Jeans Plant Gives Hourly Workers a Safety Net (npr.org)

One in four U.S. jobs now qualifies as low income, according to the Census Bureau. Most have little or no savings, and a financial emergency can push them over the edge into poverty. NPR’s Elaine Korry reports on the efforts of Levi-Strauss and Co., to help workers cope with — and avoid — a crisis.

Bill Clears Way for Government to Cut Back College Pell Grants (nytimes.com)

Nearly 100,000 more students may lose their federal grants entirely. Tuition is rising faster than the rate of inflation, and the government is changing the financial aid formula so that more students will receive less aid. At the rate we’re going, it will not be long before the middle and lower class are priced out of college. What are our kids supposed to do then?

Middle-class, white-collar jobs leaving, too, not just ‘grunt’ work (boston.com)

”If you sacrifice the low-end jobs, you end up sacrificing the high-end jobs, because people don’t have the ability to learn the skills. The idea that Americans can just parachute into these high-level jobs is ludicrous.”

via The Agonist.

frontline: is wal-mart good for america? (pbs.org)

That’s the question Frontline asked Tuesday night, 11/16. Walmart has a huge amount of influence over its suppliers. Suppliers are told that if they want Walmart to continue to carry their goods, they need to lower the prices they charge Walmart. The supplier has 2 options either move production (jobs) from the United States to China or lose the Walmart account, which is probably the supplier’s largest account. When Rubbermaid attempted to pass along an increase in its manufacturing costs to Walmart, Walmart decreased the shelf space dedicated to Rubbermaid products. This affected Rubbermaid so negatively that it had to merge with another company to survive.

Five Rivers Electronics Innovations, which has a TV assembly plant in Greeneville, TN, filed a complaint with the Department of Commerce and the Internation Trade Commission charging the Chinese with dumping televisions in the United States. Walmart filed briefs in support of the Chinese manufacturers. Five Rivers won the complaints, and the agencies imposed duties on the Chinese TV’s, which resulted in price increases of 25 percent or more. The duties were apparently too late to help Five Rivers, because they filed for bankruptcy in October, 2004.

Do we really benefit from Walmart’s extra low prices? The Frontline program is definitely worth watching, and it will be available on their website starting Friday, 11/19. The Frontline website also has a large amount of additional information about the topic.

Shrink Your Energy Bills (thisoldhouse.com)

A couple of weekends sealing the attic and furnace ducting using materials that cost less than $50 on average will slash up to 30 percent off your energy bill. Let’s see, I spend $50 and I can save up to $350 (30%). This just moved to the top of the to-do list. The article also mentions that you can save up to 15 percent by setting the thermostat back 10°F for an eight-hour period each day.

Peter Rukavina on Installing Digital Thermostats In His House (ruk.ca)

I also need to install a set-back thermostat to reduce the heating oil we use. Heating oil prices are painful this winter, and I’m doing whatever I can to cut down on the oil we use. I’ve lowered the thermostat, which the kids have already complained about. When they complained, I told them this is what I went through when I was a kid during the energy crisis in the 70’s, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. I’m also winterizing the house, and I’m considering electric blankets for the beds so I can set the thermostat a little lower at night.

In one of the apartments I rented when I lived in Richmond, the landlord paid the heating bill, and he had the furnace on a timer. At 1:30 am, the timer would shut the furnace off, and it would not turn back on until 6:00 am. It would get cold in that apartment at night. I finally managed to get into the basement where the furnace and timer were, and I “modified” the timer. After the modification, the timer still worked, but the furnace did not shut down for 4 1/2 hours. The timer would send its shutoff signal, but the furnace would just ignore it and operate normally.

Slowdown Forces Many to Wander for Work (washingtonpost.com)

It’s Monday, and the $50 in Packman’s pocket will have to cover food, laundry and incidentals for the coming week. Not long ago his family was settled in a house in Warren, Ohio, the kids chasing frogs in the yard, and his wife baking bread in the kitchen. Jobs disappeared, and the Packmans lost their house. They ended up in a motel in a strange town, and now the $58-a-night bill is draining them dry. Packman is among a wave of Americans taking to the highway to preserve a middle-class life.

How to Avoid Living Like a Poor Student at Age 70 (New York Times)

What is life like if you are old, weak, tired, unhealthy, lonely, and broke? You’re miserable, afraid, and hungry. This is going to be the reality of millions of baby boomers unless they make some serious changes in their lives.

The New York Times – Textile Quotas to End, Punishing Carolina Towns

On Jan. 1, 2005, the global system of country-by-country quotas regulating international trade in textiles and apparel is scheduled to be eliminated. Chinese factories now make about 20 percent of the clothing and textiles sold in the United States, but after the quotas are eliminated, China will probably capture as much as 70 percent of the U.S. market. This could lead to the closing of half the existing American textile mills and layoffs for tens of thousands more workers.

Want fries with outsourcing? (SharedXpertiseForums via New York Times)

Look out drive-through order takers. Your job is about to be outsourced.