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The Aftershock: Where Does the Next Investment Opportunity Lie?

The comments about education sound great, but in reality education is being slashed right and left. My daughter's elementary school has lost its music program and only still has science thanks to a volunteer parent who works for EPA. Community colleges like the one that made my re-entry into the job market possible can't serve all of the students anymore. I also heard on NPR today that thousands more education jobs will be cut next year. So where is all of this essential learning going to take place?

On Oct 31 09:19 AM Tom B wrote:

> Good post. Education is TRYING to move in the direction you say,
> but it's been the football of stupid, ideologically drive programs,
> like No Child Left Behind.

The March Rally May Indeed Have Legs

For me and mine, it's not a recovery until there are jobs.

California: The Haves and Have-Nots

Why do we keep insisting on buying spilled milk instead of milk we can drink? Consider the costs of these "savings" in prisons, emergency rooms, and lost productivity. I'm a Californian who has benefited from some of these programs. I became disabled shortly after my baby was born 11 years ago. Despite outstanding education and pushing myself to the point where I was literally passing out, I could no longer hold a job. Guess what? If you work hard and are very, very determined... you can still be stopped. Thanks to my fellow tax payers, I have completed a vocational rehabilitation program, found a part-time job, and have good chances of working full-time soon. Compare this outcome with the alternative: the state bringing my child up for me. And I think we Californians are at least as worthy of bailout funds as AIG.

How to Invest in the Coming Demographic Shift

I keep getting thumbs down for comments defending CA-based civil servants, but I'm going to put my ratings on the line yet again. I'm a former city government worker who was sidelined for many years by an illness that only saw fit to clear up after the economy collapsed. Thanks to that pension fund, I can get enough to live on until I find a job - as long as I find one within the next few months. Forget retiring; I don't think I can afford to ever die at this rate. Public servants are contractually obligated to remain at work in the event of natural disasters that would send most people rushing home to their families. Most of us do not have jobs that require us to take abuse from the public all day or drive through areas while routinely dodging gunfire. Your tax dollars increasingly fund temps or interns doing the same work without the health or pension benefits. Yet the economy is still collapsing! Surely there must be a way to eliminate deadwood without this continuing assault on public workers and the services they provide.


On Jun 29 11:45 AM rrbatch wrote:

> "Around the world, and especially here in the U.S., people are experiencing
> pandemic bouts of fiscal reality." -- people, but not politicians
> (one wonders if they're people).
>
> I was born in the same year as Social Security - 1935 - when median
> life expectancy was 65 years. SS and I are almost 74, and at least
> I am still healthy and looking forward to more good years of productive
> work. Can't say the same for SS.
>
> It's unconscionable to me that government employees and union members
> "retire" after 25 - 30 years of "work" and expect pensions (many
> not fully funded but dependent on current taxes or corporate income)
> to support them - in some cases - lavishly. Thus the "gold plated"
> pensions that have contributed to the bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler
> (and bailouts by the taxpayers); and the pensions of up to $500,000
> per year paid to some "retired" civil servants in California.
>
> I had dinner last week with a management-level California civil servant,
> just retired, who neglected to train her replacement so is hired
> back as a consultant to carry on her work and begin to train a successor.
> Some would call this "double dipping".
>
> I have no problem with us old folks continuing to work after age
> 65, and this can take some of the burden off pension liabilities,
> if handled to prevent double dipping. In my case, I pay the "self
> employment" tax that effectively offsets a major part of what I receive
> from Social Security. If that's fair for me, why should another pensioner
> be allowed to multiply their pension payments by working past retirement
> age?
>
> There's a good case to be made for pension reform - increasing SS
> retirement age to at least life expectancy, and reining back double
> dipping - if our politicians had the courage to take it on.

The Geeks Shall Not Inherit the Earth

Fascinating article. However, I had a feeling irony wasn't really dead after 9-11, and I have a similar feeling about consumerism. For better or worse, it will be back at it's earliest opportunity.

The Coming Economic Collapse, Part 1

I have been struggling with cash ever since my disability set in over 10 years ago. Thankfully, I am no longer incapacitated from working and hope I will find a job soon. Being cash poor doesn't make you time rich; quite the opposite. It seems as if I spend all my free time trying to keep my home and family together. I may think it's a shame so much of our life quality depends on our money, but I no longer accept guilt for trying to obtain more money. I didn't make the world the way it is, and my depriving myself or my family won't make it better.


