Another weekend rant . . . it's the only time I have the spare time to write because like most other people I'm working my ass off trying to make ends meet the rest of the week!
Have you called ANY company's customer service lately? Whether it be an airline, a credit card company, even your healthcare insurance carrier - every time I'm speaking to India. I don't want all my personal information at the hands of another country. This is sensitive and volitle information! Because US company's are hell bent on making the most possible profit they can they off shore all their customer service to the cheap labor available in India. So now they have how much I owe, who I owe it to, how I use my health insurance and who and when I'm flying . . . that doesn't give me a comfortable feeling!
I don't know about you, but now everytime I call a company and end up speaking to India - I hang up. I wish I could cancel everything I have that off shores their work, but that would leave me with nothing. If all the jobs that have been off shored in the past 5 years would be brought back to the US - unemployment would be at 4% - not the 9% it currently is at.. I've seen the effects personally, a good friend worked for an insurance company dealing with the claims department - her whole department was shipped to India 2 years ago.
Why does our government allow American companies to do this? Aren't they concerned about the bulk of America's information being held by foreign countries. How many more thousands of jobs are being off shored raising our unemployment rate. Don't these companies realize that they are creating alot of their own problems. Take for instance the airlines - they're supposed to be doing so poorly that they have cut services to the core and charge for everything now because not enough people are flying. Well, maybe if people had the jobs that they have off shored such a customer service these same people would be able to take vacations or travel and therefore buy tickets from the airlines and then the airlines would have more customers. Or the credit card companies - they cry and whine that too many people are running up their charge accounts and then not being able to pay. Well, they probably can't pay because they lost their job or can't find one that actually pays well. Again, if they had the jobs that the credit card companies off shored - then they wouldn't be running up their charge accounts and not paying. They'd have the money to pay for what they purchase. And there again - if they had money they could purchase things and the economy would start revolving again . . . a company I used to work for put the following on their invoices, and it holds so true even today . . . "Please pay us - so we can pay them - and they can pay you."
Another issue with our government and big business - why is it that foreigners can own your franchises but American's can't afford to? Why give foreigners such financial breaks and incentives to own American business that it makes it impossible for American's to own. Have you been to a 7-11, Dunkin Donuts or a gas station lately? Find ANY that are owned and operated by American's or even people that speak English? We actually have stopped going to Dunkin Donuts because the frustration level is so high when trying to get what you want because of the language barrier. After at least 5 times not getting what we had asked for - we've given up - now Wawa is our choice for morning coffee and donuts - they are not owned by non-Americans and you can actually communicate easily!
Another example - our local Sunoco was previously owned and operated by an older gentlemen of American heritage. He employed 15 other people of American heritage. For whatever reason, he lost the franchise. It is now owned by an a man from India. He has decided, as most of the businesses do, to hire his entire family. Irregardless of the fact that they don't speak English, don't know anything about our money system and have no clue about running a gas station. Their workforce now consists of ONE english speaking, American. And they are taking advantage of him so much - it's unbelievable, but because he's been out of work for almost a year and is desperate - he's taking it. He's been there a week - they haven't had him fill out a W-2 (although he's asked many times), they won't give him a schedule - they tell him the day before what time he's to work the next day - when working 8 hour shifts he's gotten one 10 minute break only because he's repeatedly asked and whenever he has a conflict with the next day's schedule there's no negotiation - be there or you're fired. I guess they don't have to follow labor laws either.
The greed of American big business is what is causing a lot of the financial / unemployment problems of this country, but nothing is being done about it. Yes, we are the land of opportunity, but lately it seems like the only opportunities are being given to non-Americans.
Obama wants to follow the European socialist example of government - why doesn't he adopt the European polcies of not allowing foreign born people to own businesses and housing? Maybe that would save some jobs here . . .
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
The Demise of the Great IBM
IBM is going the way of American itself. . . At one time it was the icon of business. The blue shirt and tie became the IBM Uniform and set a standard for all IT companies to follow. They were the greatest - no they are becoming a self-serving, profit hungry shell of it's once great business model.
They are selling out America for profit. They were one of the few companies that showed a profit in 2009. Why? Not because of their good business practices, great product or superior service. Because they were off-shoring American jobs to India and South America where the labor force is cheaper.
Thousand of American's have lost their jobs with IBM. Not only full-time IBMers, but the contractors that they hire have suffered monthly notices of layoffs, hour reductions, wage reductions and reductions in benefits. All to bolster IBM's bottom line.
My husband is a contractor to IBM (hired through a third party vendor to work for IBM). In December of 08, a week before Christmas he was notified that the company he worked for would no longer be working with IBM and therefore his job was being eliminated. They gave him the name of another company that would be contracting to IBM and said there would be no restrictions if he went with them. With no other choice, he hired on with this company. To keep a job, he took a $5,000 cut in pay, the loss of his accrued senority for vacation time (5 weeks) and kept his fingers crossed that it would work out.
