Yes, got laid off in early January. My husband was laid off last June. He was lucky enough to find another job right away, but it pays less than his old one and now they’re doing week-long unpaid “furloughs” to “save the company money.”
It’s just going to keep getting worse until we realize the *real* reason this is all happening. It wasn’t just bad housing loans, or corrupt bankers, or “people living beyond their means.” The real reason we’re in this mess is because those at the top tiers have been steadily increasing their own pay and perks, while paying the middle and lower class workers as little as they can get away with. Working peoples wages have stagnated or in many cases gone down. While our worker productivity is practically the highest in the world, we make way less than we deserve, and it’s certainly not a “living wage”: a wage that meets our basic necessities. It’s pretty hard to “live within your means” when your means don’t cover the necessities, isn’t it? No wonder people are in debt!
You’re absolutely right though: like it or not, this is a consumer driven economy, and if the lower and middle classes (the overwhelming majority of us) can’t afford even our own necessities, then nothing is going to get better. While capping the ridiculous pay of the CEO’s and taking away all the extra tax breaks they got (which the rest of us didn’t!) is a good start, we really need some kind of living wage legislation. Forget “minimum wage”: if it had kept up with inflation, the minimum wage would be well over $20 an hour by now. Any one working full-time should be able to afford the necessities of life.
Before I got laid off, I was making below *entry level* wages for my field. I had a full-time, low-level supervisory position, and I have a college degree and 10+ years experience.

Yes. I was a Human Resources Generalist for a company in the scrap metal recycling industry for 3 years until November 2008, when I was laid off.
Several of my friends have recently been victims of lay offs due to the recession. One friend was a motorcycle technician at out local Harley Davidson and he, along with several of his co-workers, was laid off a month or 2 ago. Another friend of mine was laid off from his customer service position with a telecommunications company and a few more from their jobs in the construction industry.
As for your second question – I have been wondering the same thing. What can I personally do to help bring back the economy? Spend money? Well now that I’ve had to take a pay cut by taking a new job at a small business also struggling with the economy, I can’t afford to do that…

I had 10 hours cut, so now i need to start looking for either another job on top of it, or find one good one that will help me survive paying for rent and bills (i have no spending money outside of rent, so i get groceries donated to me…the dollar store also helps me).
I’m not sure what can change it. I’ve read that this moment will affect people so much that they may not want to spend money how they did in the past

My pay was cut but the hours remain the same.
I think the “bail out” money should have been spent on the consumer not on the businesses that didn’t manage it right in the first place.
If the government had helped bail out people that got jacked in the mortgage scams, they would have had more money to drop into the economy.
Housing starts are tracked for a reason.

Losing a business – took such a loss last year, I cannot afford to run it another year, so I’m closing it.
Bottom line? we can’t.
Banks aren’t making loans, but expect more money from the government to cover their bad choices. Rich are whining because they will finalyy get taxed at the same rates the rest of us get taxes, and there is NO bailout or even assistance for the little guy. So now there’s an extra $13 in your pocket per paycheck – for some people. Those of us without payrolls, running our own businesses? Lost in the shuffle.
4 businesses near me closed down this week. I can’t see many options but to get a minimum wage job somewhere until things do improve. And start a garden as soon as I can. Luckily, we don’t need much anymore, cause there is no mortgage.

we are destined for a depression no matter what we do
one thing that would help, though, is not using ethanol (I know that in NY it is mandatory to have like 10% ehtanol in gasoline) because it uses more energy and fuel to make than what you get out of it, which causes us to lose oil which makes the prices rise. also, buy things that are locally grown and manufactured…things from farther away are more expensive because of the gas it takes to deliver it

Yes, now I work at two different places within the same company, one is a day shift and the other a night shift. Talk about tired, I did both yesturday, but I am looking at 77 hours in a two week pay period instead of 43.

I haven’t been able to get a job because of the economy. I’ve been looking since August and the hospitals here are on a hiring freeze. I finally started applying to minimum wage jobs last week… any paycheck is better than none at all.

Will there be songs song about it?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsmAMKUIX…

By taxing the wealthy – whose greed caused this in the first place – and using the money to help the middle and lower classes.

yes and i cant help feeling its all manufactured for some dark unknown reason especially as gordon brown has always been such a twat
(only lost 5 hours p/w so far)

I survived layoffs this year. All employees left are required to take an extra week vacation without pay this year.
This should probably be asked in another section

nope…..and we’re pretty much on course for another depression…..it started when currencies were taken off the gold standard……

the only solution is to buy more goods and services made in america
not spending is the problem

Actually, I’ve had my work hours increase with no pay increase.

no, thankfully, i’m union.

No, I’m working more hours than ever.
But then, I’m on salary. So they don’t pay me any more for it.

my hours were cut from 40 to 15-20