OPINION

Lower-wage jobs can spur the economy

Creating minimum-wage jobs can be done quicker and at a much lower cost than high-paying ones.

By James N. Adler

February 7, 2010

Everyone agrees we need more jobs -- and perhaps more stimulus money to pay for them. But what jobs, for whom and at what cost? Last year, economist Paul Krugman estimated that the first stimulus would create jobs that cost $100,000 each ($60,000 "net" after taking into account the tax receipts from a stronger economy).

There is, however, a need for lower-income jobs, and such jobs can be created quickly and at a much lower cost. Indeed, the wage portion of a minimum-wage job -- even at $8 an hour, the comparatively high rate in effect in California -- is only $16,640 per year. Adding a 35% benefits package would bring the cost to only $22,464 per year. The "net" cost of such jobs would be even lower, because those who get them would no longer be receiving welfare or unemployment insurance, which costs $8,000 to $10,000 a year. Although employers would still have to foot the bill for things such as supervision, supplies, workers' compensation and the like, many would be only too willing to incur those costs in return for federal help with wages and benefits.

Indeed, Los Angeles County is pioneering a program along these lines. Using stimulus dollars, the Department of Public Social Services is creating 10,000 jobs paying $10 an hour for 40 hours a week, primarily for recipients of CalWorks, the state's primary welfare program for families. Participants are paid by a county contractor and placed in subsidized jobs that match their skill levels and goals in all sectors of the economy. The "host" employer provides supervision equal to 20% of the wage cost, and must create jobs that do not displace existing employees. Even when administrative and other costs are included, a $20,000-a-year job costs the county very little and adds only about $16,000 to what is already being spent by the state and the federal government in welfare grants.

Of course, there are substantial indirect savings to society as well when people are employed, such as reduced healthcare costs and reduced exposure to the criminal justice system. (By way of comparison, the county has found that about $3.50 was saved for every dollar spent to relieve homelessness through rental subsidies for those on general relief.) Of equal importance, a jobs program also allows workers to gain valuable experience and an even more valuable reference. And because the program uses existing employers, who need more help than they can now afford, job creation can be rapid.

Another way to create more jobs for those with lower skills would be to modify the bidding rules for federal contractors. Now bids are awarded to the lowest qualified bidder, but, in reality, such a bid does not necessarily have the lowest net cost to the federal government. That's because the system takes no account of the real, measurable cost of each unemployed person, including unemployment insurance, welfare, taxes lost, food stamps and other safety-net programs. In periods of high unemployment, these costs are quite high.

Suppose, for example, there are two options for rebuilding a road. One depends mostly on the use of machinery and employs a minimum number of highly skilled, high-priced workers. The other employs fewer machines and twice the number of people, who have lower skills and are paid less.

Using standard methods of determining the low bidder, the first option might appear to be the lowest. But is it necessarily? If the second employer got a credit for the amount he or she saved the government by creating jobs and taking someone off the unemployment rolls, the outcome might change. The size of the credit would be determined, region by region, by figuring the costs of allowing that person to stay unemployed, and it would increase during hard times. The cost of a particular project could be somewhat higher to the contracting agency, but the federal government as a whole would experience lower costs because of offsetting savings in other programs.

James N. Adler worked in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations and was one of the drafters of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. He is a longtime member of the Los Angeles County Public Social Services Commission.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-adler7-2010feb07,0,1600723,print.story

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OPINION

L.A.'s blueprint for job creation

Not enough progress has been made in the last two years, and the situation is even more critical now.

By Russell Goldsmith

February 7, 2010

More than 7 million Americans have lost their jobs since the recession began in 2007. While the resulting national unemployment rate of almost 10% is daunting, the county of Los Angeles has lost more than 400,000 jobs in the last 2 1/2 years. Joblessness in the city of Los Angeles now stands at a staggering 13%.

The situation has finally gotten the attention of public officials. The jobs summit hosted by President Obama late last year, and his plans to put more federal money and tax credits into job creation, are both good signs.

Here in Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has said that job creation is his administration's No. 1 priority, and he recently named a new deputy mayor and chief executive for economic and business policy, Austin Beutner, who has pledged to make Los Angeles more business-friendly by changing the culture at City Hall.

Engagement by City Hall is to be applauded, but I hope local officials won't forget that we already held a job summit here. In 2006, Villaraigosa and I discussed the alarming loss of high-quality jobs in the region. He asked me to chair a commission to study the problem, which I did, and we pulled together a coalition of leaders from business, labor, nonprofit and academia. The panel delivered 100 recommendations to strengthen L.A.'s economy and create high-quality jobs.