Since January 2009 - he has been laid off twice, and had over 5 hour reductions and mandatory time off without pay. Luckily, because of what he does for IBM his supervisors have been able to keep him from being laid off and up until this last reduction were able to keep his hours. But this last round of reductions have not been avoided. He now has been reduced to 34 hours a week, absolutelty no overtime and he has to take 4 non-paid days off before July 2. So basically they cut his pay 15%. But the projects he works on are dependent upon him. So he has a choice - work and not get paid, or let the projects he has created fail because he can't put the time in they need.
That's bad, but there's more. In January 2009 they were notified, with 2 weeks to make the decision, that their benefits would be increasing. For medical it went from approximately $700 monthly to $1300.00. Who the hell can afford to pay $1300 a month for medical benefits????? Not when you're making $60,000 a year.
So IBM cuts their own people and makes their contractors do the same all for a bottom line profit. Beware customers of IBM if your servers break or you need support you will be talking to India. What used to be repaired in 24 hours now will take days because the knowledge base of IBM has been destroyed. What used to have 15 on-site technicians now will have 3, with all other support coming from off-shore.
Why has our government allowed the off-shoring of our jobs to continue. Our unemployment rate increases, not only because business have stopped growing or gone out of business - because the money hungry giants are off-shoring good paying jobs to other countries. Also, IBM not only is off-shoring the jobs, they are bringing in cheap labor on H1B1 Visas. This is totally WRONG!!! To qualify for one of these Visas the company must indicate that they have tried to find qualified American workers, but were unable to and that is why they are brining in foreigners. You can't tell me that IBM can't find 20 qualified AMERICANS for each position they have available. But Americans are paid more, so I guess that makes them unqualified.
They are selling out America for profit. They were one of the few companies that showed a profit in 2009. Why? Not because of their good business practices, great product or superior service. Because they were off-shoring American jobs to India and South America where the labor force is cheaper.
Thousand of American's have lost their jobs with IBM. Not only full-time IBMers, but the contractors that they hire have suffered monthly notices of layoffs, hour reductions, wage reductions and reductions in benefits. All to bolster IBM's bottom line.
My husband is a contractor to IBM (hired through a third party vendor to work for IBM). In December of 08, a week before Christmas he was notified that the company he worked for would no longer be working with IBM and therefore his job was being eliminated. They gave him the name of another company that would be contracting to IBM and said there would be no restrictions if he went with them. With no other choice, he hired on with this company. To keep a job, he took a $5,000 cut in pay, the loss of his accrued senority for vacation time (5 weeks) and kept his fingers crossed that it would work out.
Since January 2009 - he has been laid off twice, and had over 5 hour reductions and mandatory time off without pay. Luckily, because of what he does for IBM his supervisors have been able to keep him from being laid off and up until this last reduction were able to keep his hours. But this last round of reductions have not been avoided. He now has been reduced to 34 hours a week, absolutelty no overtime and he has to take 4 non-paid days off before July 2. So basically they cut his pay 15%. But the projects he works on are dependent upon him. So he has a choice - work and not get paid, or let the projects he has created fail because he can't put the time in they need.
That's bad, but there's more. In January 2009 they were notified, with 2 weeks to make the decision, that their benefits would be increasing. For medical it went from approximately $700 monthly to $1300.00. Who the hell can afford to pay $1300 a month for medical benefits????? Not when you're making $60,000 a year.
So IBM cuts their own people and makes their contractors do the same all for a bottom line profit. Beware customers of IBM if your servers break or you need support you will be talking to India. What used to be repaired in 24 hours now will take days because the knowledge base of IBM has been destroyed. What used to have 15 on-site technicians now will have 3, with all other support coming from off-shore.
Why has our government allowed the off-shoring of our jobs to continue. Our unemployment rate increases, not only because business have stopped growing or gone out of business - because the money hungry giants are off-shoring good paying jobs to other countries. Also, IBM not only is off-shoring the jobs, they are bringing in cheap labor on H1B1 Visas. This is totally WRONG!!! To qualify for one of these Visas the company must indicate that they have tried to find qualified American workers, but were unable to and that is why they are brining in foreigners. You can't tell me that IBM can't find 20 qualified AMERICANS for each position they have available. But Americans are paid more, so I guess that makes them unqualified.
College & University's Rip Off
My daughter's a sophmore in college at a major university. First it's rediculous what the tuition is, but what makes that worse is the fact that so many of her "professors" aren't really professors. They are "part time lecturers" or worse graduate students. I don't pay over $3,000 a course for her to be taught by non-professional teachers. I pay that kind of money so she can get the best education! No so somebody can get part time money or pay off some of their tuition by teaching!
