Unemployed and under-employed Americans are enduring hiring discrimination as well as financial and emotional distress.

By David Elliot

Many people know that some 14 million Americans, officially about 9 percent of the nation’s work force, are unemployed. Another 12 million are under-employed. That means they’d like full-time work but can’t get it, or maybe they’re working two or three jobs without benefits in a desperate struggle to make ends meet.

But what’s the face of un- and under-employed America? Statistics roll out of the Bureau of Labor Statistics as if on a conveyer belt. But how do we measure human suffering in this Great Recession?

At USAction, we recently asked our online members to share with us their stories of un- and under-employment. Some 1,200 people responded. We culled through the stories, picking and choosing the ones that seemed to represent recurring themes, and published them in a report, Hardly Working: Stories from Un- and Under-Employed Americans.

The report documents the boiling frustration, despair, and economic uncertainty that unemployed Americans face this holiday season.

It could get worse. If Congress does not act to extend the federal unemployment insurance program, 1.8 million Americans will begin to lose benefits in January, with another million to follow the next month.

In the report, we broke down the difficulties of unemployed Americans into three broad categories: hiring discrimination, financial and emotional distress, and despair about the shape of our country.

We documented many types of hiring discrimination. By far the most common was discrimination based on age. People in their 50s and 60s — and even their 40s — often can’t even get in the door for an interview. Whatever their age, many others currently can’t get a job because they don’t have a job, since many employers explicitly shun applications from the currently unemployed.

The stories of distress came from people who have exhausted their life savings because of lengthy unemployment. They now face a frightening and bleak future. Middle-aged individuals and families have moved in with their parents to avoid homelessness. Across the country, people are going hungry, and parents are skipping meals so that their children can eat. Divorces are a byproduct of today’s economy, as are suicide attempts.

We documented the increasingly common despair over what’s happening in America with stories from people who, already facing a challenging economy, have seen things get even worse because of budget cuts at the state and local levels.

We also heard from people whose jobs have been outsourced to other countries. But some people reported outsourcing themselves to other countries to find work, including one person who went to China, one who went to Canada, and two who went to South Korea. Many of the Americans moving overseas are schoolteachers. As teaching jobs in the United States slip away, South Korea has decided to invest in its public education system to build a smarter workforce and a better future.

What are we to make of these stories?

Congress can do three things right now to improve the plight of jobless and under-employed Americans. First, it can extend the federal unemployment insurance program through 2012. Second, it can ban discrimination based on employment status, because telling people they can’t get a job because they don’t have a job is downright un-American. Third, it can pass robust jobs legislation. Yes, this would increase our debt in the short term, but any economist can tell you that one of the best ways to narrow the deficit is to turn unemployed workers into workers who once again pay federal income taxes.

To recharge our middle class, which drives our economy, we need jobs. Good jobs.

Why is it so hard for our leaders to understand that?

David Elliot is communications director for USAction, a grassroots advocacy group with affiliates and partners in 24 states. www.usaction.org

The $7-billion reconstruction of the Bay Bridge between San Francisco and Oakland is in the hands of a state-subsidized Chinese company.

By Jim Hightower

Listening at last to his inner FDR, President Barack Obama is going straight at the Know-Nothing/Do-Nothing Republicans in Congress.

At a rally in September on a bridge connecting Rep. John Boehner’s state of Ohio to Sen. Mitch McConnell’s state of Kentucky, Obama challenged the two GOP leaders to back his plan for repairing and improving our country’s deteriorating infrastructure. “Help us rebuild this bridge,” he shouted out to Boehner and McConnell. “Help us rebuild America. Help us put this country back to work.”

Yes, let’s do it!

However, in addition to the usual recalcitrance of reactionary Republican leaders, another impediment stands in the way of success: many of the infrastructure jobs that would be created could end up in China.

Holy Uncle Sam! How is this possible?

