The Meltdown Will Be Blogged

The headline in the LA Times said it all: "Charities Can't Keep Up with Deepening Poverty."

America is facing a vicious charity Catch-22: the harsher the downturn, the more people in need of help but the fewer stepping up with donations. "As resources vanish," wrote the Times, "the threads of the nation's extensive social safety nets are fraying, leaving single mothers, elderly shut-ins and others ever more vulnerable."

For months we've been inundated with the raw data of the economic meltdown: unemployment figures, foreclosure numbers, massive bailout stats. Here at HuffPost we want to do more to put a human face on the suffering. The recently laid off, the newly homeless, the students unable to afford college.

And who better to tell their stories than the people themselves?

So we want to hear from you. How is the downturn affecting you and your family? Have you lost your job? Your home? Are you seeing For Sale signs on your street? Are more businesses in your town going under? How are you making ends meet? What are you hearing from your friends, your neighbors, your coworkers? Even if you still have your job and your home, and the ability to send your kids to college, how has the deep economic recession affected your outlook, your mood, your spending habits? If you work for a charity or a food bank -- what are you seeing?

Tell us your stories. Blogging about them and your feelings -- including your anger, your fears, your hopes -- is a great way to cope with the many personal, social, and professional dislocations that the hard times are producing.

Losing your job -- or even fearing that you might -- can make you feel powerless. But at the same time you are looking for work - or learning a new skill - you can take up blogging. It doesn't require anyone's permission, there is no application process - you just need blogging software (some of the best is free; more on this in a minute), and the will to express yourself. Or you can blog here on HuffPost.

Blogging is all about connecting to others. The bond between blogger and reader creates an intimacy that is a much-needed corrective to the isolation that hard times bring. I'm always amazed by the things I learn from commenters I've never met but feel that I know. And I'm equally amazed by the things I keep discovering about myself in the course of writing and clarifying what's important to me.

Andrew Sullivan fleshes this experience out in a terrific essay in the Atlantic called "Why I Blog." "Alone in front of a computer, at any moment, are two people: a blogger and a reader," he writes. "The proximity is palpable, the moment human -- whatever authority a blogger has is derived not from the institution he works for but from the humanness he conveys. This is writing with emotion not just under but always breaking through the surface. It renders a writer and a reader not just connected but linked in a visceral, personal way. The only term that really describes this is friendship. And it is a relatively new thing to write for thousands and thousands of friends."

It's not therapy, but it's the same principle -- and a lot cheaper (depending on your co-pay). The blogger/reader connection can have practical consequences as well. You can get suggestions on anything and everything - from a job opening to finding a place to volunteer to help others (and help put your problems in perspective). As Sullivan writes, "a good blog is your own private Wikipedia."

Blogging is clearly not the answer, but it's a wonderful survival tool. A way to connect to others, a way to stay on top of how others are coping, a way to reach out, a way to stay sane.

There has already been a lot written about the similarities between the current downturn and the Great Depression. But one way today's crisis is fundamentally different is the Internet. With its immediacy and transparency, and the instant debate over policy it provides, the Internet will allow citizens to feel more engaged in government than ever before. And blogging will also make a difference on the personal front as well.

So, to share your stories, your tips, your fears, your ideas with us, click here and fill out the simple form. We'll feature many of them on our Living section, our home base for information and stories on navigating the lean days ahead.

This recession will be blogged. Join us.

PS: For those of you intimidated by the idea of starting a blog, or even writing a blog post for HuffPost, we have put together a new book, The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging. It's an A-to-Z guide to blogging, with something for everyone -- from tech-challenged newcomers looking to get a handle on this revolutionary way of communicating (including tips on choosing the right blogging software) to more experienced bloggers looking to take their work to the next level. The book, which is being released tomorrow, features words-of-blogging-wisdom from Nora Ephron, Harry Shearer, Jamie Lee Curtis, Craig Newmark, Erica Jong, Gary Hart, and many other HuffPost bloggers. You can read an excerpt here.

PPS: Psychologist and HuffPost regular Peggy Drexler launches a new series of posts today on the ways the historic changes rattling our country are forcing us to reshape the future and ourselves. Check out The End of Normal.

I will be appearing on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" this Wednesday, December 3rd at 11PM/10PM Central.

Comments

[daveslh]

I started up a blog mainly focused on the recession / depression / slump (choose according to your outlook) to try and put over the perspective of an ordinary working bloke from the UK. I'm in my early 50s and have lived through a few recessions in my time but...this one is potentially going to be a lot worse than anything I have previously experienced. For a start off, the bubble economy over here that preceded the crash was built on the three pillars of a) a debt fuelled consumer boom b) seemingly ever rising property prices that were seen by way too many people as the means to finance that debt and c) high finance. All three pillars have now crumbled to dust leaving...nothing.

