Americans struggle to adapt to changing economy

Top Stories

»	Govt’s Sahkar Taxi to Take on Ola, Uber with Bike & Cab Services
»	Despite geo-political uncertainties, India’s exports set to cross $800 billion
»	NHAI seals largest InvIT monetisation deal of over Rs 18,000 crore
»	PMKVY scheme skilled over 16mn candidates till 2024: Centre
»	Govt aiming to formalise 9 crore MSMEs by 2029

PR Newswire | 09 Jul, 2010
MADISON: As jobs continue to migrate overseas and our tax dollars disappear into the form of corporate "bailouts", millions of Americans are struggling to cope with the ever-changing landscape of our nation's struggling economy. And with more and more statistics coming in everyday, many Americans are losing faith in our economy "bouncing back", at least any time soon.

A recent poll from USA Today, it seems that 54% of Americans surveyed believe that their standard of living has not improved, when compared to that of 5 years prior, and that only 45% believe that things will improve for their children. This new "perception" of our future is due to many changing economic factors, and many analysts wonder when, and "if", we can turn the economy around.

One rather interesting shift that Americans will be facing soon is that of leaning towards "smaller" products. For example, whereas the average size of the American home in '07 had almost doubled when compared to the generation prior, all signs and trends point towards a smaller average home size in the upcoming decade. Also the trend has already hit the auto industry, with manufacturers shifting towards smaller and more compact passenger cars.

And it seems that Americans may need to cut back our lust for belongings if we are to fight back against this recession. When compared to the 70's items such as air conditioners and dishwashers were considered luxury items, yet today you can find these items in many homes with incomes below the poverty line. And since most of the non-essential items we purchase are produced overseas, we aren't strengthening our by putting our dollars into these "luxury" purchases.

Supplementing employment loss with new job skills represents another uphill battle which many Americans are facing, as industries such as real estate and auto manufacturing suffer from staggering losses. Unfortunately, many analysts are predicting that many jobs that have been lost (most notably in the auto industry and real estate) are simply not going to recover, leaving over a million skilled laborers needed to relocate or re-train in order to find new suitable employment.

The personal finance industry is seeing its fair share of changes due not only to our economic status, but also to looming regulations in the wake of our economic crisis. Payday lenders such as Pay1day.com or Georges Promise are keeping a close eye on finance trends and regulations changes, in order to keep offering Americans the option of short-term finance when there are so few options available already. In California, some lenders are already accepting unemployment checks in place of an employer's check, to obtain cash advance any other type of short term cash loans.

Although Americans everywhere are struggling to keep up with economic changes, we should see some improvement over the next few decades if we can as a nation make the proper adjustments to spending, savings, and industry.