Obama administration plans to close International Labor Comparisons office

[Better Believe It]

Obama administration plans to close International Labor Comparisons office
By Alec MacGillis
March 3, 2010

Like a scorekeeper for the world, a tiny unit within the Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks globalization's winners and losers, and the results are not always pretty for the United States. Manufacturing jobs here, for example, have fallen faster since 1979 than in Canada, Germany or Japan. Compensation for those jobs dropped here in 2008 but jumped in South Korea and Australia.

Soon, however, Americans may be spared the demoralization in these numbers: The White House wants to shutter the unit that produces them.

President Obama's budget would eliminate the International Labor Comparisons office and transfer its 16 economists to expand the bureau's work tracking inflation and occupational trends. The White House says the cut, estimated to save $2 million, is one of many difficult decisions the president was forced to make to control spending.

"If you were going to cut this five years after they implemented it 50 years ago, that would be one thing -- who cared then about what's going on in Asia?" said Georgetown University economist Robert Bednarzik, who spent 10 years at the BLS and has started a petition drive to save the unit. "But they've picked the worst possible time to try and get rid of it -- when we're all in this together."

Skeptics of free-trade policies criticize the closure for other reasons -- the unit's data, they argue, show just how harsh globalization is for the American worker, a reality that may be inconvenient for an administration generally more trade-oriented than the populist rhetoric of Obama's campaign suggested. They question if the unit is being closed solely for the budget savings, noting that $2 million is a relative pittance, less than 1 percent of the BLS budget.

"The type of documentation is putting out could be detrimental to their efforts" on trade, said John Russo of the Center for Working-Class Studies at Youngstown State University.

Read the full article at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/02/AR2010030201568.html

[stray cat]

1. Enough 2 millions add up to real money - of course if I could get 2 mil I would be thrilled!

It only saves 2 million is a stupid reason to keep something if it isn't productive

[Better Believe It]

5. So you'll really think it's about "saving" 2 million bucks?

Sure it is!

Wanna buy the Brooklyn Bridge?

:)

[Winterblues]

6. I still pick up pennies off the street.

:shrug:

[TheMadMonk]

13. And the 25% of 700 billion per annum that the Pentagon can't or refuses to account for...

...could fund a fuckton of $2 million projects and departments. And enough change left over to fully fund public healthcare and post secondary education for those who want it.

[DJ13]

2. When the truth gets to be too much to bear

Sweep it under the rug.

[Donnachaidh]

4. there's that TRANSPARENCY we were promised, huh? n/t

[Donnachaidh]

3. that's one way of keeping the public in the dark as to how badly they are being screwed

Shut the information office.

Double plus Good.

1984 anyone?

[Echo In Light]

7. +1

[upi402]

8. Hide the fact that free trade is ruining America? Team Obama needs to go

I'm sick of this tearing the phone book in half one page at a time. We have no opposition party. May as well accept it.

[Brickbat]

9. Jayzus H, every day it's another kick in the head.

[G_j]

10. not good

:thumbsdown:

[DFab420]

11. Not really that big of a crisis...

If you continue to read the article you'll find the 16 people that work there will still be kept on, just transfered to another department such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Labor Organization.

My point being that there are 3 groups that do this work, and while yes the 16 people at this one dept. may have done the heavy vetting, they can now continue to do that at another location.

And for the people who decry it as "merely 2 million" I can only think of this one anecdote to help understand

One day a man asked the Buddha for help with an insurmountable problem

The Buddha paused for a moment and asked the man one question

"How do you eat an elephant?"

the man paused and was confused for he did not understand..

the Buddha simply replied.."One piece at a time"


get it?

[DFab420]

12. First post here after reading for months! n/t

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

14. Well, we mustn't have reports that might embarass the administration or the corporations. K&R

Not to mention upsetting the voters.

[bvar22]

15. Just like the Bush Administration:

We make our own reality.