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<p align="center"> <img border="0" src="../graphics/hronthejob.jpg" width="504" height="54"></p>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">WHERE
WILL YOU BE IN FIVE YEARS?</font></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Will
your best employees still be with you in five years, in two? Wouldn�t
it be great for your company if you had a better handle on that? Wouldn�t
it be great for your employees as well? Success almost always comes as
a result of planning the future and managing the steps it takes to get there.
That�s true for you and it�s true for your employees. Planning and managing
for your employee�s future is called �Career Planning�. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Career
Planning is different from �Succession Planning� but they are related.
Succession Planning is focused on the company�s needs and how you will have
the right people in place and ready when future vacancies occur in key positions.
Career Planning is focused on the employee�s needs and how he/she will be in
place and ready to move into the future positions they wish to be in.
Ideally, the company and the individual, working together, can realize both
of these futures</font></p>
<h3><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Career Planning Guidelines</font></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Although
in large companies, this may be a project to be outsourced to professional career
planners, but for the rest of us, we can readily perform this function ourselves
for our own companies. Here are some guidelines to use if you�re going
to create career planning in your company. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .55in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Let employees develop individualized career plans based on their
own expectations.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .55in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Ask them to paint you a picture of where they want to be in five
years and also in two years. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .55in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Work with each employee to realistically develop a career achievement
plan. The plan needs to Identify where they want to be in two years and
five years, compared to where they are now. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .55in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Identify the steps, or milestones it would logically take to get
from here to there. That two-year goal should fit in place on that timetable.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .55in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Identify the education, training, certification, experiences,
cross training, job sharing etc., that the employee will take to reach each
milestone. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .55in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Plan out what part, if any, the company will assist in.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .55in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Consider rewards and/or recognition for achieving those milestones.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.05in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"> Uppermost
in all this planning must be the understanding that the entire process and outcome
is the responsibility of the employee. The company cannot be responsible
for the success or progress of any one individual. Beyond the legal issues
of promising employees something you cannot guarantee will happen, be aware
that only the employee is capable of achieving these results. As the company,
you can discuss the probability of future openings and the possibility of advancement
based on historical growth and solid future plans. But career planning
is not a guaranteed end result, rather it is a focused opportunity for the employee.
</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.05in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">In
career planning employees should not be herded into an aggressive course of
development that is pre-structured by the company. Allow each individual
to help in the design process. There may be many roads that lead to the
desired destination.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.05in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">In
many cases, the future your employee desires may not be the future you have
to offer. Not every employee you have is destined to be with you forever.
But that future can be coordinated with your company�s. Part of that person�s
career plan may include preparing for them to eventually move on, but they can
be developing their skills to your advantage and also help in preparing the
succession plan for that position. Providing them with career achievement
plans can get them focused on development, excite them with progress and improve
your odds of retaining them. </font></p>
<hr>
<h2 style="margin-left:.75in" align="center">
<font face="Verdana" color="#008000">Have an employment question?</font></h2>
<h3 style="margin-left:.75in" align="center"><font face="Verdana">Send it to
<a href="mailto:[email protected]?subject=From HR On The Job">
[email protected]</a></font></h3>
<p style="margin-left:.75in" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana" size="2">
Please include Company Name and Association in your e-mail. Company
identification will be kept confidential.</font></b></p>
<hr>
<h2 align="left"><b><u><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hitchhiking on the Information
Highway</font></u></b></h2>
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font
size="4" color="#FF0000">Dateline: October 2006</font></b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Note. Although we attempt to provide the HRU update on the first
of each month, we are normally delayed awaiting the release of several
monthly government statistical reports. We will hereafter update the information
as each report becomes available without waiting for all of them to be
released.</font></i></p>
<p> </p>
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<td width="100%" height="4031">
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<div align="center">
<div align="left">
<h2 class="MsoBodyText2" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">VIRGINIA, TEXAS
AND NORTH CAROLINA-</font></h2>
<h2 class="MsoBodyText2" align="center" style="text-align:center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">THE
BEST STATES FOR BUSINESS ?</font></h2>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"> </h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Growing
companies tend to go where their businesses will do best.
