MetaFilter posts tagged with recession and crisis

How green was my valley

KokuRyu — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:51:06 -0800

How green was my valley: California's economic meltdown The fields of wheat, cotton and cantaloupe that sustained his family for three generations are gone. The land is a mess of fallow fields, cracked earth and swirling dust. (PDF - By some estimates, 12.8% of the United States' agricultural production (as measured by dollar value) comes from California, and the majority of that is in the Central Valley). However, his particular scene of devastation, Mr. Allen argues, has nothing to do with the credit crisis, the housing crash or the downturn that has California in a vice grip. It has to do with a seven-centimetre-long, semi-translucent, steel blue fish known as the Delta smelt. This is not a story about fish. Rather, it is a story about how efforts to save the fish through a court-ordered water shortage have pushed a region already brought to the brink by recession over the edge... "In the Central Valley regional area, we've got 40,000 unemployed people. General Motors had 30,000 and got a government bailout. We're getting nothing." See also: California v Texas

Hidey Hole

Joe Beese — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:59:45 -0800

It's scary out there. It can make you just want to hide.

Follow the flowcharts

desjardins — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:06:24 -0800

Vizualizations and infographics to help you understand the financial crisis

Squeeze in, get online for a better life

flapjax at midnite — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 23:54:48 -0800

Newly jobless and homeless former members of the Japanese upper or upper-middle class are turning to a distinctly 21st century version of the flophouse, the net room: a tiny cubicle, rented by the day, with that all-important feature... an internet connection and a computer. See this video followup on Ito Hidefumi, who, ironically, has been able to move into somewhat nicer accommodations, thanks to his new job cleaning temporary dwellings for other jobless/homeless displaced workers in Tokyo. Here's some bite-size infobits on Japan's current economic/jobs malaise. Oh, and none of this is to be confused with this Net Room, which caters to foreigners, but may well decide to change their name if the "net room" phenomenon really takes off and becomes a household word...

Religious takes on the global financial crisis

desjardins — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:04:30 -0800

The Dalai Lama blames the financial crisis on a decline in spirituality. Hindus blame it on greed. Saudi Grand Mufti, Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, blames the crisis on ignoring God's rules. Jewish scholars say we could have avoided a crisis by following Talmudic traditions. Pope Benedict sees the global financial system as "self-centred, short-sighted and lacking in concern for the destitute." Is it right to pray for the economy? (a Christian perspective). A Malaysian conference brings together Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Taoists, and Sikhs to discuss the crisis.

Sad Guys on Trading Floors.

longdaysjourney — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:53:32 -0800

Sad Guys on Trading Floors. (via)