Voices from The Financial Crisis #2

Profile: Male, 22 years old, Recent Graduate
Profession: Intern

I have no money. Or at least that’s what it feels like most of the time. With the ongoing economic woes of the world, my already dangerously low bank account seems to dwindle daily in the face of our financial crisis. Admittedly, I’m in a much better situation than many recent college grads at this point. I have a cool job, and I do have money coming into my account a bit faster than it leaks out. However, the way the world is turning these days, it feels as if the small amount of money I do have in my coffers will be devalued to little above the German Deutsche Mark.

As a 22-year-old, I’m not exactly pressed to think about retirement at this point. But I am worried about saving and whether or not I can afford to take on my car insurance from my parents in the coming months. If Congress can sign a $700 billion bailout plan, they should be able to cover my rent, insurance and other expenses right? Awesome. I guess I will be able to get those new sneakers and make that concert… Or maybe I’ll just eat at home for a few days and not get in any accidents.

Voices from The Financial Crisis #1

Profile: Female, age 38
Profession: Realtor for 15 years

Home sales are down, actual home values are down and these figures will most likely only get worse before they get better. Yes, my numbers will be down too from the last two years, but then again, the last two years were a honeymoon for realtors in our growing market and across the country where home value inflation has been widespread. Currently, in-town sellers owning a home for more than two or three years will likely avoid a loss, however buyers for those homes have all but disappeared. We were one of the last cities to hit this downward spiral, and we hope to be one the first to recover. It’s the builders who have it worse. They are struggling to sell their inventory and have no credit to continue building. Like our banking industry, we will probably be left with about eight builders instead of the 100+ we had for the last few years. While this is a terrible predicament for the builders, it’s a great time for anyone with the means to buy. The purchase of a new home can be negotiated with a builder or with a bank as a short sale and benefits all parties - builders get rid of their inventory and buyers get an amazing deal. So, call me and we’ll beat this thing.

Voices from The Financial Crisis: A Series

As part of the November issue of our eNewsletter, we have asked individuals of varying ages and occupations to offer their thoughts on how the financial crisis is affecting their own life. We will roll out this series on our blog over the next two weeks. In our Novermber 8th eNewsletter, we’ll contextualize these voices by offering insights into the issues around personal financial education.

Speak softly, carry a big gun?

From the Washington Post:

Americans have cut back on buying cars, furniture and clothes in a tough economy, but there's one consumer item that's still enjoying healthy sales: guns. Purchases of firearms and ammunition have risen 8 to 10 percent this year, according to state and federal data.

Do we really have to be packin' heat to feel safe in the current environment? I don't think that's a good sign. Does anyone?

Democracy in action

I voted yesterday afternoon. This year was the first time I've taken advantage of early voting in our state. It was a wonderful experience of witnessing democracy in action. Never before have I waited longer than 30 minutes to vote, even in a Presidential election cycle (and remember, before I'd always voted on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November -- "Election Day").

Yesterday I waited 75 minutes for my chance to vote -- a full 15 days before Election Day. And in some ways the mood and the atmosphere around that library was more electric than in any other voting experience I've had.

Maybe it's because North Carolina is now a "Battleground State."

Maybe it's because so many are so nervous about the economy.

Maybe it's because of the candidate(s).

Maybe it's a combination of factors.




Whatever the reason, it was wonderful.


Don't miss your opportunity to play a role. (FYI, folks were already lining up this morning, a full 30 minutes prior to election sites opening. And according to folks working at these sites, these lines have been a consistent sight since the polls opened last Thursday. Amazing.)

Why is conserving energy not a conservative issue?

Conservative.
Conservation.
Conserve.

It seems to me that energy efficiency is (or should be) the ultimate "green" issue to elicit support "across the aisle" (how many times have we heard that phrase over the past month?!?). On the one hand, conserving energy and the natural resources to produce that energy appeals to left-leaning environmentalists who advocate for a cleaner, healthier, sustainable planet. On the other hand, energy efficiency is also sound economically. That is, saving energy = saving money. And clearly, that appeals to fiscal conservatives (and to most of the rest of the population as well).

In fact, energy efficiency could be MORE of an issue for conservatives than progressives. After all, one who conserves, by definition, is a conservative. Right?

Actually, Left.

