New Report, Unemployment

As economists have reported, we have been in a Recession since December 2007. The November report, unemployment rate rose from 6.5% to 6.7% according to the News Release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unemployment persons up to 10.3 million. Yikes. Where do we go from here? When will things get better?

"U.S. Loses 533,000 Jobs in Biggest Drop Since 1974"

- New York Times

Ivy League aspirations to State School reality

I created this post a few days ago after reading a Boston Globe article that infuriated me entitled, "Downturn paring college dreams" and a CNN special about a student trading his Ivy League dream to an affordable state school. For some reason, according to the Globe and their interviews, students think that they are "lowering their standards" by applying to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst due to the financial crisis and their parent's pockets minimizing. Today, as I searched Boston.com to include the article from Tuesday I came across another disgruntled reader like myself who wrote an opinion piece for today's paper defending UMass Amherst.


UMass Amherst does not receive the credit that it deserves for being the outstanding institution that it is. I have always promoted this
institution for being a great educational experience and derailed the "Zoomass Amherst" image that many adults still believe stands true. UMass will grant you an invaluable experience and a receipt that doesn't look like Northeastern's, Brandis, or Stonehill College. Newsflash, high school seniors that once thought of UMass as their safetly school, may not be accepted into this fine university.

Cheered for UMass my first three years

Revise my spending

Being young, and especially a woman, it is hard to be frugal when it comes to fashion. I just LOVE a great dress, I can't help it. Although I am not one to drop big bucks on one certain item, I do like to buy. Even though I have barely had money in college, I still somehow manage clothes/dresses/shoes packed into my closet. With the current economic status and if I EVER think I want to own a home, have a wedding, or pay my bills, it is clear that I need to start revising my spending habits. I know that graduation from college releases the dependence of my parents. I have faith that eventually things will get better and hopefully by the time I want to start investing my own money, I will actually have some to do so. For now, I NEED TO SAVE.

"It’s Official: Recession Started One Year Ago"

New York Times
"Any serious market recovery would require a determined response from global governments, he said, but investors have lots of questions about how the policy measures that have already been announced will work." - NYT



The Boston Globe
"The U.S. economy has been in a recession since December 2007, the National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday. The NBER -- a private, nonprofit research organization -- said its group of academic economists who determine business cycles met and decided that the U.S. recession began last December." - BG

Stimulus Package or No Stimulus Package?

Two different perspectives from New York Times Op-ed columns have been published in the past two days. David Brooks', columnist for the New York Times, "Stimulus of Skeptics," suggests that an economic stimulus package may not be the answer to get the economy back in order. The article questions whether an economic stimulus package will put the money in the hands of the right people. Brooks refers to Michael Porter's article in October's BusinessWeek.

"A $1 Trillion Dollar Answer" by Joseph E. Stiglitz, a professor of economics at Columbia, expresses belief that a stimulus package is needed, a big one, to build up the economy and keep people working. "Mr. Obama’s announced goal of 2.5 million new jobs by 2011 is too modest. In the next two years, almost four million workers will enter the labor force — or would if there were jobs."

Stimulus or No Stimulus? Do consumers need the extra cash? Are there any real answers for ANYTHING that is currently happening?

Vanity Fair

I picked up the December 2008 issue of Vanity Fair to read at the gym this morning and came across this article by Harvard University Professor of History Niall Ferguson, "Wall Street Lays Another Egg."

Wall Street Lays Another Egg
"Not so long ago, the dollar stood for a sum of gold, and bankers knew the people they lent to. The author charts the emergence of an abstract, even absurd world—call it Planet Finance—where mathematical models ignored both history and human nature, and value had no meaning."

This is exactly the article I have been looking for, quite the read of the crisis.

The Editor's note in this issue is also FANTASTIC.

Flash Forward

Graduation Presents

Just a quick look at the lovely items I will soon be inheriting from my parents. I mean, I have been EXTREMELY lucky to say that I will now be taking over payments. They have carved the way but now it is time for me to step it up. Monthly car payments, car insurance, health insurance, Sallie Mae loans, phone bill, transportation pass, fitness club membership, new professional wardrobe AND THE LIST GOES ON!! Just naming the bills I will be handling six months from now makes me nervous.

Financial Crisis

We may not understand perfectly what is going on but I do know that the financial crisis is starting to hit home. University of Massachusetts, Amherst Chancellor Robert C. Holub announced that due to budget cuts UMass has to cut 5% from it's budget, which is $12 million. That is A LOT of money to cut when there are projects on top of "new dirt" projects going on throughout the campus. I have interned for the state for the past two summers along with last winter break. Just two weeks ago I was informed that the state had cut the paid internships. I was depending on that money for books and spending for next semester. AH! Up until this point, being paid for work was my only option. I have been lucky enough to find an internship that was paid. Now, working for free was not something that I had planned on doing, but to keep myself ahead for my future, this is my option. I am sacrificing pay to to hopefully ensure that I have a job in June. I CAN ONLY HOPE (by putting myself in the right situation to do so).


An article from The Independent gets into detail explaining the crisis in terms for understanding.

New Administration, New Hope

Let's face it, we Dems want to believe this guy is capable of supermanlike powers when it comes to getting our country back in order. We have elected a new President that we believe in. Although he is not going to change things over night and like he said in his acceptance speech, maybe not even in the first term, but we believe in him. When he speaks, I listen, believe, and hope. I want to believe that he cares about every single American in this country, including me. In the Saturday November 22 Caucus section of the Times Obama speaks in a YouTube Video about working Democrats and Republicans on getting the jobs back to the American people. As we watch Barack Obama appoint new leaders you can't help but wonder if any of these people will be able to handle the crisis we have on our hands. I trust Obama and his decisions to hopefully benefit my future and the future of many Americans.

