Updated: April 8, 2011, at 4:30 pm
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According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more than 28 million people currently unemployed — that’s including those Read the rest of this entry »
In an economy plagued by historic unemployment and long-term joblessness, it’s probably safe to say you’ve seen them. You may even know one of them.
They are the former lawyers now forced to work part-time behind the McDonald’s food counter. They are the once successful, award-winning journalists that have been out of a job so long, they’re convinced they’ll never get back to work.
If you only listen to mainstream media reports, you might not realize just how many of these workers actually exist. Furthermore, just how bad the current economic situation really is. Read the rest of this entry »
What a last six months it’s been. I feel like I’ve been flying by the seat of my pants since the launch of “The Decline: The Geography of a Recession” last October. Who would’ve thought a simple email from my boss, who first shared the map with co-workers and a few close friends, would amount to all of this? And to think this all started as a quick, passing thought while completing an assignment at work, which then spawned into a final project for graduate school.
Over the last few months, Read the rest of this entry »
ABC World News anchor Diane Sawyer references “The Decline: The Geography of a Recession” on Friday, February 5, 2010.
Photo: somenoise/Flickr.com
As a journalist, I’ve covered my share of uncomfortable stories. I’ve interviewed families of murder victims, rape victims, human trafficking victims, recovering drug addicts, gang members, etc. The look of despair and hopelessness in their eyes was always unsettling. Oftentimes, I carried their stories home. Many of them remain with me today. Stories like that are pretty hard to let go.
So, when my boss asked me back in April to fly to Wichita, KS, to cover a story about some 2,000 (yes, 2,000!) people being laid off from a local aerospace company, I thought I was more than prepared for what I was about to see and hear. Read the rest of this entry »
It was the morning of October 2, 2007, two days after my son, Izaiah, was born. I was lying in my hospital bed. Izaiah was lying beside me in his plastic see-through crib. And, there the nurse stood with a pen and clipboard at the foot of the bed, spouting out a series of questions – a to-do list of last minute consultations and examinations needed before Izaiah and I could be discharged later that evening.
(Photo: jenn_jenn/Flickr.com)
Are you out of work? Laid off? Or worse, fired (these days most employers don’t even need a reason)? If so, my prayers are with you.
If not, then you’d better get down on your knees and start praying for yourself! Read the rest of this entry »
The First Family (Photo: BarackObama.com)
A few weeks ago, my 5-year-old daughter, McKenzie, and I were walking through the mall and came across an art store. In the window was a photo of the soon-to-be First Family: President-elect Barack Obama, his wife, Michelle, and daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7.
Without warning, McKenzie turned to me and said, “Mommy, I wish I was in OBAMA’S family.” Read the rest of this entry »
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