Archive for January, 2009
January 30th, 2009
Today, President Obama announced his middle class task force, chaired by Veep Joe Biden. The task force, according to the stories coming out of Washington Friday afternoon — and according to the White House Web site — will expand opportunities for education and training; improve the work-family balance; restore labor standards, including workplace safety; and protecting retirement security.
It was that last note than caught my immediate attention: protect retirement security. I can only dream that will mean Social Security, 401ks, and, oh, my, pensions. Read more here and here.
But, then, I thought: What’s middle class? I’m pretty sure Warren Buffet isn’t middle class, but is the mayor? A school teacher with 30 years on the job? How about a cop? Firefighter? Me?
I went looking for definitions. Most people I know define themselves as middle class. It’s way more a state of mind than a reflection of the pocketbook. And, that state of mind depends in great measure on where you live. Middle class pocketbooks in New York City are a lot fatter than middle class pocketbooks in Rockford.
So, what does a middle class pocketbook look like? Depends on who’s being quoted. Here are some numbers I found from Reuters.
“Most people tend to think of themselves as middle class unless they’re (billionaire investor) Warren Buffet or really poor,” said J.D. Foster, an economist and senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation.
He said he defined the upper 20 percent of earners as “upper income,” the lower 20 percent as “lower income” and the 60 percent in the middle as “middle income” or middle class. He cited a Congressional Budget Office report that put that range at $15,900 and below for people in the lower income range and $120,600 or above for those in the upper income tier.”
And, the Reuters story continues: “During his presidential campaign Obama promised “middle class tax cuts” for households earning less than $200,000 a year. That would imply an income cap, above which earners are considered to be making more than middle-class wages.
“U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell recently suggested reducing the 25 percent tax rate “currently applied to the middle class” to 15 percent. The 25 percent rate applies to families whose incomes are between $65,100 and $131,450 annually or to single people with incomes roughly between $32,000 and $79,000.”
Are you middle class? It’s going to be most interesting to see how Obama-Biden define it.
January 30th, 2009
Thursday morning, I sat with the Rockford Register Star’s Editorial Board and watched (via live video streaming at rrstar.com) our former governor, Rod Blagojevich, defend himself before the Illinois’ senate’s impeachment hearings. A couple hours later, he was gone and Pat Quinn was in.
Friday morning the newspaper’s front page headline was “Bye-Bye Blago.”I suspect most Illinoisans have wanted to say that for a long, long time. We are embarrassed by our former governor, we are frustrated and fearful of the damage done over at least three years. We knew he had to go if we were to fix things and move forward.
And, yet …. I sat there watching Blago’s 46-minute-10-second, stream-of-consciousness in which he told of his childhood and wandered onto such as Elizabeth Taylor and John Warner. And, I thought, “what if I were his mother….”
Thursday-Blago was a little boy run amok; a child seriously in need of an adult to take his hand and lead him — even screaming — out of the room. Thursday-Blago was sad and everyone who watched did so waiting for a train wreck. Thursday-Blago embarrasssed himself and no adult did a thing to help.
If I were his mother, I simply could not have sat back and watched him implode. For the sake of the little boy he once was, I would have gotten him away from that podium and taken him to someone who could help.
I am not his mother. Bye-bye Blago.
January 30th, 2009
As of Friday, we’re caught up from what circulation director Scott Daily calls the “tsunami.” No doubt about it, some readers of the Sunday Register Star are fanatical about their TV book. Last Sunday, we announced that we’d be delivering the TV book only to those subscribers who asked for it. Don’t want; don’t ask.
Beginning on Sunday, Feb. 15, only those subscribers who request the TV book will get it. You can opt-in by calling (
(815) 987-1332 or (815) 987-1335), e-mailing (tvbook@rrstar.com) or registering online.
So, how many is a “tsunami”? Does everyone want the TV book, as I was told by a couple of callers? Or is it just a handful?
I dropped in to talk with the circ director several times this week because it’s Scott’s folks who are taking the brunt of the opt-ins. I’ve only gotten six letters and five e-mails, all of them questioning my skill sets and several of them thinking we are killing the tv book completely. I hate ticking off readers no matter what the reason, but a couple dozen angry letters is not the worst I have ever experienced.
How bad was it in circulation? About 7,000 subscribers have opted in since last Sunday. As of Friday, we’re caught up with all the calls, online opt-ins and e-mails, Scott said. He still has to handle the snail mail, but there’s only about 500 of them and they’re included in his 7,000 estimate.
