Unions demand National Insurance hikes for top earners in exchange for rescuing Labour from bankruptcy

TRADE union leaders are drawing up a shopping list of policy demands - including tax hikes for the middle classes - in exchange for rescuing Labour from bankruptcy.

Senior union figures are highlighting 'cuddly' measures such as more flexible working rights and free school meals for all primary school children.

But behind the scenes they are also pressing for new rights to strike - and, most explosively, National Insurance hikes for middle earners.

The GMB union is understood to want the upper earnings limit on National Insurance to be abolished, making higher earners pay far more.

National Insurance is charged at 11 per cent on an employee's income between ?5,460 a year and ?40,040 a year, and 1 per cent on anything earned above that.

Gordon Brown will fiercely resist such a move as electoral suicide. But the unions are ready to flex their muscles at a time when the Prime Minister is politically vulnerable and the Labour Party is in desperate financial straits.

Gifts from individual supporters have collapsed in the wake of the cash-for-peerages affair and Labour's catastrophic slump in the polls.

With Labour almost totally reliant on them for funding, the unions want to push for a detailed list of policies in crunch talks with ministers next month.

Labour has had its annual accounts signed off by auditors and they have now been sent to the Electoral Commission for publication.

The figures will show that the party remains about ?20million in debt.

Party sources insisted the role of the unions in keeping the party solvent had been 'massively overstated'.

Instead, a string of wealthy businessmen who loaned the party millions of pounds are understood to have agreed not to call in their money now.

One party source insisted: 'As for this so-called list of union demands, it's made abundantly clear to anybody that gives us money that they don't get anything in return except a greater possibility of a Labour government.'

The unions are proposing several measures designed to appeal to Labour's core vote.

Unite, the largest union, suggests that employees are given more rights to flexible workplace leave.

The public services union Unison wants all primary school children to get free school meals and the GMB wants to instal environmental workplace 'shop stewards' to encourage green workplaces.

The GMB - headed by general secretary Paul Kenny - has already voted to cut funding to a third of the 108 Labour MPs it sponsors, saying they have failed to back its policies.

Union leaders are said to be wary of explicitly demanding traditional workers' rights at this stage, for fear of unnerving the Government ahead of next month's talks.

But Unite, which gave ?2million earlier this year to Labour, is also said to be preparing a campaign to overturn the ban on secondary strike action, which was introduced by Margaret Thatcher.

Other possible demands include a provision enabling unions to ballot their members by phone or email.

Yesterday former Labour Party treasurer Baroness Prosser warned the party's finances were 'a worse situation than we have been in ever'.

She claimed some donors had abandoned the party because they were only prepared to support 'something that's a winner'.

Lady Prosser said Mr Brown was 'not exactly a sunbeam' but insisted there was no alternative leader who could attract more donors.

Life Insurance - At last Children attained the Attention

Summary: Life insurance policies are available to cover the life of children. This article gives a first hand information regarding the advantages and terms of these policies.

Children avail least life coverage by insurance companies. All most all insurance companies have a few policies designated specifically for children . The objective of these insurance plans is to provide financial security to children, additional savings along with life coverage.

Broadly there are two types of children policies available in the insurance sector. In one type the child is the life is insured whereas other loan plan ensures the earning parent or guardian of the children. In policies like like Jeevan Kishore or Komal Jeevan( product of LIC) the child is the target audience. These policies are also considered as disciplined investment plans to make money at predetermined future dates. Being a conventional insurance policy, the monetary returns from this type of plan may not be such lucrative.

Other life insurance policies are available with few specific benefits for children . In all these insurance policies, the parent is the life assured. Some insurance companies offer plans where any one of the living parents can be the life assured and any one named as beneficiary of the sum insured. If there is an unfortunate event like the death of the insured the child or the appointee ( if the child still remains a minor) is paid the full sum. In such case, further premiums are waived. The insurance company owes the burden of paying the premium for the remaining tenure and at the end of the term the child receives another sum assured with full accrued bonus amount.

