Today's hot topic in the economy has to do with the decision Obama made in regards to setting a $500,000 annual cap on pay for top executives at companies receiving taxpayer funds. Obama said more measures would be outlined next week to overhaul the crisis-hit U.S. financial sector, which has been propped up with billions of dollars in public funds.
Obama summed up his decision by saying, "This is America, we don't disparage wealth. ... What gets people upset, and rightfully so, is executives being rewarded for failure. Especially when those rewards are subsidized by U.S. taxpayers."
Maybe this is a step in the right direction in helping relieve the financial situation we are in. Some people believe Obama is doing this just as a political gambit. In my personal opinion I do not know what to say. I'm not going to agree nor disagree with his decision. I will reserve my judgement until I see how this all pans out. It would be nice to see some positive thing occur to help out our economy. Whether this works or not, only time will tell.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
More Trouble
Today, in Washington D.C., Obama announced that the financial crisis would turn into "a catastrophe" unless the bill passed quickly. Obama summoned centrist senators to the White House to discuss a plan to cut more than $50 billion in spending from the measure, which now tops $900 billion and appears to be increasing.
The cost of the plan race past $900 billion after the Senate on Tuesday added money for medical research and tax breaks for car purchases. An effort to add $25 billion more for public works projects narrowly failed, but is assumed that it will probably be revived. The cost could go higher if senators approve making a tax break for home buyers more generous.
It looks like this hole in our economy keeps getting deeper and deeper. It seems like it is one thing after another, almost like a domino effect. Based on Obama's predictions, relief does not seem to be anywhere in sight.
The cost of the plan race past $900 billion after the Senate on Tuesday added money for medical research and tax breaks for car purchases. An effort to add $25 billion more for public works projects narrowly failed, but is assumed that it will probably be revived. The cost could go higher if senators approve making a tax break for home buyers more generous.
It looks like this hole in our economy keeps getting deeper and deeper. It seems like it is one thing after another, almost like a domino effect. Based on Obama's predictions, relief does not seem to be anywhere in sight.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Money, Mentals, and Mayhem
I came across an interesting article today in USA Today. The struggling economy is now not only affecting people's salaries, but now it is affecting peoples mental health. Requests for therapists have soared, Americans say they're stressed out, and domestic-violence and suicide hot lines are reporting increased calls. All this negativity is due to money. It truly shows that for alot of American people, money is everything. They can't live without it.
Nancy Molitor, a psychologists in Wilmette, Illinois said, "I've never seen this level of anxiety and depression in 22 years of practice. The mental health fallout has been far worse than after 9/11." The demand for therapists have jumped 40% from June-December of 2008. Another interesting fact I came across had to do with ComPsych, which runs the nation's largest employee-assistance mental-health program. They said that nearly half of Americans said they were more stressed than a year ago, and about one-third rated their stress level as "extreme" in surveys out in September from the American Psychological Association.
This is the writing on the wall in my opinion. I believe things are going to get worse before they get better. However, I also believe that American people should prepare themselves properly. If they cut back spending and cut corners here and there, then they will be able to find some relief. People have to realize that they can't live the life they use to live. Now, they have to live within their budget. They have to know when to buy something they need versus buying something they want. I feel that if people start to do this, they things may start to turn around in a positive way.
Nancy Molitor, a psychologists in Wilmette, Illinois said, "I've never seen this level of anxiety and depression in 22 years of practice. The mental health fallout has been far worse than after 9/11." The demand for therapists have jumped 40% from June-December of 2008. Another interesting fact I came across had to do with ComPsych, which runs the nation's largest employee-assistance mental-health program. They said that nearly half of Americans said they were more stressed than a year ago, and about one-third rated their stress level as "extreme" in surveys out in September from the American Psychological Association.
This is the writing on the wall in my opinion. I believe things are going to get worse before they get better. However, I also believe that American people should prepare themselves properly. If they cut back spending and cut corners here and there, then they will be able to find some relief. People have to realize that they can't live the life they use to live. Now, they have to live within their budget. They have to know when to buy something they need versus buying something they want. I feel that if people start to do this, they things may start to turn around in a positive way.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Layoffs Continue
Unfortunately, layoffs for major companies are continuing and will likely increase with time. Companies such as Caterpillar, Home Depot, and Sprint Nextel said they are going to be laying off a combined 35,000 employees based on the severity of our current recession. Corning, another large company said today that they are cutting 3500 jobs which is 13% of its payroll.Wells Fargo senior economist Scott Anderson said that, "Some of the worst job losses are ahead of us, not behind us." If we think what is happening now is bad, just wait for the future. This is definitely something we have to worry about whether we like it or not. Additionally he said that approximately 3 million people will lose theirs jobs during this year. Below you will find a small list of some of the cutbacks major companies are having to make. The following is a link that will take you to a chart that displays some of the cutbacks companies are having to make: http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2009-01-26-economy-recession-layoffs_N.htm
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Tight Times
As we all know, we are currently struggling with our economy. It's been going on for awhile now and it seems like there is no end in sight. Prices aren't the same, jobs are being lost, and people are taking account of every single penny they own. Not only this, but peoples entire life savings, that in which they have worked very hard, are slowly diminishing. The American people are definitely in a recession.
Just like former President Bush, President Obama is now looking for some kind of financial bailout. Obama is pushing Congress for $800 billion tax cuts and new spending. Just last week, the Senate released the final $350 billion of a $700 billion economic rescue law passed last year during the Bush administration. This is a large amount of money that I find to be unfathomable. All we can do is hope everything works out.
Now I'm not an individual that likes to talk about politics. I don't voice my views because I usually keep them to myself. So this blog is definitely a rarity for me and I am interested in how other people feel. The reason I want to talk about the economy is that many of us will be entering the workforce within the next couple years and it may be tough for us to find jobs. Graduating college when the economy may still be struggling may affect many of the jobs we are offered and what we choose to do with our life.
As the old saying goes, "Time heals eveything." Maybe our economy will be turned around within the year. But again, maybe it won't. We do not know how long this recession will be and it may get worse before it gets better. We have to put faith in our government and hope that they can get us out of this.
Just like former President Bush, President Obama is now looking for some kind of financial bailout. Obama is pushing Congress for $800 billion tax cuts and new spending. Just last week, the Senate released the final $350 billion of a $700 billion economic rescue law passed last year during the Bush administration. This is a large amount of money that I find to be unfathomable. All we can do is hope everything works out.
Now I'm not an individual that likes to talk about politics. I don't voice my views because I usually keep them to myself. So this blog is definitely a rarity for me and I am interested in how other people feel. The reason I want to talk about the economy is that many of us will be entering the workforce within the next couple years and it may be tough for us to find jobs. Graduating college when the economy may still be struggling may affect many of the jobs we are offered and what we choose to do with our life.
As the old saying goes, "Time heals eveything." Maybe our economy will be turned around within the year. But again, maybe it won't. We do not know how long this recession will be and it may get worse before it gets better. We have to put faith in our government and hope that they can get us out of this.
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