Not enough progress has been made since the report was published two years ago. Much more work needs to be done, and the situation is even more critical now than it was then.

Now is the time for public officials in Los Angeles to take the Los Angeles Economy & Jobs Committee's blueprint for economic growth off the shelf and put its recommendations into action. Some of the proposals can be implemented quickly. Others will take time. But all of them would contribute to local job growth. Here are a few examples:

* Buy local: In 2009, L.A. city government spent roughly $1.7 billion for various goods and services. Unfortunately, companies in L.A. received only 15% of it. More than half of the total went to firms outside the region, and some of it left the state entirely. The city's procurement guidelines should give preference to local manufacturers and service companies.

* Lower the city's gross receipts tax. Los Angeles is a particularly expensive place to do business, according to the annual Kosmont-Rose Institute Cost of Doing Business Survey. One reason is a convoluted gross receipts levy that taxes local companies on revenue they earn in the city of Los Angeles -- and at a higher rate than they stand to pay in neighboring cities. Reducing the tax would significantly lower the costs of doing business in L.A. and encourage companies to expand and hire local workers.

* Expand the Port of Los Angeles in an environmentally responsible way. L.A. has one big economic advantage over every other American city: It is the nation's major gateway to Asia and Latin America. The local port complex handles more than 40% of all U.S. waterborne merchandise trade. To retain our competitive advantage and accommodate growth, we need to transport goods faster and more efficiently. That means placing rail facilities closer to the port. Completion of the Southern California International Gateway project would create as many as 14,000 jobs in L.A. County, according to the economic forecasting firm IHS Global Insight.

* Encourage local film and television production. Annual production of a one-hour television series drama creates 180 direct jobs and 540 indirect jobs. These jobs ripple into almost all sectors of the city's economy. In addition to waiving the fees for filming at popular sites, the city should create "entertainment and technology zones" that would attract companies through tax credits, lower utility costs, fee waivers and so forth.

* Fix LAX. The city should accelerate its efforts to improve and modernize Los Angeles International Airport and make growing tourism and airport-related jobs a top priority. LAX is the world's fifth-busiest passenger airport, and it is responsible for 460,000 jobs in the region. One international flight operating daily supports an average of more than 3,000 local jobs. A world-class city in the 21st century cannot tolerate a second-class airport.

These are just a few of the LAEJC report's recommendations. In all, they underscore the need for public/private partnerships that create jobs, grow the economy and expand the city's tax base.

The City Council late last year took a step in the right direction by voting to require an "economic impact analysis" for each new proposal under its consideration to determine its probable impact on jobs and the local economy before voting. This was one of the recommendations in the LAEJC report, and we hope city officials will move quickly to make this economic analysis a reality.

I applaud the job-creation moves by both the mayor and the City Council and urge them to stay the course. Los Angeles has an abundance of talent, resources and opportunities. The city also has a clear blueprint for sustainable economic growth. What it needs now is the overarching commitment to make job creation a top priority.

Russell Goldsmith is CEO of Los Angeles-based City National Bank.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-goldsmith7-2010feb07,0,6294065,print.story

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EDITORIAL

DNA and justice

Expanding DNA testing and preserving DNA evidence can help ensure that the guilty, and only the guilty, are punished.

February 6, 2010

Thirty-three years after he was convicted of raping a neighbor in Rochester, N.Y., Frederick Peacock became the 250th American to be exonerated by DNA evidence. Peacock, now 60, was paroled from prison decades ago, but he continued to insist that he had been wrongly convicted, and in 2002 the New York-based Innocence Project took up his case. This week, DNA testing that wasn't available either at the time of his conviction in 1976 or his parole in 1982 confirmed that he was not guilty of the rape for which he had served six years in prison.

But Peacock's case is more than just another example of a life damaged by wrongful conviction. The sheer length of time it took for him to clear his name highlights not only the need for broad access to DNA testing, but the importance of preserving evidence, even long after a case appears to be over.

