Krugman: Four More Years of Unemployment (Video)

Ever since the $787 billion stimulus package passed earlier this year, economist Paul Krugman has been the squeaky wheel moaning about its small size.

“The stimulus bill looks helpful but inadequate, especially when combined with a disappointing plan for rescuing the banks,” he said at the time. “The complacency now setting in over the state of the economy is both foolish and dangerous,” he’s said since, in column titled “Mission Not Accomplished.” And at a recent talk at White & Case for the Hudson Union Society, he kept up the drumbeat:..

Screwed: 1,700 at Air France-KLM

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

Today’s Total: 4,403

Air France-KLM anticipates the “voluntary departure” of 1,700 employees after recording losses in the second quarter… Verizon will reduce its workforce by 1,000 people in D.C., Virginia and Maryland before the end of the year… Aetna is set to hand out 625 pink slips… Alcoa Howmet eliminated 250 positions at its plant in Hampton, Va… The Hennepin County Medical Center in Minnesota closed two clinics and laid off 150 workers… Arizona’s Department of Transportation announced Wednesday their intent to lay off 115 workers in response to budget cuts… Invista will reduce its workforce by 110 at its plant in Waynesboro, Va… San Francisco’s Municipal Transportation Agency filed notice of its plans to cut 110 employees in order to compensate for a projected budget shortfall… BusinessWeek announced the demise of 100 of its staffers as its operations move over to Bloomberg… Maryland’s Board of Public Works approved budget cuts of $360 million and the layoffs of 70 workers… Guardian Automotive Products Inc. of Upper Sandusky, Ohio laid off 59 employees due to a “serious downturn in business”…

Kill the Recession with Your Brain

Tom Cruise tries to scootch ashtrays with his mind. Why not put yours towards something more…um, less freaky?

Over at her site, Escape from Cubicle Nation, Pamela Shim lays out ten ways you can stimulate the economy in your corner of the world. It’s straightforwad, non-Scientology stuff…

Recession Briefing 11.18: Downturn Brings Out the Werewolves

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

Why are werewolves so hot right now? Bob Powers and Ritch Duncan believe that the plight of the werewolf reflects the American economic mood at the current moment. (Huffington Post)

A Canadian real estate company was the winning bidder for Detroit’s Silverdome, snatching it up for just $583,000. The 80,000-seat Silverdome was the biggest stadium in the National Football League when it was built in 1975 for $55.7 million. (CNN/Assignment Detroit)

Will the shared experience (in some cases, shared indirectly — through family and close friends) of the recession move public opinions so dramatically that we see fundamental change in the economy or society as a result? (San Francisco Chronicle)…

The Recession Has Ended… in the Art Market?

Says who: Sotheby’s head of contemporary art Tobias Meyer in reference to his $43.76 million sale of Andy Warhol’s “200 One Dollar Bills”

“… after a year of not buying … collectors have started buying again … The desire to have great things will make (them) step up and pay more than $40 million for a work of art.” (via Reuters)

Why it might be false: One pricey painting is an uptick, but it doesn’t…

Recession Briefing 11.17: More Going Hungry

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

The number of Americans who lived in households that lacked consistent access to adequate food soared last year, to 49 million, the highest since the government began tracking what it calls “food insecurity” 14 years ago. (New York Times)

Massive financial fraud schemes like Bernard Madoff’s multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme may attract lots of headlines. But as the effects of the recession wear on, it’s small-time financial crimes that are thriving, experts say. (NPR)

Some 15.4 million taxpayers could receive smaller refunds than they expected or owe taxes next year because they did not have enough money withheld from their paychecks as part of the Making Work Pay tax credit program. (Washington Post)…

Screwed: 2,500 at UBS

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

Today’s Total: 6,595

UBS anticipates slashing another 2,500 jobs in addition to large cuts the company has already made this year… Mining company Harmony Gold plans to shut down several mine shafts and reduce its workforce by 2,000 people internationally… Dell is shutting its plant in Forsyth, N.C. and eliminating 600 employees… Pennsylvania plans to lay off 319 state workers across 10 agenices due to deep budget cuts… Devon Energy Corp. was forced to lay off 275 members of its workforce after selling off assets… Deluxe Corporation will close a call center in Colorado Springs and leave all 225 employees from that location jobless… The Marine Corps Logistics Base in Yermo, Calif. will cut 170 posts… Manchester Metropolitan University in the U.K. was forced to cut 127 members of its support staff… Amway Corp. announced its plans to eliminate 93 jobs in Michigan in the next year and a half…

Screwed: 403 at MTN

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

Today’s Total: 2,087

MTN, South Africa’s biggest mobile operator, announced plans to lay off 403 employees across all divisions… Nebraska state officials are contemplating 400 layoffs to help meet a $334 million budget cut… Fiserv will close a customer call center in Illinois and leave 290 jobless… First Data Corp. will reduce its global workforce by 250… Oklahoma state’s Board of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services voted Friday to reduce its budget by $7.3 million and eliminating 100 jobs… R-G Financial Corp. cut 100 jobs from retail banking and mortgage banking operations in Puerto Rico… Murray Energy Corp. announced the layoffs of 91 employees in Ohio… Virginia Commonwealth University plans to lay off 91 staff members after state budget cuts for education… Colorado Springs will lay off 73 transit workers by the end of the year… Lennox Hearth Products of Orange County, Calif. cut 71 workers from its payrolls last week… Wyoming school administrators proposed eliminating 57 staffers unless unions agree to a pay cut… The town of Buckeye, Ariz. anticipates cutting 40 public safety jobs in order to compensate for a budget deficit…

Screwed: 500 at Wick Building Systems

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

Today’s Total: 3,459

The good news: 1,200 previously laid-off workers will return to work on Tuesday at GM’s Lansing Delta Township Assembly plant in Michigan.

The bad: Wick Building Systems anticipates reducing its Wisconsin workforce by 500 employees… Honda plans to cut an additional 500 employees from a factory in Swindon, U.K. due to low projected sales… STX Finland laid off 400 workers after the completion of the world’s biggest cruise liner… Kolbe and Kolbe Millwork Co. laid off 334 employees due to declines in the construction industry… The Dearborn Board of Education approved 300 job cuts in response to budget cuts by the state of Michigan… El Paso Corp. will eliminate 300 people as part of a $150 million savings venture…Bristol University, U.K. plans to cut 250 staff members to compensate for a budget deficit… Albertson’s LLC filed notice that 246 workers will be laid off from three supermarkets in the Orlando area that were recently sold… Columbus Foundry will close its Columbus, Ga. plant after a declaration of bankruptcy by parent company Intermet Corp. and lay off 169 people… If sales do not improve for Great Dane Trailers of Kewanee, Ill., company reps say they will be forced to lay off 161 workers…

Video: The Recession Took My Escalade and Stripper Money

Not sure how we missed this Daily Show segment on how the downturn has taken the bling off rappers. As Slim Thug says: We used to roll, 20 dudes, tour bus, all around the whole country. These days you get…a van.

Feel his pain.