Chris Farrell
Contributor at Freelance
Senior economics contributor at Marketplace, economics commentator at MPR, columnist and author.
Articles
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3 days ago |
nextavenue.org | Chris Farrell
Editor’s note: This is part 6 of a 12-part collaborative series between Next Avenue and Marketplace Morning Report. Students in college rely on loans to pay for much of their higher education bill, and many young adults with student debt struggle to repay their loans while launching their careers and households. Less appreciated is how many older adults are also carrying student loans and paying them off threatens to undermine their retirement security.
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5 days ago |
startribune.com | Chris Farrell
Service is deteriorating at the Social Security Administration. Complaints are rising about worsening backlogs and delays at the understaffed agency, largely thanks to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). No one really knows what DOGE is doing with its access to the agency's data, but the chaos is fueling worries when increasing numbers of the "Peak 65" generation - the large wave of Americans turning 65 between 2024 and 2027 - are filing for benefits.
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1 week ago |
nextavenue.org | Chris Farrell
Editor’s note: This is part 5 of a 12-part collaborative series between Next Avenue and Marketplace Morning Report. Cheryl Hines is 74 years old and quick with a smile. She uses a cane, but she doesn't seem to need it much. Hines — pronounced like the ketchup, she tells me with a laugh — lives in an apartment in a 55-plus complex on the outskirts of the Twin Cities. She moved into the high rise about a decade ago. She was a nurse for much of her career.
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1 week ago |
startribune.com | Chris Farrell
Busyness has long been a hallmark of American culture. The French social-philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville during his travels in America in the 1830s remarked on how restless Americans seemed. Fast-forward almost 200 years, and the same observation holds. "In today's America, complaining about being busy and working all the time is so commonplace, most of us do it without thinking.
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1 week ago |
mprnews.org | Angela Davis |Chris Farrell |Maja Beckstrom
Create an account or log in to save stories. Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories. Credit card debt has been rising at one of the fastest rates in history. The amount Americans owed on credit cards hit an record high of over $1.2 trillion at the end of 2024. And people are not only spending more on plastic, they’re also paying down less, carrying high balances and shelling out more for late fees.
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Chris Farrell: Living frugally in the long term helps weather short-term economic downturns https://t.co/bCGkhEWpYa You can’t control President Trump, the stock markets or the economy. You can take practical steps to navigate the turmoil, including reviewing your household budget
As tuition costs and student debt rise, many question if college is worth it https://t.co/i3dtjJ7vDb Research and experience show investing in postsecondary education — from certificates to bachelor’s degrees — still pays.
Finding work in an uncertain job market https://t.co/zXxKNNLRzH Layoffs are on the rise. Companies are slowing hiring plans. Fewer employees are leaving their current jobs for new ones. How to get a job if laid off. We got a wide range of calls.