"CSI" and other TV shows would have us believe that DNA is tested as a matter of course. The truth is that a hodgepodge of inadequate laws, varying by state, guarantee no such thing. One problem is access: Although 47 states permit convicted criminals to seek DNA testing in order to reopen their cases, the requirements vary widely. Alabama and Kentucky, for example, allow it only for convicts on death row. Other states bar it for convicts who have confessed. (That would have disqualified Peacock, who is severely mentally ill and confessed after a lengthy interrogation.) Other states set deadlines by which it must be requested, or bar testing for those convicted after testing became widespread in the 1990s. But in fact, certain types of testing became widely available only in the early 2000s and are still not routinely performed everywhere.

Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia have statutes requiring the preservation of evidence, but the details are often left to the discretion of law enforcement or individual judges. California requires that evidence be preserved for the duration of incarceration, and that should be the minimum standard for all states. The Peacock case also should inspire states to repeal the confession-linked ban. It underscores what numerous studies have shown: that confessions can be unreliable.

Preservation is desired not just by convicts and their defense attorneys. Some prosecutors advocate evidence preservation because the same DNA that exonerates one person can help convict the perpetrator as well, helping to solve cold cases.

Saving DNA evidence is not simply a matter of compassion for the wrongfully incarcerated. It should also be a top priority for those who want to see wrongdoers punished. Because for every Frederick Peacock who went to jail for a crime he did not commit, a perpetrator went free.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-dna6-2010feb06,0,4555551,print.story

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From Fox News

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Ahmadinejad Orders Higher Enrichment of Uranium

February 07, 2010

Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran — 

Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ordered his country's atomic agency on Sunday to begin the production of higher enriched uranium, in a move that's likely to deepen international skepticism about the country's real intentions on the crucial issue of enriched uranium.

In comments broadcast on state television, Ahmadinejad said: "God willing, 20 percent enrichment will start" to meet Iran's needs. He did not give a date for the start of the enrichment process.

He was speaking at a meeting attended by the head of Iran's atomic energy agency, Ali Akbar Salehi.

Turning to Salehi, Ahmadinejad said: "Mr. Salehi, begin production of 20 percent" enriched uranium.

Producing enriched uranium is the international community's core concern over Iran's disputed nuclear program since it can be used to make nuclear weapons. Iran says its program is for peaceful purposes.

Iran and the West have been discussing a U.N. plan under which Iran would export its low-enriched uranium for enrichment abroad. The plan, which comes from the International Atomic Agency, was first drawn up in early October in a meeting in Geneva between Iran and the six world powers. It was refined later that month in Vienna talks among Iran, the U.S., Russia and France.

The Vienna talks came up with a draft proposal that would take 70 percent of Iran's low-enriched uranium to reduce its stockpile of material that could be enriched to a higher level, and possibly be used to make nuclear weapons. That uranium would be returned about a year later as refined fuel rods, which can power reactors but cannot be readily turned into weapons-grade material.

In what was interpreted to be a possible shift of policy on a major issue, Ahmadinejad said last week he was ready to export his country's low-enriched uranium for higher enrichment abroad, saying Iran had "no problem" with the plan. Sunday's comments, however, appeared to justify the skepticism with which his Tuesday's comments were met by world leaders.

Ahmadinejad on Sunday made no mention of what he said last week.

He, however, said that Iran has acquired laser technology for enrichment of uranium, but added, "For now, we do not intend to use it." He did not say why.

Iran is currently enriching uranium up to 4.5 percent for its under-construction nuclear power plant, using centrifuge machines. Its first nuclear power plant, built with Russia's help, will be operational later this year.

Iran's ambivalence over the enrichment issue comes at a time when the United States and its Western allies have been pushing for a fourth round of U.N. sanctions to be slapped on Iran over its disputed nuclear program. But with Russia, and especially China, skeptical of any new U.N. penalties, they have to tread carefully to maintain six power unity on how to deal with the Islamic Republic.

International concerns include Iran's refusal to heed U.N. Security Council demands that it freeze its enrichment program; fears that it may be hiding more nuclear facilities after its belated revelations that it was building a secret fortified enrichment plant, and its stonewalling of an IAEA probe of alleged programs geared to developing nuclear arms.

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,585027,00.html

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Oklahoma Authorities Looking for 3 Escaped Inmates

February 06, 2010

Associated Press

FORT SUPPLY, Okla. — 

Authorities in northeast Oklahoma said they were still looking Saturday for three men who escaped from a state prison at Fort Supply a day earlier.

William S. Key Correction Center warden's assistant Linda Eike identified the escaped men as 20-year-old Dennis W. Finch, 22-year-old Jake D. Trout and 20-year-old Christopher D. Hibl. She said they escaped around 10:15 p.m. Friday.

