Finance » Across the Curvehttp://seriouslyfinance.com real-time discovery by s.erious.lyenhourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1
There may be a bug in FeedWordPress. Please contact the author and paste the following information into your e-mail:
Triggered at line # 1371
FeedWordPress version: 2010.0623
WordPress version: 3.0.1
PHP version: 5.3.2
SyndicatedPost::insert_new::_wp_id: array(3) {
["$this->_wp_id"]=>
int(0)
["$dbpost"]=>
array(17) {
["post_title"]=>
string(44) "Labor Day History: 11 Facts You Need To Know"
["post_content"]=>
string(701) "
<p>Yes, Monday is a federal holiday in the United States, but Labor Day is much more than that.</p>
<p>Labor Day has a rich history centered around workers. This year, it has particular meaning as hundreds of thousands Americans try to get back to work. The <a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/03/new-unemployment-numbers-_n_705013.html\" >latest jobless rate numbers</a> show that unemployment went up from 9.5 to 9.6 percent in August.</p>
<p>Check out these Labor Day facts below and vote on those you find most interesting and surprising. Share your own in the comments and let us know what Labor Day means to you.</p>
<p><HH--236SLIDEPOLLAJAX--10239--HH></p>
"
["post_excerpt"]=>
string(133) "Yes, Monday is a federal holiday in the United States, but Labor Day is much more than that. Labor Day has a rich history centered..."
["epoch"]=>
array(3) {
["issued"]=>
int(1283555123)
["created"]=>
NULL
["modified"]=>
int(1283555680)
}
["post_date"]=>
string(19) "2010-09-03 16:05:23"
["post_modified"]=>
string(19) "2010-09-03 16:14:40"
["post_date_gmt"]=>
string(19) "2010-09-03 23:05:23"
["post_modified_gmt"]=>
string(19) "2010-09-03 23:14:40"
["post_status"]=>
string(7) "publish"
["comment_status"]=>
string(4) "open"
["ping_status"]=>
string(4) "open"
["guid"]=>
string(54) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/thenewswire//2.705480"
["meta"]=>
array(6) {
["syndication_source"]=>
string(30) "Business on HuffingtonPost.com"
["syndication_source_uri"]=>
string(64) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/feeds/verticals/business/index.xml"
["syndication_feed"]=>
string(64) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/feeds/verticals/business/index.xml"
["syndication_feed_id"]=>
string(2) "22"
["syndication_permalink"]=>
string(78) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/03/labor-day-history-facts_n_705480.html"
["syndication_item_hash"]=>
string(32) "e577599138247e31eacecef2f2426ee7"
}
["tags_input"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
string(0) ""
}
["post_author"]=>
int(2038)
["post_category"]=>
array(2) {
[0]=>
int(1)
[1]=>
int(228)
}
["post_pingback"]=>
bool(false)
}
["$this"]=>
object(SyndicatedPost)#176 (12) {
["item"]=>
array(46) {
["atom_content@type"]=>
string(4) "html"
["atom_content@"]=>
string(31) "type,xml:base,xml:lang,xml:base"
["atom_content@xml:base"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/"
["atom_content@xml:lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["atom_content"]=>
string(715) "
<p>Yes, Monday is a federal holiday in the United States, but Labor Day is much more than that.</p>
<p>Labor Day has a rich history centered around workers. This year, it has particular meaning as hundreds of thousands Americans try to get back to work. The <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/03/new-unemployment-numbers-_n_705013.html" target="_hplink">latest jobless rate numbers</a> show that unemployment went up from 9.5 to 9.6 percent in August.</p>
<p>Check out these Labor Day facts below and vote on those you find most interesting and surprising. Share your own in the comments and let us know what Labor Day means to you.</p>
<p><HH--236SLIDEPOLLAJAX--10239--HH></p>
"
["author_uri"]=>
string(64) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/craig-kanalley/"
["author_name"]=>
string(15) "Huffington Post"
["author_name#"]=>
int(1)
["author_uri#"]=>
int(1)
["author"]=>
string(15) "Huffington Post"
["summary"]=>
string(133) "Yes, Monday is a federal holiday in the United States, but Labor Day is much more than that. Labor Day has a rich history centered..."
["updated"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T23:14:40Z"
["published"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T23:05:23Z"
["id"]=>
string(54) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/thenewswire//2.705480"
["link_enclosure@src"]=>
string(55) "http://i.huffpost.com/gen/144087/thumbs/s-WORK-mini.jpg"
["link_enclosure@"]=>
string(12) "src,type,rel"
["link_enclosure@type"]=>
string(10) "image/jpeg"
["link_enclosure@rel"]=>
string(9) "enclosure"
["link"]=>
string(78) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/03/labor-day-history-facts_n_705480.html"
["link@rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["link@"]=>
string(13) "rel,type,href"
["link@type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["link@href"]=>
string(78) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/03/labor-day-history-facts_n_705480.html"
["title"]=>
string(44) "Labor Day History: 11 Facts You Need To Know"
["title#"]=>
int(1)
["link#"]=>
int(1)
["link_enclosure#"]=>
int(1)
["id#"]=>
int(1)
["published#"]=>
int(1)
["updated#"]=>
int(1)
["summary#"]=>
int(1)
["author#"]=>
int(1)
["atom_content#"]=>
int(1)
["modified#"]=>
int(1)
["modified"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T23:14:40Z"
["issued#"]=>
int(1)
["issued"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T23:05:23Z"
["dc"]=>
array(3) {
["creator#"]=>
int(1)
["creator_url"]=>
string(64) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/craig-kanalley/"
["creator"]=>
string(15) "Huffington Post"
}
["description#"]=>
int(1)
["description"]=>
string(133) "Yes, Monday is a federal holiday in the United States, but Labor Day is much more than that. Labor Day has a rich history centered..."
["content"]=>
array(2) {
["encoded#"]=>
int(1)
["encoded"]=>
string(715) "
<p>Yes, Monday is a federal holiday in the United States, but Labor Day is much more than that.</p>
<p>Labor Day has a rich history centered around workers. This year, it has particular meaning as hundreds of thousands Americans try to get back to work. The <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/03/new-unemployment-numbers-_n_705013.html" target="_hplink">latest jobless rate numbers</a> show that unemployment went up from 9.5 to 9.6 percent in August.</p>
<p>Check out these Labor Day facts below and vote on those you find most interesting and surprising. Share your own in the comments and let us know what Labor Day means to you.</p>
<p><HH--236SLIDEPOLLAJAX--10239--HH></p>
"
}
["enclosure#"]=>
int(1)
["enclosure@src"]=>
string(55) "http://i.huffpost.com/gen/144087/thumbs/s-WORK-mini.jpg"
["enclosure@type"]=>
string(10) "image/jpeg"
["enclosure@rel"]=>
string(9) "enclosure"
["date_timestamp"]=>
int(1283555123)
}
["entry"]=>
object(SimplePie_Item)#306 (2) {
["feed"]=>
object(SimplePie)#302 (45) {
["data"]=>
array(7) {
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(1) {
["feed"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(65) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(1) {
["lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(7) {
["link"]=>
array(2) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(2) {
["rel"]=>
string(3) "hub"
["href"]=>
string(36) "http://huffingtonpost.superfeedr.com"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
[1]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["href"]=>
string(64) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/feeds/verticals/business/index.xml"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(30) "Business on HuffingtonPost.com"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(8) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(1) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(28) "webmaster@huffingtonpost.com"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["rights"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(40) "Copyright 2007, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["subtitle"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(30) "Business on HuffingtonPost.com"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["generator"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(32) "Good old fashioned elbow grease."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["entry"]=>
array(15) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(82) "Jane White: Work Until You're Dead? That May Be the Only Option for Many Americans"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(63) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-white/post_785_b_703802.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(50) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.703802"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-06T14:00:53Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T21:46:16Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(143) "Many Americans are likely to have to work until they are dead, not as a result of Social Security shortfalls but because of their inadequate..."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(10) "Jane White"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(41) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-white/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(4464) "
<p>Many Americans are likely to have to work until they are dead, not as a result of Social Security shortfalls but because of their inadequate 401(k) savings or the fact that they have no retirement plan at all. This disaster has not dawned on the mutual fund companies that manage retirement assets, much less debated on Capitol Hill. Given that the first wave of Boomers is scheduled to turn 65 in 2011, Attention Must be Paid. </p>
<p>Here's the raw deal in a nutshell: Unless you've got Chief and Executive in your job title -- including "Ousted Disgraced CEO" -- you are probably pension-poor, even if you earn a six-figure salary. That's because only 11% of the private sector population is covered by a regular pension. Unlike during the postwar Fabulous Fifties and the Soaring Sixties when America was a "fortress economy" and almost half of the private sector was covered, currently even most employees of big companies can't count on one. Only 17 of the Fortune 100 companies offer a traditional pension to new hires. </p>
<p>The 401(k) plan that has replaced pensions was meant to be the icing on a pension cake when it was created 30 years ago, not a substitute for a pension. While 401(k) plans have been criticized as a risky, the more important failing is the typical stingy employer "matching contribution" equaling 3% of pay, the second lowest in the world. (There are some exceptions, universities typically contribute the equivalent of between 7 to 10% of pay.) </p>
<p>The rarely discussed rule of thumb for nest egg adequacy is that you need the equivalent of 10 times your "final pay," or your salary near retirement, in your 401(k) AND rollover accounts. Unfortunately, most people will be lucky if they have a little more than "one time their final pay." According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, the median amount workers in that age group have saved is a mere $77,000 and the median salary for that age group is $61,000. What's even worse is that 50% of the private sector population isn't covered by any plan at all -- pension OR 401(k). </p>
<p>While I have a feeling that President Obama would support genuine 401(k) reform if he knew what a pension pickle we're in, his so-called 401(k) experts simply support "automatic enrollment," in which employees with a 401(k) plan contribute 3% of their pay--one third of what is needed--without requiring a minimum employer contribution. In addition, these adherents of Rubinomics also endorse "automatically annuitization" of 401(k) account balances at retirement, ensuring lifetime employment for annuity salesmen but insufficient income for annuity owners. As for the 50% of the Americans with no plan at all? They get an "automatic IRA," in which employees can contribute but employers don't have to. Automatic Inadequacy! Thanks, guys! </p>
<p>At least the UK's leadership is planning a fix to its country's private pension system -- because they don't equate employer mandates with Godless Communism -- even though a greater percentage of their population is covered by a plan and their 401(k)-style plans feature employer contributions that are twice as generous as that in the U.S. </p>
<p>Starting in 2012 virtually every UK employer that doesn't currently offer a pension must enroll employees in a 401(k) style plan that features a minimum employer contribution of 3% of pay and 3% from the employee (smaller employers are phased in). Oh -- and the government's plan is for the account assets to be pooled, professionally managed and feature fees that are no more than .3% of account assets -- about a third of what 401(k) participants pay on funds in their accounts. </p>
<p>It's a disgrace that the most advanced country in the civilized world not only has the worst retirement system in the civilized world but leadership that can't be bothered to fix it. But don't just get mad, tell your elected officials to take action. I've proposed legislation that would require most employers to contribute the equivalent of 9% of pay -- the same rate that Australian employers are required to shell out. <a href="http://www.retirement-solutions.us/401k-nightmare.htm" target="_hplink">Here is the link to the page on my company's website that describes it.</a> It contains a description of the bill, along with the names if the members of Congress who have oversights over pensions that your Congressperson needs to be in touch with.</p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[1]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(61) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(44) "Labor Day History: 11 Facts You Need To Know"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(2) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(78) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/03/labor-day-history-facts_n_705480.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
[1]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["src"]=>
string(55) "http://i.huffpost.com/gen/144087/thumbs/s-WORK-mini.jpg"
["type"]=>
string(10) "image/jpeg"
["rel"]=>
string(9) "enclosure"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(54) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/thenewswire//2.705480"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T23:05:23Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T23:14:40Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(133) "Yes, Monday is a federal holiday in the United States, but Labor Day is much more than that. Labor Day has a rich history centered..."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(15) "Huffington Post"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(64) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/craig-kanalley/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(715) "
<p>Yes, Monday is a federal holiday in the United States, but Labor Day is much more than that.</p>
<p>Labor Day has a rich history centered around workers. This year, it has particular meaning as hundreds of thousands Americans try to get back to work. The <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/03/new-unemployment-numbers-_n_705013.html" target="_hplink">latest jobless rate numbers</a> show that unemployment went up from 9.5 to 9.6 percent in August.</p>
<p>Check out these Labor Day facts below and vote on those you find most interesting and surprising. Share your own in the comments and let us know what Labor Day means to you.</p>
<p><HH--236SLIDEPOLLAJAX--10239--HH></p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[2]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(48) "Shane Snow: How to Become an Internet Land Baron"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(80) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shane-snow/how-to-become-an-internet_b_705175.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(50) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.705175"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T22:42:02Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T22:47:39Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(193) "Domains cost anywhere from a few dollars to a few hundred, depending on who's in charge; in secondary markets, valuable domain names can sell for hundreds of thousands. Enter Juan Diego Calle."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(10) "Shane Snow"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(41) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shane-snow/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(6148) "
<p>When entrepreneur Juan Diego Calle asked the Colombian government to let him sell their Internet real-estate, he knew it was a long shot. The Harvard-educated Colombian native was battling over only two letters of the alphabet, but his request was tall: Let me commercialize the nation's Internet identity.</p>
<div style="float: left; width: 262px; padding-right: 10px; font-size: 11px;">
<a href="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2010-09-03-jdc.jpg"><img alt="2010-09-03-jdc.jpg" src="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2010-09-03-jdc-thumb.jpg" width="262" height="174" /></a>
Juan Diego Calle
</div>
<p>A top-level domain, or TLD, is the letter combination that comes after the final dot in a website address; .com - meaning "commercial" - is the most common. Most countries get their own TLD (For example Mexico is .mx; Australia is .au). Some TLDs, such as the islands of Tuvalu's .tv or Montenegro's .me, double as convenient English words or abbreviations, making them desirable electronic real-estate. Domains cost anywhere from a few dollars to a few hundred, depending on who's in charge; in secondary markets, valuable domain names can sell for hundreds of thousands.</p>
<p>Colombia was fortunate to own .co, but for years it had effectively prevented anyone from registering anything. Between "corporation," "company," and "commercial," entrepreneurs could almost smell the money ".co" could bring in if unleashed to the hungry Web.</p>
<p>So, in 2006, when Colombia passed a law giving its Ministry of Communications regulatory oversight of the .co TLD, a change in policy appeared imminent. Internet companies began petitioning the ministry to let them manage the TLD.</p>
<p>A serial entrepreneur from a young age, Calle started a stereo installation business as a teenager. At age 22 he founded TeRespondo, an Internet search advertising network for Latin America, which he sold to Yahoo in 2005. Calle then went to business school and started a "virtual real-estate" company called STRAAT investments. When Colombia shifted .co responsibilities in 2006, Calle began positioning himself to become a contender for the TLD management rights.</p>
<p>Calle, now 32 years old, was clearly an underdog in the bid war against companies like the $1.5 billion Verisign, which owns the rights to .com and .net. He assembled a team under a joint venture called .CO Internet SAS. In August 2009 they presented the Ministry with 1,165 pages explaining why Calle's team was right for the job, and then they crossed their fingers.</p>
<p>In February 2010, despite Verisign and the rest, the bureaucracy gave Calle - the local man - the contract. "Considering the caliber of companies that participated in the process and the opportunity to do something that would have a global impact on the internet, winning the bid was a surreal experience," Calle says.</p>
<p>"Part of our competitive advantage was the strong sense of national pride that fueled our team to work night and day to win the bid," says Lori Anne Wardi, Director of .CO Internet, "and to prepare a bid package and business plan that treated the .co domain as a valuable national asset and symbol of national pride - the export of which would only reflect positively on Colombia."</p>
<p>Calle's biggest concern after winning the contract was that nobody would actually buy the domains. Another was that spammy websites would buy .co domains hoping to capitalize on typos or to commit fraud.</p>
<p>Some businesses have complained that .co is another way for "domain squatters" to harm companies by buying domains for the sole purpose of selling them at an inflated price. However, according to the domain parking site Sedo, only 0.001% of parked (squatted) domains get 10 or more unique visitors a day. The vast majority of Internet users use search rather than typing in domains. Even if 5% of type-in traffic (an implausibly high amount) were to mistype .com as .co, most companies would lose only a tiny fraction of potential visits each year if squatters bought their brand's corresponding .co domain.</p>
<p>To combat squatters and assuage fears, Calle's team began a marketing campaign that involved giving away some of the most valuable .co domains to the top 100 world brands, and letting entrepreneurs with great ideas register before anyone else. Though some companies have expressed annoyance at having to buy the $29-a-year .co version of their domain in order to "protect" their brand, for only about $2.50 a month, many of them did it anyway. (Of the revenue generated by .CO Internet SAS in domain sales, Colombia itself takes an average of 25%.).</p>
<p>As a result of .co's multi-phase rollout, companies like Twitter (t.co), Politico (politi.co), Overstock (o.co), and VentureHacks (angel.co) began spreading the word and lending credibility to the TLD. Even before .co's general availability, 39,000 domain applications were recorded.</p>
