the recession diaries

Though violent crime is up or down depending on the area you live in, criminals overall who find themselves hard up are getting more and more desperate. Some have employed a little ingenuity in how they victimize us via cyber crime, which has consistently been on the rise for quite some time. Those eventual jail…

I get it: Times are hard. The stock market seems to be doing the stanky legg all the way to the bottom of the index. Even more job losses are expected in the coming months. Meanwhile many of the new jobs becoming available are the ones that offer low pay and no benefits. As a…

In a previous entry, Elena, a recent MBA recipient, wrote that based on her experiences attending graduate school won’t necessarily aid one in their job search. In fact she argued that it might do more harm than good.  Though there is a growing chorus of recent advanced degree earners who share Elena’s sentiments, not everyone…

While many of my friends were working part-time jobs during college, I dabbled in the form of indentured servitude known as unpaid internships. As they collected checks I gathered experience that I hoped would make me competitive in the job market. Even at times when I really needed to generate income, I convinced myself that…

How appetizing does coon cobbler sound to you? If your response is anywhere along the lines of, “Fool, are you out of your country mind?” you’re exactly the type of person Glemie Dean Beasley is talking about. Beasley is a 69-year-old Detroit raccoon hunter and meat salesman who believes that many of us are unprepared…

The good news: If the stimulus plan works, there might be light at the end of tunnel and this evil recession (I don’t know about ya’ll, but I’ve made the recession my arch nemesis) will end soon. The bad news: The bulb on that light could go out quickly and we’ll have to deal with…

There are days when I go to the grocery store and leave with the feeling that eating everyday is overrated. I assumed that sentiment was becoming universal. However, some people in the check out lines still manage to crack smiles when it’s time to pay. I thought the source of their giddiness stemmed from having…

Yesterday I got an e-mail from the entertainment editor at King magazine soliciting pitches for the magazine’s July/August issue.  I immediately started brainstorming potential story ideas. Six hours later I learned via a status update on a staff member’s Twitter profile that the magazine had folded. Yes, I am not ashamed to admit it: I like King magazine…

Those of us who have been black for a while will find this news as shocking as a new report proving that the sky is still blue, but a recent study has suggested that workplace discrimination may actually increase in times of economic downturn. Those in hiring positions are less inclined to select minority applications for jobs.…

Over the weekend I spoke to my sister, whose brother-in-law ran into some trouble in Atlanta. While leaving Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, he stopped to check on what appeared to be a group of people stuck on the side of the road. Before he could get out of his car to see if they needed any…