Even before anyone muttered the phrase credit crunch, pay freezes and pay cuts have been eating away at our standard of living for the last eight years. This is despite me being highly skilled, working harder and longer than ever before and taking on more responsibility. There is a disconnect between the effort you have to put in and reward - all you get these days for your hard work is keeping your job!

There is a growing undercurrent of discontent here in the UK - sadly a lot of it is not being channeled towards any progressive movement but instead to rapidly growing reactionary trends. Worrying times indeed...

Dave

http://daveslh.wordpress.com/

[GravitonX]

Arianna,

I don't know if you'll ever read this. But, thank you for creating such a magnificent forum to people to come and express.

Thanks.

Best Regards,

GX

[Henryjj]

Immodest proposal:
Use the "bailout" money to buy down a percentage of all mortgages of primary owner-occupied residences -- homeowners opt into, reduce the principal balance of mortgages, the money to goes to lenders, and with delayed taxation of the buy-down amount.

Teasing out the details:
What percentage buy-down can we "afford." This requires figuring out how much of the housing market is mortgaged and how much of a percentage of that is there bailout money.
Should this be need-based or across the board? If need-based, on what "need."
Should homeowners have options as to the amount of buydown? This seems "yes."
Should it result in lower monthly payments because of principal reduction? This seems "yes," as lenders will receive principal reduction payments and are already geared up to calculate the new payments.
How to administer this? Through the IRS? Fannie and Freddie? A new agency? Lenders?

What effects:
Will this further depress the prices of houses?
Will it make a difference at the amount that we can afford?
Will it affect new mortgages?
Will it have those pesky psychological effects that seem to drive the economy?
How will it impact foreclosures?
Will the taxation effect unduly burden some homeowners?
Will it really free up money in the short term? Long-term effects. . . .
In tandem with public works investment and other stimuli (e.g., a tax credit on buying American cars?), will this plan place us on a sound economic footing?

[aminae]

Dear Arianna,
I appreciate the blogs and posts about the situation in Canada right now. Without them there would be NO news down here about the recent dissolution of parliament to avoid the government being ousted (see prorogue).
The Harper (L'il Bush) propaganda machinery is in top form and the Great White North is melting. Canadians need to get organized and informed outside the MSM. How can they get a page on the Huffpost to get them blogging?!

Blog blog against the dying of the light.

[happyblubird]

I appreciate the chance to tell my story. It started when the Dept. of Justice cut out small grants to cities for special law enforcement/crime prevention programs. This happened when Bush 2 came into office. The grants just disappeared. Where did the money go? To the war of course. Grant money for my non-profit, juvenile crime prevention program dried up.

Personally, my job was cut to .75 time and I struggle as the credit card bill climbs.

[RetireGreen]

This is a great idea. I wrote a blog post that predicted the housing and stock market collapse, and warned my fellow Americans, to sell their houses and stocks.

http://www.bananatreehotel.com/costarica/sell-america-before-buying-costa-rica/

When the credit crisis began, in August 2007, I again blogged and warned my fellow Americans.

http://bananatreehotel.com/ramsay/chinas-goose-is-cooked-and-dim-sum/

And finally, I created my current blog, to help Americans who have suffered significant financial losses still achieve their retirement dreams.

http://www.iplanretirement.com/retirementblog

I saw the economic collapse coming, I understand what is happening, and I know where we are headed. My blog contains information and insight you won't find anywhere else.

[munki]

Arianna,

You have been doing a great job to have Capitol Hill hear our voices.
I just submitted the following comment in financial crisis job section...
Thought I like to share and perhaps you can get these jobs back to the
US ASAP. We have so many skilled workers being laid off... Thank you.

PLEASE GET SOME JOBS BACK HERE NOW!

I received a call on Saturday at 8AM in CA from ABANK on my cell asking AR...

I called the number kept pushing "0" until I reached a customer services rep DB who simply said if you are not AR, we will just remove the number, "she may have had this number before you"... It is NOT THAT SIMPLE in today's ID Theft world! I had this number for over 10 years but DB did not listen.. My concerns:

- DB had limited knowledge of our financial system... . The bottom line here is... it is not where DB is, but financial institutions' practice in outsourcing OUR private information abroad...

- my cell number was associated with someone I do not know...
- Privacy Act, where will it protect me outside of US? as our personal information - accessible outside U.S.