<p>On launch day, Calle and company still had their fingers crossed. One minute after opening the floodgates on July 20, 2010, people had registered 8,000 domains.</p>
<p>By 22 minutes, more 100,000 domains had been registered. After 24 hours, 233,000 domains. By the end of week one, 336,160 domains.</p>
<p>Six months after winning the Colombian Ministry of Communication's blessing, Calle is now an Internet real-estate mogul, with 469,519 domains sold, and counting. He has some catching up to do in order to compete with the 90-some million .coms out there, but Calle and his team say they're "thrilled" by the response to .co so far. The next step: keep "inspiring startups" to "create a future on their own little slice of the Internet."</p>
<p><img alt="2010-09-03-co_timeline.png" src="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2010-09-03-co_timeline.png" width="397" height="758" /></p>
<p>-----</p>
<p>Shane Snow is a writer and web entrepreneur in New York City. He runs the online <a href="http://www.printingchoice.com/">printing</a> comparison site PrintingChoice.com and draws financial infographics for the <a href="http://www.creditloan.com">CreditLoan</a> network. </p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[3]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(61) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(34) "Ben Bernanke's Summer Reading List"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(2) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(80) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/03/ben-bernankes-summer-read_n_705401.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
[1]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["src"]=>
string(72) "http://i.huffpost.com/gen/198510/thumbs/s-BERNANKE-READING-LIST-mini.jpg"
["type"]=>
string(10) "image/jpeg"
["rel"]=>
string(9) "enclosure"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(54) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/thenewswire//2.705401"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T21:34:46Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T21:50:31Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(137) "Ben S. Bernanke was an economist at Stanford and Princeton for more than two decades before he moved to Washington to 2002, first as a..."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(11) "nytimes.com"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(75) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/nathaniel-cahners-hindman/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(340) "
<p>Ben S. Bernanke was an economist at Stanford and Princeton for more than two decades before he moved to Washington to 2002, first as a member of the Federal Reserve's board of governors, then as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush and finally as Fed chairman since 2006.</p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[4]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(61) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(82) "Nouriel Roubini: We're Headed For A 'Growth Recession,' 400 Banks May Fail (VIDEO)"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(2) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(80) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/03/nouriel-roubini-were-head_n_705369.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
[1]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["src"]=>
string(58) "http://i.huffpost.com/gen/198503/thumbs/s-ROUBINI-mini.jpg"
["type"]=>
string(10) "image/jpeg"
["rel"]=>
string(9) "enclosure"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(54) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/thenewswire//2.705369"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T20:52:44Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T21:22:34Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(167) "Are we headed into a "growth recession?" Speaking with CNBC Europe from Lake Como, Italy, Nouriel Roubini, the widely followed chairman of Roubini Global Economics,..."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(13) "Ryan McCarthy"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(63) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/ryan-mccarthy/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(2543) "
<p>Are we headed into a "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_recession" target="_hplink">growth recession</a>?" </p>
<p>Speaking with CNBC Europe from Lake Como, Italy, Nouriel Roubini, the widely followed chairman of Roubini Global Economics, predicted that the U.S. economy will continue to grow modestly, but that it will continue to feel very much like a recession. "The second half of the year is going to be worst than the first," Roubini. "All the tailwinds will become headwinds" </p>
<p>By the end of the year more than 400 of the 800-plus institutions identified as "problem" banks will fail, Roubini said. </p>
<p>The U.S. economy may be technically growing, he added, but has hit "stall speed." GDP growth below 1 percent, without hiring and an increase in demand, Roubini said, is essentially a "growth recession." </p>
<p>The world economy will not be able to "decouple" from the U.S. consumer, he said. "In Europe, Germany is strong but the rest of the continent is pretty dismal. The rest of the world cannot cope without the prop of the U.S. consumer."</p>
<p>As for solutions, Roubini advocated further spending. "What we need is credible spending plans over the medium term on health care, welfare and retirement age," Roubini said. "This will create a fiscal constraint lasting well into next year." </p>
<p>WATCH the full interview with CNBC: </p>
<p><br />
<center><object id="cnbcplayer" height="380" width="400" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" ><br />
<param name="type" value="application/x-shockwave-flash"/><br />
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"/><br />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"/><br />
<param name="quality" value="best"/><br />
<param name="scale" value="noscale" /><br />
<param name="wmode" value="transparent"/><br />
<param name="bgcolor" value="#000000"/><br />
<param name="salign" value="lt"/><br />
<param name="movie" value="http://plus.cnbc.com/rssvideosearch/action/player/id/1581589894/code/cnbcplayershare"/><br />
<embed name="cnbcplayer" PLUGINSPAGE="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" bgcolor="#000000" height="380" width="400" quality="best" wmode="transparent" scale="noscale" salign="lt" src="http://plus.cnbc.com/rssvideosearch/action/player/id/1581589894/code/cnbcplayershare" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" /><br />
</object></center></p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[5]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(41) "Frank A. Weil: A Two-Track Global Economy"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(82) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-a-weil/a-twotrack-global-economy_b_703332.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(50) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.703332"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T20:09:58Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T20:09:24Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(182) "It used to be said that when the US sneezed, Europe would get pneumonia. This is no longer true, despite the fact that information flows more completely and rapidly than ever before."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(13) "Frank A. Weil"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(43) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-a-weil/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(4266) "
<p>Terms like 'single scoop' and 'double dip' are normally heard only in ice cream shops. But at the moment, the economic and financial pages of news organizations the world over are using these types of terms to try to predict and explain what is going on "out there." Indeed what is going on is unusual and defies conventional categorization.</p>
<p>The underlying problem causing this confusion is that the circumstances out of which today's conditions arose were quite different from anything that ever came before. The several important differences account for what appears to be an entirely new scenario. Historically, economies have generally risen and fallen more or less in sync -- at least among given countries and often globally. For example, it was said for a long time that when the US sneezed, Europe would get pneumonia. No longer, it appears to be the case, despite the fact that information flows more completely and rapidly than ever before, creating feedback loops which normally would knit all economies more closely together.</p>
<p>The several important differences which may account for why the economic world is behaving in a brand new way include the following:</p>
<ul><li>The casino effect is much larger than ever before. The casino effect is the scale and depth of financial transactions as a share of GDP. Since the credit meltdown in 2008, banks have started lending again, although not at previous levels, so that the rest of the economy, which had depended on cheap and easy money, has not been as robust as normally is the case for an economy rebounding from a recession.
</li>
<li>The big powerful companies have an enormous store of cash, in part because they slowed inventory accumulation and capital spending during the lowest points of the recession.
</li>
<li>Employment has been unusually slow to come back, probably because it had been allowed to grow too much and fast in the run up to the recession and because post recession the bigger employers found they could grow again with fewer employees and the smaller employers still could not afford to put people back on their payrolls.
</li>
<li>People who remain employed and whose savings/investments had rebounded nicely between 2008-2010 began to spend again out of proportion to the population as a whole--for example Apple sold several million iPads for several hundred dollars apiece to people who already had smart phones and computers. Go figure?
</li>
<li>The stimulus package, which was applied so relatively quickly and early [and brilliantly] in the recession, evidently had both an immediate effect and a drawn out promise, which had different effects at different times on the economy at large. That echoing process probably accounts for the broad confusion about the benefits of the stimulus not unlike the parable of the three blind men describing an elephant.</li></ul>
<p><br />
Those differences appear to add up and account for what we see today, which is less a prospect for a double dip, but which really boils down to a two track economy. One track is carrying the businesses and people who were relatively unscathed by the recession. The other track is carrying the businesses and people who have yet to recover completely from the recession. It is not surprising that the two tracks run at different speeds at different moments, which may account for the appearance of the economy as a whole seeming to be slowing or speeding up.</p>
<p>What we may need to do more of is recognize the increasing significance of the two tracks and follow them more closely. One of the other factors is that it also appears that the separate tracks seem not to much affect each other, which means that the strong track may not help the weak track recover as fast as in the past when the economy was more integrated.</p>
<p>In all events it appears we are looking at quite a slow, long term recovery which will leave us with all the nettlesome troubles of very low employment, limited growth in personal income and spending as well as cautious capital spending. Perhaps we need a period of regrouping and re-finding our bearings after such a powerful and widespread period of growth and overspending on too much borrowed money.<br />
</p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[6]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(87) "Rabah Ghezali: There Is No Wealth but From Men: Why Immigration Is Good for the Economy"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(83) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabah-ghezali/there-is-no-wealth-but-fr_b_703085.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(50) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.703085"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T20:04:15Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T20:05:12Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(204) "Emerging conventional wisdom across the Atlantic characterizes immigrants as a prime source of the ills of our societies, but economic studies show immigration has an undisputed effect on economic growth."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(13) "Rabah Ghezali"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(44) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabah-ghezali/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(5770) "
<p>2010 has been rife with anti-immigrant rhetoric and action on both sides of the Atlantic. There were the atrocious anti-migrant riots in Italy and the passing of controversial Arizona law SB 1070. France has taken a demagogic turn, which some commentators <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/06/opinion/06fri2.html?_r=3&ref=nicolas_sarkozy" target="_hplink">dub</a> xenophobic. Even Canada, which is celebrated for its progressive immigration policies, has experienced unprecedented immigrant-bashing rhetoric around the arrival of a boat carrying Sri Lankan self-proclaimed refugees. </p>
<p>There is an emerging conventional wisdom across the Atlantic that increasingly characterizes immigrants as a prime source of the ills of our societies. But do economic studies back this up? In short, no.</p>
<p>Immigration has an undisputed effect on economic growth. Migration reduces imbalance in the labor market without imposing a significant impact on public finances. Indeed, without immigration, the population of several European countries, particularly Germany, Spain and Italy, would have declined long ago. In Canada, over 70% of the <a href="http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/Products/Analytic/companion/paid/pdf/96F0030XIE2001009.pdf" target="_hplink">growth</a> in the labor force during the 1990's is attributable to immigration, a figure that could someday reach 100%. Given the overrepresentation of young people among immigrants, immigration also brings down the age of the population, relieving pressure on the pensions systems. Moreover, migrants help grow a host country's market access by creating valuable business networks with their countries of origin. The benefits continue. In most member countries of the <a href="http://www.oecd.org/pages/0,3417,en_36734052_36761800_1_1_1_1_1,00.html" target="_hplink">Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development</a> (OECD), the proportion of immigrants with university degrees is greater than that recorded for the native population. A recent study <a href="http://ftp.iza.org/dp3921.pdf" target="_hplink">demonstrates</a> that immigration fuels innovation, an economic boon. From a historical point of view, the example of the great transatlantic migration, from Europe to the Americas of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century has amply demonstrated the salutary effect of immigration on growth. </p>
<p>Conventional wisdom is also wrong in linking immigration and native unemployment. The notion that immigrants cause natives to lose their jobs is simply not supported by empirical results. There is not a fixed number of jobs in an economy, and immigrants often do not compete directly with native workers in the labor market. </p>
<p>Migrants are first and foremost consumers who help expand the economy even before stimulating the labor supply. Their demand stimulates the supply of goods and services which in turn lead to job creation. Except in very special cases, immigrant inflows are extremely low compared to the workforce already available in a country. As such, the absorption of newly arrived migrant on the labor market generally proves to be relatively easy. In fact, when the economy is in a recession, migrants are the first to lose their jobs.</p>
<p>Most studies in fact demonstrate the existence of a positive relationship between immigrant and native labor forces. In fact, people coming from earlier waves of migrants are most directly in competition with newly arrived immigrants rather than the natives. In time of expansion, workers tend to raise their expectations and to shy away from activities that are most painful and least valued, thus generating the need for the recruitment of low-skilled immigrants. Consequently, the idea that immigrants take the jobs of the natives seems to be simply xenophobic political posturing.</p>
<p>Regarding the impact of immigration on wages, a recent meta-analysis of the available data <a href="http://region-developpement.univ-tln.fr/fr/pdf/R27/Longhi_Nijkamp_Poot.pdf" target="_hplink">concluded</a> that the impact of immigration on the earnings of the native born population is statistically insignificant. Migrants are not responsible for alleged decrease of salaries or social dumping. Migrants are convenient scapegoats.</p>
<p>In countries with limited sectoral and geographical mobility, foreign labor can alleviate the shortages. The foreign workforce, being more mobile than the native one -- since migrants have relatively less material and family ties in their host country -- helps diffuse tensions in the labor market and helps reinvigorate certain regions. Some shortages are already apparent on the labor markets of most OECD countries, particularly for specialties related to new technologies and health.<br />
<br />
Immigration has no significant impact on public spending. Indeed, the great majority of immigrants do pay taxes and add public revenue, particularly high-skilled immigrants. The consequences are positive for some public services, such as defense and interest on the national debt, for which immigrants do not impose costs. The <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/08/research_desk_evaluates_how_do.html" target="_hplink">bolstering</a> effect of immigration on the U.S Social Security's finances is particularly compelling.</p>
<p>Economic data provide us with two certainties. First, immigration has positive effects on the overall prosperity of a nation. Second, with the ailing economy, migrants are used as scapegoats by uninspired politicians to scare up votes. Indeed, isn't the United States, a country completely made up of immigrants, the boldest example of the benefits of immigration for a nation?<br />
</p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[7]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(66) "Jake Blumgart: A New Labor Standard for Labor Day: Paid Sick Leave"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(83) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jake-blumgart/a-new-labor-standard-for-_b_704114.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(50) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.704114"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T19:46:23Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T19:46:11Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(231) "All employees should be able to take time off for their illnesses, not just those lucky enough to have the right job. Experience shows that we can make our economy friendlier to beleaguered workers without harming their employers. "
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(13) "Jake Blumgart"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(44) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jake-blumgart/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(8279) "
<p>You wake up Monday morning with a throbbing headache, achy muscles and a hacking cough. Do you miserably trudge into work, likely prolonging your recovery time and exposing your co-workers to infection? Or do you give your body the time it needs to heal, and call in sick? Can you afford to? </p>
<p>For almost 40 percent of the nation's private workforce, the answer to that last question is no. A recent Bureau of Labor Statistics <a href="http://www.bls.gov/opub/perspectives/program_perspectives_vol2_issue2.pdf" target="_hplink">report </a>shows only 33 percent of workers earning $10.50 an hour or less have access to paid sick leave, compared with 81 percent of those earning $24.22 an hour or more. This means, perversely, that if you can afford to take an unpaid sick day, you generally don't have to. </p>
<p>Politicians and policy advocates across the country are aware of this squeeze on working families, and paid sick leave bills have been introduced at the city, state, and national levels. Most of these proposals are based on the earned sick time model: Employees must work, say, 30 hours to earn one hour of sick leave. Those earned hours accumulate, eventually, into full paid sick days. All the proposals include a cap on the number of mandated paid sick days. Most require five to nine days a year. Some allow employees to carry over unused sick days from one year to the next. </p>
<p>"The economic climate makes it even more important for lawmakers to act because, in this economy, workers can ill-afford to miss a paycheck or risk the long-term unemployment that often follows losing a job," said Vicki Shabo, Director of Work & Family Programs for the<a href="http://paidsickdays.nationalpartnership.org/site/PageServer?pagename=psd_index" target="_hplink"> National Partnership for Women & Families</a>. "Workers shouldn't have to put their economic stability and job security on the line every time they get sick. It's bad for business, bad for workers, and bad public policy."</p>
