MetaFilter posts tagged with recession

Did I say "Recession? What Recession?" Oh right, this recession

marienbad — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:33:44 -0800

Recession prompted 'unprecedented' fall in wages - Wages have fallen more in real terms in the current economic downturn than ever before, according to a report. On top of the rising cost of living, a third of workers who stayed in the same job saw a wage cut or freeze between 2010 and 2011, said the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). "The falls in nominal wages... during this recession are unprecedented," said Claire Crawford from the IFS. Labour said the figures showed there was a "living-standards crisis".

The Weeklies

threeants — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 18:09:55 -0800

“My husband and I, our parents wanted better for us than what they had,” Bonnie says. “And it’s gone backwards.” Monica Potts profiles one Colorado family of "weeklies", formerly middle-class families staying long-term in budget hotels. In a complex situation caught between housing predation and their own expectations and prejudices, Bonnie, Andy, and Drew live out a form of Great Recession-era homelessness while trying to get back on their feet.

Down but not out.

Miko — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 19:46:51 -0800

After Forbes magazine declared Dayton, OH, one of America's " fastest dying cities," a group of local media makers created Reinvention Stories. The interactive film/multimedia experience rolls out this month in three acts.

Amazon Sounds £13.99

mippy — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 12:52:26 -0800

Last One Falling - photographer Amy Connolly documented the last days of a Liverpool branch of HMV whilst working there in 2011, a stark contrast to the images of the flagship store in the sixties and seventies (previously). The chain yesterday announced it was entering administration after 91 years on the high street. They are unlikely to be the last store to struggle in 2013.

What went wrong and how to fix it.

moorooka — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 13:54:45 -0800

Stimulus or Stymied?: The Macroeconomics of Recession: An American Economic Association panel discussion on the Great Recession between four leading economists - Paul Krugman (Princeton), Valerie Ramey (UCSD), Harald Uhlig (Chicago) and Carlo Cottarelli (IMF), chaired by Brad DeLong (Berkeley).

Recession? What Recession?

marienbad — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 02:26:29 -0800

UK dividends hit new record in Q3 2012: "Dividend payments in the UK hit highest quarterly total of £23.2bn, up 10.4 per cent in the third quarter compared with last year, according to Capita Registrars." "Capita has increased its headline forecast for the full year by £300m, which would push the total dividends for the year to £78.6bn, including additional special dividends. This would surpass the pre-crisis peak of £77bn, the previous record annual total." Capita Registrars Dividend Monitor Google Search.

Brother, can you spare a dime?

infini — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 03:23:33 -0800

The National Bureau of Economic Research has published a new paper analyzing 138 years of economic history in 14 advanced economies, which proves that high levels of private debt cause severe recessions. (Via) Bonus SLYT: Money As Debt (1hr)

Pick your side. Pick your history.

vidur — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 19:42:37 -0800

"Some date the crisis to August 9 2007, the day it became clear that Europe’s banks were up to their necks in US housing debt. The ECB flooded markets with €95bn of liquidity. It seemed a lot of money then. The term “trillion” was still banned by the Telegraph style book in those innocent days. We have since learned to swing with the modern dance music from central banks." [Five years on, the Great Recession is turning into a life sentence]

You know decent people when you meet them. The Quinns are decent people.”

Fence — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 13:54:20 -0800

"The Quinns are decent people." At a rally in County Cavan thousands of people showed up to support local business man Seán Quinn. From local sports personalities to high profile priests to ordinary people, they came to support the man once known as Ireland's richest man. Once a "small farmer who built an empire" Quinn has filed for bankruptcy, is seen as the man behind the collapse of Anglo-Irish Bank, has been charged with contempt, seen his sons arrested, and his nephew go on the run. Is he a victim or just a gambler who lost? Sinn Féin, for one, can't seem to decide how to react to him. What is the truth about Sean Quinn. Or is it all really Seanie Fitzpatrick's fault?

The Ones We've Lost: The Student Loan Debt Suicides

ActionPopulated — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 20:45:41 -0800

The Ones We've Lost: The Student Loan Debt Suicides: "I'm an advocate for people who are struggling to pay their student loans, and I've been receiving suicidal comments for over two years and occasionally receiving reports of actual suicides".

