Tag Archives: employment

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Good Teachers leaving the United States, competition to get out is increasing, America is replacing them with foreign teachers

“The educational pathway is in decline, and I don’t see anything in the near future that sounds like it’s on a positive upswing.”-Stephanie Olsen, leaving the U.S.

While there’s always plenty of reports about students leaving school without getting a high school diploma, you rarely hear about the fact that thousands of good teachers are leaving the U.S., for jobs overseas.

According to one teacher employment agency, TeachAway, the number of U.S. teachers applying with them for foreign jobs is up 50% from last year.  TeachAway has also placed 3,000 U.S. teachers with overseas jobs.  And that just one teacher employment agency, there are dozens!

In the past all you needed to get a foreign teaching job was an TESOL certificate,  but now teachers with just the TESOL are competing against teachers with Masters degrees.

Marie Constant has a Masters degree and could not get a job state side, now she’s moving overseas after getting a job through TeachAway: “Here’s an opportunity for me to not only go to another country where they will pay for me to go, they will pay for me to have living quarters…and I get to practice what I know.”

Stephanie Olsen has two Masters degrees, she’s leaving her teaching job in Arizona for a teaching job in the Middle East: “This is such an opportunity to take, where your employer is helping you get over there. They’re providing everything that is necessary for you to make a life there. It was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

And how are U.S. school districts dealing with the brain drain of good U.S. teachers?  They’re either pushing for online schools, or hiring foreign teachers!  PBS POV will air a documentary about the Baltimore, Maryland, schools bringing in teachers from the Philippines.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Greek businessman sets himself on fire, Greek Prime Minister cancels trip to U.S.

On September 16, in a scene reminiscent of what sparked the recent Tunisian Revolution, a Greek man who lost his business set himself on fire.  Police put out the fire and the man is in the hospital.

On September 17, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, suddenly canceled his trip to the United States.  He claims it’s to ensure that all of Greece’s bailout loan commitments are fulfilled.  That doesn’t make sense because those loans just didn’t suddenly materialize, they’ve been in the works for awhile now.  So why the sudden cancellation of his trip to the U.S.?

Some analysts think it’s because Greece is too close to default now: “It’s a sign that things are very tight. Papandreou’s presence is crucial to make sure there are no setbacks with issues that need to be resolved.”-Theodore Krintas, Attica Bank.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Anti Wall Street Demostrations blocked by Police, part of International Day of Rage, the Poles are putting to shame any U.S. protest movement

“You need a scorecard to keep track of all the things that corporations have done that are bad for this country.”-Bill Steyert, 68, Queens, New York

New York Times reporting that Day of Action Against Global Capital (aka Occupy Wall Street) demonstrators are finding some of the routes blocked.

New York City officials decided to block off sections of Wall Street near the New York Stock Exchange and Federal Hall.

“When you idealize financial markets as salvific you embrace the idea that profit is all that matters. You start thinking only as yourself.”-Dave Woessner, 31, Harvard Divinity School

Protestors are being threatened with arrest, simply because no permits to hold a public demonstration were acquired.

“If you look at history and you look at recent history, ancient history, even the middle road, this is what creates revolution and this is what causes everything.”-Anna Lekas Miller, freelance writer

September 17 was supposed to be marked by protests in the United States and Europe.  Some foreign media are reporting thousands of people across the U.S. are protesting, but most U.S. media is reporting only hundreds (Business Week claims at least 1,000 people around Wall Street).

The people of Poland are putting to shame any U.S. protests; the Washington Post reports that 50,000 people are peacefully protesting in the streets of Wrocław.

 

Fukushima

Corporate Incompetence: Officials say nuclear disaster could have been avoided!

16 September 2011, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency says the disaster at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant could have been avoided.

They say if water injection began four hours sooner there would have been no melt downs.

Anyone who’s been following the situation from day one knows that Tokyo Electric Power Company has dragged their feet on just about everything connected to dealing with the disaster.  Especially at the beginning when it seemed that TEPCo officials just refused to believe that anything was wrong!

Of the plant’s six reactors, reactors 1 and 3 suffered meltdowns after losing cooling functions.

Reactor 2 suffered a hydrogen explosion on 15 March, which caused the release and spread of massive amounts of radioactive isotopes.

 

Fukushima

Government Incompetence: Radiation still being found at garbage incinerators across Japan

16 September 2011, ever since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster began, waste incinerator sites across Japan have reported high levels of radiation in the ashes of burned garbage and sludge.

The latest tests show three Prefectures still with levels of cesium contamination exceeding safe limits: Iwate, Fukushima and Chiba.

The highest measurement was 144,420 becquerels per kilogram at one facility in Fukushima!