<p>So far, only two U.S. cities have adopted paid sick leave laws. Since 2008, five other cities, as well as 21 states and the U.S. Congress, have considered similar bills. So far, none have passed, because organized business interests have thwarted the proposals, claiming that even the most modest benefits will harm the economy and kill jobs. That scare tactic has proven quite potent in the present climate, with employers fiercely resistant to anything that even hints at additional costs.</p>
<p>Are these claims correct or are the business groups crying wolf? One way to judge is to examine whether places that already have paid sick leave laws are suffering the dire consequences that corporate America warns against. A majority of the world's nations guarantee sick leave benefits, as do Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. (Similar legislation was passed in Milwaukee with 68 percent of the vote, but area business groups sued and a local court overturned it). </p>
<p>In 2006, San Francisco became the first American city to guarantee its citizens the right to paid time off to recuperate from illness. Business groups, spearheaded by the local Chamber of Commerce, lobbied against the ballot measure, which came on the heels of a municipal minimum wage raise and a universal health care law in the city. The business-side arguments evoked the typical "job killer" rhetoric. After voters approved the law by 61 percent, Kevin Westlye, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/05/washington/05labor.html" target="_hplink">told </a>the New York Times, "There's no such thing as a free lunch on something like this," and darkly warned of rising prices and shuttered restaurants. </p>
<p>Four years later, these dire predictions have not come to pass. A recent <a href="http://www.drummajorinstitute.org/library/report.php?ID=143" target="_hplink">study </a>by the Drum Major Institute (DMI) shows that San Francisco's employment rate has remained stronger than in any of the five neighboring counties, including wealthy Santa Clara (Silicon Valley). Even the industries where opponents warned that the impact would be harshest - retail, hospitality, and food services - remained stronger, without exception, than their nearby counterparts. </p>
<p> At least 145 nations guarantee working adults some form of sick leave, including rich countries like Germany and Canada, and poorer ones like Indonesia and Senegal. Most of them allow at least one week, and over half ensuring leave of a month or more. A 2006 study in the Journal for Comparative Policy Analysis revealed that there is little, if any, connection between sick pay laws and unemployment levels. A 2009 follow up study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research <a href="http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/psd-ur-2009-06.pdf" target="_hplink">shows </a>that the duration of European sick leave laws doesn't have any discernible relation to unemployment rates either. </p>
<p>Studies show that paid sick leave is beneficial for employers too. Currently, businesses lose money from high turnover rates caused by illness absences and from the lowered productivity that results from sick employees spreading their germs at work. The Institute of Women's Policy Research <a href="http://www.nationalpartnership.org/site/DocServer/Fact_sheet_Paid_Sick_Days_Make_Good_Business_Sense.pdf?docID=1064&autologin=true&AddInterest=1341" target="_hplink">found </a>that if all U.S. workers were offered seven days of paid sick leave annually the result would be "a net savings of $8.1 billion a year due to increased productivity and reduced turnover." </p>
<p>Today, even San Francisco business owners have come around. Jim Lazarus, senior vice president of the city's Chamber of Commerce, <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2010/05/13/will-sick-days-costs-billions-for-businesses-san-francisco-says-no/" target="_hplink">told </a><em>the Wall Street Journal </em>that the legislation hasn't stirred up any backlash from his members. And in a June article in <em>Business Week</em>, former doomsayer Westlye, executive director of the restaurant industry's lobby, <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_24/b4182033783036.htm" target="_hplink">sounded </a>downright enthusiastic about the bill: "[Paid sick leave] is the best public policy for the least cost. Do you want your server coughing over your food?" </p>
<p>Despite the success of the San Francisco law, business groups continue to use the same tired rhetoric against similar legislative proposals. From California to Connecticut, business groups cry wolf about paid sick leave, and its supposedly catastrophic economic effects. <br />
Our nation's lawmakers would do well to ignore them. Paid sick leave would have a tangible impact on the lives of American families--and politicians. The National Opinion Research Center released a <a href="http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/most-americans-support-paid-sick-leave-poll-finds/" target="_hplink">poll </a>in June showing that 86 percent of Americans favored laws guaranteeing paid sick leave. Strong majorities of self-identified Republicans as well as Democrats supported the proposal. Most said they would be more likely to vote for politicians who backed it. </p>
<p>All employees should be able to take time off for their illnesses, not just those lucky enough to have the right job. As the San Francisco experience shows, we can make our economy friendlier to beleaguered workers without harming their employers. <br />
<br />
<em><br />
Jake Blumgart is a researcher with the San Diego-based Center on Policy Initiatives' Cry Wolf Project funded by the Ford Foundation and the Public Welfare Foundation. His work has been published by the American Prospect, the Philadelphia Inquirer, The Stranger, and Campus Progress. A shorter version of this article was originally <a href="http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20100816_A_push_for_paid_sick_leave_in_Pa__and_Philly.html" target="_hplink">published </a>in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Follow him on <a href="http://twitter.com/jblumgart" target="_hplink">Twitter</a>. </em> <br />
</p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[8]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(61) "Angela Haines: Commutes, Cats and Cakes: Enterprising Ideas!"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(83) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/angela-haines/commutes-cats-and-cakes-e_b_701977.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(50) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.701977"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T19:34:57Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T19:32:04Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(146) "After a couple of decades as a computer programmer who commuted every morning an hour across the Potomac to work in Maryland, Carol Covin began..."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(13) "Angela Haines"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(44) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/angela-haines/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(5351) "
<p>After a couple of decades as a computer programmer who commuted every morning an hour across the Potomac to work in Maryland, Carol Covin began to notice as she stalled in traffic that there were as many cars driving in the opposite direction each morning towards Virginia. Why commute, she wondered? If there were good jobs closer to home, she wanted to find them. </p>
<p>Her search led her to a publishing career. Her first edition of <em>The Computer Professional's Job Guide for the Washington, DC Area </em> sold out its 5000 copy print run in four months. Her next step was to learn the publishing business so she could expand her guide geographically. Over the next few years Carol wrote computer jobs guides for New England, the Midwest, the Southeast and eventually a second updated edition for the Washington area. Then she published a national edition, <em>20 Minutes from Home: The Best Computer Jobs in America</em>, under her own imprint, <a href="www.20minutesfromhome.com" target="_hplink">Twenty Minutes Press.</a></p>
<p>Her next foray followed her 50th birthday. "I decided to create a 50-year plan with a task for each decade. I needed to think about other things I could do with my life outside of computers." At the top of her list was to help find a cure for cancer. But that motivation was not as grandiose as it sounds. One of her friends with inoperable stomach cancer had stumbled upon an alternative therapy developed by a scientist in the late 1970s that he claimed had shrunk his tumor. Wondering if that protocol -- a mineral salt currently sold over the counter -- had legs, Carol spent a couple of years learning everything she could on the therapy, including experiences of other patients. By 2008, she felt confident enough to create Sky Blue Pharmaceuticals, LLC with the participation of a pediatric oncologist with FDA experience to advise her on regulatory matters. Currently, Sky Blue is seeking funds and approval necessary to proceed with clinical trials. And Carol still has a couple of years left to reach this decade's goal -- before going on to planting forests in desert countries! </p>
<p>Dr. Phyllis Scalletar also wanted a new focus. After a couple of decades as a manager in several government agencies, including a stint as chief operating officer for the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, she turned to her cat for a business idea. "As you know, cats are picky eaters and it killed me to serve my cat those awful dried pellets they call cat food. So I decided to try developing cat sauces." Through the Department of Food Sciences at a local university, she isolated a byproduct from the extraction of oil from algae, in the former of essential biomeal for her sauces, to jazz up the dried pellets. "I know a lot of people want to solve the world's problems, but I just wanted to create more palatable cat food." But her Waterloo arose in the manufacturing process: every time she received a shipment of the biomeal, it varied in color, consistency and composition. Eventually she pulled the plug on that business, but not before learning "never to rely on another party for your product's key components; you can outsource a lot, but you have to keep control of your key ingredient." Now what she plans to do is to return to her roots in chemical safety and hazardous materials. With increasing public interest in workplace safety and environmental hazards, she sees new opportunities arising out of her former experience.</p>
<p>For Jennifer Whitlock, the leap was, well, sky high! With advanced degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Stanford, Jen signed on as a senior engineer scientist with Boeing to design jet aircrafts. For her work as the chief designer of the Blended Wing-Body (BWB) project, a passenger aircraft with 100 -800 seats with a military capacity to be a tanker, freighter, bomber, and combat support vehicle, she was awarded two patents. Then her personal life dictated a move. Her husband, a rocket scientist, lost his job and moved back home to the Midwest to work for Rolls Royce in Indiana, close to their families in Illinois. By then Jennifer had two children and wanted a more flexible schedule. So to satisfy "a creative artistic instinct" she moved from designing jets to designing cakes and cookies, starting a business called <a href="www.Posh-Pastries.com" target="_hplink">Posh-Pastries</a> in 2009. Her most recent accolade: first place and grand sweepstakes prize for cakes and cookies at the 2010 Indiana State Fair. Any crossover benefits from her engineering days? "Sure," Jen says, "at Boeing I had to learn all about business, the importance of branding and selling your designs to top management, how to manage expenses. All that helps because I realize that baking a pretty cake doesn't mean you can run a business." Next step: well no plans for a moonshot this time, but maybe moon cakes, for which, Jen admits, she might use her aircraft drafting tools to decorate. </p>
<p>What these entrepreneurs have in common are a couple of traits: flexibility and creativity. And business ideas often start very close to home. Please share where your ideas come from. Seems like they can crop up anywhere, even when you're stuck in traffic! <br />
</p>
<p> <br />
</p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[9]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(61) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(61) "Goldman Sachs Disbanding Principal Strategies Unit: Bloomberg"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(2) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(80) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/03/goldman-sachs-disbanding-_n_705209.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
[1]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["src"]=>
string(77) "http://i.huffpost.com/gen/198472/thumbs/s-GOLDMAN-SACHS-PROP-TRADING-mini.jpg"
["type"]=>
string(10) "image/jpeg"
["rel"]=>
string(9) "enclosure"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(54) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/thenewswire//2.705209"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T19:34:29Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T19:45:02Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(160) "Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is shutting its principal-strategies business, a group that makes bets with the firm's own capital, to comply..."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(13) "bloomberg.com"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(63) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/ryan-mccarthy/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(279) "
<p>Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is shutting its principal-strategies business, a group that makes bets with the firm's own capital, to comply with new U.S. rules aimed at curbing risk, two people with knowledge of the decision said. </p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[10]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(93) "Sen. Tom Carper: The Latest Oil Platform Accident Is a Grim Reminder of Our Energy Challenges"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(84) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-tom-carper/the-latest-oil-platform-a_b_705174.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(50) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.705174"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T19:20:31Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T20:19:53Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(229) "Ironically, the latest oil rig explosion occurred as Louisiana's governor, along with other state and local officials, were calling on President Obama to lift the moratorium on deepwater drilling that he imposed three months ago."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(15) "Sen. Tom Carper"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(45) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-tom-carper/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(6060) "
<p>My visit to the Gulf Coast of Louisiana this week turned out to be even more interesting than I had expected. We went on this trip to investigate the progress of the BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup and the ongoing claims process for those affected by the disaster. However, shortly after the Army Black Hawk helicopter touched down in Grand Isle, Louisiana, right on the Gulf of Mexico, we were greeted by news of an oil platform explosion some 135 miles or so to the southwest of us out in the Gulf. Thirteen men went over the side of the platform into the water following the explosion. Fortunately, all of them survived, apparently without serious injury. They were luckier than the eleven men who perished during the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig more than four months ago.</p>
<p>While this latest oil platform fire raged, back at the site of the Deepwater Horizon tragedy another important step in permanently plugging the well was just beginning. Surface support ships and deepwater submersibles were moving into position to remove that well's malfunctioning blowout preventer and prepare it for a new, functioning blowout preventer to be installed the next day.</p>
<p>Once that step was completed, work would continue on the relief wells that - when finished - would allow the "bottom kill" to proceed by September 20, effectively driving a stake through the heart of the well that has caused so much heartache and set off a multi-billion dollar Gulf cleanup and restoration effort.</p>
<p>Ironically, this latest explosion occurred as Louisiana's governor, along with other state and local officials, were calling on President Obama to lift the moratorium on deepwater drilling that he imposed three months ago. Both explosions serve as graphic reminders that drilling for oil thousands of feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico remains a very risky business. </p>
<p>This week's accident also reinforces the need to create a culture of safety in this industry, much as the culture we have endeavored to create in our nation's 104 nuclear power plants. </p>
<p>With the goal of safety in mind, a new cop has been put on the beat. It is called the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement or BOEM, and housed within the U.S. Department of the Interior. One of BOEM's first responsibilities is to create a new regulatory framework and enforcement structure to replace the abysmal efforts of the former Minerals Management Service to regulate the offshore oil industry. </p>
<p> Let me hasten to add, though, that all was not cause for gloom and doom in the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration briefed us that the trillions of oil-eating microbes that Mother Nature has deployed throughout the Gulf of Mexico continue to provide by far the most cost effective cleanup work that's being done in the Gulf. Just a few months ago the water was teeming with oil, now the presence of oil is measured in parts per billion. </p>
<p>While the skimmers there still skim occasionally, and hundreds of miles of boom remain deployed to protect beaches and marsh land, the tide has turned in this battle. As further proof, on the day we were there, the federal government reopened several thousand square miles of additional federal fishery waters to fishermen. </p>
<p>That doesn't mean that there isn't still plenty of work to do in the months ahead. There is. But a lot of good work has already been done. It's still being done by a large and dedicated team led by the Coast Guard, and includes - among others - the U.S. Army, the National Guard, NOAA, EPA, local fishermen and their "vessels of opportunity," some BP employees, and private contractors like Miller Environmental from Corpus Christi, Texas, whom we met. </p>
<p>The battle is likely to rage for some time over whether we should continue to remain dependent on hard-to-recover fossil fuels like the oil that lies thousands of feet below the floor of the Gulf of Mexico and whether we should remain dependent on the enormous quantities of oil that we import from undemocratic, unstable countries around the world, oil that now comprises a third of our nation's huge trade deficit. </p>
<p>While that battle rages, though, America has got to be smart enough to put the pedal to the metal to hasten the day when we harness the power of the wind off our coasts to help power millions of flex-fuel, plug-in hybrid vehicles like GM's Volt and Fisker's Karma and Nina that will be built right here in America and my home state of Delaware. And, we've got to make even bigger strides in harnessing the energy of the sun and other clean energy sources to meet more of our energy needs. Finally, we need to adopt energy conservation policies that affirm our country's belief that the cleanest, most affordable form of energy in the world is the energy we never use. </p>
<p><small><em>Sen. Carper is the senior senator from the state of Delaware. He is the chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management and recently returned from a visit to the Gulf coast where he toured impacted marshlands off the coast of Louisiana, visited a beach cleanup site and was briefed on the cleanup and recovery efforts from the Coast Guard. </p>
<p>The trip was part of Sen. Carper's ongoing examination of the Gulf coast oil spill cleanup and claims process. Sen. Carper held two hearings this summer, "The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: Ensuring a Financially Responsible Recovery Parts I and II," which focused on the costs associated with the response and recovery operations relating to the oil spill in the Gulf. As part of these hearings, the subcommittee heard testimony from representatives of BP, Transocean, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC (a subsidiary of Mitsui Oil Exploration Company), the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the U.S. Coast Guard, and Kenneth Feinberg, head of the BP claims process.</em></small></p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[11]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(64) "Jeffrey A. Joerres: Yes, the Height of Your Audacity Is Shocking"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(87) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-a-joerres/yes-the-height-of-your-au_b_705274.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(50) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.705274"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T19:12:50Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T20:16:34Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(149) "Dear Mark Ayers, I read with great alarm your article on the Huffington Post Web site on the subject of Manpower's new research report, "Strategic..."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(18) "Jeffrey A. Joerres"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(48) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-a-joerres/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(6526) "
