U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. talks with Lindy Washburn of The Record of North Jersey at the Great Falls in Paterson about the landmark’s future as a national park.

First Federal Economic Stimulus Funds start flowing in California repaving of I-80 in Fairfield.

This happens when there is a significant decline in the economy which usually lasts for a short period of time. You can tell there is one when consumers don’t spend that much, a lot of people are unemployed, companies have to make job cuts, industrial production is down and lately, there is a housing crisis as people have to foreclose their homes.

The technical indicator which tells you that the country is in a recession is when there has been 2 consecutive quarters of negative growth which is measured by the country’s GDP or gross domestic product.

Experts say that this is bound to happen because it is part of the business cycle and things usually improve within 16 to 18 months.

What is a business cycle? It is considered to be a periodic but irregular up and down movement in a country’s economic activity which can be measured by fluctuations in the GDP as well as other macroeconomic variables.

Things are going up when the economy recovers and expands. The situation goes the opposite direction when the market experiences a slowdown until it eventually reaches a recession.

The last time the United States had a recession was in 2000 and this lasted for three negative quarters until 2001. Experts hope that the same thing will happen right now but this could change as the stock market has had a roller coaster ride these past few weeks and a bailout which was just approved recently will try to make things better.

But there has never been such a drastic move when the country was in recession. In the past, lowering interest rates was the solution. In 2007, the Federal government slashed the interest rate three times towards the end of the third and fourth quarter so that banks could get overnight loans for as low as 4.25%.

The recession in the United States has affected other countries and drastic steps have been taken to prevent it from getting worse. Members of the European Union agree that there must be reforms in the world’s financial system.

Is there light at the end of the tunnel? The answer is yes but it is going to be some time before anyone will see any improvements.

When homeowners are facing foreclosure, the mortgage lenders often become referred to as evil, heartless people.  While this anger in understandable, it could be in the way of you keeping your home.  Unless you foresee having financial problems for years to come, you will want to make nice with your financial lender.  After all, they may be able to provide you with an alternative.  This alternative can keep your home out of foreclosure or stop the current process right in its tracks.

The first step in getting your lender to work with you, to avoid foreclosure, is speaking with them.  You will get nowhere by avoiding them.  Whenever you receive a warning or an intent of foreclosure notice or a phone call, start making plans to contact your lender.  While you may want to head straight to your local bank branch, you may want to take a few hours or a day to reflect on the situation.  This will allow you to develop a plan of action, a plan of action that will be successful.

Before meeting with an official at your bank, it is important to know what you will say and how you will say it.  This is key to keeping your home out of foreclosure.  Although financial lenders want to avoid foreclosures at all costs, they don’t want to keep on losing money.  Lenders are usually unwilling to work with those who don’t show true interest in rectifying the situation. That is why a plan of action is required.

As for that plan of action, collect as much information as you can about your current financial situation and the cause of it.  For example, are you currently laid off, but looking for a new job?  Take your updated resume to with you.  It can help to show that you are actively looking for a job and trying to save your home.  Let them know of any upcoming interviews you may have scheduled as well.

If you are out of work due to an injury and that injury is only temporary, get notices from your doctor and your place of employment.  This will prove to your lender that you still have a job waiting for you and will be able to return to work soon.  Proving that you do intend to make your mortgage payment in full and as soon is possible is key to avoiding foreclosure or stopping it.

Next, it is important to consider your appearance and your attitude.  Starting with your appearance, it is important to walk into the bank with your head held high.  You will also want to dress professionally.  Women should wear dresses or pantsuits.  For men, pantsuits are also recommended.  Avoid casual clothing.  For many financial lenders, a borrower who carries himself or herself in a professional manner shows responsibility.  Responsibility is another important key to getting your lender to work with you.

As for your attitude, make sure that you don’t have one.  As previously stated, financial lenders often become the bad guys when foreclosure is threatened or when the process gets started.  No matter how angry you are with your lender, do not let your anger show.

If you learn that your financial lender is willing to work with you, to help you avoid foreclosure, they may offer their own suggestions.  You can take these suggestions, but don’t get in over your head.  Reduced mortgage payments are nice, even if they are only temporary, but make sure that you can pay them.  If a strict deadline is set for the return of the originally agreed upon payments, make sure you can make those payments too.  If not, the whole foreclosure warning process will start again.

In short, always approach your financial lender if you suspect foreclosure is on the horizon or as soon as the proceedings start.  Since lenders lose money on foreclosed properties, they want to avoid foreclosure just as much as you do.

Workers are laid off while some construction companies go bankrupt are two things that happen when there is a decline in home building. But if you think that they are the only ones affected, think again because it creates a domino effect.

