Unemployment in America III

8/6/2019 Unemployment in America III

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Preston Williams III Continued

UNEMPLOYMENT IN AMERICA

PART III


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UNEMPLOYMENT IN AMERICA -PART III

Preston Williams III Page 2 of 28

TIMELINE

The Unanticipated Consequences

WHO ARE THE UNEMPLOYED?

The Unmentionables

WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN TO BE OVERQUALIFIED?

UNEMPLOYMENT: THE REAL STATISTICS

Observations Beyond the Numbers Diary of an American Bankruptcy

BEEFING UP THE HUMAN RESOURCES DATABASE

THE DANGERS OF OUTSOURCING AMERICAN JOBS TO THIRD WORLD

COUNTRIES

IDENTITY THEFT THE NEW NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

Biometrics

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


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TIMELINE.Several American Presidents have had to deal with unemployment under theirwatch. In recent history, President Jimmy Carterdealt with this issue during thelast six months of his administration (1981) while President Ronald Reagan hadto deal with it for the first eleven months of his first term in office (1982).President George H.W. Bush managed a recession from July 1990 to March1991, and President George W. Bush saw two recessions during hisadministration, the first starting in March, ending in November 2001 and againfrom December 2007 to December 2008. President Barack Obama inherited thatsame recession and dealt with it for the first nine months of his administration(2009).

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), composed of academiceconomists from Harvard, Columbia, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT), Duke University, Stanford, Princeton and several other universitiesreported that the last recession began in early March 2001, seven months beforethe September 11th attack and ended in November 2001 ending over ten years ofuninterrupted growth and expansion.

Reference: CNN Money, November 26, 2001

According to The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the recessionof 2001 lasted eight months while the most recent downturn is reported to be

eighteen months ending in June 2009 - the longest in recent US economichistory.

Last Four Recessions and their Durations

12/07 - 6/09 18 months

3/01 - 11/01 8 months

7/90 - 3/91 8 months

7/81 - 11/82 16 months

Source: National Bureau of Economic Research | www.nebr.org

Despite the official government position that the recession ended in 2009, ourcountry is still reeling from the far-reaching consequences that come with suchan economic blow. Perhaps we are traumatized with this recession because it isnot just the longest in recent memory but also the deepest.

All aspects of our very existence are being impacted by the lack of jobs. Thesocio-economic and political woes of our nation are being felt in every home,neighborhood, city, and state.

Source: Unemployment in America Part I, Preston Williams, 12/15/2008
http://www.nebr.org/http://www.nebr.org/


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In 2001, a number of companies experiencing financial difficulties in the UnitedStates carried out massive Involuntary Resource Actions (layoffs) and evenclosed down some of their operations in various parts of the country.

IBM was one of the many US companies which began to downsize their work-force. The company laid off over 19,000 employees worldwide because itclaimed that its international service market dried up after the unfortunateSeptember 11, 2001 attack.

Cisco laid off over 8,000 employees reducing its workforce by 16%. Theautomotive industry claiming downward movement in sales was also hit hard.CNN Money, March 9, 2001 reported that General Motors (GM), Ford andDaimlerChrysler executed over 85,000 layoffs, while the L.A. Times reported thatthe Hotel industry lost over 100,000 jobs following the September 11 th terrorist

attack on the United States.

In subsequent years, many other US based companies like Dun & Bradstreet(D&B) began to outsource non-critical aspects of their operations to countrieswhere they could take advantage of abundant and cheap labor. Some quicklydetermined that in order to be profitable and report glowing quarterlyperformance results to Wall Street, they would use labor in Third World countries.

Many of these Third World employees / contractors earn the equivalent of about$3,840.00 US Dollars a year at the rate of $2.00 per hour or sixteen dollars($16.00) per day. The cost comparison is stark when you consider that a US

citizen doing a similar job, albeit with more education, experience and specializedskills would be paid approximately $15.00 an hour plus benefits.

Large US corporations decided to reduce cost and increase their profit margins.Let the chips fall where they may. Very little thought, if any was given to themacro/micro economic outcomes that their actions would have on the domesticUS market or the iterative multiplier effect on all other markets.

Perhaps Senior Management at these conglomerates did not consider the factthat the cost of living in America is also comparatively much higher than it is inalmost any Third World country. They might have also determined that attaining

projected profit margins was more important than any adverse impact theirdecisions would have on the domestic labor market.


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The Unanticipated Consequences

As these corporations began to outsource jobs to less costly labor markets, thefollowing issues began to manifest in the local economy:

People who lost their jobs in the US found themselves unable to maintainthe lifestyles that they had become accustomed to. No longer could theyafford the over-priced homes (McMansions) they bought when they hadgood paying jobs.

