Strollerderby : financial crisis

Morning News: Stress, Spending, and Suspects

Amy Kuras — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:00:00 GMT

Good morning! So, remember how yesterday I told you those wildfires in California were not so bad? Yeah, that’s changed. Strong winds have strengthened the fire, which has now scorched 2700 acres, destroyed or damaged 75 homes, and injured 10 firefighters. About 12,000 people have been forced out their homes by the blaze.

Results of the “stress tests” conducted on the nation’s banks by the Obama administration found that nine of the biggest received a clean bill of health, but that the rest could need as much as $75 billion in capital to survive the recession.

Banks in trouble include Bank of America, GMAC (the finance arm of General Motors, which isn’t doing too well itself), Citigroup, and Wells Fargo. The New York Times story linked here has a staggering sentence: “Under regulators’ worst-case assumptions, the 19 banks might suffer $600 billion in losses through 2010, on top of the hundreds of billions that have already vaporized in this financial crisis. About 9 percent of all loans might sour — a figure that is even higher than it was during the Great Depression. One in five credit card loans could go unpaid, more than double the typical loss rate. Approximately one in 10 mortgages could sour.”

The Obama administration announced the finer points of its budget yesterday as well, and it includes a whopping one half of one percent in spending cuts. Spending on defense and housing would rise.

And finally, students (and their parents) at Wesleyan University in Connecticut are breathing a little easier now that police arrested Stephen P. Morgan at a convenience store, after he saw his picture in the paper and asked the clerk to call police. Morgan is suspected of stalking and killing student Johanna Justin-Jinich while she worked at a campus bookstore. He wore a disguise during the shooting and thus was bale to evade police, even though the stopped and questioned him after the shooting. The university kept students indoors for two days and even delivered box lunches to dorms while the manhunt for Morgan continued.

Babble Talk: When Is It OK to Write About Your Own Mother?

Jen Chaney — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:28:00 GMT

Earlier this week, some of you may have read Shelley Abreu's "Stuck in the Middle" essay, which addresses the hardships and frustrations she confronts as a mother of three who also must take care of her own mother. The piece sparked an often heated debate among Babble's commenters, one that raises an important question: Is it inappropriate for a writer to discuss her loved ones in a public forum?

"Living with my mother and feeling responsible for her financial future often feels like an overwhelming burden," Abreu writes. "Instead of saving money for my children's education, traveling as a family, or even going out to eat, my husband and I spend our money on the hefty mortgage. We've talked about selling, but between the weakening economy and our need to house so many people, it's not a viable option for us. Not only do we fret about our children's future, but we worry about my mom's as well. With no retirement funds to live off of, her financial future is in our hands."

Abreu goes on to confess that she sometimes resents her mother (and her late father) for putting her family in this situation. She also wishes her mother would work a little more frequently, even though she also understands why, at this stage in her life, she shouldn't have to. From where I sit, having those feelings is perfectly understandable. The question is whether Abreu should have written about them on a Web site like Babble. Some of the commenters said no way, using pretty harsh language.

"It's pretty sad to see someone so lacking in honor that she's willing to make her living writing article after article (this isn't her first, Google her name) about how horrible it is to have her mother living with her," writes MotherofThree. "I call 'em like I see 'em, and this person? Is revolting."

Yikes. Another:

"If this article is the first time you've aired your grievances about your mom to her face, you'll be lucky if she doesn't move out and leave you to your own devices. You owe her an apology," says MoreAnon.

Other commenters were more understanding:

"The author of this article just wrote what a lot of family members are all thinking -- it is hard to take care of another family member and sometimes it gets so bad you do have regrets for helping them," writes patra. "Until all you Debbie Downers on this post actually step into the author's shoes and walk around in them, please don't judge."

Every writer, especially those in the personal essay realm, question exactly how much information they should reveal about their friends and relatives. Anytime a writer can draw on specific details from his or her own life, that makes the piece more powerful. The dicey part is deciding when one of those details goes too far or might hurt a loved one's feelings.

I don't know Shelley at all, but I bet she considered all of those issues before she wrote this. And while not everyone may agree with her decision to go ahead and publish it, we shouldn't assume that she's a selfish, petulant person who doesn't give a damn about her mom's feelings. If she were, I'm betting that she wouldn't be doing her best to take care of her in the first place. We know the words she wrote. We don't know her heart and -- as fired up as the blogosphere might get -- we shouldn't pretend to. People who live in glass blog comment forums shouldn't throw virtual stones. Or something.