<p>Dear Mark Ayers,</p>
<p> I read with great alarm <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-h-ayers/its-the-height-of-audacit_b_697347.html" target="_hplink">your article on the Huffington Post Web site</a> on the subject of Manpower's new research report, "<a href="http://www.manpower.com/research/research.cfm" target="_hplink">Strategic Migration - A Short-Term Solution to the Skilled Trades Shortage</a>," and I could not let it pass without a comment as you are factually incorrect on all your assertions pertaining to Manpower.</p>
<p> Let me begin with your incomprehensible accusation that Manpower produced this report due to a self-serving motive and that it is inherently biased. This is simply wrong. Manpower is not, and never has been in the business of migrating skilled trades workers to the United States. We are merely leveraging our global labor market expertise to bring visibility to a real labor-market issue that poses an obstacle to future economic growth. This potential choke-point becomes exacerbated by the demographic landscape and as talent shortages become more severe.</p>
<p> Manpower did not suddenly magically pull this "report" - as you refer to it - out of a hat. We have conducted a global annual survey for the past five years that has shown that talent shortages persist in key positions - consistently topping the charts year after year has been the skilled trades - and this remains the case despite high unemployment - 31 percent of employers 35,000 we surveyed across 36 countries and territories worldwide in 2010 reported difficulty filling key positions within their organizations.</p>
<p> Globally, the skilled trades shortage is the No. 1 or No. 2 hardest job to fill in six of the 10 biggest economies - including the U.S. Incidentally, Manpower does 90% of its business outside of the U.S., so to claim our agenda is to push for the increased use of "cheap immigrant labor" in the U.S. and therefore fatten our profit margin is a crass assertion and utter fiction. Our growth outside the U.S. comes from domestic growth within those countries, not from outsourcing our own business. And it is that growth that has allowed us to maintain our world headquarters in the U.S. and also allowed us to build a new green world headquarters building in a revitalized part of downtown Milwaukee, where we were founded over 60 years ago.</p>
<p> In February of this year, I was invited to testify at a hearing of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee focusing on the labor market, and policies to foster economic growth and job creation. On Capitol Hill, I argued that to foster job creation, one of the groups that initiatives should be targeted at is potential new business owners. New small business owners will drive long-term job creation in this country, and skilled trades workers can potentially own their own business and have three or four employees within a few years. </p>
<p> This brings me to the H1B Visa issue, which is a travesty and the U.S. is hindering one of our greatest sources of innovation by having too low a limit on the number of non-immigrant visas it issues. We are preventing the brightest minds from entering the country, which is nonsense given that the growth of this country came from people who arrived here from overseas with an idea, developed it and created employment. Two thirds of Silicon Valley companies were started by people born outside the U.S. If the brightest minds cannot come to the U.S., it will be our loss because there are plenty of other alternatives open to them in places like Shanghai, Mumbai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Dubai. The modern labor market is truly global and to prevent workers with scarce skills coming here harms our competitiveness on the world stage.</p>
<p> If you had read our research paper thoroughly instead of scanning it for key words and putting your own spin on the content to further your own agenda, you would have noticed that we are advocating for the development of the indigenous workforce for the long-term. This is where the unions can play a pivotal role. Strategic migration is a practical answer today because there is simply no other way to alleviate shortages of skilled blue-collar workers in the short-term. If you had bothered to watch, read or listen to media coverage of the research paper, you would know that we are calling for a societal mindset shift to bring honor back to the skilled trades by promoting positive attitudes toward this work from parents and educational institutions alike and impress on them that they are an equally, if not more in some cases, lucrative alternative to university degrees.</p>
<p> We are also calling for governments, unions and businesses (in European speak - social partners) to work more closely with technical education institutions to ensure individuals develop the relevant skills that allow them to immediately contribute to the workforce, and to anticipate what skills will be needed to satisfy global business demands.</p>
<p> Yes, unemployment remains high, and we know there are many skilled trades people out of work today. As a result, we are trying to do our part to help them maintain their honor and dignity by providing a bridge to employment and enhancing their skills and livelihood. Having said that, the pipeline of skilled trades workers as we look to the future is not as robust as this country needs. Knowledgeable debate and action is required to address this, and it's is all part of the talent conundrum that is frustrating businesses and individuals alike. There are simply not enough people with the right skills in the right place at the right time. You can resolve this issue in two ways - by bringing the workers to where the work is and by creating a larger pool of available and qualified talent in key areas locally.</p>
<p> I find the headline of your article particularly ironic as you are the one who is clearly using your role to further your own agenda. Instead of wasting your energy on attacking our report, you and other representatives of unions should be leveraging it as a platform to call for more action to upskill and increase training in such areas, and thinking creatively about how to move workers around within the country--to where the demand is - a much more productive and effective use of your time, for all of us.</p>
<p> Jeffrey A. Joerres</p>
<p> Manpower Inc. Chairman and CEO </p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[12]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(61) "Eliseo Medina: Wall Street Is to Blame for Pension Shortfalls"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(83) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eliseo-medina/wall-street-is-to-blame-f_b_705133.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(50) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.705133"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T18:57:38Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T21:55:34Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(195) "Rather than blaming state employees for the mess Wall Street has made of our economy, Governor Schwarzenegger must work with us to make sure our economy recovers in a healthy and sustainable way."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(13) "Eliseo Medina"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(44) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eliseo-medina/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(3635) "
<p>It's no surprise that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken his attack on public employee pensions <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447004575449813071709510.html" target="_hplink">to the <em>Wall Street Journal</em></a>, the paper of record for the big banks and giant corporations whose greed and recklessness put at risk the retirement savings of all Americans. After all, here in California his administration's tired arguments, misplaced blame, and selective use of statistics have worn thin with a public who knows that hard-working public employees like nurses, college professors, and child protection workers deserve to share in the American dream of a secure retirement. </p>
<p>Everyone who works hard and plays by the rules deserves to retire in dignity. But Wall Street doesn't see it that way. The same banks and mortgage brokers who are responsible for our economic collapse got rich by gambling with the jobs, home values, and retirement savings of ordinary Americans. Too many Americans lost everything, but Wall Street wealth and banker bonuses are on the rise. </p>
<p>Even as Americans are struggling to recover from an economic catastrophe created on Wall Street, the same set of bankers and brokers are trolling for more victims, and they have their sights set on hard working employees in the public and private sectors. </p>
<p>For generations, Americans have counted on three sources of retirement income: social security, employment pensions, and personal savings. Wall Street is bent on undermining all three by pushing risky social security privatization schemes and pursuing corporate wealth and executive bonuses while stripping workers of jobs that provide for their basic needs, let alone any chance at saving for retirement. </p>
<p>Now these banks and their allies have launched a sustained campaign to spread misinformation and alarm about a public employee pension system that has served California well for 70 years and which remained nearly fully funded until the Wall Street-driven stock market crash that caused our current economic crisis. Their goal is to strip away guaranteed pensions and force more workers into 401k-style plans that put all the risk onto workers while putting more money into the bankers' own pockets. </p>
<p> Rather than working together with the public sector employees who have the led the drive to make the pension systems models of good management and transparency and to stop a handful of top managers from gaming the system, the Governor has emerged as California's chief spokesperson for the Wall Street banks who wrecked our economy, plunged the state budget into deficit, and devoured billions in pension earnings.</p>
<p>The Governor has misrepresented pensions as a drain on government when in reality 73 cents of every dollar paid to pensioners comes from employee contributions and investment earnings, not employer contributions. Adding to Schwarzenegger's hype was a report he commissioned by Stanford graduate students which made use of faulty assumptions to arrive at a conclusion that risky individual accounts are the best approach for retirement saving, even when a large body of research shows these accounts are less efficient, more costly and gravely risky for retirees. </p>
<p>Rather than blaming state employees for mess Wall Street has made of our economy, the Governor must work with us to make sure our economy recovers in a healthy and sustainable way so that pensions and other investments continue to provide the safety net they were intended to do. </p>
<p><br />
</p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[13]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(57) "Ken Adelman: Labor Day Reflections by William Shakespeare"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(80) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-adelman/labor-day-reflections-by_b_705025.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(50) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.705025"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T17:46:00Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T17:52:14Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(212) "The Bard realized that any workplace may be tough to navigate, given personal quirks and boss' demands. Enduring this pressure can cause anyone in an office to sigh, "O full of briers is this working day world"."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(11) "Ken Adelman"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-adelman/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(2849) "
<p> There's no better time than Labor Day weekend to contemplate labor in the weekday. <br />
<br />
Like us, Shakespeare had mixed feelings. He had high opinion of exciting, challenging work: "To business that we love, we rise betime and go to it with delight" (<em>Antony & Cleopatra</em>). And even pointed out its medicinal utility: "The labor we delight in physics [cures] pain" (<em>Macbeth</em>).<br />
<br />
But the Bard, as always, was realistic. Such exciting work is exceptional. Most employment causes more pain than it "physics," which we go to with dread rather than "with delight." <br />
We are "winding up days with toil, and nights with sleep" (<em>Henry Vth</em>). Doesn't seem all that great. <br />
<br />
Yet Shakespeare had to appreciate work -- cranking out 37 plays in scant more than 30 years, all the while raising money for his performing companies, casting actors for the dramas (many put on each week!), acting in them, investing in theaters and sundry real estate, communicating with (if not commuting to) his family in a distant village.<br />
<br />
He -- like high tech types today -- appreciated the 24/7 nature of his work. Both aspects, the 24 and 7, are realized in Hamlet when the soldier Marcellus describes Denmark's shipping yards filled with workers in "sweaty haste, does make the night joint laborer with the day." On top of the 24 comes the 7, as he speaks of "shipwrights whose sore tasks do not divide the Sunday from the week." <br />
<br />
The Bard realized that any workplace may be tough to navigate, given personal quirks and boss' demands. Enduring this pressure can cause anyone in an office to sigh, "O full of briers is this working day world". (<em>As You Like It</em>). <br />
<br />
Such stress is high today, given dismal unemployment numbers as businesses consolidate and keep payrolls slim. Company officers may cut back so that their core business can thrive -- "Superfluous branches we lop away, that bearing boughs may live." (<em>Richard II</em>). And large firms often buy successful startups: "The great ones eat up the little ones!" (<em>Pericles</em>).<br />
<br />
So times are tough for labor. Yet Shakespeare realized that times change, and along with them worker prospects. He thus counsels, "Be cheerful. Wipe thine tears. Some falls are means the happier to arise" (<em>Cymbeline</em>).<br />
<br />
Nicest to contemplate this weekend is Shakespeare's nice tribute to the modest, hard-working, content laborer. One such appealing fellow, Corin in <em>As You Like It</em>, says with some pride: "I am a true laborer. I earn that I eat, get that I wear, owe no man hate, every man's happiness, glad of other man's good, content with my harm..."</p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[14]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(61) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "Still No Sign of a Double-Dip Recession, Says Adecco CEO"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(2) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(80) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/03/new-unemployment-numbers-_n_705013.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
[1]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["src"]=>
string(63) "http://i.huffpost.com/gen/185118/thumbs/s-UNEMPLOYMENT-mini.jpg"
["type"]=>
string(10) "image/jpeg"
["rel"]=>
string(9) "enclosure"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(54) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/thenewswire//2.705013"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T17:31:58Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T19:25:35Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(134) "The U.S. jobless rate rose slightly to 9.6 from 9.5 percent in August, but some experts are saying this may actually be a good sign..."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(13) "Laura Bassett"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(63) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/laura-bassett/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(2471) "
<p>The U.S. jobless rate rose slightly to 9.6 from 9.5 percent in August, but some experts are saying this may actually be a good sign for the economy. </p>
<p>While the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that unemployment is on the rise, this increase reflects an expanding American workforce, as 550,000 jobless people joined or re-joined the search for employment in August. While economic recovery is still moving at a very slow pace, Tig Gillium, CEO of the largest staffing firm in the world, told HuffPost that the August employment statistics are "slightly better than everyone expected."</p>
<p>"July raised the big question of deceleration," Gillium said. "Everyone wanted to talk about a double-dip recession. But even an improving job market is going to see an uptick in unemployment -- it's okay as long as we're still producing private sector jobs each month, and August saw an addition of 67,000 private sector jobs. This is still a reasonable pace of job growth and consistent with what was happening before."</p>
<p>Overall, August saw little change in jobs data. The number of long-term unemployed Americans declined by 323,000 in August, but government employment fell slightly too, as 114,000 temporary jobs ended with the completion of the census. Gillium said the one major disappointment in the new data was the lack of improvement in the average number of hours Americans are working each week, which remained steady at 34.2.</p>
<p>"That number indicates to what extent companies are fully using the employees they have. As a recovery takes place, people who are working part-time are brought back for more hours, and companies who were hiring temp workers start to bring in more full-time employees. We still need to see this number rise--something closer to 35 hours would be ideal," he said.</p>
<p>The U.S. might see a drop in unemployment soon, Gillium said, as employers tend to hire more in September and October than they do in the summer. But ultimately, what's going to prevent a double-dip recession has little to do with the actual jobs numbers.</p>
<p>"So much of an economic recovery is based on confidence," he said. "This report shows that the recovery is progressing--maybe not as fast a pace as in the late first quarter, but it is progressing. That should have the effect of creating enough confidence that people don't panic and create our own double-dip recession."</p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
["type"]=>
int(512)
["headers"]=>
array(7) {
["server"]=>
string(19) "Apache/2.2.8 (Unix)"
["last-modified"]=>
string(29) "Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:41:55 GMT"
["etag"]=>
string(29) ""20a91cd-12888-48f6379cf36c0""
["content-type"]=>
string(15) "application/xml"
["vary"]=>
string(15) "Accept-Encoding"
["date"]=>
string(29) "Sat, 04 Sep 2010 01:07:17 GMT"
["connection"]=>
string(5) "close"
}
["build"]=>
string(14) "20090627192103"
["items"]=>
array(15) {
[0]=>
object(SimplePie_Item)#307 (2) {
["feed"]=>
object(SimplePie)#302 (45) {
["data"]=>
array(7) {
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(1) {
["feed"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(65) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(1) {
["lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(7) {
["link"]=>
array(2) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(2) {
["rel"]=>
string(3) "hub"
["href"]=>
string(36) "http://huffingtonpost.superfeedr.com"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
[1]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["href"]=>
string(64) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/feeds/verticals/business/index.xml"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(30) "Business on HuffingtonPost.com"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(8) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(1) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(28) "webmaster@huffingtonpost.com"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["rights"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(40) "Copyright 2007, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["subtitle"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(30) "Business on HuffingtonPost.com"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["generator"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(32) "Good old fashioned elbow grease."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["entry"]=>
array(15) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(82) "Jane White: Work Until You're Dead? That May Be the Only Option for Many Americans"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(63) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-white/post_785_b_703802.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(50) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.703802"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-06T14:00:53Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T21:46:16Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(143) "Many Americans are likely to have to work until they are dead, not as a result of Social Security shortfalls but because of their inadequate..."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(10) "Jane White"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(41) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-white/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(4464) "