Families were forced to make drastic adjustments in their lifestyles toreflect their new daunting circumstances.

Customers began to experience the difference in the quality of expertise

and service from the new talent pool handling their requests.

The nature & scope of training that had become common place in the localAmerican market began to take on a different flavor.

Corporations which had made significant investments to ensure they hadthe most trained and responsive customer support team in the past werenow having calls answered by less qualified staff who barely spoke theEnglish Language and sometimes had not received the same intense levelof training as the American employees they were replacing.

Desperate Americans seeking a life line are falling prey to Job Scams.

Families are falling apart & the American Dream is becoming an illusion.

Some like Stephen Tantrel, unable to deal with the loss of income afterlosing his job as a New York Commodities Broker have turned to a life ofcrime.

Source:Struggling Economy Makes Environment Ripe For Job ScammersBy: Gwen Parkes, Posted Jan 29th 2011 @ 9:47AM

Source: Unemployment in America Part II:By:Preston Williams, January 24, 2011


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WHO ARE THE UNEMPLOYED?

The unemployed come from all walks of life. From Custodians/Caretakers(Janitors) to Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and every position in between,people from every spectrum of the labor force have lost their jobs during thisglobal recession/depression.

While some lost their jobs due to layoffs, others lost their jobs due to companyclosings, pressured resignations and downright burnout. Some have been victimsof prejudice while others have been let go because of their opinions and/orpolitics.

Then there are those who never even got a chance to be employed in order tobecome unemployed. This is the unique plight of recent college graduates whoare unable to find work and cannot collect unemployment because they did nothave a job to lose.

As discussed in Unemployment in America - Part I, this is just one of the manygroups that never make it into the Governments statistical analysis ofunemployment in The United States. How can the US Department of Labor,Bureau of Labor Statistics account for the young adult who dropped out of HighSchool after his/her 17th birthday and has been working for tips doing odd jobswhich pay cash over the last year or two? Similarly, how can they capture thestatus of a professional with a terminal degree (PhD, Ed.D., MD, etc) who hasnot been able to land a job after graduation over a year ago? People like theyoung man depicted on the cover of this article.

In addition to the already dismal picture of unemployment in the New America,we are also experiencing a new form of underemployment wherebycompanies are requiring two or more individuals to perform a single role in orderfor them to continue to earn a living.

The companies claim that due to significant revenue decline they cannot afford tokeep all of these individuals in Full Time roles. Therefore these employees caneither quit with no severance pay, be forced out by work place bullying tactics orsuccumb to the pressure of providing for their families by sharing a job once

performed by a single individual.

Employees categorized as anything other than Exempt or Regular aresubjected to a whole new array of beleaguering issues. From health insurancecoverage to vacation and bonus pay, everything becomes a moving target.

Work place antics have become even more cut-throat and the fight to continueearning a paycheck at all cost has changed the moral compass of someindividuals.


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In some instances, former employees with access to company secrets arerequired to sign a Non-Compete Agreement or Non-Disclosure Agreementupon separation.

Although they may not have elected to leave their positions voluntarily, and wereforced to take a package, some companies still feel that they can coerce theseindividuals to sign off on qualifiers. These restrictions prohibit them from gettingsimilar positions with the competition or to start their own business in directcompetition with their former employer.

This is just one of the many unethical business practices that the unemployedin America face every day.

The Unemployed are not a nameless, faceless mass as some would have you

believe. They are NOT unemployed because they are lazy, stupid or un-ambitious. In most instances they are the unsuspecting victims of CorporateGreed and Political Demagoguery.

Moreover, they are our friends, family and loved ones. They are US!


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The Unmentionables

Another factor that continues to have a major impact on the difficult economicconditions in the United States is the fallout from criminal behavior by somecorporate executives.

In Unemployment in America Part II , I explained the role of politicians in theshenanigans of such Corporate Giants as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. andBernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. However, let us not forget thoseother Icons of American Greed who preceded them and began this downwardspiral in the US economy. Companies like ENRON, Arthur Andersen andWorldCom / MCI.

Several Executives at those companies sacrificed the continued employabilityand well being of their employees. In their quest for self-aggrandizement, theywere willing to lie, deceive and defraud investors.

People like Andrew Fastow (ENRON), Kenneth Ken Lay (ENRON) and JeffSkilling (ENRON) were so entrenched in their desire to remain key players on theWhos Who list of powerful American CEOs that they became poster pin ups onFortune Magazines list of Corporate Convicts.