Jenny Colliston, dispatcher with the Woodward County sheriff's office, said Saturday that a residence near Fargo, south of Fort Supply, was broken into and some guns and clothing were taken. She said authorities thought the men were now armed and dangerous and that at least one of them has changed out of his inmate's uniform. The three are believed to be traveling on foot, she said.

According to descriptions provided by the prison, all three men are white and all three have several tattoos visible on their bodies.

The prison said Finch's tattoos say "Jamie," "California Boy" and "USMC," while Trout's tattoos include one reading "Hard" on his left arm, along with an image of a gecko, the words "Life-Death" a star, a clover and the word "Smash" and, on his right arm, the word "Tymes" with spelled with a "Y," along with a cross and "Luke 10:19." The prison said Hibl has the slogan "winners make it happen, losers make excuses" on his left arm and "TRAE 6-11-08" along with a drama mask on his right arm.

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,585021,00.html

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From MSNBC

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India successfully tests nuclear-capable missile

NEW DELHI - India again successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable missile Sunday that can hit targets across much of Asia and the Middle East, an official said.

It was the fourth test of the Agni III missile, the official at the Defence Research and Development Organization said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. The first attempt in 2006 failed, but last two tests were successful.

India's current arsenal of missiles is largely intended for confronting archrival Pakistan. The Agni III, in contrast, is India's longest-range missile, designed to reach 3,000 kilometers (1,900 miles) — putting China's major cities well into range, as well as Middle Eastern targets.

India's homegrown missile arsenal already includes the short-range Prithvi ballistic missile, the medium-range Akash, the anti-tank Nag and the supersonic Brahmos missile, developed jointly with Russia.

The missile was launched from Wheeler Island off the eastern state of Orissa on Sunday morning.

The test appeared unlikely to significantly raise tensions in the region.

Nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan usually notify each other ahead of such missile launches, in keeping with an agreement between the two nations. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since they gained independence from Britain in 1947.

The two sides began talks aimed at resolving their differences over the Himalayan region of Kashmir and other disputes in 2004. India put the peace process on hold soon after terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November 2008, which India blamed on the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

India recently offered to restart peace talks, though Pakistan has yet to formally accept.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35280268/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

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Internet rape case jolts Wyoming city

CASPER, Wyo. - Authorities say a Casper woman was assaulted at her front door, raped at knifepoint in her living room and left bound on the floor, and they say one of the men charged in the brutal attack claimed that he thought it was invited.

Two men are accused in the crime. One is charged with carrying out the rape. The other, the woman's ex-boyfriend, stands accused of posing as the victim online and claiming she harbored a rape fantasy and wanted to be assaulted.

The case in the central Wyoming city of Casper, population 54,000, illustrates that middle America isn't immune to the dangers of Internet anonymity and predators who target victims through online ads that hint at sex and prostitution.

Prosecutor Mike Blonigen, the Natrona County district attorney, declined to comment on the specifics of the ongoing rape case. But he said Internet cases generally pose a challenge to law enforcement.

"Tracking down who's involved is relatively difficult," Blonigen said. "It's pretty easy to set up a false identity in cyberspace, so that's always an issue. And of course, they have to make some overt act to actually accomplish any of these things. We're not the thought police."

In the Casper case, Blonigen's office has charged Ty Oliver McDowell, 26, of Bar Nunn, a Casper suburb, with three counts of first-degree sexual assault, one count of kidnapping and one count of aggravated burglary. Jebidiah James Stipe, 27, a Marine based in Twentynine Palms, Calif., is charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree sexual assault.

Lawyers representing McDowell and Stipe declined comment.

A few days before the Casper woman was raped, she had complained to the Natrona County Sheriff's Department that someone had made a false Craigslist posting about her, including photographs and personal information. The ad read, "Need a real aggressive man with no concern for women," authorities said.

Craigslist took the advertisement down when the woman complained. Yet prosecutors say it was posted long enough to catch the attention of McDowell, a medical technologist.

'Rape fantasy'

According to a statement filed in court by Natrona County Sheriff's Deputy Todd Sexton, McDowell waived his right to remain silent and talked to deputies investigating the case.

"McDowell admitted to going to the victim's residence ... and having sexual contact with (the woman) to fulfill a 'rape fantasy' for her," Sexton wrote.

McDowell told investigators that he had corresponded with a person he thought was the woman at an e-mail address featured on the advertisement, Sexton wrote.

