tagged w/ Private Sector
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As with all life essential needs, citizens have the right to collective bargaining and self provisioning without having to pay for corporate fat cat big salaries, boards of directors, investor dividends, and corporate's traditional huge subsidies to corporate lobbyists and legislators who act against us. If we can fulfill our needs better and cheaper than commercial interests can, then we are entitled to do just that, without making others rich at our expense! Meeting life's essential needs, food, water, shelter, energy, and health care should not be subject to the uncertainties and vagaries of capitalist interests. Capitalism is more appropriate in non life essential commodities and services such as recreational clothing, automobile choices, restaurants, sporting goods and activities, ... If we eliminate corporatocracy from food, water, energy, and health care, we can collectively, through our representative government, provide ourselves with those needs in the best quality at the best price.
"Right-wingers, insurance companies, and other opponents of health care reform in the United States are always looking for ways to blame the government for the failures of our health care system. But the simple truth is that they have it backwards: our problems with health care are firmly rooted in the private sector. That is why the average high-income country – where government is vastly more involved in health care – spends half as much per person on health care as we do, and has better health outcomes."
"The most effective way to insure everyone and make our health care system affordable would have been to expand Medicare to everyone, while beginning the process of reducing costs through negotiation with, and restructuring incentives for, the private sector. The private insurance companies use up hundreds of billions annually on administrative costs, marketing, and other waste – which is what you would expect from companies who maximize profit by insuring the healthy and trying to avoid paying for the sick."
"We also spend nearly $300 billion on pharmaceuticals each year, most of which is waste due to the patent monopolies of pharmaceutical companies. We could eliminate most of this waste through further public financing of pharmaceutical research, with new drugs sold as low-cost generics. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced legislation in the Senate to realize these savings."
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/op-eds-&-columns/op-eds-&-columns/problems-of-us-health-care-are-rooted-in-the-private-sector-despite-right-wing-claimsAs with all life essential needs, citizens have the right to collective bargaining and... more
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In times of economic stress, government employees are heavily scrutinized, just as many people in the private sector are. However, as the scrutiny goes up, so do many of the famous myths of the "easy" life as a government employee.In times of economic stress, government employees are heavily scrutinized, just as... more
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That the public sector unions form a vote bank and help politicians who to retain their seat, accommodate them with scant regard for economy .
Workers in the unorganized sector,say electricians , plumbers etc,. have their grievances unheard,
http://ramanan50.wordpress.com/2011/01/08/labors-coming-class-war-a-warning/That the public sector unions form a vote bank and help politicians who to retain... more
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Conservatives and their tea partying faction are yelling, “Hell no! We won’t grow!” in their quest for government with a microscopic “G”. The solution? Shed all regulations and regulators because big corporations obviously do a bang up job regulating themselves.Conservatives and their tea partying faction are yelling, “Hell no! We... more
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The article claims the aim of private university would mean the burdens on the public sector like funding and numbers could be lifted slightly. Though the article points out a private university would be able to set its own tuition fee limit.
"Private universities will help to create a "dynamic and flexible" degree system, says Mr Willetts.
But the UCU lecturers' union warned that an expansion of the private sector would be a "disaster" and that the creation of a new private university was the "beginning of a slippery slope"."-BBCThe article claims the aim of private university would mean the burdens on the public... more
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There's always a heated debate over the private sector jobs ministers take after leaving politics. Since the Dispatches report which investigated, "How senior politicians are seeking to trade on their Westminster connections to earn money from lucrative positions in the private sector."[Channel 4] there's been an increase in criticism.
Yesterday a number of papers reported on jobs some former Labour ministers are moving into after the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments approval.
Patricia Hewitt is chairing BT's renumeration commmittee and its pension policy review group (though it's said BT staff are about to ballot for a strike)
Lord Malloch-Brown (Minister of State for Africa, Asia and the United Nations, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General) now advising a Southwest Energy an an Ethiopian oil company. FT lists more examples in the article.
