AltWeeklies Wire
As Recession Spreads, Santa Feans Buy Gold, Guns and Generatorsnew
Even Barack Obama says the economy will get worse before it gets better. In the meantime, freaked out New Mexicans are putting their money where they can see it: at home, under lock and key. And they're packing heat, just in case.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Corey Pein |
12-11-2008 |
Economy
Are Bailouts Just a Rationale for the Mother of All Spending Sprees?new
Most people remember the controversy over the $700 billion bailout package the week it was passed in Congress. They are probably less familiar with the additional $800 billion bailout program the Federal Reserve launched under the radar two weeks ago while everyone was chomping on turkey.
Creative Loafing (Charlotte) |
Tara Servatius |
12-10-2008 |
Economy
Legislating Energy Affordability in Idahonew
While utilities in surrounding states fund programs to help the poor pay their power bills, in Idaho that is considered discriminatory. One group of advocates for low-income people aims to change that and utility regulators are warming to the idea.
Boise Weekly |
Nathaniel Hoffman |
12-10-2008 |
Economy
A Bailout is Needed, but a New New Deal Would be Betternew
Why not create something like the old New Deal, which put millions to work doing everything from building post offices to writing nature guides. Ours would be more limited, however; we could call it the Michigan Infrastructure Corps. We are going to be paying out billions in unemployment insurance anyway. Why shouldn't we get something out if it?
Metro Times |
Jack Lessenberry |
12-09-2008 |
Economy
The Upside of the Downturn: Why This Will Be The Greatest Depression Evernew
Maybe, just maybe, we will grow more healthy, more educated, working fulfilling jobs and listening to better music. Maybe this downturn is just the thing we need to move forward as a nation, to grow some grit and steady our nerves.
C-Ville Weekly |
Scott Weaver |
12-03-2008 |
Economy
After the Crash, There's Little Recourse for Those Wronged by WaMunew
The problem for plaintiffs in suits against WaMu is who to go after now. Rob Williamson, an attorney who filed a class-action suit against WaMu over what he claims were hidden and excessive fees, puts it this way: "The defendant no longer exists."
Seattle Weekly |
Nina Shapiro |
12-02-2008 |
Economy
Are We Really Ready for Life Without American Cars?new
Here's the thing about the American public: we never learn. We squeezed into the backseats of our moms' Pintos in the 1970s, then grew up to fill vast suburban parking lots with Expeditions and Yukons and Escalades. Then we freak out when gas hits $4 a gallon and blame U.S. automakers.
Chips of Wrath: Unemployment Rising Before the Crisisnew
In the face of near uniform economic analysis from the nation's mainstream media, we set out to find a big picture economist willing to buck conventional wisdom: the economic downturn is a mere blip on the capitalist EKG monitor.
Boise Weekly |
Nathaniel Hoffman |
11-27-2008 |
Economy
The Economic Mess Obama's Inheriting Comes from Clinton, Not Bushnew
If truth be known, Bush inherited, as Obama will soon, deregulated financial, agricultural, trade and social policies. Put in place by Bill Clinton and Al Gore, these were the achievement of the 1990s -- a period that needs to be understood not, as greens once hoped, as the "turnaround decade," but as the "regression decade."
NOW Magazine |
Wayne Roberts |
11-24-2008 |
Economy
The G20 Could Repay Bailout by Doing Wonders for the Environmentnew
There are several pieces missing from the current G20 consensus. Above all is the necessity of linking any solution to the current economic emergency to the even larger global environmental crisis.
NOW Magazine |
Alice Klein |
11-24-2008 |
Economy
Jubilee! It's Bankruptcynew
One man's journey through our byzantine and punitive bankruptcy system. A fate worse than debt?
North Bay Bohemian |
P. Joseph Potocki |
11-21-2008 |
Economy
Why Reward GM? Here's Why ...new
Lee Iacocca isn't running GM, Ford or Chrysler, and the most inept administration in history has made conditions far more daunting, but the stakes are far greater. We should take a deep breath and help the bums.
Arkansas Times |
Ernest Dumas |
11-20-2008 |
Economy
Why the Feds Must Bail Out General Motorsnew
Massive restructuring is needed, but the patient first has to be stabilized, by any means necessary. Otherwise, we will be looking at something very like the Great Depression.
Metro Times |
Jack Lessenberry |
11-20-2008 |
Economy
Should We Rescue Detroit's Sinking Ship?new
Any bailout for the Big Three must be seriously questioned and come with conditions, because we can't let these companies hold us hostage anymore.
City Pulse |
Lawrence Cosentno, Neal McNamara and Angela Vasquez-Giroux |
11-20-2008 |
Economy
Will Obama Give Us the Right Kind of Stimulus?new
Let's hope that the outgoing Bush administration, the incoming Obama administration, the permanent mandarins of the think tanks, and the Congressional majorities all come together so that we get an adequate stimulus package -- so that we shall still have the choice to purchase a GM, Ford, or Chrysler product in the coming years, preferably the plug-in hybrid that Obama wants them to make.