They expand and migrate into states where the regulations are less
restrictive, their costs will be lower and where there�s a qualified
workforce. </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">The
top six qualities companies normally look for when selecting a location
to build are:</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Business Costs (cost of labor, energy and taxes)</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Labor Pool (size and educational level of the workforce
and projected population growth)</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Regulatory Environment</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Economic Climate (growth in jobs, income and gross
state product)</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Overall Growth Prospects</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Quality Of Life (schools, crime rate, cost of living
and poverty rates)</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Forbes
Magazine, using these criteria, ranked the 50 U.S. states in the
order of their desirability to business. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Forbes
ranked Virginia in the top ten in all six categories. That
made <b> Virginia</b> number one in the nation. Next came
<b>Texas</b> and then<b> North Carolina. </b>Although <b>Wyoming
</b>held the top rank in the category of Business Costs, they ranked
23 overall. <b> New Hampshire</b> ranked on top in the Labor
Pool category, but their Regulatory Environment and their Business
Costs helped bring it down to number 18. <b>Iowa </b>was number
one in the category of Quality Of Life.</font></p>
<h3 class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Here�s
the top ten states for business:</font></span></u></b></h3>
<table border="0" width="40%" id="table21" cellspacing="1" align="left">
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>1.</b></font></span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Virginia</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>2.</b></font></span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Texas</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>3.</b></font></span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>North Carolina</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>4.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></b> </font></span> </font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Utah</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>5.</b></font></span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Colorado</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>6.</b></font></span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Idaho</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>7.</b></font></span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Nebraska</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>8.</b></font></span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Delaware</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>9.</b></font></span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Florida</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>10.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></b> </font></span> </font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Georgia</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<h3 class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Here�s
the bottom ten states for business:</font></span></u></b></h3>
<table border="0" width="40%" id="table22">
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>41. </b> </span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Pennsylvania</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>42. </b> </span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Hawaii</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>43. </b> </span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Rhode Island</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>44. </b> </span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Illinois</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>45.</b></span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Michigan</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>46. </b> </span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Maine</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>47. </b> </span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Alaska</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>48. </b> </span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Mississippi</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>49. </b> </span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>West Virginia</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>50. </b> </span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Louisiana</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p> </div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .3in" align="left"> </p>
<table border="1" width="50%" id="table17" cellpadding="2" height="102">
<tr>
<td valign="top" height="78">
<h4 align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�Thank
goodness we don�t get all the government we pay for�</font></h4>
<h4 align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i>-Will
Rogers</i></font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <span style="font-size: 16.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">EMPLOYEES
DON�T WANT TO BE MANAGERS?</font></span></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b>
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Studies
by two organizations, The Center For Creative Leadership (CCL) and
Executive Development Associates (EDA), both produced basically the
same report, that organizations are not prepared for the developing
labor shortages already causing growth problems in many countries
and even in some American states. </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
The major focus of the reports was on the lack of succession planning.
Employers nationwide reported that their leadership bench strength
is already a problem in that they do not have the skilled people coming
along to take over for their key employees who may leave. To
exacerbate the problem, many of those top people will be retiring
in a few years. The Baby-Boomer retirement scare is about to
become a reality. 70 percent of the companies in the study said
that this issue would have a major impact on the quality of their
management and com-any success over the next three years.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Is
it the quality of the successors or the quantity? Jim Best,
Chairman of the Board of EDA says it�s both. He added, �More
and more companies are saying that leadership is no longer an exiting
path for people. There is so much stress associated with being
a leader that they are having a backlash of people who don�t want
to be in leadership positions�. Schools and the media seem to
project an unfavorable image of business and bosses and more people
are focusing on free time, family and early retirements than on career
advancement. How will this affect America�s competitive position
in the world market?</font></p>
<p> </div>
<div align="center">
<table border="1" width="50%" id="table19">
<tr>
<td height="323" valign="top">
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�I
always give 100% at work.</font></b></h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>12%
on Monday</b></font></h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>23%
on Tuesday</b></font></h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>40%
on Wednesday</b></font></h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>20%
on Thursday</b></font></h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>and</b></font></h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>5%
on Friday�</b></font></h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"> </h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i>-Mickey
Gorman</i></font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div align="center">
<h2><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">SMOKERS CAN�T
GET A BREAK</font></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">For
more than ten years the laws against smoking at work have spread to
become almost universal. Smoking in public buildings is banned.
Many municipalities such as Montgomery County, Maryland have passed
laws banning smoking anywhere in the city, including streets, parks,
alleys, restaurants and all bars. </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">A
town official in Fairfax, Virginia attempted to pass a law forbidding
smoking in your own home if a window or door were open, or if a child
lived there. (It didn�t pass).</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
Weyko, Inc in Michigan last year refused employment to smokers and
fired all employees who didn�t quit smoking even in their private
lives. Alaska Airlines now requires a urine test for tobacco
as a pre-employment screening. The Union Pacific railroad no
longer offers employment to smokers in several states where they operate.