Earlier this month the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released the 2008 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard, ranking all 50 states (plus Washington, DC) on their energy efficiency policies and programs. I've taken that list and matched it to the electoral college vote for the 2004 presidential election (you know, red state or blue state). The Top Ten and Bottom Nine (5-way tie for #38 made me cut it off at lowest nine) are presented below and color-coded based on the 2004 presidential election results.

1. California
2. Oregon
3. Connecticut
4. Vermont
5. New York
6. Washington
7. Massachusetts (tie)
7. Minnesota (tie)
9. Wisconsin
10. New Jersey

51. Wyoming
49. Alabama (tie)
49. North Dakota (tie)
47. South Dakota
47. Mississippi
46. Tennessee
45. Missouri
43. Oklahoma
43. West Virginia

Can someone offer a reason for this? My first thought was that the bottom tier states were poorer states than the top 10 group, and that is largely true. But then, these poorer states (and the citizens of those states) would benefit even more from energy efficiencies in economic terms than the other states. So I don't know that wealth/poverty is the issue.

Could it be that these conservative states are voting against their own interests for some reason? Or, could it be that these states aren't aware of the issue/savings potential (and could ignorance even be a viable excuse) that they are ignoring?

What am I missing here?

Was my education cut off at the STEM?

Does it say anything about the state of STEM education when I (looking at my college diploma as I type!) don't even understand what the Nobel prize for physics was awarded for, much less how to determine whatever it is that they determined?

From the WSJ

Two Japanese and an American have won the 2008 Nobel Prize for discoveries in the world of subatomic physics, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced Tuesday.

American Yoichiro Nambu won half of the prize for the discovery of a mechanism called spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics. Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa of Japan shared the other half of the prize for discovering the origin of the broken symmetry that predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature.

Um, say what?

"Spontaneous broken symmetry conceals nature's order under an apparently jumbled surface," the academy said in its citation. "Nambu's theories permeate the standard model of elementary particle physics. The model unifies the smallest building blocks of all matter and three of nature's four forces in one single theory."

Oh. Right. Well, congratulations guys.

It is just so amazing that humans are able to figure out this kind of thing. So amazing in fact that we've got to be able to find a way of making this exciting enough (and the reward compelling enough) to students that they'll dedicate themselves to studying it. 

The Ultimate Call To Action

How the Candidates Plan to Inspire Community Engagement If Elected

Given the major policy issues at stake in the US, next month’s presidential election carries an importance perhaps greater than any in our lifetime. When both major candidates point to change as the theme of their campaign, you know we’ve got problems. One change that doesn’t get as much press, but around which both candidates are advocating, is community engagement. As this is an area of great interest for both Topics Education and our clients, we thought we’d present the candidates’ platforms on this important issue.

Both candidates have led lives of public service in their own ways. Most notably for McCain is his military career and P.O.W. sacrifices. For Obama, it’s his years spent as a community organizer working to improve living conditions in poor Chicago neighborhoods plagued by unemployment and crime. Both candidates want to mobilize more Americans to become involved in the betterment of their communities.

Barack Obama & Joe Biden:
Obama and Biden want to integrate service into learning by expanding service-learning programs in the nation's schools, one of which is The YouthBuild program. This initiative gives disadvantaged young people the chance to complete their high school education, learn valuable skills and build affordable housing in their communities. The Obama ticket wants grow the program so that 50,000 low-income young people a year have a chance to learn construction job skills and complete high school.

Obama and Biden will set a goal that all middle and high school students do 50 hours of community service a year. They will create an energy-focused youth jobs program, Green Job Corps, to provide disadvantaged youth with service opportunities weatherizing buildings and getting practical experience in fast-growing career fields.

This ticket will also invest in the nonprofit sector and create the Social Investment Fund Network that would provide federal money to help "social entrepreneurs and leading nonprofit organizations assist schools, lift families out of poverty, fill health-care gaps and inspire others to lead change in their own communities."

For the complete platform, see Obama’s website.


John McCain & Sarah Palin:
McCain and Palin want to bolster volunteerism with an energetic and comprehensive national service initiative designed to increase opportunities for people willing to serve their communities and their country. Specifically he wants to boost opportunities for service overseas to increase understanding and communication among diverse cultures and engage more college students in community service through the Federal Work-Study program. To aid the drop out crisis, McCain & Palin propose the use of AmeriCorps and SeniorCorps volunteers to act as tutors and mentors.

