The newscasts tonight will need a lot more than a half hour to cover everything today. So many developments...
The Principal Financial Group is laying off 550 employees, 300 from the metro. It was just a few weeks ago that Senior. V.P. Mary O'Keefe was telling us repeatedly how healthy the company was, that was despite the fact Principal had requested up to $2 billion in the government and that the stock price is worth a small fraction of what it once was. Apparently, a lot has changed in a few weeks.
Gov Chet Culver is cutting $77 million (if you count money that was already approved by the state legislature for that new state office building) from state spending. Repubs must be licking their chops politically. They said last year until they were blue in the face that the dems were spending way too much money. Does this help State Auditor Dave Vaudt (who was among the loudest spending critics) as he decides whether to run for governor against Culver?
Here are the highlights from a release from the gov's office:
Freeze personnel vacancies and new temporary positions, unless approved by Department of Management (DOM), and reduce the amount of overtime.
SAVINGS: $12.6 million
Freeze out-of-state travel, unless approved by DOM, and reduce in-state travel.
SAVINGS: $1.5 million
Reduce equipment purchases, service contracts and office supplies.
SAVINGS: $5.0 million
Cuts in spending by the Regents Institutions, Judicial Branch, and Legislature.
SAVINGS: $8.9 million
Transfers made to General Fund since the last Revenue Estimating Conference meeting.
SAVINGS: $12.0 million
Request the legislature to de-appropriate funding for a new state office building.
SAVINGS: $37 million
TOTAL: $77.0 million
Plus, did you watch any of the arguments in the Iowa Supreme Court over the same sex marriage case? No decision's expected for months, at least. Will the dems at the statehouse decide to take this up beforehand? Or will they keep avoiding the issue and wait for the Court?
Posts
Murphy's Law: Iowa disappoints, ISU follows
4 days ago
2 comments:
I just watched the segment on Gay Marriage issue, correct me if I am incorrect, but did I hear one of the lawyers, at the end of the segment say, "Marriage is for procreation, period"? Beause if I did, to me, that says that the poliga mist in Texas, are perfectly fine to do what they are doing. If marriage is strictly for repopulating society, another quote I do believe I heard, then, I guess it doesn't matter if you actually love the other person, as long as you have kids. No matter how they are raised. So, lets make babies to replenish society, and it doesn't really matter if they are raised by loving parents whether they are child molesters. And, what about the Bible says that marriage should be between a man and a woman,. I'd like to know the book and verse from the Bible where that phrase appears. And if that is the case, aren't we mixing Church and Stae a bit here?. I thought that wass a no no!
Principal Job cuts. I also find it odd that none of the Senior staffing at Principal did'nt seem to want to give up any part of their salaries ( of which I'm sure they are 6 figures ) to help save a few positions of those being let go. Upper management seems to forget who the people are that keep things going. It is by no means any of them, but the people in the "trenches" that are the company. When I worked in a large corp. not unlike Principal, all of us 'grunts' doing the daily business, never could figure out what exactly the upper management people did, ie Sr VPs etc. I think that Corperate Americana needs to take a step back and make a few sacrifices themselves for the good of the company, rather than cut those people who are the company, the people who actually do the work. I bet that any of the executives wouldn't have the faintest idea what the majority of the workers do on a daily basis, to make them look good and to keep the company actually working. I think we are on our way to the DArk Ages again. There were those few who had, and the vast majority of the population, at the time, had nothing.
Post a Comment