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<p align="center"><img border="0" src="hronthejob.jpg" width="504" height="54"></p>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; margin-left: 0in" align="center">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">ABSENTEEISM
</font></span></h2>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; margin-left: 0in" align="center">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">AN EMPLOYEE RIGHT OR AN EMPLOYER
PROBLEM?</font></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; margin-left: 0in"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; margin-left: 0in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Absenteeism,
the act of being absent from work, is it an employees right to take time off
from work for any and all personal reasons? Or is it an unfair expense
that hits employers hard? </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">A
currently increasing phenomenon is occurring across the American workforce.
Employees feel it is their right to take more and more time off from their jobs.
Making this situation worse is the growing expectation that this time off should
be paid for by you, the employer. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">When
vacation days (10), holidays (7), sick days (3) and personal days (1) are added
up they come to 21 days for the average U.S. employee. When you add the
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allowance of 12 weeks (60 working days)
or 16 weeks (80 working days) in some states, you could reach 81 days of absenteeism
with 21 days being paid. In California employers must pay approximately
55% of the employees FMLA leave as well! </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Is
this a reasonable entitlement for employees or an unfair burden for employers?
Lets look at the costs.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">A
recent survey by the Commerce Clearing House (CCH) produced the following information.
</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: 1.0in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>In 2002 the average cost to employers for absenteeism was $789
per person </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: 1.0in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>For the average small company this reflects a price tag of $60,000
per year. For the largest employers the cost was more than $3.6 Million
per company.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: 1.0in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>The reasons were as follows:</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.0in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Personal
Illness
33%<br>
Family
Issues
24%<br>
Personal
Needs
21%<br>
Stress
12%<br>
Entitlement
Mentality 10%</font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Companies
that reported a high level of employee morale showed a 25% less absentee rate
than those that showed low employee morale. The most successful absentee control
programs have been alternative work schedules (where employees have adjustable
start/quit times, shared jobs, flex time etc.) and compressed work weeks (where
employees work 4-10 hour days or 3-12 hour days and have long weekends)
</font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Paid
leave banks have also been successful. Such programs allow each employee
a pool of total paid leave time expressed in hours (i.e. 168 hours) to be used
at the employee�s discretion. No holidays or vacations etc. are identified.
When an employee uses up his/her hours, for any reason they choose, they are
no longer paid for time off. </font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Experienced
HR professionals have long used a simple method that they say is the most effective
and efficient. They purposely recognize and respond to absenteeism. Not
in a negative manner at first, but merely acknowledging the absence personally
to the employee. Calling them at home to be sure that they are OK.
Upon their return to work acknowledge the absence. i.e. �How are you today
Jack? We missed you around here yesterday. Everything OK?� Most
employees who develop bad absenteeism do not believe that they are really missed,
that their input is so small that it just doesn�t make much difference whether
they are there or not. . Employees who feel that the work they do is significant
and that it makes a difference do not needlessly miss much work </font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">However,
the time-honored Absentee Control Programs, wherein employees are rewarded for
good attendance are fading away due to the FMLA requirement that no employee
may be adversely impacted by his/her use of FMLA time off. Therefore,
you cannot reward Alice for a year of perfect attendance without also rewarding
Suzie who was out on 60 days of FMLA leave. </font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">The
CCH study also showed that 83% of all surveyed employers believed that absenteeism
is likely to stay the same or get worse over the next two years. </font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Controlling
absenteeism is a bottom line issue. You owe it to your business to find
out if you have this problem and to implement solutions. Improve morale?
