Finally! Economists finally come clean and admit the unemployment figures do not reflect reality. It's long been obvious to me that the unemployment figures couldn't possibly be accurate. Once your 26 weeks are done, you don't count any more, literally and figuratively.
Shockingly the DOL (Dept. of Labor) figures do not include the long term unemployed, or discouraged workers who have given up finding a job. Nor the self-employed/transitional or temp workers. Nor young people who never had their first job. Nor immigrants, farm workers, people with disabilities, or the homeless... whose jobs are irregular.
Unemployment is grossly understated by at least 100%. It's not 9.8% or 15 million people as the Feds would have us believe. It's approaching 20% -- or at least 30 million (or more) Americans who are not working, not by choice. They are the real victims of the Wall Street Debacle and the greed of the last decades and the bubble economy that went bust.
Now we are faced with a jobless recovery, for the first time in our history. So it will only get worse in the next 2-3 years. Moreover, the longer folks remain out of work, their skills stagnate or become a mismatch. It could take until 2015 before there are enough new jobs created, for a declining working-age population. This loss of jobs and loss of income creates a trickle-down effect that reduces -- and permanently removes a portion of the United State's GDP capacity. Most of the new jobs will be in increasingly lower skill and lower pay jobs that do not require a 4-year college education -- like service or health care or home health or energy efficiency -- so our standard of living will also have to shift.
Too much effort is being spent on bailing out Wall Street and not enough on bailing out Main Street. What do lawmakers think will happen when most Americans have no livelihood, no money, no home, no dignity, and no hope left?
For more insights on the needs for education, energy, and infrastructure spending to create jobs that will kick-start the economy and help the next generation, visit the New America Foundation's website. You can view videos and presentations on the Job Deficit from 3 top-knotch panels of experts. Search for the Bernard Scwartz Symposium on October 20, 2009 at www.newamerica.net
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
PUBCAMP = Magical Media Mystery Tour
On October 17 and 18, 2009, I was invited to attend the premier Public Media camp.
Convergence of PBS, NPR, social media and new media afficionados, print, web, and video journalists, bloggers, film-makers, citizen journalist, change agents, nonprofit activists … all who are re-shaping media, online and offline. There were over 200 people attending, offering their ideas and contributing via an unconference, where attendees took ownership for shaping 70 hour-long break-out sessions over a 2 day period. It was really quite wonderful being a part of this dynamic media and mind convergence.
Many people were inspired by the high energy level and active exchange of ideas. I think that there is a tremendous opportunity for NPR and PBS to take a leadership role in reinventing itself and migrating to online formats. Social media is a natural extension of public radio’s and public TV’s mission and message. It adds the interactive component. It empowers and engages. It makes programs available on demand by viewers, listeners and the public. This preserves the content and makes content available 24/7. It eliminates the constraints of program schedules. Public media engages and empowers the public and social media and online content enables the public to take action. No more lip service. Now we have to take action, and make it meaningful and transparent. That is a good thing.
Yes, there is media convergence. Old media is out and new media, social media is in. Things are full tilt. Anything is possible. Everything is emerging and evolving. There is no right or wrong answer. Novelty is magnetic. It draws people in. Everyone has a voice, on multiple platforms. Some voices ring truer than others. More transparent. More compelling. Capturing the imagination. The web is abuzz. Yet, do we have enough time to ‘consume’ everything that is out there in the stratosphere and the blogosphere?
It will be interesting to see how public media and social media evolve and converge...
It is mysterious how people are thriving in the blogosphere, finding their own voices, and others are following. It is changing marketing and branding and engagement. It is changing the balance of power in politics and helping nonprofits and companies t.o reach their audiences in meaningful ways. It is 24/7. It has the power to create a phenomenon that creates overnight awareness and sensation, that transforms lives and galvanizes people. It is a virtual (double entendre intended) archive - an inter-woven magic carpet that preserves and engages the human experience. All aboard! A brave new world emerges below.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Wall Street Blasphemy
I just saw Michael Moore's film, Capitalism: A Love Story.
Very insightful indeed. All that we suspected, and worse.
I don't understand how these people on Wall Street who
bilked millions of people out of millions of dollars, their livelihood,
their security, their trust, their future, their homes, their families...
HOW can they live with themselves? HOW do they sleep at night?
WHY aren't they ALL returning their ill-gotten, undeserved bonuses?
Sheer greed. They caused this downfall of the American dream, and
took more security and peace of mind from us than the September 11th
terrorists. They changed our society in more far reaching ways, for generations
to come. The enemy within.
I am so angry. I cannot believe that nothing can be done to right the wrongs.