Source: CNN Money: Corporate Convicts: Where are they now?


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Others with close political ties like Bernard Bernie Ebbers (WorldCom / MCI),Conrad Black (Hollinger Inc.) Sanjay Kumar(Computer Associates), John Rigas( Adelphia Communications) and Richard Scrushy (HealthSouth) were willing togame the system and did so successfully for many years until their fraudulentactions were finally investigated and prosecuted.

Some of these folks like Dennis Kozlowski (Tyco) and Sam Waksal (ImClone)are spending long prison sentences for such crimes as fraud, conspiracy, insidertrading, grand larceny and obstruction of justice.

Their actions have triggered an exponentially destructive wave of overwhelminglosses for our nation.

Because of their actions, multi-billion dollar corporations were forced into

bankruptcy in order to reorganize or simply shut down. Some of these companiesonce employed tens of thousands of hard-working Americans. With their closuresome people not only lost their jobs, they lost their dignity. Even moreunfortunate individuals living on the edge from one paycheck to another, lostsomething they could not regain their sanity!

From the custodians who cleaned Lehman Brothers Corporate Headquarters inNew York City, New York to the Sales Executives who traded utilities at Enronsdowntown Houston, Texas office, almost everybody was hit hard when thesecompanies closed up shop.

The only people who escaped somewhat unscathed were those with goldenparachutes which allowed them to walk away with significant payouts.Employees on the lower rungs of the corporate ladder had no such protectionand became the victims of a very unfortunate situation.

Many other issues have helped to drag down our economy. Criminals have had asignificant impact on the global economy. Other factors impacting theunemployment dilemma includes scams by criminals like Tobechi Onwuhara whocreated money laundering schemes to defraud Americans of their hard earnedmoney. American businesses were forced to foot a $40+ million dollar bill. Yet,other Americans found themselves victims to Identity Fraud by people likeAlbert

Gonzalez in Operation Get Rich or Die Tryin.

As a consequence of large operations losses from such criminal activities,businesses again chose to layoff staff to help address diminishing revenues.

Source(s): Wikipedia: www.wikipedia.org: Fortune: The King of Home Equity Fraud: CNBC: American Greed - Hackers: Get Rich or Die Tryin
http://www.wikipedia.org/http://www.wikipedia.org/


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Fortune Magazine named ENRON "America's Most Innovative Company" for sixconsecutive years from 1996 to 2001. When the company filed for bankruptcyprotection in the Southern District of New York in late 2001, approximately20,000 people lost their jobs. Consequently some lost their properties. Several ofthese individuals had invested heavily in the companys stock when it was ridinghigh and now their portfolios were worth Zero, Nada, Zilch!

The same thing happened whenArthur Andersen and WorldCom / MCI shut theirdoors. That is the nature of unemployment in America.

Several professional people with good education, long-standing pillars of respectin their communities now find themselves losing everything that they haveworked so hard to attain after many years of diligent, dedicated and committedservice. They did the best job they could only to be thrown out on the street

because the Big Kahunas at these companies are white collared gangsters.

A March 2010 report by the court-appointed examiner indicated that LehmanBrothers executives regularly used cosmetic accounting gimmicks at the end ofeach quarter to make its finances appear less shaky than they really were. Talkabout cooking the books.

The global market is now an intertwined world economy where decisions, policiesand actions by any major Transcontinental Enterprise can have an impactfulripple effect on several continents.

Decisions and actions by transnational corporations like IBM, Microsoft,Andersen Consulting and Dun & Bradstreet tend to have long reaching effects onmultiple markets in several countries.

Americans who have lost their jobs as a consequence of some of theseshenanigans are being dealt another blow when they try to find work. In someinstances, they are being forced to pursue jobs that are several levels belowwhere they have been for the last decade or two.

For example, after working with a company like ENRON for over two decadesand rising to the level of a Senior Vice President in the companys Marketing

Division, an individual may find that the job crunch is such that she/he can onlyfind a Sales or Marketing Representative position in the state where they havelived for the past quarter century.

When they decide to apply for such a position in order to earn a living andprovide for their family, they are in for a rude awakening. They are likely to beinformed that they are overqualified for the job.

Source:An Economy in Chaos: By: Preston Williams III, 12/02/2008


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WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN TO BE OVER-QUALIFIED?

There are many reasons why people are being labeled as over-qualified in thiscurrent recession.

For one thing, severalBaby Boomers whostarted their careersover three decades agoare now dealing withageism.

Some establishments

are looking for muchyounger employees tojoin their organizations.