<p>Many Americans are likely to have to work until they are dead, not as a result of Social Security shortfalls but because of their inadequate 401(k) savings or the fact that they have no retirement plan at all. This disaster has not dawned on the mutual fund companies that manage retirement assets, much less debated on Capitol Hill. Given that the first wave of Boomers is scheduled to turn 65 in 2011, Attention Must be Paid. </p>
<p>Here's the raw deal in a nutshell: Unless you've got Chief and Executive in your job title -- including "Ousted Disgraced CEO" -- you are probably pension-poor, even if you earn a six-figure salary. That's because only 11% of the private sector population is covered by a regular pension. Unlike during the postwar Fabulous Fifties and the Soaring Sixties when America was a "fortress economy" and almost half of the private sector was covered, currently even most employees of big companies can't count on one. Only 17 of the Fortune 100 companies offer a traditional pension to new hires. </p>
<p>The 401(k) plan that has replaced pensions was meant to be the icing on a pension cake when it was created 30 years ago, not a substitute for a pension. While 401(k) plans have been criticized as a risky, the more important failing is the typical stingy employer "matching contribution" equaling 3% of pay, the second lowest in the world. (There are some exceptions, universities typically contribute the equivalent of between 7 to 10% of pay.) </p>
<p>The rarely discussed rule of thumb for nest egg adequacy is that you need the equivalent of 10 times your "final pay," or your salary near retirement, in your 401(k) AND rollover accounts. Unfortunately, most people will be lucky if they have a little more than "one time their final pay." According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, the median amount workers in that age group have saved is a mere $77,000 and the median salary for that age group is $61,000. What's even worse is that 50% of the private sector population isn't covered by any plan at all -- pension OR 401(k). </p>
<p>While I have a feeling that President Obama would support genuine 401(k) reform if he knew what a pension pickle we're in, his so-called 401(k) experts simply support "automatic enrollment," in which employees with a 401(k) plan contribute 3% of their pay--one third of what is needed--without requiring a minimum employer contribution. In addition, these adherents of Rubinomics also endorse "automatically annuitization" of 401(k) account balances at retirement, ensuring lifetime employment for annuity salesmen but insufficient income for annuity owners. As for the 50% of the Americans with no plan at all? They get an "automatic IRA," in which employees can contribute but employers don't have to. Automatic Inadequacy! Thanks, guys! </p>
<p>At least the UK's leadership is planning a fix to its country's private pension system -- because they don't equate employer mandates with Godless Communism -- even though a greater percentage of their population is covered by a plan and their 401(k)-style plans feature employer contributions that are twice as generous as that in the U.S. </p>
<p>Starting in 2012 virtually every UK employer that doesn't currently offer a pension must enroll employees in a 401(k) style plan that features a minimum employer contribution of 3% of pay and 3% from the employee (smaller employers are phased in). Oh -- and the government's plan is for the account assets to be pooled, professionally managed and feature fees that are no more than .3% of account assets -- about a third of what 401(k) participants pay on funds in their accounts. </p>
<p>It's a disgrace that the most advanced country in the civilized world not only has the worst retirement system in the civilized world but leadership that can't be bothered to fix it. But don't just get mad, tell your elected officials to take action. I've proposed legislation that would require most employers to contribute the equivalent of 9% of pay -- the same rate that Australian employers are required to shell out. <a href="http://www.retirement-solutions.us/401k-nightmare.htm" target="_hplink">Here is the link to the page on my company's website that describes it.</a> It contains a description of the bill, along with the names if the members of Congress who have oversights over pensions that your Congressperson needs to be in touch with.</p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[1]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(61) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(44) "Labor Day History: 11 Facts You Need To Know"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(2) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(78) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/03/labor-day-history-facts_n_705480.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
[1]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["src"]=>
string(55) "http://i.huffpost.com/gen/144087/thumbs/s-WORK-mini.jpg"
["type"]=>
string(10) "image/jpeg"
["rel"]=>
string(9) "enclosure"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(54) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/thenewswire//2.705480"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T23:05:23Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T23:14:40Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(133) "Yes, Monday is a federal holiday in the United States, but Labor Day is much more than that. Labor Day has a rich history centered..."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(15) "Huffington Post"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(64) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/craig-kanalley/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(715) "
<p>Yes, Monday is a federal holiday in the United States, but Labor Day is much more than that.</p>
<p>Labor Day has a rich history centered around workers. This year, it has particular meaning as hundreds of thousands Americans try to get back to work. The <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/03/new-unemployment-numbers-_n_705013.html" target="_hplink">latest jobless rate numbers</a> show that unemployment went up from 9.5 to 9.6 percent in August.</p>
<p>Check out these Labor Day facts below and vote on those you find most interesting and surprising. Share your own in the comments and let us know what Labor Day means to you.</p>
<p><HH--236SLIDEPOLLAJAX--10239--HH></p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[2]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(48) "Shane Snow: How to Become an Internet Land Baron"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(80) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shane-snow/how-to-become-an-internet_b_705175.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(50) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.705175"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T22:42:02Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T22:47:39Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(193) "Domains cost anywhere from a few dollars to a few hundred, depending on who's in charge; in secondary markets, valuable domain names can sell for hundreds of thousands. Enter Juan Diego Calle."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(10) "Shane Snow"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(41) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shane-snow/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(6148) "
<p>When entrepreneur Juan Diego Calle asked the Colombian government to let him sell their Internet real-estate, he knew it was a long shot. The Harvard-educated Colombian native was battling over only two letters of the alphabet, but his request was tall: Let me commercialize the nation's Internet identity.</p>
<div style="float: left; width: 262px; padding-right: 10px; font-size: 11px;">
<a href="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2010-09-03-jdc.jpg"><img alt="2010-09-03-jdc.jpg" src="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2010-09-03-jdc-thumb.jpg" width="262" height="174" /></a>
Juan Diego Calle
</div>
<p>A top-level domain, or TLD, is the letter combination that comes after the final dot in a website address; .com - meaning "commercial" - is the most common. Most countries get their own TLD (For example Mexico is .mx; Australia is .au). Some TLDs, such as the islands of Tuvalu's .tv or Montenegro's .me, double as convenient English words or abbreviations, making them desirable electronic real-estate. Domains cost anywhere from a few dollars to a few hundred, depending on who's in charge; in secondary markets, valuable domain names can sell for hundreds of thousands.</p>
<p>Colombia was fortunate to own .co, but for years it had effectively prevented anyone from registering anything. Between "corporation," "company," and "commercial," entrepreneurs could almost smell the money ".co" could bring in if unleashed to the hungry Web.</p>
<p>So, in 2006, when Colombia passed a law giving its Ministry of Communications regulatory oversight of the .co TLD, a change in policy appeared imminent. Internet companies began petitioning the ministry to let them manage the TLD.</p>
<p>A serial entrepreneur from a young age, Calle started a stereo installation business as a teenager. At age 22 he founded TeRespondo, an Internet search advertising network for Latin America, which he sold to Yahoo in 2005. Calle then went to business school and started a "virtual real-estate" company called STRAAT investments. When Colombia shifted .co responsibilities in 2006, Calle began positioning himself to become a contender for the TLD management rights.</p>
<p>Calle, now 32 years old, was clearly an underdog in the bid war against companies like the $1.5 billion Verisign, which owns the rights to .com and .net. He assembled a team under a joint venture called .CO Internet SAS. In August 2009 they presented the Ministry with 1,165 pages explaining why Calle's team was right for the job, and then they crossed their fingers.</p>
<p>In February 2010, despite Verisign and the rest, the bureaucracy gave Calle - the local man - the contract. "Considering the caliber of companies that participated in the process and the opportunity to do something that would have a global impact on the internet, winning the bid was a surreal experience," Calle says.</p>
<p>"Part of our competitive advantage was the strong sense of national pride that fueled our team to work night and day to win the bid," says Lori Anne Wardi, Director of .CO Internet, "and to prepare a bid package and business plan that treated the .co domain as a valuable national asset and symbol of national pride - the export of which would only reflect positively on Colombia."</p>
<p>Calle's biggest concern after winning the contract was that nobody would actually buy the domains. Another was that spammy websites would buy .co domains hoping to capitalize on typos or to commit fraud.</p>
<p>Some businesses have complained that .co is another way for "domain squatters" to harm companies by buying domains for the sole purpose of selling them at an inflated price. However, according to the domain parking site Sedo, only 0.001% of parked (squatted) domains get 10 or more unique visitors a day. The vast majority of Internet users use search rather than typing in domains. Even if 5% of type-in traffic (an implausibly high amount) were to mistype .com as .co, most companies would lose only a tiny fraction of potential visits each year if squatters bought their brand's corresponding .co domain.</p>
<p>To combat squatters and assuage fears, Calle's team began a marketing campaign that involved giving away some of the most valuable .co domains to the top 100 world brands, and letting entrepreneurs with great ideas register before anyone else. Though some companies have expressed annoyance at having to buy the $29-a-year .co version of their domain in order to "protect" their brand, for only about $2.50 a month, many of them did it anyway. (Of the revenue generated by .CO Internet SAS in domain sales, Colombia itself takes an average of 25%.).</p>
<p>As a result of .co's multi-phase rollout, companies like Twitter (t.co), Politico (politi.co), Overstock (o.co), and VentureHacks (angel.co) began spreading the word and lending credibility to the TLD. Even before .co's general availability, 39,000 domain applications were recorded.</p>
<p>On launch day, Calle and company still had their fingers crossed. One minute after opening the floodgates on July 20, 2010, people had registered 8,000 domains.</p>
<p>By 22 minutes, more 100,000 domains had been registered. After 24 hours, 233,000 domains. By the end of week one, 336,160 domains.</p>
<p>Six months after winning the Colombian Ministry of Communication's blessing, Calle is now an Internet real-estate mogul, with 469,519 domains sold, and counting. He has some catching up to do in order to compete with the 90-some million .coms out there, but Calle and his team say they're "thrilled" by the response to .co so far. The next step: keep "inspiring startups" to "create a future on their own little slice of the Internet."</p>
<p><img alt="2010-09-03-co_timeline.png" src="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2010-09-03-co_timeline.png" width="397" height="758" /></p>
<p>-----</p>
<p>Shane Snow is a writer and web entrepreneur in New York City. He runs the online <a href="http://www.printingchoice.com/">printing</a> comparison site PrintingChoice.com and draws financial infographics for the <a href="http://www.creditloan.com">CreditLoan</a> network. </p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[3]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(61) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(34) "Ben Bernanke's Summer Reading List"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(2) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(80) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/03/ben-bernankes-summer-read_n_705401.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
[1]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["src"]=>
string(72) "http://i.huffpost.com/gen/198510/thumbs/s-BERNANKE-READING-LIST-mini.jpg"
["type"]=>
string(10) "image/jpeg"
["rel"]=>
string(9) "enclosure"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(54) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/thenewswire//2.705401"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T21:34:46Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T21:50:31Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(137) "Ben S. Bernanke was an economist at Stanford and Princeton for more than two decades before he moved to Washington to 2002, first as a..."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(11) "nytimes.com"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(75) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/nathaniel-cahners-hindman/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(340) "
<p>Ben S. Bernanke was an economist at Stanford and Princeton for more than two decades before he moved to Washington to 2002, first as a member of the Federal Reserve's board of governors, then as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush and finally as Fed chairman since 2006.</p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[4]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(61) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(82) "Nouriel Roubini: We're Headed For A 'Growth Recession,' 400 Banks May Fail (VIDEO)"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(2) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(80) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/03/nouriel-roubini-were-head_n_705369.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
[1]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["src"]=>
string(58) "http://i.huffpost.com/gen/198503/thumbs/s-ROUBINI-mini.jpg"
["type"]=>
string(10) "image/jpeg"
["rel"]=>
string(9) "enclosure"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(54) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/thenewswire//2.705369"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T20:52:44Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T21:22:34Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(167) "Are we headed into a "growth recession?" Speaking with CNBC Europe from Lake Como, Italy, Nouriel Roubini, the widely followed chairman of Roubini Global Economics,..."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(13) "Ryan McCarthy"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(63) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/ryan-mccarthy/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(2543) "
<p>Are we headed into a "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_recession" target="_hplink">growth recession</a>?" </p>
<p>Speaking with CNBC Europe from Lake Como, Italy, Nouriel Roubini, the widely followed chairman of Roubini Global Economics, predicted that the U.S. economy will continue to grow modestly, but that it will continue to feel very much like a recession. "The second half of the year is going to be worst than the first," Roubini. "All the tailwinds will become headwinds" </p>
<p>By the end of the year more than 400 of the 800-plus institutions identified as "problem" banks will fail, Roubini said. </p>
<p>The U.S. economy may be technically growing, he added, but has hit "stall speed." GDP growth below 1 percent, without hiring and an increase in demand, Roubini said, is essentially a "growth recession." </p>
<p>The world economy will not be able to "decouple" from the U.S. consumer, he said. "In Europe, Germany is strong but the rest of the continent is pretty dismal. The rest of the world cannot cope without the prop of the U.S. consumer."</p>
<p>As for solutions, Roubini advocated further spending. "What we need is credible spending plans over the medium term on health care, welfare and retirement age," Roubini said. "This will create a fiscal constraint lasting well into next year." </p>
<p>WATCH the full interview with CNBC: </p>
<p><br />
<center><object id="cnbcplayer" height="380" width="400" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" ><br />
<param name="type" value="application/x-shockwave-flash"/><br />
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"/><br />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"/><br />
<param name="quality" value="best"/><br />
<param name="scale" value="noscale" /><br />
<param name="wmode" value="transparent"/><br />
<param name="bgcolor" value="#000000"/><br />
<param name="salign" value="lt"/><br />
<param name="movie" value="http://plus.cnbc.com/rssvideosearch/action/player/id/1581589894/code/cnbcplayershare"/><br />
<embed name="cnbcplayer" PLUGINSPAGE="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" bgcolor="#000000" height="380" width="400" quality="best" wmode="transparent" scale="noscale" salign="lt" src="http://plus.cnbc.com/rssvideosearch/action/player/id/1581589894/code/cnbcplayershare" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" /><br />
</object></center></p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[5]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(41) "Frank A. Weil: A Two-Track Global Economy"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(82) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-a-weil/a-twotrack-global-economy_b_703332.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(50) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.703332"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T20:09:58Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T20:09:24Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(182) "It used to be said that when the US sneezed, Europe would get pneumonia. This is no longer true, despite the fact that information flows more completely and rapidly than ever before."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(13) "Frank A. Weil"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(43) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-a-weil/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(4266) "
<p>Terms like 'single scoop' and 'double dip' are normally heard only in ice cream shops. But at the moment, the economic and financial pages of news organizations the world over are using these types of terms to try to predict and explain what is going on "out there." Indeed what is going on is unusual and defies conventional categorization.</p>
<p>The underlying problem causing this confusion is that the circumstances out of which today's conditions arose were quite different from anything that ever came before. The several important differences account for what appears to be an entirely new scenario. Historically, economies have generally risen and fallen more or less in sync -- at least among given countries and often globally. For example, it was said for a long time that when the US sneezed, Europe would get pneumonia. No longer, it appears to be the case, despite the fact that information flows more completely and rapidly than ever before, creating feedback loops which normally would knit all economies more closely together.</p>
<p>The several important differences which may account for why the economic world is behaving in a brand new way include the following:</p>
<ul><li>The casino effect is much larger than ever before. The casino effect is the scale and depth of financial transactions as a share of GDP. Since the credit meltdown in 2008, banks have started lending again, although not at previous levels, so that the rest of the economy, which had depended on cheap and easy money, has not been as robust as normally is the case for an economy rebounding from a recession.
