Published Monday, December 19, 2011 @ 7:52 am

We all know that the Christmas holiday is a time for turkey-filled table settings, overstuffed family reunions, and, quite literally, reflecting on what we are fortunate to have- for large and small blessings throughout the year. But for many jobless Americans from California to the Carolinas, finding even the smallest things to be grateful for is more of a struggle in 2011 than possibly ever before, as they not only face limited unemployment incomes, but diminishing benefits in the new year.…

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Published Friday, December 16, 2011 @ 5:34 pm

Despite a few recent hints that the sluggish U.S. economy might be improving—including record-breaking consumer spending figures from the recent Black Friday shopping boom—U.S. President Barack Obama is ready to warn the American masses that it could take longer than expected before the country gets back on its financial feet again.…

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Published Tuesday, December 6, 2011 @ 8:34 am

The fairer sex appears to be getting a less than fair shake at new jobs created in the wake of the economic downturn. In October, we reported that women have recovered just 9 percent of jobs lost, and men are recovering nearly three times faster. And things haven’t gotten much better.…

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Published Wednesday, October 26, 2011 @ 6:36 pm

Despite recent findings that the number one thing Americans waste their money on is eating out, a new survey provides the proverbial “food for thought” to those who believe they are struggling alone in their own personal financial crisis.

A report from Seattle Weekly finds that more than half of all Americans say they’ve recently gone a year without dining out, in what may be one of the clearest signs of how the current economic malaise is impacting our ability to consume even the most basic luxury choices.…

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Published Sunday, October 23, 2011 @ 7:14 am

We talk a lot here about the trials and travails of underemployment, a perpetual condition of post-recessionary America, in which many, if not most, workers face stagnant wages and/or part-time jobs that fail to keep up with the rising cost of living in the new economy.

In particular, retail workers struggle for hours amid a weak economic recovery, clamoring for extra work in this lower-skilled and paying field.…

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Published Wednesday, October 12, 2011 @ 6:10 pm

While men were the ones initially reeling from the recent recession, women are now the ones with more and more reason to worry.

According to an Institute for Women’s Research Policy report released Monday, even though unemployment levels have steadily decreased for men over the past year, very few women are able to return to work in 2011, resulting in a significantly higher percentage of female Americans who continue to have deep concerns about their financial futures.…

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Published Monday, September 26, 2011 @ 1:27 pm

Poverty is now a common (and growing) problem for America’s single moms as jobs, and social safety nets fade as quickly as the economy tanked, according to a new article from The Huffington Post.

“In 2010, the first full calendar year after the Great Recession, nearly 41 percent of the nation’s single mothers with children under age 18, like Williams, lived on incomes below the federal poverty line.…

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Published Sunday, September 25, 2011 @ 10:20 am

Foreclosures? Theeeey’re Baaaaack.

After several months of falling default rates, foreclosures were up again in August 2011, rising by about 7 percent compared to the month before. In fact, according to new numbers from the real estate firm RealtyTrac, some of the biggest increases were in the nation’s wealthier places: suburbs, industrial hubs, as well as small town service worker centers, already hard-hit by the great recession.…

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Published Friday, September 2, 2011 @ 7:54 am

As we said in Part One of this series, a double-dip refers to a recession, followed by a short-lived recovery, followed by another recession. And there are plenty of signs that this second coming of an economic downturn has officially arrived in America, including the fact that our Gross Domestic Product has only expanded by 1.3%, while consumer spending is up a mere .1% in the second quarter of 2011.…

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Published Thursday, September 1, 2011 @ 5:54 pm

A double-dip recession refers to a recession, followed by a short-lived recovery, followed by another recession. And there are plenty of signs that this second coming of an economic downturn has officially arrived in America, including the fact that our Gross Domestic Product has only expanded by 1.3%, while consumer spending is up a mere .1% in the second quarter of 2011.…

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Published Tuesday, August 30, 2011 @ 6:43 pm

Historically low interest rates haven’t really reaped the kind of benefits they normally would in a post-recessionary period. In reality, economic growth has stagnated, the real estate market remains in the gutter, and consumer confidence has yet to recover to pre-recessionary levels.

