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Amanda Logan

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The Payday Lending Trap Article
A customer enters a Payroll Advance location in Cincinnati, OH. The Center for Responsible Lending released a report yesterday verifying that payday lending often “traps” borrowers in a cycle of borrowing. (AP/Al Behrman)

The Payday Lending Trap

A new report from the Center for Responsible Lending verifies pernicious payday lending practices, yet another indication of dangerous consumer lending practices, writes Amanda Logan.

Amanda Logan

Getting Off the Oil Price Rollercoaster Article
Swings in oil prices are not only hard on consumers’ wallets and businesses’ bottom lines, but also detrimental to economic growth. (AP/Rick Bowmer)

Getting Off the Oil Price Rollercoaster

Yesterday’s op-ed by Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy on oil prices highlights an issue that hurts consumers and businesses, writes Amanda Logan.

Amanda Logan

Labor Market Not Looking too Cheery, to Say the Least Article

Labor Market Not Looking too Cheery, to Say the Least

It’s no secret that the United States is currently in a very painful recession and the worst “in post World War II history in terms of total job losses, the total number of unemployed workers, and the rapid pace of the contraction.” Home values have plummeted, GDP growth has turned negative, and the economy has shed jobs at an alarming rate. Feel like it is a tough job market out there? You’re not alone.

Amanda Logan

The Mirage Of Hispanic Job Growth Article

The Mirage Of Hispanic Job Growth

The recession of 2008 reveals the financial vulnerabilities Hispanic families face. Loan defaults, home foreclosures, and personal bankruptcies are rising for everyone, but are likely to be much higher for Hispanics than others. The reason: Economic distress is quickly materializing for many Hispanics due to sharply higher unemployment rates. By the end of 2008, one year after the recession began, the unemployment rate for Hispanics hit 9.2 percent, compared to 6.6 percent for whites.

Minorities Struggle in the Labor Market Article
A job seeker performs a skills test at a staffing firm in Los Angeles. Minorities have fared poorly in the job market since the recession began more than a year ago. (AP/Damian Dovarganes)

Minorities Struggle in the Labor Market

Amanda Logan’s by-the-numbers look at minorities’ experience in the labor market throughout the recession shows increasing unemployment and decreasing prosperity.

Amanda Logan

The Climb Gets Steeper Article
Ford employees assemble cars at the automaker's Chicago plant. Overall employment in the United States declined 159,000 jobs in September. (AP/Spencer Green)

The Climb Gets Steeper

Working people face a fundamentally failing job market, write Michael Ettlinger and Amanda Logan, but there are fixes.

Michael Ettlinger, Amanda Logan

The Progressive Generation: How Young Americans View Economic Issues and Why It Matters Article

The Progressive Generation: How Young Americans View Economic Issues and Why It Matters

Every presidential election season, it seems like we hear rumblings about why the youth vote matters. And this year, politicians’ main focus may be on the economy. A May 2008 survey and report that I co-authored for the Center for American Progress shows that voters under 30—often known as the Millennial generation—have decidedly progressive views on the economy, possibly more so than any previous generation, especially compared to the more conservative views of Generation X.

Amanda Logan

Running on Fumes Report
With gas and food prices soaring, the American family's summer barbecue may be the next victim of the middle class squeeze. (Flickr/glynnish)

Running on Fumes

Report from Amanda Logan and Christian E. Weller shows that with rising gas and food prices are adding to already squeezed budgets, the family barbecue may be the next victim of the middle class squeeze.