Economy // Current

Economy Is Going to Get Much Worse | PEEK | AlterNet

It's funny that everything I blog or mention on Facebook or elsewhere gets me attacked... more

Monkey_Films
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Zombie apocalypse stage 1: Zombie Buildings

While the overall U.S. financial system is showing signs of stability, a rapidly... more

Pericles_Lewnes
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Public Enemy Raises money for a D.C. youth shelter

Public enemy, led by Chuck D and Flavor Flav, came to D.C. November 18 in an effort to... more

Jenime
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6 hours ago
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China to US: Is That a Hedge or Are You Just Happy to See Me?

Yep. Cash4Gold is being run by Uncle Sam ...

WallStCheatSheet
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8 hours ago
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Effective Security Policy Messaging Important

Clearly communicate that, in fact, there are secrets. Once employees understand that... more

Paisano1
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9 hours ago
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Windows Security Logs and MS Log Parser

Reading through a Windows security log or any other log can be very difficult and time... more

Paisano1
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9 hours ago
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Tax havens & currency speculation

Kapoor: Tax currency speculation, close off-shore tax havens and raise tax on unearned... more

therealnewsnetwork
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9 hours ago
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Giant holes in new banking rules

Ferguson: Admin. asked for too little in the banking bill, nothing is preventing... more

therealnewsnetwork
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10 hours ago
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Giant holes in new banking rules

Ferguson: Admin. asked for too little in the banking bill, nothing is preventing... more

Jenime
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10 hours ago
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UCLA v. Cops: 14 Arrested, 1 Tasered Over 32% Tuition Hike

Students gone wild. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl8XYMoD5tk&feature=sub

JonRaymond
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16 hours ago
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Bill to Audit the Federal Reserve Makes It Over Another Hurdle

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/panel-votes-to-audit-feds-balance-sheet-2009-11-19... more

bbar
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21 hours ago
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Near Riots At UCLA Over Proposed Tuition Hike

Cop tasers student with yellow taser. Other cop swings baton at students.

rodstradamus
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Surviving as a freelancer - Real Recovery

John Henion is a freelance video producer in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was laid off from a staff position in 2008 (full disclosure: at Current) and entered into the freelance world. He blogs about unemployment at Unemploymentality. We spoke yesterday for The Real Recovery.

Life for a freelancer can be tough - especially at the beginning. John Henion moved out to California from Michigan where he'd already established himself with freelance work. In California he had none. He said the move made him "take a step back and do things I didn't want to do." For example, John was about 30 when he moved here, had already produced his own independent documentary, but found himself taking a production assistant role on "Wife Swap" just to be working. "I was beyond the point where I wanted to pick up trash on the set and being told to go get lunches," he said. "After that experience I realized I didn't need to lower the bar that much."

The goal as a freelancer is to have steady work. There are some great benefits - like being your own boss and scheduling your own time off - but there are somethings that are definitely not benefits - like not having benefits. John was lucky to have insurance through a domestic partnership with his girlfriend, but he said for many freelancers the decision about whether or not to get insurance is just whether or not you want to take your chances.

After being laid off, John said it took him about 6-8 months before he was getting steady work again. These days, he has about 5-6 return customers and pulls in a lot of one-off projects. He's been able to work himself back up to an income level comparable to having a full-time staff position. But that comes with a lot more work than just the actual time spent working. "The worst part is...I have to deal with chasing down money. Some people wait until the last minute to pay you or wait until you raise a stink. You know, they want to keep that money on their books as long as they can."

The most important thing John has found to remember freelancing is that no matter how much time he spends at an office, no matter how many new friends he makes in a workplace, being a freelancers puts him in a different position. "As a freelancer they can just stop calling. First time that happened I thought I did something wrong....When they stop calling it's not personal....They're not supposed to roll over and kiss you in the morning, just leave some money on the bedstand."

Are you a freelancer? Have a recession story to tell? Post it to The Real Recovery.

FROM THE BLOG: http://blogs.current.com/news/2009/11/19/surviving-as-a-freelancer-real-recovery/

John's site: http://unemploymentality.com

The Real Recovery: http://current.com/groups/the-real-recovery/John Henion is a freelance video producer in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was laid... more

afitzgerald
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The Digital Coin and self-issued credit

A comprehensive & innovative proposal for a new system of sustainable economics.... more

sespian
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Ron Paul's Effort to End The War

"It's Time To March Home."

Jenime
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Socially responsible banking interview with SustainLINK's Dan Parker

Banks that are not eco-intelligent, or have not committed to social responsibility... more

3BLMedia
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1 day ago
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Audit The Fed

Economists and Labor Leaders Call for Fed to be Audited

Urge Rep. Barney Frank and Financial Services Committee to Reject Watt Amendment

Richard Trumka, Andy Stern, Jamie Galbraith, Naomi Klein Say “A vote for the Watt Amendment is a vote for more secret bailouts”

Leading economists, labor leaders. authors and bloggers today released a letter in support of the Paul-Grayson amendment, proposed by Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida, which calls for a complete audit of the Federal Reserve. The say that such transparency is necessary due to the many questions surrounding the Fed’s recent activities, and the “potential cronyism and favoritism in its distribution of many trillions of dollars.”

“The Watt amendment is a last-minute power play by the banks” says Jane Hamsher, founder and publisher of Firedoglake.com, who organized the effort. “It would actually make the Federal Reserve even more secretive, by erecting further barriers to transparency.”

The letter was signed by SEIU President Andy Stern, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, James K. Galbraith (Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr., Chair at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin), author Naomi Klein, blogger Yves Smith of Naked Capitlaism, William Black (Associate Professor of Economics and Law at the University of Missouri–Kansas City), blogger Tyler Durden of Zero Hedge, Robert Johnson (former Chief Economist of the US Senate Banking Committee), Randall Wray (Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for Full Employment and Price Stability at the University of Missouri–Kansas City), Thomas Ferguson, Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts, Boston and Dean Baker, co-founder and co-director of the Center For Economic And Policy Research.

Regarding the Watt Amendment, Ryan Grim of the Huffington Post wrote:

While Watt’s amendment talks a big game about opening up the Fed to a complete audit, all of the new powers granted must be carried out “each case in accordance with subsections (b) and (e).

Those subsections of the current law delineate the many restrictions that an auditor confronts when seeking to audit the Fed. Watt’s measure not only leaves those in place but requires all audits to abide by them.

And in addition to the current restrictions in place, it creates new ones. An auditor could not look at loans or liquidity arrangements the Fed enters into, the terms of those arrangements, or the effect of those loans and other liquidity deals on “reserves, the balance sheet or financial condition of a Federal reserve bank or the Federal Reserve System.”

Firedoglake.com is the nation’s leading progressive blog, with over 2.4 million unique viewers a month.

for Text of the letter:
http://workinprogress.firedoglake.com/2009/11/19/press-release-economists-and-labor-leaders-call-for-fed-to-be-audited/Economists and Labor Leaders Call for Fed to be Audited Urge Rep. Barney Frank and... more