"Ruth Kelly, former education secretary, was last week appointed as senior strategic manager for the global businesses of HSBC, the bank. John Hutton, former defence secretary, has become an adviser to Eversheds, the law firm."-FTThere's always a heated debate over the private sector jobs ministers take after... more
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There's always a heated debate over the private sector jobs ministers take after leaving politics. Since the Dispatches report which investigated, "How senior politicians are seeking to trade on their Westminster connections to earn money from lucrative positions in the private sector."[Channel 4] there's been an increase in criticism.
Yesterday a number of papers reported on jobs some former Labour ministers are moving into after the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments approval.
Patricia Hewitt is chairing BT's renumeration commmittee and its pension policy review group (though it's said BT staff are about to ballot for a strike)
Lord Malloch-Brown (Minister of State for Africa, Asia and the United Nations, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General) now advising a Southwest Energy an an Ethiopian oil company. FT lists more examples in the article.
"Ruth Kelly, former education secretary, was last week appointed as senior strategic manager for the global businesses of HSBC, the bank. John Hutton, former defence secretary, has become an adviser to Eversheds, the law firm."-FTThere's always a heated debate over the private sector jobs ministers take after... more
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Why taxing cosmetic surgery is a bad idea.
If Americans were concerned about Congress getting its grubby hands on their Medicare, wait till it touches their breast implants. Among the ways the Senate health care bill pays for itself is a 5 percent tax on elective cosmetic surgery like tummy tucks, face lifts, hair plugs, collagen injections, and any other nonrequired procedures—a proposal known as the "Botax."
Plastic surgeons, like many of their patients, aren't smiling. Industry groups like the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons have launched campaigns against the tax, arguing not only that it would hurt business during a recession—elective surgeries are down already—but that it doesn't target the high rollers Congress is aiming for. Furthermore, says Big Knife, taxing cosmetic surgery could sag the economy as a whole, just when it needs a lift most. (The tax would raise an estimated $6 billion.)
The tax seems like an easy populist sell. One imagines the main clientele of plastic surgeons as the cast of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. But the tax isn't as progressive as it sounds, say surgeons. According to a 2005 survey by the ASPS, one-third of people who get plastic surgery make less than $30,000 a year, 70 percent of clients make less than $60,000, 86 percent make less than $90,000, and only 13 percent make more than $90,000. (Of course, that survey was based on people planning to get elective surgery, not those who actually got it.) Indeed, cosmetic surgery is an industry supported largely by people who can't afford it—a full 85 percent of operations are paid for using credit, according to Middlebury sociology professor Laurie Essig. As a result, the tax would hit low-income consumers especially hard.
But the argument isn't just that taxing plastic surgery is bad for the economy. It's also that plastic surgery itself is good for the economy. Call it a … (rimshot, please) stimulus package.
http://www.slate.com/id/2236447?wpisrc=newsletterWhy taxing cosmetic surgery is a bad idea.
If Americans were concerned about Congress... more
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There are more than 2 million “private security” officers and guards on the streets of America and this number is growing by the day in Oakland and other cities.
The United States is in the midst of the most radical privatization agenda in its history. We see this in schools, health care, prisons, and certainly with the US military/national security/intelligence apparatus. There are almost 200,000 “private contractors” in Iraq (more than US soldiers) and Obama is continuing to use mercenaries there and in Afghanistan and Israel/Palestine. At present, 70 percent of the US intelligence budget is going to private companies.
This privatization trend is hardly new, but it is accelerating. While events such as the Nisour Square massacre committed in September 2007 by Blackwater operatives in Baghdad show the lethal danger of unleashing mercenary forces on foreign soil, one area with the potential for extreme abuses resulting from this privatization is in domestic law enforcement in the US. Many people may not be aware of this, but since the 1980s, private security guards have outnumbered police officers. “The more than 1 million contract security officers, and an equal number of guards estimated to work directly for U.S. corporations, dwarf the nearly 700,000 sworn law enforcement officers in the United States,” according to The Washington Post. Some estimate that private security actually operate inside the US at a 5-to-1 ratio with police.There are more than 2 million “private security” officers and guards on... more
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Elaine Bernard: Legislation in the US a major obstacle to worker organization - Part 2
Elaine Bernard, Executive Director of the Trade Union Program at Harvard Law School, explains the various ways that the US legal system inhibits worker organization. Above all, believes Elaine, the Taft-Hartley Act, a post-World War II bill that brought about the 'right to work' principle, stands as a continuing systemic challenge for unions.
