ECONOMICS / POLITICS 101

Obama has been President for less than 3 weeks and the economy is in a real mess. But make no mistake about it, this is George Bush's mess. It didn't just happen over night; it's been in the making for a long time.

NOW, I don't know or care if you're a Dem or a Repub, but consider this. For 6 out of the last 8 years, we had a Repub President and a majority of Repubs in both the House and Senate and they are the ones who "drove the bus in the ditch" when they were in control.

NOW that the Dems have inherited this mess and are in control (President, House and Senate), the Repubs think they know everything and disagree with everything that is proposed. GO FIGURE! It's a good thing they are finally in the minority. If they knew everything or anything, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place.

They, Repubs, are pushing the same old tired, worn out message. GO FIGURE! Supply side economics with tax breaks to the wealthy has never worked and will never work. Why can't they figure that out? If you give tax cuts and other money incentives to the wealthy with the hope that they will start businesses, why would they when there is no demand for the goods and services that they would offer because people are not working? THEY WILL PUT THE MONEY IN THEIR POCKET OR IN OFFSHORE BANKS. That's why the bus is in the ditch in the first place. They've done that for 6 of the last 8 years, plus other Repub administrations before Bush. And when the final curtain was coming down, they kept taking money of the top, even as the ship was sinking. Paying bonuses with bailout (tax payer) money---HOW ARROGANT AND SELFISH CAN YOU GET? Well, then the sheriff made it possible in the first place and is clearly looking the other way, why not?

HELLO! A strong stimulus package is in order. Give the money to the people; they will spend it and create the demand for products and services. Now that is an incentive for the wealthy to take their own money or get bank loans to start businesses to supply the goods and services to meet the demand. DEMAND SIDE ECONOMICS WORKS--ALWAYS HAS AND ALWAYS WILL.

If you are old enough then you will remember, or if you are not old enough to remember then study history, and look at how things were under the following administrations: Roosevelt, Johnson (Lyndon), Clinton, just to name a few. ALL DEMS. Well the economy was booming. Let's go there again.

Now some claim that a massive "give away" would be irresponsible. Maybe so, but a responsible thing to do is put people back to work. Make them earn it. Government spending is absolutely appropriate to create jobs.

Some immediate hand outs are OK, but put people to work and let them shop and pay taxes and the and the money will turn over again and again and the economy will grow. The Repubs are just talking loud and saying nothing.

DON'T BE MISLEAD!

BB

I am excited and hopeful and patient

So, Mr. Barack Obama is our president. I am feeling hopeful and excited. Both because Bush is out and because Barack Obama is in. Because he is an African-American man and because I look forward to the changes that come with a new chief executive. In one way or another - from high gas prices, to a favorite store or restaurant closing, to lost jobs close to home or by our extended friends and family - we have felt the tightening of the economic belt. This new president of ours brings hope for change. The news program I watched this morning noted that when President Obama began running for president, the centerpiece was about the war in Iraq but the main story quickly changed to economics at home.

There are so many challenges that we face as a country and are looking to Mr. Obama to lead us above. Today is excitement, tomorrow is work and patience.... Barack and his team need to get to work, and we have to be patient. As much as we'd like to have the administration come in and flip a switch that changes things for the better similarly to how flipping a light switch can change a room from darkness to light, we all know it's not that easy. Things didn't get this way like that and the change we are hopeful for will take some time too.

Let's be excited and hopeful and patient. Today is only day one, we have many days ahead. And, the firsts that took place cannot be erased.

New Year, New Challenges

Happy New Year! Many were glad to see 2008 go and hoping 2009 brings more prosperous times. I think we all hope for the best each new year. We hear about the banks an awful lot and those who are affected by the times - I live in Charlotte - home to Bank of America and formally Wachovia - Wells Fargo completed its purchase of Wachovia on Dec. 31. But there is definitely a trickle down effect. I have friends who are in a variety of industries who are laid off and looking for new employment - from senior executives to the recently graduated.

