Recession Lexicon: Slayoff

A particularly cold-blooded method of laying off employees, such as breaking the news on a company blog, leaving a note in an employee’s chair, dispatching a mass email, or sending a certified letter to a worker’s home that says, “Do not come back to the office…”

Do-it-Yourself Water Garden

My kindergarten teacher had a favorite slogan: Every day is do-it-yourself day. To make your own beautiful backyard water garden, all you need is a little elbow grease and Miss Pierce’s can-do spirit. It’s not necessary to call in the pros: You can save money and turn your outdoor space into a peaceful refuge with just a few simple steps.

Location, location, location:
You’ll need a level spot that’s not too shady or too sunny. Aquatic plants have different light needs, but most seem to like at least five hours of sunlight per day. Too much sun may cause algae problems…

I Want My IRA

In 2001, I made my first contribution to a Roth IRA. I felt very proud of myself at the time. Look at me! I’m responsible. I deserve a gold star. Everybody was raving about the Roth as a great way to save for a home, or your kids’ college tuition, or retirement. A Roth is different from a traditional IRA because the money you contribute (up to a maximum of $2,000 a year per person if you meet certain income qualifications) isn’t tax deferred. People like the Roth because you can withdraw both your money and earnings tax free. You can take out your own money (your original contribution) any time you want, for any purpose, without paying taxes or a penalty, because it’s already been taxed. Plus, your total (contributions + earnings), can be withdrawn without any penalty regardless of your age if you use it for certain approved purposes, like college or $10,000 towards your first home.

All of this sounded fine and dandy to me, so I dutifully made my contributions, be them ever so humble. As time went on, I took the advice of my accountant to distribute Roth money to various “growth” funds, such as Calamos…

Screwed: 300 in Peoria School District

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Peoria school district has approved layoffs of 300 teachers…Deere to can 160 workers at its Des Moines Works facility…DHL Express said to be getting rid of another 120 employees in New York…Portland-based Hampton Affiliates to temporarily close lumber mill and will pinkslip 85…Roanoke City school system will cut 58 jobs, including teachers…

Recession Briefing 4.8

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

Recession hits baby-making market: Charitable giving has cooled since the recession hit, but egg and sperm giving is hot, hot, hot. (USA Today)

Recession Fuels Readers’ Escapist Urges: Sales of romance novels are outstripping most other categories of books and giving some buoyancy to an otherwise sluggish market. (NYT)

Recession Start-Up Snags And Solutions: As layoffs mount, the number of start-ups is on the rise too. (Forbes)

If you come across a good article or blog post about the recession pass it on.

Lemonade Maker: Greg Stallkamp, Fitness Entrepreneur

Profiles of people who turn economic lemons into lemonade.

This week’s Lemonade Maker: Greg Stallkamp

Location: Chicago

Before recession: Financial Consultant

Now: Founder, Holosfitness.com, a social networking website for the fitness community.

When did you notice a shift in the economic climate?

I first noticed clients were planning to scale back their budgets at the end of 2007. By the beginning of 2008, clients were already starting to cut back in terms of head-count and use of outside consultants. My firm saw several clients leave by February and March of 2008. Basically, I saw the writing on the wall and decided it was time to leave.

What was your “aha” moment?

From a needs standpoint, I realized that there was a need for the services offered by our website several years ago. There simply was no way for regular individuals who practiced active lifestyles (in terms of sports and fitness) to track their progress…

8 1/2

It’s not a Fellini film. It’s the percentage of people now unemployed in America.

This surreal number has made it official: this is the longest recession in the country since World War II, beating out the contractions of the early 1970s and the early 1980s, which lasted 16 months a piece. And if you count part-time and discouraged workers, the unemployment rate would be a whopping 15.6 percent. Economists say that the job losses are unlikely to let up anytime soon, a point underscored by Secretary Geithner on NBC’s “Face the Nation”. He said that the typical pattern of an economic turnaround shows that only when businesses begin to hire again will there be an unemployment peak…

Recession Briefing 4.6

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

Easter bunny impacted by recession: Not even the Easter bunny can out run the current downturn. (Volunteer TV)

Blackberry success with consumers defies recession: What recession? Millions of people are snapping up flashy BlackBerry smartphones made by Research In Motion. (Reuters)

Frugality forged in today’s recession has potential to outlast it: There’s good reason to believe Americans will be saving more in the next decade than they did in the last one. (WSJ)

If you come across a good article or blog post about the recession pass it on.

Middle Class Guilt Attack? Yuppies and Food Stamps, Part 2

Our recent post on yuppies and food stamps generated a lot of lively discussion, both on and off-line. My own first reaction to my colleague Sara’s question of whether yuppies should take food stamps was a resounding “no” coupled with a feeling of indignation. But when I started asking around, I found that lots of smart people had a wide range of views on the subject. A British friend surprised me by saying: “Oh, that’s just your middle class guilt. You should examine it.” Living through a crisis has the fortunate byproduct of getting all of us to ask ourselves questions and consider why we think the way we do. So examine it I will…

Double Dip Recession?

We were just getting our minds around the first one. But sure enough, a research group has crunched the data and predicts that we could be in for another recession next year. The maddening logic: If the stimulus plan works, then we may experience a “too-rapid recovery” which will then lead to another slump in 2010. This scenario is known fondly as the Double Dip (recession followed by brief recovery followed by recession). Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Gary Stern has even made mention of a “triple dip”…