It’s due to a trap door that was built into the Buy American Act. This 1933 law gives preference to U.S. companies bidding on major infrastructure projects. However, it allows the general contractor to opt out of this requirement if the difference in U.S. and foreign bids is significant. This is no theoretical concern, for it’s already happening.

For example, the $7-billion reconstruction of the Bay Bridge between San Francisco and Oakland is in the hands of a state-subsidized Chinese company that made the lowest bid.

While there are Americans involved in this huge project, the design, engineering, pre-fab tasks, supervision, and other work — as well as profits – are going to China. Consequently, California’s hard-hit people and depressed economy are deprived of the wages, taxes, and consumer spending they would’ve gotten from some 3,000 jobs that went overseas.

Yes, let’s approve Obama’s infrastructure proposal, but let’s improve it by nailing the opt-out trap door shut. For information, go to www.americanmanufacturing.org.

Jim Hightower is a radio commentator, writer, and public speaker. He’s also editor of the populist newsletter, The Hightower Lowdown.

The meatpacking industry, giant poultry companies, and largest food processors have forced more than 1 million American farmers and ranchers out of business since 1980.

By Mardy Townsend

Several lawmakers are proposing a time-out on new regulations to supposedly generate a more job-friendly environment. To some that might sound reasonable given the nation’s entrenched unemployment, but there’s one set of new rules in particular that should not be blocked.

Smaller-scale and independent farmers like me have waited 90 years for the government to enforce a law that would finally give us the chance to compete on a more level playing field. These new regulations are supposed to do just that.

The situation is truly dire. The meat packing industry, giant poultry companies, and largest food processors have forced more than 1 million American farmers and ranchers out of business since 1980. We don’t need more delays — we’ve already waited too long.

The 2008 farm bill included a long-overdue provision requiring the U.S. Department of Agriculture to propose rules to be administered by their Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA). These rules would amend the Packers and Stockyard Act of 1921 to give America’s family farmers and ranchers the opportunity to participate in a fair and open market, thereby curbing the systematically abusive and anti-competitive practices of the largest meat and poultry processing companies putting independent farmers out of business. The Republican-led House of Representatives is trying to block that work by stripping GIPSA of the money it needs to operate.

Economists agree that any market is harmed once the top four firms in the industry control more than 50 percent of it. Well, four U.S. beef packers control 81 percent; four pork processors control 66 percent; and four poultry companies control 60 percent of the national market. These levels of concentration enable Tyson, Cargill, and other large meatpackers to exert an unfair degree of control over the marketplace.

The rules would also ensure that sellers of cattle, hogs, and poultry no longer have to prove that a processor’s abusive business practices used against one producer caused injury to the entire livestock marketplace. Producers would simply have to prove that the abuses damaged their own operation.

I was one of the 66,000 who submitted comments to USDA supporting the proposed GIPSA rules by the November 2010 deadline. A majority supported the changes, but it’s no surprise that poultry companies, meat packers, and commodity groups, including the National Pork Producers Council and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, oppose them.

In 2003 these groups waged a campaign based on false projections to block Country of Origin Labeling (COOL). COOL finally went into effect in 2010 and helps consumers to know their food’s source. These groups don’t speak for me or other independent livestock farmers.

The farmers and rural communities in northeast Ohio, where I live, can’t wait any longer for these rules to take effect. When the meat cartels’ expensive ads misstate that these new rules will kill jobs, I think of the nearly 20,000 hog producers who went under from 1980 to 2007, leaving only 2,300 in Ohio. These were small-to-medium size, locally owned businesses employing local workers.

We’re losing more and more rural businesses daily. Job loss figures don’t take into account the jobs that aren’t being created, or the number of young people leaving their farms because they can’t make a living. Farmers need other farmers and the accompanying infrastructure of purebred breeders, feed mills, veterinarians, farm stores, small meat processors, and other supportive rural businesses.

