Evan Elizabeth Harder

And they lived moderately ever after.

It's Complicated

My New Normal

My husband and I are in our mid 20's, recent graduates, newly married and living in the metro area. This is certainly an interesting time to be laying foundations. While we're so incredibly lucky to both have decent (though by no means ideal)jobs and live in a relatively nice area, the turn in the economy has forced us to reevaluate our expectations for the future, dream a little more conservatively and plan a lot more practically. There's certainly no place for starry-eyed youthful optimism these days. The necessary pragmatism of the times is, instead, a real test of character: applying for job after job, accepting the non-use of your degree, scaling down your dreams, learning to value people and heart and integrity instead of a high-profile lifestyle. The stuff this economy is made of has a way of revealing the stuff we're made of.

36 Hawthorne Place, Apt 4u Montclair, NJ 07042

Dale E Ahearn

RN

Rut

My New Normal

Since I moved and took a desk job 9-5 as a RN they feel we do not warrent the same pay as hospital RN's So I lost $7 an hour to start with a 2-3% raise per annum my raises have not kept up with the cost of living, so I am making less and paying more for everything from re4nt to utilities and food, gas, clothes. Now I won't buy a new car or even a used one cause I can't afford the payment and increase in insurance rates, I am not eating as well cause I can't afford it. I don't travel very far in my car cause I can't afford the gas. I haven't put the heat on until latejust the other day cause I can't afford a high electric bill. Forget putting money in savings. I am living pay check to pay check. If something were to happen to me I would have to move in with one of my adult children. Its sad that you work all your like to end up like this.

10 Muncy Ave Apt 604 West Babylon, NY 11704

Chris Cosentino

small potatoes

Rut

How's Business

Business stinks. All of the gov't efforts address huge companies and poor people and leave the small businesses feeling the squeeze from both ends. I'm a product design consultant and nobody is thinking of designing new products, they are all trying to sell existing designs and stock. I don't do construction so am cut out from 'shovel ready' stimulus funding. I've shifted from doing engineering design to fabrication (much less profit) but now even the fabrication work is fading. The banks (mine is JP Morgan Chase) have tens of billions from the gov't that has no requirement for small business lending so they invest the gov't money to make more profit and leave us small guys hanging. How is a small guy supposed to keep his head above water, let alone prosper, these days?

812 Jersey Ave. 07310

Tim Liszt

Definitely NOT a Recovery

Rut

Employment

Struggling as a new self-employed person in an economy where I've been unable to find employment for over a year after losing my job of 21 years. Life couldn't be any more challenging. Barely hanging in there... :-(

2352 SE 51st Ave.

Steve Holder

Self Employed

It's Complicated

How's Business

I fix computers and people need computers no matter what. My customers would rather fix a broken computer than spend the money to buy new. It's still a throw away society but perhaps we are not throwing away so quickly with high ticket items.

Ridgewood, NJ

abby clough

owner

Recovery

How's Business

Watermill, NY
landscape design firm-

I am hiring a full time employee. When I advertised for the job position, I received unbelievable resumes, and interviewed some wonderful people. I wish I could hire five of them. Its the best time to hire ever!

Basically the work is coming in and I can't handle
it all. So I guess I am telling you there's some hope.

watermill, ny

Sheree

school budget cuts

Rut

My New Normal

My son's otherwise great charter school cut the Art & Music Teachers, outsourced the afterschool care and has no plans for any of it to come back.

New York City

Joan

Advertising Art Director - RUT!

Rut

Employment

2 years - the exact length of time I've been stuck in my underpaying, un-fun, futureless job, which I constantly remind myself "I am lucky to have." Originally I planned to be in this job a maximum of 6 months, knowing it wasn't a great situation. But I've watched the jobs in my industry (advertising) for art directors disappear meanwhile, and a bunch of my co-workers, who were fired last spring, are still unemployed. I'm pretty sure opportunities in this industry are permanently diminished. I was making more money 10 years ago than I am now (at age 47!) Ah, well!

300 Communipaw Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07304

Sheree

opportunistic paycut!

Rut

Employment

My contractor / employer decided to offer me a $12/hr pay cut, from $93 -> $81 / hr. take it or leave it.
So much for upward mobility.

New York City

D.

This chef will wash dishes.

Rut

Employment

As a chef 30 years in the food business, I haven't found steady work in about three years. I get hired for occasional catering gigs but nothing on the books or steady enough to get our family on its feet. We own a home and my wife works so I can't get food stamps for the household.
To add insult to injury, my wife's pay has been cut for two years straight. She works 50 to 60 hours a week with no overtime, no opportunity to take vacation because the office is so short-staffed. Yeah, we're not just in a rut, we're going backwards.

Brooklyn

Ayla Brown

under-employed

It's Complicated

Employment

I had the unfortunate luck of graduating into a recession/depression. When I graduated from undergrad I luckily went straight into graduate school for a master's in physics. Now, that I am no longer in graduate school I am unable to find a position in my field. They say science is were all the jobs are but if you have no experience you cannot find a job. So, I'm currently working as an temporary administrative assistant because I can't find a permanent position as an administrative assistant because I'm "too" educated. I'm currently in the process of trying to become a teacher but those positions do not become available until the spring. It's a sad realization to be faced with. I had high hopes of doing research or perhaps become an engineer but I don't fit into the category of 5 or more years of experience. The irony behind my entire employment situation is I work for an organization that hires scientists but I just don't have a Ph.D.

Charlottesville, VA

Meredith

What Recession?