Despite the many yearsof service and insightgained through such an

extensive work history, Baby Boomers are being ushered out of the current workforce at an alarming rate. If they are lucky, they are sent packing with an EarlyRetirement Package.

Even Generation Xers are being overlooked for some positions because thereis an ample supply of Generation Yers with considerably less education and/orexperience that are just entering the labor market and willing to accept muchlower pay.

After all Generation Yers usually have much less financial obligations andperhaps do not even have family responsibilities. Logically their expectationsabout their earnings are quite less than their parents. They are not yet saddledwith out-of-control mortgages, high child rearing and education costs and the fearof what might happen if they lost their jobs and benefits.

Many job seekers wonder how being qualified can be a bad thing, but its aCatch-22 in todays upside down economy. They cant get hired for positionsrelevant to their experience so they apply for jobs at lower levels. The problem isthat they cant get hired for those positions, either, because theyreoverqualified.


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Some of the reasons Hiring Managers give for labeling applicants as beingoverqualified include:

You will be bored and unmotivated

The salary will be too low for you

You will be unhappy

You will leave the minute something better comes along

You could possibly steal his/her job

You wont be able to step down from a leadership role

While any of these reasons may be true given a particular circumstance that isoften not the case.

Ageism is very much a part of the code for labeling someone as overqualified.Moreover, there are other less obvious reasons that a person is not being given ashot at a particular job.

Despite the many remarkable strides that we have made in our society, Racismand Sexism are still unfortunately an integral aspect of the ongoingconversation about life in America. If a person of color or a female aspires to aposition that reports into a white, male-dominated enterprise they may be toldthat they are overqualified for the job.

While the classification suggests that the position is below the applicants skills,abilities and/or experience, very often it is not being withheld for those reasons.Rather, they are not being considered for this position because the corporationsleadership is not comfortable with someone other than their core group of friendsand associates (The Good Ol Boys Network) being placed in a position ofauthority equal to or above them.

Basic, Fundamental Questions:

Does a persons age or race impact their ability to perform in a role whichis in line with their background (education, expertise, experience)?

What does a persons sexuality have to do with their ability to understandand execute their responsibilities in a capacity for which they have beenadequately trained?

Can a person ever be overqualified to eat?


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UNEMPLOYMENT: THE REAL STATISTICS

AGE GENDER RACE EDUCATION ETHNICITY

Source: US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics

HOUSEHOLD DATA

Table A-2. Employment status of the civilian population by race, sex, and age

[Numbers in thousands]

Employment status, race, sex, and age

Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted(1)

Dec.

2009

Nov.

2010

Dec.

2010

Dec.

2009

Aug.

2010

Sept.

2010

Oct.

2010

Nov.

2010

Dec.

2010

WHITE

Civilian noninstitutional population 191,628 192,641 192,749 191,628 192,245 192,391 192,527 192,641 192,749

Civilian labor force 124,344 124,735 124,309 124,703 125,358 125,333 124,914 124,824 124,700

Participation rate 64.9 64.7 64.5 65.1 65.2 65.1 64.9 64.8 64.7

Employed 113,416 114,254 114,035 113,439 114,457 114,433 113,975 113,728 114,079

Employment-population ratio 59.2 59.3 59.2 59.2 59.5 59.5 59.2 59.0 59.2

Unemployed 10,928 10,481 10,274 11,264 10,901 10,899 10,940 11,096 10,620

Unemployment rate 8.8 8.4 8.3 9.0 8.7 8.7 8.8 8.9 8.5

Not in labor force 67,284 67,907 68,439 66,925 66,887 67,058 67,612 67,817 68,049

Men, 20 years and over



Employed 58,653 59,492 59,280 58,846 59,720 59,759 59,425 59,137 59,484


Unemployed 6,217 5,583 5,698 6,038 5,850 5,820 5,790 5,951 5,557


Women, 20 years and over



Employed 51,116 51,195 51,261 50,771 50,989 51,000 50,835 50,817 50,920


Unemployed 3,707 3,960 3,667 4,046 3,889 3,961 4,012 4,136 3,994

Unemployment rate6.8 7.2 6.7 7.4 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.5 7.3

Both sexes, 16 to 19 years




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HOUSEHOLD DATA





Dec.

2009

Nov.

2010

Dec.

2010

Dec.

2009

Aug.

2010

Sept.

2010

Oct.

2010

Nov.

2010

Dec.