McCain’s proposed Troops-to-Teachers Improvement Act will strengthen and extend the Troops-to-Teachers Program that encourages retired military personnel to become teachers, particularly in schools located in disadvantaged or rural areas facing a shortage of teachers.

This ticket plans to coordinate a network of private sector "venture capital" funds matched with government grants to support job retraining or vocational training efforts in high schools and targeted communities where job loss persists.

For the complete platform, see McCain’s website.

Top Five: Halloween Costumes

We didn’t just come up with these ideas out of the blue, these costumes were actually worn by Topics employees in their youth. View the blog to see our top five costume ideas.

Little Orphan Annie
Not only wear the red dress and shoes but cut out two oval pieces of cardboard and paint them white for the wide-eye effect from her comic book days.

Alligator
Attach chicken wire in the shape of a hungry jaw to a football helmet and cover with green papier mâché. Wear green pants and a green top, attach a tail to your waist, and your costume is complete.

Cinderella
Fathers, dress your daughters as the princess, then accompany her as the ugly step-sister.

A Leaf
Paste fallen leaves from the yard onto brown felt or a brown sweatshirt. After all, ‘tis the season!

Crayon
Wrap a cute kid in a monochromatic outfit and put a cone on his head. He’ll love it. See proof of the joy (accompanying photo is of Billy, Topics’ Creative Director).

The Gas Crisis: A Good Thing

By Liz Barrett, Manager, Marketing & Communications at Topics

Conscious of my carbon footprint, I’d been talking about riding my bike to work for months, but each day was either too hot or too wet or too inconvenient and I continued to push off the plan. Until, one day there was no gas to be found in the city and then a few days later my car stood still, gas tank gone dry. At that point I had no choice but to do what I’d been talking about for so long and pedal my way into work using my own power and fuel. A hurricane was at the root of this mess; it shut down production at an oil refinery half way across the nation causing an entire region to become crippled due to lack of gasoline. Fights have broken out over the last drops of fuel and everyone has been talking about how bad the gas crisis is.

On the other hand I wonder why can’t we look at it as a good thing…

For all the people breaking in line for gas and topping off the tanks in their SUVs, there are other people in the community who decided to ride their bike to the store or walk to dinner that night. They are thinking about the situation and having conversations about the flaws of suburban sprawl, the limitations of public transportation and the consequences of our dependency on oil. Alternative energy sources become a real and relevant thing to people, helping them understand the need for renewable sources and the urgency around their development. And I’d say that’s a good thing.

Not only that, but the episode forced me to ride my bike to work, an experience that I really enjoyed and plan to incorporate into my transportation options much more frequently. I can only hope, and I do feel confident, that many others experienced the same tipping point.

Climate, baby, climate!

From last night's VP debate, we have these remarks from Gov. Palin and Sen. Biden

IFILL: Governor, I'm happy to talk to you in this next section about energy issues. Let's talk about climate change. What is true and what is false about what we have heard, read, discussed, debated about the causes of climate change?

PALIN: Yes. Well, as the nation's only Arctic state and being the governor of that state, Alaska feels and sees impacts of climate change more so than any other state. And we know that it's real.

I'm not one to attribute every man -- activity of man to the changes in the climate. There is something to be said also for man's activities, but also for the cyclical temperature changes on our planet.

But there are real changes going on in our climate. And I don't want to argue about the causes. What I want to argue about is, how are we going to get there to positively affect the impacts?

We have got to clean up this planet. We have got to encourage other nations also to come along with us with the impacts of climate change, what we can do about that.

As governor, I was the first governor to form a climate change sub-cabinet to start dealing with the impacts. We've got to reduce emissions. John McCain is right there with an "all of the above" approach to deal with climate change impacts.

We've got to become energy independent for that reason. Also as we rely more and more on other countries that don't care as much about the climate as we do, we're allowing them to produce and to emit and even pollute more than America would ever stand for. So even in dealing with climate change, it's all the more reason that we have an "all of the above" approach, tapping into alternative sources of energy and conserving fuel, conserving our petroleum products and our hydrocarbons so that we can clean up this planet and deal with climate change.

IFILL: Senator, what is true and what is false about the causes?