Elaine Bernard is the executive director of the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School. Bernard's writings often focus on workers in the telecommunications industry, and the role technological change plays in altering work. In the last several years, she has publicly discussed how advancing technology will change how labor unions function (especially in regard to member-to-member and union-member communication and organizing).
See Part 1 at:
http://current.com/items/89965465/unions_in_america_part_1.htmElaine Bernard: Legislation in the US a major obstacle to worker organization - Part 2... more
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Elaine Bernard: Private sector union membership has plummeted while the public sector has increased - Part 1
Elaine Bernard is the executive director of the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School. Bernard's writings often focus on workers in the telecommunications industry, and the role technological change plays in altering work. In the last several years, she has publicly discussed how advancing technology will change how labor unions function (especially in regard to member-to-member and union-member communication and organizing).
See Part 2 at:
http://current.com/items/89965481/the_war_against_unions_part_2.htmElaine Bernard: Private sector union membership has plummeted while the public sector... more
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Job losses in the U.S. private sector accelerated in March, more than economists' expectations, according to a report by ADP Employer Services on Wednesday.
Private employers cut jobs by a record 742,000 in March versus a 706,000 revised cut in February that was originally reported at 697,000 jobs, said ADP, which has been carrying out the survey since 2001.
The big drop foreshadows a huge decline in the non-farm payroll reading in the government's employment report that will be released on Friday, some analysts said.
"It's a terrible number. It is almost a loss of three quarters of a million jobs which is possibly the highest we have seen so far over the length of this crisis," said Matt Esteve, foreign exchange trader with Tempus Consulting in Washington.
U.S. stock futures and the dollar fell after news of the bigger-than-expected job losses, while U.S. Treasury bonds regained some of their lost ground.
Economists had expected 655,000 private-sector job cuts in March in the ADP report, according to a recent Reuters poll.
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Job losses for this month of March are 45,000 more than last month.
We have the highest unemployment in three decadesNEW YORK (Reuters) - Job losses in the U.S. private sector accelerated in March, more... more
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Ancient history didn't have housing bubbles and economy woes like we do because of one thing. The creditor forgave the debt when they knew the debtor couldn't pay.
Babylonian tablets show that they calculated how long it would be before the people's debt was so big they couldn't pay it. Then it was forgiven.
The answer to our economic woes is for the banks to forgive the debt its mortgagers can't pay, not to bail out the banks. This will eventually happen when the federal government owns the toxic mortgages.
The financial industry is a parasite that needs some exterminating.
Listen for yourself.Ancient history didn't have housing bubbles and economy woes like we do because... more
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America needs to listen to the ones who predicted our economic crisis.
The housing bubble burst was foretold!
Now listen to why it did and what our country has to do to prevent it from happening again.
This will require we have smaller government and no more bailouts.
Obama, don't try to fix a phony money problem.
America's wealth is phony.
Listen for yourself to the video and the ones with sense who predicted what would happen.America needs to listen to the ones who predicted our economic crisis.
The housing... more
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I have been looking for a job in Boulder, CO for months. I worked at a gas stations, and left because of my safety after a month. Then, I found a telemarketing company that trains and hires on the spot. So, I talked them into keeping me for 2 months before they realized I am not good at talking people into things. Especially, on the phone!! ((((Be nice to those poor poeople when they call, let me tell you, just say no and hang up))) All this talk of no money has people who would hire a new employee waiting as long as they can before bringing them in. I wonder if its this tough everywhere.???
Jobs took another painful hit in November, with planned cuts rising to the highest level in seven years, according to a report released Wednesday by an outplacement firm.