If the life assured survives till the end of the life insurance policy, the child is paid the maturity benefit as per policy terms and condition. These insurance plans are available as a conventional endowment type plan or Unit Linked Plan from most of the insurance companies. The most popular among the life insurance policies for children, are Jeevan Chaya from LIC and Smart Kid and Youngstar from Pru ICICI and HDFC SL .These insurance policies not only ensure that money is available to the child when required but also provides the financial assistance if the bread winning parent die premature. This policy is equally useful to parents who have more than one child. Such parents can manage with one policy and make the mother nominee who can ensure appropriate distribution of the funds.

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Parents cautioned against baby extravagances

HAVING a baby is one of life's greatest experiences but can also be one of the most financially frightening.
As well as the prospect of losing one partner's wage for weeks, months or even years, expectant parents have a multitude of new costs to think about.

Clothing, nappies, food, formula, furniture and childcare are among the items that need to be considered, but experts say that planning and shopping around can result in significant savings.

According to research released this month, four out of five Australian parents worry about baby expenses, a figure which includes households earning more than $100,000 a year.

The independent research commissioned by online shopping website eBay found that 87 per cent of new parents were confused about what baby items were a necessity and what were simply nice to have.

Two-thirds of parents bought more expensive versions of baby items and later wished they had shopped around, it found.

In South Australia, the biggest cause of financial stress was that the household was going to lose one income, followed by the fact that there are so many baby items to buy.

EBay's research also found that seven out of 10 South Australian parents admitted buying expensive baby items when they knew they could have obtained a better deal by shopping around.

The main reasons given for not shopping around were difficulty and lack of time.

EBay spokeswoman Sian Kennedy said baby goods was one of the most popular categories on its ebay.com.au website, with a baby item selling every 27 seconds.

Financial planner and author of How to afford a baby, Justine Davies, said planning ahead and shopping around were the keys to real savings. ``Shopping for baby can be quite emotive - it's one of the first experiences of parent guilt,'' she said.

``Wanting to do the best for baby though, doesn't have to mean spending the most.''

About Finance director Karen Bruce, who specialises in finance and lending for women, said when a baby was on the way, the extra pressure both financially and emotionally could be overwhelming if there was no plan in place.

"So much time is spent preparing for the birth and reading about pregnancy that it is almost an afterthought that financially life is going to be very different,'' she said.

"For many couples, going from two incomes to one brings about the realisation that budgeting is essential and a little planning would have gone a long way.''

AMP financial planner Darren James said extra stress could be avoided if people thought about family planning and financial planning as going hand in hand.

"There are so many things people should consider, such as the loss of an income and the addition of hospital and specialists' bills, and health, life and disability insurances to protect their loved ones,'' he said.

BANKROLLING TIPS

Money Editor ANTHONY KEANE asks the experts for tips on making the arrival of a new baby as financially painless as possible.

NEW parents have so much on their plate - such as sleep deprivation and coming to terms with a strange little creature that completely dominates their lives - that financial matters often take a back seat.

However, failing to plan for a huge variety of new expenses - not to mention the disappearance of one income, in many families for an extended period of time - can be very dangerous.

"I think many people have a `we'll be right' attitude and in fact they won't,'' said About Finance director Karen Bruce, who specialises in finance and lending for women.

"The decrease in income and extra costs associated once the baby is born is something that needs to be well thought out and planned,'' she said.

"Budgeting is always a good idea and even more so when you are looking after every dollar. I have advised clients to live on one wage for at least eight months before the arrival of a new baby, and a change in spending habits can ensure the adjustment is seamless.''

Ms Bruce said another tip was to visit government websites to work out your income entitlements for payments such as Family Tax Benefit A and B.

"Planning a post-baby budget needs to include all the extra costs per month, including nappies, formula, baby wipes, baby food, bottles, bibs and unknown costs like chemist trips and doctor visits,'' she said.

"I would estimate at least $50 per month at the chemist, not including money for nappies and formula.''

AMP financial planner Darren James said disposable nappies for a new baby would add about $30 a week to the grocery bill, or $1560 a year, while formula for bottle-fed babies would set parents back about $20 a week, or more than $1000 in the first year.

"The importance of re-doing the budget before the arrival of a baby can't be overstated - there is a lot more to consider than a new little mouth to feed,'' he said.

"A budget is the cornerstone of good financial planning and it can relieve some of the monetary stress surrounding this life-changing event.''

"Online budgeting tools can help people consider their income and how far this has to stretch to cover all expenses. Such tools will also assist people to work out what's really important and what could realistically be put aside to cover child-rearing costs.''

