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For some Americans, tax refunds are a yearly treat, an opportunity to build savings, or even splurge on a vacation. For others, living paycheck to paycheck amid lingering recession, the refunds become a lifeline, leaving them vulnerable to tax preparation firms who prey on their desperation, promising quick refunds in exchange for large fees and high interest rates.

Alfred Carpenter, 52, was working for a high-end shoe store in 2007, when the recession put the company out of business. A long-time salesman, Carpenter wasn't worried about getting another job, but then broke an ankle a few months later and ended up in the hospital. With no insurance and a $50,000 emergency room bill, he filed for bankruptcy protection.

Then his troubles got worse. One employer after another rescinded job offers after checking his credit report, he says. He finally found work, but at a fraction of his usual pay.

A new report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office adds to the mounting evidence that spending cuts have held back America’s economic recovery. According to the CBO’s budget and economic projections for the next decade, released on Tuesday, middling GDP growth over the past year is partially attributable to “scheduled automatic reductions in federal spending.”

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Perla Saenz went back sore and exhausted just four weeks after giving birth—and two weeks after the incision from her C-section reopened. She had heard her older child cough in the night and instinctively tried to pick him up, forgetting for a moment her doctor’s warning against lifting anything heavier than ten pounds. Weak and sometimes feverish, she often found herself clutching the counter for support.

Owners of small businesses want Wall Street and the large American banks to be held accountable for the lingering financial crisis. They believe that stronger regulations governing these institutions should be enacted and enforced. 

At the latest count, more than 5.6 million young adults ages 18 to 34 are officially unemployed. 

Compared to the rest of the advanced world, the United States offers famously weak protections to workers. For instance, employees in every other developed country are guaranteed vacation by law, often a few weeks. Americans workers don't even get a single day under Federal labor rules. New mothers most everywhere get paid time off as a matter of course. Here less than half the work force is guaranteed unpaid time.