offshore outsourcing plus increased productivity, it will have to create even more jobs than usual.

President: the proof is in the cutting (Saturday, 11/8/03)
President Bush says that the good economic numbers are a consequence of his tax cuts. Here's what we wrote on May 23, as the latest tax-cut bill was on its way to the White House for the President's signature: "There are growing indications that the economy will grow at a higher rate during the second half of the year anyway, so what are the odds that the Administration will attribute this improvement to the tax cut?"

Sympathetic in North Carolina (Saturday, 11/8/03)
Foreign competition has hit North Carolina's workers hard, nearly shutting down its textile industry, for instance. President Bush was at a community college yesterday expressing his sympathy and saying that, with the strong economic growth and job creation that now appear to be underway, plus retraining, better times lie ahead.

Which side can tolerate the most pain? (Saturday, 11/8/03)
The Southern California grocery workers strike has been going on for four weeks. Both sides have indicated that they will meet with the federal mediator and each other next week, but, don't expect an immediate breakthrough. Here's more from Frank Green of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Why so many older Americans are worried (Saturday, 11/8/03)
Has Canada suddenly become a third-world country without our noticing? The U.S. government says it can't guarantee the safety of prescription medications which are first exported to Canada, then imported back into the United States. And, why do these medicines cost Americans so much more than Canadians in the first place? Frank Green writes about how the shutdown of Rx of Canada stores in the U.S. is increasing anxiety among American seniors. Incidentally, if your doctor feels that you should be taking anti-anxiety medications as a consequence, well, forget it.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Medicare (Saturday, 11/8/03)
As you might expect, Medicare has a web site.

The U.S. economy adds more jobs (Friday, 11/7/03)
Job growth appears to be accelerating. Employers added 126,000 jobs in October, according to the Labor Department. That's the third month in a row of net job creation. Moreover, the Labor Department has revised upward the job numbers for August and September. Unemployment also dropped to 6 percent last month. Here's more from Leigh Strope in Washington.

Largest U.S. troop rotations in nearly 60 years (Friday, 11/7/03)
Many American military personnel in Iraq are nearing the end of their tours, so the Army expects to send 85,000 new forces to replace them.

Greenspan is concerned about deficits (Friday, 11/7/03)
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says that the federal deficit must be brought under control to prevent it from threatening the long-term viability of the American economy. Also, yesterday, the Chairman suggested that the era of historically-low interest rates may be nearing its end.

Houston professor sees a good year ahead for his region (Friday, 11/7/03)
University of Houston economics professor Barton Smith believes that several things are coming together which should result in a good 2004 for Texas' largest city. Here's more from L. M. Sixel of the Houston Chronicle.

In other Texas news, workers must be represented by a union in order to agree in advance of injuries on the job to sign away their right to sue their employers. Here's more about the ability of unions of make medical decisions for workers in Texas.

Beware of scams (Friday, 11/7/03)
Rough economic times bring the scammers out from under the rocks. John Reinan tells about one exploiter who managed to take $45,000 from people, $25.00 at a time. The Minneapolis Star Tribune lists some of the more common employment scams.

More American residents were born someplace else (Friday, 11/7/03)
Genaro Armas reports from Washington that the foreign-born population in the United States increased by one million during the year ending last March. We're in the second major period of immigration in U.S. history, and approximately the same proportion of the U.S. population was born elsewhere as during the period from the late 1880s through the early 1920s when millions of native-born Americans' ancestors came to the United States.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Who's Outsourcing? (Friday, 11/7/03)
Who's Outsourcing? intends to slow the flow of American jobs overseas by calling attention to the companies that are exporting jobs as well as by applying political pressure.

Up is good, down is good (Thursday, 11/6/03)
Jeannine Aversa reports from Washington that productivity rose dramatically during the third quarter, while first-time jobless claims last week dipped to their lowest level in a couple of years. Here's more on the productivity numbers, and here's more on the jobless claims.

Greenspan expects job growth to kick in soon (Thursday, 11/6/03)
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan believes that the American economy finally is poised for major job growth. He also feels that interest rates can remain low so long as inflation is low. But, the Chairman, who has been seen by many as an inflation-phobe, believes it's important to pay close attention to conditions that might give rise to the pestilence of rising prices, which can foul up an economy as fast as anything. A few years ago, Greenspan's critics felt that he exaggerated inflation dangers and kept interest rates too high as a consequence, thereby hampering the American economy.

