Category: Labor and Workforce
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That Danged News Media!
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in Business and Economy, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Electoral process, Energy, Government workers and pensions, Gun rights, Health Care, Immigration, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Planning, Politics, Public safety & health, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Social Services and Entitlements, TransportationBy Peter Galuszka After a deluge of negative national publicity in recent weeks over a number of socially conservative and highly controversial bills that he originally endorsed, Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell has complained on a WTOP radio interview that he’s disappointed with the news media. “All we ever ask from the media is to…
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A Pathetic Half-Time
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By Peter Galuszka It’s so-called halftime at the Virginia General Assembly, and with conservative Republicans holding sway and many serious problems facing the Commonwealth, here’s what we’ve come up with so far: Women exercising their constitutional right to have an abortion now will be forced to undergo and pay for an ultrasound before the procedure.…
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Goodbye Grundy! Hello, Wal-Mart
By Peter Galuszka Hours west of Richmond by car lies the old coal town of Grundy, lying at a confluence of the flood-prone Levisa Fork River below steep cliffs of sedimentary rock of sandstone and shale. Grundy has been a touchstone for my various trips to the Virginia coalfields over the years. I hadn’t been…
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The Kings Dominion Law Survives Another Round
Apparently, there are competing visions on how Virginia can thrive in a globally competitive economy amidst rapid technological change. One vision makes it a top priority to educate our children in order to equip them with the knowledge and skills required to be creative, economically productive citizens across a wide variety of disciplines. Another vision…
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Does Vlad Have the Right Idea?
By Peter Galuszka As conservatives argue about cutting deficits and keeping low taxes for the rich both in Virginia and nationally, a bigger question is coming up: does Vladimir I. Lenin actually have the answer? Sounds strange, I know, but not if you read Britain’s center-right weekly business newsweekly, The Economist. In a leader titled,…
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IG of the Day: Staying Put
Geographic mobility within the United States has been declining steadily since the late 1980s. Only 11.6 percent of U.S. residents moved between 2010 and 2011, down from 12.5 percent the previous year. It was the lowest rate since 1948. William H. Frey with the Brookings Institution attributes that decline to two broad factors. First, long-distance…
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IG of the Day: Employment Since the Recession
This chart, found in the Commonwealth Institute’s new report, “Unemployed, Underutilized, Undone: Employment and Labor Force,” shows why the 2007-2009 recession still feels like a recession here in Virginia, even though it technically ended two years ago. In contrast to the past two economic recoveries, this business cycle truly has been a “jobless recovery.” Among…
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The Road to Crony Capitalism
by James A. Bacon Good news, bad news on the economic front. First the good news: Engineering-construction giant Bechtel Corp. will relocate 625 employees with its global operations, government services and civil business units from Frederick, Md., to Reston Town Center. “The company was attracted to the commonwealth due to its business environment, cost, and…
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The Wonk Salon, October 18-19, 2011
Dealing with Diversity in Virginia Center for American Progress Think tank sponsors roundtable discussion about increasing ethnic diversity in Northern Virginia. Government Workers Are Almost as Unprepared for Retirement as the Rest of Us Center for Retirement Research Thanks to generous pension benefits, state and local government workers tend to be less unprepared financially for…
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Virginia’s Brain Drain
by James A. Bacon California has a lot of problems, including a dysfunctional political system, structural budget deficits and a lousy business climate. But it’s still a magnet for some of the world’s most talented scientists and engineers. According to a new Milken Institute study, “What Brain Drain? California among the Best in the U.S.…
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Can Japan Keep Pitching?
By Peter Galuszka (Last of a series) TOKYO, Japan — “Technology is like water, it runs down hill.” My old Japanese friend and I are chowing down on delicious fried oysters and sashimi in a downtown Tokyo restaurant. We had just had drinks at the Foreign Correspondents Club Of Japan which offers a spectacular, 20th…
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The Wonk Salon, October 14, 2011
Immigrant Demographic Trends in the 2000s Brookings Institution The foreign-born population in the United States grew by 8.8 million in the 2000s. Immigrants are somewhat more likely to live in the suburbs, to be educated, to reside here a decade or more, and to get naturalized. Immigrant Access to Social Services Urban Institute Even though…
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Low-Skilled Workers Take It on the Chin
OK, I was wrong (sort of). Now I’m fessing up. So, get over it. While the labor market has deteriorated markedly since the onset of the Great Recession, job losses for low-skilled workers have been especially devastating. And nowhere in the country (literally, nowhere, except in Tennessee) have low-skilled workers been more likely to lose…
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Yet Another Mongolian Crossroads
By Peter Galuszka (Third in a series) ULAN BAATOUR, Mongolia — Flying into this capital city nestled among treeless, light brown mountains brought back memories of a grimy, industrial Soviet city from 30 years ago. Along the tarmac are rows of cannibalized Antonov 2 biplanes used as crop dusters after World War II along with…
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The Old Boy’s Still Around
By Peter Galuszka (first of a series) BEIJING, China — Red and gold emblems flap around Tiananmen Square in celebration of 62 years of the People’s Republic of China. This holiday, the sprawling square area is thronged with Chinese families of all ages on this warm and sunny fall afternoon. I am here on a…