BIDEN: Well, I think it is manmade. I think it's clearly manmade. And, look, this probably explains the biggest fundamental difference between John McCain and Barack Obama and Sarah Palin and Joe Biden -- Governor Palin and Joe Biden.

If you don't understand what the cause is, it's virtually impossible to come up with a solution. We know what the cause is. The cause is manmade. That's the cause. That's why the polar icecap is melting.

Now, let's look at the facts. We have 3 percent of the world's oil reserves. We consume 25 percent of the oil in the world. John McCain has voted 20 times in the last decade-and-a-half against funding alternative energy sources, clean energy sources, wind, solar, biofuels.

The way in which we can stop the greenhouse gases from emitting. We believe -- Barack Obama believes by investing in clean coal and safe nuclear, we can not only create jobs in wind and solar here in the United States, we can export it.

China is building one to three new coal-fired plants burning dirty coal per week. It's polluting not only the atmosphere but the West Coast of the United States. We should export the technology by investing in clean coal technology.

We should be creating jobs. John McCain has voted 20 times against funding alternative energy sources and thinks, I guess, the only answer is drill, drill, drill. Drill we must, but it will take 10 years for one drop of oil to come out of any of the wells that are going to begun to be drilled.

In the meantime, we're all going to be in real trouble.

IFILL: Let me clear something up, Senator McCain has said he supports caps on carbon emissions. Senator Obama has said he supports clean coal technology, which I don't believe you've always supported.

BIDEN: I have always supported it. That's a fact.

IFILL: Well, clear it up for us, both of you, and start with Governor Palin.

PALIN: Yes, Senator McCain does support this. The chant is "drill, baby, drill." And that's what we hear all across this country in our rallies because people are so hungry for those domestic sources of energy to be tapped into. They know that even in my own energy-producing state we have billions of barrels of oil and hundreds of trillions of cubic feet of clean, green natural gas. And we're building a nearly $40 billion natural gas pipeline which is North America's largest and most you expensive infrastructure project ever to flow those sources of energy into hungry markets....

I've included the entire exchange so that no context is lost from the candidates' comments. My first reaction to Palin's initial comments are reflected in Biden's retort: if we don't know the causes, we can't reliably determine appropriate solutions. Further, an overwhelming scientific consensus tells us that we KNOW what the causes are: increased levels of CO2 in our atmosphere as a result of burned fossil fuels. There's practically zero dispute about that among the scientific community at this point. So, Palin's response is troubling from the start, but it only gets worse, when she jumps on the opportunity to chant "Drill, baby, drill!" after Biden screwed up the phrasing.

To be fair, both tickets have endorsed or capitulated to the notion of expanded drilling in the US offshore. And that's problematic at least. Of the two, the Republican stance is more troubling, however, because of its focus on offshore drilling. Obama/Biden say "drill we must" but position drilling as a necessary evil to win other concessions for alternative energy and/or to serve as a bridge to those alternative energies getting to scale. Frankly, I think that's a weak position to take. I'd prefer a much bolder approach that included both extending the moratorium on offshore drilling AND added a moratorium on Coal-fired utility construction. But I recognize that you have to have the votes to make that happen, as frustrating and short-sighted as it is.

McCain/Palin, on the other hand, have put "Drill, baby, drill!" at the forefront of their energy plan. Here are the problems I have:

1. Any attention/resources given to offshore oil necessarily are taken away from research/innovation into alternative energies.
   
2. It will take at least 10 years to get oil from new sites offshore, even if they started today, which means any potential short-term "benefits" of cheaper fuel or safer citizens are myths.
   
3. Even if oil came from those pumps a month from now ... every bit extracted and burned just exacerbates the climate change problem. It does nothing whatsoever to alleviate the problem, only to worsen it.
   

Now maybe local oil makes us safer geopolitically, but that wasn't the question. The questions centered on climate change. And the answers are both troubling and wrong for us all.

Check it! topicsfinancial.com

Today, we go live with a brand new website, topicsfinancial.com. This site is focused exclusively on financial education, a subject that has consumed me for much of the past five years. Given the tough times our nation is facing right now, personal financial literacy has never been more important, and I’m proud of our company’s hard work and advocacy around this issue. We will continue trying to guide discussion around financial education, and I think this new website gives us a great platform from which to do it better. Hope you’ll take a look when you get a chance.