Jezebel: Economy

Everyone Waiting Until The Economy Isn't Crappy to Get Divorced and Have Babies

Erin Gloria Ryan — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:50:00 EST

Over the last 4 years or so, a backlog of angry, resentful couples too poor to divorce has been building. Meanwhile, scores of fertile but financially hesitant women have been revving their ovaries, waiting until the economic picture rights itself before introducing an expensive baby into the family. As soon as this global meltdown shit is over, it's going to be a no-holds-barred divorce/baby having frenzy. Will any of us survive? More »

Job Prospects For Women Improve From 'Shit' to 'Crap'

Erin Gloria Ryan — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:35:00 EST

On the heels of the "man-cession" is the "he-covery," two neologisms similar in that they both pertain to men's economic prospects during the last few years and they're both irritating as hell. Despite the fact that for every three new jobs in 2011, two went to men, it now looks like women and men are back to being hired for jobs at roughly the same rate. So it's fair to assume that of the twelve currently available jobs, six will go to women. More »

Grumpy Dude Believes Economy Would Be Even Worse If Women Were In Charge

Dodai Stewart — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST

George Simpson is married with 2 kids, has worked in public relations for nearly 40 years, and lives in that town in Connecticut where The Ice Storm was set. And boy, is he cranky! Mr. Simpson recently found out, in a column by Jim Gilmartin, that women (especially between 50 and 70 years of age) are the world's most powerful single demographic. And that just won't do, no siree! Because women are gossipy flibbertigibbets who can't make up their minds, see. Simpson writes: More »

Michele Bachmann Accuses Journalists Of Dirty Trick: Reading Her Own Quotes Back To Her

Erin Gloria Ryan — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:00:00 EST

During an TV interview this morning, Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann bristled when asked to provide insight into what, exactly, she meant when she said in a speech that gays were "sad" sufferers of "sexual dysfunction" and "a part of Satan," calling the question irrelevant gotcha journalism and refusing to add or subtract from her whackadoodle proclamation. More »

Economy Forcing Men To Lower Themselves & Take Awful Ladyjobs

Erin Gloria Ryan — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:00:00 EST

Remember the recession (or, alternately: he-cession, or man-cession, or The Great American Economic Cockblock) when no one could shut up about how men were losing their jobs in droves and ladies were the only people gainfully employed? Well, banish those obnoxious neologisms from your vocabulary right this instant— employers are hiring again, and they're overwhelmingly hiring desperate men willing to lower themselves to work in traditional female occupations. Welcome to the he-covery. More »

Why Do We Love the Lipstick Index So Much?

Autumn Whitefield-Madrano — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:25:00 EST

When I first heard of the lipstick index—a term coined by Estee Lauder chairman Leonard Lauder to illustrate how purchases of small luxuries (lipstick) rise in recessions, serving as compensation for consumers suddenly unable to buy larger luxuries (mink?)—I was all giddy that women's purchasing power had earned its very own economic metric, because really, how often does lipstick make it onto the pages of The Economist? More »

Patriotic Jackass Refuses To Hire Anyone Until Obama's No Longer President

Erin Gloria Ryan — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:00:00 EST

A Georgia business owner is doing his part of fix the economy and create jobs by refusing to hire anyone until Barack Obama is no longer the President. This accomplishes approximately dickcheese, but whatever. You show those Washington fatcats, brave but ill-informed little patriot! More »

Mysterious Phenomena Called 'Feelings' Make Ladies Better At Investing

Erin Gloria Ryan — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 11:30:00 EST

Research suggests that the global financial system would be in better shape if Wall Street's risk taking big swinging dicks were replaced with financially prudent big swinging vaginas; women, it seems, are better equipped to handle investment decisions without making a big mess of things. And the reason women make better investors than men? Their lady emotions. Quick, someone install 500 officially licensed Twilight fainting couches on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange! More »

High Heels Are The New Lipstick Index

Anna North — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:30:00 EST

Hemlines are so over. The latest way to chart economic trends via women's fashion is farther south: heel height. More »

No One Can Afford to Have Babies Anymore

Erin Gloria Ryan — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:40:00 EST

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that America's facing a crisis of unparalleled proportions— no one's having babies anymore. Some experts blame the decline in birth rate on the everlasting economic Dutch oven in which we now live. With an imminent shortage of able bodied youngsters waiting to replace us at our shitty jobs, who's going to pay for our future entitlement costs and feed us thickened coffee when we get old?! Who are we going to call ungrateful slackers in 20 years? More »