Aside from those working in the construction company, those who supply the construction materials like the lumber yards and steel mills are also affected because they will not be able to sell that much compared to the last month or even last year which is why they could pose little or no growth at all when it is time to report their corporate earnings.

On a national level, there has been an increase in the number of people who are unemployed which happens to be its highest in 7 years.

Naturally, such massive job losses will affect consumer spending since people will tighten their belts even further rather than buying something they like from the store.

If a house is going to be built, the homeowner is required to get a permit. This will give him the right to build on the property and is also used by the government an indicator of future building activity. If there is a decline, cities that issue these permits will also lose a certain amount of revenue thus they will not earn that much from construction as they have done so in the past for projects that they plan.

Surprising is the fact that the decline in home building as well as the sale or resale or homes for the first time contributed to the US recession. Back in 2000 to 2001, this was blamed on the burst of the dot-com bubble or the attacks of 9/11.

Although we recovered from that and experienced growth over the 7 year period, some say that this is normal because the recession is part of the business cycle. The economy expands, slows down and then recovers. Yes people will lose jobs and some businesses will go bankrupt.

Should only the strong survive during these trying times? No because the country has experience a recession countless times and some feel that we didn’t learn our lessons from the past which is why we are here again.

Have we learned from our mistakes? Even if the $700 billion bailout plan works, some say no because it is bound to happen again unless radical changes in the system are done. The same goes for the decline in home building because maybe we should have only made homes equal to the demand but that in reality is hard to achieve.

Rep. Bachmann joins Geraldo to discuss health care reform solutions, and the impact of the tea party protests taking place across the country.

Sounds too logical? This “should” be the basis of any health care reform but Washington will most likely rebuttal claiming people are being compared to cars.

You live a healthy lifestyle, pay little in premiums; abuse your body and you pay more. Make sense? Of course it does because it’s no different than how you drive. Speeding tickets, DUIs and other major traffic violations are equivalent to an unhealthy diet without exercise and regular doctor visits.

Rating based on “health performance” can really change competition in the market because just like auto insurance, health care insurance companies can create tiers of health coverage similar to your deductibles. But in order for competition to work insurance should be allowed to be purchased across state lines. You can buy auto insurance from large corporations like Geico, Progressive and others you see on TV.

A new tiered system will bring choice. If you want the McLaren F1 of health insurance plans, pay up. If you don’t want insurance at all, that should be a choice as well; you are just denied care.

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More articles covering this very topic

• A Health Insurance Mandate That Works Like Auto Insurance? Think Again – Fox News
• Requiring Health Insurance Is Not Like Auto – New American

Setting up an emergency fund will be very useful especially when there is a recession. This will enable you to survive several months without worrying if you still have money to buy stuff especially when there is a slowdown.

But when it hits you, cleaning up your balance sheet is just one way to survive the financial crisis. To help you along, here are a few other ideas which you may find useful.

In 2008, the unemployment rate grew by 6.1%, its highest level in 5 years. The last time it hit this mark was in 2003 as the economy was still recovering from the 2000-2001 recession. These job cuts happened in the airline, travel, retail and service industry just to name a few. If you happen to work in one of these industries, you should probably consider a career shift to an occupation that is more stable even if it means going back to school.

Going to school is not an option if you are raising a family. The next best thing to do will be take an extra job. Just make sure that the time you spend here does not affect your primary job otherwise, you could lose it.

Most Americans have invested in the stock market and if you are one of them, don’t panic and think about selling it just because things are down. You have to remember that a recession is cyclical so your portfolio will recover in the future. You just have to be patient because it is going to take several months before everything is back to normal.

But if you do have the money, now is the best time to buy stocks and bonds. Why? Because these are relatively cheap and you can cash it in when the economy is back on track.

Apart from going back to school and getting a second job, perhaps you can use your skills and then offer this as a service to others. If you like to cook, make some pastries and then sell these to potential stores. If you are good with your hands, maybe you can help repair leaks should your neighbor have a problem with their plumbing.

If you own an SUV, trade it in for a small vehicle because you get better mileage with a smaller car. If you have the money, see if you can get one that is a hybrid because apart from consuming less gas, you get tax breaks for investing in alternative forms of energy.

When you go to the grocery, only buy the essentials. Resist the urge to buy things that the kids want. If you can’t say no, try to get a similar brand that is just as good as what they want.

Lastly, we all have bills to pay monthly. If possible, switch to better and more affordable services because each penny counts during these dire times.

There are other ways to survive a recession apart from those mentioned. By following these tips and getting advice from a financial planner, you are sure to wither out this storm. Until that day comes, you shouldn’t live in fear but rather make the most of it because this isn’t the first time that you will face a recession and it surely won’t be the last.