Record US Job Losses in 2008

In 2008 Americans lost jobs at a rate not seen since the end of World War II.

(New York) – With unemployment at 7.6% close to 11 million Americans find themselves looking for work. This is the highest unemployment rate since January 1993. This number does not take into account the workers who have stopped looking for work or had to switch from full time to part time work.

MTA Unveils Plans For 2009 Fare Hikes

MTA Budget proposal outlining fare hikes.

( New York) – In a move which will affect the majority of New Yorkers and even more so during these trying economic times the MTA released their final proposed 2009 budget along with a four year financial plan for 2009-2012.

According to a report facing a small budget surplus in 2009, the next three years will spell disaster. The total deficit will wipe out the MTA’s finances. Here is a breakdown of the numbers:

Regular MetroCard fare: $2.25
Cash / Single fare ride: $3.00
Bonuses previously allotted to MetroCard purchases of 15% will be eliminated.
7-day MetroCard: $31.00
14-day MetroCard: $57.00
30-day MetroCard: $99.00
Express Bus Fare: $7.50

The report also outlines the resulting service cuts to trains and buses in New York City and Nassau County:

St. John’s Alumni Assistance Program

(New York) – St. John’s University recently launched, without much fanfare, a new program aimed at helping its alumni. The program is aimed an any alumnus from the University who has been laid off in the last six months. The program will allow all alumni to attend graduate school at discounted rate of 50%.

This programed is aimed at alumni who are hurting during this economic recession and allowing them a chance to reevaluate their career path. The law school however is not included in the package. The program is set to debut in Spring 2009 and last through the fall after which it will be reevaluated. Once in the program, one will have two years of the discount rate.

Poland Ends Military Draft

Polish Troops in Afghanistan

After 90 years Poland has ended its program of conscription into the military. All men 18 years and older must serve 9 months in Poland’s military.

Poland for most of its history was under threat of invasion. Recently these threats have loomed large yet again. These threats coming mostly from its neighbor to the east with the largest land army in the world. The Russian invasion of Georgia this summer reminded Poland how easy it would be for them to be next.

Recently however with the last election there were promises to the many youths that in exchange for their vote, the politicians would end the draft. So now the time has come for the government to end the draft. They kept their promises.

Last week the last group of of drafted soldiers would be the final group. This followed 90 years of mandatory service. All of this coming as an effort to modernize its army.

Poland has shown its eagerness to tackle military problems lately as a member of NATO and of the EU. With troops in Chad, Afghanistan and recently finished its tour of duty in Iraq. Poland has shown to be a vital ally to the United States and its Western European allies.

Poland is facing the same problems as many other nations at this time. The global economic recession has taken finances away from the armed services. Then there is the added pressure of outdated and failing equipment. The new policy of ending conscription has led to yet another problem to be addressed.

Not having a steady supply of men to serve in its armed forces Poland has had to start running commercials and raising financial compensation for its soldiers.  After these draftee’s have finished their 9 month tours of duty Poland will officially have a professional army.

Auto Loan stopped by Republicans

Republicans would not let the auto companies get the no interest bridge loan which they need to keep their workers. Minority Senate leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has annouced opposition for the bill. He and other republicans want more concessiosn from the UAW.

They believe the American workers don’t deserve to earn as much as they currently do. These lawmakers want these workers to earn as much as workers for the Japanese companies of Nissan, Toyota and Honda do.

Senator McConnell does not believe the idea of a car czar with the ability to take back the money if the car makers don’t live up to their end of the bargains is strong enough.

Harry Reid will soon call the Senate to a vote and we will see how this goes.

Bailout to save the MTA

MTA Subway Map

Last week a panel composed of current and former MTA employees including former MTA chairman Richard Ravitch unveiled a plan to save the MTA from a fiscal disaster.

Due to the recession the MTA isn’t able to get money from Albany or even the city to bridge the difference between income and expenses. The MTA would need $2.5 Billion to get out of this hole. Many people were expecting a rate hike as usual from the $2 it is now.

This panel however came up with various ideas to save the MTA and help alleviate riders from higher fare hikes than expected despite a general perception poor service. Listed below are the different recommendations the panel has proposed.

Poll: Has the economic downturn affected you?

533,000 Jobs lost in November

Americans are losing their jobs at an astounding rate. More and more Americans who are living paycheck to paycheck now have to figure out another way to pay their bills. We’ve seen an economy already in recession get worse.

This November U.S. job losses were listed at 533,000. More than half a million Americans have lost their sources of income. This is especially painful during the holidays, a time when we are supposed to come together and celebrate.

Parents, instead of wondering how to get their children the toy they wanted, have to figure out how they’ll eat dinner tomorrow. This will mean more tough decisions for families as they decide their futures. Some will dip into college savings and even retirement savings meaning more and more Americans’ futures are at risk. More and more people are losing sleep at night wondering if they will be next.

There is renewed hope though. With a new administration incoming come new ideas, and new jobs planned.

President Elect Obama plans to add 2.5 million new jobs within the first two years of his administration. This will come by making government buildings more energy efficient, fixing our crumbling infrastructure and improving our public schools.

Watch President-Elect Obama’s Weekly Address to the nation regarding the topic.

Obama nominates Richardson

Today President-Elect Obama nominated Bill Richardson to be his commerce secretary. Many expected him to receive the nod for Secretary of State, when it went to Hillary Clinton it seemed he had fallen out of the good graces of the President. However Barack remembered his endorsement early on in the campaign and has brought in yet another primary opponent to his cabinet.

Bill Richardson was Secretary of Energy under President Clinton and later United States Ambassador to the United Nations.

Citigroup Gets Government Bailout

Henry Paulson and the Treasury Department have once again agreed to take on the burden of failed and risky assets held onto by a bank. This time it’s one of the big three banks in the United States, Citigroup bank which also runs Mexico’s second largest bank Banamex.

On top of taking on these risky assets they’re getting $20,000,000,000.00 in cash flow from Washington. In a joint statement by the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced the move on Sunday.

“With these transactions, the U.S. government is taking the actions necessary to strengthen the financial system and protect U.S. taxpayers and the U.S. economy,” The said in the joint statement. “We will continue to use all of our resources to preserve the strength of our banking institutions, and promote the process of repair and recovery and to manage risks.”

Financial analysts said the failure of Citigroup would be a “nightmare scenario.”

Of course critics of the move say this is risking taxpayer dollars and will only encourage other financial institutions to make risky moves knowing the Treasury will back them up.

The biggest question out there is how will this affect me?

If you have a Citibank Checking or Savings account the following information is for you…