Mr James said new parents should make their savings work for them, by investigating different bank accounts that paid high rates of interest but still provided flexible access to their money.

"It may sound obvious, but people should only buy the things they need and can afford,'' he said.

"Careful use of credit cards is a must. By limiting spending and paying off the balance each month, people can avoid interest charges and reduce their fees.''

Financial planner Justine Davies, the author of How to Afford a Baby, said budgets were a boring but necessary part of preparing for maternity leave.

People should list all their baby-related expenses, she said.

"Start writing down what you will need, and look at some ways to accumulate them cost-effectively.''

Ms Davies also recommended people investigate available government assistance and also check their work-related benefits.

"There are certain benefits that you will have, irrespective of who your employer is, and these basic parental leave entitlements are covered on the government website www.workplace.gov.au.

"But in addition to legislated rights, your employer, if you are lucky, may offer additional benefits such as a period of paid maternity leave,'' she said.

Another important factor in financial planning for a new family is reviewing your insurances.

"If you have personal insurance cover such as income protection you may need to advise your insurer in writing that you are taking leave,'' Ms Davies said.

"Also, now that you are going to have a family you may need more life, TPD (total and permanent disability) and trauma cover as you have your child's care and welfare to consider in the event that one of you is disabled or no longer there,'' she said.

The biggest expense faced by most people - with or without children - is their home loan, and there are several strategies that can help people navigate mortgage payments and a new child.

National Australia Bank state general manager retail banking Ann-Marie Chamberlain said the most important thing was not to over-commit yourself at the time of taking out a home loan.

"This applies equally to all home buyers, but carries even more weight if you think you will be going from two incomes to one for a period of time,'' she said.

"If your budget will be stretched to the limit, it may be worth reconsidering how much you're prepared to spend on a home.''

Making voluntary payments off a home loan before the baby arrived could also help, Ms Chamberlain said.

"If you're far enough in front, this may give you the flexibility to lower your repayments for a period of time while you're living on one income,'' she said.

"Another option is to convert to an interest-only loan. This means you will only be required to repay the interest owing on your loan, which will lower your repayments. However, home owners do need to be aware that if they are only making interest repayments, they will not be reducing the loan principal.''

Members of Fenton's Freedom Center open their hearts to help family of ailing tot

by Theresa Roach | The Grand Blanc News

GRAND BLANC, Michigan -- One-year-old Elijah Palmer was born with half a heart, but the final stage in a series of surgeries could give the toddler a chance to live a normal life.

On Aug. 6, Becky and Jason Palmer of Highland will take their youngest son to C.S. Mott Children's Hospital for his third and final open heart surgery to repair hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a disorder in which the left side of the heart is underdeveloped.

The Palmers and their older children -- Travis, 4 and Hannah, 6 -- will stay at the hospital for at least one month while Elijah recovers from surgery.

Meanwhile, a group of church friends will host a garage sale and bake sale from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at 8229 Peninsula Circle in Hidden Ponds subdivision in Grand Blanc to help the family cover expenses while they take time to focus on the child's recovery.

"Jason won't be able to work while Elijah is recovering and (Elijah's health) already (has) been a strain on them financially," said Alise McAleer, whose will host the sale at her home.

"They've only been married a few years," McAleer said of the Palmers. "They have three young kids. It (has taken) a toll on their family."

Elijah's body does not receive proper oxygen flow, which causes breathing problems, a bluish tint to his fingernails, toenails and skin, developmental delays and difficulty in developing strong muscles. Just one week before his second birthday, he finally is walking.

This final surgery would give Elijah normal blood flow and help ease many of his health troubles, said Becky Palmer.

Medical costs are covered by health insurance, but Jason Palmer, the family's sole provider as a manager at a Wendy's restaurant, does not qualify for paid time off from work for a year. He must work during Elijah's recovery or take the time off without pay.

McAleer and other church members of Fenton's Freedom Center want Jason Palmer to be with his family.

"It's phenomenal," Becky Palmer said. "When you don't know what you're going to do and someone suggests something like what the girls are doing, it's just phenomenal. When they said they'd do this, I started crying. ... It's hard. We went from two incomes to one," said Becky Palmer, who quit her job when Elijah was born.

"Jason was thinking about working, but now with this, I will have the support of my husband and Elijah will have the support of his daddy."