The other problem - and this problem is occuring everywhere - not just in college - is that the teachers are not engllish as a first language professors. Or to be policically incorrect - they're not Americans. Why do we have foreigners teaching in our institutions when I'm sure there are enough qualified American born teachers looking for the opportunity to be a professor. Her hardest courses (for her) math have all been taught by part-time, non-engligh speaking "teachers". The subject is hard enough for her, but then she has to deal with the problem of actually understanding them when they are lecturing.
Would it be too much to ask to have english speaking professors in an American institution???? Is is that hard to find qualified American teachers? Maybe this is why our country is behind in math and science compared to the rest of the civilized world. Because the institutions don't provide adequate instruction from elementary school on. The worse teachers my daughter has had have been math and science teachers. Then she gets to college and the same thing happens again.
Maybe instead of spending millions in sports stadiums and gyms and "pretty" buildings the universities could spend the money on hiring qualified teachers that the students are actually able to speak english and be actual teachers. Teaching is something that is learned, just because you're good at something does not mean you are able to actually teach it. It's like being a coach in a sport - just because you can play the sport well does not mean that you can teach it. For example: Magic Johson of the Los Angeles Lakers was a fabulous basketball player. When he retired from playing, he attempted to be a coach. It didn't work out. Teaching is the same - just because you can be a mathmetician, doesn't mean you can teach it.
So on top of the $3,000 for each course, I am having to pay additional for tutoring (outside of the university) so she can understand the material. Why outside the university - because their tutoring is again, not done by teachers - it's done by students that want to earn extra money. And again, just because they passed the course previously does not mean they can teach somebody else how to do it.
I just want to get what I'm paying for - if you give me a graduate student or a part time non professor - then charge me less because I'm getting less than I paid for!!
The other problem - and this problem is occuring everywhere - not just in college - is that the teachers are not engllish as a first language professors. Or to be policically incorrect - they're not Americans. Why do we have foreigners teaching in our institutions when I'm sure there are enough qualified American born teachers looking for the opportunity to be a professor. Her hardest courses (for her) math have all been taught by part-time, non-engligh speaking "teachers". The subject is hard enough for her, but then she has to deal with the problem of actually understanding them when they are lecturing.
Would it be too much to ask to have english speaking professors in an American institution???? Is is that hard to find qualified American teachers? Maybe this is why our country is behind in math and science compared to the rest of the civilized world. Because the institutions don't provide adequate instruction from elementary school on. The worse teachers my daughter has had have been math and science teachers. Then she gets to college and the same thing happens again.
Maybe instead of spending millions in sports stadiums and gyms and "pretty" buildings the universities could spend the money on hiring qualified teachers that the students are actually able to speak english and be actual teachers. Teaching is something that is learned, just because you're good at something does not mean you are able to actually teach it. It's like being a coach in a sport - just because you can play the sport well does not mean that you can teach it. For example: Magic Johson of the Los Angeles Lakers was a fabulous basketball player. When he retired from playing, he attempted to be a coach. It didn't work out. Teaching is the same - just because you can be a mathmetician, doesn't mean you can teach it.
So on top of the $3,000 for each course, I am having to pay additional for tutoring (outside of the university) so she can understand the material. Why outside the university - because their tutoring is again, not done by teachers - it's done by students that want to earn extra money. And again, just because they passed the course previously does not mean they can teach somebody else how to do it.
I just want to get what I'm paying for - if you give me a graduate student or a part time non professor - then charge me less because I'm getting less than I paid for!!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
The Legend of Punxatawny Phil . . .
February 2nd has come and gone, and that cute groundhog, Phil, has made the same prediction again - 6 more weeks of winter. For the past 10 years he has seen his shadow, indicating 6 more weeks of winter. Only in 2007 he didn't see his shadow, and forecast an early spring. At this point in winter, I'm tired of it! Tired of being cold, of mostly cloudy days, and everything being dead and ugly, so I always hope for some sign that spring is on it's way.
I got curious, where did the tradition of a groundhog being the prognosticator of spring start. So I did a little research and found, as with most "American" holidays, its beginnings can be found in European traditions, and like most European traditions there is a link to religion, and like most religious celebrations, there is a link to pegan celebrations. Everything is connected in some way.
It all started in ancient Ireland when the celebration was called Imbolc, it was a time for purification and celebration of the spring that was to come. The Celtic goddess Brigid was closely associated with this celebration. She was the goddess of poetry and healing, holy wells and sacred flames. Fire, initiation and purificatin were important aspects of the festival. After Christianity took over most of the European continent, the celebration became Candlemas or the Festival of Lights. This is the day when all the candles that were to be used in the church during the coming year were brought into the church and a blessing was said over them. February 2nd also has links to Jewish law, as it took 40 days after a birth for a woman to be cleansed following the birth of a son. February 2nd is 40 days after Christmas. That might explain why this day is also referred to as the Purification of the Virign.
