Job Cuts

201,000 jobs were created recently by private employers, certainly a step towards fixing the unemployment crisis. However, this was actually predicted  by the ADP Employer Services Report. Nonetheless, the rate of recovery in regards to people without a job is moving at a reasonable pace. Although there is continuous downsizing in the public sector, the number of planned layoffs in March at U.S. firms fell slightly in March. Funnily enough, the government has been the leader in job reduction with the highest number of planned layoffs from the last 12 months.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42336451/ns/business-eye_on_the_economy/

This article really threw around a lot of numbers, and particularily large numbers (in the ten-thousands). This suprised me, it seems so weird that creating hundreds of thousands of job is just a number being thrown out into this ho-hum article. Even though so many more jobs were created, we cannot expect a change in the actual unemployment percentage- it would take the creation of a lot more jobs before that would happen. I also thought it was very ironic that the government is actually hindering job creation. I also thought that people with government jobs could feel the most secure about maintaining their position. I was surprised that the government has been laying so many people off.

Brain Waste

Many immigrants come to America in search of a better life. Unfortunately, in too many cases, these immigrants are not getting to work at their full potential. Unemployment is so high and jobs are hard to find, especially when you're not necesarily fluent in English compared to Spanish or employers aren't sure how to compare foreign credentials to those here in America. The term 'brain waste' is used to describe the instances when successful people in other countries come to America and end up working random, realtively smaller jobs such as a sales clerk or a taxi driver. For instance, Maria Montenegro came to America as a doctor. She's actually worked many areas of medicine in her profession; however, now she works as a medical assistant. And that's after she worked as a sales clerk and babysitter. All in all, it hurts everyone in that the immigrants aren't earning as much as they have the potential to earn, for employers it means less potential candidtaes for jobs, and for America as a whole it meansa missed chance at hiring professionals in fields they are needed in.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42288751/ns/health/

America isn't all it's cracked up to be anymore. It's always seemed to be the thing to say that America is a place for opportunity, a place where dreams come true! In all reality though, we're struggling. There's hardly enough room for Americans to find jobs. When you throw immigrants into the mix it just means more people demanding a smaller proportion of available positions. It's sad though, when a well-to-do businessman or doctor or something  comes here and ends up working at places many teenagers end up working at. It's just not right, it's very unfair. The best thing for these people would actually be to stay in their own country where, whether they believe it or not, there is actually a higher chance that they will succeed and prosper.


Maria Montenegro, an immigrant from Colombia, is one example of
someone who is not reaching their full potential here in America.



Desperation in Japan

Many Japanese people are still struggling with survival and loss every day. There is one school that is missing many of its students and has now adopted 400 homeless and lost people.  These people are sleeping on the floor and the building is also without running water or heat. One mother who has two kids of her own was telling the reporter that the children don't completely understand what has happened. Many of these kids are also missing their parents and there are posters for missing people everywhere. There was also one man who was just eating his second hot meal in the last ten days. His whole life is in limbo right now as his wife and three daughters are still missing.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/42196345#42196345

The gravity of the whole situation in Japan is absolutely mind-blowing. I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to have no place to call a home anymore nor any more of my belongings. It's especially tragic when people are missing their wives, husbands, children, and/or parents. The man mentioned above has really had his whole life swept away and now he's stuck in limbo. I don't know if it would make it easier to know where they are. Not knowing must be killer but knowing they're dead would also leave very little to live for and would make the struggle that much harder.

Complications due to Tainted Wipes



Dr. Christine Nyquist holds a sample of the bacteria Bacillus cereus



Doctors at the Children’s Hospital in Aurora, Colorado set up red flags about contaminated wipes from the supplier Triad Group of Hartland, Wisconsin. The hospital uses approximately 2,500 wipes a day, a dangerous number if an unknown quantity of these wipes are infected. Actually, back on November 29, 2010, the FDA started an inspection. Unfortunately, problems with the wipes started back in 2009. Michael Rogers, the acting director of the Office of Regional Operations for the FDA, claimed that Triad’s plant posed no “imminent health hazard.” Peyton Armstrong, a 10-year-old battling leukemia, was one of the victims of the tainted wipes. He contracted a deadly infection consequently delaying his chemotherapy. Jessica Armstrong, his mother, is deeply saddened for the added stress of infection and has bonded with another mother whose son died victim to contaminated wipes with the common belief that no other child should have to endure this.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41914778/ns/health-infectious_diseases/



Peyton Armstrong had to delay his chemotherapy due to the
 Bacillus cereus infection he contracted



The world becomes a scarier place when medical supplies that are supposed to clean and protect against infection end up being the causing agents. When I was mentoring at the hospital I saw countless wipes being used, particularly for IVs. If this company, Triad, has had so many run-ins with contaminated products, they should really be shut down. In the medical field, cleanliness and sterility are not just a necessity, they’re a must. I feel especially bad for the family that now has to battle this infection along with leukemia and the chemotherapy!



Protestors in Middle East Rise, As do Our Gas Prices

Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve Chairman, has recently that due to uprisings in the Middle East, oil prices will also rise some. However he also denied that we would face a lot of prolonged inflation. The prices of consumer items will rise, consequently temporarily curbing consumer spending. We'd be in real trouble and on our way into a recession if gas prices reached as high as $5 a gallon. Bernanke also reported that the economy is still on track to recovery, but not at a very fast or necessarily impressive rate. Unemployment is still high and is going to take several years to get it back to "normal." Lastly, he reported on the bond-purchase program that is working towards more consumer spending, lower interest rates on loans, and higher stock prices. The program is set to end in June.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41845694/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/

I'm so disappointed to see gas prices on the rise again. I was recently in the cities and prices down there are about 10-12 cents higher than they are here. I'm just hoping those prices aren't on there way to our local gas stations! Even though Bernanke says the temporary rise in prices and inflation isn't going to be too bad, it's still very discouraging for Americans. I also think people are hoping for a relatively quick recovery. We need a quick recovery otherwise I really think a rise in prices and high unemployment are going to curb spending more than Bernanke is guessing.