Note to Republicans: "We must act; these are serious crisis times"

[ProSense]

The one thing Barack Obama wants more than to have bipartisanship -- and he wants it -- the one thing he wants more is to solve the problem. And at the end of the day, we're going to do it with the Republicans or without them. We must act; these are serious crisis times. -- Barbara Boxer

Mass layoffs surge in 2008, continue at rapid pace

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON – Mass layoffs involving 50 or more workers increased sharply last year, and large job cuts appear to be accelerating in 2009 at a furious pace.

Boeing, Pfizer, Home Depot and other U.S. corporate titans have announced tens of thousands of job cuts this week alone.

The economy is likely to continue to shed jobs for the rest of this year, even if an economic stimulus bill pushed by President Barack Obama is approved, economists said.

The Labor Department reported Wednesday that 21,137 mass layoffs took place last year, up from 15,493 in 2007. That's the highest annual total since 2001, the last time the economy was in recession, and the second-highest since the department began tracking mass layoffs in 1995.

More than 2.1 million workers were fired as a result of last year's mass layoffs, the department said.

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Postmaster General: Mail days may need to be cut

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Massive deficits could force the post office to cut out one day of mail delivery, the postmaster general told Congress on Wednesday, in asking lawmakers to lift the requirement that the agency deliver mail six days a week. If the change happens, that doesn't necessarily mean an end to Saturday mail delivery. Previous post office studies have looked at the possibility of skipping some other day when mail flow is light, such as Tuesday.

Faced with dwindling mail volume and rising costs, the post office was $2.8 billion in the red last year. "If current trends continue, we could experience a net loss of $6 billion or more this fiscal year," Postmaster General John E. Potter said in testimony for a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee.

Total mail volume was 202 billion items last year, over 9 billion less than the year before, the largest single volume drop in history.

And, despite annual rate increases, Potter said 2009 could be the first year since 1946 that the actual amount of money collected by the post office declines.

"It is possible that the cost of six-day delivery may simply prove to be unaffordable," Potter said. "I reluctantly request that Congress remove the annual appropriation bill rider, first added in 1983, that requires the Postal Service to deliver mail six days each week."

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Dan G. Blair, chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission, noted in his testimony that cutting service could also carry the risk of loss of mail volume. He suggested Congress review both delivery and restrictions it imposed on the closing of small and rural post offices.

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Gore addressed climate change and economic stimulus in an appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today:

Gore urges Congress to quickly pass stimulus package and climate bill

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Speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, VP-turned-climate-guru Al Gore urged lawmakers to move quickly on both the economic-stimulus package and a cap-and-trade climate bill. His testimony -- which included an updated version of his Inconvenient Truth slide show, now with even scarier data -- was warmly received by Republicans as well as Democrats.

"I urge this Congress to quickly pass the entirety of President Obama's recovery package," Gore said. "The plan's unprecedented and critical investments in four key areas -- energy efficiency, renewables, a unified national energy grid, and the move to clean cars -- represent an important down payment and are long overdue." He said he favors the House version of the bill (passed Wednesday afternoon), which includes more funding for efficiency, renewable energy, and mass transit.

This was the first major hearing of the 111th Congress for the Foreign Relations Committee, whose new chair is Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.). By shining a spotlight on Gore and climate change at the hearing, Kerry sent a clear message about his priorities.

"Frankly, the science is screaming at us," Kerry said. He cited a recent study from the University of Pennsylvania, MIT, and the Heinz Center that found that even if the world aims for the highest goals currently on the table -- including Obama's call for an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2050 -- carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would still far exceed safe levels. "If every nation were to make good on its existing promises, we would still see atmospheric carbon dioxide levels well above 600 parts per million -- 50 percent above where we are now. ... And no one in the scientific community disputes that this would be catastrophic."

"Some may argue that we cannot afford to address this issue in the midst of an economic crisis," Kerry continued. "Those who pose that question have it fundamentally wrong. This is a moment of enormous opportunity for new technology, new jobs, and the greening and transformation of our economy."

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Guess the Repubs haven't learned any lessons from 2006 and 2008.

[Deja Q]

1. If the mail volume is light, one day's wait is fine and think of the gas it will save

[tridim]

2. Honestly I wouldn't mind if they went to 3 days a week.

Mail is mostly junk anyway.

[ProSense]

3. That may be a solution, but it seems that they need more streamlining. n/t