The Los Angeles County coroner’s office reports that more bodies of deceased residents are going unclaimed than in the past, then cremated at taxpayer expense. Why the increase? Families claim that they simply can’t afford funeral expenses.
recession watch
Ugly Shoes As Economic Indicator: Crocs In Trouble
By 7.16.09
Here’s the problem with Crocs. You either love them or you can’t stand them. You make fun of them mercilessly, or you can’t imagine a more comfortable shoe. What’s problematic for the company that makes Crocs is that they don’t really wear out…and who needs multiple pair of glorified garden clogs in a recession?
By 7.14.09
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The Huffington Post is having a “Capture The Recession” photo contest. I’d argue that their Flickr pool is nowhere near as cool as ours, but it’s not shabby. Users can rate the pictures and choose the most recession-riffic. [Huffington Post]
Who Will Save The Economy? Not Strapped Consumers
By 7.7.09
Consumer delinquencies hit a record high in the first quarter of the year. Debt-to-disposable income ratios are down only slightly from the beginning of the recession. Who will save the U.S. economy if consumers can’t return to our habits of buying crap we can’t afford and don’t need?
How Much Does That $12 Chain Restaurant Sandwich Really Cost?
By 7.4.09
Chain restaurants are trying to lure in recession-weary diners with deep discounts, but franchisers worry that if you suddenly start paying half-price for sandwiches, you won’t be willing to pay full price when the economy recovers. We’re all accustomed to chain restaurant sandwiches costing $8 and up, but how much do those sandwiches really cost restaurants to make?
Market Forces And Recession Hurt Nevada's Legal Brothels
By 6.30.09
Legal brothels in Nevada are in a situation that has seemingly wandered out of an Economics 101 textbook. Scary as it is to reduce In the recession, more women are entering sex work (both legal and illegal) but there are fewer customers to go around.
Definitely Not "Free"To-Lay: Woman Arrested For Trading Sex For Chips
By 6.29.09
You know you’re in a recession when you have to barter starchy snacks for oral sex.
Farmers Slaughtering Dairy Cows Rather Than Lose Money Producing Milk
By 6.22.09
It’s so expensive to produce milk right now — due to low demand and high feed costs — that farmers are being paid to slaughter dairy cows in order to “shift the pain to consumers,” says Bloomberg.
By 6.22.09
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Walgreens says declining home values and rising unemployment are causing consumers to cut back on everything but essentials like soap and milk. Consequently, the drugstore chain is having to spend money revamping its merchandise selection to match the trend. It’s back to basics if you want to make money. [Bloomberg]
Stuff Is Cheaper Now Than It Was Last Year, Consumer Price Index Reveals
By 6.18.09
Even though gas prices keep rising, businesses haven’t been sticking customers with price hikes. In fact, the bear economy has staggered the Consumer Price Index once again, with the index rising only 0.1 percent in May. The miniscule, less-than-expected increase, following a flat April, means that prices were 1.3 percent lower in May than they were a year ago — the largest year-over-year drop since 1950.
Direct Sales Grow As Unemployment Increases
By 6.16.09
Avon, Tupperware, and other direct-sales companies are gaining in popularity, just as they did during the 1990-91 recession. Whether they still have jobs or not, people are looking for ways to earn additional income.
Here's An Extra $25 A Week — Whoops, Now You Don't Qualify For Food Stamps
By 6.15.09
The economic recovery plan includes a nice little $25 a week bump for unemployed folks — but for some it comes with a catch — they no longer qualify for hundreds of dollars a month in food stamp benefits. Whoopsies!
Hey, America: You Lost $1.3 Trillion!
By 6.11.09
Feeling poorer lately? You are! A new government report says that $1.3 trillion dollars of American wealth was vaporized in the first quarter of 2009.
Investments Are Down – Won't You Hire A Poor Trust-Funder?
By 6.8.09
It’s the end of an era. The parentally-subsidized idle urbanites of New York aren’t getting the fundage they used to, and they have to get paying jobs now. Or move in with their parents. (Here I thought living with my parents after college was too much parental subsidy.) While Gawker’s coverage of this story is not to be missed, let’s look at it through a Consumerist lens, shall we?
New York Mayor Says Luxury Homeless Shelter Residents Shouldn't Get Too Cozy
By 6.8.09
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told the Daily News that the residents of the swanky failed-condo-turned-homeless-shelter shouldn’t get too comfortable. They’ll need to move on.
Spam Starts New Ad Campaign Today – Not Via Unsolicited E-mail
By 6.8.09
Spam. It’s cheap, it’s versatile, and I’ve been told that some people even find it edible. Sales of all canned food, including canned meat, are up in the recession, and Hormel’s new strategy is to promote Spam as something different for people to rotate into their monotonous meal plans.
New York City Converts Luxury Condo Into Homeless Shelter
By 6.4.09
Could this be the nicest homeless shelter in America? The Daily News is reporting that the city is paying $90 a night per apartment for the use of a failed luxury condo development — which features granite countertops, marble bathrooms and walk-in closets. (The $90 a night figure includes social services, housing help and job counseling designed to get families back on their feet.) Local residents, some of them interested in renting an apartment in the building, are pretty ticked off.
First-Time Home Buyers: Use $8k Tax Credit For Down Payments Or Closing Costs?
By 6.3.09
BusinessWeek has an interesting article about a little known program that will allow first-time home buyers (technically, those who have not owned a home in three years) to use the 8k tax credit to offset down payments or closing costs.