Assertion that all young people think they are special snowflakes.

mippy — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 07:05:42 -0800

Vagenda Magazine sums up every article about graduate unemployment.

Rapid declines into poverty

peacheater — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 13:58:11 -0800

The Sharp, Sudden Decline of America's Middle Class (via The Billfold) "The money's for my phone, it's for gas, it's for my bills," Adkins said. "Why are you in a crisis," the woman asked, "when you have a phone bill?" "I need the phone so I can get a job. You can't look for a job without a phone." "Why do you have bills?" the woman asked. "I thought you didn't have a place to live." "I live in my van," Adkins said. "I have insurance." "You have a 2007 van," the woman said. "I think you need to sell that." "Please, I need a break," Adkins said. "I need some help. I need to take a shower." "Why didn't you have a shower?" "I live in a van." The woman told Adkins to come back when she really needed help.

DEAR AMERICA: You Should Be Mad As Hell About This

Vibrissae — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 02:34:12 -0800

DEAR AMERICA: You Should Be Mad As Hell About This. Here is a helpful series of excellent visual aids that shed light on the state of our current American socioeconomy.

Building resilient cities and towns with fiscal conservatism

invitapriore — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:03:57 -0800

"...Charles Marohn and his colleagues at the Minnesota-based nonprofit Strong Towns have made a very compelling case that suburban sprawl is basically a Ponzi scheme, in which municipalities expand infrastructure hoping to attract new taxpayers that can pay off the mounting costs associated with the last infrastructure expansion, over and over." Building resilient cities and towns with fiscal conservatism. Curbside Chat: A candid talk about the future of America’s cities, towns and neighborhoods, the report cited in the article, can be found here.

Life on the Breadline

modernnomad — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 05:34:08 -0800

Welcome to the world of Britain's working poor. The Rowleys belong to a section of society not much mentioned in ministerial and media dispatches. They are neither the very wealthy affected by the 50p tax nor the "squeezed middle" expressing anxiety about child benefit and this week's budget; nor are the Rowleys representative of the long-term unemployed or one of the 120,000 "troubled families" in which the government is investing £448m over the next three years. Crisy and Richard are one among thousands of couples who, without attracting much attention, live daily on a precarious and crumbling financial cliff edge. They are the working poor, frequently self-employed, paying dearly and disproportionately simply because they want to stay in jobs, no matter how low the pay.

It's a Dirty Job

symbioid — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:57:11 -0800

The nation is awash with a new black market commodity... Across the country, retailers are finding massive amounts of this product missing. In West St. Paul, Minnesota, one enterprising individual has taken $25,000 dollars of this chemical that some Police Departments are calling liquid gold: Tide Detergent

"I can make $2,000 a pound taking it across the country."

desjardins — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 18:47:44 -0800

The New Dealers : For some time, I'd been hearing stories from my sources in the interstate marijuana racket about law-abiding "civilians" turning to the game because of the recession, and so, armed with introductions, I hit the road to meet some of these unlikely criminals face to face. That's how, on a hot evening in June, I found myself in Dan's Northern California kitchen.

Down But Not Out

reenum — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:07:44 -0800

With the recent news that unemployment applications are at their lowest levels since 2008, Congressional Republicans are attempting to curtail unemployment benefits. Democrats want to extend benefits for another year. This has led to an impasse. Still, there are many long term unemployed who will slip into poverty without an extension of these benefits. The uncertainty has left many of these people fearful and angry. Economists are also arguing that the current extensions of unemployment benefits helped prevent the economy from sinking into a depression. Additionally, only 22% of long term unemployed are currently receiving any unemployment benefit.

ink&paper

OmieWise — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 05:24:00 -0800

ink&paper A short film about the last paper shop, and the last letterpress, in Los Angeles. "There are days go by that there can be absolutely no business at all."

I'm gonna sing the Doom song now

coriolisdave — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:06:17 -0800

China's economy poised to join the rest of us in the toilet. I certainly hope one of you smart people can prove this article wrong.

