Higley's Williams Field High School in Gilbert will see 340 students receive diplomas this year. Those students have already been awareded $5.6 million in scholarships.

No one can deny the Great Recession left a permanent mark on our nation and its economy. But what effect did it have on the American Dream of Home Ownership? That’s the question we set out to answer by asking Phoenix-based Benchmark Research Technologies to survey nearly 1,700 Arizona new home shoppers about their attitudes surrounding home ownership in the post-recession era.

Finally some actual facts! That’s what I was hoping to find when I opened Rod Livdahl’s letter about the “tickle up effect”. Alas, it was not so. It was simply more “theory,” not supported by actual facts in an attempt to disparage President Reagan’s implementation of supply side economics. So I took one statistic, the unemployment rate, and did some research. These facts paint an interesting picture:

Recovery seems to be on the minds of many these days as the economy continues to shake off the after-effects of the recession. Housing prices and sales are climbing, the unemployment rate is falling and near record-low mortgage rates are bringing potential buyers who had been reluctant to make a move during the housing downturn back into the market.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. job market is proving sturdier than expected at a time when the economy is under pressure from Washington gridlock and the threat of government spending cuts.

The state's jobless rate jumped a bit last month -- maybe.

WASHINGTON — Economic growth is pitiful. Unemployment has topped 8 percent for an exhausting 43 months. The nation is careering toward a so-called fiscal cliff, and maybe a recession.

Last December, 1.3 million Americans received SSI disability payments for “mood disorders.” Yes, that’s right, more Americans than the entire population of San Diego received a monthly check from Uncle Sam to compensate for their suffering from such psychic maladies as sleep disturbance, appetite disturbance, decreased energy and feelings of guilt or worthlessness.

WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added 96,000 jobs in August, a tepid figure that points to the economy's persistent weakness and slowing prospects for the unemployed.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economic recovery hasn't felt much like one even for people who managed to find new jobs after being laid off. Most of them have had to settle for less pay.

Guess what conservatives?

Mr. Ricker (The Inbox, June 17) is correct that to judge anything one needs a benchmark. Since the Great Depression there have been multiple recessions. If one compares the recoveries from these recessions, the (recovery) from the 2007-2009 Recession has been the slowest. It has lasted longer and has produced fewer jobs than any recovery since the Great Depression. One can quibble over statistics, but the fact remains that the Obama Administration’s handling of the (Bush) recession has been inept, frequently counterproductive and wasteful of taxpayer money. To give Mr. Obama four more years to continue his policies that have given us the slowest recovery in 70 years would be foolish and dangerous.

Ahwatukee Foothills resident Moses Sanchez is all about service. A full-time family man, Sanchez is also everything from board member to published author, and he seems to be involved in every aspect of life here in Ahwatukee.

States starting to turn the corner on their Great Recession budget woes are taking the cautious approach, socking away millions of dollars in rainy day funds rather than restoring spending for education, health care and social services.

The Republican party wants us to believe that the unemployment rate of 8.2 percent reflects negatively on Obama’s economic policies. My question is compared to what?

Americans gape with fascination at the slow-motion implosion of the Eurozone. But it’s a fabulous opportunity to learn from others, if we will, and avoid at least some of the misery enveloping Europe.

Lackluster hiring by private companies last month left the state's seasonally adjusted jobless rate for December unchanged at 8.7 percent.

Unemployment is still north of 8 percent and more than half of Arizonans say jobs remain hard to get.

Tempe-based US Airways flew nearly 7 percent fewer passengers in November than in November 2007.

At a time when many businesses are cutting back, Orbital Sciences Corp. will break ground Thursday on an 82,000-square-foot expansion of its rocket development and production campus in south Chandler.

WASHINGTON - The country is sinking deeper into the economic doldrums, and it’s likely to stay there for a while.

KOCHI, India - On the last night of his life, the farmer walked into his dusty fields, choked down pesticide and waited to die.

WASHINGTON - A growing majority say they won't buy a home anytime soon, the latest sign of increasing pessimism about the nation's housing crisis, a poll showed Monday.