The XX Factor

Recession Briefing 5.13

Doomsday for Social Security and Medicare has come a little closer, thanks to the deep recession. The costs of administering Social Security are now expected to exceed tax revenues in 2016, a year earlier than expected. The trust funds for the program are now projected to run out in 2037, four years earlier than envisioned a year ago. ( BusinessWeek )

Who else knew?: Billions of dollars were withdrawn from accounts at Bernie Madoff’s firm in the months before he was arrested. ( New York Times )

In the second part of a series comparing the current recession to the Great Depression, Price Fishback describes what actually happened to our economic system last fall and contrasts it with what happened in 1929. ( New York Times /Freakonomics )

Evidently, it’s not the best time in history to be graduating from business school. ( MSNBC )

Family caregivers are facing increased financial and emotional hardships as they struggle to continue providing care to loved ones with chronic illnesses or disabilities. ( Kansas City Star )

A new report from the bureau of Labor Statistics yields some interesting information about who is hiring and who is firing. ( New York Times/Economix )

Carreman, a French textiles company, is outshipping and has just offered nine of its workers a choice of redeployment to India, accepting a 96 per cent pay cut into the bargain. Otherwise, they will be fired. ( Times of London )

The gains made in homeownership by African-Americans and native-born Latinos have been eroding faster in the economic downturn than those of whites , according to a report. ( New York Times )

Home prices fell in nearly nine out of every 10 U.S. cities in the first quarter of this year as first-time buyers looking for bargains dominated the market. ( Associated Press )

If you’re having trouble making ends meet because of the recession, it may be time to move. Los Angeles tops this list of America’s most overpriced cities. ( ABC News )

Is a recovery in the offing? Recent headlines say so, but economists like Paul Krugman and Nouriel Roubini aren’t sure it’ll be all that soon. ( Recessionwire )