New Form of Outsourcing...L&C

...And the pink slips keep coming. The big boys are keeping the stock market at highs and with the media in their pocket, there is little chance that the public is aware of what is happening on Main St. All across this nation small towns and villages have created a new form of outsourcing. The recession has caused them to cut spending due to lower revenues, especially through real estate. In their search to find more money to provide services, a new twist has developed. These small notches on the map can't afford these services, however they are afraid to cut the cord. They may lose more citizens who may move to a more affluent area, which means even less revenues in a downward cycle.
Solution?
Send the work to nearby locations, lower our costs by cutting workers, eliminating space/rental costs and equipment servicing. In Molalla, Ore. they have outsourced their building permit and inspections to Clackamas, County. They saved over $400,000.
Lowell and Westfir, Ore. outsourced traffic patrols and criminal complaints to nearby Oak Ridge, Ore. Oak Ridge then closed its 911 dispatch service and outsourced it to Lane County Sheriff Department. The savings spread along with the idea. Eugene, Ore now gives its legal work to Lane County Sheriff Dept.
There is on record over 700 cases of New York towns and villages off-loading public-sector tasks to larger government agencies.
Not Just Speeding Tickets
In California almost all rural areas use the California Highway Patrol to keep local law and order. In Florida many counties share 911 dispatch service and sheriff patrols. Bottom line: local government employment is following the lead by corporate America. Agencies are cutting costs which sadly means jobs too.
Liars and Crooks:This week goes to Commodity Futures Trading Commission who are about to drop their investigation into the manipulation of the price of silver on the exchange. Amazingly, Bart Chilton, the Commissioner stated,"he believed there had been "fraudulent efforts" to "deviously control" the silver price. Who benefits? JP Morgan and HSBC. Keep this in mind when the OWS stage their demonstration on 17 Sept. as they are carted off to jail.