FINALLY, these JOBS COULD immediately COME HOME and hire laid off Americans with financial skills back to work; lowering unemployment, homeland security and much more... fraud and risk prevention. Expand this view to a bigger picture " then you will know what I mean" This can lead to

[PhillyBella]

While the federal government is bailing out the inept and the greedy, I get a call at 8:30 every morning from the US Department of Education, threatening to garnish my wages for an unpaid balance on the student loan I took out for my daughter. While Washington talks about help for homeowners, my daughter, who lost her job, is in the process of being evicted from her apartment, since there is no help for renters. The pay cut I had to take brings my take home, after deductions for health insurance, down to $240. weekly. I lost my father in 2005 and mom in 2007 after extended illnesses that took all the equity out of their home, which left me with under $5,000 after all the bills were paid.

I am sure I am not alone in my situation. I feel blessed just to have a job at all. The future is grim for a woman alone at my age. I am 61. I never imagined that I would be in this position at this age.

[bwalsh1]

Why doesn't your daughter move back in with you while she job hunts? I'm sorry, but her situation is not unique and has been quite common throughout the history of the world. My husband, who is an engineer, has worked as a pizza delivery man in order to help make ends meet. I myself am a teacher, but i have worked hotel jobs and retail jobs when times were tough. I am currently looking for a night job to help pay the bills. We have students loans, a mortgage, and four small children, needless to say we are stressed at this time. But if my husband lost his job we would explore every option available before taking a government handout. You see, our country is already bankrupt, and we don't want to add to the burden unless we have no other choice. We want to make the situation better, not worse for our children and grandchildren.

There is no such thing as a free lunch, the money you don't want to pay back and the assistance you think your daughter deserves are paid for by your fellow Americans, and we are all hurting right now. So lets all try to take care of each other and ourselves while eliminating the middle man, the middle man being the government.

[fitcycle53]

ICongress demanded oversight of the financial bailout then didn't have time to appoint it. While they were "preoccupied" Bush and Paulson approved another $140 billion in tax concession. Congress expressed anger but were afraid any action may have reprecussions. Congress stopped the original bailout to add oversight, but added $150 billion in pork. Package - $990 billion.
AIG receives bailout funds, goes to a resort spa - cost $500,000. Congress blusters. AIG comes back for more money - receives $150 billion - goes on another vacation. No comment from congress.
In the face of the automakers situation, and 3 million possible jobs, congress is asking how they got to Washington - this kind of a thing apparently not an issue for the financial community - Bloggers above indicate, trying to get work for over a year is not unusual. Adding another 3 million to the out of work is the problem congress should be confronting.
In all the quantifying of dollars spent and lost, can we not state plainly that working (or once working) Americans have lost X dollars from their retirement funds. Can we further not make that number ongoing as Americans live off their retirement and diminish the fund more.
Finally - can we legislate that it will be unlawful for congress to say, five years from now, that if this generation of Americans had saved responcibly during their working careers we would not have a problem with aged destitute people.

[UltraClassic]

I read your blog not because I agree with your bloggers but because I think it's a good and healthy thing to observe what makes the other side tick. The ultimate tool of course is truth. I think some of your recent bloggers bring up valid points when they state that there are not in fact two correct sides to every situation.

Your bloggers should in the future take up a more thoughtful tone when dealing with President Bush. And that tone should be that George Bush is not an evil man set on the destruction of the U.S. Rather, George Bush has made some terrific blunders based on his idiology and judgement, or lack there of.

Your moderators should do a better job screening out that nonsense and maybe give people like me a little more slack. I will never insult but I will disagree when I see a blogger going off into left field. Rather than censor me, challange me. I am willing to listen and consider.

Do you want your commentors to be rah rah cheerleaders and nothing more?

[SonofLiberty1]

Sorry ultra classic but it's conservative idiots that have been rolling in the aisles, getting drunk off of whatever Rush Limbaugh uses that got us into this mess.

I have no clue as to why Republicans including Bush got the idea that it was ok to pull the rug out from under hard working American workers and close down their offices and ship their jobs overseas.

You and your friends had no right to do that.

You and your friends had no right to deny basic healthcare either.

I bet you the money in my pocket that you are sitting pretty.

Mess with someone's job and you get what you deserve:(

As far as I'm concerned, Repubs only care about themselves not anyone else.

[flossophy]

SonofLiberty1... How do figure Bush pulled the rug out from under working Americans? I'd say your friends in Big Union & the Democrat party had more to do with it.

