Fed predicts economy will get worse

[Woof Woof Woof!]

Originally Posted by knoxgarden

That's the way we felt in Knoxville -- recession proof. Then last week, Alcoa announced it was shutting down production in Alcoa, TN (just south of Knoxville), SeaRay closed its plant and Goody's went out of business, closing it's corporate offices and distribution center in Knoxville.
About 2,000 jobs gone like that. And Ruby Tuesday, headquartered near Alcoa, is in trouble.
With Univ. of Tennessee facing budget cutbacks and TVA in hot water over the ash sludge spill -- our "recession proof" big industries -- things aren't looking good.
I don't think the economy is even close to bottom yet.

A lot of people are still living in la-la land. As I said to my roommate tonight, wait till you start seeing your neighbors across the street lose their home or your best friend out of work because the boutique where she sells clothes and has worked for 15 years goes out of business.

Wait till you see vacancy signs in front of all the little mom and pop shops you used to frequent. Wait till the local mall starts to look like a ghost town.

[nightbird47]

Originally Posted by Woof Woof Woof!

A lot of people are still living in la-la land. As I said to my roommate tonight, wait till you start seeing your neighbors across the street lose their home or your best friend out of work because the boutique where she sells clothes and has worked for 15 years goes out of business.

Wait till you see vacancy signs in front of all the little mom and pop shops you used to frequent. Wait till the local mall starts to look like a ghost town.

Until earlier this year I lived in Riverside CA. It now has the highest unemployment rate in the nation, 8percent in September. In December the county laid of 25% of its employees. A friend of mine replied when I said I was glad that I moved a rather frustrated "Lucky You". Her son works in construction and he is working once in a while. Only because his wife works full time have they not yet lost their house.

When you begin to notice the stores you used to go to are gone, or the mall has a large store empty for two years, or the neighborhood is getting thinned out, or just count the for sale signs as you drive by you get some measuer of what this does to real people instead of statistics. The gang problem in the city has been getting worse as people lose their houses and they sit empty. The homeless population has grown. Rents shot up fast when people without houses could afford an apartment and keep their jobs.

Unfortunately, I think Riverside may be the future for a lot of places before this eventually starts to get better.