Job cut announcements by U.S. employers soared to 181,671 last month, up 61% from October's 112,884 cuts, and 148% higher than the same period a year ago, when 73,140 job cuts were announced, according to the report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
November's total represents the second highest on record, shy of the 248,475 planned layoffs in January 2002, in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Financial and retail industries were hit the hardest, Challenger said. Citigroup's plans to cut its staff levels by more than 50,000 brought the financial sector's announced job cuts to 91,356 last month. The financial industry has announced 220,506 job cuts so far in 2008, representing 21% of all layoffs this year.
Retailers added another 11,000 cuts in November, ahead of the holiday season.
Of the 25 industry categories that the Challenger report tracks, 12 reported higher job cuts in November compared to the previous month. Nine industries announced hiring plans, led by energy, industrial goods and construction.
Challenger said November's numbers bring the total of planned job cuts to 1,057,645 for 2008 to date, surpassing 1 million for the first time since 2005.
Separately, payroll manager ADP said Wednesday that the private sector lost a seasonally adjusted 250,000 jobs last month - worse than expected and the largest decrease since November 2002.
The reports set the tone for another dismal employment report expected from the Department of Labor on Friday. That report is expected to show that 325,000 jobs were lost in November, and that the unemployment rate grew to 6.8% from 6.5% a month earlier, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
The outlook for the current month isn't any brighter.
"The spirit of the holidays will not preclude further job-cutting if economic conditions continue to deteriorate," said John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "In fact, December has historically been among the larger job-cut months of the year, with many employers making last-minute staffing adjustments to meet year-end earnings goals."I have been looking for a job in Boulder, CO for months. I worked at a gas stations,... more
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All these different indicators keep telling us that its worse than we EXPECTED it to be... we KNOW that we are in a recession now. After just how many indicators are on the worse side do we announce a recession is a depression. We still have a few months until the Wall St. crisis adds to middle class crisis. Does anyone have a solution??? Last depression the new deal didn't really DO anything to solve the economy trouble, it really took WWII. Id rather avoid WWIII and find a different solution and nobody has the answer. Not Obama, not the FED, not the pundits....
"The U.S. economy shed a quarter-million private-sector jobs in November, according to a payroll processor's report that was worse than economists expected.
Non-farm private employment fell by 250,000 jobs from the previous month on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the ADP National Employment Report.
The report was expected to show a decline of 200,000 jobs in November, according to a consensus of economist projections compiled by Briefing.com.
"It's impossible to find any ray of light here," said ADP spokesman Joel Prakken in a conference call with reporters. "All of the major industries that we record had declines in employment."
The goods-producing sector lost 158,000 jobs last month, its 24th consecutive month of decline, according to the report. This includes 118,000 positions in manufacturing and 44,000 construction jobs.
The service industry shed 92,000 jobs, its second month of losses since the ADP reports began tracking employment in 2002.
Medium-sized businesses, with between 50 and 499 workers, were the hardest-hit part of the economy, hemorrhaging 130,000 jobs last month. Large businesses, with at least 500 workers, lost 41,000 jobs. Small businesses, with less than 50 workers, lost 79,000 positions.
Prakken said he expected to see "a string of very weak employment reports" going forward. He added that "declines in employment between 300,000 and 500,000 in the coming months would not surprise me."
The ADP also revised its reading for October, to a loss of 179,000 jobs from the previously reported loss of 157,000."All these different indicators keep telling us that its worse than we EXPECTED it to... more
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The current 1.1 billion people worldwide without access to potable water only opens one of the smaller windows on the injustices and the multiple casualties being wrought by private water-related industries. In fact, many are clueless to the magnitude of the victims -- present and projected -- of the growing water crisis as well as to the inhumane implications of the role of the private sector in regards to treating water as a commodity that can be owned and sold for profit. As of now, 2.6 billion people are at high risk for not having access to potable and an additional 1.8 million children die each year from water-related diseases.The current 1.1 billion people worldwide without access to potable water only opens... more
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Rostam
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added this
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3 years ago
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A document leaked to the BBC today reveals that the eleven prisons in the UK which are run by private companies perform significantly worse than those in the public sector, scoring particularly badly at security and 'maintaining order and control'. Governors want the government to re-think the private management of prisons.A document leaked to the BBC today reveals that the eleven prisons in the UK which are... more
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