</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
Now the state governments are joining the fray. Montgomery County,
Pennsylvania is changing it�s laws (effective January 1, 2007) to
prevent employment of smokers. The state of Georgia now charges
a $480 a year fee to employees who smoke. It is considered an
extra cost for insurance. </font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText3" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">I�m
not a smoker, but this all happened so easily that I have to wonder
if alcoholic drinkers or overweight people are next. What other
health problems can you be predicted to have? </font></p>
<table border="1" width="50%" id="table20">
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�If
a government were put in charge of the Sahara Dessert, within
five years there�d be a shortage of sand�</font></b></h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b> </b></font></h4>
<h4 align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i>-Milton
Friedman</i></font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
</span>
<blockquote>
<hr width="75%">
<p></p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<table border="0" width="33%">
<tr>
<td width="64%" valign="top">
<div style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1; padding-left: 4; padding-right: 4; padding-top: 1; padding-bottom: 1">
<p align="left"><font size="-1"
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Minimum Wage:</b></font></p>
</div>
</td>
<center>
<td width="100%" valign="top">
<h3><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">$5.15/hr.</font></h3>
</td>
</center>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="99%">
<tr>
<td width="13%" valign="middle" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Average
Income:</b></font></td>
<td width="67%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1">
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber4" height="76">
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="76">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber5">
<tr>
<td width="50%" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Hourly</font></b></td>
<td width="50%" align="center"><b><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Weekly</font></b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber6" height="50">
<tr>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"> <b>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<u>
August
2005</u></font></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><br>
$16.16</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"> <b>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><u>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
August</font></u></span><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="text-decoration: none"><u>
2006</u></span></font></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><br>
</u>$16.79</font></td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><b><u>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
August</font></u></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><b> 2005</b></u><br>
</font></span>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
$545.59</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><b><u>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
August</font></u></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><b> 2006</b></u></font></span><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><br>
</u>$567.50</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
<td width="20%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<table border="0" width="99%" height="96">
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="40" colspan="2">
<h3 align="center"><span style="text-decoration: none"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Federal<br>
Poverty Level:</b></font></span></h3>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%" height="48">
<p align="center"><b><u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">One
(1) Person<br>
</font></u></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$10,160</font>
</td>
<td width="50%" height="48">
<p align="center"><u><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Family
of Four</font></b></u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><br>
$19,806</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<b>
<table border="0" width="100%">
<tr>
<td width="37%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>IRS Mileage Allowance :</b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="63%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1">
<div align="left"><font size="-1"><b>44.5</b> </font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">cents per mile<br>
</font></div>
</td>
</center>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="32%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>Postage:</b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="68%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1"> </td>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">1 oz.</font></td>
<td width="68%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.39</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Each additional ounce</font></td>
<td width="68%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.24</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><i>Postcards</i></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.24</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
</b>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<b>
<p>
<table border="0" width="38%" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr> </tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="98%">
<tr>
<td width="34%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b><u>Population:</u></b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="82%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1"> </td>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="34%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>World</b></font></td>
<td width="82%">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">6.5 Billion</font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="34%" valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>U.S.</b></font></td>
<td width="82%" valign="top">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">298.9 Million</font>
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><i>One
birth every 8 seconds<br>
One death every 13 seconds<br>
One new immigrant every 30 seconds<br>
Net gain = 1 person every second</i></font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</b>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="1" width="99%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr> <b>
<td width="48%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">U.S.
Workforce</font></b></p>
</td>
</b>
<center>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<b>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><u>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
August</font></u></span></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><u><font size="-1">
2005</font></u></b></font></td>
<b>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<b>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><u>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
August</font></u></span></b><u><span style="font-weight:700"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
</font></span>
</u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>
<b>
2006 </b></u></font></td>
</b>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">U.S. Civilian Workforce</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">149,792,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">151,698,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font size="-1">Number Employed</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">142,425,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
144,579,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Number Unemployed</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1">7,367,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
7,119,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Unemployment Rate</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<p><font size="-1">4.9</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">%</font></p>
</td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<p><font size="-1">4.7</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="96">
<tr>
<td width="43%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1" height="38">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font size="-1">2005
Absentee Rates </font></b></font></td>
<center>
<td width="56%" align="center" valign="top" height="38"> </td>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="44%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1" height="31">
<font size="-1"><span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Men
</font></span> </font></td>
<td width="56%" align="center" valign="top" height="31">
<div align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.5%</font></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="44%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1" height="27">
<font size="-1"><span style="text-decoration: none"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Women</font></span></font></td>
<td width="56%" align="center" valign="top" height="27">
<div align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">4.4%</font></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="44%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1" height="23">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Total</b></font></td>
<td width="56%" align="center" valign="top" height="23">
<h4 align="center"><font size="-1"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">3.3%</font></b></font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber3" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="100%">
<h4><b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">PRODUCTIVITY
OF THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE</font></b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br>
(The amount of goods produced, divided by the number of work hours
it took to produce it)</font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber2" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1992</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">3.7%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1993</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">0.5%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1994</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">1.3%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1995</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">0.9%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1996</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.5%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1997</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.0%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1998</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.6%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1999</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.4%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2000</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.9%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2001</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">1.1%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2002</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">4.7%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2003</b></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4.5%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font size="-1"><b>2004</b></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font size="-1">4.0%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>2005</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2.6%</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>1st
Quarter 2006</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">+3.7%</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<font size="-1"><b>2nd</b></font><span style="text-decoration: none"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>
Quarter 2006</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%">
<font size="-1">+1.6%</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="30"> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><font face="Verdana" size="2">� William J. Cook</font></p>
</body>
</html>