Thoughts and opinions from a Priest in the PNCC
The Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) is now accepting applications for the position of Editor of God’s Field. Click here to view/download a copy of the job description and necessary qualifications. The position will be compensated at $1,000 per issue with the expectation of 12 issues annually.
Interested applicants email qualifications to the Office of the Prime Bishop by E-mail. The deadline for applications is June 30, 2013.
Forwarded by Dr. John Guzlowski
GRINNELL COLLEGE: Tenure-track position in the Department of English (Ethnic American Literature and Poetry Writing), starting Fall 2012. Assistant Professor (Ph.D.) preferred; Instructor (ABD) or Associate Professor possible. Grinnell College is a highly selective undergraduate liberal arts college whose English department offers courses in a broad range of literary traditions spanning the long history and present multiplicity of writing in English. The College’s curriculum is founded on a strong advising system and close student-faculty interaction, with few college-wide requirements beyond the completion of a major. The teaching schedule of five courses over two semesters will include Literary Analysis, a survey and an advanced seminar in Ethnic American literature, and eventually introductory and advanced courses in poetry writing. Every few years one course will be Tutorial (a writing/critical thinking course for first-year students, oriented toward a special topic of the instructor’s choice).
In letters of application, candidates should discuss their interest in developing as a teacher and scholar in an undergraduate liberal arts college that emphasizes close student-faculty interaction. They also should discuss what they can contribute to efforts to cultivate a wide diversity of people and perspectives, a core value of Grinnell College. To be assured of full consideration, all application materials should be received by November 11, 2011.
Please submit applications online by visiting our application website. Candidates will need to upload a letter of application, curriculum vita, transcripts (copies are acceptable), statement of teaching philosophy, a set of recent teaching evaluations, a writing sample, and also provide email addresses for three references. Questions about this search should be directed to the search chair, Professor Astrid Henry at 641-269-4655.
Grinnell College is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to attracting and retaining highly qualified individuals who collectively reflect the diversity of the nation. No applicant shall be discriminated against on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, marital status, religion, creed, or disability.
From a report of the Congressional Budget Office: CBO Reports Record Deficits For 2011 Along With Slow Job Growth
The report will likely accelerate calls by Congress to reduce spending for the remainder of fiscal 2011, which began on November 1. The House Majority, in the coming weeks, will consider a cut of at least $55 to $60 billion from fiscal 2011, bringing non-discretionary spending in line with fiscal 2008 levels. While certain spending cuts are a wise conservation of resources (cut military spending, get out of foreign wars, stop extravagant support of nations like Israel, cut back Homeland Security to reduce the overwrought sense of fear imposed on most Americans), spending on support like unemployment insurance as a bridge, and job retraining, are a wise investment. We have need new competitiveness, and these sorts of initiatives will only make us stronger. Of course, we could just send the unemployed off to foreign lands — and reduce the surplus population.
Deficit: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected the deficit for fiscal year 2011, will be almost $1.5 trillion, or 9.8 percent of the gross domestic product, up from $1.29 trillion in 2010.Employment Outlook:
Jobs Recovery Slower than Past Recessions: CBO said the recovery in jobs has been much slower in this recession than after past recessions and it predicted economic growth will remain “below potential” for several more years.
Hiring Slowed by Changes in the Economy: CBO said payroll employment, which plunged by 7.3 million during the recent recession, rose by only 70,000 jobs, on net, between June 2009 and December 2010. “The recovery in employment has been slowed not only by the slow growth in output, but also by structural changes in the labor market, such as a mismatch between the requirements of available jobs and the skills of job seekers,” the report said.
Employment Will Not Recover Until 2016: CBO expects the economy to add about 2.5 million jobs a year from 2011 to 2016. However, it cautioned, “Even with significant increases in the number of jobs, a substantial reduction in the unemployment rate will take some time.” The unemployment rate should fall to 9.2 percent by the end of 2011, 8.2 percent by the end of 2012, and 7.4 percent by the end of 2013 – reaching 5.3 percent only in 2016, according to CBO’s forecast.
Other reports worth noting from the Congressional Research Service:
At the end of November, slews of unemployed persons will be cut off from unemployment benefits when emergency federal extensions end.
