Friday, August 1, 2008

More Jobs Lost As few Return

According to an on-line news article 'U.S. Loses 51K Jobs but Some Outsourced Jobs Are Coming Back' written by Alice Gomstyn of ABC News, "As the U.S. economic slump continues, American jobs are increasingly in short supply: the U.S. Labor Department reported on Friday that employers shrunk payrolls by 51,000."

Yet Gomstyn lets us know what employers like Monster Job on-line search Vice President O'Donnell are are saying about the returning jobs that were outsourced, "You've got to have a workforce that you can control and you can invest in and grow talent and skills over time, and that usually doesn't happen offshore,".

Gosh, and it took O'Donnell from when Bush first took office in 2001 until today, August 1 2008 to figure that one out. That is seven years of the Republican selling the lie that Americans are too stupid to do the jobs. Gee, what happened? Did Americans all of a sudden become intelligent again?

Remember, the whole concept of outsourcing was based on GW's early speeches about how "the American worker did not have the intelligence or skills or base knowledge for the high tech industry." GW Bush also stated during that same time period from 2001 through 2002 that "America will no longer be a High Tech country! America is now a service country!" Those words still rip through my heart, tearing it to shreds.

So according to Bush in his early speeches, the country of American workers who created the 'SILICON CHIP', and the country of American workers who created the 'PC', and the country of American workers who created the 'INTERNET', the country of American workers who built the 'SPACE ROCKET' for the Apollo missions and 'FIRST MOON MISSION', the country of American workers who launched the successful 'SATELLITES' into space, the country of American workers who designed and built the 'SPACE SHUTTLE' and had the successful space missions, the country of American workers who had the successful 'MARS MISSIONS', was just not smart enough to be the High Tech country anymore? Oh yeah and by the way, the country whose American workers created and built the first 'TELEPHONE', the first 'AIRPLANE', the first 'AIR CONDITIONER', the first, 'CABLE NEWS NETWORK' is just not smart enough?

But now, a new awakening is arriving. A very small portion of the jobs are returning. Just not the highly technical ones yet.

Alice also wrote in her ABC news report, "In March, AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson told a Texas business group that the communications company was having trouble finding qualified applicants to fill 5,000 jobs -- mostly customer service positions -- that it had pledged to move back to the United States from India, according to a Reuters report."

Wow, did Randall Stephenson mean to say that when AT&T first took the jobs to India that all those new workers in India who took those jobs away from Americans had all the skills to work for a telephone company without having to be 'TRAINED?, or SCHOOLED in any way? Well if I remember those news articles in March concerning AT&T did admit to spending a lot of time and a lot of $$$$$$$ dollars in the millions or billions to train those Indian workers in India when they first outsourced those jobs back in the early Bush years.

Well maybe AT&T is just not willing to spend the same amount of time or money training the American worker that AT&T spent on the Indian Worker.

Also concerning the report written by Alice on AT&T, "An AT&T spokesman Thursday backpedaled from Stephenson's comments. Michael Coe told ABC News that AT&T had filled more than 2,500 positions and that the company is confident it will fill the rest."

Brain storm! Why not spend the same amount of time and money to train the American workers in the United States that you need just like you, AT&T, did on the Indian workers in India. DUH!

Alice of ABC news also got reaction from other companies who are either returning the jobs or bringing new jobs. ""It takes 70 Korean or Chinese workers 20 minutes to make a Chi flat iron," he said. "Now, in the United States and in Houston, with five people, I can make an iron in five minutes." Shami, who was first profiled by ABC News Houston affiliate KTRK, said he is building a new facility in Houston that he hopes will house 1,000 new workers within a year. He said he expects to neither save nor lose money through the new venture. A Palestinian immigrant, Shami said he's just doing his part to help the U.S. economy. "The only way to recover our economy is if we start manufacturing," he said. "I'm doing my part as a good citizen, that's all.""

Gosh, did Farouk Shami just give the workers of the United States of America a compliment?

You mean to say that the top 'CEO's' who were complaining in 2001 and 2002 that the American workers were just lazy and that the companies had to find more reliable workers was all a lie? Hmmm, What are the chances of that happening?

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Speculation UP, Speculation Down

Here we go again. First Wall Street's Stock Market speculates the price of oil up by speculating that the demand is up, although it is only speculation.

Now the candidates talked about drilling in more of our coastal beaches. So what does the Speculating Traders on Wall Street do? They again speculate the price of oil. Only this time the Stock Market is speculating the price of oil down.

So was it really demand? And does what the speculators do here really justify the 'ROLLER COASTER' pricing of oil? Hmmm, let's see what is going on in the news.

On Friday, July 25 2008, there were talks on the horizon for that weekend, with speculation of a positive resolve that lowered the price of oil barrels on Friday. Yet in the news on Monday, July 28 2008, the press both on-line and in various news outlets reported on the oil price creeping back up on Monday.

On CNN on-line business news, Kenneth Musante, wrote an article titled 'Gas Prices Fall For 13th Straight Day.' I guess Ken and CNN did not get the news of oil price creeping back up on July 28th Monday. And Still on Tuesday all news media kept saying was oil has continued to drop. 'Continued?' But no mention of the glitch from Monday, just one day prior. http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/30/news/economy/gasoline/index.htm?postversion=2008073006

And now on July 30th 2008 there is still conflicting reports. With CNN stating that gas prices fall for 13th day straight, the Associated Press on-line has a new article.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080730/oil_prices.html Stevenson Jacobs AP business writer's article 'Oil Jumps $5.00 After Report Says Gas Supplies Fell" indicated today that the price per barrel has jumped again. This time $5.00 more per barrel. Of course this business writer also states the two-week slide with no mention of July 28th price creeping.

