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Posts Tagged ‘economy’

Thought Things Were Settling Down?

11:42 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · economy · Comments Off

23 Oct 2008

lv_greenspan_081023.300w.jpg Well, prepare to huddle back into your fetus position. Economic (supposed) guru wizard, Alan Greenspan just gave testimony in front of Congress about the state of the economy. His news is, of course, terrifying.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Thursday the current financial crisis is a “once-in-a-century credit tsunami” which will have a severe impact on the U.S. economy, driving unemployment higher.

Greenspan, who headed the nation’s central bank for 18½ years, said that he and others who believed lending institutions would do a good job of protecting their shareholders are in a “state of shocked disbelief.”

He said that the current crisis had “turned out to be much broader than anything that I could have imagined.”

I’d offer you one of my thumbs to suck on while in your fetal position, but I need it myself.

Renters face eviction too

7:52 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · economy · Comments Off

16 Oct 2008

It’s not just home owners that are facing eviction these days. Apparently by some cruel twist of capitalistic fate, people who are renting are facing increased evictions because of the mortgage crisis–landlords are not paying their mortgages on time and rental properties are being foreclosed on as a result.

Tita Mendoza and her husband moved into their Miami Beach condo in June and have been dutifully paying the $1,800 rent on time every month. And yet, they could be evicted any day now.

Last month, the Mendozas were served with court papers notifying them that their landlord was being foreclosed on, meaning the couple could be turned out on the street.

One of the only good things about this mess is that some people with hearts are standing up and doing the ethically correct thing:

Last week, Tom Dart, the sheriff in Chicago’s Cook County, drew the ire of landlords and lenders everywhere when he announced he would no longer send his deputies on court-ordered foreclosure evictions because many of the people being turned out on the street were tenants who had faithfully paid the rent.

On Thursday, Dart announced that his deputies will resume taking part in foreclosure evictions next week, but only with stringent legal safeguards worked out with the courts. Among other things, a bank that is foreclosing on a property must prove it informed all tenants of a state-mandated grace period designed to allow them to look for new housing.

Via MSNBC

Suze Orman Tells Us What to do With Our Non-Existant Money

2:13 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · economy · Comments Off

13 Oct 2008

You know, I saw this Suze Orman clip and wondered why the hell Suze Orman isn’t our president. I felt much calmer about the state of the economy after watching this, even though I am perfectly aware of how totally screwed we all are. Great Depression be damned–we will make it through this together!

Aren’t terrified already? Prepare yourself!

12:34 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Politics| economy · Comments Off

10 Oct 2008

Things are steadily getting worser and worser in the economic world. Bush came out today to tell us all that everything is fine, just fine, no need to panic–but I think I saw some fire streaming from his britches before he left the podium.

MSNBC doesn’t bother with the pretending, they scream it like it is, with the proper amount of intensity: IS THIS THE END OF AMERICAN CAPITALISM???

I don’t know if it is or isn’t–but I will admit to being completly terrified. If this is what they wanted, they got it!

Senate to Vote on Bailout Today

3:53 pm By Maegan La Mala · Money| Music| Politics · Comments Off

1 Oct 2008

Today the Senate is set to vote on a multi-dollar bailout plan. Struggling to understand how we got here? Wondering where the alternatives are?

Sometimes all there is, is music and poetry. Rebel Diaz knows.

Bailout fails, somehow I don’t think that’s a good thing…

12:06 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · economy · Comments Off

30 Sep 2008

So I’ve been following the economic crisis issue for a while now, and I’m sorry to say I have no more idea what’s going on now than when I started following it. Apparently I’m not the only one who is confused:

Pointing el Dedo : Those Damn Illegals are to Blame for Economic Meltdown

8:51 am By Maegan La Mala · Blogs| Immigration| Internet| Media| Money · Comments Off

26 Sep 2008

Need someone to blame for the economic downturn, for the mortgage crisis? Look no farther than Maria y Jose. That’s right it’s those damn illegal immigrants (or some would have you believe). After all they control the money and the system that controls that. No? DreamActivist writes over at The Sanctuary:

Why, don’t you know, those migrant workers, low-income wage-earners, illegals in the military, undocumented students struggling to afford college, caused the financial collapse of Wall Street, Main Street, all streets!! Now we need a $700 billion dollar bailout for them!

Sylvia P also follows the path atras, as to who really is to blame.

It started with the ambitions of a single illegal alien.

That’s right. I said it. We have no time for political correctness now. If Sen. McCain can suspend his campaign, I can suspend my intelligence to state things plainly. And plainly, my investment banker siblings, it always starts with one.