Many farmers, including some of my neighbors, are responding to consumer demand for local, grass-fed livestock. But to sustain viable farms and a regional food system, we need strong GIPSA rules to restore fairness and to roll back the unfair monopoly control that these vertically integrated companies wield.

Big agribusinesses and lawmakers are claiming that the new rules would prove to be an unwarranted regulatory burden and increase the cost of food. They’re wrong.

By restoring competition, these long-overdue rules will help stem the rapid loss of our nation’s independent farmers, ranchers, and growers, and encourage new ones. It will also sustain and create decent rural jobs, and provide consumers with real choice.

By Beth Schulman

I live nine blocks from the U.S. Capitol, so many of my neighbors depend on the government for their livelihoods. A few — a scientist, an editor, a Secret Service agent — belong to that often mocked and rapidly shrinking category known as “civil servants.” The government writes their paychecks, lets them buy into a decent health insurance plan, and runs a respectable pension system for them. Some belong to — and are protected by — powerful unions. Their generous benefit packages and job security are the stuff of legend.

It’s not surprising that eliminating their jobs and chipping away at their benefits have become favored tools of budget-conscious politicians in recent months. Last November, President Barack Obama froze federal wages for a full two years in an effort to build his credibility as a budget hawk. But even that wasn’t enough for some members of Congress.

They’re advocating that the Super Congress, those dozen lawmakers who are tasked with carving at least $1.2 trillion from the federal deficit, cut that fat federal workforce and outsource more jobs to private industry.

Not so fast.

On average, Uncle Sam spends nearly twice as much when the government outsources a job as it would if it just hired another “expensive” federal worker, says a new report by the Project On Government Oversight, Bad Business: Billions of Taxpayer Dollars Wasted on Hiring Contractors.

In researching this report, the POGO assessed contracts in 35 different job categories, comparing the total compensation for a federal employee with contractor annual billing rates to provide the same services. Astonishingly, in 33 of the categories, the federal employee cost the Treasury significantly less than the contractor.

Consider this example. For a “general attorney” on the public payroll, the government spends about $175,000 a year on salary and full benefits. If, however, the government hires a contractor to provide the same legal services, POGO found that we taxpayers would dole out almost $555,000 a year. Comparable findings surfaced in lots of other cases. Accountants on the public payroll cost us about $124,000 a year. If we engage them through a contractor, we spend about $283,000. Federal food inspectors carry a $58,000 yearly price tag as government employees, but cost about $75,000 if they’re hired through a contractor.

How can this be? For two decades, the White House and Congress have sought to privatize more and more government jobs. This was supposed to save lots of taxpayer dollars. The logic seemed impeccable: Break the government monopoly and free-market competition would drive down the cost. So the feds embraced outsourcing and invited bids from all comers.

One estimate shows that the number of federal service contractors grew from 4.4 million in 1999 to more than 7.5 million by the end of the 2005 fiscal year. (Solid recent statistics are surprisingly elusive.)

What went wrong? One of the biggest problems was that the government simply assumed that contracting would truly save money, and didn’t bother to verify whether that actually happened. This might explain the dramatic increase in federal service contract spending to more than $320 billion each year, which hasn’t reduced the overall size of the federal workforce.

Studies that found civil servants to be better-paid than their private-sector counterparts supposedly justified the contracting bonanza. But those studies compare apples to oranges. If Washington is serious about cutting wasteful government spending, it has to factor in what a contractor bills. After all, taxpayers foot the bill for the contracting company’s profits and its administrative costs, not just their employees, who are doing work that would otherwise be handled by civil servants or members of the military.

There’s a simple solution. Congress should institute safeguards to ensure that taxpayers stop wasting billions of dollars on bloated contracts. The government just has to determine that the overall, real cost of every contracted hire is compared with the overall, real cost of hiring a public servant.

This is a move that belongs on the agenda for the Super Congress. It’s a no-brainer.