It is important to recall that unemployment benefits are not an entitlement program or a form of welfare. Unemployment is an insurance program that tides folks over through temporary periods of unemployment. It allows them to maintain their dignity and the basics of life so that they may be best prepared to re-enter the job market (it is a lot harder to get re-hired if you haven’t had a shower or a decent meal in weeks, or are living out of the back seat of your car). It is also a program that requires the active participation of beneficiaries in job searches, skills readiness training, and other such programs that best prepare them for re-employment.
Unfortunately, every recent recession has seen an increase in the time necessary for a jobs recovery. This recession has been by far the worst. The chart below shows the relatively fast jobs recovery following past recessions. Jobs recoveries began to lengthen with the 1981 recession.
There is no jobs recovery right now, and many of the jobs unemployed persons lost will never come back. Many have already received a full 99 weeks of benefits. Many will need significant retraining to prepare for new jobs. With the November cut-off, others will never get that far. In the following article, the National Employment Law Project projects that 1.2 million people are faced with a November 30th cut-off. The question is, how will they and their families eat, how will their rents be paid, how will they prepare for jobs if they become homeless and transient? As Christians, and particularly members of the PNCC which has a long history of advocacy for workers, we need to ask those questions and make our voices heard so that those who are ready, willing, and able to work are not abandoned.
From NELP: Some 1.2 Million Jobless Workers Will Lose UI Benefits if No Extension, Report Says
About 1.2 million jobless workers will lose emergency unemployment insurance benefits if Congress fails to extend the benefits again by Nov. 30, according to a report released Oct. 22 by the National Employment Law Project.
The 10-page report found that of those 1.2 million workers, 387,000 are workers who were recently laid off and are now receiving six months of regular state benefits.
“These are people who have been laid off through no fault of their own and are desperately looking for jobs, but would be snapped from the lifeline of jobless benefits just as the holiday season kicks into high gear,” said NELP executive director Christine Owens. “Congress will have to act fast when it reconvenes to avoid a catastrophe. The clock is ticking.”
California, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and New York top the list of states that would face the most cutoffs, according to the report.
Report FindingsThe report includes the following findings:
- Since the unemployment insurance program was created in response to the Great Depression, Congress has never cut federally funded jobless benefits when unemployment was this high for this long (over 9 percent for 17 consecutive months).
- Businesses and the struggling economy—especially the retail sector—will take “a major blow” if Congress fails to continue the federal jobless benefits during the holiday shopping season.
- In 2009, the increase in the number of people in poverty would have doubled were it not for unemployment insurance benefits.
- With the average unemployment extension weekly check of $290 replacing only half of the average family’s expenditures on transportation, food, and housing, jobless workers have a major incentive to look for work.
- The 51-day lapse of the federal UI extension program this summer caused substantial hardship for many of the more than 2.5 million unemployed workers cut off from benefits.
“Cutting unemployed job seekers off the extended unemployment benefits they need and have counted on receiving is hard any time, but doing so around Thanksgiving and the ensuing holidays is especially harsh—and counterproductive,” Owens said.
In New York, per the Department of Labor (my employer), 190,000 will be loosing benefits immediately:
NY state prepares for end of jobless benefits: New York state prepares for end to extended unemployment benefits; Congress controls fate
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York is preparing for the possibility that an extra 190,000 residents could lose emergency unemployment insurance benefits at year’s end if Congress fails to act next week, state Labor Commissioner Colleen Gardner said Friday.
“This is no time to cut off benefits,” Gardner said. “We still have a job market where there’s only one job opening for every five people looking for work.
“We estimate that for every dollar invested in unemployment insurance benefits, close to $2 is spent in every local economy,” she added in a conference call with reporters. “That’s especially important between now and the end of the year as the holiday time approaches.”
More than 100,000 New Yorkers already have exhausted their emergency benefits. Some 30 percent of those have tapped public assistance, typically food stamps and sometimes the Medicaid health care program for the poor, Gardner said.
An additional 190,000 state residents could lose out by Jan. 1 or around 400,000 by May 1, she said.
Republicans in Congress want spending cuts of $5 billion to $6 billion a month as a condition for extending emergency benefits scheduled to expire in December. Up to 2 million people could lose the benefits if the Democratic-controlled Congress doesn’t act in the postelection lame-duck session.
Jobless people are eligible for up to 99 weeks of benefits in most states. The first 26 weeks are paid by states. About 3.7 million draw them now.
