------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Jan. 16, 2003 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
KILLNG THE MESSENGER By Matt Schwartz "The United States economy is growing again," President George W. Bush told the world in his holiday radio address from his ranch in Texas. "This economy is strong and it can be stronger." But then the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics issued its monthly study about mass layoffs by U.S. companies. It revealed that employers carried out 2,150 mass layoffs in November affecting 240,028 workers. A mass layoff is defined as one involving at least 50 people. What happened when this report contradicted Bush's claims? The truth was squashed. One little paragraph in a press release issued on Christmas Eve said that funding for the program that tabulates mass layoffs has dried up. The Bureau of Labor Statistics can't find funding anywhere else, so these figures will no longer be made available. (San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 3) It makes one wonder what else the current Bush administration isn't telling the people and what other lies they are feeding the corporate media. - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe wwnews- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Support the voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
