Gravy Trains- Where Are They Now? In a recent Gallup Poll survey, nearly 1/3 of American workers report being “completely satisfied” with the amount of money they earn, the highest percentage recorded as “satisfied” in two decades. 43% believe they are underpaid and only 4% would say they are overpaid. Of course, with this week’s unemployment claim hike, it is no surprise satisfaction ratings are high.
The Itch You Just Can’t Scratch The biggest, and most unfortunate, news of the week comes from Thursday’s announcement of new jobless claims hitting 500,000. So what needs to occur in order to avoid entering double-dip territory? According to Washington Post writer Frank Ahrens, “Economists say that the weekly claims number needs to get into the low 400,000s and stay there before employers will start hiring new workers and bringing back laid-off ones. Indeed, the economy needs to add 125,000 jobs each month merely to keep up with population growth.”
Foreclosures Rise, Gov’t Falters A New York Times editorial calls the government’s response to high foreclosure rates falling short of expectations. The Administration’s main program that pays lenders to modify bad loans has not seen the anticipated success. So far, only 398,198 loans have been permanently modified while it is estimated that 1.9 million people will lose their home this year. With the launching of new state-based programs, the Administration hopes to better serve, and save, unemployed or underwater homeowners.
Image: via, economix.blogs.nytimes.com