But bargain-basement interest is also having unintended effects, including what the Associated Press called “killing savers”—like retirees and others who depend on interest income.…

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Published Tuesday, July 26, 2011 @ 3:12 pm

Few average Americans are likely celebrating the recent two-year anniversary of the period when economists and other experts say the Great Recession ended. This is especially true given that the subsequent recovery has been called “the weakest and most lopsided of any since the 1930s.”

But what’s the real reason so many are feeling less-than-jovial about the couple of years since the end of the downturn?…

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Published Saturday, July 2, 2011 @ 9:32 am

While a majority of economists and other financial experts firmly believe we are experiencing a modest economic recovery, a new poll reveals that a large, vocal minority of Americans feel that the economy will never fully recover from the effects of the recent “Great Recession.”

A New York Times/CBS News poll found that 39 percent of people responding believe “the current economic downturn is part of a long-term permanent decline and the economy will never fully recover.” The survey is one of many revealing overall distress with the current state of the American economic picture.…

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Published Monday, June 20, 2011 @ 1:06 pm

Beginning in 2011, more than 10,000 baby boomers are turning 65 every day in a cycle that will continue for the next 19 years. And with these staggering figures, many experts are calling this boomer “coming of age” a troubling pattern amid tough economic times as most mature Americans have not saved effectively for retirement and/or are still retiring too soon to catch up.…

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Published Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 6:43 am

When the Rolling Stones sang “I Can’t Get No (Satisfaction),” or comedian Rodney Dangerfield spoke of getting, “No Respect,” they could have just as easily been speaking about today’s labor market, full of employees, in some cases, just happy to be employed, but far from content with where they are and what they’re doing.…

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Published Wednesday, June 15, 2011 @ 4:33 pm

As temperatures heat up all across the country this season, so too are concerns about inflation, with rock bottom housing prices, and a weak labor market, adding fuel to the summertime fire. The result? Tanking consumer confidence in May, at least according to a private sector report released this week, and fears of something more economically-sinister a’ brewin.’

Based on a Reuters reading of the new economic data, “The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes fell to 60.8 from a revised 66.0 in April.…

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Published Tuesday, June 14, 2011 @ 1:28 pm

Two years after experts found the recession to have ended, real estate prices continue to fall in major cities all across the country according to a new report—in some cases to their lowest level since the housing bubble burst in 2006—signifying a true recovery has yet to materialize in the beleaguered housing market.…

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Published Monday, June 13, 2011 @ 11:03 am

You may have heard the phrase “debt ceiling” being bandied about in the media recently. But few people outside of Washington D.C.’s Beltway, and in the current Congressional fight over raising it, truly understand what the term has to do with the proverbial “price of beans.” But financial experts warn that this unending political battle over how the country handles our national debt limit, could have lasting effects on average American pocketbooks.…

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Published Friday, May 20, 2011 @ 6:41 am

Yes, the American employment picture is getting better. The latest numbers show that the U.S. added nearly 250,000 jobs in April 2011, making it the 14^th consecutive month of job market gains. But economists aren’t as optimistic, pointing to a lack of job diversity and higher income positions as signs things are far from back to “business as usual.”

According to a new article from The Huffington Post, “ In April, the U.S.…

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Published Tuesday, May 3, 2011 @ 4:23 am

Just as Baby Boomers shaped the counter culture of the 1960s, this storied generation of robust lifestyles, risk-taking rebellions, and Rock-n-Roll significance is ready to yet again make its mark on America—this time, in their mid 60s. Today, Boomers now represent one-third of the total population of North America, with their highly populated presence standing as a testament to the hard lessons learned from the new economy: poor financial planning converging with uncertain economic circumstances at a vulnerable age in a working life, can have a apocalyptic impact on our nation’s more plentiful citizenry.…

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Published Wednesday, March 30, 2011 @ 7:12 am

It may seem strange, the whole prospect of turning a timely tax return into a bankruptcy, but in a nation currently dealing with a healthy debt load, the whole idea that half of Americans get some form or return, comes at a good time for those looking to pay down those debts, or, better yet, find a longer-term solution for their cash-strapped situation.…