Man, where do you get this stuff? Bush denying healthcare? Repubs only care about themselves?

A more accurate refrain would be:

You Democrats had no right to sue banks to force them to lend to people who could not afford to pay back the loans...

You Democrats had no right to have Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac buy up all those bad loans and repackage them into securities... knowing that the taxpayer would bail them out.

You Democrats had no right to block Bush's effort to regulate or oversee FM&FM - blocking his multiple attempts to try and avert this meltdown...

... yet the Democrats escape any blame on this... it's all Bush's fault, right?

[happyblubird]

But the party in conrol has messed up our lives and they will not admit it. When we have a president that does not understand my middle class life as he never had to work, that may not be calling him evil but he is misguided and uninformed. He took billions of our tax dollars and put it into a war that has not been good for our health as a nation. I am angry, hurt, and feel very, very helpless for my families future.
I want those in power to really, really look at the mess, take responsibilty where it lies, and vow to clean it up.
In the meantime, I vow to clean up my own financial mess, just as soon as my husband is able to get back to work!

[Weribe]

PART 2

We are college-degreed professionals, and have worked hard all of our lives. We followed the rules, were loyal, good employees, and yet, here we are. We pray that he will find a new position quickly (the last time it took 6 months and was out of state), and that the contract that I am waiting on will be signed and I can start to work full-time.

Our immediate goal? Stay current with the mortgage and bills. The thought of retirement is a distant dream; we"ll probably have to work the rest of our lives,

What makes this so difficult to take is that this crisis is the result of greed on the part of a few at the expense of the many. It started with Reagan " "I"ve got mine " to heck with you having yours" " and reached the pinnacle under Dubya. And yet, many neocon Republicans who still deny any culpability.

I trust that President-Elect Obama will make good decisions about getting the economy back on track. There is no question that when there is a strong middle-class, everyone wins. There is also no question that the neo-cons will be doing everything that they can to stop him.

I will be praying for him and for our nation as recover from the incompetent Bush administration. I also pray that we will restore balance, and recognize that all people " not just a few " have the right to economic security.

[flossophy]

Weribe, what if the crisis was the fault of Democrat policy (CRA) and Democrat blocking of oversight and regulation of Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac? Would you still think it is because of greed on behalf of the Republicans?

[DiogenesOfAlaska]

If you think that watching O'Reilly vs Barney Frank is enough to explain this crisis, then keep it to yourself.

[ElBorba]

Mmmmm . . . Recycled and discredited talking points . . How's that election thing working out for ya? -

[SonofLiberty1]

flossophy,

What if you have a job, your sitting all happy without a worry and many, many,many Americans are not?

You can talk about what ifs until the cows come home and after but you can't get away from the fact that GWB screwed the American people big time.

He started a war...one that was not justified, he is spending billions on that war every month...while we go through the worst time since the depression.

I recall a line from a 1980's movie when one actor (who is not a big time star) said to another ( who is extremely well known now) "Never "mess" with a man's livelyhood"
Of course I've put mess in quotation marks because the word was one that I try very hard not to use.

Barach Obama was elected not just because he was the better candidate but because all of us wanted to send a message to Bush and his Republican friends....

"'Get out now"

[bwalsh1]

"Ecomonic security" is something that no nation, in the history of the world has ever had for extended periods of time. Just as their is a ying and a yang, their must be ups and downs in any economy. The US had the privelage and good fortune to be the richest country in the history of the world, and instead of using our wealth to ensure future stability it was horded by the rich and squandered by the rest. Americans have been too busy using credit to buy flat screen tvs and new SUVs to bother acually saving money in a savings account. That is one of the reasons the banks failed. They relied on the stock market, which by definition is volitile, and didn't bother to save for the rainy day. Now it is pouring, and no one has an umbrella. You can't blame the market, only the people who didn't enforce the rules. In a free market we need rules and they need to be enforced. The current bailouts are just prolonging the agony and will make the reckoning even more painful when it comes. If we let these industries fail, it will hurt but we will recover. If we print more money and pass it around, the entire economy will eventually collapse, and there is no way of knowing if it will ever recover.

.

[Weribe]

PART 1

My husband was just laid-off last month for the 4th time in 5 years. The first time was because the company he was working for was sold, resulting in a mass layoff. The other three times were due to mass layoffs in the homebuilding industry. It's easy to say that he should change industries, but harder to do after 30+ years experience.

I've been laid off twice, once after 18+ years with the same company. I started looking for a new position over a year ago, and was finally hired by a small consulting firm in September. Unfortunately, the contract that I'm supposed to work on has been delayed because of the economy, and I have had little income. Because it is a very small company, there are no health insurance benefits.

