The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending March 15 were in Alaska (4.9 percent), Michigan (4.4), Rhode Island (4.0), Pennsylvania (3.8), Wisconsin (3.6), Idaho (3.5), California (3.4), New Jersey (3.4), Oregon (3.4), and Vermont (3.4).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 22 were in Pennsylvania (+2,904), Wisconsin (+1,526) , Georgia (+1,481), New York (+1,478), and Iowa (+916), while the largest decreases were in Michigan (-7,660), Ohio (-5,992), North Carolina (-5,584), Puerto Rico (-2,854), and Texas (-2,547).
In March the highest unemployment rate in Wisconsin, by metropolitan area, was Racine. A staggering 6.3%, and that was an improvement over the previous month, going down .4%. Figures taken from here. I don't know about how other people figure recessions, but for me there's a helluva one in Racine.
Now the POTUS says the Economic Stimulus package is going to help us out enormously. It appears that parts of the government think that sending us checks for $300- $1,200 is going to make a substantial difference. Say what? Is this deja vu all over again? Because I seem to remember getting one of those tax rebates checks compliments of GW a bit back and it didn't seem to do much then. How did it work out for you? Didn't work much for me. What's it going to do for the people in foreclosure? Make one or one and half house payments, in some cases only a partial one month payment? My friend Diane likes to say, "You can't spend the same nickel twice." So, all this talk about people racing out to spend that money is hogwash for the most part. If you can afford to use that cash to buy any non-essentials you didn't need it. And, the people who do need it, it's going to pay for something they already have or need. Most likely paying off bills. Money already spent -- just not transferred.
When the government has to start sending cash out to citizens to try to keep a gloomy economy from taking it's last breath, it's a recession. I can see a depression on the horizon soon. How do we stop it? We get mean. We get tough. We show the government just how pissed we are at the overwhelming advantages big business were given over the working class and how that harmed us. We do it with phone calls and letters. We do with blogs and talking to people directly anywhere you meet them. We kick Paul Ryan out! That would send a huge message to the great halls of power.
