In Pennsylvania, non-profit Excela Health laid off 78 hospital employees, and will not fill 58 vacant positions.  Officials blame a decline in people seeking medical help, and Obama Care.

In Kansas, Hunter Health Clinic warned of layoffs.  The clinic is facing legal and financial problems.  Financial problems started at least two years ago, but amazingly the board of directors claim they only recently learned of the problems!

In Rochester, New York, Rich Products shut down their bakery.  100 people out-o-work.

Government contractor, Pratt & Whitney, bribed 575 people to quit their jobs.  Company officials warned of future layoffs as well.  The parent company of Pratt & Whitney, United Technologies, also warned they will be laying off 3-thousand employees over the next year.

In Marblehead, Massachusetts, Lulu’s Boutique closed.

In Maryland, paint maker Complementary Coatings closed.  52 employees laid off.  Local news media said company officials would not explain why.

After 40 years of business, and without warning, Cindy’s Hallmark closed in Connecticut.   Reports said Hallmark employees were so shocked they ran into neighboring plaza stores, crying.  It’s not clear why the Hallmark store closed, and ironically it is being replaced with another gift card store.

Eaton Regional Education Service Agency laid off 24 employees in Michigan.

In Minnesota, Trish Land closed.  The owner wants to focus on freelance event planning and floral design.

O’Leary’s restaurant closed in Illinois, after 33 years of business.  The restaurant was unable to pay local taxes and went bankrupt.

In Wisconsin, Sentry Food’s shut down their Sun Prairie grocery store.  96 people unemployed.

Alpha Natural Resources laid off 106 employees at four West Virginia mines.  Another 83 employees were offered jobs elsewhere.  Company officials blame it on a glut of coal on the international markets.

In North Carolina, Delta Apparel laid off 135 employees. The company is consolidating its screen printing operations.

In Tennessee, 200 people could be losing their jobs with Pilgrim’s Pride (now known as Pilgrim’s Corporation).  Pilgrim’s is closing down a cold storage operation in Chattanooga.  They already laid off 400 people in 2012.

Virginia based agricultural supplier, Southern States Cooperative, is shutting down eight stores in Alabama.  The city of Prichard laid off six employees.  City officials warned of bankruptcy: “The decision was made in anticipation of a decision that will soon come before a bankruptcy judge…”-Troy Ephriam, mayor

In Jackson, Mississippi, Choctaw Books closed after three decades: “I’ve been open six days a week for 31 years. I won’t know what to do with myself….We’ve always had a double whammy of the lowest per capita spending on books in the country and the highest illiteracy rate….Over the years so many of my good customers have died…I was just a little too stubborn, kept thinking ‘it’ll work; things will get better’.”-Fred Smith, owner

What oil industry boom?  In Magnolia, Texas, global provider of project management and services for the oil and gas industry, Cameron International, shut down.  88 people out-o-work.

In California, Concord Music Group laid off between ten and 20 employees (company officials refused to be specific).  In Carmel Valley, the 30 years old City Kids-Beach Kids closed. It’s blamed on the property owners of Del Mar Highlands Town Center, who refused to let the owners of the children’s clothing store renew their lease.  San Fransisco based advertising agency, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, laid off 51 employees.  Companies are spending less on advertising due to the bad economy.  In Walnut, Sysco Los Angeles laid off 200 people.  Fedex Freight laid off 65 people in Los Angeles and 54 in Vernon.  Southern California Edison laid off 56 employees.  Wolfgang Puck laid off 170 people in Los Angeles.  Sheet metal products maker, USS Postco, laid off 705 people in Pittsburg.  In Citrus Heights, the Lucky Derby Casino laid off 118 employees.

Tootie Pies bankrupt in Texas, despite a 300% increase in sales over the past six years.  Ironically, the bankruptcy is about taking on more debt financing: “We had no choice. Now, we are going to be able to move forward and get more capital infusion.”-Leslie Doss, newly appointed CEO

Baby killer Endicott Interconnect (they make electronics for the U.S. Department of Defense) now bankrupt.  Court documents show the company spent the previous year paying out $18-million USD to current and former ‘insiders’.  Company officials said they were paying back loans.

