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Entry bubble Recovery.gov Wants your Input

By: Colleen | April 29, 2009 | Category: Money

recovery.govSo, you know the government is trying to help the economy with a stimulus plan. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act lays out a plan to address the crisis through unemployment and welfare expansions, tax cuts, and investments in infrastructure, health care, education and energy.

But what does all that mean for you, your family, and your business?

Enter Recovery.gov—the website dedicated to explaining the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act step by step so you can easily find out how to use its benefits and programs to your advantage.

And now, Recovery.gov wants to know how else it can be of assistance to you. This week, Recovery.gov is hosting a nationwide live discussion to get your input on the site. To get things started, Recovery.gov is asking, "What ideas, tools, and approaches can make Recovery.gov a place where all citizens can transparently monitor the expenditure and use of recovery funds?"

Now is the time to add your two cents. Check out this video for additional information.

| View Comments [3] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: american_recovery_and_reinvestment_act   colleen   economy   recovery.gov   stimulus  

 

Entry bubble Questions for the President

By: Jess | March 26, 2009 | Category: General

If you ever wished you could communicate directly with President Obama, ask him a question and get an answer, now you have a chance.

Whitehouse.gov launched a forum where you can submit questions about the economy in text or video messages for the President to see. He then may answer some of your questions live in his own video chat.

If you're not interested in submitting your own question, you can also vote on other people's submissions.

The President says in his video message that this is a new experiment, but he hopes to open the White House to the American people, to get opinions on the economy from outside Washington and understand citizens' most pressing concerns.

The White House blog provides a brief summary of how online town halls will work. You may also want to read basic guidelines for submitting questions before you dive in.

You can watch the first town hall online today and can check Whitehouse.gov to look for more opportunities to ask the President questions.

If you could ask President Obama one question, what would it be? You can leave it here in the comments, but then go over to Whitehouse.gov and ask him yourself.

| Post a Comment | View Comments [31] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: economy   financial_crisis   jess   obama   president_obama   questions  

 

Entry bubble Help for the Unemployed

By: Joanne | March 10, 2009 | Category: Money

man searching help wanted adds in the newspaperLast week brought us yet more depressing economic news – the unemployment rate jumped to 8.1%. With so many Americans facing layoffs and job loss, I want you know that there’s help available. Government assistance programs are no replacement for a regular paycheck (believe me, I know) but assistance programs can help until you find a new job.

Unemployment compensation (also known as, unemployment insurance) may be available to help you get by while you’re looking for work. Apply for unemployment compensation by contacting the Labor Department in your state. If you need more than just unemployment, look into more benefits, like food stamps, or student financial aid to help you get back on your feet again.

Once you’ve got your support in place, it’s time to look for a new job. You might be thinking that it’s time to change careers to get into a field where there’s a high demand for workers. There are thousands of One-Stop Career Centers around the country that can help job seekers with training referrals, career counseling, job listings, and more. If you like to do your job hunt online, you can also find many job and education resources both in the federal government and the private sector at USA.gov.

| View Comments [2] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: economy   job   layoff   unemployment  

 

Entry bubble Word of the Year: Bailout

By: Joanne | January 13, 2009 | Category: Money

cartoon man carrying a giant bag of money

In its 19th annual words of the year vote, the American Dialect Society voted “bailout” as the word of the year. When I heard the story on NPR yesterday morning, I was really hoping that the word of the year would be something fun, like 2005’s word of the year, truthiness, made popular by Stephen Colbert. I guess 2008 was a more serious year than 2005.

2008 found us in an economic crisis and it’s going to take a lot to get our economy back on track. I think it’s pretty painful to pinch pennies at the grocery store and drive aging cars, and watch the federal government give billions and billions of dollars away. Yes, I work for the government, but I pay taxes too, you know!

Like you, I don’t have to power to give away billions of tax dollars, but there are some things that we can do. President-elect Obama has a plan to stimulate the economy – get informed about the plan. Gov Gab’s readers are highly intelligent and always writing in to tell us about their great ideas. You can send your economy-saving idea directly to the Obama transition team. They’re listening.

Don’t forget to contact your Senator and Representative in Congress to let them know your ideas and how you want your tax dollars to be spent. They’re the ones that write the laws after all, and we need to hold them accountable to give us the truth, not just the truthiness.

| View Comments [5] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: bailout   crisis   economy   financial   joanne   money  

 

Entry bubble Kids and the Economy

By: Colleen | January 07, 2009 | Category: Money

Ok, so the economy has taken the same trajectory as Penn State in the Rose Bowl. This is not news to anyone. While the moneymedia is littered with doom and gloom, how do you explain to your kids what's going on?

It's tough to break down a nationwide situation for a child (shoot, I have a hard time wrapping my head around it), but it's never too early to start teaching them about personal finances and the value of the ol' dollar. Before you know it, they'll be applying for a mortgage—better show them how to be sure they can afford it!

The Jumpstart Coalition for Personal Finance Literacy has a really great pamphlet that covers kids grades K-12, and what they should know about finances, broken down by grade level. For example, a 4th grader should be able to explain the difference between a wage and a salary.

Are you getting hit with the classic, "I really need (*need* being the operative word) a ____" line? Here are some tips for telling your kids the facts about money. It helps you establish a budget for them, and provides guidance on establishing a fair and effective way to set up an allowance system for your kids.

Have your kids questioned the current economic situation? How do you best teach them about fiscal responsibility?

| View Comments [4] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: colleen   economy   kids   personal_finance   recession  

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