... 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 -
December 2008
Financial Stress, Health
Care, Jobs, Consumer Debt, Credit Crunch, Crime,
College Degrees, Bail Out, Promising Signs, Retirement & More
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January, 2009
State of the Middle-Class,
Promising Signs,
Personal Financial Stress,
Economy in Distress,
Food Crisis, College Costs
*
Vice President Elect Joe Biden is to form a White
House Task Force on raising the standard of living for the middle class, but
just what is the middle class?
Defining the Middle Class
Business Week
* The
gap between the have's and have not's is widening
The Changing Face of the Middle Class Economy
* Are McMansions
going by the wayside?
Downturn Could Alter Tastes in Housing LA Times 1/3
* Economy forces
many to weigh what's important
Resolutions Take an Outward Turn in Tough Times USA Today 1/1
*
Newest strategy matches up homeowners
House Swaps Gains Popularity in Slow Market
USA Today 1/1
* Leaping from paycheck-to-paycheck into something far worse
Shopaholics, Big Spenders and People in Debt Getting Smacked by Economic Reality AlterNet 1/1
* New orders, price increases at
lowest levels since the 1940s.
Manufacturing Index Drops to 28-Year Low Los Angeles Times 1/3
* National debt projected to jump
to $2 trillion this year
US Could Be Facing Debt Time Bomb This Year
MSNBC 1/2
* Disastrous holiday sales force
bankruptcy and liquidations
Thousands of Stores to Disappear in 2009 CNN Money 1/1
*
American's wonderlust is waning
Fewer Americans Move Out of State
USA Today 1/1
This could be seen as a promising sign that
people are staying put and beginning to focus on their local areas, but it
also means that, as Dmitry Orlov has predicted, some people who were hoping
to relocate to more sustainable locales are going to be stuck where they
are.
* Economic downturn forces
Hollywood to fundamentally change
A
Bleak Picture for Big Studios Los Angeles Times 1/2
* Facilities are closing as patient
visits drop, insurers pay slowly and credit remains tight.
Recession Is Squeezing Life Out of Many Hospitals
Los Angeles Times 1/2
* Americans are losing the ability to
feed themselves
Corporate
and Government Policies Spark Food Crisis in America
Refreshing News 1/4
* Job market for
college-educated workers weakesn
College
Degrees No Shield as More Jobs are Slashed, Washington Post, 1/4.
*
Alert!! Colleges encouraging gr
Banks Market Credit Cards to Students New York Times 1/1