Why there was even a July 11 2008 news article by Associated Press Writer, Madlen Read, where Read talks of the price per barrel passing $147.00 per barrel.

During the time frame of July 11 thru July 30 the price per barrel was not in any way continuing to go down. The weeks of July 14 - July 21 through Monday July 28th news reports have it ROLLER COASTING up and down. There was no two-weeks straight slide. A two week period is fourteen days. There is Not any 14 days of straight decline at all. There is only a continuous positive spin ignoring any facts of the rise in price that just keeps creeping up now and then.

Yet in my city, no one had reported that their price at the pump had even gone down .1cent. So I would of loved to see the prices at the pumps marked as a drop. In fact the price remained the same. However buy Tuesday, there was a report that some pumps either dropped their price by several cents or by 1/2 cent in some other places. But on the on-line business news reporting, the media were able to find an area or two where the price showed more than a .10 cents drop.

All of this speculating is enough to make me dizzy with the positive spin on oil drop and negative rise. When will the price become stable at a level we can afford.

Remember that many of us do not drive for pleasure. We drive to get to work. We drive for our work. We drive to get important errands done quickly and smoothly and on time. Some are small business owners. Some are workers who work 2 to 3 jobs to stay afloat. Some are households with 2 workers paying between $100.00 to $120.00 tank of gasoline on each car to get to work. Some errands have to be done by car. Try loading your groceries on the bus with your milk and ice cream while the air conditioner is not working. Yep, that happens a lot when you live in the high desert area. Try waiting for the bus in the smoldering heat, where the buses break down and a replacement is not sent so you just have to wait an hour or two later with small children and a milk souring in the heat. Everything from doctor office appointment to dental appointments end up being rescheduled when we arrive late because buses break down. Many times the delays can cause as much as a 2 hour later showing up for the appointment that was just 5 to 10 miles away. WE--NEED--OUR--CARS!

Driving is no option. Driving is a necessity. And when the speculators speculate the oil price 'ROLLER COASTER', you are stuck in a tizzy.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Bush Administration Projected Trillion Dollar Deficit

The Republican Bush Administration today, July 28 2008, projected the year 2009 will reach trillion dollar deficit for the next presidency, no matter who is president according to Jeremy Pelofsky and David Lawder in the Washington (Reuters) news on line. The housing slow-down will hit government revenues in a soaring half a trillion dollars of U.S. budget deficit.

Yet the, "we--are--not--in--a--recession," Bush Administration is still optimistic saying that the new report should cut the deficit to 178 billion in 2010 and may begin to produce surpluses in 2012. But everything the Bush Republican Administration had stated that would happen or should help our economy since the end of 2001 has proved NOT to work. So I hope Bush and his Republicans wont mind if I do not hold my breath.

Still the Bush Administration did give a worse forecast at 3.8 percent inflation this year. Many in the Republican Party, along with Bush, are selling the idea that 2009 will look better with a 2.3 percent and calling it moderate.

I guess that would depend on where the line is placed. Remember the Bush administration has changed the line of where the acceptance of average is, making it seem to be better than what it really is according to the original line. When they move the imaginary line of acceptance, Republicans can make it appear as if we are doing better than we actually are.

As Bush's tax cuts went into effect, the budget has been sapped by the expense of the Iraq and Afghan war.

The article, White House Sees Record Budget Gap In 2009, also reported "Democrats have blasted the Republican administration for squandering budget surpluses and nearly doubling the national debt, from $5.6 trillion when Bush took office in 2001 to over $9.5 trillion now." The Chairman of the House Representatives Budget Committee, South Carolina Democrat John Spratt said, "Under its policies, the largest surpluses in history have been converted into the largest deficits in history."

In the report, "Merrill Lynch & Co Inc last week estimated that a 2009 deficit topping $500 billion, combined with the government's normal financing operations, would require the Treasury to sell about $1 trillion in debt next year, a task they called "daunting."

Sunday, July 27, 2008

John McCain Ignores Pentagon Orders?

McCain said,"If I had been told by the Pentagon that I couldn't visit those troops, and I was there and wanted to be there, I guarantee you, there would have been a seismic event,"

Well, If the PENTAGON says "NO", you can bet you will NOT be allowed anywhere near the wounded soldiers. How could an ex-soldier, ex-air pilot, ex-POW think the Military are going to allow you, no matter who you are, to get anywhere close to the wounded soldiers on an American Military base in another country when the orders came from the Pentagon itself?

Just who is John McCain kidding? What makes him think he go and do the opposite of what the Pentagon ordered? Is John McCain having a Bush moment?

Without any proper authorization, does anyone believe that they can 'side--step' the Pentagon orders? Without the proper authorization does anyone believe that a civilian can just go on base and go anywhere they want and not follow the guide lines as to where they can and cannot go?

I believe the American US Citizen is too smart to fall for that one.

Remember, those wounded soldiers are in a military hospital on a military base in GERMANY and It is very ARROGANT for John McCain to have said those words, "If I had been told by the Pentagon that I couldn't visit those troops, and I was there and wanted to be there, I guarantee you, there would have been a seismic event,"

And I guess that the Military on base will 'IGNORE WHAT THE PENTAGON ORDERS WERE.' Yeah, when-pigs-fly!

It seems that there is a different set of rules regarding following the orders of the Pentagon as well as the Military Commanders on base for the Republican party politicians.

While everyone else would be put under Military arrest or kicked off of the base for trying to cause trouble on Base, the Republicans seem to think that they can do as the Republicans please on the base whether the Pentagon allowed it or NOT!!!!

I guess the Pentagon and Military enjoy having their orders ignored by the Republican Party.