Double-Dip Recession Anyone? Forty Percent of People Now Say 'Yes'

/PRNewswire/ -- The Wealth Hazards Worry Index now indicates that the number of people who believe that the U.S. economy could enter another recession in 2010 now stands at 40 percent. Another 32 percent of survey respondents are unsure if a "double-dip" recession is on tap for 2010, while only 28 percent of people are confident that no recession will occur in 2010.

"The government stimulus and support programs in 2009 were instrumental in holding the economy together so that the recovery process could get underway, the fragility of the recovery is now center stage," says Thomas Hertog, editor at Wealth Hazards. Respondents to the Wealth Hazards Worry Index survey cited continuing concerns about the expiration of government stimulus and support programs and how this might impact their own financial health.

Specifically, people are anxious about the high rate of unemployment, rising interest rates, price inflation, more foreclosures, and flat wages or even wage deflation as employers bargain hunt for new employees. In summary, 40 percent of people expect another recession-like downturn and nearly one-third of people are not sure if another recession is waiting just around the corner.

"Many people remain vigilant as they wait and see if the other shoe is going to drop in 2010," said Hertog, "the fatigue factor has set in and consumers want to know that their jobs are safe, their home values will not fall another 10%, and that folks in government are not going to choke-off the recovery by letting support programs end before they fully stimulate the economy."

For example, the Federal Reserve program to buy mortgage-backed securities has kept 30-year mortgage rates at all time lows, but an exit from this program or a hasty retreat that is poorly timed, could result in another real estate downturn. The new $174 billion Jobs for Main Street Act stimulus bill appears to be facing an uphill battle in Congress as the Obama administration tries to provide support to a struggling job market recovery. The hope that "shovel-ready" infrastructure projects would ease unemployment in construction and materials was shared by many in early 2009, but now nearly one year later the actual improvement is more difficult to measure. Bottom line, consumers are not completely convinced that the recovery is fully underway and that their own lives and financial health is about to improve. "Our new book, 'Wealth Hazards - Surviving the Recovery,' discusses the areas of personal finance that are most critical to address and provides many insights and tips to avoid, manage, and recover from life's wealth hazards," says Hertog. Wealth hazards come in all shapes and sizes and very often in disguise. The most important areas to watch include: investing, saving, credit, retirement, insurance, taxes, health and your career.

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With a 'Zero' Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Just Ahead for 2010, Seniors and Congressman Vow Action

PRNewswire/ -- Today RetireSafe, representing 400,000 senior citizen supporters across America, announced a "Let's Get it Right" campaign for 2010 to establish a new Consumer Price Index for Seniors (CPI-S) so that Social Security benefits can be accurately and fairly determined each year. In addition, the group announced its support for the pending introduction of new legislation by U.S. Representative John "Jimmy" Duncan, Jr. (R-TN) which would direct the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to finally determine the "right" CPI-S formula for seniors. RetireSafe, an advocacy organization for older Americans, supports this critical first step to correct the faulty formula now used by the BLS, the same one resulting in a "zero" COLA for 2010.

According to RetireSafe President Thair Phillips, "The BLS, along with numerous other credible sources, has noted that each of the present methods now used (CPI, CPI-U, CPI-W, and CPI-E) to calculate inflation is severely flawed in measuring seniors' actual costs and expenses. While there may be other approaches to address this problem, we believe the first step should be an accurate CPI for seniors, a true CPI-S. Fortunately, Congressman Duncan agrees that seniors deserve a fair and accurate annual COLA that can only be determined with a fair and accurate CPI-S. He will be introducing the 'CPI for Seniors' Act next month, and we are fully committed to help Congressman Duncan enact this important legislation."

As Congressman Duncan notes, "The annual Social Security COLA is a crucial element to maintain a decent quality of life for our seniors, both in my District in Tennessee, and across the Nation. It must be based upon an accurate CPI-S that truly reflects the real impact of inflation on older Americans coping with ever-higher health care, energy, and food prices. I'm very pleased to be able to work with RetireSafe to enact new legislation that I believe will finally ensure fairness and accuracy for seniors," Duncan stated, pledging bill introduction in January.

Phillips continued, "This is the right approach to correct a longstanding wrong that has harmed our seniors for decades. They're not looking for a hand-out, which is what other measures propose, but rather they want the fair, accurate, and 'right' benefits they have worked for and rightly deserve. We are proud to work with Congressman Duncan to enact into law the 'CPI for Seniors' Act for America's seniors that he will soon be introducing in the U.S. House of Representatives."

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