Young consumers in the US wield considerable buying power. Among 13 to 21 year-olds alone, over $120 billion was spent in 2007, according to The Harris Poll.

Get the full story here on E-Marketer.com. 

“The biggest U.S. financial crisis isn’t the housing crunch. It’s the government debt bomb being planted by baby boomers to explode in the faces of their children and grandchildren.”

This is an interesting article in the Baltimore Sun.

It really has given me a great deal to think about. We have certainly created quite a challenge that Gen Y will inherit (along with trying to pay off student loans, pay for healthcare, housing and the escalating price of food and fuel). The article points to our $9 trillion in debt, which is going to leave us with very little resources to address our major concerns surrounding healthcare and education.

We need to get on this today! Start getting involved and doing your part to help out.  Contact your political leaders, and by all means…if you think a certain candidate can help the economy, please get out and vote in your primaries and for the national election. I don’t believe it’s fair for us to just sit and do nothing and let Gen Y carry the burden for us.

Jacci Schiff is an amazing Gen Y leader.  She hit the streets two weeks ago in Washington D.C. for Y Talk Radio to ask a few Gen Y’s about their views on the state of the economy.  Really insightful interview. Download the interview here.

Jacci is a pro with interview style podcasts and pulled this great snippet together in less than a week.  So, check out what she is up to.  And…if you are interested in having a professionally done audio interview like this one, contact Jacci through the Schiff Report.

The podcast below includes the above linked interview and a few other thoughts from Jacci about Gen Y and the state of the economy from a recent interview on Y Talk.  Thanks Jacci for all you are doing!

The cover of the May Issue of Inc. Mag displays a picture of confident and quite sporty looking Gary Erickson who hit the big time from 1990-1991 when he developed the Clif Bar. The interesting thing about this story is that Erickson made the bar a household brand during a recession.

The article shares case studies of companies who did the same thing…they built a successful start-up during a down economy.

One case study that I found most fascinating was the story of Method…one of the coolest companies you’ll find today that makes soap and cleaning supplies from environmentally friendly supplies. The company built its recognition shortly following the Dot Com Bust, and founders Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan believe that the slow economy helped Method become one of the fastest growing companies in today’s biz world. As Ryan said in the Inc. article, “The hungriest wolves hunt best.” Tis so true.

I am not going to tell you all of the nitty gritty details about the article…pick up a copy and dive into the information…it is really great. However, I will give you a few tips offered:

1) During a down economy, it is a great time to sign up new customers who are looking for a more competitive price.

2) Look for opportunities to barter for or hire outsourced talent. Companies will be looking for ways to keep their talent busy as customers drop off.

3) Contact companies who are going through layoffs to inquire about seasoned talent that might be available for your start-up.

4) Offer a discount to customers who pay upfront or in full.