Docs eye paternity leave

Public-sector doctors are asking for a three- day paternity leave to bolster low staff morale.
"There simply aren't enough hours in a day for me to fulfill my work and family roles," said Queen Mary Hospital doctor of international medicine Pierre Chan.

During a week of 30-hour shifts and regular 12-hour work days, he has only been able to spend an hour and a half with his one-year- old daughter each time they have met.

"Our family is socially and psychologically unhealthy," said Chan's wife and family doctor Eunice Chan Yin-chiu.

When she was seven months' pregnant she quit the public sector fearing job-related stress would affect her pregnancy.

Although her husband stayed in the public sector, she accepted a pay cut to enter the private sector to have more time with their child.

According to surgeon Kelvin Ng Kwok- chai, Chan's departure to the private sector is a familiar story as more doctors are switching over to get better hours and a more balanced work life.

"The problem is some doctors are also fathers, and they have to play their family roles as parents - of course they do their best to serve patients but they don't have time to take care of their family life," Hong Kong Public Doctors' Association vice president Ho Pak- leung said.

With colleagues working more than 70 hours a week or 33 hours more than their contract stipulates, Ho said introducing paternity leave would not only help doctors balance work and home life but also be an important olive branch and first step in upcoming negotiations between public-sector doctors and the Hospital Authority.

He said unless services are redefined and a hybrid public/private solution found, manpower shortages will continue to wreak havoc on job satisfaction and morale among public sector health-care workers.

"Wives need the support and care of their husbands," Federation of Trade Union lawmaker Wong Kwok-hing said during an FTU and Men's Concern Group march in Central yesterday - Fathers' Day.

He said offering leave to fathers would improve workplace morale and help divide child- rearing responsibilities between parents.

An authority spokeswoman said it will consider initiatives to boost morale.

Standard Chartered, HSBC and Lehman Brothers offer five days' paternity leave, while China Light and Gas offers three. Australia and New Zealand offer unpaid paternity leave to workers, and two weeks of paid leave is provided in Britain and France through social insurance.

Community benefit helps special 4-year-old

By: News 8 Austin Staff
The Austin community held a benefit Saturday to help with the high costs of one special little boy's medical bills.

The Joshua Jam Benefit Concert and Silent Auction was held Saturday at Dave & Buster's.

Joshua Edmondson is an excited little boy who enjoys being a 4-year-old. Playing the drums and arcade games are just some of the things he loves.

But Joshua is more than your everyday child. He's one in a million, literally: Joshua has a rare bone disease that affects one in a million kids.

"He's just strong, very strong," Joshua's mother, Michelle Edmondson, said. "He knows if we go to the hospital he's going to get shots and he says, 'Well, it makes me sad that I'm going to get shots, but I know I'm going to get better.' He's strong."

Joshua must get treatment from a specialist not covered by his insurance.

All of the proceeds of Saturday's benefit will go to Joshua and his family for his care and expenses.

A little boy who dreams of school

by Thu Giang

HA NOI — The five-year-old boy lost all trace of his previously shy look as he reached out to the performance on stage, a show of dazzling coloured lights at the Friendship Cultural Palace in Ha Noi.

A performance like this may be nothing new for city children, but for Nguyen Van Nam, an HIV-infected child from northern Thai Binh Province, it was like a fantastic dream.

It was the first time Nam, not his real name, had ever visited the capital city. He was here to enjoy International Children’s Day.It was the largest-ever celebration for HIV/AIDS children in Viet Nam.

Organised by the Ministry of Health, it was attended by about 500 infected children between the ages of five and 15 from 35 of the nation’s 64 cities and provinces.

Nam was born HIV-positive in 2003. One year later, his parents died of AIDS complications and he was left in the care of his grandparents, who are farmers.

Nam was too shy to talk about himself. His grandfather, who prefers to remain anonymous, simply wanted to say: "Thank you."

According to the Viet Nam Administrators for HIV/AIDS Control, there are more than 3,500 children under the age of 16 years living with HIV/AIDS in Viet Nam. Of these, about 1,100 lack health insurance.

Deputy director of the ministry’s Treatment Department, Le Thi Huong, said about 80 per cent of the cost of their insurance would be paid by the Viet Nam Insurance Corporation, while the rest would be sought from other sources, such as the Viet Nam Fund for Poor Children – or funds for children infected with HIV/AIDS.

