Stimulus Times

“Stimulus Package” the music video

Meredith — Wed, 13 May 2009 12:08:32 +0000

Simon says: Put your hands on your face and frown

Brandie Jefferson — Sat, 02 May 2009 02:55:21 +0000

Losing money hurts, whether you’re rich, poor or somewhere in the middle. I’ve never had the opportunity to loose $10 million, but I imagine if I had done so, I might curse, punch a wall, shed a few tears. But there is only so much energy one can put into expressing one’s anguish. After yelling and kicking and banging heads into walls comes the hand on the face. Whether covering the eyes, placing a palm to the forehead, or planting one hand on each cheek, the hand-on-the-face gesture has become the norm for photographs of stockbrokers during this financial crisis. And, in case you’ve missed any of those portraits of anguish, they have been captured on a little website called, appropriately, The Brokers With Hands on Their Faces Blog. Check it out if you want to see an exceptional level of misery.

Rats Rule

Coleen Kingsley — Fri, 01 May 2009 12:28:22 +0000

Britain’s rats are relishing the worst recession in decades by growing their kinfolk to more than 50 million, nearly one rat per citizen.
The rats have found homes throughout England in vacant stores and unfinished houses, all casualties of the economic crisis. At the same time, leaner budgets have resulted in fewer trash collections and less extermination, so the rats are feasting on mounting piles of fetid garbage.
The National Pest Technicians Association Ltd. estimates that the rat population has grown 13 percent this year to more than 50 million, based on industry consensus. Residents have reported seeing rats jumping out of trash bins, darting from headlights and just hanging out.
Weekly garbage collections at 12.5 million British homes fell 7.1 percent in the last three months of 2008 from a year earlier, according to government data. At the same time, the number of vacant businesses and unfinished homes to harbor rodents has skyrocketed — a record 15 percent of British stores will be vacant by the end of 2009.
British health officials should give more than a rat’s ass about the widespread infestation as rodents spread some 35 diseases through contact bites, contamination of food and water with feces and airborne exposure to rat urine and droppings. Those illnesses range from murine typhus and rat-bite fever to salmonellosis and the deadly hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rats also contaminate food, damage the infrastructure of buildings and chew electrical wires.

4/29/09

Meredith — Fri, 01 May 2009 12:09:25 +0000

4/22/09

Meredith — Fri, 01 May 2009 11:16:12 +0000

4/15/09

Meredith — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:16:45 +0000

Every little giveaway could help pay the rent

Brandie Jefferson — Fri, 01 May 2009 02:54:52 +0000

There’s nothing like using people’s financial despair to boost advertising. BrightHub.com was not going to let this opportunity pass. The website, which features expert articles on technology, education, health and science, has announced its Stimulus Package Giveaway. Explaining that “we’re trying to do our part to help you put some money back into the economy,” the website is giving away 10 $200 Visa gift cards. That wouldn’t even pay my rent, and I think I have the cheapest apartment in Providence. To be eligible, you simply have to submit your name and email address — and give the website a hit. And, if you’re wondering, I did apply. As the site says, “every little bit helps.” I’ll let you know if I win.

Crybabies: Not enough money to manage so much money

Brandie Jefferson — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 02:53:17 +0000

Some states are facing a problem I wish I could confront. Apparently, budget directors across the country are concerned about the amount of money they’re getting to manage the stimulus money. South Dakota’s budget director is worried about the cost of managing the $770 million that state will receive as part of the stimulus package. Funds targeted for jobless residents do come with extra federal money to help manage programs, but as for the rest of the package, states just will have to make do with the hundreds of millions of dollars they are getting in the first place.

Free pizza and wings. Really, they’re free.

Meredith — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 11:44:22 +0000

Vote!

Meredith — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 03:18:00 +0000

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.