Joblessness declines in Germany, but... (Thursday, 11/6/03)
...It would be a mistake to over-interpret the numbers, according to analysts. Here's more from Frankfurt on the reasons for the dip and what it means and doesn't mean for the German labor market.

Growing public doubts about the benefits of globalization (Thursday, 11/6/03)
Critics of "free trade" point out that, when obstacles to trade are removed, it makes it easier to move products across international boundaries, but also easier to move jobs. Whether globalization creates more jobs in the U.S. than it destroys is one of the principal questions in the current debate. David Francis says that opinion surveys are indicating growing concern about the job-destroying effects of globalization, and some presidential candidates are beginning to notice.

Worsening undertaker shortage looms (Thursday, 11/6/03)
The market for undertakers isn't likely to decline, given that there are far more people than there used to be, so there are going to be far more deaths each year than during most of humanity's history. Nonetheless, there aren't enough professionals to staff the funeral business now, and the situation seems to be worsening. Here's more from Sara Olkon in the Arizona Republic.

Why employers may want their workers to surf MORE on company time (Thursday, 11/6/03)
You may not feel like paying your workers for the time they spend wandering aimlessly on the Internet. But, wait--is it really aimless, and is it really time spend to your disadvantage? Authors Claire Simmers and Murugan Anadarajan don't think so. Here's more about their new human resource guide.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: North American Free Trade Agreement (Thursday, 11/6/03)
You've surely heard about NAFTA, or the North American Free Trade Agreement, but have you read it? Well, here's your chance.

Service sector expands (Wednesday, 11/5/03)
Real estate is still hot, manufacturing is improving, the tech sector seems to be strengthening; now the service sector enlarges during October. All are indications of a still-fragile but strengthening American economy. Daniel Bases takes a closer look at the indicators from Washington.

Senate and House investigate mutual fund scandal (Wednesday, 11/5/03)
The Congress has been holding hearings in an effort to determine what additional legislation might be needed to keep the huge mutual funds industry more honest, while also calling for tougher enforcement from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC investigation has spread to former employees of Prudential Securities, and further charges are likely, according to a report from Devlin Barrett.

Unemployment up in Europe (Wednesday, 11/5/03)
During the past year, a majority of the EU member states have experienced increased unemployment, according to new figures from the European Commission. The Netherlands had the biggest increase, while Spain has the highest unemployment rate. Meanwhile, the EU is looking to Britain for guidance on remodeling its Stability and Growth Pact.

Workplace toxins suit reaches court (Wednesday, 11/5/03)
One among 250 worker lawsuits brought against IBM came to trial yesterday. Here's more from Jim Hopkins of USA Today.

Strike ends at the University of Minnesota (Wednesday, 11/5/03)
The first strike of employees of the University of Minnesota in more than half-century has ended with preliminary agreement on a new contract. Unionized clerical workers had been off the job for two weeks.

When you're an illegal worker, don't expect much protection (Wednesday, 11/5/03)
Employers may be able to demand nearly anything from workers who are afraid of being turned in to the INS. Steven Greenhouse of the New York Times tells about how many people cleaning Wal-Mart's stores never get a day off.

The full-time job of finding a job (Wednesday, 11/5/03)
Here's another long, hard slog: finding a good-paying full-time job in the current climate. Washington Post writer David Finker has more from Grambling, Louisiana.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Scandal Explained (Wednesday, 11/5/03)
Long Island's Newsday offers a point-by-point explanation of the growing mutual funds scandal.

October was a big month for cuts (Tuesday, 11/4/03)
A new survey conducted by Challenger, Gray & Christmas finds that twice as many jobs were cut in October as during the previous month. Leigh Strope writes from Washington about the jobless expansion. With respect to the expansion part, analysts at Business Week say it's greater than anyone seemed to expect, but surprises were contained within the surprise.

Wal-Mart in the government's sights (Tuesday, 11/4/03)
The world's largest retailer has announced that it has received a "target letter" from the U.S. Attorney's Office claiming that Wal-Mart allegedy violated immigration law. If it sticks, it may mean that it's not good enough for a company to contract with an outside firm to employ illegal workers. Contractors have been popular among employers in recent years for a variety of reasons, including the fact that if a worker can be called a "contractor" rather than an "employee," it costs the employer less. Hiring illegal workers can cost less to, if a company can get by with it by doing it indirectly. Wal-Mart has said that it did not know that cleaning companies with which it had contracted to clean stores were employing illegal immigrants.

