In days after the United States chose a new president, there were fresh reports that unemployment has soared, consumer confidence cratered, markets tumbled, and retail sales slumped. As the Bush administration sputters to an end, the number of unemployed increased in October by 603,000 - for a total of 10.1 million jobless - a 14 year high. Others gave up looking for work. At a press conference Friday in Chicago, President-elect Obama said Congress should pass an economic stimulus package "sooner rather than later." At a morning press conference in Burlington, Vt., Senator Bernie Sanders called on Congress to pass an economic recovery program when it returns to Washington on November 17. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson apparently is still thinking about Sanders' proposal to ban bonuses for executives at bailed-out banks. There's been no reply yet from the former Goldman Sachs CEO, but lots of you sure had lots to say.

Economic Recovery Sanders called a Labor Department report out on Friday that unemployment in October rose to 6.5 percent "deeply disheartening." He said it dramatizes the need for Congress to invest at least $300 billion in an economic recovery package. "In these very difficult economic conditions, doing nothing is not an option," Sanders told a press conference at his Senate office in Burlington. "When the Senate reconvenes on November 17, I intend to fight for an economic recovery program that is significant enough in size and scope to respond to the major economic crisis this country now faces," he said. "If we can commit more than $1 trillion to rescue bankers and insurance companies from their reckless and irresponsible behavior, we certainly should be investing in millions of good-paying jobs that rebuild our nation and improve its economy. In my view, the size of this economic recovery plan should be, at a minimum, $300 billion." To see what the senator proposes, click here.

A New President and a New Congress President-elect Obama said if Congress does not pass an economic stimulus measure now, it would be his first order of business after he is inaugurated on January 20. "After I become president I will confront this economic crisis head-on by taking all necessary steps to ease the credit crisis, help hardworking families, and restore growth and prosperity," said Obama. Said Sanders, "I look forward to working with our next president to bring about the changes our country so desperately needs."

Bonuses for Bankers No word yet from the Bush administration about the prospect of financial institutions that took some of a $700 billion Wall Street bailout turning around and divvying up billions of taxpayer dollars in the form of year-end bonuses to executives. Many of you didn't need to think it over that long. "Most Vermonters and most Americans are wondering how they are going to get by month-to-month. Why should our tax dollars pay the bonuses of these CEO's that put their companies at risk at the expense of the American taxpayer? asked a constituent from Grand Isle, Vermont. "It is a slap in the face to those of us who struggle to make ends meet and PAY OUR TAXES!" added a Web site visitor from Socorro, New Mexico. Those of you who answered our survey question on bonuses, more than 900 (by late Friday) oppose taxpayer-financed bonuses for bankers, while four approved the concept and two were unsure. Read other excerpts here. Send Bernie a note on the bonuses here or on anything else on your mind here.