Change work schedules? Change the �entitlement mentality? Maybe an examination
of the balance between the rights as well as the responsibilities of employment
may be called for. </font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">(Note:
FMLA leave is not required for companies with less than 50 employees.)</font></p>
<hr>
<hr>
<table border="0" width="80%" height="376">
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="370">
<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: July 2003</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>
<h3 class="MsoBodyTextIndent" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>HITCHIKING
ON THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY</b></font></span></h3>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b><u> <span style="text-decoration: none; font-size: 14.0pt"> </span></u></b></p>
</font></span>
<h4 class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><u>Will
the Supreme Courts Affirmative Action Ruling Affect Employers</u></b><u>?</u></font></span></h4>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent">In June the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that colleges
may use race as a factor in their selection of students. Employers
are concerned that this may affect companies in the selection of employees
they are hiring. And they�re probably right. The courts ruling
declares that �Diversity� is essential in colleges <i>because </i> �Diversity�
is essential in the workplace. Therefore, using race in choosing
candidates is now legal and necessary. Initially this will probably
only affect those employers with federal, state and county contracts who
are required to submit an affirmative action program in order to get those
contracts. Eventually non-government employers will likely be required
to demonstrate �Diversity� as well. </p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><u><span style="text-decoration:none"> </span></u></p>
</font></span>
<h4 class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><u>Employers
Using A Scam To Save On Unemployment Taxes.</u></b></font></span></h4>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent">The State Unemployment Tax Act (SUTA) in your
state requires you to pay premiums toward your employee�s unemployment
benefits. When you as an employer lay-off or terminate employees,
they often sign up for State Unemployment Benefits. If your company
has too many such incidents, you will likely find your SUTA premiums climbing.
They can increase astronomically if you have a lot of employees collecting
benefits. Of course an employer with a stable workforce and no layoffs
will have the lowest premiums. </p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent">Some employers with high premiums are getting
around this by setting up a shell company and having all their payroll
run through that company. That shell company with no layoffs on record
will have a lower premium.</p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent">Another scam being used is buying out a small
company with a low premium rate. The new owner ceases all the activity
of that company and starts producing their own products or services.
They then can continue in their old operations but with a new lower SUTA
premium.</p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent">DOL is now preparing new laws to prevent such
scams.</p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"> </p>
</font></span>
<h4 class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><u>Annual
EEO-1 Reports Are Coming Due And Will Have Many Changes.</u></b></font></span></h4>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent">Every year employers are required to file their
EEO-1 reports identifying their workforce by job group, sex and race.
This year EEO is proposing several changes. Two of the most significant
are:</p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent">1 A They are
recommending that an individual�s race be determined by asking the individual
what he declares his/her race to be. If that is not practical then
post employment records or your own observation will be acceptable.
</p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"> B
Employers should start this process by asking if the individual is Hispanic
or Latino. If the answer is no, they must then be grouped in one of the
following categories. </p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"> a
White, not Hispanic or Latino</p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"> b
Black or African American not Hispanic or Latino</p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent:.5in">c
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander not Hispanic or Latino</p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent:.5in">d
Asian not Hispanic or Latino</p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent:.5in">e
American Indian or Alaskan Native not Hispanic or Latino</p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent:.5in">f
Two or more races not Hispanic or Latino</p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0in; margin-left: 0in">2<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Changes in the form itself are intended to simplify the process.
You can view this form at <u> <a href="http://www.eeoc.gov/eeo1" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; text-underline: single">
http://www.eeoc.gov/eeo1</a> </u> </p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent">Comments from HR professionals indicate that
they find the racial listing as an example of Bureaucracy run-amuck.
For those who would like to comment pro or con you may submit written
comments by August 11, 2003 </p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"> </p>
</font></span>
<h4 class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><u>Women
And Men in The Workplace</u></b></font></span></h4>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>49.5%</b> of all Executive, Administrative
and Managerial jobs are held by women.</p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent">In <b>30.7%</b> of all households in which
there is a working wife, the wife makes more money.</p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent">In <b>5.6%</b> of married couples the wife
works and the husband doesn�t</p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>54%</b> of Americans polled said they personally
know a couple where the woman is the major wage earner.</p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>34%</b> of men polled said that if their
wife made more money they would quit their job or cut back their hours.</p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>50%</b> of women polled said that when choosing
a mate, they consider earning power to be �Not at all important�. </p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>2/3</b> of all absenteeism is from women</p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent">Women earn <b>78%</b> of what men earn in comparison.
