My brother has given away everything he owns and spent the past 4 months  travelling the world including Indonesia, New Zealand, and Australia  “spreading the word.” I have tried to talk to him about the “what if’s” in this situation – such as “What if you wake up Sunday morning and you  have nothing left?” To him, it isn’t even possible.

As far as rebuilding financially, fortunately he is still relatively  young (43) and has the skills to work again when he decides to. I think that the psychological devastation will be a bigger issue than the  financial one. People will likely not wake up thinking, “Oops, I should  start maxing out my 401k now since I may be around a while longer.”

To read the full story: Daily Finance

A measure cutting unemployment compensation costs by $630 million a year has stalled in the Pennsylvania House. That could open the door for a more limited bill that unanimously passed the Senate this week.

Republican John Gordner said his bill would save about $60 million a year–less than a tenth of what the House legislation, sponsored by Republican Scott Perry, would eliminate.

Gordner said his measure is “more modest,” but pointed out it would also require people to actively look for jobs, while they’re receiving state aid. “It would use the existing CareerLink system that’s in place around the state,” he explained. “Require folks that are receiving unemployment comp benefits to participate in the CareerLink system, and take advantage of the services they have.”

Lawmakers need to pass a bill changing unemployment compensation by June 11. After that, federal benefits will end and 45,000 people will stop receiving checks. Pennsylvania’s unemployment fund has been empty for more than two years, and the state has borrowed nearly $4 billion from the federal government.

House Republican spokesman Steve Miskin said GOP leaders don’t view this week’s failed vote as an indication a sweeping benefits reform wouldn’t have the support to become law.

To read the full story: Newsworks.org

Jobless New Jersey residents may soon be able to receive training from potential new employers without jeopardizing their unemployment benefits.

The measure, scheduled to go before the full Assembly on Thursday, is part of a multi-bill package that proponents claim will create jobs and boost New Jersey’s economy.

The plan is modeled after a Georgia program that lets unemployed people receive six weeks of jobs training. In Georgia, more than 11,000 employers have participated in the program, subsequently hiring 42 percent of the trainees.

To read the full story: New Jersey Real-Time News

Employees could be notified of the job cuts as early as Tuesday, according to a person familiar with Yahoo’s (YHOO) plans. The person asked for anonymity because Yahoo hadn’t made a formal announcement.

The planned cutbacks represent about 5% of Yahoo’s work force of 14,100 employees. It will mark Yahoo’s fourth mass layoff in the past three years.

FULL STORY: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2010-12-14-yahoo-layoffs_N.htm

Announcing job cuts right before the holidays is a Scrooge-like move, but the TJX Companies (TJX) just did it anyway. The discount clothing retailer said Friday it would consolidate its A.J. Wright division, converting its stores to those of its other brands or closing them, and cutting 4,400 jobs. The move will allow the company to focus on its larger, more profitable businesses that have major growth potential, it said.

Framingham, Mass.-based TJX said it will convert 91 A.J. Wright stores into T.J. Maxx, Marshalls or HomeGoods stores and close the remaining 71 stores, as well as A.J. Wright’s two distribution centers and its home office.

Ford said Thursday that it will add 1,800 workers at a plant in Louisville to build the Escape, the second best-selling small SUV in the U.S. after the Honda CR-V. The automaker is investing $600 million in the plant, which will be shut for a year while equipment is installed so that Ford can build the Escape on a more fuel efficient car platform.

The plant currently employs 1,100 people on one shift and has been building the Ford Explorer midsize SUV since 1989. Production of the Explorer is being moved to a plant in Chicago.

During the renovation, about 800 of the plant’s 1,064 active UAW members will be laid off. About 200 skilled tradespeople and 81 white collar staff will stay on the job at Louisville, or within Ford elsewhere. All, including 265 workers that were laid off in mid-2009 when a second shift ended at Louisville Assembly, expect to be called back for the reopening, scheduled for early to late fall of next year.

FULL STORY: http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2010-12-09-ford-louisville-hiring_N.htm

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The problem with bringing down the stubbornly high unemployment rate is that employers are learning to do more with less.

Employers still aren’t hiring enough. Just look at November’s disappointing employment report, which barely eked out a gain in jobs. Or better yet, look at the holiday workers at your local mall. If you can find them.

FULL STORY:
http://money.cnn.com/2010/12/03/news/economy/employers_doing_more_with_less/index.htm

Washington (CNN) — Top senators from both parties indicated Sunday that a deal was likely soon on temporarily extending Bush-era tax cuts for all Americans, along with unemployment benefits that have expired.

However, Republican senators made clear they are unlikely to budge in their opposition to other Democratic priorities in the final weeks of the lame-duck session of Congress that ends in early January.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, told the NBC program “Meet the Press” he was “optimistic” about an agreement on the tax rates and jobless benefits, but added there likely wasn’t time for the Senate to ratify a new nuclear arms treaty with Russia or complete work on a major defense bill that includes repeal of the “don’t ask, don’ tell” policy banning openly gay and lesbian soldiers.

FULL STORY: http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/12/05/congress.final.weeks/index.html

Q: Congress has restored benefits after they lapsed several times the past year, and payments were made retroactively. Will that happen again?

A: The current standoff is different because Republicans are determined not to increase the deficit to pay for extended jobless benefits. Senate staffers say the best hope Democrats have is to include it in a bill to temporarily extend tax cuts for all Americans, including the wealthy.

FULL STORY:http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2010-12-02-unemploymentqa02_ST_N.htm

A motion by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., to pass an extension on a voice vote fell short.

“Taking away these benefits only places greater strain on out-of-work Americans already struggling to put food on the table especially during this holiday season,” said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., author of a bill to extend the benefits for a year.

The National Employment Law Project (NELP) estimates extending benefits for a year would cost about $56 billion. But economists say they provide an outsized economic lift, because the unemployed spend cash on necessities rather than socking it away.

FULL STORY: http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2010-12-01-unemployment01_ST_N.htm