Graduate School

Over the past six months it has discouraged me when some one immediately asks, "Where will you be going to Grad school?" It seems as though any time I mention that I will be graduating in May, that is the first question that is asked. I in fact DO someday want to attend graduate school to continue my education in a specific field and to make more money, BUT until I figure out what I actually want to go for I will be entering the work force.

I see that many of my other colleagues feel the same pressures also. There are many other students that I see enrolling themselves in graduate test prep courses and asking each other the same exact question, "Oh you're graduating, where are you going to Grad school?" I wonder if any of these people who are immediately going to graduate school after undergrad even know what they want to go for? With the exception of course doctors, teachers, etc who have career requirements that require further schooling than undergrad. But, isn't the point of graduate school to work for a little while, then figure out that you want to narrow your work to a specific field.

These pressures from colleagues and adults have made people loopy. Graduate school is expensive and I am SURELY not discouraging it because I myself want to go someday, but I feel as though other people my age should not feel the pressure to go immediately. People LOVE to tell people their plans about how great they are and in reality, it is a better idea to keep them to yourself.

It is socially acceptable to speak of where one is going to Graduate school, it seems as though others now are looking down on you if you are even considering NOT going. Our society of upping each other had gotten out of hand. I have found that our generation is just trying to top each other over and over again. People need to RELAX and do what is best for themselves. Unless you are confident in taking the GRE or LSAT and doing well the first time, just the prep for these tests can cost over $1000.

I found an article today from usnews.com about the salary increases due to a Master's or Doctoral degree. There are many positives, but students my age need to realize that there is TIME for that.

Of course, the pressures of not getting a job and going right into graduate school seem to make sense. Keep educating yourself (or putting oneself into more debt) is a good idea, but you better hope you make the money after all that to pay back your loans. For people like me I just cannot afford that immediately from undergrad. I can not take out more loans right now it is just not sensible. I would be willing to bet there are many students that feel the same pressures that I do.

Youths Feel Pressure

I conducted a minor survey among my friends and I found that people my age are also feeling pressure about the current economic situation and what it may mean for their own future. A fellow senior, communication major and former teammate of mine Lindsay Fitzgerald expresses that she currently worried about what will happen when she graduates. Lindsay, with a minor in education aspires to be a school teacher. She realizes that she needs to save money and attempt to spend less to keep the pressures off her family. Lindsay realizes that her family works hard and that her parents may not be able to retire when they want. She will be applying to graduate school for the upcoming year to receive a master's in education. She understands that student loans come quickly after graduation and that money will be tight for a while.

My cousin Jenny McDermott who is a senior at Bridgewater State College and works as a nanny for an affluent family said, "I have been experiencing pressures in relation to my job. Gas prices sky rocketed and my job is heavily dependent on transportation. Only a percent of my gas is covered by my employer and the rest is out of pocket. Although prices have drastically reduced, I am still hesitant about the future. My future is very dependent on the economic status because I plan on opening up a small business. I want to open up a daycare center and I am paying close attention to the new administration soon to take office."

She also said, "I'm really spread thin with school. I don't know how much longer I can do it. It is stressful, and I don't like being gone as much as I am. I have little time for school and friends due to my job."

Julie Pearson is a 24 year old who has a Bachelor's degree from Salve Regina has been out of college for three years now. She lived in Boston for the first two years that she was out of college but has now decided to move home to save money. She said, "As prices of necessities such as groceries steadily increase, I am saving less money. Because my budget is changing to incorporate price increases, I am cutting out more things that are unnecessary. As a recent graduate in as somewhat entry-level position the future of the economy is a huge concern for me. I worry how I will be able to ever afford to buy a house. Fluctuation gas and oil prices are also a concern. As a commuter I travel 100 miles a day so gas prices dramatically affect how much I travel outside of work. Currently I am paying to put myself through graduate school, in the hopes of eventually increasing my salary. The current economic situation makes it difficult to pay for living expenses, graduate school, and try to save money at the same time. Under current circumstances the economy is a constant worry and the future of the economy is completely unsure. I pay student loans, car payment, car insurance, upkeep from commuting on the car."

As a Communication major at UMass along with being a senior I feel an immense amount of pressure currently and for when I graduate. I am beyond paranoid about how I will be able to get a job in such a hard time. My parents paid for half of my college and I took out loans for the rest. I understand that the loan bills begin only six months after I graduate, meaning that obtaining a job is crucial to pay my bills. I have interned for an elected official within his press office. I have also interned at one of his agencies. Even though I have been told they would love to have me work for them when I graduate, state jobs are being cut. Times are tough and the results of my survey show that other students my age worry if they will get a job when they graduate. The realization is scary and something I would have never thought could happen the same year I will be graduating from college.

Unemployment Rates

Just in time to start looking for a job, unemployment rates have gone through the roof. Not only do 2009 graduates have to worry about getting a job, but have to worry if places are even considering hiring. The New York Times article New Jobless Claims Reach a 16-Year High, U.S. says reports that October's unemployment rate reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics was at 6.5 percent. As Massachusetts said that layoffs will soar in November and December, the rest of the country is feeling the job loss also. The report for November 2008 will be on December 5, 2008.

Lay offs soaring

While reading the Boston Globe last Wednesday I came across an article that literally made me nauseous. I have high hopes entering the work force when I graduate, intend on living at home in Massachusetts to save money (who can afford to live outside of the home?). I of course would love to get a nice apartment in Boston and walk to work, but realistically, that is not my option. The article in the Globe about more lay offs that will be coming in Massachusetts. The numbers just seem to increase. Times are scary and this is not a secure time to be graduating.