</p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"> </p>
</font></span>
<h3 class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>QUOTES
OF THE MONTH</b></font></span></h3>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b> </b></p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>�A ship in port is safe. But that�s
not what ships are for. Sail out to sea and do new things�</b></p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent">
<i>Rear Admiral Grace Cooper</i></p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>�Dreams come true; without that possibility,
nature would not incite us to have them�</b></p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent">
<i>John Updike</i></p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>�Courage is not the absence of fear, but
rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear�</b></p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>
</b><i>Ambrose Redmoon</i></p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>�Never eat more than you can carry�</b></p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><i>
Miss Piggy</i></p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>�When choosing between two evils, I always
like to choose the one I�ve never tried before�</b></p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><i>
Mae West</i></p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>�My job is to criticize, It�s what protestors
do. If the world ended tomorrow and it was just you and me, and
you were my Lawyer, I would oppose you</b><i>�</i></p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><i>
Mort Sahl</i></p>
<hr width="75%">
<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"><font size="-1"
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">$5.15/hr.</font></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
Hourly 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"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>
June
2002</u><br>
$14.88</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>
June
2003</u><br>
$15.3</font><font size="-1">3</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>
June
2002</u><br>
$511.87</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>
June
2003</u><br>
$522.75</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
<td width="20%">
<table border="0" width="99%" height="78">
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="40">
<p align="center"><font size="-1"
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><u>Family of<br>
Four</u></b></font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="30">
<p align="center"><font size="-1"
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">$64,000 (annual)</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="13%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Federal<br>
Poverty Level:</b></font></td>
<td width="67%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1"> </td>
<td width="20%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<p align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">$17,650 (annual)</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="0" width="99%">
<tr>
<td width="100%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<h3><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b><u>Benefits <br>
</u></b><i>as a Percentage of Payroll</i></font></h3>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="100%" height="275" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="2">
<tr>
<td width="9%" height="45" valign="top" bordercolor="#000080" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1997</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="10%" height="45" valign="top" align="center" bordercolor="#000080" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>24.8%</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="49%" height="45" valign="top"> <b><i> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">In
2002, employee benefits represented 30% of the total compensation
an employee received.</font></i></b>
<p><b><i> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Those
benefits ranked are:</font></i></b>
</td>
<td width="15%" height="45" valign="top"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%" height="46" valign="top" bordercolor="#000080" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<p><font size="-1"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
1998</font></b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="10%" height="46" valign="top" align="center" bordercolor="#000080" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>23.4%</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="49%" height="46" valign="top"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
Health Care Benefits</font></td>
<td width="15%" height="46" valign="top"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
11.5%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%" height="46" valign="top" bordercolor="#000080" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<p><font size="-1"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
1999</font></b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="10%" height="46" valign="top" align="center" bordercolor="#000080" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>22.8%</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="49%" height="46" valign="top"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
Paid Time Off</font></td>
<td width="15%" height="46" valign="top"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
10.4%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%" height="46" valign="top" bordercolor="#000080" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<p><font size="-1"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
2000</font></b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="10%" height="46" valign="top" align="center" bordercolor="#000080" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>26.1%</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="49%" height="46" valign="top"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
Retirement Savings Plan</font></td>
<td width="15%" height="46" valign="top"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
8.1%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%" height="46" valign="top" bordercolor="#000080" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<p><font size="-1"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
2001</font></b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="10%" height="46" valign="top" align="center" bordercolor="#000080" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>27.1%</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="49%" height="46" valign="top"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Total
Benefits (As a percentage of total compensation)</b></font></td>
<td width="15%" height="46" valign="top"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>
30%</b></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%" height="46" valign="top" bordercolor="#000080" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<p><font size="-1"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
2002</font></b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="10%" height="46" valign="top" align="center" bordercolor="#000080" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>
30.0%</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="49%" height="46" valign="top"> </td>
<td width="15%" height="46" valign="top"> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<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 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">36 cents per mile<br>
<i>Effective 01/01/03</i></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">.37</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">.23</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">.23</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
</b>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<b>
<p>
<table border="0" width="98%" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr>
<td width="100%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>Where Uncle Sam got his money in 2001:</b></font></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="98%" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr>
<td width="61%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Individual income tax</font></td>
<td width="39%">
<p align="right"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">49%</font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="61%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Payroll taxes</font></td>
