What Happens to the Children of the Unemployed?
The children who have seen parents lose jobs during the Great Recession face a future riddled with uncertainty.
The cover of the October 13 issue of National Journal.
The Shadow Generation: They’re the children of the millions who lost jobs in the Great Recession— and their lives promise to be forever different as a result. By Nancy Cook
Jim Tankersley shows us how the economy is looking through several handy charts.
These two charts show:
1. How unemployment is decreasing but way too many Americans are still jobless (that’s about 13 million).
2. There’s less demand than there was before the recession. One example is in construction. There is less of a demand from customers for construction companies which results in them not needing to hire more people.
Go here to view more charts and read Tankersley’s analysis.
The latest United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll shows that “white men were particularly critical of food-stamp spending. A full 44 percent of white males with college educations wanted food stamps cut; 41 percent of white men with some college education or less wanted the program cut. Each demographic was more likely than the national average to see fraud and loose standards as the cause of the hike in the food-stamp rolls.”
View it here.
Where do you think we should increase/decrease spending? Should the focus be on food stamps, buying locally produced food or exporting overseas?
In Nothing We Trust:
“I was middle class for 10 years, but it’s done. I’ve lost my home. I live in a trailer now because of a mortgage company and an incompetent government.”
—Johnny Whitmire of Muncie, Indiana
Live chat with author & editor-in-chief, Ron Fournier, today at 2pm. Submit your questions.
Let’s get sanctimonious, er, honest. We have lots of problems nowadays. Millions of people are unemployed. People are still losing their homes. Healthcare costs are rising too fast. College is too expensive for too many students. For the lucky ones in school, a terrible jobs market and too much student debt awaits them after graduation. Then there’s our deteriorating infrastructure. Our Byzantine tax code. Global warming. Afghanistan. I could go on. It’s depressing.
But not as depressing as the public spectacle of top campaign officials trying to “win” ridiculous spats more worthy of middle school. (I’m sorry, that’s an insult to middle schoolers). This is just life inside the Beltway bubble. It’s all poppycock, all the time. But here’s the thing: nobody cares. Nobody but political operatives, that is. Everybody else has actual problems to worry about. They aren’t interested in who ate what 40 years ago.
”Matt O’Brien, of The Atlantic, is tired of silly presidential campaign issues and would like to discuss America’s real problems. Read it here.
Tell us your story & we’ll post it on the website or Tumblr.
(via restorationcalls)
Guys, I’m just going to keep reblogging Restoration Calls & hope you notice what an awesome project it is. We want to hear real stories to find real solutions together. It’s all peace, love, longform journalism & discussion.
Gridlocked Out
The March 17, 2012 issue of National Journal.
Two entrepreneurs have launched a company that has investors, will provide employment and improve education. So why are they being threatened with deportation?
“But beyond that, this is a story about how the government can’t solve problems, even ones with popular solutions. And if it can’t fix the simple ones, how can it be expected to tackle the nation’s more intractable woes?” Read the rest here.
Join the conversation and tell us what issues you think are facing the country and how the government is/isn’t helping.
This is the story of the nation leading into the 2012 elections, and the one National Journal will tell in a series of narratives over the next nine months. We’ll introduce you to the people wading through the rubble of America’s broken foundations – and the people working to piece them back together.
We see the stories as a starting point for a conversation about how to solve America’s great problems, which we’ll foster on our website, over social media, and through live events. We hope you’ll join us. This American story doesn’t have to end with a broken dream.”
(via restorationcalls)
Introducing National Journal’s new project: Restoration Calls. Over the next 9 months, we will explore the broken economic and social foundations of America to find solutions. We want to hear YOUR stories. Follow along and join the conversation.
