... to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
Welcome to the MCA Institute
where you will find resources, programs, policy proposals, and the
latest news on the issues facing the American middle class and what we can
do about them.
News Updates Show Middle Class
Distress
See Archives for September- October
Financial Stress,
Health Care,
Jobs, Consumer Debt,
Crime,
College Degrees,
Bail Out, Promising
Solutions, Retirement
November, 2008
Promising Solutions,
Credit Card Crunch, Jobs,
Personal Financial Stress,
Economy in Distress,
Retirement, Health
Care, College Costs
*
Economic slowdown has trimmed consumption
Electricity Bills Fall with Natural Gas, Oil Prices
USA Today 11/5
*
American's cut back on the burden of spending.
An All Consuming Fever Statement
Los Angeles Time 11/2
Also see our Blog
Set Your Burden Down.
Credit Card Crunch
Coming
* Investment strategies
threaten another type of financial crisis
Why Banks Are Squeezing Credit-Card Holders
USA Today, 11/10
* Banks want to forgive 40% of some
customers' credit card debt
Forgiving
credit card debt for some would benefit all
Los Angeles Time 11/5
* Unemployment rate seem low? That's because it's not counting all the underemployed workers
The 20-Hour Workweek Slate, 11/14
* Employers
shed 240,000 more jobs in October
Jobless Rate at 14-Year High.
New York Times, 11/6
* 157,000
Private Sector Jobs Cut in October
Grim Jobs and Service Data Greet New President.
Reuters, 11/5
* New kinds of financial landmines for middle-class families formerly with good six-figure incomes
Downturn Drags More Consumers into Bankruptcy New York Times, 11/15
* Middle-and
upper-income pawning family heirlooms
Pawnshops Doing Brisk Business USA
Today 11/10
*
Rising food prices and unemployment drive teachers and
other middle-class workers to food pantries
Ranks of hungry growing USA Today 11/7
Retailer expecting a bleak holiday
season
In
Tough Times, Layaway Plans Make Comeback. Los Angeles
Times11/7
More than 1 million bankruptcies
expected in '08
More
Consumers File Bankruptcy USA Today 11/5
* As
utility companies get aggressive, shutdowns surge.
More Utility Bill Go Unpaid
Wall Street Journal 11/4
* People are panicked and withdrawing their money from the bank.
A costly crisis in confidence USA
Today 11/3
*
American households getting hammered.
Financial Statement of the Average American Household
Washington Post, 11/1
* The
two economic factors contributing most to foreclosures are falling home
prices and rising unemployment.
Mounting Job Losses Fueling Foreclosure CNN Money
11/7
*
One fifth of U.S. mortgages are upside down.
More U.S. Homeowners Have Mortgage Higher than House Is Worth
Bloomberg, 11/1
*
Consumer spending plummets, heightening
recession fears.
Retail Data Feed Anxiety Los
Angeles Times 11/07
* Consumers and small firms are
holding off on borrowing
Banks Have Cash but Find Borrowers are in short supply.
Los Angeles Times 11/07
What an irony. Reluctance to take on loans is chastised in this article as boiling down to fear they won't be able to pay back loans. Isn't that just what was needed to have avoided this problem in the first place?
*
Gloomy projection for U.S. economy
U.S. Heading for
Economic Depression The Market Oracle, 11/3
Retirement
* Senior citizens selling their life insurance
policies to live on despite higher fees and lower values
Source of Cash Drying Up for Seniors Wall Street Journal 11/11
*Dwindling financial resources force
many seniors to return to work.
More Retirees are Hunting for Jobs in Bad Economy
NewsDay 11/6
* More people showing
up at emergency rooms unable to pay
Hospitals See Drop in Paying Patients
New York Times, 11/7
* Student forced to
borrow more for college education; average debt upon graduation grows to
$20,098
Students Dig Deeper to Pay for College
Los Angeles Times, 11/11