Recession Briefing: Outlook Bleak for Long-Term Unemployed

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

Economists fear that the nascent recovery will leave more people behind than in past recessions, failing to create jobs in sufficient numbers to absorb the record-setting ranks of the long-term unemployed. (New York Times)

Bernard Madoff’s top lieutenant may get “extraordinary” leniency from prosecutors for his help in unraveling the largest Ponzi scheme on record. In a letter released on Friday, federal prosecutors in New York praised the efforts of Madoff associate Frank DiPascali in providing “substantial assistance to the government in its investigation and prosecution of others.” (Reuters)

Both domestic mobility and immigration were sharply down in 2007 to 2009 from the levels recorded during most of the decade. (The American)…

Madoff’s Gluttonous Competition

In Dante’s fourth circle of hell, we might well find Bernie Madoff—but while he’s the first name that comes to mind when you think of greed these days, he’s up against a lot of competition when measured against the paragons of financial fraud and all-around selfishness over millennia. Remember Genghis? No slouch of avarice. Or Pope Sixtus? Lest you forget, he built his fortune on the backs of brothels.

Bernie and the rest of Wall Street’s recently exiled heavyweights are just the latest in a long line of titans who let greed and excess get the best of them. Here are some stars from that hall of fame…

Madoff’s Celebrity Marks: Where Are They Now?

There’s never a good time to lose a million dollars, let alone tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. And for most of Bernie Madoff’s victims — many of whom lost their life’s savings and are now being forced out of retirement or into a second job in the midst of the worst labor market in generations — a 150-year sentence isn’t a day too long for this seemingly remorseless swindler to be kept behind bars.

Still, some victims are in better shape than others. Among Madoff’s celebrity clients, a lucky few are already on pace to recoup their financial losses by the end of the year, while still others may never recover. Here’s a who’s who list of Madoff’s higher profile marks and how they’re likely to fare in the days ahead…

Recession Briefing 5.13

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

Doomsday for Social Security and Medicare has come a little closer, thanks to the deep recession. The costs of administering Social Security are now expected to exceed tax revenues in 2016, a year earlier than expected. The trust funds for the program are now projected to run out in 2037, four years earlier than envisioned a year ago. (BusinessWeek)

Who else knew?: Billions of dollars were withdrawn from accounts at Bernie Madoff’s firm in the months before he was arrested. (New York Times)

In the second part of a series comparing the current recession to the Great Depression, Price Fishback describes what actually happened to our economic system last fall and contrasts it with what happened in 1929. (New York Times/Freakonomics),,,

Easter Hats for Madoff Victims

Today at the NYC Easter Parade, there were the usual wacky hats adorned with flowers, Peeps and other holiday-related accoutrements.

One family got more creative – and timely. The parents, their teenage daughter and dog wore Lost-Our-Nest-Egg hats. But these weren’t ordinary victims of the downturn: The mother wasn’t shy about telling everyone they had lost their savings to none other than Bernie Madoff…

The Guilt of Madoff

It appears that Madoff is going to jail, and we can practically hear the shouts of joy from the rooftops of Manhattan. Madoff, with his silvery coiffure and elegant suits, looks like a man who has enjoyed exquisite pleasures and lived a life of unimaginable indulgence. He is the poster child of greed, the very portrait of the monster who smiles suavely while wreaking havoc.

The country may experience catharsis while witnessing his demise and ultimate incarceration, and that is an important thing. We may need a symbol on which to focus our profound disgust at the excesses that have been so ruinous to our economy…