2010

Employed 3,647 3,568 3,494 3,822 3,747 3,674 3,715 3,775 3,676


Unemployed 1,004 938 910 1,180 1,162 1,119 1,138 1,008 1,070


BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN

Civilian noninstitutional population 28,437 28,865 28,896 28,437 28,755 28,794 28,831 28,865 28,896



Employed 14,759 15,206 15,120 14,760 14,972 14,920 15,127 15,142 15,119


Unemployed 2,725 2,772 2,715 2,856 2,904 2,857 2,818 2,878 2,839


Not in labor force 10,953 10,886 11,061 10,822 10,879 11,017 10,885 10,845 10,939

Men, 20 years and over



Employed 6,579 6,815 6,758 6,588 6,691 6,661 6,763 6,753 6,764


Unemployed 1,317 1,269 1,321 1,331 1,389 1,405 1,309 1,346 1,341


Women, 20 years and over



Employed 7,786 8,035 7,998 7,783 7,911 7,948 7,998 8,017 7,993


Unemployed 1,105 1,203 1,143 1,170 1,203 1,152 1,176 1,211 1,211


Both sexes, 16 to 19 years

Civilian labor force 698 657 615 744 682 611 700 693 648



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HOUSEHOLD DATA





Dec.

2009

Nov.

2010

Dec.

2010

Dec.

2009

Aug.

2010

Sept.

2010

Oct.

2010

Nov.

2010

Dec.

2010

Employed 394 356 365 389 370 310 366 372 361


Unemployed 303 301 250 355 312 300 334 321 287


ASIAN

Civilian noninstitutional population 10,904 11,376 11,387 - - - - - -

Civilian labor force 7,163 7,335 7,355 - - - - - -

Participation rate 65.7 64.5 64.6 - - - - - -

Employed 6,560 6,780 6,829 - - - - - -

Employment-population ratio 60.2 59.6 60.0 - - - - - -

Unemployed 602 555 526 - - - - - -

Unemployment rate 8.4 7.6 7.2 - - - - - -

Not in labor force 3,741 4,041 4,032 - - - - - -

Footnotes

(1) The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and seasonally

adjusted columns.

- Data not available.

NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups will not sum to totals shown in table A-1 because data are not presented for all races. Updatepopulation controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

OBSERVATION(S):

To ensure that we properly capture data about active participants in the jobmarket, underemployed individuals and those who for any reason are notshowing up on the Department of Labors radar, the Government can track ourworkforce by vetting information readily available through the US Department ofHealth & Human Services.

With passage of appropriate legislation, the government will be even closer tocapturing the under the table (cash) labor market.

Furthermore, by using the proper relational database tools, the US governmentcan perform comparative scenario iterations of Social Security Numbers (SSN) toascertain a more accurate representation of the domestic workforce.


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Beyond the Numbers

The US Department of Labor (Bureau of Labor Statistics) captures a variety ofdemographic information about thenations workforce. However, there area wide ranging variety of data that isalmost impossible to report.

The previous report does not providesuch demographic information as thelevel of education or ethnicity of thoseaffected by unemployment.

Such information would be quite helpfulin planning university curriculums. This will allow us to assess and developacademic programs at all levels geared towards full employment in the careers oftomorrow.

A much closer look at the statistics might also reveal shocking disparities ofaffected groups, by race, and to some extent by class. Federal & State reportscapture and track but do not report on the correlation between race, age, gender,education and ethnicity as it pertains to people who have lost their jobs in thiscountry.

It captures statistics about company closings, state bankruptcy filings and layoffs.However, there are no statistical inference analyses available to assess theimpact of unemployment on the nations healthcare system, socio-cultural trendsincluding marriage, drug addiction and violent crimes.

For example, it is one thing to talk about a company or municipality filing forbankruptcy, but its another thing to talk about the carnage that comes after theentity ceases to exist and former employees are left to forage for themselves. It isquite frightening after many years of dedicated service.

The Department of Labor cannot capture what happens to families when one orboth parents lose their jobs. The statistics does not reflect the number of families

that are destroyed and the consequent divorces that are a direct result of joblosses.

Despite the fact that our government does not capture and report on suchmatters, nonetheless this sort of thing is happening every day in our society. It isinescapable. As parents lose their jobs, vulnerable marriages fail and the childrenof destitute parents become bitter and disoriented.


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Many of the social problems discussed in Unemployment in America II becomeunbearable realities as households succumb to foreclosures and wholecommunities are destroyed as a consequence of lost income.

Another variable that needs to be considered is the change in the pace andquality of civil discourse. People become easily agitated and less tolerant of eachother. Some even resort to mental cruelty, violent outbursts and physical attacks.

One reason that this is disconcerting is because it reveals an unraveling of thevery fabric of human decency that is an integral part of American life.

