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Politics : The Obama - Clinton Disaster -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (31090)	6/1/2010 2:56:55 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	Respond to of 103300

.Employers hiring fewer full-time workers, more contractors Tuesday June 1, 2010, 11:40 am EDT Jobs may be coming back, but they aren't the same ones workers were used to. Many of the jobs employers are adding are temporary or contract positions, rather than traditional full-time jobs with benefits. With unemployment remaining near 10%, employers have their pick of workers willing to accept less secure positions. In 2005, the government estimated that 31% of U.S. workers were already so-called contingent workers. Experts say that number could increase to 40% or more in the next 10 years. James Stoeckmann, senior practice leader at WorldatWork, a professional association of human resource executives, believes that full-time employees could become the minority of the nation's workforce within 20 to 30 years, leaving employees without traditional benefits such as health coverage, paid vacations and retirement plans, that most workers take for granted today. "The traditional job is not doomed. But it will increasingly have competition from other models, the most prominent is the independent contractor model," he said. Doug Arms, senior vice president of Ajilon, a staffing firm, says about 90% of the positions his company is helping clients fill right now are on a contract basis. "[Employers] are reluctant to bring on permanent employees too quickly," he said. "And the available candidate landscape is much different now. They're a little more aggressive to take any position." Cathy, who asked that her last name not be used, lost her job as a recruiter for a financial services firm in February 2009. She started working on a contract basis four months later. She believes that many employers are taking improper advantage of the weak labor market. "I work in HR, I understand that sometimes you need to hire a contractor because you have a project and you won't need the person when it's done in three months," she said. "But that's not what's happening here." Cathy said her co-workers who had permanent jobs didn't treat her differently, but she still felt like a second-class citizen. "At one job they were giving out H1N1 flu shots but the contract workers weren't eligible to receive them," she said. "I said 'You guys are still in trouble if I get the flu.'" Much of the change is due to employers' desire to limit their costs. Stoechmann equates the shift to the one seen in retirement plans, in which employers moved away from the traditional pension plan toward defined contribution plans, which passes more of the burden onto the employee. Demographic factors are feeding the shift as well. Stoechmann said many younger workers are more open to the idea of not tying themselves to a single employer. And as baby boomers reach the age when they are eligible for Medicare and not dependent upon their employer for health insurance, many are more open to contract work. Health care reform legislation passed earlier this year, which will create a mandate for employers to provide health benefits for employees but not contractors, will also feed the trend. "Once you have an employer mandate in place, you create an incentive for employers to get around that mandate," said Susan Houseman, a senior economist studying labor issues at the W.E. Upjohn Institute. Houseman also believes the jobs market could stay tilted in favor of employers for much of the coming decade, because of the depth of job losses and the lingering weakness in the economy. Sara Horowitz, the founder and executive director of the Freelancers Union, an advocacy group for freelancers and independent contractors, said that employment laws and protections have been slow to recognize the shift. For example, independent contractors aren't eligible for unemployment benefits. And they have to pay both the employee and the employer match on their Social Security taxes. But Horowitz said not everyone who works as a freelancer or independent contractor is unhappy with their situation. She estimates about 30% are satisfied with the arrangement, about equal to the number who desperately want to find a full-time job with benefits. The other 40% are somewhere in the middle, feeling pleased by aspects of their job and unhappy about others. "It's not that most want to be freelancers or don't want to be freelancers. They're just following the work, and the work itself is evolving," she said.

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (31090)	6/1/2010 2:57:32 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	Respond to of 103300

odumba took oil money period

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (31090)	6/1/2010 4:03:02 PM
From: Wayners	Respond to of 103300

True but I'm more worried about politicians taking money from big banking interests.

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (31090)	6/1/2010 4:14:30 PM
From: HPilot	3 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 103300

Meanwhile, the US Supreme Court makes it much easier for politicians to accept big Oil money. Please comment. The SCOUTUS did no such thing. What they did do is allow paid political aids, as restricting them was against free speech. That had nothing to do with taking money from lobbists. BTW Obama takes more money from BP than anybody, that why he won't demand that the wellhead be blasted shut.

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (31090)	6/1/2010 10:36:48 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	Respond to of 103300

S.E.C. Is Said to Seek to Bar Wall St. Financier By MICHAEL BARBARO Published: June 1, 2010 As it investigates a suspected kickback scheme in New York’s pension system, the Securities and Exchange Commission has been pushing to bar Steven L. Rattner, a prominent financier and former adviser to the idiotOdumbama administration on the auto industry, from working in the securities industry for up to three years, according to three people told of the discussions.

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (31090)	6/2/2010 5:45:59 AM
From: GROUND ZERO™	5 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 103300

This is wonderful, these left wing wackos have managed to elect an ineffective leader who has insulted our friends and sucked up to our enemies, increased the national debt to 10 trillion, allowed the Gulf of Mexico to become an oil sludge destroying an eco system for the next 1000 years, and has pirates robbing vacationing families on lakes in Texas because he's ineffective in administrating laws that are already on the books to help control the borders... this phony president has lost control of the borders and our foreign policies... and he hasn't even completed two years yet, and now we have Rice who doesn't give a hoot what happens in the middle east if it interrupts her holiday weekend... gee whiz, I just can't wait to see what's next... GZ