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Published Tuesday, March 29, 2011 @ 11:09 am

In tough financial times, sometimes it’s hard to see the forest for the trees. But as another global conflict unfolds in the Middle East, and with the United States very much involved, it’s important to understand another war’s potential impact on the national economy, local layoffs and your individual financial future.…

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Published Friday, March 4, 2011 @ 12:42 pm

It’s no fun getting older: you suffer aches, pains, and maybe even the slow decline in vision, hearing and memory. But one thing that’s important to remember is that while these infirmities are natural to the process, what can be even more painful is growing poorer as you mature—a reality that’s becoming even more real for a growing portion of older Americans.…

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Published Wednesday, January 5, 2011 @ 3:58 pm

As we had recently reported, Baby Boomers face an uncertain future, marred by the bad timing of the economic meltdown as so many reach retirement age, as well as the results of bad planning: with news that as 10,000 Boomers a day will reach 65 in January 2011, few have saved effectively for retirement throughout their lives.…

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Published Wednesday, December 29, 2010 @ 7:29 am

Just as Baby Boomers shaped the culture of the 1960s, this generation of active lifestyles, risk-taking rebellions, and musical significance is set to yet again make a mark on America—this time, in their 60s.  With Boomers now representing one-third of the population of North America, their presence and age alone stands as one of the three “Bs” of the new economy (including “bad timing” and “bad planning”), with the combination having a severe financial impact not only on the needs of our nation’s more mature citizenry but also our overall economy as these millions of men and women prepare to retire in 2011.…

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Published Monday, November 1, 2010 @ 7:32 am

With so much talk of jobs on the eve of the 2010 midterm elections, many are wondering whether the millions of unemployed, disenfranchised by the lingering economic malaise, will feel empowered to take to the polls and elect the leaders they believe can bring back a level of prosperity to the nation, their states, their communities, and most importantly, their individual households.…

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Published Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 11:49 am

While it is well known that the United States is a nation of givers—with an estimated $227.41 billion sent to charitable organizations in 2009—what might be surprising is what groups are actually giving the most.

According to a recent New York Times article entitled The Charitable Giving Divide, “For decades, surveys have shown that upper-income Americans don’t give away as much of their money as they might and are particularly undistinguished as givers when compared with the poor, who are strikingly generous.…

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Published Tuesday, August 17, 2010 @ 9:43 pm

With joblessness on the rise, retail sales in a slump and the stock market on the skids this week, many experts are predicting more economic uneasiness with a coinciding side of protracted unemployment troubles.

According to a recent Los Angeles Times article, “The U.S. economy and stock market ended one of the grimmer weeks of the year, as disappointing retail sales figures released Friday combined with other dismal data to heighten fears that the nation’s nascent recovery is stalling.…

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Published Monday, August 2, 2010 @ 9:00 am

Despite a continuing overseas economic crisis, the U.S. saw a fourth consecutive quarter of economic growth. This good news is tempered by another economic prediction: with stimulus spending on the decline and the economic recovery sputtering, experts are warning of a troubling new pattern—an economic upturn too slow to put Americans back to work and get the nation back in business.…

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Published Thursday, May 6, 2010 @ 6:06 pm

It was easy to spend money a few years ago, somewhere around late 2005 and into 2006, when the economy was flying, anyone could get a loan and every house in the zip code was appreciating at eight percent a year.

Those who managed to avoid subprime loans and the desire to keep up with whatever the other side of the cul-de-sac was spending turned out to make it through the recession in decent shape, provided the unemployment crisis didn’t catch up with them.…

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Published Monday, May 3, 2010 @ 9:21 am

Could the food industry be the latest bellwether of a better economy and returning consumer confidence? Some industry experts seem to think so.

According to William Neuman’s report in his recent New York Times article, “The Tables Turn,” “Restaurants all over the country are beginning to see signs of a potential recovery after a dismal 2009.…

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Published Wednesday, April 28, 2010 @ 8:23 am

While millions of struggling Americans still working hard to find meaningful employment might disagree, economists are heartened about prospects for growth this year as industries increasingly report better profits and add new jobs, though they still expect the recovery to remain slow, a new survey shows.