Tyco begins to unwind (Tuesday, 11/4/03)
Tyco is starting to disassemble the empire built by Dennis Kozlowski, which, among other things, will result in the loss of 7,200 jobs. Here's more from the Washington Post. Alan Sloan comments on the $2 million birthday party Mr. Kozlowski threw for his wife a couple of years ago, the film of which seems to be a commentary on bad taste. Others have said that it reminds them of Woodstock, and pointed out that Kozlowski is of that generation. He was 22 at the time of the big "anything went" blowout in the mud which some said was about freedom, while others said was about decadence. It's not known whether Dennis Kozlowski attended the big Woodstock music festival.

NAFTA nearly ten years later (Tuesday, 11/4/03)
Kris Axtman of the Christian Science Monitor writes from just below the U.S. border about the impact of NAFTA as it nears the completion of its first ten years. President Clinton signed it into law on December 8, 1993, and the agreement began its implementation at the start of 1994.

Big shopping season expected on the Internet (Tuesday, 11/4/03)
As we cautioned at the time, it wasn't a good idea to assume that the dot-bomb of a few years ago meant the end of the Internet's importance. Quite the contrary, even though the bubble burst, the Internet has continued to develop, changing nearly everything in the process. For instance, Melissa Levy of the Minneapolis Star Tribune says that revenues from online holiday sales are likely to total $12.2 billion this year. The tech-loaded NASDAQ has been on the increase for sometime, and the Washington Post reports that the tech sector's slump may be ending. Technology and telecom spending are increasing for the first time in nearly three years.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Home Health Care (Tuesday, 11/4/03)
Medicare's new report rates home health care agencies throughout the Untied States.

Manufacturing output increases (Monday, 11/3/03)
Finally, American business is buying, spending, and producing more, which has been the missing ingredient in the long, but unimpressive economic recovery since the official end of the last recession--at least until the 7.2-percent-third-quarter you've been hearing so much about. At any rate, October was a very good month for manufacturing. Eric Burroughs reports that output increased at the most brisk rate in four years.

Conditions may be about to ease for some Californians (Monday, 11/3/03)
California has nearly everything. More people than any other state, the fifth largest economy in the world, lots of movie stars, lots of sunshine (except where there is smoke in the air), lots of beaches, a huge budget deficit, huge fires, and, well, more pedestrians than usual. Fortunately, some walkers may become riders again soon. Drivers at one bus company are saying that they will return to work tomorrow, and L.A. bus mechanics will vote on a new contract proposal.

Four-hour strike in Israel (Monday, 11/3/03)
Like Italy, Germany, and other countries that have been taxing a lot and providing a lot of cradle-to-grave security, Israel is in the process of trying to make major changes in its welfare system. This has resulted in a nationwide strike, but a court has limited the walkout to four hours.

Tiny illegals (Monday, 11/3/03)
Ginger Thompson tells why small children are being smuggled across the border without their parents.

Seniors who struggle (Monday, 11/3/03)
The increasing have vs. have-not gap in America persists into the later years. Eileen Alt Powell tells about how it is to be old, sick, and poor in the United States. Shawn Taylor the Chicago Tribune writes that people should begin planning their retirement when they're still young, but few do.

Americans may be in danger of losing their reputation... (Monday, 11/3/03)
...As the world's leading workaholics. Actually, the Japanese may be the all-time prize winners. Japan even has an official cause-of-death category called "death from overwork."

However, the American work week has increased over the past decade or so, and U.S. workers tend to take far less time off than Europeans. Nonetheless, there are indications that this may be changing, as Americans seek more balance in their lives.

On the other hand, what is "work," and, under what conditions is it stressful? Is it simply a matter of being engaged in productive activity that is stressful, or is it when one is unable to exercise control over one's own schedule or activities? There is evidence that reacting is more stressful than acting. Some people say, "Sure, I have all sorts of leisure time. I just choose to spend most of it working."