Texas’ private sector continued to grow in August, with 8,100 jobs added.
Texas’ total nonfarm employment was up over the year for a total gain of 253,200 nonfarm jobs, despite declining by 1,300 jobs in August. This most recent annual growth brings total nonfarm jobs in Texas to 10,615,000. Texas has experienced positive annual job growth in the past 16 months, with annual growth rates above 2.0 percent for the last three consecutive months.

Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 8.5 percent in August, up slightly from 8.4 percent in July, and below the national unemployment rate of 9.1 percent.

“Texas continues to feel the pressures of a stagnant national economy,” said Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) Chairman Tom Pauken. “Private sector gains were offset by Government losses of 9,400 jobs in August, including 11,500 jobs lost in Local Government.”

Following a revised increase of 3,300 jobs in July, Education and Health Services added 9,600 jobs in August.  The industry has added 42,100 jobs since August 2010. The Trade, Transportation, and Utilities industry lost 4,600 jobs in August, but added 49,600 jobs over the year. Professional and Business Services added 4,200 jobs in August, growing by 49,100 positions over the year, for an annual job growth rate of 3.8 percent. Jobs in Manufacturing grew by 1,200 positions last month, adding 20,700 positions since August 2010.

“Although we saw some government job losses this month, Texas continues to be a great place to find work,” said TWC Commissioner Representing Labor Ronny Congleton. “We encourage those who are looking for work to use the many tools and services offered by TWC to find the right fit for them.”

Six of the 11 major industries in Texas gained jobs in August, and all but two continued to show gains over the year. The private sector in Texas has added 272,200 jobs during the same time period.

“TWC stands ready to connect workers with available jobs and since January, we’ve added 144,000 jobs in Texas,” said TWC Commissioner Representing the Public Andres Alcantar. “The Texas labor force, which now stands at nearly 12.3 million individuals, is evidence of Texas’ growth, and our 28 local workforce boards are committed to providing the best job-search assistance and services needed to get Texans back to work.”

The Midland Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) had the lowest August unemployment rate in the state at 4.8 percent. The Amarillo MSA came in second at 5.9 percent, and the Odessa MSA third at 6.5 percent (not seasonally adjusted).

By Todd Staples, Texas Agriculture Commissioner

Jobs and improved quality of life – that’s what greater access to high-speed wireless service means and there are a lot of successes underway toward that end.
Upgrades are in store for business, education, health care and home life.

Why should all Texans care about rural technology? Because rural Texas is where hundreds of billions dollars in Gross State Product (GSP) originate. About $100 billion, or around 9 percent of Texas GSP, comes from agriculture alone. More than 86 percent of Texas’ land mass is over rural Texas, and let’s face it; our need to communicate doesn’t stop because we’re traveling across our state’s huge geography. In this day and age, we want a reliable Internet connection no matter where we live, work or travel.

With a focus on broadband expansion being a priority these days, study after study is reiterating something critical – rural communities are often the last to gain access to the technology and tools that allow for job creation, enhanced health care and educational advancement. Many urban counterparts enjoy tremendous competitive advantages when they are the first to receive the technological infrastructure.

Fortunately, the tide is turning thanks to the work of private providers across the state. For expansion to be successful, it must be driven by the private market. For those who may ask if rural Texas can support a market-based approach, the answer is absolutely.

Through the Connected Texas project, your Texas Department of Agriculture is helping create partnerships between small communities and private providers. One monumental victory is being celebrated in Nacogdoches County where the entire East Texas town of Chireno now has access to high-speed Internet thanks to a 160-foot tower erected by East Texas DSL.

The tower was the end result of a partnership between the Texas Department of Agriculture, Connected Texas and community partners that ultimately generated media attention and support for Internet access. Today, the small town’s population of about 400 people now has access to all the advantages available to larger urban areas. A win for rural Texas is a win for all Texans.