For those still hoping that the US Government and US Corporations will findprompt solutions to the devastation, the sign reads:

Due to recent budget cuts and the cost of electricity, gas and oil, as well

as current market conditions and the continued decline of the U.S.

economy, The Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We

apologize for the inconvenience.

Source: Unemployment in America Part II:By:Preston Williams, January 24, 2011


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The following article from the Huffington Post is a vivid reminder about what itmeans to be unemployed in the New America:

Diary Of An American Bankruptcy: Workers Left Behind In Cuts

The American real estate boom turned Vallejo, California -- previously known forlittle more than the freeway that runs through it -- into a hot property market in theSan Francisco Bay Area. But when the home-building stopped, so did the flow ofmoney into municipal coffers, sending the city into bankruptcy nearly three yearsago.

That was merely the beginning of sustained pain for Vallejo's municipalemployees. As the community adjusts to a wrenching new budgetary reality, oneno longer propelled by exploding property revenues, the burden has fallen onordinary city workers.

David de Alba, a 45-year-old mechanic who has worked for the city for eightyears, typifies this process. Vallejo has slashed its budget to get its books inorder, reducing its general fund payroll by more than 100 workers, or about 30percent, since 2007. De Alba has seen his monthly pay drop by about $1,000.

Last summer, after missing mortgage payments, he went into default. InNovember, he filed for personal bankruptcy. Financial troubles strained hismarriage, and his wife left him, taking their teenage children with her. This month,the bank foreclosed on his house. He moved out last Friday, relinquishing his

home of nearly two decades. He now plans to move to a trailer park.

Source: In Vallejo, A Municipal Bankruptcy Means Big Sacrifices For OrdinaryWorkers , The Huffington Post, January 31, 2011

First Posted: 01/31/11 08:14 AM Updated: 01/31/11 12:36 PM


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BEEFING UP THE HUMAN RESOURCES DATABASE

As more Americans lost their jobs during this recession/depression, the UnitedStates labormarket hasbecomeincreasinglysaturated withpeople scramblingfor a way to earn aliving.

This dilemma has

created anopportunity forsome companies.

They are takingadvantage of thisrecentdevelopment tobeef up their Human Resource Departments database.

People looking for jobs in this new digital age are doing so primarily by logging

onto the internet and applying for positions listed on job boards or signing up toopen accounts with various organizations on their web sites.

The online job application process usually requires submission of a Cover Letter,Resume, Curriculum Vitae, Letters of Recommendation, Market SegmentProfiles and other personal information in order to be considered for a particularposition or any position for which a candidate may be qualified. Some of theseorganizations even require that an applicant supply their Social Security Number(SSN), Professional Certificate Registration Number (CPA, CISSP, MCSE, RN,CFP, CNE etc) and Security Clearance ID in order to complete the applicationprocess.

Many of these organizations store applicants personal information in databaseswhere the Human Resources staff can access, review, screen and recommendthe most eligible candidate(s) to a Hiring Manager. This also empowers staff withhiring authority to conduct intranet searches for a particular caliber of talent whentrying to fill a role in their department.

While this is a very efficient way to contain such an extensive amount ofinformation, there are some necessary safeguards that need to be in place inorder to protect applicants while availing this critical mass of information to thecompanys HR Department.


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Sometimes these databases are the targets of hackers looking for corporatesecrets. If they are not properly secured/encrypted they can be compromisedand millions of peoples very private and personal information can fall into thewrong hands.

Some companies are strategically positioning themselves to execute buyouts orhostile takeovers of other companies with such rich and potentially viable sales &marketing data which can be mined from these databases.

Additionally, smart foreign companies are taking an interest in the intellectualcapital and business intelligence inherent in these companies databases.

The possibility of what these acquirers could do with such information isendless.

With the business climate being as dismal as it is, more and more Americanbusinesses are being acquired by cash rich foreign entities. Perhaps the mostimportant asset that some of these US companies have to offer to say an IndianChinese, Nigerian or Russian Consortium is the personal information about

American citizens in their sizable HR databases.

Some American companies have chosen to retain control over their databaseswhile outsourcing the hiring responsibility to third party vendors. Some of thosesourcing contracts eventually find themselves being sub-contracted to companiesbased in Third World Countries.


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THE DANGERS OF OUTSOURCING AMERICAN JOBS

TO THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES

A new developmentwhich is quicklybecoming atroublesome concern isthe practice ofoutsourcing almostevery non-CEO role &responsibilities to acheaper cost center.

