Is the local economy improving or getting worse in your area?

Oh, I forgot, the local newspaper has articles about job fairs and hundreds of new jobs moving to the area. Not necessarily high paying jobs but service related jobs around $9 an hour. I keep wondering if this is unusual for the nation or if the media is overblowing the bad economy news.

My area is also doing well. I'm in a small town about 45 miles from a large city, so the TV stations and much of the news is from the city. A lot of the locals work in the city and the strip clubs are there. I've heard dancers complain that business is off because of the economy, but I've heard that complaint from dancers pretty often over the last 20 years. There are more foreclosures in my small town and more houses for sale, but there are also several new businesses locally. I noticed that the "jobs" section of the local paper was smaller but the "city" paper has added a complete section on jobs.
I think the economy IS in a recession, BUT the worst of it is almost over except for the panic and fear caused by the national media. Have you noticed how every piece of economic news is the "worst XXX since the great depression"? (Until the next news cycle when another report is declared the worst) MY opinion is that we have experienced a normal recessionary business cycle just like the US (and the world) sees every 8 - 10 years - but this time the airwaves are overcrowded with TV and cable news stations competing for ratings and trying to tell the most sensational story so people will watch them. If Fox/CNN/NBC/MSNBC/ABC/CBS/etc keep it up their broadcasts may scare people out of buying and spending and force us into a real depression.

"If Fox/CNN/NBC/MSNBC/ABC/CBS/etc keep it up their broadcasts may scare people out of buying and spending and force us into a real depression."

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Excellent point. Amen to that.

But there are areas that have been really hard hit. I live on the Indiana/Michigan border -- two states that really are struggling. I took a look at the "help wanted" section of the paper the other day and literally there were less than 10 ads - and they were all in things like sales or health care. Two years ago, there were several pages. My area is known as the "RV Manufacturing Capital of the World". When gas spiked to over $4.00 per gallon during the summer, RV sales dropped like a rock. No one is interested in purchasing a motor home that gets 8 to 10 MPG. And now, gas prices have dropped, but buyers are unable to get bank loans. Many of the coaches cost $200,000 or more and banks are simply unwilling to make loans on these luxury items. Our county unemployment rate is around 10%, well above the national average. A few years it was less than 2%, one of the best in the nation. I also travel quite a bit to Michigan since the clubs are better than in my area. The auto industry is in the tank. Michigan has some of the highest unemployment and home foreclosure rates in the nation.

What does this mean to the SC business? I still have a decent job so I still go to clubs....but I have definitely seen a downtown in the number of customers at the clubs. And talking to the dancers, they claim their incomes are down significantly.

So yes, I do believe the media might be overstating the problem nationwide, but there are pockets where people are really having tough times.

I don't believe in this economy bull shit thing. My company just merged with another to become the biggest company of it's type in the world. To celebrate they gave all employees company stock. My shares were worth $11,000.Strippers always complain about how bad business is. If they would learn to keep prices down and mileage up, they would be a whole lot better off.

Yeah, the economy is just booming although I think shadowcat got cheated a tad. Over here in Miami the local bag boy at Publix gets company shares worth $12,000 every April 1.

Republicans actually didn't do to awful in the last election all things considered. If only more people who detest the U.S. had voted, then perhaps the Republicans would have gained seats and even elected McCain. If President Bush was on the ballot, then shoot I don't think I could resist casting a vote for him. I mean the economy is going BOOM and the world is going KABOOM and Bin Laden is singing God is Great.

jablake: on April 1st do they also get an $800 mo pay increase. I already got mine. Including a 97 hours of back pay. Not bad for a stupid "old man". After 41 years, I have still never figured out how to write off my strip club expenses.

I live in Detroit, Michigan. 'Nuff said.

"After 41 years, I have still never figured out how to write off my strip club expenses."

Write a book? Develope a computer game based on your stripclub experiences? A medical expense (assuming you can get a liberal doctor to write you a note)? Educational expense (assuming you have to kiss ass on the job or schmooze)?

To answer your question: NO, the bagboys at Publix don't get $800 per month or more raises. But, some of these boys are a young 50 so they still got plenty of time to show you up career wise and stripclubbing wise.

its ok in c-bus, but house prices are in the toilet. Nothing is selling.

Job creating is UP in New Orleans. Construction, other sorts of skilled and semi-skilled trades. I think people are crazy to rebuild their losing-proposition homes, but it's going on all around.

I'm seeing a depression in the availability of stripper and sex-related services, though. I guess now that the election is over I should go out and investigate again -- though, I noticed that no major tough-on-crime candidates were especially vociferous about 'family values' types of crimes l ike prostitution, so I wouldn't expect there to be a big pre- to post-election change.

Neverhtless, it'd be interesting to see if a depressed economy leads to women fucking more often for less money. I'd like that. Anyone see it anywhere?