I cannot believe that Congress and the White House for decades allowed this to happen.
Facilitated it, in fact. For years. Especially as regulations were lifted in the last decade.
And to our horror, not once but twice committed precious Bail Out Funds, with NO reasonable
checks and balances. Not the tiniest fiduciary responsibility and accountability.
No strings attached. This is unacceptable. They "allowed" the Wall Street BONUSES to proceed.
This is ABSURD. And, they are being allowed to persist in their dirty little
secrets and their dirty tricks. Business as usual. Where is the Outcry? Why isn't Congress listening, acting, embracing and protecting the will of the American people?
A democracy is the greatest good for the greatest number... NOT the railroading
of the country and the people ... to cover the asses of the greedy gentry who got us
into this mess. Why should innocent Americans have to pay the price, with their loss of jobs, livelihood, homes, peace of mind. This is unconscienable. Is there no justice?
Wake up America! Send your elected officials packing. Change the rules of the game and
legislating. More transparency. No more business as usual. Recover the spoils of the
evil robber barons, lurking amidst the halls of Congress and the White House,
and give it back to the people. Throw the bums out. No more piggy-packing bad bills into unrelated legislation.
Take back America! Go see all of Michael Moore's films. He has the courage to tell the awful truth.
Listen, and weep.
Fight back, America!
Very insightful indeed. All that we suspected, and worse.
I don't understand how these people on Wall Street who
bilked millions of people out of millions of dollars, their livelihood,
their security, their trust, their future, their homes, their families...
HOW can they live with themselves? HOW do they sleep at night?
WHY aren't they ALL returning their ill-gotten, undeserved bonuses?
Sheer greed. They caused this downfall of the American dream, and
took more security and peace of mind from us than the September 11th
terrorists. They changed our society in more far reaching ways, for generations
to come. The enemy within.
I am so angry. I cannot believe that nothing can be done to right the wrongs.
I cannot believe that Congress and the White House for decades allowed this to happen.
Facilitated it, in fact. For years. Especially as regulations were lifted in the last decade.
And to our horror, not once but twice committed precious Bail Out Funds, with NO reasonable
checks and balances. Not the tiniest fiduciary responsibility and accountability.
No strings attached. This is unacceptable. They "allowed" the Wall Street BONUSES to proceed.
This is ABSURD. And, they are being allowed to persist in their dirty little
secrets and their dirty tricks. Business as usual. Where is the Outcry? Why isn't Congress listening, acting, embracing and protecting the will of the American people?
A democracy is the greatest good for the greatest number... NOT the railroading
of the country and the people ... to cover the asses of the greedy gentry who got us
into this mess. Why should innocent Americans have to pay the price, with their loss of jobs, livelihood, homes, peace of mind. This is unconscienable. Is there no justice?
Wake up America! Send your elected officials packing. Change the rules of the game and
legislating. More transparency. No more business as usual. Recover the spoils of the
evil robber barons, lurking amidst the halls of Congress and the White House,
and give it back to the people. Throw the bums out. No more piggy-packing bad bills into unrelated legislation.
Take back America! Go see all of Michael Moore's films. He has the courage to tell the awful truth.
Listen, and weep.
Fight back, America!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Health Care Reform Needs a Business Barometer
On October 1, 2009 I attended an eye-opening forum on health care reform sponsored by the CATO Institute. It featured businessman David Goodhill who was speaking as a son whose father died needlessly from an infection he contracted during a brief hospital stay. His father spent 5 weeks in the hospital before he died from the infections and complications. Mr. Goodhill's message was that no other business or public institution in this country would be allowed to remain in business, or be unchecked, unchallenged if it "allowed" 100,000 people a year to die, especially from preventable acquired infections and medical errors. He's right!
Mr. Goodhill then went on to discuss our health care system from a business perspective, after much research. There is no basis for the prescribed prices and spiraling costs. While it may be a basis for applying discounts, it is not based on reality. His father's hospital bill for five weeks was $636,000, but his insurance bill was $990. Insurance paid the rest. So there is no accountability. Being a businessman, he did a cost analysis. His father could have stayed at the Ritz hotel for 5 weeks, he could have rented the expensive medical equipment and 2 hours of doctor time per day for less than $300,000.
Part of the health care debate is the fear that adding 15 million uninsured to a public plan would increase medical spending exponentially. Goodhill calculated that the $350 billion that the US spends each year on Medicaid could insure everyone for emergency medical care AND give every family at least $3000 a year to cover preventative care. That is pretty eye opening proposition, compared to the naysayers.