Downsizing is contributing to biz startups (Monday, 11/3/03)
Some people who have been laid off by their corporations are using their severance packages to help them start their own businesses. Here's more from today's Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Faith-based hiring (Monday, 11/3/03)
Some employers apparently have a lot of faith in standardized test scores, even if they seem to represent ancient history. The Wall Street Journal's Kemba Dunham says that more and more job applicants are being asked for their SAT scores.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Estate Planning (Monday, 11/3/03)
FindLaw's Estate Planning site includes guidance, articles, and other resources.

Israel eases restrictions; Palestinians go to work (Sunday, 11/2/03)
Six-thousand Palestinians have crossed from the Gaza Strip into Israel to go to their jobs after a month of interruption. Here's more from Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City.

Painful retrenchment in Germany (Sunday, 11/2/03)
Germany is where the modern welfare state was invented during the second half of the 19th century, and Chancellor Schroeder thinks it's time to trim its current generosity in order to boost a largely stalled German economy. However, at least 100,000 protesters in the streets of Berlin showed their displeasure yesterday. Here's more from Stephen Graham.

Thailand six years after onset of the "Asian contagion" (Sunday, 11/2/03)
The financial mess that swept across Asia in the mid-90s began with the devaluation of the baht in Thailand. But, what a difference a few years can make. Now, the old Siam is expected to experience economic growth of 6.25 percent this year.

If good times really are coming back, the Dems will need a midcourse correction (Sunday, 11/2/03)
President Bush has a growing mess on his hands in Iraq, plus an economy that has lost millions of jobs since he took office. So, it should be a slam-dunk for the Democratic nominee in 2004, right?

Not necessarily. For one thing, the Democrats still have too many presidential aspirants which tends to dissipate attention, even among those relatively few Americans who have heard of most of them. Also, of the two big issues, the one most likely to influence large numbers of American voters is the condition of the economy and how they're personally affected. A 7.2 percent GDP growth rate is good for the country, but probably bad for Democratic strategists, particularly if job growth picks up during the months ahead. The New York Times' David Leonardt analyzes the political situation in light of the new numbers.

Africa's grim prospects (Sunday, 11/2/03)
Name a problem and you're likely to find it in abundance somewhere in Africa: AIDS, civil war, poverty, famine, over-population, and more. Now, growing water shortages are expected to make things worse by increasing the huge continent's dependence on food aid over the next 20 years.

Some employers begin offering consumer-driven health plans (Sunday, 11/2/03)
If many Americans seem rattled today, it's not just because of Halloween, says Sandra Block of USA Today. A 15 percent increase in health care costs during a single year is enough to raise anxiety levels for employers as well as employees, particularly following the cost increases during previous years that have been, well, impressive. Most companies simply are passing the increased costs on to their employees, but some are looking for creative solutions that may work a bit better for everybody. For instance, despite higher deductibles, the new consumer-driven health plans may reduce some of the pain you may be experiencing even when you're not sick.

But, wait--why do employers pay for employee health insurance in the first place? Daniel Akst of the New York Times thinks it's time for a fundamental change in the system. He wants to see an end to the employer-financed system.

What will a Medicare medication benefit mean to you? (Sunday, 11/2/03)
To be precise, it will depend. For instance, it will depend on your income and how much you ordinarily spend on prescription medications. Also, Mark Sherman says it depends on whom you ask.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Global Competitiveness Report (Sunday, 11/2/03)
The World Economic Forum has issued its Global Competitiveness Report for 20093-2004. Finland tops the list, with the U.S. second.

American consumers cheer up again (Saturday, 11/1/03)
Vigorous consumer spending during July and August helped propel third-quarter GDP growth to a fairly astonishing 7.2 percent. However, American consumers lost some of their enthusiasm in September, but, as Victoria Thielberger reports from New York, they brightened again in October. It may mean that the third-quarter GDP numbers really represent a long-term trend, although almost no one expects growth to persist at third-quarter levels. Six percent might be a more reasonable expectation for the current quarter, before leveling closer to four percent, which would still be good, if it holds up and job creation picks up.

Still, Barbara Hagenbaugh of USA Today reports that some economists need to know more before concluding that the third-quarter annualized growth rate of 7.2 percent represents anything other than a temporary blip. On the other hand, commentator Christopher Farrell thinks that there are multiple signs that the recovery is strong, real, and will persist. Stay tuned.

Kroger workers may be headed for a strike (Saturday, 11/1/03)
The big Cincinnati-based company says it has made its final offer to 4,000 workers in Indiana whose representatives are urging rejection. A walk-out could occur when the current contract expires. You w