The main focus of Tuesday’s State of the Union address was the economy and income inequality. Along with his ideas about taxation and protecting homeowners, president Obama also expressed a desire to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. Since the 1980s, the U.S. economy has shifted away from manufacturing and towards intellectual property and services. This has been due in part to the perceived expenses involved in production based in the U.S., as well as labor laws. 

Earlier this month, Newt Gingrich made a lot of headlines with his thoughts on child labor laws and his policy proposal to allow children as young as 9 years old to go to work. Takeaway listeners had a lot to say about this. Among them were Bill Arnott, from Columbia, South Carolina, and Carol, from Wellesley, Massachusetts, who came on the show to their experience working as children through the prism of Gingrich's comments. (Carol asked The Takeaway not to use her last name.)

GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich says we need a radical proposal to "change America's culture of poverty," and put children to work. He advocates allowing kids as young as nine to replace school janitors. Gingrich thinks this approach would not only teach good work ethic to children in poor communities, but also help them earn a wage for their families.

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain responded to multiple allegations of sexual harassment at a press conference in Phoenix on Tuesday. "These anonymous allegations are false and now the Democrat machine has brought forth a troubled woman to make accusations," Cain said. "Many of which exceed common sense, and they certainly exceed the standards of decency in America." He made this statement same day that Karen Kraushaar's decades old sexual harassment claim against the Republican front runner was made public.

Last Friday, President Obama withdrew a new draft of the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards. This means smog standards will not be updated but instead will remain at the same level since 2008 — levels that George W. Bush’s science advisers declared inadequate. Current EPA administrator Lisa Jackson declared this decision "not legally defensible." Obama cited regulatory uncertainty and burden as the reasons for his decision.

The new debt ceiling compromise comes with $2.1 trillion in cuts over the next decade. With the flailing economy and anemic job market, how will these cuts affect unemployment? When it comes to jobs, are there any sure-fire professions or regions of the country left? Beth Kobliner talks about what segments of the economy we can expect to expand in the new climate and what will suffer. In addition to being the author of "Get a Financial Life," Kobliner is also an appointee to the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability.  

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the latest unemployment numbers on Friday. In anticipation of what could be discouraging news, we're kicking off a weeklong series about unemployment-related issues. Today we focus on the long-term unemployed. What can be done to get them back in the job market? Our guest says one solution is offering incentives to employers to hire the long-term unemployed over those who already have jobs.

A 2011 poll conducted by Marist found that only 45 percent of respondents plan to take a vacation this summer. That’s the lowest number in the survey’s 11 year history. And only 35 percent of those who are planning getaways will be taking longer trips, as opposed to weekend jaunts. Why aren't more Americans taking vacations? And how does forgoing vacations affect both employers' and employees' bottom lines?

The age-old, personal finance rule-of-thumb is that every American household should have about three months salary tucked away in savings in the case of a really rainy day. In the the best of times, Americans are pretty poor savers; so, how feasible is a three-month financial cushion in these troubled economic times? A new study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research decided to find out. Researchers asked Americans whether or not they would be able to raise $2,000 in cash within thirty days. The results of the poll may surprise you.

Unfortunately, Americans have always been terrible at saving: There have been lots of surveys and statistics that have proven this through the years. But a new survey provides shocking evidence that not only do many people not have any emergency savings on hand, they don’t even have a Plan B – no credit, no family to rely on, no belongings to pawn. They are the “financially fragile.”

The job market has been tough for college grads in the past few years. As we near yet another cycle of transitions, we’re taking a look at the current state of the job market, and checking in with recent graduates about what they’ve been facing. Takeaway contributor Beth Kobliner is here. Author of "Get a Financial Life,” she is also an appointee to the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability.

This month, minimum wage workers in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington will see paycheck increases of three to 12 cents per hour. For those earning low wages, increases do help with living expenses, but is such a small raise really noticeable? We speak with Ashley Kinsinger, who has worked for minimum wage as a supermarket cashier, and Beth Kobliner, work contributor for The Takeaway about the issue.

On January 1, about 650,000 minimum wage workers in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington saw their paychecks rise by up to 12 cents per hour. Who makes the minimum wage these days, and is it enough to live on?

Many sounds, sights and traditions have long been hallmarks of December…from decorating a Christmas tree to the singing of carols. And at least one seasonal tradition is specific to the workplace: the holiday bonus. But where did this tradition come from? And in our current economy, will it disappear?

Earlier this month, a bill to extend benefits for three months for the long-term unemployed was defeated in Congress. The cost of extending benefits would have equaled roughly $12 billion.

But while Capitol Hill has thus far been unwilling to spend $12 billion for the unemployed, Republicans on the Hill have also announced their intention to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of Americans. The price tag to do so for 2011? Roughly $36 billion.

For this week's segment on the workplace, we look at the battle over affirmative action. Arizona just passed anti-affirmative action legislation earlier this month, and soon, Utah could follow suit.  An anti-affirmative action bill could be reintroduced for a vote in the Utah House of Representatives early next year. With a new crop of Republicans taking over for ousted Democrats after the mid-term elections, the bill looks more and more likely to pass.

For details on this bill and its implications, we speak with KCPW reporter Elizabeth Zeigler, in Utah.

Yesterday we asked: What is a sackable offense at your place of work? And you gave us plenty of responses, from your own personal stories to the larger questions about getting sacked. 

On facebook, James wrote: 

Employers are enjoying their control over employees. I know of a company that is so petty, they are terminating all their long time employees and hiring newbies for less... Things are going to get worse before they get better; if they ever do!

We all know the words unemployment and underemployment, but are you familiar with the term "malemployment?" Chances are, even if you don’t know the word, you know some who’s suffering through it. Malemployment, unlike underemployment, isn’t about workers having too little work. It’s about college degree holders working jobs that don’t require college degrees. 

Anthony Fraccia hoped that offering a job in Michigan at his small business — a part-time position that would become full-time depending on performance — he'd get plenty of applicants. But one potential employee who called told him they wouldn't take the job because "I make more on unemployment." It took a minute for it all to sink in, but it left Fraccia wondering if extending unemployment benefits was actually bad for business.

As the economic climate continues to suffer, the number of former workers seeking Social Security disability benefits has spiked.

Ten years ago, roughly five million disabled workers collected Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Today, more than eight million ex-workers do. And as the economic climate of America continues to suffer, the number of SSDI applications continues to rise. This year, they’re up 21 percent over last year.