As The Huffington Post reported this week, 70% of those recently surveyed by The National Association for Business Economics believe real Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—the measure of our country’s overall economic output— will “grow by more than two percent this year, up from 61 percent who said the same in January.…

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Published Monday, April 5, 2010 @ 8:27 am

While the unemployment rate remained steady at 9.7 percent for the third straight month, in March the nation’s economy posted its largest job gain in three years.

According to recent Labor Department calculations, employers added 162,000 jobs last month— the most since the recession began more than two years ago. As The Huffington Post reports, “The total includes 48,000 temporary workers hired for the U.S.…

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Published Thursday, April 1, 2010 @ 10:18 am

As we’re all aware, this decade’s Great Recession has dealt, and continues to deal, a significant blow to the budgets of many American families, leaving millions in debt, underwater in their mortgages, and looking for any means necessary to get back on a financially-healthy course.  Now, tax time can  yield a long-term solution for some cash-strapped citizens.…

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Published Monday, March 15, 2010 @ 6:27 pm

Exacerbated by the recent “Great Recession,” small business owners everywhere are not only facing high employee health care costs and lagging consumer and commercial spending, but also fewer credit options. While loans have always been the lifeblood of the small business, all across our great nation, mom and pop endeavors with even the most solid credit histories face tremendous obstacles in qualifying for much-needed capital.…

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Published Wednesday, March 3, 2010 @ 12:24 pm

Are you angry at banks that are supposedly too big to fail? But you haven’t withdrawn your money because you think your account is too small to matter?

Well, one media matriarch has some alternative advice. 

Started by Arianna Huffington, The Huffington Post is an American news website and aggregator for a host of blogs, columns, stories and moderated comments.…

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Published Tuesday, March 2, 2010 @ 10:48 am

While many economists say this decade’s Great Recession ended in the middle of 2009, millions of struggling Americans who are still working hard to find meaningful employment would definitely disagree. And as we are all now well aware, the once thriving middle class is being hit especially hard—with a determination of whether you’re in a recession or recovery based largely on where you live and if you still have a job.…

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Published Monday, March 1, 2010 @ 11:15 am

Overworked? Underpaid? Join the Club: The Middle Class

This week, a money-themed CBS Sunday Morning featured Cary, North Carolina’s SAS, a business software company–featuring subsidized on-site daycare, gyms, and health care–as an example of a corporate aberration in the these tough economic times. As CBS reporter Jim Axelrod pointed out in his cover story “The Great American Paycheck Squeeze,” the reality is, “for more and more Americans in these recessionary times, SAS might as well be Disney World.…

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Published Wednesday, February 24, 2010 @ 1:03 pm

While the current economic forecast is considered less dismal than in past months, the Federal Reserve released a forecast this week predicting unemployment will stay high over the next two years—noting that recession-scarred employers are likely to stay conservative in their hiring practices even as recession-scarred citizens continue their search for a dwindling number of jobs.…

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Published Sunday, January 24, 2010 @ 6:34 pm

A January 22 government report announced that unemployment rates rose in 43 states in December 2009, painting an all too bleak portrait of the job market—even as the economy continues to grow—and leaving many unemployed Americans bankruptcy bound.  This jump in joblessness marked a sharp turn from November 2009’s numbers, when 36 states had actually reported their unemployment rates fell.…

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Published Friday, July 10, 2009 @ 8:10 am

While details of super-sized corporate failures, like GM and Chrysler, are being splashed across front pages of newspapers and websites, grabbing our attention and garnering an inordinate amount of debate, the reality is that the vast majority of commercial bankruptcies are filed by entrepreneurs and small-business owners. The first five months of this year have shown a 52% increase in the total number of commercial bankruptcy filings.…

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Published Wednesday, June 3, 2009 @ 9:46 am

There is no questioning how critical a role the state of our economy has played in the debt problems Americans are experiencing today. From lost jobs to increased consumer costs, the economy has caused a lot of pain for all Americans.

It’s clear that our economy will continue to be a source of worry for much of America.…

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