The Personal Destruction of the Great Recession

Abigail and Dolley readers as these terrible economic times enter their fourth year this month, I have to contemplate the human cost that has been extracted from Americans.  As a wife and a mother, I must consider the devastating impact on the family as a whole but would also like to expound upon the individual consequences.  For this recession is more than numbers on a TV screen, they are people and they have been grievously wounded.

From a Husband's perspective, the loss of income, the loss of house, and the long term inability to find a job is a recipe for destruction.  Most men are hardwired to provide for their families.  The first jobs to go were men's, the companies that went down early largely employed men, and those jobs still have not returned.  The hopelessness that comes with unemployment and the feelings of failure and unworthiness permeate today's struggling man.  Individually, this is tough but for a family the pain is compounded exponentially. 

From a Wife's perspective, the loss of security goes to the heart of her psyche.  Women need safety, they need to know that the house payment is made and there is still enough money left over to buy food.  Millions of Mother's have lost their homes, millions more have had to seek Food Stamps to pay for the basic necessities in life.  There is no work for their husband's and they desperately try to keep him optimistic, hide their fear from their children, and go to bed with a nerve shaking despair about how they are going to make it through.  Look in their faces at the store, they are weary.

From a Child's perspective, they know something is wrong.  Younger children may not know anything other than this Great Recession.  Older children may long for the days when there was vacations, new clothes, and a lot of food in the house.  They may carry with them a security worry that they should never bear.  Most devastating of all is that they may begin to believe their Father is a failure.  Almost nothing on this Earth is more destructive to a child than that, nothing.

These families are everywhere and as much as Obama whines about it being Bush's fault, the fact of the matter remains that these families had houses, food, and jobs with W was President.  The private sector is not doing just fine, Mr. President these are Dark Days, Dark Days Indeed.

Frugal Tips for the Great Recession

Abigail and Dolley readers so many folks are hurting these days, it hardly merits a mention.  Part of me would love to go into a hell fire and brimstone "sermon" regarding the policies and circumstances that have gotten us in this mess but alas, in large part I would be yelling down a well.  If you care to understand, you know.

As such, many find they are doing more with less and my household is no different.  We have all, no doubt, become more frugal and this not necessarily a bad thing.  Here are some of the ways we have tightened our belts:

Personal Care:

Home Hair Color - the secret to a professional and or natural look is to select a color that is flattering to your complexion.  The most important trick, Ladies, is to put the color on your roots, let sit for about 20 minutes, and then with a pick or a wide toothed comb, comb out the color to the ends.  Let it process another 5 minutes or so.  This creates wonderful highlights and lowlights and you avoid that all over monochromatic look that screams, "Bad Dye Job, right out of the box!"

Cornstarch - I have to admit I discovered this one out of near penury... I ran out of my oh so wonderful, Bare Minerals Mineral Veil and was in dire need of some powder.  I dusted on some Johnson's Baby Cornstarch with my powder brush and low and behold I did not shine for 12 hours.  I now use it over my moisturizer every day and the oil and shine control rock.

Food

Groceries are on the rise and one of the biggest ways I have combated a run away grocery bill is by shopping at Aldi.  The prices are good, the quality is great, and the savings really add up.

Turkey - I love turkey lunch meat and I know I am not alone in that regard.  It is the number one selling lunch meat in America.  The processed stuff is vile and the high end stuff will run you as much at 9.99/lb.  Trader Joe's sells Kosher, vegetarian feed, split turkey breast with bone and skin on.  I roast one every Sunday afternoon and we have great turkey for the week.  At $3.99/lb its a cost savings and a quality bonanza.

So there are the Abigail and Dolley frugal tips of the day.  Thanks for reading!

Manufacturing in America

Abigail and Dolley readers I have had a wonderful opportunity in my new position to sit and visit with business people from across the spectrum.  While confined to a geographic region, these business folks hail from companies large and small and cover the gambit of industries represented in the Southern USA.  I thought I would share some of the insights I have gathered on these conversations.

"We are doing very well but we are just waiting to see what this economy will bring..." - this is the overwhelming sentiment among business people.  Company health is solid, there is plenty of cash in the bank, and they have fundamentally changed the way they do business.  Risk and capitol investment are on hold, expansion is not in the cards right now, and even if they wanted to the banks are not lending.

"American manufacturing is returning.  Companies that had previously moved production to China are reopening factories in the USA.  We shipped an order to a factory in Mississippi that has not made this product in over a decade."  This my friends is good news.  The cost of fuel and labor has made the Chinese goods much less attractive.  If you factor in the absolute corruption in the communist run country you get a picture of a collapsing model.  I have written about the labor market in China before (Chinese Manufacturing) and how American workers and firms have a huge intrinsic advantage.

"We are always hiring at the plant but it's hard, dirty work and nobody wants to do it for $10/hour."  Hmmm, this one surprised me.  I guess when you get down to it, unemployment pays about the same wage and a lot of folks figure they are better off waiting for a higher paying job.  The thing about that is the benefits that this company pays equal about $8/hour and unemployment doesn't give you that.  Imagine though, if the income tax rate for corporations was cut to 9% what could happen to wages in this plant.

"Lead times on finished products have gone through the roof and retailers are still making Christmas purchases."  This plays into the first point but is quite telling.  Christmas purchases are usually completed and shipping commences in July - October.  Here we are in mid October and they are STILL buying.  For the first time in a decade, we did not have a peak season surcharge out of Asia.  This is a significant and fundamental change in the business cycle.  Folks are not producing on anticipated demand, they are producing by the order.

The companies that have survived this Great Recession have hunkered down, changed their behavior, mitigated risk, and saved their money.  The weak, inefficient, and poorly run enterprises have been weeded out.  Many misplaced workers are busting with ideas and the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in America, just cash starved and waiting for a break.  A repeal of the stifling regulatory climate, tax system overhaul, and new leadership is all that is missing.  November 2012 can't get here fast enough.  When this thing turns and it WILL turn we are going to see an explosion.  I guess I picked a good time to go back into sales...