Milford Unemployment Fares Better Than Nation

This morning there was some good news, the news was that the Nations unemployment figures were less than expected with 247,000 jobs cut. The unemployment rate also slipped nationally to 9.4%. While these numbers in no way indicate that our nation is out of the Recession they are none the less encouraging.

Milford, on the other hand, should be proud that our local employment opportunities have not been as dire as the rest of America. According to the Connecticut Department of Labor Milford as of June 2009, had an unemployment rate of 7.5% compared to 9.5% nationally for that same period.

Milford's total labor force is 33,147 with 30,668 people employed.

For entertainment purposes only I added the CERC data into this equation of which lists Milford's total 2007 population at 53,874. deduct everyone under the age of 18 (11,546) and the new labor force figure 42,328.

This adjusted labor force figure assumes an even exchange of working 16 & 17 year olds in lieu of those living in town working past the age of 70. It is also fair to assume, that elderly losses in pension and retirement accounts have caused more of them to work into their "Golden Years."

By no means am I an expert but by my calculation, and by combining the CERC statistics with the CDL statistics true un-employment in Milford is more like %16. But in all fairness this figure does not encompass those individuals who are undocumented, are part of a cash economy and do not report income to Uncle Sam.

In all cases, unemployment is a terrible thing especially when many people who relied on a single "breadwinner" no longer has that to rely on. Thankfully, even with the adjusted figure our town is doing dramatically well when compared to the nation.

The best town in CT is Colebrook with 3.5% Unemployment and Hartford the worst impacted City with 14% unemployment. Full report available at www.ctdol.state.ct.us/lmi

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON EMPLOYMENT IN CT CLICK HERE

Mail Delivery In Milford Hits Record Low

This is a blog about my daily conversations with our friendly mailmen in town. Recently I noticed there have been at least three different people delivering mail to my location. Earlier this week my local mailman Daniel stopped by to get his computer repaired and we got into a discussion about the status of the Postal Service here in Milford.

He repeated the same things that I heard my New Haven Ave. Mail person say, and that is "that the volume of mail in Milford is dramatically down." Daniel estimates that his route alone is off by about 50%.

This decline in volume could eventually translate to increased layoffs of Milford Postal workers, and the expansion of routes for the more senior postal employees. This problem has also been resonating at the national level as the post office has been running advertisements to boost flat rate box shipping.

This program, it is hoped, will increase volume from shippers who wish to have flat rate boxes up to 70Lbs. shipped anywhere in the U.S.

The economy has certainly been a factor in the Post Office problems, but when it is combined with the advent of e-mail and electronic transmissions that do not require postage, the future of the mailman gets pretty uncertain.

From my own personal experience the only things I receive via my mailbox is mostly bills and junk mail. Even many of my bills, if no money is owed or I pay online results in nothing being mailed to me in some cases.

Reform is required to alleviate these issues, and our misleading leaders always end up reverting to punitive actions against those systems that result in the problem. For a long time now there has been talk on Capitol Hill of taxing the Internet, and some Representatives have gone so far as to suggest a tax on e-mail to aid the ailing Post Office.

This idea was met with contempt from those in the Internet community who support "net neutrality" a concept that precludes any censorship, or regulation of the Internet. Media giants like Rupert Murdoch and Senator Rockefeller have gone on record and said the Internet is a economic hazard, not only to commercial interests but to the energy grid and military systems.

Thus far, there has been no successful legislation or attempts to tax E-mail to help the Postal Service, however the banking sector did succeed in having a court shut down Wikileaks, marking the first major case of Internet censorship in the U.S.

What Is Killing American's

Over the last several years I have taken part in watching countless documentaries on everything from Genetically engineered foods to the casualties caused by fast food and the tobacco industry. In todays blog I decided to compile some statistics for everyone to see. This is because we all know that there are greedy profiteers out there that will feed us and sell us anything for a buck regardless of the impact it has on our lives.

Most people being naive, believe the claims made by these big industries, who despite the facts have told us their products are safe, wonderful, and urged you to become part of the growing trend. As you watch every cheeseburger, cheap foreign product, medicine and widget come across your television to the tune of about 20-30 commercials per hour, your mind is being shaped for the benefit of the big corporations who care not a damm about anything other than selling you.

The way these companies sell you is by making their products as delicious, and addictive as possible. The aim is to keep you coming back again and again as a customer until eventually over a prolonged exposure to the plethora of health damaging products lands you sick in a hospital. The big corporations do not care about your health, but rather their bottom line... how much have they sold and how much money is there in profit. In summary they get rich, you get indebted, jobless, sick and then prematurely die, hopefully this helps you get the picture.

Something to think about while you are at home (fat and in debt), watching a foreign made T.V. with a bag of fast food on your lap.

A: Tobacco Products Kill Apx. 500,000 people every 364 Days.

B: Obesity Related Deaths Apx. 400,000 people every 364 Days.

C: American's Owe Apx. 1,000,000,000,000.00 On their Credit cards alone.

D: There are 250,000 new cases of Diabetes each year 8 Million may have it already.

E: The average Kid watches T.V. 24 hours a week.

F: America Lost Apx. 3 Million Jobs overseas.

G: Nutrasweet Discovered To Cause Brain Cancer.

H: Apx 60% Of All Marriages Ended In Divorce.

And the biggest of them all, last year the American dream of owning a home resulted in foreclosures jumping upward to a 75% increase.

America is now in your hands, this country can only be saved from the bottom up. And in the words of a famous other. "Seek to become the change you want to see in the world."

To learn more about this epidemic, read Peter Strupp's hilarious book. Fat Dumb And Ugly