Kakki wrote:
> I wonder how many employment sectors are going to experience significant
> losses, with resulting lay-offs and people out of work. The only sector I
> keep hearing about is the dot.coms and people losing money in their stock
> investments and also retirement plans. The dot.com crashes have badly
> affected certain regions like in Northern California and there would be a
> ripple effect in real estate, luxury items, fancy restaurants and other
> sectors that depend on an upturned economy. I haven't heard of there being
> a great national increase in unemployment, though. Maybe the numbers of
> unemployed will not be significant enough to affect the tax revenues.
Without taking a political stance one way or the other concerning the ongoing
tax debate and in the spirit of learning the facts:
Internet related companies (let alone dot coms) are the least of it. Job cuts
have been creeping up in large amounts across various sectors since last year
with huge leaps in the first two quarters of this year. Companies who have cut
at least 1,000 jobs (with many cutting more than 5,000) this year include:
Disney
JDS Uniphase
Worldcom
Kodak
Philips
Unilever
Dupont
Northwest Airlines
American Express
Coca-Cola
Verizon cut 10,000 and Lucent has cut 20,000.
Continuing jobless claims (as of the report released on July 19) is up to
3,112,000 -- the highest since the fourth quarter of 1992 and the moving average
for initial jobless claims has continually risen for the last 15 months.
Manufacturing production has experienced nine straight months of contraction.
Corporate earnings reports have been downright dismal.
If you're not hearing about this, then read the financial press and watch the
news on PBS (Nightly Business Report). (I also recommend the Vanguard Groups'
"Economic Week in Review" which is conveniently delivered via email.) Even
"news-lite" outlets like MSNBC have been covering the roll of corporate layoffs
(See "The Layoff List: Casualties of an Economic Retreat" -
http://www.msnbc.com/news/555872.asp?cp1=1#BODY. The numbers for July alone are
fairly staggering.)
Let's not kid ourselves; we can debate trickle-down economics as much as we
like, but let's not deny that we as a nation are having major economic trouble.
Let's hope that Greenspan's recent testimony is right and that there will be a
recovery in economic growth later this year.
Brenda
n.p.: Bravo - Inside the Actors Studio
