53 years ago today, I started my corporate work life. I was a naive, freshly minted engineer who wasn’t sure I had anything to contribute. But the pay was good. I had no idea how I would spend all that $9,800 annual pay. I had a lot more hair back then, and of course, back then ties were not optional in the engineering organization. I … Continue reading 53 Years Ago Today…
This is part four of a series on what the US might learn from Sweden. This week we will talk about wages and pensions. Wages In The US 43% of US workers earn less than $15/hour while the top 33% earn more than $100,000/year and the top 10% make more than $200,000 (that’s $100+/hour). A McDonald’s employee makes an average of $8.90/hour. The US federal … Continue reading InDepth – Sweden Post #4 – Wages/Pensions
SEATTLE — Microsoft said on Wednesday that it would offer new parents an additional eight weeks of paid time off from their jobs at the company, in a significant boost to its parental leave benefits. Microsoft’s changes to its policy came a day after Netflix, the online video service, said it would allow new mothers and fathers who are employees to take as much paid … Continue reading The Disparity of Benefits… And a Possible Solution…
Today I celebrate the anniversary of one of the major milestones in my life. Forty four years ago as a young naive recently graduated engineer I left the Purdue University campus to take my place in the corporate world. It was a very different world back then than what it is now. Corporate Loyalty – I would over the years become very loyal to the … Continue reading Today I Celebrate…
But with pensions for non-government workers on a path toward extinction, federal employees get little sympathy from most experts. “Their private sector counterparts would be jealous of the benefits they’re maintaining,” said John Ehrhardt, a principal at the actuarial and consulting firm Milliman. While 38 percent of private industry workers received pensions in 1979, just 14 percent did so in 2011, the most recent figures … Continue reading Federal workers’ pensions targeted in budget deal
From taking tighter control over the health insurance market themselves to pushing decisions and costs down to individuals, businesses are experimenting with a host of new ways to offer health-care coverage, spurred in part by the launch of the Affordable Care Act, but also by the inexorable rise in the cost of medical care in the United States. The moves promise to change a social … Continue reading Of Course Its Coming…
RJ's Corner 