Lawrence and the economy
- Second Chance closes its doors
- Auto repair industry thrives
- Coping with recession
- Real estate market looking up
- Government hit with budget cuts
- More people buying cheaper food basics at grocery stores
- Slow sales hurt artists, but work still on display
- Man moving on after layoff, bankruptcy
- Home-building enters another year on decline
- Army interest
Most Lawrence residents have not lost their jobs or their homes, but the nationwide economic recession will have some effect on all of us, according to a Lawrence minister.
“I see a lot of things right now in the beginning stages,” said the Rev. Verdell Taylor, pastor at St. Luke AME Church, 900 N.Y. “I see it continuing to affect all areas of the community.”
Taylor has counseled people who have been deeply affected by economic problems, including his own church members and others seeking help where he works, at Christian Psychological Services.
The bad economy especially is taking a toll on single parents and older people who have lost their jobs or seen their 401(k) retirement investments decrease dramatically, Taylor said. Younger people are more resilient and can more easily take advantage of options, he said.
“It seems like the people I deal with are hopeful,” Taylor said. “They are not totally discouraged.”
If someone is in dire need of assistance they are helped to connect with appropriate social service agencies if something isn’t available through the church, Taylor said.
Job searchers should consider not just their job specialty but they should also look at ways to broaden their scope, Taylor said.
“If you have a nursing background, consider home care,” he said, offering an example.
Below are some recession survival tips from local job and financial experts.
Sales people in demand
No matter what the economy is like, there is always a need for good sales people, said Shirley Martin-Smith, owner of Martin-Smith Personnel Services, an Adecco franchise. That doesn’t necessarily mean there are a lot of sales jobs available. It depends on the company and how much it is willing to spend in its sales department, Martin-Smith said.
“You’ve got to have proven performers,” she said. “If people are willing to go out there and work for a base (pay rate), commissions and incentives, there are probably good opportunities. It just means you’ve got to work harder to get your share of the business.”
Other jobs in demand are for people in information and technology, health care and engineering, according to Adecco reports. If the Obama administration’s stimulus plan is approved and provides for infrastructure repairs, that should create new jobs, Martin-Smith said.
Investments
If you are interested in the stock market, expect the bear market to be here for a while, said Wayne McDaniel, of McDaniel & McDaniel Financial Services, 2500 W. 31st St. A bear market is generally considered to be a period of falling stock prices and widespread pessimism in the stock market.
“We’re looking at several years until we’ve really climbed out of the mess we’re in,” McDaniel said. “However, that doesn’t mean that opportunities don’t exist now or won’t exist during the next several years.”
People should “invest flexibly,” which means they can get in and out of the market to respond to trends as they develop, McDaniel said.
The stock market is “pretty beat up” now, McDaniel said. He doesn’t see any sector that looks attractive to buyers at this time. The market will continue to move up and down, he said.
If you are thinking about buying government bonds now, they are highly overpriced, McDaniel said.
“I’d say stay away from government bonds,” he said. “Corporate bonds, on the other hand, are fairly attractive right now.”
Pay off credit debt
If credit card debt has you financially strapped, it’s time to get help. Housing and Credit Counseling Inc., a nonprofit agency with offices in Lawrence and Topeka, has counselors available to help you address that problem.
The first thing counselors will do is make a list of all of your monthly bills. That includes, utilities, food, various insurance policies, mortgage or rent payments, gasoline and automobile maintenance costs, groceries, and many other expenses.
“Once we figure out that monthly expense, then we can figure out which way to go with it,” counselor Walter Glaude said.
The next list prepared is a person’s assets, including a house, car, boat, etc.
“We see if they can part with something,” Glaude said. “People in America get real attached to their toys.”
Next to consider is the total amount of credit card debt. Credit Counseling can usually arrange with the credit card companies to get a reduced monthly payment at a reduced interest rate, Glaude said. One monthly payment is made to Credit Counseling’s bank and the payment is then divided among creditors.
People seeking help to get out of credit card debt should look for a nonprofit entity and be careful about signing on with companies advertising on the Internet or on TV, Glaude said.
“Some of them don’t do what they say they will do and you can end up hurting your credit worse,” he said.