And we ignored the signs, even when it appeared in the news way back when the Mexicans first began ousting CEOs.

The Cheat Sheet to the $700 billion Dollar Nightmare of a Plan

9:07 am By Maegan La Mala · Blogs| Money| Politics · Comments Off

24 Sep 2008

economic downward spiral. I do know that anyone asking for a $700 billion blank check isn’t a good thing, and it’s even worse when it’s the government that wants it. Gracias a Liza over at Culture Kitchen, we have a little better explanation as to what is so wrong about what my former boss, Paulson, wants.

* Would allow up to $700 billion in mortgage assets to be held by Treasury at any one time.
* Allows the Treasury to buy any mortgage-related assets, both residential and commercial, for a two-year period. The plan does not detail the types of mortgage assets this could cover and or how long the government could hold them, and does not establish how they would be valued. However, if deemed needed to promote financial market stability, any type of financial instrument could be bought.
* Assets must have been originated or issued before September 17, 2008, by a financial institution having “significant operations” in the United States. This provision could also be waived if deemed needed to promote financial stability.
* Assets could be bought from any financial institution, including but not limited to banks, thrifts, credit unions, broker-dealers and insurance companies. If deemed need(sic) to promote financial stability, however, assets could be purchased from non-financial companies.
* Grants the Treasury broad authority to decide how to purchase, manage and dispose of the assets, including setting up a special fund and naming financial institutions to work for the Treasury Department.
* The Treasury secretary would be given these powers to ensure stability or prevent disruption of financial markets and to protect the taxpayer.
* No court or government agency could review the secretary’s decisions. The secretary would report to Congress within the first three months and then twice yearly.
* The U.S. debt limit would be increased by $700 billion to fund the plan, to $11.315 trillion from $10.615 trillion.

Economic Slowdown is Affecting Latinos Hard

11:11 am By Maegan La Mala · Labor| Lifestyle| Money| society · Comments Off

12 Aug 2008

The current economic slump in which the U.S. finds itself in is making life hard on everybody. Rising gas prices and the mortgage fallout are making Americans spend less money, and in turn, business is slow. And it seems that Latinos are the hardest hit group by all of this.

From New York to Miami to Los Angeles, the downturn in the U.S. economy is hitting Hispanics especially hard, with unemployment rising faster in that community than in the overall U.S. population. And the slowdown has had a ripple effect, with a significant drop in payments being sent home to families in Latin America.

“For the last year, Hispanics have been losing jobs at a faster rate than any other group,” said Agustine Martínez, president of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Washington.

The Baltimore Sun reports that unemployment among Latinos is nearly 2 points higher than among the general population, and that salaries for Latino workers are “stuck”. Remesas being sent back to Latin America are said to be down by 70% since 2006.

It’s hard times and everyone’s apretándose el cinturón. Have you had to cut back on expenses just to make ends meet? Where are you spending the most money and what, if anything, do you have to sacrifice? Let us know in the comments.

Via / Baltimore Sun

Mortgage Fallout Affects Immigrant Workers

2:30 pm By Maegan La Mala · Immigration| Labor| mexico| society · Comments Off

9 Jun 2008

While the mortgage fallout has some having to give up their homes, it has others having to give up their jobs. An overwhelming number of Latino immigrant workers labor in the construction field, and given the decrease in the number of new construction going up, jobs are disappearing. A new study by the Pew Hispanic Center shows that immigrants are suffering the effects of the country’s ailing economy as much — or more — than everyone else:

The analysis by the Pew Hispanic Center shows the unemployment rate for Latino immigrants was 7.5 percent in the first three months of this year, compared with 6.9 percent among Latinos born in the United States. During the same period in 2007, the rates were 5.5 percent and 6.7 percent, respectively.

Latinos lost nearly 250,000 jobs over the past year because of the recent slump in the construction sector, the report states.

For several years, construction was a mainstay of job growth for Latino workers, especially immigrants.

“Having become somewhat dependent on this industry, (Latino workers) were more vulnerable to the downturn,” said Rakesh Kochhar, Pew’s associate director for research.

Mexican immigrants were the hardest-hit group, with their unemployment rate jumping from 5.5 percent last year to 8.4 percent, according to the report issued last week.

I wonder what the long term of effects of this will be. Immigrants — for instance Mexican immigrants — will have a hard time returning to Mexico given the sky high inflation and unemployment rates there. But then again, if things continue as they are here, the situation will become unsustainable on this side of the border as well. Will they stay or will they go?

Via / The Sun

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