Today, severalAmerican companieshave opted to employexternal / contractrecruiters to hire newstaff.

While the market isover saturated withexperienced talent, wecontinue to hear talksabout the lack ofadequately trained andexperiencedprofessionals in thedomestic US market.

Here again, we see thelack of foresightedness

in assessing the long-term outcome of such a decision. Instead of creating amore stable environment where US citizens laid off from their once very wellpaying jobs, can find adequate employment in a timely manner, US basedcompanies have outsourced this activity to a new genre of recruiters, many ofwhom are based in India.

Several Indian recruiting firms have now become very astute at working this newdevelopment to their advantage. They leverage new and sometimescontroversial technologies to enable them to be quite successful in this

burgeoning market of talent trading .


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Several new Job Placement & Recruitment firms have sprung up in theaftermath of the recession. With the introduction of new technologies includinginternet job boards, applicants have new portals to find career opportunities.

With these new venues, American candidates are comfortable in the fact that a job listing includes what appears to be legitimate contact information. They arelulled into a sense of calm because they assume that they can always call Joeat the local Columbus, Ohio number to get a status on their candidacy for whatseems to be a good job with his client company.

It is only when the recruiting process catches a snag because of what seems asevere lack of professionalism (i.e. - e-mails are not being responded to or thereis no follow-up to close the feedback loop on the status of their application) thatthese American applicants begin to get concerned about the authenticity of the

opportunity.

They are usually crestfallen when they call to speak with Joe and realize thatalthough his listed phone number is Columbus, Ohio, he is actually based inBengalore, India. Some of these Indian recruiters use localized numberreferencing technology from companies like REBTEL and Voice over IP (VoIP)like SKYPE or Caller ID Spoofing from service providers like SpoofCard in orderto create a false sense of calm for the American looking for what seems like anexciting opportunity in Columbus, Ohio or Dallas, Texas.

There are many possibilities why the recruiting process is so frustrating. Some of

it has to do with the nature of the labor market today. However, it is also a matterof availability and incentive. After all, what is the incentive for an Indian recruiterearning the equivalent of $15,000.00 USD per annum to identify and place an

American candidate in a Senior Vice President, Director or C-Level Executiveposition with a $150,000.00 - $200,000.00 per year compensation package?

Moreover, what better way to justify the issuance of H1-B Visas to Indianprofessionals when you can claim that you are unable to find knowledgeable andcapable local US talent to fill a particular position? Rather than identify andselect an American citizen or resident to fill this role, the Indian recruiter isincentivized to recommend hiring someone with that skill set in India. After all

they now have an abundant supply of knowledge workers with the required skillset in in India.Several Indian firms are working this angle to the hilt and gaming the systemquite successfully. If this trend continues, watch out. The next thing you know,Americas Got Talent and American Idol will feature Indian performers.Tonight on American Idol, our first guest is Pooja from Mumbia! After all therewill be no need to look for talented Americans anymore!

Bottom Line: Americas bust is Indias boom!


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IDENTITY THEFT THE NEW NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

Question: What is the likelihoodthat American professionals willparticipate in a massive exodus toleave these shores in search for

jobs in India or Malaysia orSenegal?

Answer: None. You must bedreaming! Caveat: So long as theUnited States continues to have thehighest per capita income in theworld with the most stable socio-political environment, Americans

arent going anywhere!

As Americans gear up for another round of economic recovery, we will come tothe harsh realization that several multinational companies like IBM, EDS, CSC,HP, ACS, Accenture and Keane have moved beyond outsourcing and nearshoring to offshoring everything from database design and storage, to financialdata amalgamation and hosting of medical records.

Most of the digital footprints that comprise our American DNA have beenexported to China, India and other countries. China holds most of the US Federaldebt while simultaneously maintaining a negative balance of trade position withthe United States.

As more Americans find themselves using new tools to find their nextemployment opportunity, they will increasingly fall victims to Identity Theft.

Several companies posting job opportunities on dubious web sites are exposing American citizens to a potential onslaught ofe-scams including individualmisidentification and/or direct misrepresentation.

Fraudulent businesses can set up web sites in less than 24 hours and post job

opportunities that do not really exist. They can create e-mail addresses andappear quite legitimate.

When an unsuspecting candidate submits all of their personally identifiableinformation to the job board, online application form, etc, it enables an IdentityThief to begin the work of collecting and changing that candidates information.


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This provides the basis for unscrupulous characters to assume a personsAmerican identity for the purpose of siphoning funds from their accounts, makingfraudulent credit card purchases in their name or even applying for large loans ontheir behalf.