A significant consequence of my husband"s most recent layoff is that we now have to pay for health insurance through COBRA, something that we cannot afford to be without. We"re both in our early 60"s (not yet eligible for Medicare), and my husband had bypass surgery last year. The cost per month is more than $1000.

To survive the many months of involuntary unemployment over the past few years, we have dipped into retirement savings and used credit cards. We"ve lost all of the equity in our house because of the downturn in the market. We haven"t had a vacation in four years; our cars have over 100k miles on them.

[fitcycle53]

My story is very much like yours with this addition. The court system refuses to acknowledge that I am laid off (13 months) and so does not acknowledge that I have had any change of income. I therefore continue to be responcible for $600 per week in child support and alimony as well as my youngest daughter's college tuition and all associated expenses. Additionally the court refuses to acknowledge that health and life insurance cost more (with company cost - $180 / mo, Laid off cost $680 / mo). My obligation to meet these requirements is approx $60,000 net dollars per year.
The refusal to acknowledge reality is a habit the government, at all levels, has developed. While congress squaks about oversight of the car makers - they still don't know what is being done with the trillion they have bestowed upon the financial industry.
The squacking also ingnores the failure of the car makers generating possibly as many as 3 million more out ouf work. The simple acid test would be picture your self at a time 3 months after the automakers have gone bankrupt and 3 million more layoffs have been generated, it is possible our lawmakers might be saying - damn, we should have done something.
One wonders how long the lawmakers can continue as an organization when their most constant befuddled comment is "damn we should have done something"

[Gigi919]

Ok, here's the first part that got cut off..
I am 51 and my company gave me a layoff in February. I wasn't worried because I have a great resume, great skills, a good education and money in the bank (in the form of stocks) I am not cheap labor, but not terribly expensive either. However, 10 months later, and not for lack of trying I am still unemployed. Usually I am overqualified (translation: too expensive).
So, my severance ran out right about the time the stock market took a dive and unemployment doesn't really cut it either. As for my 401K, it is now an IRA and devalued by about 50%. So, if and when I do find a job, I will have to work a LOT longer to get to retirement.

[NanCNA]

I feel your pain! Nearly 11 years ago I was 'forced' into early retirement through Triple AAA and it has taken me over 8 years to get back in the work force. I had to go back to school, become a dental assistant, then a part time secretary, then a cosmetologist and now I've worked near one year as a CNA/Home Health Aide and struggling before my 59th birthday. My 401K is nearly gone and my savings are history. I still want to get ahead and get an LVN license, but can't afford to take time off of work plus I don't qualify for enough financial aid. I know I'm not the only one in this situation, but I do hope Barack Obama can help people in my same situation. Good luck to you and those in the same boat!

[Gigi919]

My husband is disabled so we are living off his disability pay and and a small inheritance he received. from his late grandmother, and unemployment.
The only thing that isn't upside down right now is my house. It's still worth a lot more than I owe on it. And I cherish the fact that we have it. As bleak as it feels right now, I feel for the people who have a lot less than we do. It bothers me that I cannot donate to my favorite charities as I usually do. I donate my time to volunteer, but that's about it. Businesses are going under right and left. In my daughter's neighborhood, just about all the houses that are for sale are bank owned.
Mr. Obama sure has his work cut out for him. I'm glad he hit the ground, running.
Yeah, Arianna, it's rough out there. Thanks for letting us vent.

[Gigi919]

I am 51, fairly well educated and not cheap labor, but not expensive either. My company gave me a layoff in February. No problem, I thought, I have good skills, a solid resume, a severance package and money in the bank. I had a positive attitude and thought I would be ok. I have never been unemployed before. That was 10 months ago. I am still unemployed, but not for lack of looking. Jobs have become very scarce, but I apply for everything and am mostly overqualified (translation: we cannot afford you). Every where I turn jobs are being frozen, "until sometime next year, early Q1, or indefinitely".
Well, the money in the bank was not cash, but my emergency stock slush fund, which was seriously devalued (about 50%) right about the time the severance ran out. Like always, I pay my taxes and my bills and I am still paying my bills on time, and not asking for a bail out, unlike the maggot bankers who employ people like me and then lay them off when they over spend. Unemployment doesn't cut it, but thankfully I have that, at least for the extended 7 weeks, after I get approval which I am still waiting for. In addition, my 401K was converted to an IRA when I left the company and has lost about 40% of its value. So if and when I find a job, I will have to work a LOT longer to get to retirement.