Author Archives: Laura Hertzfeld

Scary stuff

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The economy is scary enough without people dressed as Death Panels walking around. But here are some fun Halloween-y things to keep the ghouls at bay:

Enter an economy-themed pumpkin to the annual Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me pumpkin carving contest.

There are a few news-focused ones entered already, but nothing recession-related, so take your chance! Maybe a stock market chart pumpkin? Or a Bernie Madoff? My personal favorite is the Swine Flu pumpkin, but there’s also Pumpkin Blagojevich to live up to:

Pumpkin Blagojevich/ Photo by Peter Sagal/NPR

Pumpkin Blagojevich/ Photo by Peter Sagal/NPR

Marketplace looks at how much it costs to make a scary movie by taking a look at the low-budget success of Paranormal Activity.

And while giving out organic candy may not make you a favorite of the kids on the block, you can still ‘green’ your Halloween by making your own costumes and carpooling to parties. Arizona Public Media has more tips here.

Have your Halloween plans changed at all because of the recession?

Closing time

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For sale sign/ Credit: Flickr/Casey Serin

For sale sign/ Credit: Flickr/Casey Serin

Just over a month from now, the first-time homebuyer tax credit of $8,000 will be a thing of the past. While the credit has been the subject of fraud and controversy, it has also boosted home sales in tough times and given young buyers new opportunities.

In Arkansas, there’s been a rush on buying property as the deadline nears. As Kelly MacNeil of Little Rock’s KUAR reports, realtors are under a huge amount of stress to get deals closed in the short time ahead.

But closing a mortgage in less than a month can be a major challenge as banks get more stringent with loans in the current economic climate. Is there any hope of an extension?
There’s disagreement over whether extending the costly credit would help or hurt the real estate market further, as Nightly Business Report learned from real estate economists on both sides of the argument.

If you’re still hoping to take advantage of the last-minute credit, here are some tips on how to get through the process, from Nightly Business Report, including clarification around eligibility and tax implications.

Then and now

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Crash of 1929/image: courtesy PBS

Crash of 1929/image: courtesty PBS

What is the relevance of the Great Depression to the situation we find ourselves in today? While we’re in a pretty bad recession, the U.S. isn’t close to the levels of poverty and displacement seen after the stock market crash of 1929, but there are lessons and similarities between the two events.

“I think the big question then and the big question now is whether the government can do anything to help us solve our problems.,” Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter said in an online interview for the PBS American Experience documentary “The 1930s.”

“The 1930s are an example of time when Americans felt like their government was looking out for them. Even if the Depression wasn’t ended for several years, FDR provided jobs and hope.”

There are similarities in the voices of people who lived through the Depression and people coping with the recession today. Interviews with dust bowl survivors and Hoover Dam workers, economists and newspaper delivery boys give a first-hand look at the Depression era.

Farming is a key industry that is facing frighteningly similar challenges as it did in the 1930s. The history of California farmworkers in the 1930s is chronicled in a 2007 report on PRX by Rachel Anne Goodman. She looks at how the Depression affected European immigrant workers in the Central Valley, including labor battles and unemployment issues among migrants.

Just this week. Emily Apel reported at KAZU in Monterrey that farmers are struggling to find decent health care.
“According to the most recent numbers from the U.S. Department of Labor, only 23 percent of farmworkers were covered by some sort of health insurance in 2002.”

Today, Patchwork Nation’s Tractor Country map shows the economic climate across farm-rich areas.

More fun with maps

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Last night on the NewsHour, Dante Chinni of Patchwork Nation explained the thinking behind mapping different types of communities and how looking at location and context together create a deeper picture of what the American economy looks like.

“But it’s more than that, because, when you break the counties out into these types, as we do, we’re able to get a feel for — in each one of these 12 communities, we have identified who’s getting the most, not even in per capita terms, but in just real raw numbers terms,” Chinni said.

Check out the full interview:

A new map from National Journal takes a look at where the uninsured in America are living, broken down by Congressional district. South Florida, Central California, and South Texas appear particularly hard hit.
How about posing a question to lawmakers in those districts (or your own) about health care reform?

While only tangentially related to the economy, it’s interesting to take a look at this new mapping project on the flu from the Center for Disease Control as an example of how government agencies are starting to think about maps that can be shared online to spread information. For more flu updates, visit Fluportal.org.
CDC Flu View Map Widget. Flash Player 9 is required.

Mad Men suits vs. corduroy patches

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While it may be trendy for high-end fashion to give a nod to the economic downturn, designers are still capitalizing on cool.

NPR reported this morning that Brooks Brothers is making a special “Mad Men” suit, selling for $998, in the 60′s style of the popular TV show. Maybe a suit comeback will help bring on the job interviews?

If a new suit isn’t in your future just yet, perhaps a more realistic alternative is fixing an old one (or digging through thrift stores to find a more Don Draper-like original).

Rather than buying things new, more and more people are turning to the web for advice on how to darn socks or replace soles. Repaired Things lists creative ways to fix everything from hats to quilts – and not all of the fixes involve duct tape. EconomyBeat looks at some of the most unusual tricks people are using on Repaired Things to save their stuff.