Economic News Not Good

10/29/2010

Love is a combination of care, commitment, knowledge, responsibility, respect and trust.
bell hooks, 1952-2021, author and social activist

In mid-October we invited ExchangeEveryDay readers to tell us whether programs in their communities were still feeling the impact of the economic downturn in the Exchange Insta Poll. The results, when compared with responses to the same question in March 2009 and July 2009, are not encouraging (with one exception) ...

Canada: In all three surveys, Canadian respondents indicated that basically their programs were not impacted by the downturn. Or, more likely, this means that there was no significant economic downturn in Canada.

United States: While there were slight improvements in ratings for the Southwest and Midwest regions of the United States in the July Insta Poll, results have basically remained unchanged throughout the period. U.S. respondents consistently have told us that on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 indicating that enrollments and funding have improved or remained steady and 10 indicating that results are disastrously worse) that enrollments and funding are midway between fine and disastrous (with most ratings at the 5 level). Anecdotally, we have been told that even where the economy in a community is picking up, the demand for child care seems to lag many months behind that. In addition, state budgets for child care are still, in most states, well below 2008 levels.

Outside North America: Initially respondents outside of North America indicated that programs in their nations were not impacted by the downturn. However, in the last two polls, ratings (5) are no better than those in U.S. However, this rating covers many, many nations with widely varying situations. Some nations in Asia managed to escape the worst of the impact, and some nations in Africa were in such dire straights already that the downturn made no difference.

It is not too late to express your opinion in the current Exchange Insta Poll on the impact of the economy. Vote today and watch the results all of next week.

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