On Jun 05 09:56 PM thiazole wrote:

> Move to a grass hut with no electricity, TV, running water, etc,
> and you'd be surprised at what you could afford. Hell, just move
> to Nebraska or Wyoming and you'd be shocked at how little money it
> takes to get by.
>
> Also, if you think being cash rich and time poor is bad, you should
> be thrilled with this recession since it is making many people cash
> poor and time rich.

Companies Now Spending Less on Web Analytics Technologies, More on Staffing

Doesn't shock me. I love technology but there are certain things people do better. I saw another example last night when I tried using the supermarket's "self-service" checkout.

Recessions Beget Startups Beget Fortune 500

I hope this article is right. I am trying to launch a business AND find a job. It's the only way I'll ever dig out at this point.

The Coming Economic Collapse, Part 1

Great article, but a few quibbles. Just because you don't hear from us in the media doesn't mean we working class Americans haven't noticed the deterioration in our standard of living. I also don't understand the comment about how the "parasitic" economy is just starting now. What do you call the economy that allowed for AIG, Enron, and Co? An economy allowed only by a regime put in place by a questionable election and re-elected because of post-911 fear? Is the parasitic economy just starting, or coming to a painful end?

Saving Newspapers: Put Humpty Dumpty Back Together

Maybe the laws that need the most changing are the deregulation approaches that allowed so much media concentration in so few hands. I think the audience for hard copy papers is still out there. Here's a possible parallel from my old rock band days. In the eighties, it looked as if video would kill live music. It was creepy how the clubs put in video equipment, and people sitting right in front of the stage would look up to watch me on the screen instead of the stage in front of them. But a few years later. a lot of that expensive equipment was removed. People still go see shows - and still remark that after looking at a screen all day at work, they want to read the printed page.

Why Is California in Economic Trouble?

Stop worrying about the unions. California's public agency managers - state and local - are way ahead of you. Positions formerly filled with union members are now eliminated or replaced with "interns" or "temporary" (same work without the benefits or rights) employees. Next time you want a building permit or some other public service and wind up in "voice mail jail" every time you try to call, you may wish to ask yourself how much you're "saving."

Unemployment vs. Local Public Policy

I'm not impressed by arguments that the minimum wage or wage rates in general cause unemployment or other economic woes. That money goes back into the economy. The "poor public policy" I wonder about is the type allowing our tax-funded bailout to be used for bonuses at such companies as AIG. I say "wonder" because I don't have enough information to know if these incidents are mainly headline-grabbers or are widespread enough to have a real impact. But I would bet that much of that bonus money goes to offshore tax-havens.

Stephen Leeb's 'Game Over': Good Advice for Tough Times

I appreciate dondon's comments because articles like this tend to intimidate me and make me feel helpless. On the whole, I think this article makes important points, and I learned a lot. (I have a lot to learn, truthfully, which is why I participate in Alpha.) But thanks for the reminder that we as individuals can influence these events. Also, sometimes this financial world seems to get out of touch with us struggling regular people who worry about the monthly electric bill.

Apple Tops List of Top Tech Brands for Women

I'd like to know more about why IBM would come as a surprise to "Nextel Accessories." It makes a certain amount of sense to me. It's a familiar name to those of us who have used computers for a long time in the workplace (yes, I'm dating myself a little here.) Also, it has a reputation for reliability. I have no idea whether or not that reputation is justified product by product. But I do know we working Moms want stuff that will work right, not throw another monkey wrench into our already overscheduled lives. Personally, I can't even think about getting another gadget until I get a job, but I'm undecided between a Dell or an Apple in terms of laptops. I love the Apple's versatility, but find getting around in Windows a little easier than the Finder. Again, maybe that's just from workplace familiarity. I will be interested in what other women have to say about this article.

PetSmart: Buying When Others Are Selling

I'm not surprised at their success, given how they have my family where they want us. By the time you realize hamsters are more time and effort than they're cracked up to be, you're hooked on their cuteness (and sweetness and intelligence, believe it or not), and the convenience of everything in one location...