UPDATED May 10, 2010 It's an old idea that's gaining in popularity... at least in Japan. Now, some Japanese companies are introducing it in the USA. Common in parts of Europe, work-sharing means slashing employees' pay and hours instead of firing people outright. Two or three people might share what previously was one person's job.  In Korea, companies that implement job sharing may  even get a tax deduction. Toyota plans to begin the work-sharing arrangements at its factories in Indiana and Texas in the United States. Toyota are offering work sharing as an alternative to "early retirement." US companies are doing it too. Latham International, a privately owned builder of swimming pools, has worked with NY state to implement a job sharing program. Seventeen states have active programs that permit the use of unemployment funds to support work sharing. Work sharing may be particularly beneficial for older workers, who often find it more difficult than younger workers to find a job after a layoff.

Read more...

The US government is about to give AIG $30 BILLION more of your tax dollars. This is on top of the $150 billion they've already received.

It's hard to get your head around the stupidity, the arrogance... the blatant crime. You're unemployed, and maybe you've had to move in with friends or family, or maybe you lost your home, or have been made bankrupt by COBRA.  One of the reasons these situations occur is because of gluttonous the fat cats and capitalist pigs that run AIG (into the ground). Now, out of your pocket comes an additional handout to men and women who are having fancy drinks in swanky hotels, elaborate parties and conventions, plus all the best healthcare they can get -- at your expense. It doesn't matter if these people will be monitored; they've proven they have no regard for you, or your situation and need to be put out of business. (If an animal was this destructive and blood-sucking, it'd be put down.)

Read more...

As the recession hits harder across all demographics, we ask "Is it harder for older workers to obtain jobs?"

The Recession is creating No Job Survivors of people from all demographics. This story by WALLACE IMMEN in Toronto's Globe and Mail tells the story of 58 year old Mario Tomas, who finds himself laidoff after spending over 25 years of working hard and never having to actively search for a new one. At 58 he doesn't have a resume, no network to speak of, and has no current experience of job searching, let alone searching in the tightest job market in decades.

Read more...

Feb.12, 2009 Happy 200th Birthday to Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln became a successful businessman and statesman because he knew how to create income. Early in his life he creatively rose from poverty.  As a stateman he fought through two economic crises and took risks that led to some of the most innovative growth in US history. He created what we now call "stimulus" and summed it up in the analogy of a steam engine (paraphrastic): At the engine's dead point, even a single turn is extremely difficult. But jolt it back to life, and it quickly regains momentum and all will be well again.  Read more about his life and economic ingenuity.

Read more...