It's Complicated

My New Normal

I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that I cannot relate to most of our nation's economic woes. The worst thing that happened to me financially over the past three years was a slight dip in some investments held in my name, which have since essentially recovered any prior-year losses. My parents have graciously increased my allowance (yes, I still get discretionary spending money from the family), and I have a great job (financial services industry) right out of grad school. It's like there never was a recession. I am submitting this statement at the risk of sounding like a terrible person because I think it highlights the awful truth that this recession has hit hardest those who could least afford to handle it. Not an original point, but an important one, especially in light of the recent decision to extend tax cuts to the wealthiest few (though I'm not sure this is necessarily a problem nor that the expiration of said cuts would be a solution). I wish I knew the answer to this question: how can we fairly close the gap? I'm looking forward to contributing my own time and money to solving this problem.
Sincerely,
Meredith

Pelham, New York

C. Stoffo Jr.

Manufacturing

Rut

How's Business

My business is mechanical systems design for process plants. Over the past thirty-five years, during times that the general economy was slow, my work was steady, because I was building or upgrading plants to make things to sell in a year or so. So I could reasonably believe that everyone else would be okay in a year or so.

The past two years have been very slow for me. In 2010 I've done about one-quarter of the business that I usually do. This was by far the worst year I've ever had. Further, I do not have any positive signs for the foreseeable future. Therefore, I do not see the larger economy turning around in the foreseeable future.

We are doing nothing to make things turn for the better. In terms of simple arithmetic -- we must sell more to others than we buy from them. But we do not have much to sell because we do not make much here anymore. We have chased industry out of the country by the means of worker safety laws, environmental protection laws, and an elitist attitude that looks down upon manual labor -- even if that manual labor is skilled craft work.

As to the safety and environmental laws -- I support them. But we buy most of our manufactured goods from China where the government does not care about its people's or the earth's health.

As to the elitist attitude of worship-of-credentials and corresponding disdain-for-labor, I ask you: if all of the lawyers in the country took a month off, and all of the plumbers took a day off, who would be missed more?

Hackensack, NJ

Naomi

Recovery/Rut

It's Complicated

My New Normal

I started the recession severely depressed. Economy and joblessness notwithstanding, I had other disasters to deal with.
Over the course of the past two years, I've found a new resilience, resourcefulness and desire to make my new small business prosper even in the face of this rotten, rotten economy, I persevere.
Failures be damned.

Prospect Heights, Brooklyn

Diedrich Knickerbocker

8th Street Blues

Rut

How's Business

Eighth Street in the Village, form 6th Avenue to Broadway, is in dismal straits. It used to be thriving and lively. Indeed, an article in New York Magazine about 15 years ago addressed the raucous feel of the street. Now it is a ghost town. More than 50% of the storefronts are empty and the street is desolate.

3 East 8th Street, NY Ny 10003

Kathy

Rut

Housing/Rent

I moved into my home in 2006, a one level house right after my husband's hip surgery.I was employed in Sales for a large home building contractor.The housing market collapsed and the builder cut staff. I fought off foreclosure twice.In June my husband passed away, and I lost 30% of our income. I asked for a reduction on the interest rate but was turned down.Based on gross income I should be able to pay the mortgage, but in reality I'm cutting on food to make ends meet. There are 2 abandoned properties on my street.
I want to know why mortgages are based on GROSS income and not NET? why do they count money I never get?

19 Vernon Dr., Chambersburg, PA 17202

Mr. S. Myint

Retired

It's Complicated

Government Services

Re: Police Layoff

50% to 70% of the most municipal budgets in NJ are directly related to Police & Fire Department expenditures:

• Payroll – including overtime
• Paid days - not work
o Holidays
o Vacation
o Sick days
o Personal
o Etc.

• Pension, Medicare
• Health Insurance
• Debt services of Capital Expenditures directly related to these Departments
• Equipment, supplies, vehicles

Therefore, if a municipality is forced to reduce its spending drastically, Police & Fire Departments will have to be affected.

I do not see how a meaningful cut in spending can be realized in any other way.

You should be discussing the productivity of these officers. Examples:
• How many days are paid – not worked in one year period?
• How many officers are just accompanying directors, chiefs & others wherever they go (bodyguard functions)?
• How many are attending evening council meetings on overtime basis?

Mr. S. Myint
Sloatsburg, NY 10974

Phone: 845-753-5920

NJ Municipal Budgets

Jay

Caller to the Brian Lehrer Show on 12/4/10

Rut

Government Services

"One thing that's really getting drained right now due to the economy is non-profit outreach to the communities which is forcing city agencies in New York, specifically the Police Department, which does a great job with its assortment of programs targetting youth. It's gonig to be interesting to see how it can sustain the lack of non-profit and private organizations that used to do outreach that's really necessary in the city, since they're going to the wayside, how is the police department and other agencies like that specifically how are they going to be able to graple with cutting pensions and taking two year hiatuses on pay raises. It's really lucrative becoming a police officer in the city and I think with the type of stuff that they're dealing with it needs to be so."

Queens, NY

Natasha

Caller to the Brian Lehrer Show on 12/2/10

Rut

Government Services

"We know that the city is increasing the tightening belt on various minor traffic tickets, traffic violations, me and my husband who never had had any traffic tickets in the last 10 years that we live in New York City have last month paid about $300 on absolutely minor traffic violations."

Rockaway Beach, NY

Billy

Caller to the Brian Lehrer Show, on 12/2/10

Rut

My New Normal

"I noticed the subways in particular are very dirty and the rides are more crammed with people so I think the MTA needs to step it up. Also on my block in particular the spate of smash and grabs on the cars on the street and the police are not really patrolling, they put out these flyers instead of really doing anything."

New York, NY