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LE MATINAL, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2010
Janet Busekros,75, who has worked her entire life to feed her four children and give them a good life. Instead if enjoying a well-earned retirement, Bsekros has had to continue working 19 hours a week in an office.
Retiring from California Arnold Schwarzenegger.
TERMINATED ARNOLD’S REIGN OF ERROR LEAVES LEGACY OF CHAOS DPA Sacramento
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e rode into Sacramento seven long years ago like an action movie hero - vowing to send California’s inept politicians packing and restore the country’s most populous state to its place as the shining symbol of the American dream. Shame, then, that nobody read his script. After two terms in office, Arnold Schwarzenegger is heading back to Hollywood, his cupboard almost bare of accomplishments. His legacy: a political system as chaotic as the one he found, and a state financial system that remains mired in deep crisis. Schwarzenegger’s failure has been so resounding in many ways that the governorship of the richest and most populous state in the US is now “the job that nobody wants,” according to Marc Ambinder, chief political correspondent of The Atlantic. Still, whether you attribute it to the ruthless ambition or generous altruism of the political species, two unusual candidates are battling to succeed Arnold. One, Democrat Jerry Brown, was once the youngest governor of California. He now wants to become the oldest, too, so he can bring his knowhow to fixing the state. The other, Republican Meg Whitman, is the former chief executive of eBay, a woman who has spent 150 million dollars (Rs 4.6 billion) of her own money in a bid to get to the governor’s mansion, where she promises, she will run California like a business. But Whitman’s massive investment is unlikely to win her the race, political analysts and polls indicate. California is staunchly Democratic, and its powerful Latino and African-American minorities are historically opposed to many Republican policies. Adding to those handicaps is the fact that Californians have just experienced seven lean Schwarzenegger years. They’ve heard Whitman’s mantra of the rich mogul working only for the good of the people — and realise that it doesn’t actually work that way. Brown has used this parallel to devastating effect in his latest campaign ad, which shows Whitman in split-screen with Schwarzenegger, repeating The Terminator’s hackneyed phrases almost word for word. Since then, the San Francisco Chronicle has even started calling her the Meg-inator. But not all California’s problems can be blamed on Schwarzenegger. The ambitious movie star came to power in 2003 after organizing a special recall election against Democratic incumbent Gray Davis. The state had been thriving in the dot-com boom but found itself with a record 23.6-billion-dollar (Rs 723.8 billion) budget deficit following the crash in 2001. Making matters worse was a disastrous energy deregulation crisis triggered by the policies of the previous Republican administration. These rules allowed private energy companies to cut their supply of electricity to California, forcing rolling blackouts and exorbitant prices for power. Schwarzenegger’s resounding victory made him a national political star. But he found it hard to translate his popularity with voters into influence over the entrenched political powers in Sacramento, where he encountered strong opposition from conservative Republicans, the Democratic majority and the state’s powerful labour unions. He found it hard to deliver on his two key promises — to reform the dysfunctional political and budgetary system, and to cut back the state pension agreements that were at the heart of California’s budget shortfall. Eventually, Schwarzenegger decided to go over the head of the legislators in a 2005 special election, in which he put his proposals to the voters in four ballot initiatives. Yet all of them were defeated, signalling the end of his love affair with voters. While the state is still mired in chaos, Schwarzenegger can claim credit for a few glimmers of progress. Before leaving he managed to pass a pension-reform bill that he claims will save the state 100 billion dollars (Rs 3.1 trillion) over the decades to come. He also championed a landmark climate-change bill that included strict emissions controls and alternative energy requirements. The ongoing financial gridlock may also finally be cut. A ballot initiative is attempting to restore a simple majority vote to get the budget passed, rather than the two-thirds majority that is currently required. But that is far from a glowing record for a candidate who made the sweeping promises that Schwarzenegger did. “There was a sense in the fall of 2003 that California was headed off a cliff,” says veteran Sacramento correspondent Nannette Miranda. “We still have problems — systemic budget problems, an electorate that feels like it’s going off the cliff. It feels like déjà vu.”
MANY US SENIOR CITIZENS CONTINUE WORKING DPA Washington
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t age 65 it’s time to retire: Hang the work clothes on a peg, plan a trip to the sunny south and sit back and enjoy life. That’s what people used to think, but the concept of retirement has been overtaken by the reality that many people have to continue working even past retirement age, particularly in the United States. Janet Busekros worked her entire life to feed her four children and give them a good life. Now she’s 75 and the children are out of the house, but instead of enjoying a well-earned retirement, Busekros has continued working. Her Social Security, the US state pension, doesn’t come close to covering her costs. “Without working I probably would have to get help from my family,” she said. Busekros stands only 140 centimetres, but she is tireless and energetic. She has already retired once - in 1997 to take care of a daughter with multiple sclerosis. When her daughter died in 2002, there was no way she could think of having her freedom. “I simply wasn’t able to keep up with the rising costs,” she said. At age 70 she started looking for a job. Now 75, she hasn’t lost her enthusiasm or positive outlook. “I’ve been very blessed to have very few (health) problems at this age.” Busekros’ story is hardly unique. Phillis Peach of Experience Works, an organisation that helps senior citizens in the US find jobs, has heard many such stories.