Democrats argue that the extended benefits should be paid for with deficit spending because it injects money into the economy. Jobless people immediately spend the cash, they explain. But Republicans note that the government had to borrow 37 cents of every dollar it spent last year, and it’s time to draw the line.
From a Call to Action by IWJ (please sign the NELP Petition to Congress):
The good news for the new unemployment numbers: The economy added 151,000 jobs last month. The bad news: Official unemployment remained at 9.6 of the work force. Long-term unemployment continues to affect almost 42 percent of the nation’s 14.8 million jobless workers, according to the National Employment Law Project. The average spell of joblessness grew to 33.9 weeks in October, the worst since the government began collectinmg this data in the 1950s.
But, it’s one thing to talk about numbers and quite another to remember living human beings: unemployed workers and their families who are suffering severely. Every day, untold numbers of unemployed workers are asking: How can I feed my family? How can I buy the medicine to heal my sick child? How can I pay the mortgage? How?
On November 30th jobless benefit extensions expire. Unless Congress acts to extend benefits for another year, two million workers will be cut off next month alone and any brief extensions will still put millions at risk of cut-offs next year. Not only would this be catastrophic for millions of families; it would deny struggling businesses needed revenue during the rapidly approaching holiday season and beyond.
We can’t let this happen! Please call your Senators and Representative 202-224-3121 to urge them to extend jobless benefits for another year. Please tell your relatives and friends to call also.
It doesn’t matter whether your members of congress were elected, defeated or didn’t run last week. They are still your representatives now and need to hear your voices loud and clear.
And then join tens of thousands by signing this online petition to Congress:
The holidays will soon be here. Our joint efforts can make the difference between a season devoid of hope and joy for so many or a renewed sense that in the midst of pain there is a glimmer of light on the other side.
A story in the US News and World Report: 20 Industries Where Jobs Are Coming Back notes that jobs in religious and charitable institutions (with vocations being the largest share of jobs in that sectors) is among the top 20 areas with job growth. In fact, that sector has shown growth since before the recession began.
If you’ve been paying close attention to the economy and you’re inclined to look on the bright side, well, finally there is one.
As President Obama has been eager to point out, the private sector has been adding jobs for several months in a row. It’s still way too early to declare the return of prosperity, since nearly 15 million Americans remain unemployed and some key industries are still mired in recession. But the good news is finally starting to outweigh the bad, and economists hope that a virtuous cycle will soon replace a culture of gloom: Gradual hiring eventually makes consumers more optimistic, and as they spend more, business confidence grows as well. If that happens, companies are likely to keep on hiring.
Everybody wants to know where the jobs are, of course, so I analyzed data from the Department of Labor on employment levels in dozens of industries over the last three years. In most industries, the trend is similar: Job losses have stopped, but hiring hasn’t really picked up. So I looked for industries that have shown a notable increase in jobs over the last year.
In most of these fields, total employment is still far below the levels at the end of 2007, when the recession began. That illustrates how far we need to go until the economy is truly healthy again. But a recovery has to start somewhere, and these industries are the first to feel a hint of optimism. Here are 20 fields where jobs are starting to return:
…
Religious and nonprofit groups. Donations dipped during the recession, but religious, nonprofit, social, and business organizations have fared okay lately as endowments linked to the stock market have recovered and other sources of funding have stabilized. Clergy—a somewhat recessionproof calling—represent the single largest profession within this group.
Jobs gained in 2010: 56,000
Change since 2007: 9,000 jobs gained
For those seeking, both out of school, on second or third careers, or in retirement, the Savonarola Theological Seminary offers scholarships and other assistance so you can attend.
To find out more about vocations to the diaconate and the priesthood, please contact the Savonarola Theological Seminary of the Polish National Catholic Church, 1031 Cedar Ave, Scranton, PA 18505. School, (570) 961-9288, Office, (570) 343-0100. You may also E-mail me and I will get your E-mail to the right people.
New website for teens who work
Teens looking for jobs have a new web site that will offer them tips on how to apply, interview and more.
There are a lot of rules for teens who work, so the State Labor Department has put together a new website that answers questions about work papers and hours.
Department spokeswoman Michelle Duffy says this is the time of the year the job market could pick up for teens.
“We’re hoping with the holiday season, October starts to pick up with retailers in particular starting to hire for the holiday season and then they start to really ramp it up in November and then December is the peak hiring time,” said Duffy.
Duffy says parents and kids are often calling the labor department to get information on that first job.