Lately, the top business headlines on iWon have brought a flurry of bad new. From reports of “Schwab to Cut Up to 2,400 Employees” to “Consumer Spending Grows at Snail’s Pace” and “Stocks Sink, Dow Under 10,000,” the outlook of the American economy is quite dreary.

In the week ending August 25th, the number of workers drawing unemployment benefits for more than a week rose to their highest level in nine years. The only good news is that while layoffs are occurring across the nation at a rapid pace, they do not seem to be accelerating at the moment. Still, as Americans continue to lose their jobs, or no doubt fear the potential loss, consumer spending has suffered.

The Federal Reserve has slashed its target for short-term interest rates seven times this year (from 6.5 percent to 3.5 percent) in hopes of preventing a recession. Since consumer spending, which makes up two-thirds of the economy, rose only 0.1 percent in July, it appears that the Federal Reserve might have to make yet another reduction.

Do you fear that we will go into a period of recession? Do you think Bush’s $1.3 trillion tax cut has helped or hurt the economy thus far? Do you think the tax cut will help or hurt the economy in the long run? Have you been more or less cautious with your spending this summer? How long do you think it will take for the economy to improve?