Economists tell us that the Great Recession ended last summer. One complication: Many people—President Obama included—are acting like we’re still in the midst of a recession. One more complication: A committee of economists now says that the recession that ended last summer may not have ended after all.
recovery
Why You’ll See Tons of “New and Improved” Products Soon
Call it the recession lesson. The downturn caused many newly thrifty consumers to detour into the world of cheap toilet paper, store brand shampoos, and other generic necessities. And you know what these consumers discovered? The cheaper stuff isn’t half-bad. Often, the cheaper stuff clearly gives more bang for the buck. So why would …
The Recession That Will Never End, Even Though It Already Has
Back in 2007, everybody seemed willing to believe the housing market, stock market, and economy as a whole would keep humming along uninterrupted for, well, forever. Now, few people seem to believe that the recession is over—even though it supposedly ended last summer.
Economic Indicator: The Price of a Haircut on Craigslist?
Among the data that may give some indication of how the economy is doing: Sales of generic toilet paper and cheap liquor, how new your underwear is, and how hot your waitress is, and how busy the fast-food drive-thru is at breakfast time. Also: passenger subway traffic near San Francisco’s Union Square, and perhaps even the asking prices …
Return of the House Flipper! Return of the Car Lease! Return of Rent-to-Own!
Also: Return of the shopper who is up for dropping some disposable income on jewelry, shoes, and cars. Haven’t we seen all of this before? What’s old—and good for the economy, but probably unwise for the consumer—is apparently new again.
Would You Mind Sharing Some of Your Job?
Work-sharing could help tens of thousands of employees to avoid layoffs. Here, an argument for how the American worker might spread the wealth—and the pain—during tough economic times.
What’s Worse: Stingy Banks or Thrifty Consumers?
There have been a lot of people blabbing on for the past few months about the new found thriftiness of the American consumer. The savings rate is up, and credit card balances are down. Well it appears, that that later piece of news does not fit as neatly into the thriftier American thesis as it appears. A new study by CardHub found that …
New Jobs Number: A “Single Dip” Recession?
For a while now, chatter has been growing that the economy is headed for a double-dip recession. That’s the type where you think you have recovered, but in fact you are only on the first bump of the roller coaster. But this morning’s jobs numbers seem to suggest the possibility of a double dip is receeding. The Labor Department said the …
Plausible? The Government Wants You in Debt
Do government policies make it much easier to be a spender rather than a saver?
Attention: It’s OK to Buy Stuff Again. Just Be Quiet About It
After enduring month after month of conscientiously not spending, people in certain circles are experiencing “frugal fatigue.” Is an epic shopping binge inevitable?
Bad Credit: Not So Bad After All?
The authors of a new book make the case that life can be good—great, even—while your credit score is in the dumps. In spite of bad credit, you can still buy a home, take a vacation, start a business, and most importantly, not be depressed all the time. And the writers should know what they’re talking about: One of the authors had to …
Minimum Wage Increase as Job Killer
For most of 2009, the number of part-time jobs increased—part-timers being cheaper alternatives to full-time workers, whose jobs had been axed in recession-time cost-cutting moves. But since July, there’s been a drop-off in part-time gigs as well. July happens to be when the federal minimum wage was raised from $6.55 to $7.25 an hour.