Too poor to
RETIRE “There is just an overwhelming number of people that need to stay in the workforce or need to go back because their retirement doesn’t keep up with their cost of living,” Peach said. “It’s difficult for these people to find a job because there are so many other people looking for work. I mean there is a lot of competition out there.” Older people comprise a growing segment of the workforce in the United
States. There are even special job fairs for people over age 50. The situation contrasts sharply with that in France where unions currently are striking to maintain 60 as the retirement age. Under current rules, workers can retire at that age in France provided they have paid into the state pension for 40.5 years. However, they are not entitled to a full pension until they are 65.
The American Association of Retired People, which represents millions of senior citizens in the US, says 17.2 per cent of all people over the age of 65 work. The number of older people in the workforce has gone up in recent years, an AARP spokesman said. The association says there are more people over the age of 65 in the workforce than people under 20. The reason so many older people work is usually financial problems and the desire to have a higher living standard. “Social Security is not keeping up with costs of living, that’s common knowledge,” said Peach. The state pension system pays an average of 750 dollars (Rs 23,000) per month. People who have to live on that without a supplementary pension from their former employer or their own savings often are poor. Experience Works says half of the older people who have jobs must work in order to survive financially. Older people also work, however, for their own personal well-being and because they like the feeling that they are needed. Busekros said these things have a positive effect on her. She works 19 hours a week in an office in which she has a lot of contact with customers. “I really like to work,” she said. “It keeps my mind going.” The AARP estimates that one-quarter of the workforce in the US will be over 55 in 2018. “It’s no longer the common thought that you have to retire at a certain age, like it used to be,” Peach said. “People are going to have to work longer than they actually planned.” Nearly half of the people over 65 working now had planned to be retired by the time they reached the age they are now. Thirty-eight per cent retired, but like Busekros went back to work after realising their pension wasn’t enough. She says she doesn’t have any great material requirements in the future. What counts for her beyond her health is having a roof over her head. She doesn’t know how many more years she will work, but says as long as she’s fit, she plans to continue.
A woman looks at a clothing booth and other accessories displayed at an exhibition for young Saudi entrepreneurs.
Visitors look at accessories displayed at an exhibition for young Saudi entrepreneurs in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah.
Saudi fatwa bars women from cashier jobs AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE Riyadh
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audi Arabia’s top clerics have challenged the government’s policy to expand jobs for women with a fatwa ruling that they should not work as cashiers in markets, in a statement obtained on Monday. In the statement obtained by AFP the official fatwa issuing body said that “it is not permissible for a woman to work in a place where they mix with men.” “It is necessary to keep away from places where men congregate. Women should look for decent work that does not make it possible for them to attract men or be attracted by men,” said the statement dated on Sunday. The ruling came from the Committee on Scholarly Work
and Ifta, the official issuer of fatwas, or Islamic religious rulings, under the Council of Senior Scholars, the top authority for Islamic issues in the kingdom. The fatwa was in response to a question –– published with the ruling –– asking specifically if women should work as cashiers in markets. It mentioned several retailers by name: Saudi-owned Panda supermarkets, the supermarket chain Marhaba and the Los Angeles-based Red Tag Clothing chain. Another retail clothing chain, UAE-controlled Centrepoint, has also begun trying female cashiers. The ruling was signed by Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, the head of the Council of Senior Scholars,
A Saudi man walks past women working inside a crafts tent in Riyadh in 2008. and six other members of the fatwa committee. The fatwa came some four months after the labour ministry quietly authorised stores in the western city of Jeddah to employ women as cashiers, in an attempt to open up opportunities for women who are forcibly segregated from men under the strict Saudi version of Sunni Islam. The first to test the policy was the Saudi-owned Panda chain, which started by putting 16 Saudi women to work at one store in the Red Sea city. While there were grumbles from clerics, there were no concerted challenges, and Marhaba and Centrepoint both announced they would also
try employing women at their checkout registers. Panda set up separate checkout lines for families and women, but not for single men, in the way that Saudi restaurants are separated into sections for men and for women and families. However, that apparently has not satisfied the conservative clerics –– even though shoppers themselves in supermarkets around the kingdom are not segregated. The fatwa’s impact was yet to be seen. Panda and labour officials could not be reached for comment. But in the Saudi context, in which court judges are all clerics
and the law is Islamic sharia, it would be hard to challenge. Moreover, King Abdullah in August decreed that only the highest-ranked clerics are permitted to issue fatwas –– placing more power in the hands of the Council of Senior Scholars. The fatwa could be a substantial barrier to the labour ministry’s mission to increase jobs for Saudi women. According to figures reported in April, unemployment among Saudi women was 28.4 per cent in 2009, up from 26.9 per cent in 2008. Thousands of women graduate from Saudi universities every year with few prospects for employment. In Jeddah, which is relatively liberal compared to the rest of the country, the gender separation rules are more frequently ignored and offices have been permitted to mix male and female staff for over a year. In Riyadh and elsewhere, the same happens surreptitiously in banks, law offices and other types of firms, though separation is still by far the rule. In places like hospitals, where employees are predominantly foreigners and because they provide a crucial service, the religious hardliners look aside. Still, women themselves are divided over the issue. One conservative women’s group called in October for the creation of women-only hospitals.