The Road To Prosperity - An FP Slide Show. The Multilateralist | FOREIGN POLICY. A New Model to Bank On. With credit still tight around the country, support for new public state banks is growing. The presence of more state banks in the United States could have hugely positive effects: increased lending, less concentrated banking and better responses to economic crises. Jim Houser, co-owner of Hawthorne Auto Clinic in Portland, Ore., saw an opportunity to increase his sales of “plug-in” electrical charging kits for the locally popular Prius hybrid cars. But when he talked with his bank about a loan for enlarging his shop, which employs 14 full- and part-time workers, he got the distinct sense “that it would be a waste of time to formally apply for a loan.” “Credit has dried up out there,” says Houser, co-chair of one of the state’s small business organizations, The Main Street Alliance. Mahlon Vigesaa, president and CEO of CenterPointe Community Bank in the rural region of Hood River, Ore., has a different credit problem.
North Dakota’s public option How to build a bank. Bank reform: To rip asunder. 5 Ways to Prepare for a Double Dip. We’ve been hearing a lot about a double-dip recession lately, and for good reason. New claims for unemployment insurance are rising, the Labor Department reports. Income is down and poverty is up, Census data show. Economists in the recent Wall Street Journal survey give a double-dip in the next 12 months a one-in-three shot. Consumers seem to expect another pullback too. In an exclusive TIME survey to be unveiled in coming weeks many say the economy has gone down hill in the past 12 months and that a recovery won’t begin for years.
(MORE: 12 Things You Should Stop Buying Now) As tough as this period has been on retirees (paltry interest income, crushed portfolios), it’s been even tougher on young people. With all the talk about another recession, is anyone doing anything to prepare? (MORE: The Easiest Way to Grow Your Investment 100-Fold? This is no time for fiscal fatigue.
Built an emergency fund If you don’t have one, start with $400 right away.