1 More men enter women-dominated areas
(The New York Times) After years of economic pain,
Americans remain an optimistic lot, though they define the American dream not
in terms of mansions and luxury cars but as something more basic — a home, a
college degree, financial security and enough left over for a few extras like
dining out, according to a study by the Pew Center on the States’ Economic
Mobility Project. That financial security usually requires a steady full-time
job with benefits, something that has become harder to find, particularly for
men and for those without a college degree. While women continue to make
inroads into prestigious, high-wage professions dominated by men, more men are reaching
for the dream in female-dominated occupations that their fathers might never
have considered.
The trend began well before the crash, and appears to be
driven by a variety of factors, including financial concerns, quality-of-life
issues and a gradual erosion of gender stereotypes. An analysis of census data
by The New York Times shows that from 2000 to 2010, occupations that are more
than 70 percent female accounted for almost a third of all job growth for men,
double the share of the previous decade.
That does not mean that men are displacing women — those
same occupations accounted for almost two-thirds of women’s job growth. But in
Texas, for example, the number of men who are registered nurses nearly doubled
in that time period, rising from just over 9% of nurses to almost 12%. Men make
up 23% of Texas public schoolteachers, but almost 28% of first-year teachers. The
shift includes low-wage jobs as well. Nationally, two-thirds more men were bank
tellers, almost twice as many were receptionists and two-thirds more were
waiting tables in 2010 than a decade earlier.
2 Unpaid
work experience scheme in UK (The Guardian) A
hospital trust is planning to extend a scheme under which dozens of unpaid
jobseekers help deliver patient care in its wards. After a pilot involving six
jobseekers working unpaid for eight weeks to help feed patients and clean
wards, Sandwell and West Birmingham hospitals trust said it was aiming to extend the
government work experience programme to all three of its hospitals.
Union
representatives confirmed they had been consulted , and had initially consented
to, plans that meant unemployed people could gain experience of work at the
hospital. But they said they had not agreed that the jobseekers would
"play a direct role in patient care" and said they were very worried
about the prospect of this happening. After protests over the work expereince
scheme earlier this year,
ministers changed the rules to make it possible for jobseekers to pull out of
their placements without having their benefits docked.
3 China property
prices fall (The Guardian) Chinese property prices have continued to fall during April after the
government kept policies in place to curb speculation. Newly built home prices fell in 46 of 70 mainland cities
in April from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said. That
compares with a decline in 38 cities during March.
The worry is that if property
prices fall further then it will hurt growth in the world's second-largest
economy.This fear was underlined by a Chinese government think tank on Friday
which forecast that the country's economic growth may slow to an annual rate of
7.5% on the back of a property slump. During the first quarter of 2012, the
Chinese economy grew at a pace of 8.1%. Last year, the Chinese government
stopped providing nationwide home price statistics, and now only reports data
on specific cities.
4 Rescuing Greece or the euro? (Eric Margolis in
Khaleej Times) The last time Greece faced a crisis of this
magnitude was in 490 BC when the armies and fleets from across the oceans were
converging on Athens. The great Athenian leader Themistocles rallied his
countrymen and defeated the invaders. Alas, this time the Greeks face Germany’s
very tough, stern and able Frau Doktor Angela Merkel who has vowed to
impose “zucht und ordnung” (order and discipline) on the unruly Greeks. A
potentially fatal run on Greeks banks is underway, with over 800 million euros
withdrawn last week. The sky is indeed falling.
Who
can blame Greek depositors? Default and an exit from the euro zone appear
likely, meaning their money in Greece’s wobbly banks could end up being
converted into re-born drachma, worthy only 50 to 30% of the euro. Greece’s
recent political turmoil and inability to form a government shows its voters
want the benefits of staying in the euro zone, but don’t want to pay their dues
through taxes and slashing deficits.
What
would happen to Greece if it quit the euro? Financial chaos, capital flight,
riots and bank failures. But after the apocalypse, Greece would eventually
revert to its 1960’s status: a poor but proud nation living off tourism,
shipping, agriculture and fishing. Admitting Greece to the euro zone was a
bridge too far. Euro membership should be limited to those nations that have
solid finances and honest reporting. In short, a club of northern European
nations that follow Germanic good government. Unprepared nations, like Greece,
Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Moldova or Ukraine do not belong in the euro zone.
Most have no business in the EU either.
5 SA children’s
misery (Johannesburg Times) A yet to be released
Unicef report gives detailed insight into unnecessary deaths and devastating
living conditions of SA's children and demands that government take immediate
action. With 11.5million of the country's 19million children living in poverty the
report shows poor children are 17 times more likely to experience hunger and
three times less likely to complete school than children from wealthier
backgrounds.
South Africa is one of the most unequal
countries, said Unicef's South African representative, Aida Girma. "The
government must increase its understanding of inequity and its causes or lose
the chid rights battle. The major problem is the government's lack of
accountability and priorities. Four out of 10 children live in homes where no
one is employed. In cases of dire poverty, this figure increases to seven in 10
children. More than 5million children are HIV-positive, with between 2,50,000
and 3,00,000 babies born to HIV mothers annually.
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