Thriving During the Great Recession

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It seems that recession results in proliferation of cost-per-performance services which minimize marketing costs and risks for businesses. For instance, nationwide publicity can be obtained on pay-for-results-only terms from (Publicity Guaranteed) PublicityGuaranteed.com, online advertising can be obtained on pay-per-visitor terms from Google and Yahoo, cable TV offers revenue-sharing deals for infomercials and many services can be obtained for stock via Services4Stock.com. Does anybody know companies which offer advertising in print media on similar terms?

Max Sminth of FL 3:23PM March 17, 2009

For far too long, Americans have lived beyond their means by buying what they cannot afford with money they do not have. The current economic apocalypse was not caused by the George W. Bush administration(s) but it certainly was exacerbated by it. People who espoused supply-side economics while risking economic stability with the same fiscal policies that brought about the Great Depression planted the seeds of our troubles during the Reagan Era. Greenspan and others ignored the lessons of the past, and now all of us are condemned to suffer the consequences, and suffer them for a long time.
Seventy percent of our economy is based on consumer spending. It was not always this way; thirty years ago America was a manufacturing powerhouse not unlike present-day China or India. Nowadays, most of what Americans consume we import. The remaining thirty percent of our economy is based on financial institutions (banks), insurance companies, real estate, in addition to a modest manufacturing base. This is what is called the “service economy.”
After World War Two, America was the greatest lender nation in the world; today, America is the largest debtor nation in the world. We owe more money to the foreign central banks of China, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Europe than any other nation in history. Our country is teetering on the edge of insolvency.
During the Great Depression, America manufactured its way out of economic hardship. This time around, manufacturing our way out of a recession is not possible because most of our manufacturing base has either been shifted overseas or shut down (this is where the so-called "free marketers" and supply-siders have taken us).
There is no way to predict with any accuracy how bad this is going to get, but the prudent person should prepare for the worst.

C. Marcus Parr of OR 2:17PM February 24, 2009

While it's stressful to cope with putting off marriage or children, or to give up designer clothes, gourmet coffee and four credit cards, most of the media attention is being given to young people who have the time, energy, and (for 90%), the jobs to continue to earn into the future. I know, having lived through several recessions as a wife, mother, and having parents who married during the Depression, that there is time for working-age people to build toward recovery again. (Hopefully learning to stay out of so much debt.)
However, there is a segment of the population whose predicament may be unrecoverable and will eventually impact their grown children: those people, generally over 65, who live on IRAs or former 401Ks which have lost so much value.
In the past decade, many retirees have withdrawn from 4-8% of the value of their IRAs (per recommended formulas- roughly the appreciation of their investments per year) to live on due to being single, having their towns morph into high-cost areas, having no pension, losing jobs due to age discrimination before any recourse was possible, losing jobs that retired people might do to illegal workers, or being in ill health. Four to eight percent of a carefully invested, long-term portfolio can be enough to live on, not royally, but comfortably. Many of us have ALREADY downsized and cut costs and lifestyle as much as possible.
Suddenly, within 18 months, many middle class retirees find that 4-8% of a now remaining nest egg is only enough to pay property and income taxes with the withdrawal, but not much more. We are now "eating our seed corn." If people continue to take 4-8% withdrawals from such a reduced amount, the withdrawal amount AND the remaining amount (plus reduced earning potential) dwindle with exponential speed, making a mockery of any planning that we have done. At 70 1/2 we are required to withdraw a percentage of the IRA based on our age (triggering taxes anyway), so we can't just let it rest and recover. Savings outside of IRAs now return only 1-2.5% before tax, therefore don't keep up with inflation. Some retiree may have to add their houses to the market, lowering value, or find reverse mortgages, increasing debt.
The chances of finding work in times of high unemployment are nil; for singles, there is no partner's salary to draw from; the health problems of some exclude work, anyway. The plight of this segment of the population seems to be ignored. We need the publicity so that understanding of the ENTIRE population's needs can enlighten our legislators, influential groups and the public. Recovery plans should also include us in "stimulus" efforts, tax fairness, and encouraging continuing future independence so that our grown children can concentrate on their own lives and look forward to their promised increasing life span with hope and confidence.

Lynn Humphreys of CA 3:20PM February 17, 2009