Consumer spending signs don't show recession over

NEW YORK - PRN - GHN News Editor--The
Harris Poll recently looked at consumer spending.  The economic signs
don't show consumers responding as if the recession were over.



Despite
the economists statement recently that the recession was formally over
in June 2009, Harris Poll results don't reveal that spending habits have
changed to reflect a difference in perception.

 Big
ticket items, for example, don't show an increase in consumer
spending.  There has been no positive movement since May in the public's
buying of new cars or computers, for example.

The
Harris Poll finds further evidence that the economy is actually stuck,
and it doesn't appear to have signs of significant improvement that
signal Americans will change their spending habits.

The
poll asks seven questions about spending habits to determine how
Americans view the economy.  These are the same questions that are asked
regularly since the beginning of the economic crisis in 2008.  The
survey finds that, with only a few exceptions, the results haven't
changed much at all in 18 months.stuck in a rut and things are unlikely
to improve very soon.

About two-thirds of all adults continue to say that they expect to spend less on eating out (66%) and entertainment (62%).

Here are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,620 adults surveyed online between September 14 and 20, 2010 by Harris Interactive:

• Just over half (52%) of all adults say they expect to
  save or invest more money, virtually the same percentage who said this
  in all seven of the polls over the last two years that asked this
  question;


• Those who expect to take a vacation away from home
  lasting a week or more in the next six months is down from 36% last May
  to 31%. However, this is very similar to the number saying this a year
  ago (28%). The drop since May almost surely reflects a seasonal pattern
  with more people taking long vacations in summer;


• Those who say that they expect to have more money to
  spend the way they want (28%), to buy a new computer (21%), to move to a
  different home (17%) or to buy or lease a new car or truck (12%) are
  all virtually unchanged since May 2009;


• The only possible good news in this survey is that
  three items on the list do show a modest increase. However the change is
  only a few percentage points since May and it is not clear whether
  these reflect real changes. Those who expect to buy a new house or condo
  are up from 7% in May to 10% now. Those who expect to buy a boat or RV
  have doubled from 3% to 6%. And 10% expect to start a new business
  compared to 6% who said so in May.

These
findings are consistent reflect the results of other Harris Polls,
giving no evidence of any significant change in consumer sentiment,
either positive or negative, since the poll on consumer attitude and
spending habits since 2008.  The results show that consumer spending is
unlikely to have any changes in the near future.

In unemployment, financial meltdowns the role of fathers changing

Carol Forsloff - More and more dads are staying at
home not out of choice but because of unemployment, and the changing
role has created new tasks, new decisions and new stresses.


"80% of the layoffs have affected
men.  Some have chosen simply to stop looking for a job and stay home
and be the caregiver.  Others are forced into making that choice. " Attorneys from the Abbott firm outlines this change as a positive.



The role of fathers had been
changing before this but has speeded up even more during a time when
many fathers are out of work.  And lawyers who work with couples, either
through divorce or arbitration meetings and reconciliations, tell us
that fathers are increasingly involved in the decision-making and
care-giving related to children.  Often they get custody in a divorce
because they can demonstrate a primary role, although that still remains
a struggle.



 The idea that mothers alone are
responsible for the bulk of child rearing is changing, and the world is
more accepting of fathers who choose to be more involved.  Society has
benefited from this from the special point of view that fathers provide,
the more play and less coddling to foster independence.



The increase in fathers'
involvement with their children has also resulted in a growing expansion
of co-parenting and joint parenting plans, or even fathers being
awarded custody during establishment of divorce agreements. 



An attorney tells us, "This ensures
the father's contributions are accounted for when deciding what are the
"best interests of the child."