They need a poll for that?

The latest poll done by Associated Press-GfK finds that 46 percent of those surveyed suffer a great deal from debt-related stress. Compared to last year, the economy has done a big turn-around, but it “just doesn’t feel much like a recovery.”

Why? The unemployment rate is still at 9.9 percent, and what few new jobs that come along come with very stiff competition. Those that are working are earning less as pay rates shrivel, and very few can now qualify for a loan. Still, there are a few suckers in the bunch: 20 percent say the economy is good.

For the third month in a row, 1.2 million people will run out of unemployment insurance benefits. It seems that Congress can’t muster enough votes to agree to extend the federal unemployment benefit extensions until the end of the year, so each month they dicker and deal and cut and chop away until it’s time for break. Congress breaks, the states scramble to deal with the sudden halt, and the media fails to report the mess in time for any of those 1.2 million to prepare for their income to come to a screeching halt. This time, Congress is not scheduled to return until June 7.  Three strikes and you’re out.

Sure, there is an infinite number of things happening to up stress levels in just about everyone. But, when it comes right down to it, if you lose the ability to purchase food and keep a roof over your head, not much else matters.

We don’t need to see a poll on that.

Goodbye, old friend

 

Gary Coleman
February 8, 1968 – May 28, 2010

Making ‘cheap’ a new trend?

Introducing the Gleagle IG, made by Chinese automaker Geely. The intro price on this tiny car will be $2,250 and will hit the streets in China in 2012. As advertising goes, it is flaunting the tagline, “cheapest car available” as a lure, along with steel construction instead of plastic, like the Tata Nano.

But, the numbers don’t add up. Tata delivered a Nano to a customer in Mumbai who paid only $2,025.

Priced in the same range as a laptop, a riding lawnmower or a good horse, unless it comes with attachments and addons, I think I’ll wait awhile to purchase either one of these vehicles.

Misleading headline rewrites history

On October 5, 1789, George Washington went to the New York Society Library and checked out “The Law of Nations” by Emer de Vattel. He didn’t return the book or pay any overdue fees.

That the book was missing at all came to light when the library took on the task of restoring it’s charging ledger from 1789 through 1792. Once the news hit that the borrowed book was never returned, staff at the George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens offered to return a same edition copy of the book. On May 19, the library hosted a ceremony to receive the long-lost book.

The headline to the article announcing this relatively unimportant chunk of news reads, “George Washington’s library book returned 221 years late.”

And therein lies the method of which history is rewritten. The headline superficially stretches the actual, known facts and attempts to focus the attention on the first president’s theft of a library book instead of on the fact that the book returned to the library was not the actual book borrowed. That sort of takes the sizzle out of it.

This happens quite a bit nowadays. A story breaks, gets picked up by AP and Reuters, then rewritten a hundred different ways since the goal is to produce something “new” once every hour. The resources aren’t there to verify these chunks of news, so it is recrafted to highlight a different aspect of the bare-bones story to suit various audiences.

So, the first president didn’t return a library book, nor has he paid the overdue fees now totaling $300,000. Is this factual, or supposition?

Inbox: Arizona Protest

What did I miss? America “owes” Mexican illegal immigrants? What did I miss?

Unemployment extensions to end in May

By the end of May, the national Emergency Unemployment Compensation period will end. The extensions began in June, 2008 in a effort to address the fact that workers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own continued to be unable to find other employment.

The media appears to be reaching for straws when blasting out the “surprising gain” of 290,000 jobs, though nothing is mentioned about the end of unemployment extensions.

No matter if you lean to the right and believe that the unemployment extensions enabled the jobless to justify sitting at home, or if you lean to the left and believe that the extensions buy more time to find those rare jobs, there is nothing in place to change the high unemployment rate.

Heads up, people. In a few short weeks, there are suddenly going to be millions of people without any source of income whatsoever.

Tell me, what will they all do?

Read more at First Arkansas News where a healthy discussion is taking place.