The hope any writer has when he or she digs deep and lays bare something very personal is that it will connect with someone. Another person will read those words and realize she is not alone. While Shelley's essay infuriated some, it also seemed to strike a chord in others.

"I think that the people judging the author so harshly perhaps have never been in a similar situation themselves," writes a commenter referred to as "I." "I had three grandparents and a granduncle living with my parents and myself at various times in a small three bedroom ranch house ... It's so easy to be judgmental, but it's not so easy to balance the needs of elderly relatives and young children at the same time under the same roof."

Honestly, I see the honor in shutting up and not saying anything that could be perceived as negative about one's mom. But as a writer, I also see the value in -- for the right reasons -- being extremely honest about a tough personal situation in order to educate and buoy the spirits of others. The question is whether that second goal has been achieved. And, as the commenters on this essay demonstrate, that's a judgment only the readers can make.

Childcare Relationships and Bickering Parents Affect Kids' Stress Hormones

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:30:00 GMT

It seems self-evident that kids with poor childcare relationships or parents who frequently fight are more stressed than other kids. But now two new studies have established this common sense theory from a biological standpoint, by monitoring the levels of cortisol (the human stress hormone) in preschoolers and 6-year-olds. As parents across the country struggle to afford high quality childcare and to maintain a stable home environment, these studies are unfortunately quite applicable to these trying economic times.

In most people, cortisol levels decrease throughout the day. But for many children in full-time daycare, the stress hormone increases as the day progresses. Researchers found that class size clearly affected children’s moods, with preschoolers in classes of 10 or fewer children producing less cortisol than those in classrooms with closer to 20 other kids.

Children with poor relationships with their daycare providers became more stressed after one-on-one interactions with the teacher, while clingier kids had higher overall cortisol increases throughout the day.

Similarly, a study of 6-year-olds with bickering parents found that those who were very involved in and distressed about the fights produced more cortisol than other 6-year-olds. Since high levels of cortisol have been linked to health and psychological problems, this finding offers a biological understanding of why kids who get very upset by their parents’ arguments are more likely to have psychological problems later. (Whether higher levels of cortisol are a cause or an effect of psychological disorders is not clear.)

The study’s authors hope that understanding the biological basis of stress in young children will change the way kids in these common problematic situations are treated. For instance, monitoring kids’ levels of cortisol could help indicate whether a given intervention is working to relieve stress or not.

Day Care Enrollments Plummet as Families Struggle to Pay the Bills

Is Cutting Your Sitter's Pay the Best Way to Save Money?

Photo: pregnancy-depression-help.com

Utility Shut-Offs Surge for Middle-Class in PA, MI, CA, Elsewhere

Shannon LC Cate — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:29:00 GMT

The mortgage crisis is affecting even more people than the 1%+ of U.S. households currently in some stage of foreclosure. People scraping to pay their mortgages are having to let other bills slide, and it looks like utilities are one place folks are slipping behind.

Not that it's worse when it happens to people who aren't used to it, but another new trend aspect of the problem is that increasingly, shut-offs are happening to middle-class households who have never experienced them before. This is cause for alarm, as it shows that more segments of society are getting into desperate financial territory than have been there in a long time.

According to the Wall Street Journal, PPL Corp. of Pennsylvania increased shutoffs by 78% in the first three quarters of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007. George Lewis, a spokesman for PPL, based in Allentown, Pa., said the utility had decided to "prevent people from getting further in debt" by cutting them off sooner now than in the past.

That's one way to put it. I'm not sure how helpful families will find it to have their utilities cut off just as winter is beginning.

Yet more bad news is that as power companies install new "smart meters" they are able to shut customers off remotely, saving them the cost of a crew going house-to-house, and enabling them to cut power when customers are only slightly behind for a slight amount. One company in California shuts off customers only $30 behind and plans to lower that figure as soon as their wireless technology is installed in enough homes to make it cost-effective.

While shutting off power may indeed prevent people from getting further behind, it doesn't do much to truly solve the problem of more and more families in financial crisis in the United States. Whatever the country decides tomorrow, let's hope the fiscal policies of the next president will do more for people than leave them in cold, dark houses, wondering how much longer they can keep the roof over their heads.

Ailing Companies as Bad Children

Brett Singer — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 19:00:00 GMT

I always thought there was some childish behavior happening in the world of high finance. New York Magazine confirms my suspicions.

