promoted by roxy. Originally posted 2010-01-27 17:20:57 -1000

Michael Collins

Just a few cynics doubted the magnificent procession of then Senator
Barack Obama to the highest office in the land. He was the redemption
of our past sins, the proof that we were a better nation than we had
been. After all, race has been at the center of American politics since
Bacon's Rebellion was crushed in 1667 but we were  moving beyond that.  And we did.   Race was set aside for most of those who voted.

Posted with permission of author, Nicholas Benton owner/editor of the Falls Church News Press.

As the official U.S. unemployment number approaches 10 percent, the ravaged economy is veering toward its much-feared "second dip" associated with credit card debt, rising commercial real estate vacancy rates and a major up-tick of unaffordable residential adjustable rate mortgage re-sets.

bailoutpeople.org

Citizens Respond

Michael Collins

PITTSBURGH
-- A new world order is emerging at the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh with
a decision by the group to become the premier coordinating body on
economic issues.  Radio Free Europe, Sep. 26, 2009

This morning I noticed something on the Yahoo homepage, an article titled, Nine Reasons Why The Economy Is Not Getting Better.
 
The only good thing is, as I knew already, I’m not alone in my present “work situation”.

The latest figures on unemployment have prompted VP Biden to admit that the Administation was rethinking the state of the economy. They would do well to look at the economy of states. With unemployment now officially hovering close to 20% there is a lot to worry about. 

While I ordinarily would not accord the UK's pundit Ambrose Evans-Pritchard much credibility, in a recent piece in the Telegraph, The unemployment timebomb is quietly ticking, he put together some useful statistics.

With the defeat of the bill allowing judges to force mortgage restructuring on reluctant creditors, and now the defeat of the bill reintroducing limits on usury, the momentum toward real reform of the American financial system has clearly been stopped. There is now a rapidly growing danger that the lack of reform, coupled with the growing consensus in “the Village” that multiplying signs of economic “green shoots”signal that “the bottom is near” (see Arianna Huffington’s May 12, 2009 post, Wall Street, DC, and the New Financial Euphoria),  will leave the majority of Americans who are not rich dealing with prolonged economic hardship.

Filmmakers from Canada’s No-Job Capitol Re-brand Panhandling

There are now five Republican governors involved in the rejection front. They are: Sanford of South Carolina, Jindal of Louisiana, Barbour of Mississippi, Perry of Texas and Bob Riley of Alabama according to USA Today. Where they come together is rejecting Federal assistance for unemployment benefits, and also for education and health expenditures.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a shocking rise in unemployment in February to 8.1% and a  loss of 651,000 jobs. Not only are the numbers large but the rate of job loss is sharply increasing each month.

Promoted. Some banks, like Bank of America, charge $35 - $39 per overage. If you have $20 left in your account before the next paycheck hits and an unexpected item -- say a $20 maintenance fee -- hits just before 3 small checks for under $5 come in, you can suddenly find yourself over $100 in the red. Some banks will refund those overages. Some will not. Originally posted 2009-02-19 20:22:40 -0500. -- GH

The last time I received unemployment compensation in Texas, a check came in the mail.  I was quite surprised to read how the states cut deals with major banks to handle unemployment benefits nowadays..... Following is an excerpt:

Banks slapping fees on unemployment benefit debit cards

For hundreds of thousands of workers losing their jobs during the recession, there's a new twist to their financial pain: Even when they're collecting unemployment benefits, they're paying the bank just to get the money — or even to call customer service to complain about it.

Thirty states have struck such deals with banks that include Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp., JP Morgan Chase and US Bancorp, an Associated Press review of the agreements found. All the programs carry fees, and in several states the unemployed have no choice but to use the debit cards. Some banks even charge overdraft fees of up to $20 — even though they could decline charges for more than what's on the card.

There has got to be a better way.....and pressure from the grassroots usually gets the trick done! Thoughts?

On Thursday, April 24th, Reuters carried a headline Jobless claims fall unexpectedly that provided an interesting contrast to the story from Friday April 18th entitled Wall St. braces for thousands of pink slips.

From the first article cited above, we get this lede:

_____

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of U.S. workers filing initial claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell by 33,000 last week, the Labor Department said on Thursday, though the number of workers remaining on jobless benefits continued at a high level.
_____

Yet, the article from Friday April 18th was quite a bit more forboding:

_____

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc, Merrill Lynch & Co and Wachovia Corp this week announced 12,400 job cuts, and the number of pink slips is likely to rise as losses mount and the economy works its way out of its malaise.

[...snip...]

Job losses will surge well beyond the current level, given that the latest data does not account for widely expected cuts among the 14,000 employees at Bear Stearns Cos following the investment bank's pending takeover by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

[...snip...]

Global financial institutions have so far sustained well over $200 billion of write-downs and credit-related losses, with the ailing U.S. housing market a central catalyst.

[...snip...]

Already, Marenzi expects at least 100,000 job losses at U.S. commercial banks, or companies that lend or collect deposits. That figure could rise to between 150,000 and 200,000 in the next 12 to 18 months, he said.
_____

Without even having to look too closely, however, it's not difficult to determine why the recent report appears to clash with the earlier one: timing.

The article from 18 April talks about the future of the job market as the economy continues to spiral down and institutions post record losses; the article from today discusses the expectations that analysts had leading into the week of April 12 -- the week preceding the April 18 piece.

If these articles were to be placed in reverse order, they would paint an ever-darkening picture of our short and medium term economic and employment outlook.

An Aside to the Bush Administration and Bush Republicans: Yes, Mr. Bush, we are in a slowdown: a severe one. There's a term for it -- it's recession. If it gets much worse before it is addressed responsibly, it could become a worldwide depression. And because of your inability to properly comprehend it and the habit of denial and band-aid approaches that your Administration and the Congressional Republicans have taken in hopes of leaving the burgeoning mess in lap of the next (presumably Democratic) Administration, the problem is likely to get a whole lot worse before anything is done to address it intelligently.

Just like all the other problems that have been exacerbated by your criminal neglect and malfeasance.

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For further reference, you may want to check out Tony Wikrent's Euthanize Wall Street to save the economy and GreyHawk's Gouged Out: The Consumer and the Gas Station Operator.
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I am posting two recent posts by Robert Reich with his permission, on how the recession is effecting the lives of ordinary Americans. Whether Clinton or Obama win the primary, these arehe primary issues that must be addressed.