A list of approved debt management agencies can be found on the Web site of the Office of the State Bank Commissioner of Kansas, osbckansas.org.
Comments
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timetospeakup (anonymous) says…
Welcome to Kansas, where stories about the local economy start out with forecasts from the clergy rather than, oh, an economist.
Speicher (Daniel Speicher) says…
Sounds to me like that clergy has a pretty good handle on how this local economy effects the everyday person, wouldn't you agree? I really doubt any economists are sitting down and counseling people who just lost their house, watched their 401k tumble into obscurity or saw a 20+ year job slip through their fingers. I would dare say talking to a psychologist or clergy is exactly who one would want to talk to if they were looking to see just how John and Jane Doe are affected by this crisis. But, hey... Way to bash the clergy AND our community in one statement. Classy.--Danny Speicher
Informed (anonymous) says…
Excellent (and true) comment, Speicher.And about the credit card debt, yes, get out of it now. Eat PB&J if you must, but dump the cc debt. Two words of huge help: Dave Ramsey
toe (anonymous) says…
Cut debt so you can start picking up the government debt. When the bill comes in for all our national greed, it will crush private investment, business, and households for 30 years.
WHY (anonymous) says…
TimetospeakupI noticed that that too. Why ask someone who understands economics when we could ask someone who believes in fairy tales to provide anecdotal evidence?
shawn1040 (anonymous) says…
"Live like no one else, so that later you can live like no one else" ~ Dave Ramsey
jonas_opines (anonymous) says…
If this was an article on how to fix the recession, you two might actually have some sort of point. Since it's about how people can work on their lives to soften its blow, an economist is probably useless, certainly in comparison to a social worker. Economists, stereotypically, are not the strongest when it comes to people skills. Hell, they'd probably just try and make you a supply and demand curve for your personal consumption and think that they just solved all of your problems.
jonas_opines (anonymous) says…
/but of course, if this was just to get a slap in at religion then carry on.
kmat (anonymous) says…
Log - you need to clarify your post. There is a difference between your regular, home town bank and the monster banks like Citi. Banks have tons of regulations to follow already. The problem we have now was created by mortgage brokers, who don't have federal regulations to follow, and did all the b.s. loans then sold them off as good loans to the monster banks. Now these banks have lots of bad debt.Also, you are referring to AMEX, which isn't a bank. It's a credit company. Smaller, local banks follow federal regulations and are not ripping people off.And someone like AMEX can set any rate for any individual and it's in the contract when you get your card. And why is someone using an AMEX card if they are carrying over debt each month? AMEX is for people that pay their bills in full each month and they nail you on interest if you don't. Sounds to me like the person you're referring to needs to stop using credit cards.And only a small percentage of the banks are getting bailed out and they are the monster banks. Nice way to trash good local banks that are sound, are loaning money and had nothing to do with the crisis we are in now.And Consumer Reports had nothing of which you are speaking, but did have an article about how and why they raise rates, which explains why your friend had his rate raised.http://blogs.consumerreports.org/money/2008/12/credit_rate_ris.html?resultPageIndex=1&resultIndex=2&searchTerm=bank%20regulation
feeble (anonymous) says…
If you think this economic cycle is bad, just wait until 80% of the baby boomers are retired and relying (in full or in part) on the system. Taxes will be raised to levels not seen since the mid 1960's, all to pay for that generation's unceasing desire for more tax cuts in previous decades.
timetospeakup (anonymous) says…
no jonas, not a slap at religion, just an observation. The headline is "Local business climate growing colder" and the article leads with commentary from a preacher. Neither a business leader nor an expert on the economy. Sure, he has plenty of reasonable things to say, but that belongs in an article titled for the human interest section, don't cast it as a piece explaining the business climate.
jimincountry (anonymous) says…
Obama, the messiah, is on the stump as we speak and he will soon have enough fishes conjured up to feed us all...........forget about learning to fish!
jonas_opines (anonymous) says…
Timetospeakup: Well, that's probably the headline writer's fault more than anything. Perhaps the subheadline should have been used instead, since it's closer to the point of the article.
WHY (anonymous) says…
Preacher Talks About Poor People OrSomeone Who Knows Nothing About Econ Talks About the EconOrWhy Doesn't God Help Poor People