Earlier this month I filed a news report detailing the importance of Unemployment Insurance programs to the fragile American economy. In it I pointed out that Heidi Shierholz, a labor economist with the Empire Policy Institute in Washington-DC, says extending unemployment benefits will actually benefit the US economy by creating upwards of 488-thousand jobs. NYTimes columnist Paul Krugman writes "Right now, in particular, Republicans are blocking an extension of unemployment benefits — an action that will both cause immense hardship and drain purchasing power from an already sputtering economy."
We have the critical Christmas Shopping Season at hand, starting this week with "Black Friday" --- unfortunately, we're seeing gasoline prices rising. I walked by a Mobil station this morning where the lowest grade was retailing at $3.14.
Although the electric cars, like Nissan's Leaf, are due to arrive in showrooms soon, I wonder if it's "too much, too late." Will these vehicles be too costly for the general citizenry to bother purchasing? Once again, we have General Motors' coroporate greed to thank for this upsetting situation.
See also: The Coming $econd Dip in the Global Economy - where I published this: "You won't see this on your regular evening news or read it in your newspapers! If you notice the price of a gallon of gas in the U.S. rises above $3, that's a BIG warning sign that things are gonna get rough. I wrote about this two years ago, and still, no one seems to "get it." IF GAS RISES ABOVE APPROX $3.11 PER GALLON FOR REGULAR, SEVERE ECONOMIC TURMOIL IS ONLY WEEKS AWAY. The "second dip" of that much-anticipated "doube dip" of the recession will be far more cutting and unforgiving than "dip one." REMEMBER THAT!"
Owch! Such a dire prediction! I hope we DON'T ecounter "severe economic toil" at least until January, after the holidays!
Tags: Dambisa Moyo, retail shopping season, economy, U.S. economy
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