</li>
<li>The big powerful companies have an enormous store of cash, in part because they slowed inventory accumulation and capital spending during the lowest points of the recession.
</li>
<li>Employment has been unusually slow to come back, probably because it had been allowed to grow too much and fast in the run up to the recession and because post recession the bigger employers found they could grow again with fewer employees and the smaller employers still could not afford to put people back on their payrolls.
</li>
<li>People who remain employed and whose savings/investments had rebounded nicely between 2008-2010 began to spend again out of proportion to the population as a whole--for example Apple sold several million iPads for several hundred dollars apiece to people who already had smart phones and computers. Go figure?
</li>
<li>The stimulus package, which was applied so relatively quickly and early [and brilliantly] in the recession, evidently had both an immediate effect and a drawn out promise, which had different effects at different times on the economy at large. That echoing process probably accounts for the broad confusion about the benefits of the stimulus not unlike the parable of the three blind men describing an elephant.</li></ul>
<p><br />
Those differences appear to add up and account for what we see today, which is less a prospect for a double dip, but which really boils down to a two track economy. One track is carrying the businesses and people who were relatively unscathed by the recession. The other track is carrying the businesses and people who have yet to recover completely from the recession. It is not surprising that the two tracks run at different speeds at different moments, which may account for the appearance of the economy as a whole seeming to be slowing or speeding up.</p>
<p>What we may need to do more of is recognize the increasing significance of the two tracks and follow them more closely. One of the other factors is that it also appears that the separate tracks seem not to much affect each other, which means that the strong track may not help the weak track recover as fast as in the past when the economy was more integrated.</p>
<p>In all events it appears we are looking at quite a slow, long term recovery which will leave us with all the nettlesome troubles of very low employment, limited growth in personal income and spending as well as cautious capital spending. Perhaps we need a period of regrouping and re-finding our bearings after such a powerful and widespread period of growth and overspending on too much borrowed money.<br />
</p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[6]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(87) "Rabah Ghezali: There Is No Wealth but From Men: Why Immigration Is Good for the Economy"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(83) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabah-ghezali/there-is-no-wealth-but-fr_b_703085.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(50) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.703085"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T20:04:15Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T20:05:12Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(204) "Emerging conventional wisdom across the Atlantic characterizes immigrants as a prime source of the ills of our societies, but economic studies show immigration has an undisputed effect on economic growth."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(13) "Rabah Ghezali"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(44) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabah-ghezali/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(5770) "
<p>2010 has been rife with anti-immigrant rhetoric and action on both sides of the Atlantic. There were the atrocious anti-migrant riots in Italy and the passing of controversial Arizona law SB 1070. France has taken a demagogic turn, which some commentators <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/06/opinion/06fri2.html?_r=3&ref=nicolas_sarkozy" target="_hplink">dub</a> xenophobic. Even Canada, which is celebrated for its progressive immigration policies, has experienced unprecedented immigrant-bashing rhetoric around the arrival of a boat carrying Sri Lankan self-proclaimed refugees. </p>
<p>There is an emerging conventional wisdom across the Atlantic that increasingly characterizes immigrants as a prime source of the ills of our societies. But do economic studies back this up? In short, no.</p>
<p>Immigration has an undisputed effect on economic growth. Migration reduces imbalance in the labor market without imposing a significant impact on public finances. Indeed, without immigration, the population of several European countries, particularly Germany, Spain and Italy, would have declined long ago. In Canada, over 70% of the <a href="http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/Products/Analytic/companion/paid/pdf/96F0030XIE2001009.pdf" target="_hplink">growth</a> in the labor force during the 1990's is attributable to immigration, a figure that could someday reach 100%. Given the overrepresentation of young people among immigrants, immigration also brings down the age of the population, relieving pressure on the pensions systems. Moreover, migrants help grow a host country's market access by creating valuable business networks with their countries of origin. The benefits continue. In most member countries of the <a href="http://www.oecd.org/pages/0,3417,en_36734052_36761800_1_1_1_1_1,00.html" target="_hplink">Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development</a> (OECD), the proportion of immigrants with university degrees is greater than that recorded for the native population. A recent study <a href="http://ftp.iza.org/dp3921.pdf" target="_hplink">demonstrates</a> that immigration fuels innovation, an economic boon. From a historical point of view, the example of the great transatlantic migration, from Europe to the Americas of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century has amply demonstrated the salutary effect of immigration on growth. </p>
<p>Conventional wisdom is also wrong in linking immigration and native unemployment. The notion that immigrants cause natives to lose their jobs is simply not supported by empirical results. There is not a fixed number of jobs in an economy, and immigrants often do not compete directly with native workers in the labor market. </p>
<p>Migrants are first and foremost consumers who help expand the economy even before stimulating the labor supply. Their demand stimulates the supply of goods and services which in turn lead to job creation. Except in very special cases, immigrant inflows are extremely low compared to the workforce already available in a country. As such, the absorption of newly arrived migrant on the labor market generally proves to be relatively easy. In fact, when the economy is in a recession, migrants are the first to lose their jobs.</p>
<p>Most studies in fact demonstrate the existence of a positive relationship between immigrant and native labor forces. In fact, people coming from earlier waves of migrants are most directly in competition with newly arrived immigrants rather than the natives. In time of expansion, workers tend to raise their expectations and to shy away from activities that are most painful and least valued, thus generating the need for the recruitment of low-skilled immigrants. Consequently, the idea that immigrants take the jobs of the natives seems to be simply xenophobic political posturing.</p>
<p>Regarding the impact of immigration on wages, a recent meta-analysis of the available data <a href="http://region-developpement.univ-tln.fr/fr/pdf/R27/Longhi_Nijkamp_Poot.pdf" target="_hplink">concluded</a> that the impact of immigration on the earnings of the native born population is statistically insignificant. Migrants are not responsible for alleged decrease of salaries or social dumping. Migrants are convenient scapegoats.</p>
<p>In countries with limited sectoral and geographical mobility, foreign labor can alleviate the shortages. The foreign workforce, being more mobile than the native one -- since migrants have relatively less material and family ties in their host country -- helps diffuse tensions in the labor market and helps reinvigorate certain regions. Some shortages are already apparent on the labor markets of most OECD countries, particularly for specialties related to new technologies and health.<br />
<br />
Immigration has no significant impact on public spending. Indeed, the great majority of immigrants do pay taxes and add public revenue, particularly high-skilled immigrants. The consequences are positive for some public services, such as defense and interest on the national debt, for which immigrants do not impose costs. The <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/08/research_desk_evaluates_how_do.html" target="_hplink">bolstering</a> effect of immigration on the U.S Social Security's finances is particularly compelling.</p>
<p>Economic data provide us with two certainties. First, immigration has positive effects on the overall prosperity of a nation. Second, with the ailing economy, migrants are used as scapegoats by uninspired politicians to scare up votes. Indeed, isn't the United States, a country completely made up of immigrants, the boldest example of the benefits of immigration for a nation?<br />
</p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[7]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(66) "Jake Blumgart: A New Labor Standard for Labor Day: Paid Sick Leave"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(83) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jake-blumgart/a-new-labor-standard-for-_b_704114.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(50) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.704114"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T19:46:23Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T19:46:11Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(231) "All employees should be able to take time off for their illnesses, not just those lucky enough to have the right job. Experience shows that we can make our economy friendlier to beleaguered workers without harming their employers. "
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(13) "Jake Blumgart"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(44) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jake-blumgart/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(8279) "
<p>You wake up Monday morning with a throbbing headache, achy muscles and a hacking cough. Do you miserably trudge into work, likely prolonging your recovery time and exposing your co-workers to infection? Or do you give your body the time it needs to heal, and call in sick? Can you afford to? </p>
<p>For almost 40 percent of the nation's private workforce, the answer to that last question is no. A recent Bureau of Labor Statistics <a href="http://www.bls.gov/opub/perspectives/program_perspectives_vol2_issue2.pdf" target="_hplink">report </a>shows only 33 percent of workers earning $10.50 an hour or less have access to paid sick leave, compared with 81 percent of those earning $24.22 an hour or more. This means, perversely, that if you can afford to take an unpaid sick day, you generally don't have to. </p>
<p>Politicians and policy advocates across the country are aware of this squeeze on working families, and paid sick leave bills have been introduced at the city, state, and national levels. Most of these proposals are based on the earned sick time model: Employees must work, say, 30 hours to earn one hour of sick leave. Those earned hours accumulate, eventually, into full paid sick days. All the proposals include a cap on the number of mandated paid sick days. Most require five to nine days a year. Some allow employees to carry over unused sick days from one year to the next. </p>
<p>"The economic climate makes it even more important for lawmakers to act because, in this economy, workers can ill-afford to miss a paycheck or risk the long-term unemployment that often follows losing a job," said Vicki Shabo, Director of Work & Family Programs for the<a href="http://paidsickdays.nationalpartnership.org/site/PageServer?pagename=psd_index" target="_hplink"> National Partnership for Women & Families</a>. "Workers shouldn't have to put their economic stability and job security on the line every time they get sick. It's bad for business, bad for workers, and bad public policy."</p>
<p>So far, only two U.S. cities have adopted paid sick leave laws. Since 2008, five other cities, as well as 21 states and the U.S. Congress, have considered similar bills. So far, none have passed, because organized business interests have thwarted the proposals, claiming that even the most modest benefits will harm the economy and kill jobs. That scare tactic has proven quite potent in the present climate, with employers fiercely resistant to anything that even hints at additional costs.</p>
<p>Are these claims correct or are the business groups crying wolf? One way to judge is to examine whether places that already have paid sick leave laws are suffering the dire consequences that corporate America warns against. A majority of the world's nations guarantee sick leave benefits, as do Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. (Similar legislation was passed in Milwaukee with 68 percent of the vote, but area business groups sued and a local court overturned it). </p>
<p>In 2006, San Francisco became the first American city to guarantee its citizens the right to paid time off to recuperate from illness. Business groups, spearheaded by the local Chamber of Commerce, lobbied against the ballot measure, which came on the heels of a municipal minimum wage raise and a universal health care law in the city. The business-side arguments evoked the typical "job killer" rhetoric. After voters approved the law by 61 percent, Kevin Westlye, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/05/washington/05labor.html" target="_hplink">told </a>the New York Times, "There's no such thing as a free lunch on something like this," and darkly warned of rising prices and shuttered restaurants. </p>
<p>Four years later, these dire predictions have not come to pass. A recent <a href="http://www.drummajorinstitute.org/library/report.php?ID=143" target="_hplink">study </a>by the Drum Major Institute (DMI) shows that San Francisco's employment rate has remained stronger than in any of the five neighboring counties, including wealthy Santa Clara (Silicon Valley). Even the industries where opponents warned that the impact would be harshest - retail, hospitality, and food services - remained stronger, without exception, than their nearby counterparts. </p>
<p> At least 145 nations guarantee working adults some form of sick leave, including rich countries like Germany and Canada, and poorer ones like Indonesia and Senegal. Most of them allow at least one week, and over half ensuring leave of a month or more. A 2006 study in the Journal for Comparative Policy Analysis revealed that there is little, if any, connection between sick pay laws and unemployment levels. A 2009 follow up study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research <a href="http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/psd-ur-2009-06.pdf" target="_hplink">shows </a>that the duration of European sick leave laws doesn't have any discernible relation to unemployment rates either. </p>
<p>Studies show that paid sick leave is beneficial for employers too. Currently, businesses lose money from high turnover rates caused by illness absences and from the lowered productivity that results from sick employees spreading their germs at work. The Institute of Women's Policy Research <a href="http://www.nationalpartnership.org/site/DocServer/Fact_sheet_Paid_Sick_Days_Make_Good_Business_Sense.pdf?docID=1064&autologin=true&AddInterest=1341" target="_hplink">found </a>that if all U.S. workers were offered seven days of paid sick leave annually the result would be "a net savings of $8.1 billion a year due to increased productivity and reduced turnover." </p>
<p>Today, even San Francisco business owners have come around. Jim Lazarus, senior vice president of the city's Chamber of Commerce, <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2010/05/13/will-sick-days-costs-billions-for-businesses-san-francisco-says-no/" target="_hplink">told </a><em>the Wall Street Journal </em>that the legislation hasn't stirred up any backlash from his members. And in a June article in <em>Business Week</em>, former doomsayer Westlye, executive director of the restaurant industry's lobby, <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_24/b4182033783036.htm" target="_hplink">sounded </a>downright enthusiastic about the bill: "[Paid sick leave] is the best public policy for the least cost. Do you want your server coughing over your food?" </p>
<p>Despite the success of the San Francisco law, business groups continue to use the same tired rhetoric against similar legislative proposals. From California to Connecticut, business groups cry wolf about paid sick leave, and its supposedly catastrophic economic effects. <br />
Our nation's lawmakers would do well to ignore them. Paid sick leave would have a tangible impact on the lives of American families--and politicians. The National Opinion Research Center released a <a href="http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/most-americans-support-paid-sick-leave-poll-finds/" target="_hplink">poll </a>in June showing that 86 percent of Americans favored laws guaranteeing paid sick leave. Strong majorities of self-identified Republicans as well as Democrats supported the proposal. Most said they would be more likely to vote for politicians who backed it. </p>
<p>All employees should be able to take time off for their illnesses, not just those lucky enough to have the right job. As the San Francisco experience shows, we can make our economy friendlier to beleaguered workers without harming their employers. <br />
<br />
<em><br />
Jake Blumgart is a researcher with the San Diego-based Center on Policy Initiatives' Cry Wolf Project funded by the Ford Foundation and the Public Welfare Foundation. His work has been published by the American Prospect, the Philadelphia Inquirer, The Stranger, and Campus Progress. A shorter version of this article was originally <a href="http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20100816_A_push_for_paid_sick_leave_in_Pa__and_Philly.html" target="_hplink">published </a>in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Follow him on <a href="http://twitter.com/jblumgart" target="_hplink">Twitter</a>. </em> <br />
</p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[8]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(61) "Angela Haines: Commutes, Cats and Cakes: Enterprising Ideas!"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(83) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/angela-haines/commutes-cats-and-cakes-e_b_701977.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(50) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.701977"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T19:34:57Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T19:32:04Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(146) "After a couple of decades as a computer programmer who commuted every morning an hour across the Potomac to work in Maryland, Carol Covin began..."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(13) "Angela Haines"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(44) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/angela-haines/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(5351) "
<p>After a couple of decades as a computer programmer who commuted every morning an hour across the Potomac to work in Maryland, Carol Covin began to notice as she stalled in traffic that there were as many cars driving in the opposite direction each morning towards Virginia. Why commute, she wondered? If there were good jobs closer to home, she wanted to find them. </p>
<p>Her search led her to a publishing career. Her first edition of <em>The Computer Professional's Job Guide for the Washington, DC Area </em> sold out its 5000 copy print run in four months. Her next step was to learn the publishing business so she could expand her guide geographically. Over the next few years Carol wrote computer jobs guides for New England, the Midwest, the Southeast and eventually a second updated edition for the Washington area. Then she published a national edition, <em>20 Minutes from Home: The Best Computer Jobs in America</em>, under her own imprint, <a href="www.20minutesfromhome.com" target="_hplink">Twenty Minutes Press.</a></p>
