EconomicCrisis.US

With unemployment remaining high and concerns growing about a jobless recovery, Congress recently passed legislation that promises to jumpstart travel, a critical sector of our economy. Best of all, this “stimulus” plan won’t cost taxpayers a single dime – in fact it will actually increase federal revenues and lower the federal budget deficit.

The bill is called the Travel Promotion Act, and it was enacted with strong, bipartisan majorities in both the House and Senate (78-18) and is on its way to the President for his signature. The Act establishes a new public-private partnership to promote the U.S. as a leading destination for international travelers and educate them about U.S. security procedures. This partnership will be funded by a modest $10 fee on overseas travelers who do not pay $131 for a U.S. visa and matched by the travel industry.
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Late payments on mortgage loans declined slightly during the fourth quarter of 2009 — compared to the previous quarter — representing the first quarter over quarter decrease since mid-2006. Some analysts believe that the drop in 30-day delinquencies may be a positive indicator that the mortgage market is starting to stabilize, and that the number of foreclosure actions may start to decline. See the following article from Money Morning for more on this.

It doesn’t have four letters, but “mortgage” has definitely been a dirty word in the financial world the past few years. That’s especially true when the word “mortgage” is paired up with such other terms as “subprime,” “delinquent,” and “foreclosures.”
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Whew, what a year! Last January bankers looked positively sheepish in their new role as federal employees. But by the end of 2009 they had ditched their government bosses and begun swaggering again. During the same period Ford went from the worst loss in its history to the top of U.S. car companies, its stock up more than 300% — while Toyota began what would become a dramatic fall.

The financial crisis may finally be abating, but after a year of dramatic ups and downs, there’s little doubt that corporate reputation matters more than ever before. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that while entire industries adjust to wrenching changes as the economy starts to stabilize, a ranking of who’s admired and who’s not would have particular import.
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That 56 percent of all Americans “think the federal government’s become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens” isn’t really all that surprising. After all, ever since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the government’s “right” to read our e-mails, seize our property, hold us as “enemy combatants,” and otherwise trample on the Constitution has been expanding at an exponential pace. What’s really shocking, however, is that, according to this CNN-Opinion Research Corporation poll, released on Feb. 28, most of the people who believe this are overwhelmingly … Republicans. That is, they are self-described supporters of the very same party which impaled the Constitution on the sword of the “war on terrorism.” According to the poll, “only 37 percent of Democrats” believe this, as opposed to “63 percent of Independents and nearly 7 in 10 Republicans.”
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