He makes a distinction between health care insurance and health care services, and the absurdity of expecting businesses to be equipped to control health care costs when the hospitals and doctors and insurance companies have been unable to do so. He believes we should spend more on preventive care rather than emergency care. He is also a strong proponent of the capitalistic system and market forces, giving consumers control of health care spending, and requiring prices to be posted to create competition and accountability. That sounds pretty reasonable to me. We compare prices and options on everything else we purchase. Why not the same for health care, and being able to make reasoned tradeoffs in care options and costs?
Mr. Goodhill's premise is spelled out in his article article "How American Health Care Killed My Father," The Atlantic, September 2009. Your can read it at http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200909/health-care
This should be required reading for all Americans, businesses, and especially Congress, as we contemplate how we should proceed on health care reform.
My message for today is that we all have a responsibility to reflect on where we want the country to move with health care. We have to be prudent. The health care system is breaking this country and bankrupting families and ruining lives. We have to make tough choices and priorities to get our health system back on track, so it is fair and equitable, without escalating costs that have no bearing to reality. Women and children and families, and businesses -- large and small -- need to have access to a public health care option NOW.
It will be cheaper than relying on emergency room care for what should be routine medical care. Then we need to work on changing the system and the priorities so to focus on preventative care and wellness so we will have healthier generations of Americans.
Mr. Goodhill then went on to discuss our health care system from a business perspective, after much research. There is no basis for the prescribed prices and spiraling costs. While it may be a basis for applying discounts, it is not based on reality. His father's hospital bill for five weeks was $636,000, but his insurance bill was $990. Insurance paid the rest. So there is no accountability. Being a businessman, he did a cost analysis. His father could have stayed at the Ritz hotel for 5 weeks, he could have rented the expensive medical equipment and 2 hours of doctor time per day for less than $300,000.
Part of the health care debate is the fear that adding 15 million uninsured to a public plan would increase medical spending exponentially. Goodhill calculated that the $350 billion that the US spends each year on Medicaid could insure everyone for emergency medical care AND give every family at least $3000 a year to cover preventative care. That is pretty eye opening proposition, compared to the naysayers.
He makes a distinction between health care insurance and health care services, and the absurdity of expecting businesses to be equipped to control health care costs when the hospitals and doctors and insurance companies have been unable to do so. He believes we should spend more on preventive care rather than emergency care. He is also a strong proponent of the capitalistic system and market forces, giving consumers control of health care spending, and requiring prices to be posted to create competition and accountability. That sounds pretty reasonable to me. We compare prices and options on everything else we purchase. Why not the same for health care, and being able to make reasoned tradeoffs in care options and costs?
Mr. Goodhill's premise is spelled out in his article article "How American Health Care Killed My Father," The Atlantic, September 2009. Your can read it at http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200909/health-care
This should be required reading for all Americans, businesses, and especially Congress, as we contemplate how we should proceed on health care reform.
My message for today is that we all have a responsibility to reflect on where we want the country to move with health care. We have to be prudent. The health care system is breaking this country and bankrupting families and ruining lives. We have to make tough choices and priorities to get our health system back on track, so it is fair and equitable, without escalating costs that have no bearing to reality. Women and children and families, and businesses -- large and small -- need to have access to a public health care option NOW.
It will be cheaper than relying on emergency room care for what should be routine medical care. Then we need to work on changing the system and the priorities so to focus on preventative care and wellness so we will have healthier generations of Americans.
America At a Crossroad - 30 years later
The purpose of Ponder This blog is to create a forum for thinking and dialogue about issues that affect us all. You may share your thoughts here or talk to your friends and family.
Today, October 5, 2009 I found myself at the Women, Money, and Power Summit in Washington, DC. It got me thinking. Thirty-plus years had gone by since I had Seen Gloria Steinem (now in her 75th year!). She looked pretty good. She and Eli Smeal are as feisty and on-target as ever.
Lots has changed in the last 30 years. Yet nothing has changed. These stalwarts of the Feminist Movement are STILL fighting the good fight. For equal rights, equal pay, equal access, equality.
Where had all the time gone? Long time passing.
Gone to flowers, everyone... Oh, when will we ever learn.
(The refrain from the 70s lyrics...) We are once again engaged in two unpopular senseless, no-win wars, fighting terrorism and evil under the guise of humanitarian principles.
It was startling to realize that for all the strides women have made in the last 3 to 4 decades, the old fight remains. Women are paid 77 cents on the dollar of men. This year we will officially exceed 50% of the labor force, as so many male jobs have been lost to outsourcing and the current recession.
