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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (110536)	8/13/2011 1:26:32 AM
From: MJ	2 Recommendations Respond to of 224720

Because of the Obama Depresson what is left of the middle class that the Democrats destroyed have no money to spend. Kaput!

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (110536)	8/13/2011 8:25:44 AM
From: chartseer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224720

despite of all the money printed and distributed by muslim indonesian citizen brilliant barry soetoro. Just how long do you expect this Bush recession to last? Until the county gets qualified and experienced leadership?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (110536)	8/13/2011 10:50:24 AM
From: chartseer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224720

How long do you expect this Bush recession to last?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (110536)	8/13/2011 10:50:41 AM
From: chartseer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224720

How long do you expect this Bush recession to last?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (110536)	8/13/2011 11:20:47 AM
From: lorne	1 Recommendation Respond to of 224720

Postal Service proposes cutting 120,000 jobs, pulling out of health-care plan By Joe Davidson, Published: August 11 washingtonpost.com SEATTLE — The financially strapped U.S. Postal Service is proposing to cut its workforce by 20 percent and to withdraw from the federal health and retirement plans because it believes it could provide benefits at a lower cost. The layoffs would be achieved in part by breaking labor agreements, a proposal that drew swift fire from postal unions. The plan would require congressional approval but, if successful, could be precedent-setting, with possible ripple effects throughout government. It would also deliver a major blow to the nation’s labor movement. In a notice informing employees of its proposals — with the headline “Financial crisis calls for significant actions” — the Postal Service said, “We will be insolvent next month due to significant declines in mail volume and retiree health benefit pre-funding costs imposed by Congress.” During the past four years, the service lost $20 billion, including $8.5 billion in fiscal 2010. Over that period, mail volume dropped by 20 percent. The USPS plan is described in two draft documents obtained by The Washington Post. A “Workforce Optimization” paper acknowledges its “extraordinary request” to break its labor contracts. “However, exceptional circumstances require exceptional remedies,” the document says. “The Postal Service is facing dire economic challenges that threaten its very existence. .?.?. If the Postal Service was a private sector business, it would have filed for bankruptcy and utilized the reorganization process to restructure its labor agreements to reflect the new financial reality,” the document continues. In a white paper on health and retirement benefits, the USPS said it was imperative to rein in health benefit and pension costs, which are a third of its labor expenses. For health insurance plans, the paper said, the Postal Service wanted to withdraw its 480,000 pensioners and 600,000 active employees from the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program “and place them in a new, Postal Service administered” program. Almost identical language is used for the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees Retirement System. The USPS said the programs do not meet “the private sector comparability standard,” a statement that could be translated as meaning that government plans are too generous and too costly. “FEHB may exceed what the private sector does in certain areas,” said Anthony J. Vegliante, USPS chief human resources officer and executive vice president. “It may not meet what the private sector does in other areas. So cost may be above the private sector, while value may be below the private sector.” Bills that would rein in employee benefits or have workers pay more for the benefits have been introduced in Congress and met with vigorous opposition from federal employee organizations. Intentionally or not, the Postal Service’s proposal provides support for such legislative initiatives. The proposals are the USPS’s latest money-saving effort in a series of moves, some as recent as a few weeks ago and others stretching over a decade.

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (110536)	8/13/2011 11:54:34 AM
From: Hope Praytochange	1 Recommendation Respond to of 224720

Message 27557452

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (110536)	8/13/2011 4:14:17 PM
From: Paul V.	Respond to of 224720

Kenneth, did you see CNBC last night regarding China? It was indicated that the factory workers average worker made $200.00 per month and were required to work numerous hours and days. They further indicated that the society were given ID's indicated whether they were older rural individuals, younger rural individuals or urban individuals. The younger rural individuals were able to transition to the urban factories to work while the older individuals were required to stay and work in agriculture. The factory workers were able to earn increased wages at $200 per month. The urban workers appeared to be the individuals who are making up the middle class and growing China's economy. My question: How can we as a country compete against those workers in China, India, Korea, Africa, etc. who are willing to work for such low wages and benefits. Our standard of living for our kids and grandkids unless they have the right education and skill sets will not be able to have the same standard of living we now have. Guess they and their children many have to move back home with their parents-can't we see that happening? A manufacturer in China that he makes a baseball cap in China for $2.00 and is able to sell the same hat in the US for $20. As a Capitalist I guess that is "maximizing the profits for the stockholders" to our benefit. Are we being to greedy? Let's let our site weight in on where we are or not!!