<p>Her next foray followed her 50th birthday. "I decided to create a 50-year plan with a task for each decade. I needed to think about other things I could do with my life outside of computers." At the top of her list was to help find a cure for cancer. But that motivation was not as grandiose as it sounds. One of her friends with inoperable stomach cancer had stumbled upon an alternative therapy developed by a scientist in the late 1970s that he claimed had shrunk his tumor. Wondering if that protocol -- a mineral salt currently sold over the counter -- had legs, Carol spent a couple of years learning everything she could on the therapy, including experiences of other patients. By 2008, she felt confident enough to create Sky Blue Pharmaceuticals, LLC with the participation of a pediatric oncologist with FDA experience to advise her on regulatory matters. Currently, Sky Blue is seeking funds and approval necessary to proceed with clinical trials. And Carol still has a couple of years left to reach this decade's goal -- before going on to planting forests in desert countries! </p>
<p>Dr. Phyllis Scalletar also wanted a new focus. After a couple of decades as a manager in several government agencies, including a stint as chief operating officer for the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, she turned to her cat for a business idea. "As you know, cats are picky eaters and it killed me to serve my cat those awful dried pellets they call cat food. So I decided to try developing cat sauces." Through the Department of Food Sciences at a local university, she isolated a byproduct from the extraction of oil from algae, in the former of essential biomeal for her sauces, to jazz up the dried pellets. "I know a lot of people want to solve the world's problems, but I just wanted to create more palatable cat food." But her Waterloo arose in the manufacturing process: every time she received a shipment of the biomeal, it varied in color, consistency and composition. Eventually she pulled the plug on that business, but not before learning "never to rely on another party for your product's key components; you can outsource a lot, but you have to keep control of your key ingredient." Now what she plans to do is to return to her roots in chemical safety and hazardous materials. With increasing public interest in workplace safety and environmental hazards, she sees new opportunities arising out of her former experience.</p>
<p>For Jennifer Whitlock, the leap was, well, sky high! With advanced degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Stanford, Jen signed on as a senior engineer scientist with Boeing to design jet aircrafts. For her work as the chief designer of the Blended Wing-Body (BWB) project, a passenger aircraft with 100 -800 seats with a military capacity to be a tanker, freighter, bomber, and combat support vehicle, she was awarded two patents. Then her personal life dictated a move. Her husband, a rocket scientist, lost his job and moved back home to the Midwest to work for Rolls Royce in Indiana, close to their families in Illinois. By then Jennifer had two children and wanted a more flexible schedule. So to satisfy "a creative artistic instinct" she moved from designing jets to designing cakes and cookies, starting a business called <a href="www.Posh-Pastries.com" target="_hplink">Posh-Pastries</a> in 2009. Her most recent accolade: first place and grand sweepstakes prize for cakes and cookies at the 2010 Indiana State Fair. Any crossover benefits from her engineering days? "Sure," Jen says, "at Boeing I had to learn all about business, the importance of branding and selling your designs to top management, how to manage expenses. All that helps because I realize that baking a pretty cake doesn't mean you can run a business." Next step: well no plans for a moonshot this time, but maybe moon cakes, for which, Jen admits, she might use her aircraft drafting tools to decorate. </p>
<p>What these entrepreneurs have in common are a couple of traits: flexibility and creativity. And business ideas often start very close to home. Please share where your ideas come from. Seems like they can crop up anywhere, even when you're stuck in traffic! <br />
</p>
<p> <br />
</p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[9]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(61) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(61) "Goldman Sachs Disbanding Principal Strategies Unit: Bloomberg"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(2) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(80) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/03/goldman-sachs-disbanding-_n_705209.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
[1]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["src"]=>
string(77) "http://i.huffpost.com/gen/198472/thumbs/s-GOLDMAN-SACHS-PROP-TRADING-mini.jpg"
["type"]=>
string(10) "image/jpeg"
["rel"]=>
string(9) "enclosure"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(54) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/thenewswire//2.705209"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T19:34:29Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T19:45:02Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(160) "Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is shutting its principal-strategies business, a group that makes bets with the firm's own capital, to comply..."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(13) "bloomberg.com"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(63) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/ryan-mccarthy/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(279) "
<p>Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is shutting its principal-strategies business, a group that makes bets with the firm's own capital, to comply with new U.S. rules aimed at curbing risk, two people with knowledge of the decision said. </p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[10]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(93) "Sen. Tom Carper: The Latest Oil Platform Accident Is a Grim Reminder of Our Energy Challenges"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(84) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-tom-carper/the-latest-oil-platform-a_b_705174.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(50) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.705174"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T19:20:31Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T20:19:53Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(229) "Ironically, the latest oil rig explosion occurred as Louisiana's governor, along with other state and local officials, were calling on President Obama to lift the moratorium on deepwater drilling that he imposed three months ago."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(15) "Sen. Tom Carper"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(45) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-tom-carper/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(6060) "
<p>My visit to the Gulf Coast of Louisiana this week turned out to be even more interesting than I had expected. We went on this trip to investigate the progress of the BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup and the ongoing claims process for those affected by the disaster. However, shortly after the Army Black Hawk helicopter touched down in Grand Isle, Louisiana, right on the Gulf of Mexico, we were greeted by news of an oil platform explosion some 135 miles or so to the southwest of us out in the Gulf. Thirteen men went over the side of the platform into the water following the explosion. Fortunately, all of them survived, apparently without serious injury. They were luckier than the eleven men who perished during the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig more than four months ago.</p>
<p>While this latest oil platform fire raged, back at the site of the Deepwater Horizon tragedy another important step in permanently plugging the well was just beginning. Surface support ships and deepwater submersibles were moving into position to remove that well's malfunctioning blowout preventer and prepare it for a new, functioning blowout preventer to be installed the next day.</p>
<p>Once that step was completed, work would continue on the relief wells that - when finished - would allow the "bottom kill" to proceed by September 20, effectively driving a stake through the heart of the well that has caused so much heartache and set off a multi-billion dollar Gulf cleanup and restoration effort.</p>
<p>Ironically, this latest explosion occurred as Louisiana's governor, along with other state and local officials, were calling on President Obama to lift the moratorium on deepwater drilling that he imposed three months ago. Both explosions serve as graphic reminders that drilling for oil thousands of feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico remains a very risky business. </p>
<p>This week's accident also reinforces the need to create a culture of safety in this industry, much as the culture we have endeavored to create in our nation's 104 nuclear power plants. </p>
<p>With the goal of safety in mind, a new cop has been put on the beat. It is called the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement or BOEM, and housed within the U.S. Department of the Interior. One of BOEM's first responsibilities is to create a new regulatory framework and enforcement structure to replace the abysmal efforts of the former Minerals Management Service to regulate the offshore oil industry. </p>
<p> Let me hasten to add, though, that all was not cause for gloom and doom in the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration briefed us that the trillions of oil-eating microbes that Mother Nature has deployed throughout the Gulf of Mexico continue to provide by far the most cost effective cleanup work that's being done in the Gulf. Just a few months ago the water was teeming with oil, now the presence of oil is measured in parts per billion. </p>
<p>While the skimmers there still skim occasionally, and hundreds of miles of boom remain deployed to protect beaches and marsh land, the tide has turned in this battle. As further proof, on the day we were there, the federal government reopened several thousand square miles of additional federal fishery waters to fishermen. </p>
<p>That doesn't mean that there isn't still plenty of work to do in the months ahead. There is. But a lot of good work has already been done. It's still being done by a large and dedicated team led by the Coast Guard, and includes - among others - the U.S. Army, the National Guard, NOAA, EPA, local fishermen and their "vessels of opportunity," some BP employees, and private contractors like Miller Environmental from Corpus Christi, Texas, whom we met. </p>
<p>The battle is likely to rage for some time over whether we should continue to remain dependent on hard-to-recover fossil fuels like the oil that lies thousands of feet below the floor of the Gulf of Mexico and whether we should remain dependent on the enormous quantities of oil that we import from undemocratic, unstable countries around the world, oil that now comprises a third of our nation's huge trade deficit. </p>
<p>While that battle rages, though, America has got to be smart enough to put the pedal to the metal to hasten the day when we harness the power of the wind off our coasts to help power millions of flex-fuel, plug-in hybrid vehicles like GM's Volt and Fisker's Karma and Nina that will be built right here in America and my home state of Delaware. And, we've got to make even bigger strides in harnessing the energy of the sun and other clean energy sources to meet more of our energy needs. Finally, we need to adopt energy conservation policies that affirm our country's belief that the cleanest, most affordable form of energy in the world is the energy we never use. </p>
<p><small><em>Sen. Carper is the senior senator from the state of Delaware. He is the chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management and recently returned from a visit to the Gulf coast where he toured impacted marshlands off the coast of Louisiana, visited a beach cleanup site and was briefed on the cleanup and recovery efforts from the Coast Guard. </p>
<p>The trip was part of Sen. Carper's ongoing examination of the Gulf coast oil spill cleanup and claims process. Sen. Carper held two hearings this summer, "The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: Ensuring a Financially Responsible Recovery Parts I and II," which focused on the costs associated with the response and recovery operations relating to the oil spill in the Gulf. As part of these hearings, the subcommittee heard testimony from representatives of BP, Transocean, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC (a subsidiary of Mitsui Oil Exploration Company), the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the U.S. Coast Guard, and Kenneth Feinberg, head of the BP claims process.</em></small></p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[11]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(64) "Jeffrey A. Joerres: Yes, the Height of Your Audacity Is Shocking"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(87) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-a-joerres/yes-the-height-of-your-au_b_705274.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(50) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.705274"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T19:12:50Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T20:16:34Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(149) "Dear Mark Ayers, I read with great alarm your article on the Huffington Post Web site on the subject of Manpower's new research report, "Strategic..."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(18) "Jeffrey A. Joerres"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(48) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-a-joerres/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(6526) "
<p>Dear Mark Ayers,</p>
<p> I read with great alarm <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-h-ayers/its-the-height-of-audacit_b_697347.html" target="_hplink">your article on the Huffington Post Web site</a> on the subject of Manpower's new research report, "<a href="http://www.manpower.com/research/research.cfm" target="_hplink">Strategic Migration - A Short-Term Solution to the Skilled Trades Shortage</a>," and I could not let it pass without a comment as you are factually incorrect on all your assertions pertaining to Manpower.</p>
<p> Let me begin with your incomprehensible accusation that Manpower produced this report due to a self-serving motive and that it is inherently biased. This is simply wrong. Manpower is not, and never has been in the business of migrating skilled trades workers to the United States. We are merely leveraging our global labor market expertise to bring visibility to a real labor-market issue that poses an obstacle to future economic growth. This potential choke-point becomes exacerbated by the demographic landscape and as talent shortages become more severe.</p>
<p> Manpower did not suddenly magically pull this "report" - as you refer to it - out of a hat. We have conducted a global annual survey for the past five years that has shown that talent shortages persist in key positions - consistently topping the charts year after year has been the skilled trades - and this remains the case despite high unemployment - 31 percent of employers 35,000 we surveyed across 36 countries and territories worldwide in 2010 reported difficulty filling key positions within their organizations.</p>
<p> Globally, the skilled trades shortage is the No. 1 or No. 2 hardest job to fill in six of the 10 biggest economies - including the U.S. Incidentally, Manpower does 90% of its business outside of the U.S., so to claim our agenda is to push for the increased use of "cheap immigrant labor" in the U.S. and therefore fatten our profit margin is a crass assertion and utter fiction. Our growth outside the U.S. comes from domestic growth within those countries, not from outsourcing our own business. And it is that growth that has allowed us to maintain our world headquarters in the U.S. and also allowed us to build a new green world headquarters building in a revitalized part of downtown Milwaukee, where we were founded over 60 years ago.</p>
<p> In February of this year, I was invited to testify at a hearing of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee focusing on the labor market, and policies to foster economic growth and job creation. On Capitol Hill, I argued that to foster job creation, one of the groups that initiatives should be targeted at is potential new business owners. New small business owners will drive long-term job creation in this country, and skilled trades workers can potentially own their own business and have three or four employees within a few years. </p>
<p> This brings me to the H1B Visa issue, which is a travesty and the U.S. is hindering one of our greatest sources of innovation by having too low a limit on the number of non-immigrant visas it issues. We are preventing the brightest minds from entering the country, which is nonsense given that the growth of this country came from people who arrived here from overseas with an idea, developed it and created employment. Two thirds of Silicon Valley companies were started by people born outside the U.S. If the brightest minds cannot come to the U.S., it will be our loss because there are plenty of other alternatives open to them in places like Shanghai, Mumbai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Dubai. The modern labor market is truly global and to prevent workers with scarce skills coming here harms our competitiveness on the world stage.</p>
<p> If you had read our research paper thoroughly instead of scanning it for key words and putting your own spin on the content to further your own agenda, you would have noticed that we are advocating for the development of the indigenous workforce for the long-term. This is where the unions can play a pivotal role. Strategic migration is a practical answer today because there is simply no other way to alleviate shortages of skilled blue-collar workers in the short-term. If you had bothered to watch, read or listen to media coverage of the research paper, you would know that we are calling for a societal mindset shift to bring honor back to the skilled trades by promoting positive attitudes toward this work from parents and educational institutions alike and impress on them that they are an equally, if not more in some cases, lucrative alternative to university degrees.</p>
<p> We are also calling for governments, unions and businesses (in European speak - social partners) to work more closely with technical education institutions to ensure individuals develop the relevant skills that allow them to immediately contribute to the workforce, and to anticipate what skills will be needed to satisfy global business demands.</p>
<p> Yes, unemployment remains high, and we know there are many skilled trades people out of work today. As a result, we are trying to do our part to help them maintain their honor and dignity by providing a bridge to employment and enhancing their skills and livelihood. Having said that, the pipeline of skilled trades workers as we look to the future is not as robust as this country needs. Knowledgeable debate and action is required to address this, and it's is all part of the talent conundrum that is frustrating businesses and individuals alike. There are simply not enough people with the right skills in the right place at the right time. You can resolve this issue in two ways - by bringing the workers to where the work is and by creating a larger pool of available and qualified talent in key areas locally.</p>
<p> I find the headline of your article particularly ironic as you are the one who is clearly using your role to further your own agenda. Instead of wasting your energy on attacking our report, you and other representatives of unions should be leveraging it as a platform to call for more action to upskill and increase training in such areas, and thinking creatively about how to move workers around within the country--to where the demand is - a much more productive and effective use of your time, for all of us.</p>
<p> Jeffrey A. Joerres</p>
