Writing up the Commerce Department’s July Personal Income and Outlays report, the Washington Post’s Annys Shin writes:

The “Cash for Clunkers” trade-in program, which gave consumers a subsidy to turn in older vehicles for new, fuel-efficient models, boosted consumer spending in July, the Commerce Department reported Friday … Consumer spending drives much of the economy, and the new data suggested people are willing to spend if given the right incentives. … To further stimulate spending, the federal government is working out the details of a similar program to start later this year that would allow consumers to purchase more

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The Washington Post reported March 22 on how workers are feeling pressure not to ask for, or take advantage of, flexible work schedules or other family-friendly benefits. Reporter Annys Shin writes:

In good times, workers frequently seized the opportunity to use “flex time” and family leave, to telecommute and to take paid sick days. But, according to workplace consultants, human resources specialists and employees themselves, those days are slipping away. More workers are giving up those arrangements, or resisting asking about them in the first place, out of fears that doing so will make them appear less committed to

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