In a recent report dated January 19, 2011, the US Federal Bureau ofInvestigation (FBI) revealed that cyber criminals engaging in ACH/ wire transferfraud have targeted businesses by responding via e-mail to employmentopportunities posted online.

Breaches occur on a regular basis. However, few organizations go public whentheir systems are compromised. Companies like eFinancial Careers do a greatpublic service when they take responsibility for an infraction and alert their usercommunity about a breach. This kind of proactive response will empower

enrollees/registrants to adopt the necessary steps to protect themselves fromany further damage. See E-mail below.

We are no longer that whom we were. In order to get a full and complete view ofwho we are as Americans will require Indian, Nigerian or Chinese lenses.


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BIOMETRICS

Cyber attacks exploit vulnerabilities in people, process and technologies.

In the aftermath of suchdevastating losses, peopleare looking for solutions.

One of the most viabletechnologies available todayis Biometrics. Thistechnology allowsindividuals to establish,maintain and guard their

privacy as they traverse theWorld Wide Web.

Companies like BiometricSignature ID offer a varietyof options to help deal withsecuring ones privacy inthe cyber stratosphere.

The companys servicesinclude:

Dynamic gesture biometric Language, gender and location agnostic global use Requires no special hardware Assures non-repudiation of origin (NRO) Designed for Internet access on fixed or mobile devices Uses mouse, stylus or finger on a touch screen Provides robust audit trail, security analytics, security alerts Provides exceptional Depth of Defense Authentication

Biometric Signature ID focuses on providing this technology to Higher Education

as well as State and Federal Agencies in the United States.

Other companies like Life Lock represent new innovations for creating a viablearsenal of tools which can be used to guard the only thing that may be of truevalue regardless of your wealth, influence or political status yourREPUTATION!


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ONCE YOUR IDENTITY IS STOLEN, WATCH OUT

--Submitted By:

PrestonWilliams IIIB.Sc. M.Sc. CPA CIS

Founder | Senior Partner & CIOGBC Global ServicesInformation Technology SolutionsInternet: http://www.gbc-inc.netDate: February 16, 2011

PrestonW
http://www.gbc-inc.net/http://www.gbc-inc.net/


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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Preston Williams III is Senior Partner & Chief Information Officer (CIO) at GBCGlobal Services. He is a pioneer and futurist with 20+ years of Big 4, Fortune500, Global 100 and entrepreneurial experience. That experience includesSenior Auditor with Price Waterhouse (PriceWaterhouseCoopers), Controller forLynn-Phill, IT Consultant with McGladrey & Pullen and Andersen Consulting(Accenture) as well as Project Executive at IBM Global Services. Mr. Williamsalso worked as the first Product Manager for Global Data Collection with Dun &Bradstreet (D&B) and the first Chief Information Officer (CIO) at LangstonUniversity.

From 2002 to 2004, Preston Williams served as the first Chief Executive Officer(CEO) & Managing Partner at GBC. Incorporated in Delaware, USA; the firmoperates in Liberia, Kenya, Uganda and the United States.

Preston has successfully implemented sound, reliable, dynamic, scalable androbust IT systems integration and financial management solutions in North

America, Asia Pacific (APAC), Latin America (LATAM), Europe, the Middle Eastand Africa (EMEA).

Mr. Williams is a member of the American Business Network (ABN), formerTechnology Committee Chairman of the Oklahoma State Council on InformationTechnology (CoIT) and a former member of the Innovative Technology AdvisoryCouncil of Oklahoma (InnoTech). He is a member of the EDUCAUSE CIOConstituent Group, the Carolina Information Technology Professionals Group(CITPG) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Enterprise Forumof Cambridge. Preston is also a member of the International Entrepreneurs Club,the International Technology Channels Association ( ITCA), Tech Republic andthe Global CIO Think Tank.

Mr. Williams is DUNSRight certified with Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) and an IBMSignature Selling Methodology (SSM) certified professional. Preston holds a B.Sc. Degree in Economics from Cuttington University College and a M. Sc. inRegional Planning with a Specialization in Regional Resource Allocation &System Dynamics from the University of Liberia. He studied Auditing at the

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales and holds a CPA from theLiberian Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Preston has a CIS from GreatPlains Software in Fargo, North Dakota, USA. He also studied ComprehensiveGeneral Management at the Executive Education Program of the HarvardBusiness School at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Preston Williams III is Chairman of the GBC Board of Directors, an AssociateMember of ExecuNet, recipient of the IBM Global Services Leadership Award,Published Authorand a Moderator of the Internet Evolution Executive Clan.

Unemployment in America III

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