The buzz surrounding the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission is a bit of fun news, taking a little of the focus off all the gloomy economic indicators this week. In troubled times, watching stories of earlier generations’ accomplishments can be uplifting and inspiring.
A clip of Buzz Aldrin on Sesame Street (which also celebrates a 40th anniversary this year), sums up the childlike spirit of exploration.
Do you do your banking online? What about using sites like Mint.com to keep your family’s finances in order? Have you been shopping around for bigger savings online rather than running around to local stores ?
If there was any question about the growing relationship between money and the Web, a new report from The Pew Internet & American Life project shows without question that more and more, people are relying on the web to handle their money – and help cope with the effects of the recession.
One interesting side note: The report found that 69% of Americans are using the Web to get information about the recession.
But not everyone has the access to broadband that allows them to use the web at a speed that’s useful for managing money and / for financial news and information. Patchwork Nation’s Dante Chinni writes that this may allow newspapers in more remote areas to survive.
“Less-connected places may allow newspapers to stick around longer, since more people in these places prefer to get their news on paper rather than wait for slow Web connections.”
Conventional wisdom says the income divide prevents connectedness, but Chinni says the Patchwork Nation research suggests the digital divide is largely geographic:
“Maybe most interesting, these numbers suggest a different kind of digital divide in the US – one based less on economic issues than on ones of physical place. This kind of digital divide mirrors America’s urban-rural split.”
Perhaps this divide will be lessened by the $7 billion broadband stimulus package, meant to build infrastructure in rural areas. The USDA maps the areas in rural America that are eligible for the Broadband Initiatives Program, which is distributing those stimulus
It can be a challenge to see where stimulus money is going – and how the the government is using the web to track it. ProPublica examined the accuracy of the federal government site Recovery.gov and found that tracking those funds is “a job worthy of Sherlock Holmes.”
This morning, Wall Street was buzzing after President Obama’s pick to lead the auto industry out of turmoil resigned. With the automakers still under siege, how are transportation initiatives faring? This NewsHour timeline traces the troubles of the big three automakers.
Looking across the pond at public transport, Paul Solman figures out the London Tube’s logic behind charging more for single-ride tickets than the refillable “Oyster” cards. Can their profit-generating plan be implemented in other cities?
Here in the U.S., greater concerns about health care and the economy are putting transportation infrastructure initiatives on hold, Tom McNamara writes on PBS’s Blueprint America blog.
How should Congress prioritize transportation? Share your questions at Ask Your Lawmaker.
With an economy larger than most countries in the world, how can the state of California be in so much financial trouble? NPR is taking an in-depth look at how the Golden State went broke, and what’s being done to dig out with a series called California in Crisis.
San Francisco’s KQED has a collection of economic coverage that tracks the California situation, including reports on how small businesses are coping and whether the downturn is actually creating opportunity for the state’s tech hubs in Silicon Valley.
And NewsHour talked to Patchwork Nation’s Dante Chinni about the foreclosures in monied burbs — a key community in struggling California.
Listen to the interview here: Foreclosures in Monied Burbs? and read the full report.
Looking for work is a daunting task, regardless of the economic climate, but how do you muster sympathy for those at the top and bottom of the chain when so many in the middle are struggling?
NewsHour’s Paul Solman reports on executives and ex-convicts who are in an oddly similar position. Former execs with extensive networks report job hunting for over 30 hours a week.
For the ex-cons, the tables are turned, but the circumstances still leave them jobless.
“I’ve tried several times. I mean, I’ve gone, I’ve filled out applications thinking that I’m going to get the job, but they won’t hire me,” ex-convict Larry Wohlgemuth told Solman.
How is the average person faring? Is the stimulus money creating solid, full time opportunities? ProPublica.org’s ShovelWatch finds that “States are using the money for short-term projects, filling budget gaps rather than paying for long-term improvements.”
Those fed up with the search have started turning to independent consulting. But can a newly minted consultant make a go of it in the current environment? On the Media talks to Nick Corcoldilos, a headhunter who highlights some of the advantages and disadvantages of going solo.
To put it all in perspective, consider that 2.5 billion people live on $2 per day. Today’s Planet Money podcast looks at communities around the world that are surviving on very little, but still make room for traditions and ceremonies of cultural importance.