There’s no doubt that the main challenge facing America at this point in time is jobs. There simply aren’t enough new positions being created to fill the needs of the new workers entering the labor force every month, let alone reduce unemployment that continues to hover stubbornly close to 10 percent.

The Washington Post is publishing a series on different tactics that the government and the country could use to restore full employment and get economy back on track. The first expert they call upon is Andy Stern, a Senior Research Fellow at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute and the former president of the influential Service Employees International Union.

Stern calls for three major policy points. Read full article…

Nobody particularly likes watching ads – just look at the proliferation of technology designed to get around watching them. From DVRs to pop-up blockers, any technology that carries ads will soon see some innovation designed to get around it.

With that in mind, and the usefulness of internet marketing still in doubt, a Utah-based company called Varolo has turned the traditional model of advertising on its head. Instead of paying big media companies to show you ads, Varolo pays you to watch them, and rewards you for bringing more people into the Varolo fold.

By building a “village” of friends, you can earn money on the ads watched by all the people in your Varolo social network, and you guarantee that the ads will be relevant to you and your peers. Read full article…

Anyone who has owned a credit card within the last decade has been subjected to rising interest rates, regardless of their credit score or financial habits. Unfortunately, most cardholders are not aware of the change until a statement arrives in the mail with elevated interest charges.

Some individuals with exceptional credit become outraged about the change and try to close the credit account while some charges remain outstanding. While this may seem like the fair and just course of action, it will often result in damage to the credit score. The following information can help anyone deal with and prevent rising interest rates in the right way.

Why Interest Rates Change

Interest rates tend to fluctuate as often as the economy does, which makes them just as unpredictable.

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Big ups to Jeff over at the Sustainable Life Blog for including my post, “Brother, can you spare a swipe? Contactless card reading guitar unveiled,” in this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance.

My post, which details a wireless, touchless credit card accepting guitar by Barclays, is nuzzled into the ever-popular theme of Labor Day. Because what says Labor Day more than a raggedy bum asking for change and strumming “Like A Rolling Stone” in the corner of a busy intersection? Well … maybe that’s not the best example.

The holiday, according to the carnival, is “dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers.” So congratulate yourself, kick up your feet and head on over to the carnival for a short history of Labor Day and loads of great personal finance articles.

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Alexi Giannoulias’ bid to take President Obama’s former seat in the U.S. Senate got a boost Thursday when a federal report concluded politics played no part in how the failure of his family-owned bank played out.

“Nothing came to our attention to suggest that FDIC officials or the FDIC examination, enforcement action, or closing processes were subject to any political or inappropriate influence,” said the report issued by the inspector general’s office of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

A leading Republican, Rep. Dan Issa of California, had asked the FDIC to investigate the April 23, 2010, closing of Broadway Bank in Chicago. Its failure ate up $394 million in FDIC insurance, which is paid from a fund that all banks pay into.

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