According to the U.S Department of Labor in December 2008, 37 states and Washington D.C. experienced an increased unemployment rate, compared to the previous month; in addition, over the year, 49 states saw their jobless rate increase.

With so many people losing their jobs throughout the country, it’s easy to feel that losing your job may be just around the corner. But there’s no reason to stand idly by while your current job pushes you out the door. Rather, you can be proactive in trying to recession-proof your career so that you can weather the storm.

It’s very easy, in this current economy, to get caught up in the domino effect that is taking place. But the truth of the matter is that what started with the banks doesn’t have to end with your career. There are more people working than not; we just have to start concentrating on the positive.

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday night overwhelmingly passed what will go down in economic history as the banker bailout bill.

While the world awaits reaction from the House of Representatives, Libertarian Presidential Candidate Bob Barr isn’t keeping silent.

In fact, Barr has launched a verbal attack against Sen. John McCain, often referred to as a maverick in Washington, for voting “yes” for the bill.

In a bold move to build confidence during a shaky economy, the National Taxypayers Union (NTU) has just released a study that concludes Libertarian Bob Barr is the most fiscally responsible candidate running for president. The study determined that a Barr presidency would cut federal spending by a whopping $200.9 billion.

"This study just goes to show that both Republicans and Democrats will only add more to our already sky-rocketing debt," Barr said in reaction to the study. "On Election Day, voters can choose John McCain's big government, Barack Obama's bigger government, or Bob Barr's smaller government."

The NTU study also found that Sen. John McCain would raise federal spending by nearly $100 billion, compared with Sen. Barack Obama's plans that would raise spending by almost $300 billion.

Read More About Barr Only Presidential Candidate Who Saves Taxpayers Money...

These are their "Legacy Votes."

(This letter was sent to Congress on Wed Sept 24, 2008 regarding the Treasury plan as outlined on that date.)

To the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate:

As economists, we want to express to Congress our great concern for the plan proposed by Treasury Secretary Paulson to deal with the financial crisis. We are well aware of the difficulty of the current financial situation and we agree with the need for bold action to ensure that the financial system continues to function. We see three fatal pitfalls in the currently proposed plan:

1) Its fairness. The plan is a subsidy to investors at taxpayers’ expense. Investors who took risks to earn profits must also bear the losses.  Not every business failure carries systemic risk. The government can ensure a well-functioning financial industry, able to make new loans to creditworthy borrowers, without bailing out particular investors and institutions whose choices proved unwise.

2) Its ambiguity. Neither the mission of the new agency nor its oversight are clear. If taxpayers are to buy illiquid and opaque assets from troubled sellers, the terms, occasions, and methods of such purchases must be crystal clear ahead of time and carefully monitored afterwards.

3) Its long-term effects. If the plan is enacted, its effects will be with us for a generation. For all their recent troubles, America's dynamic and innovative private capital markets have brought the nation unparalleled prosperity.  Fundamentally weakening those markets in order to calm short-run disruptions is desperately short-sighted.

For these reasons we ask Congress not to rush, to hold appropriate hearings, and to carefully consider the right course of action, and to wisely determine the future of the financial industry and the U.S. economy for years to come.

Another bailout, another few billion dollars.

The House on Wednesday approved a $14 billion bailout plan for U.S automakers after the White House and Democratic leaders finalized a deal empowering a government “car czar” to force the companies into bankruptcy if they don’t restructure by next spring.

Supporters, including administration officials, Democratic congressional leaders and many independent economists, warned that hundreds of thousands of jobs could be lost and hundreds of related businesses damaged or destroyed if one or more of the U.S. automakers failed.

The Bible says that Solomon was the richest man who ever lived and also the wisest ever to live (1 Kings 4:31). I think that makes him qualified to give some financial advice. I know there is some debate over whether or not Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes, so just in case he didn’t we can use the alternate title of: Financial Lessons from someone wise.

“Faith is daring the soul to go beyond what the eyes can see” (2 Corinthians 5:7)

America’s job creators offered the Obama administration’s economic plans another resounding vote of “no confidence.” Stocks are again plunging as President Barack Obama signaled a refusal to change the failed big-spending, big-government policies responsible for the current economic stagnation.

When markets opened after the biggest Election Day in presidential history, the S&P 500 tumbled 52.98 points, or 5.3 percent while the Dow retreated 486.01, or 5.1 percent. The Russell 2000 Index of small U.S. companies fell 5.7 percent to 514.64. The MSCI World Index of 23 developed markets decreased 2.5 percent to 982.98. The stock market declined again after Obama's State of the Union address.