The Japanese Environment Ministry realized that the incinerators reporting high levels of radiation contamination, are storing the garbage outside, where it can be contaminated by airborne cesium.  This is also an indicator of just how much airborne radiation is being spread across Japan.

The Environment Ministry has now decided to test all incinerators sites, that store the garbage outdoors.

Read more about incinerator contamination:

Cesium levels skyrocketing

Japanese waste incinerators

Mysterious radiation found

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Surprise Postal Service announcement, will close distribution centers not mentioned on public Post Office closing list. Poctello, Idaho, targeted

September 15, Pocatello, Idaho, to be hit by latest USPS closings.  Local postal workers told me that the Gateway distribution center, on Flandro Road in Pocatello, could be part of the surprise announcement made by U.S. Postal Service officials today.

This would mean all east Idaho mail would be shipped off to Salt Lake City, Utah, to be sorted.

I checked the USPS mail processing facilities list of closings, and the Pocatello distribution center is the only facility in Idaho on the list!

Postal officials say it will result in much slower delivery times.  That’s not all, the USPS is considering ending First Class letter service altogether!

Local postal workers told me they were notified yesterday, September 14.  This latest announcement of closings are for as many as 252 mail processing facilities (distribution centers), cutting 35,000 jobs, across the country.  They were not listed on the recent Post Office closing list!

Local postal workers also told me that they suspect the U.S. Congress is conspiring to fully privatize the Postal Service.  There is no reason for that, since the USPS does not get any taxpayer money!!!

The United States Postal Service does not make money off taxpayers, they are solely funded by the postage they charge.  The U.S. Congress controls what the USPS can charge, and, according to testimonies by the U.S. postmaster general, Patrick Donahoe, and Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, the U.S. Congress has forced the USPS to over pay into several federal funds.

 

Business/Economics, International

What Economic Recovery? Spanish teachers and students protesting in the thousands

“Since the democratic transition in Spain, we have not seen such a hard attack on social services and essential public services. This is an attack by Madrid’s regional government against employment and public education.”-Cayo Lara

Spain’s attempts to pay down its debt has seen huge cuts to education spending, at least 13,000 temporary teachers will lose their jobs.

The public school system in Spain has never had a good track record: One of Europe’s highest dropout rates with nearly 30% of students under the age of 16.

More education strikes are planned for September 20 & 21.

Business/Economics, International

What Economic Recovery? Italians fighting with police, going down the debt tubes with Greece

September 15, scores of protesters hurled smoke bombs and other objects, even a cow’s lung, at the police.

The riots took place outside the Italian Parliament.  Italian politicians are trying to come up with a new debt reduction plan.  The plan will be similar to the Greek plan, meaning Italian taxpayers, and the unemployed are going to suffer.

The Italian government is trillions in debt. The latest debt reduction plan hopes to have the debt paid off by 2013.  It can only be done with drastic tax increases and cuts to taxpayer funded government services (which will mean more people getting laid off).

Business/Economics, International

No Economic Recovery with Government Incompetence: Greek tax collectors join anti-government protests

“The participation rate in the strike is over 90%. The workers are striking to protest the looting of their income.”-Yiannis Grivas, head of the tax collectors’ union

You know things are bad when the government’s own tax collectors join the protestors.  Not just tax collectors, but Customs officers joined the latest protests of the Greek government’s debt repayment plan.

The plan places the burden on the taxpayers of Greece, many are unemployed.  The government’s plan will add to the unemployment by cutting government jobs, and cutting government pay: “We are talking about cuts to our income of 60% over the past one and a half years, 30% last year and 30% this year with the new wage structure. Of course we are obliged to protest.”-Yiannis Grivas, head of the tax collectors’ union

If you think about it, the Greek plan isn’t about building a good economy, but totally about paying down government debt by raising taxes on those few who still have jobs, and cutting services for everyone!

“The biggest single concern is that we may face a outright tax revolt. Those who have been paying taxes are now being asked to pay again, and there is a fear they won’t be able to pay any more.”-Unnamed Greek official

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? United States “collapsing” says former U.S. Treasury Secretary

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary, Lawrence Summers, says the United States is “collapsing”.  Summers has written an opinion piece for Newsweek magazine.

He basically says none of the proposed job/stimulus plans offered by the President, or Congress, are enough to save the U.S. because they are short term: “For years we will have an economy with plenty of slack, low borrowing costs, and high unemployment. The specter of a double dip will hover over us if government does not do its part in pushing the economy forward—not just this year, but for years to come.”

Lawrence Henry Summers served as the 71st U.S. Treasury Secretary from 1999 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton.  He also directed the U.S. National Economic Council for President Barack Obama until November 2010.