Countdown to the Election: Spare Change News for 10/23 - 11/5

Here at Spare Change News we're not supposed to endorse a presidential candidate in the upcoming race. While we can't tell you who to vote for, we can tell you to vote. In fact, we demand that you vote! You can brush up on the ballot initiatives in this issue, and while you're at it, change our nation's future by dropping by the polls on November 4.

VOTE NOVEMBER 4: 2008 Ballot Initiatives

Confused about the proposed laws on the Massachusetts ballot? Spare Change writer Matthew LeBlanc explains Question 1 (State Personal Income Tax), Question 2 (Possession of Marijuana) and Question 3 (Dog Racing).

Following the Election Online
Matthew LeBlanc

There is plenty of information about the presidential race available online, overwhelming even the most avid web surfer. Traditional news outlets like The New York Times or CNN.com may be the first place you turn to learn about the election, but political blogs and polling sites are good sources as well.

From Wall Street to Pine Street: The Widespread Ramifications of the Financial Sector Fallout
Ed Larsen & H.J. Pound, MPH

You don't have to be a big shot on Wall Street to be effected by the financial crisis. Nonprofits, government employees and private citizens are feeling the impact too, and it's a struggle that's hitting close to home. Fourteen percent of the Massachusetts workforce is currently employed by nonprofits, a sector that relies heavily on corporate backing, according to a National Public Radio report. The fallen corporate giant Lehman Brothers gave $39 million to charities and nonprofits last year, including many Boston organizations that now have to turn to other sources for funding.

Pre-Election Blues
Marc D. Goldfinger

In Reno, Nevada, a small group of tents populated by homeless people sprang up by the railroad tracks, people with nowhere else to go. Within a short time there were over 150 tents, so close to each other people could barely breathe, filled with people who had come to Reno to look for work. There was no work to be had. But this wasn't only happening in Reno. It was happening in Seattle, Washington; Athens, Georgia; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco and Los Angeles, California. Tent cities were born all over the USA as the foreclosure explosion took off, hurricanes hit Texas and Mississippi, and the stock market crashed.