In California, TaskRabbit laid off 13 people by outsourcing their jobs, despite claiming strong growth.  The University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law laid off nine employees.  It’s blamed on continuing declines in student enrollment.  In Irvine, a Ralph’s grocery store closed.  51 people unemployed.  

Honeywell lays off most of its employees in Goose Bay, South Carolina.  About 320 of the 429 employees got layoff notices!  It’s blamed on U.S. Department of Defense spending cuts.

The Batavia Route 31 Burger King in Illinois shut down.  The owner said the store never did do well.   In Decature, 173 employees of Tri-R construction company were told they could be unemployed, because of a lost contract!

In Ohio, the 165 years old Chancellor University shut down.  It’s blamed on years of mergers resulting in accreditation and financial problems.  Ace Hardware closed its Perrysburg Township distribution center.  About 100 jobs affected!

In Nebraska, adult only store Basic Tease Boutique closed: “I can’t compete with the internet.”-Tamara Heasler-Webster, owner

A Golf Mart closed in Virginia.  It’s the fourth store the owner has closed, he blames the bad economy.

In New Jersey, it was announced the Deptford Kmart will close by the end of September.  65 jobs lost.

FirstEnergy in Pennsylvania, wants to shut down two coal fired electricity generating power plants. 380 jobs affected!

In New York, 40 years old Pumpernickle N Pastry closed.  The owners blamed increasing state taxation without proper representation!!!  FedEx closed its East Meadow office.  The office was in a bad location, even employees said they had a hard time seeing it from the main street.

YoYo Joe’s toy store shut down in Delaware.  The owner blames the internet.

Shaws Supermarket closed six grocery stores in Massachusetts and Rhode Island: “The stores identified have not been profitable for quite some time, and despite the best efforts of the company and our associates, we have not been able to reposition them to better compete in the marketplace.”   They closed five stores in 2011.

In Maine, 121 years old Parks Hardware closed.  The owner blames many things for the downward trend in the U.S. economy: “I can see where the transition is happening. I kind of sat down and analyzed things for years to see what the trends were.”-Lin White Jr

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“We’re in an income depression. Incomes have been flatlined for a very long time.”-John Coder, Sentier Research

Recently Gallup conducted a survey to see how much money most people in the U.S. think they make.  58% said they are making more money now than five years ago!

A study by Sentier Reseach (Household Income On the Fourth Anniversary of the Economic Recovery: June 2009 to June 2013) says yes and no.  It depends on who you are.

Lets break down the study’s government supplied data:  Since the official ‘end’ of the recession in 2009, incomes of people with no more than a high school education actually dropped 9.3%.  The average person with a two year college degree saw a drop of 8.6%.  People with four years of college saw an income drop of 6.5%.  People living in the West, South and Northeast are experiencing reduction in average incomes.

So actually most working age people in the U.S. are making less money than they did at the official end of the Great Recession, just four years ago!

Who saw an increase in income?  People ages 65 to 74 saw an increase of 5.1%.  People 75 years or older had no change in income levels.  People living in the Midwest (and still employed) had no change to average incomes.

The recent Gallup survey also showed 46% of people said they were making less money, and 18% claimed no change in their incomes.

The Sentier report and the Gallup poll shows that young ‘mericans are the dumbest frogs in the slowly boiling over pot.  Gallup reports that 55% of young adults think they’re making more money now, yet, the Sentier study shows that average incomes for people under age 25 dropped 9.6%.  Incomes dropped 4.5% for people 25 to 34 years old.  Clearly the young adults of America are income delusional.  Researchers say this is because young workers have yet to develop the ability to gauge the affects of inflation on their incomes (basically when they get a piddly pay raise they think they’re makin’ big money).

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A Cornell University economist, Richard Burkhauser, and economist Jeff Larrimore, of the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, say the average paychecks are going to remain low for at least the next 30 years!

The Russel Sage Foundation will publish the complete study soon.  It’s part of their U.S. 2010 project, in conjunction with Brown University.

The income trends study looks at actual incomes from 1979 to now, then projects where they will be until the Gregorian year 2050.  The study is yet another confirmation that paychecks for the average person in the United States have been getting smaller, not bigger.  (the IRS has confirmed this with its own studies based on tax returns)

The study warns that things are going to get worse for Blacks and Hispanics.