They also help to simplify an issue using pictures, which helps me out. A sample:

Bear Stearns is the little pyro—the kid who was always playing with matches. He could harm not only himself, but burns his own house down, and indeed, he could have burned down the entire neighborhood. The Fed stepped in not to protect him but the rest of the block.

See the "source" link below for Lehman Brothers ("the little kid pulling the tail of a dog") and AIG ("the kid who accidentally stumbles into a biotech- warfare lab … finds all these unlabeled vials…").

No word yet on what sort of child Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are.

Source/image: NYMag (originally bigpicture)

Read more:

Enormous baby sculpture

Arkansas Evangelist's compound raided, six children removed

More stuff my 3 year old broke

Mom finds hairy Goldilocks in 2 year old's bed

Palin's Email Hacked and posted online; UPDATE: Anonymous Hacker Speaks

Red eye? Nope, eye cancer

11 months old, 62 pounds

Mr. Rogers Talking Keychain (I find his voice soothing in times of stress)

Political Nanny: Breaking News -- McCain Wants to Cancel Friday's Debate

Madeline Holler — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:40:00 GMT

Can you do this? Cancel Friday's debate? Sen. John McCain has asked his staff to work with Barack Obama and the people in charge of Friday's first debate between the two presidential candidates and reschedule the whole thing. McCain said he wants to focus efforts on the financial crisis.

Here's the problem, he's still making time to campaign, shoot commercials and appear on Rachael Ray's talk show.

Yet Americans, who have but, what?, 40-some days to decide who they want to eventually lead this nation out of the financial crisis and a host of other dire, dire situations, have some gaps in our understanding of the two candidates' policies. The debate isn't a cooking show. It's the next four years.

Look, cut back on debate prep. Wing it! Whatever it takes. But Sen. McCain, you and Barack Obama need to show up Friday night and let us have a peek at you both without teleprompters and video editors and -- in your case, McCain, the distraction of a highly unusual running-mate and her canned speeches. Move that Straight Talk Express bus and get your campaign out of hiding!

Some think the timing is suspicious.

In another report, this was apparently Barack Obama's idea.

Photo: connietalk.com

Morning News: Financial Crisis, Campaigns Would Be Hilarious If They Weren't So Sad

Madeline Holler — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Love this: the FBI is now investigating four of the failed institutions at the heart of this whole "sudden" financial collapse and trigger of the $700 billion dollar federal bailout proposal. Because it's only obvious in hindsight that there was fraud going on? All those ads and emails and stories on NPR didn't make them suspicious? Laugh through the tears, people, laugh through the tears!

Bush is finally a uniter! A bi-partisan group of lawmakers is saying no to blank checks, no to relenquishing authority and no to no oversight -- burned one too many times, guys? (Stage whisper: Patriot Act).

But help -- free help! -- is on the way. One of the world's richest men -- and certainly the richest to ever drive a Ford Taurus -- Warren Buffett, said he would invest $5 billion dollars in Goldman Sachs, which has been flailing in all this turmoil. Buffett's confidence is boosting others' confidence in some markets. Though we doubt they'll be asking to take the ol' Taurus out for a ride. Or for tips on frugal living.

Let's fill up on a serving of empty calories in today's Daily Palin! Our favorite female VP candidate from Alaska left her telepromptered comfort zone (but quickly retreated to the needy arms of her much less charismatic running mate) and spent a day putting faces with all those names she learned last week. She survived her day with Uncle Henry and friends and lived to tell about it! But she won't. The maverick who says she's all about openness and transparency allowed reporters a whole 29 seconds of access during her meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. But no questions.

Campbell Brown went on a tear last night calling McCain's campaign "sexist" for shielding the possible VP from the press. Even Fox news is pissed. Palin's press pool has threatened a boycott, blah, blah (like that'll happen). Just take the pretty pictures, people!

Enough about Palin, let's talk about you ... you and your fat kids. They're watching too many commercials for unhealthy food between episodes of iCarly and SpongeBob SquarePants and the other 22 hours of Nickelodeon programming. The network had pledged to use its popular characters to advertise spinach and oranges but they were just shitting us and we all knew it.

Good thing you're kids are not on Medicaid because after eating Shrek "fruit" snacks -- as advertised on kids health channel Nick Jr. -- they're going to get cavities. Your kids will get them filled. Kids on Medicaid will be left with rotting teeth and bleeding gums.

Finally, fertility. Nicole Kidman credits her recent successful conception and pregnacy with swimming in fertile waters. And here we thought Sunday Rose had more to do with Keith Urban's fertile swimmers.

Photo: 4mercury.com