It is upsetting to learn today that the United States is one of only 8 countries who have not ratified the international CEDAW Treaty to protect Women against violence. What is WRONG with this picture? The United States sees itself as a leader in humanitarian issues. This is shameful. Read our lips, Congress. Pass the domestic and international legislation that give women in the US and around the world the protections they need and deserve.
It was startling to learn today that (legal) permits for guns have quadrupled since President Obama took office, and that there is an upward correlation to the perpetration of victimization and violence against women when guns are present in the home. Right-wing pro-lifers are on the rise, although it is questionable how much they really value human life, since many are commiting awful crimes and violence all across the country.
Horrifyingly women are increasingly victimized in their homes and in the workplace at alarming rates. The recent headlines tell the shocking stories of violence against women, at the hands of their husbands and fathers and boyfriends and other unsavory, unstable individuals who have ready access to guns (legally and illegally). The country is still reeling from news of young girls being abducted from their beds and held as sex slaves for 9 months and 18 years. Or husbands, even policemen, killing and butchering their wives to hide the evidence, expecting to get away with murder.
What do you make of a health care system that claims that battered women have a chronic pre-existing condition, thus denying coverage? Or a system that provides a small modicum of healthcare to pregnant women (until she delivers) and then denies medical care? Or denial of basic medical and dental care, so a young boy dies from an infection because his decaying teeth were not removed? Or withholds psych care from unstable individuals who massacre children and co-workers in school and workplaces? There are countless family tragedies from insurance company denials of timely medical care or families who were bankrupted by outrageous health care bills.
We've got to do something quickly to right the wrongs and provide fair, affordable health care to the 15 million uninsured and others who may no longer be able to afford their private insurance under the present unsustainable system. For starters, keep the public health care option in the Congressional bill now being formulated. Contact your representatives and urge them to do so.
Much work will continue to be needed to rebuild the American health care system so that it is sound and sustainable.
Silent no more.
Today, October 5, 2009 I found myself at the Women, Money, and Power Summit in Washington, DC. It got me thinking. Thirty-plus years had gone by since I had Seen Gloria Steinem (now in her 75th year!). She looked pretty good. She and Eli Smeal are as feisty and on-target as ever.
Lots has changed in the last 30 years. Yet nothing has changed. These stalwarts of the Feminist Movement are STILL fighting the good fight. For equal rights, equal pay, equal access, equality.
Where had all the time gone? Long time passing.
Gone to flowers, everyone... Oh, when will we ever learn.
(The refrain from the 70s lyrics...) We are once again engaged in two unpopular senseless, no-win wars, fighting terrorism and evil under the guise of humanitarian principles.
It was startling to realize that for all the strides women have made in the last 3 to 4 decades, the old fight remains. Women are paid 77 cents on the dollar of men. This year we will officially exceed 50% of the labor force, as so many male jobs have been lost to outsourcing and the current recession.
It is upsetting to learn today that the United States is one of only 8 countries who have not ratified the international CEDAW Treaty to protect Women against violence. What is WRONG with this picture? The United States sees itself as a leader in humanitarian issues. This is shameful. Read our lips, Congress. Pass the domestic and international legislation that give women in the US and around the world the protections they need and deserve.
It was startling to learn today that (legal) permits for guns have quadrupled since President Obama took office, and that there is an upward correlation to the perpetration of victimization and violence against women when guns are present in the home. Right-wing pro-lifers are on the rise, although it is questionable how much they really value human life, since many are commiting awful crimes and violence all across the country.
Horrifyingly women are increasingly victimized in their homes and in the workplace at alarming rates. The recent headlines tell the shocking stories of violence against women, at the hands of their husbands and fathers and boyfriends and other unsavory, unstable individuals who have ready access to guns (legally and illegally). The country is still reeling from news of young girls being abducted from their beds and held as sex slaves for 9 months and 18 years. Or husbands, even policemen, killing and butchering their wives to hide the evidence, expecting to get away with murder.
What do you make of a health care system that claims that battered women have a chronic pre-existing condition, thus denying coverage? Or a system that provides a small modicum of healthcare to pregnant women (until she delivers) and then denies medical care? Or denial of basic medical and dental care, so a young boy dies from an infection because his decaying teeth were not removed? Or withholds psych care from unstable individuals who massacre children and co-workers in school and workplaces? There are countless family tragedies from insurance company denials of timely medical care or families who were bankrupted by outrageous health care bills.
We've got to do something quickly to right the wrongs and provide fair, affordable health care to the 15 million uninsured and others who may no longer be able to afford their private insurance under the present unsustainable system. For starters, keep the public health care option in the Congressional bill now being formulated. Contact your representatives and urge them to do so.
Much work will continue to be needed to rebuild the American health care system so that it is sound and sustainable.
Silent no more.
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