Jobs, jobs, jobs

Comedian Stephen Colbert said in Nov. that the U.S. midterm elections sent a strong, clear message to President Obama that Americans want him to focus on jobs. "So this week he went to visit those American jobs in India," Colbert joked. Many Americans feel their livelihood is slipping away forever, because the jobs that are going abroad aren't being replaced at home. Although the Czech unemployment rate of 9.6% in Dec. was higher than the U.S. rate of 9.4%, jobs aren't much of an issue. In fact, much more coverage is given to the 3,500 doctors who are vowing to voluntarily give up their jobs if they don't get higher wages. Perhaps it's the calm before the storm. Czech industrial production is bustling along at a 15.9% clip, but an increasing number of Czechs aren't sharing in the process. And the Nečas government is dead set on reducing the welfare payments that help many of these people survive....