"This slump won’t end until 2031"

stbalbach — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:02:13 -0800

You know about the Great Depression, but do you know about the Long Depression? For a while now some have been suggesting we're in a "Third Depression", not so much like the Great one, but more like the Long Depression (1873–96) of 23 years (originally called the Great Depression). Suggesting "This slump won’t end until 2031".

In retrospect, it wasn’t hard to see that the markets were becoming dangerously unstable. Germany had just adopted a new monetary system, and Europe was being flooded with cheap German money. Greece had signed up to a monetary union with Italy and France but was struggling to hold it together. Financial markets had been deregulated. New technologies were transforming production and communications, allowing money to move across borders at lightening speed. And a massive new industrial power was flooding the world with cheap manufactured goods, blowing apart old industries. When it all fell apart in an almighty crash, it was only to be expected. A prophesy for London, New York or Berlin in 2012? Not exactly. It is a description of Vienna in 1873. (from last link)

Subtext, meet text.

mightygodking — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:43:54 -0800

"Too many people are out of work, struggling to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. Many are lacking health insurance and foregoing staples that in different times were a given. So please, protesting retail workers, stop whining about having to work holiday hours. Be grateful to have a job." The Minneapolis Star-Tribune editorializes about Target employees' efforts to not have to open stores at midnight on Black Friday.

Why do we need a financial sector?

TheophileEscargot — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 01:51:12 -0800

Economics blog VoxEU debates Why do we need a financial sector? Serious, important and very dull articles discuss the trade-offs and myths of innovation, and whether the sector is overrated, critical or a contributor to the wider economy.

Before the Occupy movement, there were tent cities.

zarq — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 10:23:45 -0800

"Imagine if you had never been homeless before and you'd just lost your job and you lost your home. What would you do? Would you immediately go begging or knocking on a door? No, you would downsize, move into cheaper accommodations, if that did not work you'd move in with friends or relatives and then you'd move into a cheap motel and then ... where would you want to go before winding up at a shelter door? You would much prefer to live at a park with your family and your dog." ... "In just about every major city, there are tent cities. Unfortunately, we're in a growth industry and the numbers are going to continue." -- Michael Stoop, a community organizer for the National Coalition for the Homeless, explaining that the surge in American tent city shantytowns, first highlighted on MeFi in 2008/09: 1, 2, 3, has not slowed. The Great Recession: Life in Tent City, Lakewood NJ / Photo Gallery / Video. Additional Links The Lakewood tent city has a website. They were founded in 2006 by Reverend Steven Brigham of Lakewood Outreach Ministries. NYT (2007): A Ministry in the Cold, With a Gospel of Propane / Slideshow A documentary about the Lakewood group called "Into The Woods" was the focus of a kickstarter fundraiser earlier this year. The filmmaker met his goal in April and the project is in progress. Official site. He keeps a blog and has a page on facebook, both of which are tracking Lakewood's ongoing efforts to evict the tent city group. Videos * A Year in Tent City (Asbury Park Press) * 'Tent City', New Jersey's homeless refuge * Doug Hardman playing piano in Lakewood tent city (Business Insider) * The New Homeless (USA Today, from 2009: Pinella's Hope, FL) Articles (includes info on other American tent cities) * Recently on Mefi: Safe Ground * Once prosperous New Yorkers forced to live under canvas in New Jersey woods * There Are So Many Homeless In Virginia Beach Officials Are Pondering Official Tent City * Ann Arbor, MI: Camp Take Notice They were evicted in May, 2010, but that didn't last long. From July of this year: Ann Arbor’s homeless tent city faces scrutiny after string of small crimes * Tarp Nation / Related Images (from 2009) * MSNBC: In hard times, tent cities rise across the country (from 2008) Photo Gallery * MSNBC: Sacramento, From Boom Times to Tent City / Depression Days (photos from 1936) * Inside California's Tent Cities (from 2009)

9 Ideas From Around the World to Fix the American Economy

storybored — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:14:58 -0800

9 Ideas From Around the World to Fix the American Economy. "People in the U.S. confuse big government and small government as the only two models. What we need is smart government". Selected economic and social policies that actually work - from Germany, Brazil, Israel, Canada, Australia, China, Thailand and Singapore.