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MinnEcon Blog

We won’t be spending that refund

Saving, spending and the right thing to do. That’s a continuing theme here at MinnEcon. We’re being told constantly, it seems, how it’s our duty to spend to help the economy. Now comes more evidence that the nation is not in a spending mood. A recent survey by ING shows 7 of 10 people who…
by Paul Tosto

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Update: Civil engineers struggling in this economy?

I posted recently on what I thought was an odd circumstance: Civil engineers and architects in Minnesota struggling to find work in this economy. We’d heard from several engineers and architects from our Public Insight Network telling us they or many of their colleagues were unemployed or worried about losing their jobs. Here’s an update…
by Paul Tosto

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Why would civil engineers struggle to find work in a “shovel ready” economy?

Over the past couple months and just this week we’ve had some civil engineers and architects who are part of our Public Insight Network tell us they’ve been laid off and that work is difficult to find. It’s odd to me because there’s been so much talk about building and fixing roads, bridges and other…
by Paul Tosto

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Will stimulus money make it to small town Minnesota?

We’ve been asking citizens in our Public Insight Network the past few weeks about what piece of the federal stimulus they might be seeking. But imagine being a mayor in small town Minnesota trying to tap the fund. We got a great response the other day from Toni Wilcox, mayor of Squaw Lake, Minn., (population…
by Paul Tosto

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Will the recession nick summer camps?

Kids going to camp is one of those classic rites of summer. But could it be one of the casualties of the recession? One of our Public Insight Network folks told us recently that he just got laid off and described his economic outlook as worrisome. Among the spending decisions he was putting off: “Summer…
by Paul Tosto

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More college aid for students of unemployed parents?

So you’ve been saving for years for your kid’s education. Then the economy tanks and suddenly the college dough you’d put in a stock fund is worth half what you planned. You try to tap your home equity line of credit but find you don’t have that much equity anymore. Then you lose your job.…
by Paul Tosto

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Things we’re not buying

We’re told that if we don’t start spending and stop saving soon, we’ll make the economy even worse. But is anyone really buying that (pun intended)? Talk to your friends and neighbors these days and you’ll likely find them putting off big purchases. That was the refrain from about 100 Minnesotans in our Public Insight…
by Paul Tosto

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Kids lead a buy local effort in Northfield

Teacher Michelle Martin started talking to her fourth- and fifth-graders at Prairie Creek Community School in Northfield, MN, about the tough economy. That talk has turned quickly to action. When the kids learned two local stores in Northfield were closing, “they became very concerned about the local economy. When another student’s mother lost her job…
by Paul Tosto

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Moving back home in this economy?

We always think we’ll never move back to our parents’ house. Graduate from school, find work, support ourselves and live independently. That’s how it’s supposed to work. Of course, it never works perfectly for everyone. That’s true especially in this economy. We’ve been asking people in our Public Insight Network for months now about how…
by Paul Tosto

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Could the stimulus damage us?

It’s $800 billion of love, right? The massive federal stimulus package is supposed to bring more than $4 billion in new spending to Minnesota. Projects are already laid out for greater Minnesota with the expectation that 66,000 jobs will be saved or created here. So shouldn’t we feel confident it will help turn the ship?…
by Paul Tosto

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