There will be more. Some folks won’t have seen the first announcements. Others will put off opting in until the last minute. Still others will not realize what’s going on until there’s no TV book in their papers on Feb. 15. We will continue to take care of opt-ins no matter when they contact us, although you opt-in after Feb. 12, you’ll have to wait until Feb. 22 to get your book delivered.
Is 7,000 a tsunami? It sure felt like it. That’s a lot of customer contact in five days. And, now, here comes the “but.” We have 46,000 subscriber households eligible to receive the Sunday TV book. To date, just a hair more than 15 percent want the book. A lot of subscribers want the book; more will. But, it’s not everyone, not by a long shot.
January 23rd, 2009
I’m pretty sure I could. That’s what former Merrill Lynch CEO and now former Bank of America honcho John Thain made at Merrill Lynch in 2007. Thain resigned from BOA this week following reports that he pushed through executive-level bonuses at Merrill Lynch just before it was taken over by BOA the first of January.
In an earlier post this week I asked how he could sleep at night. Thought you might appreciate this Associated Press story that comes to the disheartening conclusion that these wizards of finance are slow to get the message: The obscene gravy boat done cracked.
January 23rd, 2009
Assistant Business Editor Isaac Guerrero flagged this post for me just now: “France will offer all 18-year-olds a free daily copy of the newspaper of their choice, President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday, announcing a package of measures to help the beleaguered press.”
The newspapers will cover the costs of the free papers and France will pay for distribution. Sarkozy also said France would double its spending on government advertising, freeze postal rates and reduce payroll taxes for newsagents.
I assure you that is a multi-million dollar chunk of change, and probably a lot more. And, oh, is it seductive. I mean, while shouldn’t American newspapers stick out their hands? Everyone else is having their palms greased with government bailouts and the reporters covering those bailouts are wondering if they’ll still have jobs when they get back to the office.
That’s a temptation we need to resist. Newspapers ought to be able to compete for the same loans, incentives and breaks as everyone else, but a bailout? A bailout a la the banks and financial sectors? No, a thousand times no. The absolute last thing we need in the United States is a news and information industry controlled by the government.
For all our warts, the U.S. news media is the strongest, most aggressive and least beholden of any in the world. You might not like how we do it, but you can be sure of one thing: Try though it might, the government is not controlling it. And, over time, the rough and tumble culture of the First Amendment world defines the foundation of our freedoms: speech, press, religion, assembly and petition.
Gaad, that French cash sounds good. So tempting. No.
January 22nd, 2009
When former President Richard Nixon said “I am not a crook,” we all laughed, well, at least sort of. But, I have to tell you that compared to some of the Wall Street financial executives, Tricky Dicky, as he used to be called, was an amateur.
Check out this story; unless you’re one of those “defend the corporate execs” types, this will just add fuel to your already flaming fires. John Thain, former Merrill Lynch CEO and, until today, the top of the ladder at Bank of America, figured he could push through bonuses under the radar in December, rather than the customary January.
This is what the Associated Press reported today: “Thain resigned from Bank of America Thursday following news that Merrill Lynch had rushed out its year-end bonuses, paying them just before Bank of America completed its acquisition of Merrill Lynch and sought $20 billion in additional (bailout funding).
OK, so Thain didn’t get his bonus; these were for those a couple rungs down the ladder, but what was he thinking? The short answer is: He wasn’t.
Guys like Thain long ago forgot how real people live. For them, it’s all about the money — theirs.
January 21st, 2009
Among the things the new president did today were three that ought to become “best practices” here at home.
He froze salaries for White House staff earning $100,000 or more, about 100 people in all.
He signed new Freedom of Information Act rules, making it harder to keep the workings of government secret.
And, he tightened up ethics rules to reduce potential conflicts of interest with guidelines about when administration officials can work on issues on which they previously lobbied governmental agencies, and banning them from lobbying the Obama administration after leaving government service.
Let’s see: freeze wages, open up government so the public knows what’s going on, and make sure conflicts of interest don’t derail good government. What’s good for the Obama administration ought to be good enough for the local folks, too.
January 21st, 2009
It it were up to me (and it’s probably a good thing it isn’t), I would eliminate the Sunday television listings booklet. I switched to TIVO years ago, and after swearing under my breath for the couple hours it took me to hook it up and program it, I haven’t picked up a “What’s on TV” since.
I watch a lot of television. I like television. I don’t need my listings in print. But, I know some folks are lost without their printed listings. So, we’re sticking with the daily listings and with the Sunday TV book — sort of. Beginning Feb. 15, the only subscribers who will get a TV book delivered to their homes will be those who opt in. We’re eliminating distribution to everyone else.
