Recession | Recession
Mar.09.2009
I don't really write much about the economy here, so I hope readers will indulge the occasional post.
Until last year, my 35-year working life has been a series of mostly forward moves. There were some bumps, of course. I got fired a few times, got divorced, even got my nose cut off once – but...
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Mar.06.2009
Can we stop with the waving of the sharp instruments for a minute and speak rationally to this whole ugly recession mess we find ourselves currently mired in? C'mon. You know what recession mess I'm talking about. You're packing a bag lunch and taking mass transit to visit the public library to use...
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Feb.20.2009
I started teaching junior college spring semester last Tuesday with two closed classes, and about 15 students wanting to add in one class, and 25 stuents wanting to get in my literature class. Usually, there are 1-5 no shows the first week, so i was able to add a couple students to teach class, but...
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Feb.07.2009
Sometime in the late nineteenth century, two brother s were orphaned by an influenza epidemic in the Catalan region of Spain. The boys, 11 and 16, wandered to Barcelona where they found work aboard a merchant ship. When they arrived in the port of Havana and heard stories of cheap, arable land in...
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Feb.02.2009
It has not escaped my notice that my first novel is about to be released into the worst economy since the Great Depression. Book sales are down, large publishing houses are slashing jobs, bookstores (chains and independents) around the country are closing.
Some of this has to do with larger trends...
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Jan.26.2009
What struck me first was at Burbank airport and then also returning at Oakland airport fewer people lined up to go through security; many less people seemed to be flying now. In Berkeley Saturday around 5:00 I was walking down a few blocks off Telegraph near the university when I saw about forty...
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Jan.06.2009
My year begins with optimism for change for the better, and worry because the economy is deteriorating. Since retiring I've been a full time artist and writer, living on savings and investments, and like most of my friends, taken a finanical hit this last year. I've lived through quite a few...
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Dec.30.2008
There's little doubt 2009 will be a year of turmoil. If we are wise, it can also be an opportunity for reflection.
The turnaround in U.S. fortunes has been sudden ... and deep. Wall Street is in shambles. The U.S. auto industry is nearing collapse. The swoon of the U.S. economy has dragged other...
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Dec.29.2008
A recession is obviously upon us, which means fewer corporate jobs and sinking consumer confidence.
There are many benefits of an economic recession, however, that are overlooked by the majority.
If you want to make the U.S. ecomonic recession a bad thing, it becomes a bad thing. If you want to...
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Dec.25.2008
I've been thinking a lot about what we do and how the economy is impacting our work. There will almost assuredly always be book contracts for those who have grabbed the proverbial brass ring, who have name recognition and a following. I mean a mainstream following. This is good. Where there's life...
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