While some are just getting walking papers, some jobs are beginning to come around too. But many are forced to accept jobs paying significantly less than their previous jobs. Check out this CNN article on the topic - Life after a six figure salary. Even without living paycheck to paycheck, we all grow accustomed to our lifestyle, whatever it may be. It's difficult to imagine being able to take a significant pay cut - 30, 50 or even 80%. But in these times, even as we look forward to hopefully better times, I hope we'll all take notes and prepare for the unknown, because we really just don't know what will happen. Yes, enjoy yourself and what you are able to do. But be cautious of extravagance.

Don't cancel the party, just change the way you throw it

I went to a great holiday party over the weekend. The party was hosted by a new friend of mine who is recently unemployed. When I mentioned to the party to some other folks, they wondered how or why someone who is unemployed - laid off - would or could host a holiday party. The answer is simple and, when told to me by my hostess, made so much sense.

She said she always has a holiday party. After being laid off a few months ago, she thought about cancelling this year, but thought it may dampen her holiday spirit. So, instead of cancelling, this year was a potluck. Everyone shared in the cost and the Christmas spirit, and we truly had a ball.

Of course, everyone has to evaluate their own budgets and really decide where they want to pick and choose, but I had a blast at the party and I am thankful it was still on. So, even though times are hard. Get creative, have fun and spread the holiday spirit. Stay blessed and be thankful!

Creativity gets the job

A New Yorker who was laid off nearly a year ago resorted to standing on the street with a sandwich sign saying "MIT grad fr hire." He's landed a job as a senior manager at an accounting firm. Of course his resume backed up his creativity. Check out this video, taken several months ago.

From New York Post:
http://www.nypost.com/video?vxSiteId=a89dc16f-1771-485a-8c76-3ebbf3072361&vxChannel=NY%20Post&vxClipId=1458_339092&vxBitrate=300

By the way, his wife and kids did move to Nebraska (in with her parents), but will return to N.Y. with him at the end of the school year. Seems like a nice story.

Social networkers, beware

As if we all didn't already know, folks who want to learn about you are looking you up online, from Google searches to checking out your mySpace and Facebook profiles. Who cares about the girl or guy you just met checking you out? You may not, but what about a potential employer? According to a recent article a Reuters study shows that since 2006, the number of hiring managers who say they've used social networking sites to find out about potential employees has double to 22 percent. That may not sound like a lot, but as the article says -

"Here's the kicker: About one third of the applicants screened online were dropped from contention after inappropriate content was found on their profile. Yikes."

Some may argue that those things shouldn't matter, but the reality is that for many potential employers, they do. Also as the article states, the greatest danger may be for those transitioning from college students to job seekers. And remember, with these sites, it's not just what you post about yourself, but what others post about you and link to your profile. Again, some may say let folks be themselves and if what is depicted is true, who cares. But the reality is that for lots of companies, when bad press comes to an employee, the company name is often mentioned too and when the employer can chose between slutty alcoholic appearing Sue and clean cut Mary, all other things being equal, Mary probably wins.

Men with more traditional gender role attitudes on average make more money

The University of Florida analyzed interviews from the Bureau of Labor Statistics over a 25 year period and found that men with traditional gender role views as opposed to egalitarian views, made on average $11,930 more per year in similar jobs. The research has been published by the Journal of Applied Psychology. To read more about this click here.

How stressed are you at work?

Your level of stress compared to others may be dependent on the gender of your supervisor(s). Check out this article about a recent study.

Let us know if you were surprised by the results.

That's the type of signing bonus I'm looking for

Wachovia bank's new CFO will receive an upfront bonus of $4 million. And the thing about these types of jobs is that you often can't realize that folks made bad decisions until much later along the way. So in addition to the pretty salary and bonuses, he's got four Ms to sit on - even if he doesn't stay very long, which he will even if he does poorly b/c no one will really know until later. David Zwiener will begin work at Wachovia by Oct. 1. According to this Business Journal article, "For 2008, he will receive a guaranteed minimum annual cash incentive award of $937,500 that will be paid in February."

I am not saying I think Zwiener will do poorly. I wish him the best for him and for the rest of us (how big banks do effects the economy for us all). I just hope he's worth all the money. And I just hope I'll be at that point one day, soon.