So, why? Actually, the honest answer is simple: We had to cut expenses again. The TV book consumes hundreds of thousands of dollars in newsprint, and it was better to cut the paper than to cut more people. The paper for the book pretty much pays for the salaries and benefits of three or four staffers.
I could spin a whole bunch of nonsense about changing lifestyles (true), other sources of listings (true) and responsible use of natural resources (also true), but the fact is, we’re making this change because it’s a smart way to cut costs in very lean times.
Those subscribers who want the Sunday book, get it. Those who don’t, don’t. And, those who buy single copy get it, too. Nope, we’re not increasing the price of the paper for those who “opt in,” but we’re not reducing it for those who don’t.
Details on how to opt in are on the front cover of the Sunday TV book.
I figure anyone reading this on my blog post hasn’t looked at a print television listing in years. But, if you are a subscriber and you have some burning desire to keep the printed book, you can opt in online.
January 21st, 2009
If the Rockford Register Star portrayed Rockford the way the Wall Street Journal’s Main Street blog does, the city’s mayor would likely be having apoplexy about the patronizing, negative tone and demanding a sit-down with the editorial board. Instead, he’s putting out press releases waxing enthusiastic at how wonderful it is that the WSJ is noticing our little ol’ Rockford.
You can check out the Main Street blog though I warn you: Be prepared for the obligatory “big city reporter meets gritty small city” prose like this description: “… beaten-down Midwest manufacturing city…” The posts are factual enough; I’m not quibbling about that.
And, Rockford has for 100 years or so been the darling of metro media when reporters wanted to find an “All-American city” close enough to a major metropolitan airport that access was easy; and far enough into the hinterlands that there might be a cornfield and a cow to mention.
I’m just amused at the mayor putting out a press release that boils down to “newspaper writes story about Rockford.” Maybe the next blog post ought to start out: “So quaint is this gritty little city that its mayor was wowed by our covering his town and issued a press release just to tell his folks we’d come to town.”
Be careful what you ask for.
January 16th, 2009
Twenty to one. That’s how the e-mails ran this week from readers of last Sunday’s column, which said “no” to wage increases for public employees, elected and appointed governmental officials, and which warned of more cuts to come. Twenty attagirls; one firing of me.
Add the comments on my blog post and I get fired at least twice, But the message is crystal clear: Private sector workers, from the board rooms to the furnace rooms, are telling their public sector cohorts to get with the program. “We’re not getting raises; our benefits are being cut. You’re going to have to share in this, too.”
Interestingly and importantly, those who said “right on” did so with compassion and concern. These were not private sector workers angry with their public sector partners. Instead, they expressed, for the most part, appreciation for the work they do and for the fact that “no” would be hard to swallow after so many years of “yes.” My responders certainly were not people poking their pitchforks into public employees.
One of the smartest and most on-point was from public sector employee who e-mailed me from work. (Since I didn’t ask her if I could use her name, I won’t. The message is what is most important) “… I am at my office right now – Sunday morning – and for the rest of the day, because there is more work than a regular work week can hold. At the same time I am grateful that I have my job and that I can do this. My husband and I were planning for retirement in the next couple of years and realize that we will probably have to postpone this but we still have work and more sense of security than many of our fellow Rockfordians. We are clear that everyone needs to “get real” at this point. Bravo to you!”
We are in this together, public and private. We will be a stronger, more cohesive and compassionate community at the other side. Ten years from now we will either celebrate the ways in which we came together, or we will be writing the tragedies of a community that allowed its public sector to prosper at the expense of the private sector. I’ve lived in the Rock River Valley for almost 20 years. The community I know will choose today to do the right thing.
It is time, as my note writer said, to “get real.”
Many responders said we needed to report more and I agree. To that end, we launch officially three new beats Monday morning: the economy; public-private partnerships and power; and jobs. These are hard news, “watch dog” beats staffed by three experienced journalists who know the region exceptionally well. Alex Gary and Isaac Guerrero, both born-and-raised in the Rock River Valley, and Sean Driscoll, another Midwest transplant, will report to BusinessRockford.com editor Annette LaCross.
I’ll post more on each beat on my “Editor’s Note” blog at rrstar.com. But, the headline in this: Times have changed and the power to get things done is held, not so much by the elected public officials, but by the men and women who control the local economy and how government spends money. Today, it is more about the economic development partnerships and a lot less about the city councils and county boards
Previous Posts