However, prosecutors charge that McDowell was actually communicating by e-mail with Stipe, the woman's former boyfriend. They say Stipe posted the ad to set the woman up for the attack without her knowledge.

The San Bernardino County (Calif.) Sheriff's Department on Dec. 16 arrested Stipe, a private first-class in the U.S. Marine Corps then stationed at Twentynine Palms. A spokeswoman for the Marine Corps said Stipe enlisted in July 2001 and, "was being processed for administrative separation as a result of a pattern of misconduct at the time of his arrest."

The Casper case is one of several sex crimes to grab headlines recently in which the Internet linked perpetrators and victims. Law enforcement officials around the country also have in the past accused Craigslist of promoting prostitution.

Scrutiny of Craigslist increased significantly when prosecutors in Boston last year charged that former medical student Philip Markoff used Craigslist to arrange a meeting with masseuse Julissa Brisman. He's accused of shooting her to death last April and of attacking other women he met through the site.

In 2008, Craigslist agreed to tighten its adult services advertisements as part of an agreement with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and with the attorneys general for 43 states and territories, including Wyoming.

Craigslist changes

Under the agreement, Craigslist started requiring a working telephone number and charging a small credit card fee for each such ad.

"Requiring credit card verification and charging a fee to post in this category raises accountability to a point where we expect few illicit ads will remain," Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster said in November 2008 in a joint statement with the state prosecutors and the children's center.

Craigslist didn't respond to an e-mail sent to their San Francisco headquarters seeking comment on the Wyoming rape case, although a company phone message requests that press inquiries be made by e-mail.

Blonigen, the Casper prosecutor, said Craigslist was cooperative with Wyoming investigators.

"I would prefer that they maybe not run these ads," Blonigen said. "You know somebody's going to do it even if they don't."

Wyoming State Sen. Tony Ross, R-Cheyenne, is a criminal defense attorney and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in the state Legislature. He said the committee may have to consider whether state law is up to the challenge of dealing with sexual predators who prowl the Internet.

"The world is changing so rapidly here, particularly with regard to Internet, cyber crimes, and things like that, that we're going to see a whole new evolution of law, it seems to me," Ross said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35272248/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

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Obama honors 7 slain CIA employees as patriots

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama paid somber tribute Friday to the seven CIA employees killed in one of the worst attacks in the history of the U.S. intelligence agency, calling them patriots who "served in the shadows and took pride in it" before paying the highest cost for freedom.

The White House released a transcript of Obama's remarks from a memorial service at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., which was closed to the media. More than 1,000 agency workers attended, as did family members of the employees who were killed during the suicide bombing attack in Afghanistan on Dec. 30.

"To their colleagues and all who served with them — those here today, those still recovering, those watching around the world — I say: Let their sacrifice be a summons," Obama said. "To carry on their work. To complete this mission. To win this war, and to keep our country safe."

The seven CIA employees and a Jordanian intelligence officer were killed when a suicide bomber detonated his cache of explosives at Camp Chapman, a tightly secured CIA base in Khost province, a dangerous region southeast of the Afghan capital Kabul. The CIA had cultivated the bomber — a Jordanian doctor identified as Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi — in hopes of obtaining information about al-Qaida's second in command. Al-Balawi turned out to be a double-agent.

In a video broadcast after his death, the bomber said the attack was meant to avenge the death of the former Pakistani Taliban leader in a CIA missile strike.

Obama offered words of comfort to the parents and spouses of those killed. And to their children, he said: "I know that this must be so hard and confusing, but please always remember this. It wasn't always easy for your mom or dad to leave home. But they went to another country to defend our country."

The names of those killed were blacked out from the transcript to preserve confidentiality. Obama said the work of the seven employees, like that of the CIA more broadly, is unknown to Americans but remains recorded forever in the terrorist attacks that were thwarted and the lives that were saved.

"They served in secrecy, but today every American can see their legacy," Obama said.

A recent event to pay tribute to the employees raised about $3.4 million to support the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation, more than doubling its net worth. The Washington-based foundation provides benefits to the families of CIA officers killed in the line of duty. It primarily helps pay college expenses for children of fallen officers.

The Jan. 29 fundraiser in Washington attracted hundreds of former and current agency officials, including former CIA directors George Tenet, President George H.W. Bush and Stansfield Turner, along with current CIA director Leon Panetta.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35261659/ns/politics/

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