<td width="39%">
<p align="right"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">33%</font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="61%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Corporate taxes</font></td>
<td width="39%">
<p align="right"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">10%</font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="61%"><font size="-1">Excise Taxes</font></td>
<td width="39%">
<p align="right"><font size="-1">3</font><span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">%</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="61%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Other</font></td>
<td width="39%">
<p align="right"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">4%</font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="61%"> </td>
<td width="39%">
<p align="right"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b> </b>(rounded)<b> 100%</b></font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="0" width="38%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr>
<td width="100%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>Where your federal tax dollar went in 2001:</b></font></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="99%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr>
<td width="67%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Social Security</font></td>
<td width="33%">
<p align="right"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">23%</font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="67%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Discretionary</font></td>
<td width="33%">
<p align="right"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">19%</font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="67%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Defense</font></td>
<td width="33%">
<p align="right"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">16%</font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="67%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Medicare (over 65 years of age)</font></td>
<td width="33%">
<p align="right"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">12%</font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="67%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Interest on National Debt</font></td>
<td width="33%">
<p align="right"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">10%</font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="67%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Medicaid</font></td>
<td width="33%">
<p align="right"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">7%</font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="67%"><font size="-1">Other Mandatory</font></td>
<td width="33%">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<p align="right">7%<b>
</b>
</font></span>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="67%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Other Entitlements</font></td>
<td width="33%">
<p align="right"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">6%</font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="67%"> </td>
<td width="33%">
<p align="right"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>100%</b></font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<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">6.3 billion</font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="34%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>U.S.</b></font></td>
<td width="82%">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">291 million</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>
<b>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><b>June
2002</b></u></font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><b>June
2003</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">145,940,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font size="-1">147,096,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font size="-1">Number Employed</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1">137,181,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1">137,738,000</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">8,758,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
9,</font><font size="-1">358,000</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">6.0</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">%</font></p>
</td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">6.4%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="99%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="50%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>Average Cost of replacing one Federal Government employee:</b></font></td>
<td width="50%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">$36,000</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<p><b>COMPARITIVE WORLD UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR MAY 2003:</b></p>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber7">
<tr>
<td width="40%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">France</font></td>
<td width="60%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">9.2%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="40%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Germany</font></td>
<td width="60%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">9.2%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="40%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Canada</font></td>
<td width="60%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">7.0%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="40%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Sweden</font></td>
<td width="60%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">6.1%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="40%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">United
States</font></td>
<td width="60%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">6.1%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="40%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Japan</font></td>
<td width="60%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">5.5%</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="0" width="98%" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr>
<td width="25%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>Absentee Rates (annualized)</b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="12%" align="center" valign="top" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>1997</u></b></font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center" valign="top"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>1998</u></b></font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center" valign="top"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>1999</u></b></font></td>
<td width="13%" align="center" valign="top"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>2000</u></b></font></td>
<td width="13%" align="center" valign="top"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>2001</u></b></font></td>
<td width="13%" align="center" valign="top"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>2002</u></b></font></td>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="25%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Men equal
approximately 1/3 of all absenteeism<br>
Women approximately 2/3</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center" valign="top"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.0%</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center" valign="top"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.6%</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center" valign="top"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.4%</font></td>
<td width="13%" align="center" valign="top"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.9%</font></td>
<td width="13%" align="center" valign="top">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">1.1%</font></p>
</td>
<td width="13%" align="center" valign="top">
<p><font size="-1">3.6</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">%</font></p>
</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 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">PRODUCTIVITY
OF THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE</font></b><font 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%"> </td>
<td width="68%"> </td>
</tr>
</table>
</font></span></td>
</tr>
</table>
</body>
</html>