Who's Getting Whammed in the Deprecession
(Economy • )
→ 73% of United States adults are cutting household or “lifestyle” spending, starting with 59% who have put off buying high-end electronics such as computers and those swell high-definition, high price-tag TVs. Some 56% are delaying buying furniture, and 55% aren’t going to be making home improvements any time soon.
→ On the brighter side, 46%, according to the same survey, are going to spend money to save it later, by taking action to make their homes more energy efficient.
→ On the dimmer side, (if you own the Rockets, Astros or Texans, for instance), just 3% of the people surveyed are attending more sporting events this year than last year, while 47% are attending fewer. A whopping 58% are dining out less frequently, and 53% are traveling less. So if you have a restaurant built inside a blimp that circles sports stadiums at gametime, expect a bad surprise.
→ OPEC members stand to earn $462 billion in net oil export revenue this year, and another $526 billion next year. That sounds like a lot, until you notice where they earned $968 billion in 2008. Karma?
→ U.S. employers “initiated 3,489 mass layoff events” in the first three months of 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. What that means in words humans understand is that about 559,000 Americans were laid off for at least 31 days, and most for way longer, beginning in January, February or March of this year.
That’s more than twice as many people laid off than in first-quarter 2008, and by far the worst first quarter since 1996. (it’s probably worse than that, but the Labor Department didn’t keep such stats before then.)
Slice it however you like and it still sucks. I know some of my family, friends and neighbors have lost their jobs, and others are working fewer hours and teetering on the brink. Any of us could be next. It’s a time, I think, to be your brother’s keeper and support system to the extent that you can. We’re all in this together.
→ B.Dunn, May 14, 2009, 03 27 pm