Adults Who Move In With Their Parents Are Ruining The Economy

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 01:01:00 EST

Times are rough for adults who move back into their parents' house. In addition to personal feelings of failure, they have to deal with the ugly stereotype that grown ups only live in their childhood home because they need more room for their action figure collection and only mom knows how to properly microwave their Hot Pockets. To make matters worse, now they're getting dumped on because their decision not to start their own home is hurting the economy. More »

In Tough Economic Times, Americans Turn To Anti-Semitism

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:20:00 EDT

The recession is making absolutely everything awful. Adults are being driven back into their mother's basements and Americans are pumping themselves full of Home Depot silicone to get the fuller asses they require. Now the Anti-Defamation League reports that 15% of the country is still deeply anti-Semitic, and that number is growing. More »

Why Women Bore the Brunt of the Great 'He-cession'

Erin Gloria Ryan — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:45:00 EDT

Since the collapse of the domestic housing market in 2007 and the ensuing global financial swoon, much has been made of the Great Recession's effect on men. More men lost their jobs than women, and just two years ago, more men were unemployed than women. Because of this, the Department of Horrible Neologisms has christened this the "Great He-Cession," or, more obnoxiously, "Man-cession." Now that the economy is starting to tenuously recover, however, women are being left out in the cold as men return to work, and it turns out that while men were losing their jobs, women were losing out on a lot more. Man-cession, indeed. More »

Outrageous Halloween Spending Makes It Easy To Forget We're Nearing An Economic Collapse

Lane Moore — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 11:55:00 EDT

Sure, budgets are a little tight right now but who can resist a "Bloody Mary" mirror that screams and has flashing lights for only $130!!! More »

Economy "Lipstick Index" Is Now A Nail Polish Index

Margaret Hartmann — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 23:46:00 EDT

In 2001, Leonard Lauder, chairman emeritus of Estée Lauder, coined the term "lipstick index" to explain why lipstick sales rose even as the economy took a nose dive. Lauder declared that during times of recession, people spend more on affordable luxuries. However, according to shocking new data, the contents of your makeup bag may not be the most reliable economic indicator. More »

Women Allegedly Want To Get Saved By Firefighters

Anna North — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 17:15:00 EDT

Are recession-era women looking for a firefighter to carry them out of the burning building of the current economy and into the safety of stay-at-home life? That's what some people are taking from a new poll. More »

To Achieve Your Dreams, Lower Your Expectations

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 16:59:16 EDT

Remember those dumb dreams you used to have? Owning a house? Driving a car? Having a nice, tasteful, not over-the-top Not being more than 50K in debt from undergrad? In these times of economic turmoil, The Youths are learning that the only way to achieve their dreams is to change them to something less dreamy. Basically, if you're under 25, you're screwed, forever! More »

We Should've Known The Stock Market Was Going To Crash: Look At These Skirts!

Chiara Atik — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 10:25:00 EDT

There's an old theory that you can predict the trajectory of the stock market according to the length of women's skirts: if skirts are short, the stock market is on its way up, and if they're long, the market's going to plummet. More »

Michele Bachmann Says She Could Fix The Economy In No Time Flat

Lane Moore — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 13:05:00 EDT

According to Michele Bachmann, if you elect Michele Bachmann as your president, "it won't take long" for Michele Bachmann to fix the ailing economy. More »

Goodbye, Mancession. Hello, He-Covery.

Irin Carmon — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:30:18 EDT

Today's jobs report for June managed to stun economists with its overall shittiness. But separate numbers suggest that what recovery we have made disproportionately benefits men. More »

Women More Worried About Money Than Men

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 01 May 2011 13:11:27 EDT

A new study conducted by Citigroup found that women and men are both negative about the future of the American economy and their own prospects, but that women have gotten much more Negative Nancy since the onset of the financial crisis. More »

Increasingly Anxious College Students Keep Benzos In Business

Anna North — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 11:48:00 EST

Another day, another story about how freaked out college students are. Maybe they heard about this recession thing? More »

Everyone Stop Freaking Out About Successful Women

Anna North — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:15:00 EST

Many women still struggle for equal pay, but every media outlet is suddenly eager to tell us we've gotten too big for our britches. Here's why all those articles on successful women and supposed "role reversals" are missing the point. More »