Simple things like eating and playing are very meaningful for children such as Nam, but something is missing. Nam’s grandfather, who took him to the Children’s Day, said the boy was stigmatised for carrying the virus.

Kept out

He said that discrimination from teachers and parents had blocked his grandson’s way to school.

Nam’s health has recently improved, thanks to antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. However, no kindergarten in his area will enrol him.

"I know that the country’s law allows children infected with HIV/AIDS to study with normal children, so why is my grandson not welcome at school?

My wife and I are old. We worry about Nam’s future," said the grandfather. Nam is one of many children infected with HIV/AIDS who have been rejected by schools because of their health status.

A deputy principal of a Ha Noi-based pre-secondary school, who wants to remain anonymous, said she was willing to receive children infected with HIV/AIDS to her school as was required by Government’s regulation.

However, she said infected children would not receive special or separate treatment in class.

"If the children received special care, it would affect their integration. Besides, other children’s parents would boycott the kindergarten," she said.

Head of the Hai Duong Provincial Centre for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control, Doan Minh, who took three affected children to the special event, said direct talk between consultants and parents was very important because it would decide whether the infected children could study in school.

"Once I was asked by parents if I would bring my daughter into a classroom where there were children with HIV,"Minh said.

"Fear of a disease is very natural. I think if people understood it and knew about prevention, their worries would be dispelled."

Minh said his centre’s staff regularly visited localities to solve problems for children living with HIV/AIDS. It was frequently necessary to invoke the Government’s regulation that allows infected children to study together with normal children – and then organise direct talk with parents about HIV/AIDS.

"To prevent stigma and discrimination from the community, especially at school, it’s necessary to improve the knowledge of the local authorities, parents and especially the teachers, who have direct communication with parents," said Minh.

Nam’s road to education remains long, but his grandparents live in the hope that, one day, he will be able to go to school and be treated as a normal child. — VNS

Middle class falling behind as wages come up short

By Tim Logan
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

For Stephanie and Bruce DeChambeau, Emily's preschool has been a huge break.

It meant they could both work, and their boisterous blond 4-year-old could spend her days for free at a city magnet school she loves.

But preschool's almost over for the year, and they just learned Tuesday that Emily can't go to summer school there, too.

"Now we're like, 'Oh, crap,'" Stephanie said. "What do we do?"

So with no family in the area and the kindness of friends "exhausted," the DeChambeaus face a difficult choice: Work fewer hours, or pay for day care.

They can't afford either, which makes this crisis of child care just the latest example of how one family is confronting the squeeze that faces many middle-class families in St. Louis. A squeeze, many say, that is making the current economic hard times even harder.

If you lined up every family in St. Louis from richest to poorest, the DeChambeaus would stand right about in the middle. Last year they earned $53,000, a bit more than the area's median household income, which in 2006, the most recent year available, was $49,765.

So the middle is $50,000. That's a nice round number, and it sounds as if it should be enough to live on. It's about what the average high school teacher here makes, or a skilled construction worker. A solid middle-class wage.

But that solid middle-class wage just doesn't go as far as it used to.

After decades of steady growth relative to inflation, the median household income here has flattened out in recent years. In fact, it's down a bit: What $45,309 bought you in 2001, $49,765 doesn't quite buy you now. And that number is from 2006, when gas and food and many other essentials cost less than they do today.

To Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think tank that advocates for higher middle-class wages, that data speaks to a growing problem: Prices are rising faster than wages, so most working people are not getting ahead.

"This is the economy that people live in, not the one you hear reported from brokerage houses or the cheerleaders in the (White House)," he said. "The fact is, wage growth has been lousy, and people know that."

SCARY PROSPECTS

For the DeChambeaus, there's actually a little more money than there used to be. Stephanie has earned raises and promotions in her job in development at the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. And Bruce, who finished a master's degree at Covenant Seminary in Creve Coeur, then stayed home to raise Emily, began a part-time job after she began preschool in the fall.

They have enough to live on, but they feel as if they're falling behind.

"It's scary," Stephanie said. "I'm 37, my husband's 43. And we have no prospects for retirement, or even the idea of buying a house."