N.E. Ohio--retail spending is down. Discretionary spending is way down judging by my simple barometers
1) regular bar patronage--down
2) strip club patronage--way down
3) cars on the freeway heading downtown--fewer of them compared to five years ago.

I do my stimulus duty, however.

My local newspaper headline the other day, 400 new jobs coming to the area. This not more than a few weeks after another similar headline. However I have been hearing in the media how bad things are getting. Now if the restaurants in my area weren't so crowded and my workload at work would actually ease up a little bit instead of making me busier and busier, I might have more free time. I read industrial production for the US was up in October. If it's really bad where you work at, you can get an idea I'm real busy where I work at. However the company I work for is diversified enough that it doesn't show up in their total sales or their stock price.

It is steady here in the Tampa area, but there is significant Job loss because Florida is supported by: 1. Tourism, 2. Old People, 3. Construction, 4. Importing

Tourism is still booming, but it is almost all the International Crowd, Old People have slowed down moving to Florida because a lot of their pensions are hurting, Construction is essentially GONE from Florida, Imports are increasing. So overall the economy isn't as much declining as it is CHANGING.

America MUST become an Energy Economy if we are going to continue our Dominance. Time Magazine wrote "The End of American Dominance" Well, if we can COVER Florida and Nevada with Solar Power Plants (and Our Homes!), COVER TX and OK with Wind Power Plants, and COVER our Deserts in Nuclear Power Plants and Oil Wells THEN we will see AMERICA RISE to heights NEVER BEFORE SEEN!!!

Look at the cities that have grown the MOST in the last decade: Las Vegas(HydroDam), Dubai(AlmostFreeOil), Paris (SolarPower), and I could go on and on but I don't want to. LoL

We HAVE to get a handle on this energy crap, nip it in the bud, turn it around on those other countries and start SELLING Energy to EVERYONE. We have the Intelligence, the Industry, and the Land! All we need is Tax Breaks for these Power Plants to get off the ground. And we need to keep Corruption OUT of these projects!!!

Well the souring economy hit a local paper today. 300 jobs lost. I noticed they made some textile products and the number one customer listed in the paper was the automobile industry. I can see better now how that 2.5 million jobs lost will spin to every single state in the US and then have a multiplier effect and that is with a gift, loan, bailout or whatever you call it to the big 3. I noticed the big three may get a loan but the other automakers will be cutting back as well as the big 3. Then it goes down to the suppliers. I think I heard that may be over 3 percent of the whole US economy. I wouldn't mind a temporary stop gap measure announced tomorrow. I want stocks to go up for a few days. No announcement might be better if they don't plan on doing anything.

If someone was into real estate, renting out houses for the Obama inauguration seems like a good way to make money. They expect 3 million people. They'll need a tent city to accomodate that many people.

Renting is going to be the Next Rags to Riches Real Estate Millionaires Infomercial. There are so many people with destroyed credit, and EVERYONE needs a place to stay. Add that to the THOUSANDS of homes that have now (and MORE) reverted to the bank. Well the bank CAN'T just sit on those, they have to CONTINUE to depreciate them until someone purchases them.

Need for Housing + Falling House Prices = INVESTOR RICHES

Investor riches? How about calling it "catching a falling knife." The problem is staring you in the face - "Falling House Prices." All you are going to do is end up with an over priced house surrounded by people with cheaper houses and cheaper carrying costs. Why don't you just invest in buggy whips?

The difference between a "buggy whips" and homes is that people actually need homes at the right price. Of course, if the government was actually serious about getting rid of illegals (I'd like to see them triple in numbers, FWETIW) there could be a surplus of housing stock.

And, if given a choice between "buggy whip" America teeming with horse drawn carriages and prison state America with all its technology and appetite for endless war then I'd strongly prefer the former. If only out of idealism of the lesser of two evils, then it is time to start investing in buggy whips pronto! :)

Stripclubs and strippers? Well the old west had its saloons and saloon girls and I did see some racy pics advertised by Time Life, I believe. Those women did look hot. Of course, there was the infamous blubber blob, Lillian Russell?, who actually was looking hot before turning into the white version of Angels' premium dancers.

Please, no assertions that Venus de Milo? was a blubber blob---that lady was fine compared to the 300+ pounders that are desperately desired and worshipped at Angels.

You do a lot of talking about buggy whips but not a lot of talking about "right price."

Hell, a book could probably be written about "right price."

There were some homes in New Jersey some years back that thanks to the government weren't even worth a $1 per home. :) A buggy whip any buggy whip would probably have more values than those homes. :)

I think a blowjob ought to cost, roughly, the amount that (a) an average skilled working man can afford once a week or (b) an average attractive working girl can afford to live off of if she gives three to six a week.