Woman "Exhausted" By Defending Obama Gets Laid Off

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 09:22:00 EST

Velma Hart, who told President Obama she was worried about her financial future at a town hall meeting, has lost her job as CFO of veterans services organization. Though unemployment is a "scary proposition" she says she still supports Obama. More »

Report: Women In Management Underrepresented And Underpaid

Anna North — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 09:37:00 EDT

Before the most recent recession, women lagged behind men in managerial roles — especially if they were moms. More »

First Women Get The Money, Then They Get The Power

Anna North — Thu, 27 May 2010 17:20:00 EDT

We often call for more gender equality in the economy and the workplace, but it's not always clear what that would mean. In the Times, one woman lays it out: "Only money will give women power." More »

Crush On Obama Fades After First Year • Girl Scientist Invited To White House

Katy Kelleher — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:40:00 EST

• Breakups hurt. Amber Lee Ettinger, aka Obama Girl, says she's disappointed in the President's first year, and would like to see him focusing more on "jobs and the economy." • More »

Not To Jinx It...

Sadie Stein — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:45:00 EST

Analysts are "cautiously" encouraged by the year's book sales which, well, could have been a lot worse! 'When you look at every other medium, and you look at books, and you see they held their own...that's good news." [MediaBistro] More »

LiLo Does Not Go Gentle Into That Fashion Goodnight; Sales Improve; A Feathered Dandy

Sadie Stein — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:30:00 EST

In "Bad Ideas": Lindsay Lohan tweets about "my 6126 full collection COMING OUT! all clothing." [New York]
Finally, some good news: holiday sales, especially at department stores, were strong. [WWD]
And the fabled "consumer confidence" is back, baby! [WWD]

Japan's "Girly Men" Choose Cakes Over Consumerism

Anna North — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:30:00 EST

Another Monday, another trend piece about seemingly-strange Japanese subculture. Today it's "girly men" — young guys who may be straight but still enjoy baking and wearing bras. More »

"These Tents Are The Ellis Island Of Fashion!"

Sadie Stein — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EDT

That's IMG Fashion's Fern Mallis in HBO's new documentary Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags. Schmatta, which premiered last night, isn't for the faint of heart, but it's fascinating and important... and has a hefty dose of Kathie Lee: More »

To Sleep, Perchance To Dream

Anna Holmes — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:15:00 EDT

[Daly City, October 16. Image via Getty]

Books Take On New "Dark Continent:" Women's Buying Habits

Anna North — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:30:00 EDT

Hot on the heels of Why Women Have Sex comes an investigation into another aspect of the mysterious behavior of Woman: why she buys shit. More »

Layaway: The Unsexiest Thing In The Entire World

Sadie Stein — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT

It made news when KMart reinstated what the Washington Post terms "that financial relic of the past," layaway. Because, as Real Housewife Kim would say (and she would!), "that's not cute." More »

Please: Derelicte Is So 2001

Sadie Stein — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:20:00 EDT

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Ugh: "Homeless Chic" is in. And here's the worst part: More »

If You Weren't Depressed Before...

Sadie Stein — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:20:00 EDT

Hugo Lindgren: "Who needs the GDP?...The indicator I prefer is the Hot Waitress Index: The hotter the waitresses, the weaker the economy." Because in this economy, you see, even the hot are reduced to what they can get. [New York] More »

Isn't There Something More Important Than Beer And Birthers?

Megan Carpentier — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EDT

Barack Obama can list the real issues facing our country: health care reform, a shitty economy, climate change and a bankrupt government program for auto trade-ins, for starters. But, still, all anyone wants to talk about is beer and birthers. More »

The Look Of Job

Anna Holmes — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:10:00 EDT

[Chicago, July 29. Image via Getty]

Can't Buy Me Love

Sadie Stein — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:30:00 EDT

The recession is making our hearts bleed as well as our pockets: an "international poll" finds that our love lives have taken a harder hit since the economic downturn than those of the (less materialistic?) other countries polled. [Reuters] More »

Door To Door

Sadie Stein — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:30:00 EDT

Avon is one of a number of "direct selling companies" bucking the recession. No longer limited to "ladies," Avon's been able to recruit many new "representatives" of both sexes to vend their Reese Witherspoon-associated products. [Independent] More »