And they're thrifty. Right now they rent a little house off Gravois Avenue in south St. Louis. They drive paid-off used cars — a 1996 Nissan Altima and a 2001 Toyota Camry. They buy Emily's clothes off eBay and lots of Stephanie's from the Scholar Shop. They did without a cell phone until recently, when they joined a family plan with Stephanie's sister for $10 a month. Cable TV? Forget it.

"It's just movies for us," mostly from the library, Stephanie said. "That's not to say I don't miss 'The Daily Show.'"

Then there's food, and gas, and all the requirements of a growing 4-year-old, three credit card balances to pay down and $250 a month for health insurance. They get by, but there's not a lot of give.

"When I think about $50,000, I keep thinking, 'How can this be so hard?'" Stephanie says. "It doesn't make sense, because that is a lot of money. But, then, it's $4 a gallon for gas, $4 a gallon for milk."

The DeChambeaus aren't the only ones who feel anxious.

A recent survey by the Pew Research Center found that 56 percent of Americans say they've either fallen back or made no progress financially in the last five years. The results, Pew said, were "the most downbeat" it's seen in a half-century of polling.

That sentiment may only deepen if the economy stays in the doldrums, said Jack Strauss, an economist at St. Louis University.

Most workers didn't gain much during the growth in recent years, but now they're feeling the pain of the slowdown, and coping with higher prices.

"That's one of the reasons the average person thinks we're in a recession," he said.

And it contributes to the economy's troubles, Strauss said, because families have less to spend on nonessentials, the kind of spending that drives growth. It's what has some economists calling this a "consumer-led" downturn, unlike past recessions centered on slowdowns in investment or business spending.

"Unless we get the vast majority of people seeing their wages grow, we're not going to see the kind of growth we want," Mishel said.

MANY WORRIES

Perhaps it's just memory, but both DeChambeaus say things seemed easier when they were growing up.

Both come from small towns — she in Michigan, he in Washington — and families with one main breadwinner. Stephanie earns more now than her father did when he retired, and he raised three children on that salary. The son of a librarian, Bruce dreamed of earning $60,000.

"Now that'd be like $120,000," he said.

They could earn more — maybe not $120,000, but more — had Bruce found a job when he finished seminary. But he couldn't find anything in adult Christian ministry that paid much more than the cost of day care and, he admits, he wanted to stay home and raise his daughter, which he calls "the ultimate challenge" for an educator.

"I'm so glad we did it, but I lost two years on my job search," he said. "It was a very real trade-off, and that has its consequences."

Now he's working part time at the mall. And educating Emily looms larger. They wonder what they'll do in a couple of years, when she's school-age. They love their city neighborhood but are unsure about the schools. They can't afford the private route, and the suburbs seem out of reach.

As for college, Stephanie jokes that she's glad to hear that elite universities such as Harvard are cutting tuition for families that earn less than $50,000.

"Maybe we'll have a chance," she says.

Worries about higher education are something Lara Granich hears all the time. She's the director of Missouri Jobs With Justice, a coalition of labor and social groups that pushes for workers rights. Along with health care costs, it's probably the biggest concern her members have.

"Even the ones who aren't college-educated themselves, they all want a college education for their children," she said. "But that seems increasingly out of reach."

And those who do go to college are being choosier about what they do, some say, and are less likely to stick with traditionally middle-class jobs in public service.

It's a big problem for schools and state government, says Richard von Glahn, organizing director of the Communication Workers of America Local 6355, which represents about 1,400 people at two state agencies and the Parkway School District.

"A lot of young people come to work, then leave after two or three years, because they can't look at it as a career," he said. "It's not something they can raise a family on."

Those who do stay put often take a second job to make ends meet.

"More so now than ever," von Glahn said.

Still, the DeChambeaus know things could be much tougher. On that line from richest to poorest, there are many people on the poorer side of them.

They do make $53,000 a year. They have options and a little room to trim their budgets; many families don't. They both say they feel a little guilty worrying about money problems when others have it worse. But they also think about what their parents gave them, and feel a little guilty they're not doing better. And they're still trying to figure out what to do with Emily this summer.

The DeChambeaus often discuss whether they're "making it," Bruce says. Generally, the verdict is no.

"What we were able to do a few years ago, we just can't do now," Bruce said. "It's not where we wanted to be."