Many of Pennsylvania's first settlers were of German ancestry. German folklore held that on Candlemas Day, if a hedgehog saw its shadow there would be six more weeks of winter, else it was almost over. The German's kept many of their traditions, but had to adapt them to their new country. There were no hedgehogs in Pennsylvania, but the groundhog was in great supply and similar in appearance to the hedgehog. And the groundhog was already considered somewhat of a legend as the local Indians, Delawares, had a legend entitled "Wojak, the Groundhog" (where we got the name woodchuck), they considered the groundhog their ancestrial grandfather. So the groundhog started his days as a weatherman.
Punxatawny is located 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, in rural Pennsylvania. The population in 2000 (the last census) was 6,271. The entire town of Punxatawny encompasses 3.4 square miles. February 2, 1841 is the earliest written reference to Groundhog's Day. The Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper's first official observance was in 1886. Phil has continued to gain notariety, the 1993 movie Groundhog Day (which was actually filmed in Woodstock, Illinois) started the consistent increase each year in attendance at the annual event, held at Gobbler's Knob in Punxatawny. Since the movie there have been years that attendance was as high as 30,000!!!! Phil also tried his hand at stardom, appearing on Oprah in 1995. There are even "copy cat" Phil's. Alaska doesn't have a large population of groundhogs, so they adapted the tradition to use a Marmot, which is very similar and is in the same family. In 2009, Marmot Day, became an official observation in Alaska when Govenor Sarah Palin signed the legislature into law.
Although Phil, and many "imposters", make the nightly news on February 2nd each year, his predictions are not that accurate. Phil has seen his shadow 100 out of 115 outings, according to meterologists he has only been correct 39%. But he's still probably the cutest weatherman around!!
I got curious, where did the tradition of a groundhog being the prognosticator of spring start. So I did a little research and found, as with most "American" holidays, its beginnings can be found in European traditions, and like most European traditions there is a link to religion, and like most religious celebrations, there is a link to pegan celebrations. Everything is connected in some way.
It all started in ancient Ireland when the celebration was called Imbolc, it was a time for purification and celebration of the spring that was to come. The Celtic goddess Brigid was closely associated with this celebration. She was the goddess of poetry and healing, holy wells and sacred flames. Fire, initiation and purificatin were important aspects of the festival. After Christianity took over most of the European continent, the celebration became Candlemas or the Festival of Lights. This is the day when all the candles that were to be used in the church during the coming year were brought into the church and a blessing was said over them. February 2nd also has links to Jewish law, as it took 40 days after a birth for a woman to be cleansed following the birth of a son. February 2nd is 40 days after Christmas. That might explain why this day is also referred to as the Purification of the Virign.
Many of Pennsylvania's first settlers were of German ancestry. German folklore held that on Candlemas Day, if a hedgehog saw its shadow there would be six more weeks of winter, else it was almost over. The German's kept many of their traditions, but had to adapt them to their new country. There were no hedgehogs in Pennsylvania, but the groundhog was in great supply and similar in appearance to the hedgehog. And the groundhog was already considered somewhat of a legend as the local Indians, Delawares, had a legend entitled "Wojak, the Groundhog" (where we got the name woodchuck), they considered the groundhog their ancestrial grandfather. So the groundhog started his days as a weatherman.
Punxatawny is located 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, in rural Pennsylvania. The population in 2000 (the last census) was 6,271. The entire town of Punxatawny encompasses 3.4 square miles. February 2, 1841 is the earliest written reference to Groundhog's Day. The Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper's first official observance was in 1886. Phil has continued to gain notariety, the 1993 movie Groundhog Day (which was actually filmed in Woodstock, Illinois) started the consistent increase each year in attendance at the annual event, held at Gobbler's Knob in Punxatawny. Since the movie there have been years that attendance was as high as 30,000!!!! Phil also tried his hand at stardom, appearing on Oprah in 1995. There are even "copy cat" Phil's. Alaska doesn't have a large population of groundhogs, so they adapted the tradition to use a Marmot, which is very similar and is in the same family. In 2009, Marmot Day, became an official observation in Alaska when Govenor Sarah Palin signed the legislature into law.
Although Phil, and many "imposters", make the nightly news on February 2nd each year, his predictions are not that accurate. Phil has seen his shadow 100 out of 115 outings, according to meterologists he has only been correct 39%. But he's still probably the cutest weatherman around!!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The Method of My Madness . . .
There are many reasons for this blog . . . I always wanted to be a writer, I love doing research and have found a lot of interesting information over the years and thought other people might also find it interesting, and I have a lot of opinions.
So, I'll give it a go . . . let me know what you think . . .
So, I'll give it a go . . . let me know what you think . . .
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