<p> Manpower Inc. Chairman and CEO </p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[12]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(61) "Eliseo Medina: Wall Street Is to Blame for Pension Shortfalls"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(83) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eliseo-medina/wall-street-is-to-blame-f_b_705133.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(50) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.705133"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T18:57:38Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T21:55:34Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(195) "Rather than blaming state employees for the mess Wall Street has made of our economy, Governor Schwarzenegger must work with us to make sure our economy recovers in a healthy and sustainable way."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(13) "Eliseo Medina"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(44) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eliseo-medina/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(3635) "
<p>It's no surprise that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken his attack on public employee pensions <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447004575449813071709510.html" target="_hplink">to the <em>Wall Street Journal</em></a>, the paper of record for the big banks and giant corporations whose greed and recklessness put at risk the retirement savings of all Americans. After all, here in California his administration's tired arguments, misplaced blame, and selective use of statistics have worn thin with a public who knows that hard-working public employees like nurses, college professors, and child protection workers deserve to share in the American dream of a secure retirement. </p>
<p>Everyone who works hard and plays by the rules deserves to retire in dignity. But Wall Street doesn't see it that way. The same banks and mortgage brokers who are responsible for our economic collapse got rich by gambling with the jobs, home values, and retirement savings of ordinary Americans. Too many Americans lost everything, but Wall Street wealth and banker bonuses are on the rise. </p>
<p>Even as Americans are struggling to recover from an economic catastrophe created on Wall Street, the same set of bankers and brokers are trolling for more victims, and they have their sights set on hard working employees in the public and private sectors. </p>
<p>For generations, Americans have counted on three sources of retirement income: social security, employment pensions, and personal savings. Wall Street is bent on undermining all three by pushing risky social security privatization schemes and pursuing corporate wealth and executive bonuses while stripping workers of jobs that provide for their basic needs, let alone any chance at saving for retirement. </p>
<p>Now these banks and their allies have launched a sustained campaign to spread misinformation and alarm about a public employee pension system that has served California well for 70 years and which remained nearly fully funded until the Wall Street-driven stock market crash that caused our current economic crisis. Their goal is to strip away guaranteed pensions and force more workers into 401k-style plans that put all the risk onto workers while putting more money into the bankers' own pockets. </p>
<p> Rather than working together with the public sector employees who have the led the drive to make the pension systems models of good management and transparency and to stop a handful of top managers from gaming the system, the Governor has emerged as California's chief spokesperson for the Wall Street banks who wrecked our economy, plunged the state budget into deficit, and devoured billions in pension earnings.</p>
<p>The Governor has misrepresented pensions as a drain on government when in reality 73 cents of every dollar paid to pensioners comes from employee contributions and investment earnings, not employer contributions. Adding to Schwarzenegger's hype was a report he commissioned by Stanford graduate students which made use of faulty assumptions to arrive at a conclusion that risky individual accounts are the best approach for retirement saving, even when a large body of research shows these accounts are less efficient, more costly and gravely risky for retirees. </p>
<p>Rather than blaming state employees for mess Wall Street has made of our economy, the Governor must work with us to make sure our economy recovers in a healthy and sustainable way so that pensions and other investments continue to provide the safety net they were intended to do. </p>
<p><br />
</p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[13]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(57) "Ken Adelman: Labor Day Reflections by William Shakespeare"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(80) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-adelman/labor-day-reflections-by_b_705025.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(50) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.705025"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T17:46:00Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T17:52:14Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(212) "The Bard realized that any workplace may be tough to navigate, given personal quirks and boss' demands. Enduring this pressure can cause anyone in an office to sigh, "O full of briers is this working day world"."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(11) "Ken Adelman"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-adelman/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(2849) "
<p> There's no better time than Labor Day weekend to contemplate labor in the weekday. <br />
<br />
Like us, Shakespeare had mixed feelings. He had high opinion of exciting, challenging work: "To business that we love, we rise betime and go to it with delight" (<em>Antony & Cleopatra</em>). And even pointed out its medicinal utility: "The labor we delight in physics [cures] pain" (<em>Macbeth</em>).<br />
<br />
But the Bard, as always, was realistic. Such exciting work is exceptional. Most employment causes more pain than it "physics," which we go to with dread rather than "with delight." <br />
We are "winding up days with toil, and nights with sleep" (<em>Henry Vth</em>). Doesn't seem all that great. <br />
<br />
Yet Shakespeare had to appreciate work -- cranking out 37 plays in scant more than 30 years, all the while raising money for his performing companies, casting actors for the dramas (many put on each week!), acting in them, investing in theaters and sundry real estate, communicating with (if not commuting to) his family in a distant village.<br />
<br />
He -- like high tech types today -- appreciated the 24/7 nature of his work. Both aspects, the 24 and 7, are realized in Hamlet when the soldier Marcellus describes Denmark's shipping yards filled with workers in "sweaty haste, does make the night joint laborer with the day." On top of the 24 comes the 7, as he speaks of "shipwrights whose sore tasks do not divide the Sunday from the week." <br />
<br />
The Bard realized that any workplace may be tough to navigate, given personal quirks and boss' demands. Enduring this pressure can cause anyone in an office to sigh, "O full of briers is this working day world". (<em>As You Like It</em>). <br />
<br />
Such stress is high today, given dismal unemployment numbers as businesses consolidate and keep payrolls slim. Company officers may cut back so that their core business can thrive -- "Superfluous branches we lop away, that bearing boughs may live." (<em>Richard II</em>). And large firms often buy successful startups: "The great ones eat up the little ones!" (<em>Pericles</em>).<br />
<br />
So times are tough for labor. Yet Shakespeare realized that times change, and along with them worker prospects. He thus counsels, "Be cheerful. Wipe thine tears. Some falls are means the happier to arise" (<em>Cymbeline</em>).<br />
<br />
Nicest to contemplate this weekend is Shakespeare's nice tribute to the modest, hard-working, content laborer. One such appealing fellow, Corin in <em>As You Like It</em>, says with some pride: "I am a true laborer. I earn that I eat, get that I wear, owe no man hate, every man's happiness, glad of other man's good, content with my harm..."</p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
[14]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(61) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "Still No Sign of a Double-Dip Recession, Says Adecco CEO"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(2) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(80) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/03/new-unemployment-numbers-_n_705013.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
[1]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["src"]=>
string(63) "http://i.huffpost.com/gen/185118/thumbs/s-UNEMPLOYMENT-mini.jpg"
["type"]=>
string(10) "image/jpeg"
["rel"]=>
string(9) "enclosure"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(54) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/thenewswire//2.705013"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T17:31:58Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T19:25:35Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(134) "The U.S. jobless rate rose slightly to 9.6 from 9.5 percent in August, but some experts are saying this may actually be a good sign..."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(13) "Laura Bassett"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(63) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/laura-bassett/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(2471) "
<p>The U.S. jobless rate rose slightly to 9.6 from 9.5 percent in August, but some experts are saying this may actually be a good sign for the economy. </p>
<p>While the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that unemployment is on the rise, this increase reflects an expanding American workforce, as 550,000 jobless people joined or re-joined the search for employment in August. While economic recovery is still moving at a very slow pace, Tig Gillium, CEO of the largest staffing firm in the world, told HuffPost that the August employment statistics are "slightly better than everyone expected."</p>
<p>"July raised the big question of deceleration," Gillium said. "Everyone wanted to talk about a double-dip recession. But even an improving job market is going to see an uptick in unemployment -- it's okay as long as we're still producing private sector jobs each month, and August saw an addition of 67,000 private sector jobs. This is still a reasonable pace of job growth and consistent with what was happening before."</p>
<p>Overall, August saw little change in jobs data. The number of long-term unemployed Americans declined by 323,000 in August, but government employment fell slightly too, as 114,000 temporary jobs ended with the completion of the census. Gillium said the one major disappointment in the new data was the lack of improvement in the average number of hours Americans are working each week, which remained steady at 34.2.</p>
<p>"That number indicates to what extent companies are fully using the employees they have. As a recovery takes place, people who are working part-time are brought back for more hours, and companies who were hiring temp workers start to bring in more full-time employees. We still need to see this number rise--something closer to 35 hours would be ideal," he said.</p>
<p>The U.S. might see a drop in unemployment soon, Gillium said, as employers tend to hire more in September and October than they do in the summer. But ultimately, what's going to prevent a double-dip recession has little to do with the actual jobs numbers.</p>
<p>"So much of an economic recovery is based on confidence," he said. "This report shows that the recovery is progressing--maybe not as fast a pace as in the late first quarter, but it is progressing. That should have the effect of creating enough confidence that people don't panic and create our own double-dip recession."</p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(42) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
["type"]=>
int(512)
["headers"]=>
array(7) {
["server"]=>
string(19) "Apache/2.2.8 (Unix)"
["last-modified"]=>
string(29) "Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:41:55 GMT"
["etag"]=>
string(29) ""20a91cd-12888-48f6379cf36c0""
["content-type"]=>
string(15) "application/xml"
["vary"]=>
string(15) "Accept-Encoding"
["date"]=>
string(29) "Sat, 04 Sep 2010 01:07:17 GMT"
["connection"]=>
string(5) "close"
}
["build"]=>
string(14) "20090627192103"
["items"]=>
array(15) {
[0]=>
object(SimplePie_Item)#307 (2) {
["feed"]=>
*RECURSION*
["data"]=>
array(10) {
["data"]=>
string(56) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(82) "Jane White: Work Until You're Dead? That May Be the Only Option for Many Americans"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(63) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-white/post_785_b_703802.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(50) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.703802"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-06T14:00:53Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T21:46:16Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(143) "Many Americans are likely to have to work until they are dead, not as a result of Social Security shortfalls but because of their inadequate..."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["data"]=>
string(23) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(2) {
["name"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(10) "Jane White"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["uri"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(41) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-white/"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
}
}
}
}
["content"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(4464) "
<p>Many Americans are likely to have to work until they are dead, not as a result of Social Security shortfalls but because of their inadequate 401(k) savings or the fact that they have no retirement plan at all. This disaster has not dawned on the mutual fund companies that manage retirement assets, much less debated on Capitol Hill. Given that the first wave of Boomers is scheduled to turn 65 in 2011, Attention Must be Paid. </p>
<p>Here's the raw deal in a nutshell: Unless you've got Chief and Executive in your job title -- including "Ousted Disgraced CEO" -- you are probably pension-poor, even if you earn a six-figure salary. That's because only 11% of the private sector population is covered by a regular pension. Unlike during the postwar Fabulous Fifties and the Soaring Sixties when America was a "fortress economy" and almost half of the private sector was covered, currently even most employees of big companies can't count on one. Only 17 of the Fortune 100 companies offer a traditional pension to new hires. </p>
<p>The 401(k) plan that has replaced pensions was meant to be the icing on a pension cake when it was created 30 years ago, not a substitute for a pension. While 401(k) plans have been criticized as a risky, the more important failing is the typical stingy employer "matching contribution" equaling 3% of pay, the second lowest in the world. (There are some exceptions, universities typically contribute the equivalent of between 7 to 10% of pay.) </p>
<p>The rarely discussed rule of thumb for nest egg adequacy is that you need the equivalent of 10 times your "final pay," or your salary near retirement, in your 401(k) AND rollover accounts. Unfortunately, most people will be lucky if they have a little more than "one time their final pay." According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, the median amount workers in that age group have saved is a mere $77,000 and the median salary for that age group is $61,000. What's even worse is that 50% of the private sector population isn't covered by any plan at all -- pension OR 401(k). </p>
<p>While I have a feeling that President Obama would support genuine 401(k) reform if he knew what a pension pickle we're in, his so-called 401(k) experts simply support "automatic enrollment," in which employees with a 401(k) plan contribute 3% of their pay--one third of what is needed--without requiring a minimum employer contribution. In addition, these adherents of Rubinomics also endorse "automatically annuitization" of 401(k) account balances at retirement, ensuring lifetime employment for annuity salesmen but insufficient income for annuity owners. As for the 50% of the Americans with no plan at all? They get an "automatic IRA," in which employees can contribute but employers don't have to. Automatic Inadequacy! Thanks, guys! </p>
<p>At least the UK's leadership is planning a fix to its country's private pension system -- because they don't equate employer mandates with Godless Communism -- even though a greater percentage of their population is covered by a plan and their 401(k)-style plans feature employer contributions that are twice as generous as that in the U.S. </p>
<p>Starting in 2012 virtually every UK employer that doesn't currently offer a pension must enroll employees in a 401(k) style plan that features a minimum employer contribution of 3% of pay and 3% from the employee (smaller employers are phased in). Oh -- and the government's plan is for the account assets to be pooled, professionally managed and feature fees that are no more than .3% of account assets -- about a third of what 401(k) participants pay on funds in their accounts. </p>
<p>It's a disgrace that the most advanced country in the civilized world not only has the worst retirement system in the civilized world but leadership that can't be bothered to fix it. But don't just get mad, tell your elected officials to take action. I've proposed legislation that would require most employers to contribute the equivalent of 9% of pay -- the same rate that Australian employers are required to shell out. <a href="http://www.retirement-solutions.us/401k-nightmare.htm" target="_hplink">Here is the link to the page on my company's website that describes it.</a> It contains a description of the bill, along with the names if the members of Congress who have oversights over pensions that your Congressperson needs to be in touch with.</p>
"
["attribs"]=>
array(2) {
[""]=>
array(1) {
["type"]=>
string(4) "html"
}
["http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"]=>
array(2) {
["lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
["base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(38) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/"
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(true)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(2) "en"
}
}
}
}
["date"]=>
array(2) {
["raw"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-06T14:00:53Z"
["parsed"]=>
int(1283781653)
}
["title"]=>
string(82) "Jane White: Work Until You're Dead? That May Be the Only Option for Many Americans"
["enclosures"]=>
array(0) {
}
["links"]=>
array(2) {
["alternate"]=>
&array(1) {
[0]=>
string(63) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-white/post_785_b_703802.html"
}
["http://www.iana.org/assignments/relation/alternate"]=>
&array(1) {
[0]=>
string(63) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-white/post_785_b_703802.html"
}
}
}
}
[1]=>
object(SimplePie_Item)#306 (2) {
["feed"]=>
*RECURSION*
["data"]=>
array(10) {
["data"]=>
string(61) "
"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
["child"]=>
array(1) {
["http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"]=>
array(8) {
["title"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(44) "Labor Day History: 11 Facts You Need To Know"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["link"]=>
array(2) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["rel"]=>
string(9) "alternate"
["type"]=>
string(9) "text/html"
["href"]=>
string(78) "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/03/labor-day-history-facts_n_705480.html"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
[1]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(0) ""
["attribs"]=>
array(1) {
[""]=>
array(3) {
["src"]=>
string(55) "http://i.huffpost.com/gen/144087/thumbs/s-WORK-mini.jpg"
["type"]=>
string(10) "image/jpeg"
["rel"]=>
string(9) "enclosure"
}
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["id"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(54) "tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/thenewswire//2.705480"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["published"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T23:05:23Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["updated"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(20) "2010-09-03T23:14:40Z"
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["summary"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
array(5) {
["data"]=>
string(133) "Yes, Monday is a federal holiday in the United States, but Labor Day is much more than that. Labor Day has a rich history centered..."
["attribs"]=>
array(0) {
}
["xml_base"]=>
string(0) ""
["xml_base_explicit"]=>
bool(false)
["xml_lang"]=>
string(5) "en-US"
}
}
["author"]=>