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In This Section
Do we even trust our leaders to help?
Retiring old ideas about retirement
Social Security more solvent than most Americans realize
Focus group participants discuss retirement
Series looks at middle-class angst
Insurance misery has no easy cure
Health-care matchup finds Ohio falls short
Most Read Stories
Family found dead in Ohio home
Robbers order bar patrons to empty pockets
Man gets 3 years in prison for having sex with horse
Sex-toy study at Duke University raises some eyebrows
Akron man turns himself in after authorities turn up heat
Get ready for detour, delays on Route 8
Man appears alive at own funeral
Akron police follow blood trail to murder suspect
Blogs:
Pets:
Not 101 Dalmations…but close!
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
Saturday entertainment, one more time …
Akron Zips:
No. 1 UA hopes to be perfect on Senior Night
Tribe Matters:
Tribe makes roster moves
Cleveland Browns:
Lewis doesn't like boycott
Kent State Sports:
Kent State falls to Akron, 20-28
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs at Knicks
Buckeye Blogging:
Weekly ‘B’ Deck Report – New Mexico St.
Varsity Letters:
Wrestling, bowling teams prepare for season
All Da King's Men:
Bigger And Better Boondoggles
Blog of Mass Destruction:
The Shooter
Akron Law Café:
NEW U.S. Supreme Court Database
See Jane Style:
Muffle Your Muffler
Car Chase:
Perfect Weather for an Autumn Drive
Let's Talk Real Estate:
RUMORS: Downtown Restaurant Explosion
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Jack is looking for a trip to Southern Ohio the week of November 16.
Sound Check:
The Black Keys to perform benefit concert at Musica on November 27
HRLite House:
Personal Rant – Why People Do Not Live in Northeast Ohio
Akron Gamer:
New 'Call of Duty' could set entertainment record
Published on Sunday, May 25, 2008
SPEAKING OF . . . After publishing findings that show Americans are earning less than their parents, the Beacon Journal invited readers to participate in focus groups. Here's some of what they said.
Mario Nemr, 29, of Akron: ''I look at myself at age 17, when I graduated from high school. I wasn't ready for college. I would've been much better off laying bricks somewhere. . . . You feel like if you don't go to college, you are a loser. But I know a lot of guys who didn't go to college, who are doing great.''
Tom Fuller, 62, of Akron: ''You have a whole population of people who would love to have a manual job, a factory job, an assembly-line job. And they're not there. I mean, the jobs aren't there. So what happens to those folks? I'll tell you. Where I see some of them, they're sitting on their cans and in some cases getting into trouble.''
Marguerite Coffield, 50, of Stow : ''The area is so dry. If you lose your job, there's very little opportunity. I'm now in my 15th month of nonpermanent employment. My father worked at Goodyear for 40 years. We never wanted for anything. We didn't grow up worrying. Now I have three adult sons — 19, 21 and 25 — and they are the most pessimistic people you've ever met. They don't believe in America or the American dream.''
Mark Nicol, 49, of Uniontown: ''I can remember I worked for General Tire in the late '70s when I first got out of high school. It was a good-paying job — I was making $8 an hour and living at home. Back then, I felt like I was rich. At that time, people thought that was just a blue-collar job. But right now, I think a lot of people would give anything to see that kind of job come back. . . . Not only did they pay a good wage, they had tuition reimbursement for employees attending the university. If you were willing to try to help improve yourself, they would help out. That was a priceless benefit.''
Louella M. Reynolds, 51, of Akron: ''One thing I see [that] is very disturbing is the bonuses awarded the higher officials at the end of the year, when you're fighting to get 2 and 3 percent increases and they're giving themselves big, fat bonuses at the end of the year. . . . These CEOs and their assistants and their chairpeople are just cushioning their pockets while the little underdogs are there scuffling to get a 3 percent raise.''
Bill Jelen, 43, of Uniontown: ''The Friday layoffs became a regular occurrence at Telxon in Fairlawn. You hated to see anyone from H.R. headed your way with a box on Friday afternoons. I worried about getting fired for 13 years.''
New century brings fewer jobs to U.S.
Ohio doesn't bounce back after last recession
Ohio manufacturing jobs decline
Mixed picture for Ohio service sector
Ohio's winning and losing occupations
U.S. occupation trends: How jobs counts have changed since 2000 and annual earnings in 2007
Ohio occupation trends: How jobs counts have changed since 2000 and annual earnings in 2007
U.S. job counts for high-technology industry sectors
Ohio job counts for high-technology industry sectors
SPEAKING OF . . . After publishing findings that show Americans are earning less than their parents, the Beacon Journal invited readers to participate in focus groups. Here's some of what they said.
Mario Nemr, 29, of Akron: ''I look at myself at age 17, when I graduated from high school. I wasn't ready for college. I would've been much better off laying bricks somewhere. . . . You feel like if you don't go to college, you are a loser. But I know a lot of guys who didn't go to college, who are doing great.''
Tom Fuller, 62, of Akron: ''You have a whole population of people who would love to have a manual job, a factory job, an assembly-line job. And they're not there. I mean, the jobs aren't there. So what happens to those folks? I'll tell you. Where I see some of them, they're sitting on their cans and in some cases getting into trouble.''
Marguerite Coffield, 50, of Stow : ''The area is so dry. If you lose your job, there's very little opportunity. I'm now in my 15th month of nonpermanent employment. My father worked at Goodyear for 40 years. We never wanted for anything. We didn't grow up worrying. Now I have three adult sons — 19, 21 and 25 — and they are the most pessimistic people you've ever met. They don't believe in America or the American dream.''
Mark Nicol, 49, of Uniontown: ''I can remember I worked for General Tire in the late '70s when I first got out of high school. It was a good-paying job — I was making $8 an hour and living at home. Back then, I felt like I was rich. At that time, people thought that was just a blue-collar job. But right now, I think a lot of people would give anything to see that kind of job come back. . . . Not only did they pay a good wage, they had tuition reimbursement for employees attending the university. If you were willing to try to help improve yourself, they would help out. That was a priceless benefit.''
Louella M. Reynolds, 51, of Akron: ''One thing I see [that] is very disturbing is the bonuses awarded the higher officials at the end of the year, when you're fighting to get 2 and 3 percent increases and they're giving themselves big, fat bonuses at the end of the year. . . . These CEOs and their assistants and their chairpeople are just cushioning their pockets while the little underdogs are there scuffling to get a 3 percent raise.''
Bill Jelen, 43, of Uniontown: ''The Friday layoffs became a regular occurrence at Telxon in Fairlawn. You hated to see anyone from H.R. headed your way with a box on Friday afternoons. I worried about getting fired for 13 years.''