Over the past few years, private investment has combined the needs of rural, suburban and urban areas to provide increasingly seamless broadband service. AT&T has invested to create new opportunities across the state. Their work has enabled the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) staff in Midland to put webcams and wireless broadband technology to work to train more volunteers and child advocates across West Texas. Leveraging the potential to use broadband to expand access to training and education programs means greater economic and educational opportunity for more Texans.

The proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile USA also presents a new opportunity to extend the latest broadband technology to more areas of the state — an estimated 3 million locations in the Lone Star State. Partnerships like this that represent opportunity for rural Texas cannot be ignored. I look forward to the review of this proposed merger, which the Federal Communications Commission is currently conducting.

Similarly, Sprint paved new ground in improving broadband service by being the first company to roll out 4G technology and provide mobile broadband service at faster speeds to communities across the state, from major cities to rural communities. Sprint’s efforts put smaller Texas cities like White Deer, population 1,125, on par with some of the nation’s largest urban communities in terms of mobile broadband service, and provided mobile solutions that have opened new opportunities for many.

In Texas, the number of rural success stories related to high-speed wireless connectivity is growing. From the Panhandle to the Permian Basin and across to the Piney Woods, the Lone Star State is making major strides in accessing opportunities that will allow Texans to be competitive, informed, healthy and economically strong on a global playing field.

It’s clear to me through partnership and collaboration, we can foster a stronger, more vibrant and well-connected rural Texas. Let’s continue to seize these opportunities and connect the Lone Star State with high-speed wireless technology by encouraging partnerships and continued investment from our private sector.

Texas, a state that has long been known for its immense size, oil, beef cattle and football has also become famous for job creation. A recent Wall Street Journal article cited Texas as being “Where the New Jobs Are.”
The article described Texas as a mecca for the high-tech, venture capital, aeronautics, health care and industrial manufacturing industries.
According to the Monthly Review of the Texas Economy for October, published by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, from Sept. 2009 to Sept. 2010, Texas added 166,600 jobs for an annual growth rate of 1.6 percent. The study reveals that during the same period, the entire U.S. economy gained only 321,000 jobs, for an annual growth rate of 0.2 percent. Keep in Cheap Viagra mind those numbers would be about half as much without the Texas numbers boosting them.
In addition, Newsweek recently cited the cities of Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and Houston – referred to as the “Texaplex” – as the No.1 destination for job-seeking Americans, thanks largely to the energy sector and a strong spirit of entrepreneurism.

Our secret is a pro-business attitude created by low taxes and minimal regulations. This is what makes Texas stand out compared to other states such as California, where there are high taxes and over-reaching regulations causing the state to have a reputation for the worst business climate in the nation, according to Chief Executive Magazine’s annual survey of 651 CEOs. Texas, on the other hand, was ranked the best.
When it comes to job creation, the can-do, pioneer spirit of Texas has created a hospitable environment for entrepreneurs and placed cialis online overnight the Lone Star State as a leader in the national spotlight.

Contributing writer Kelly Bell

The Longview Economic Development Council (LEDCO) is riding a run of success stretching back several months.  It currently has 39 projects that are already operating profitably, and queries for new ones are coming in constantly.

Twenty-five local companies are using the highly successful WorkKeys program.  Also, LEDCO is helping the Workforce Solutions Center acquire new equipment for job seekers to use to take the WorkKeys Assessment.  AND the new North Business Park prescription drugs without a prescription is open and in operation.

The LEDCO Buy Local program has reached out to the I Shop Longview initiative to assist in its quest to convince local consumers over the counter cialis to spend their dollars locally.  If this program succeeds in transferring just 5% of residents’ out-of-the-area spending back to Longview it will circulate $225 million into the local economy.

LEDCO’s board of directors has voted in Susan Manzarakes, CEcD as executive director.  Manzarakes has been working with LEDCO for eight years, serving in the areas of workforce development, business retention, business attraction, and retail development.  She had served as interim director since December.