Economically Speaking

Times are hard for people, business and government.  I have been jobless for a year and a half and even though I search the ads and posting every other day, I don't see much hope for the future and I know I am not alone.  There are many families suffering through much worse as they have children they are trying to feed, clothe, and house.  Families are breaking  up under the stress.  How long will it be before our little community has the need for homeless shelters and food kitchens?  We already have homeless in our community, but they can always find an empty building or a covered front porch to get a bit of sleep, but remember, winter is coming and where will they go?

Business' have closed their doors as they can no longer afford the high taxes that are already here, much less those that are scheduled to go into effect the first part of the year.  The EPD restrictions, OSHA restrictions, the WC insurance, the unemployment taxes, the licenses, the permits are all contributing factors to the closings.  The small businesses do not stand a chance and the large businesses are moving their operations overseas to escape the never ending taxes and insurance, no to mention the lower production cost. 

We have thrown common sense out the window and now the government is protecting us from ourselves.  I am not in favor of sweat shops any more than the rest of the people of this country, but regulations have closed more industry than lack of sales ever thought about doing. 

The bank sales in our area seem to have abated somewhat, but that doesn't mean that construction has rebounded.  Subdivision development has ceased and there are many lots sitting vacant as well as new homes that just don't sell.  Contractors are looking elsewhere for employment as skilled laborers and most are having to go out of town to find work.  It has happened before.  People have followed work all over this United States in an effort to survive.  Georgia is no longer a manufacturing hub and people are leaving. 

New businesses have moved into downtown Atlanta and some of the satellite cities surrounding the big city and bless their hearts, Lagrange landed a gold mine in the Kia plant.  Oh for a Kia plant for our little central Georgia town. 

I really feel for the upcoming generation.  Given everything they ask for, how will they survive.  It is time to teach our children and grandchildren that life can exist without cell phone, ipods, DVDs, even television.  Can you remember the time before television, when a good book or a deck of cards were the entertainment of the weekend? 

Thanks for stopping by and until next time . . .
Happy Reading!
Belle

Two More

My heart hurts! Two more businesses in our little town have closed their doors shutting out the business that was not there to keep them going. One a gathering place for the conservative ole codgers to meet and complain every morning while sipping their coffee. The other a specialty coffee shop and gathering place for students in between classes.

Both will be missed! That means two more buildings empty on main street. I think that brings the total to 5 or is it 6? Reminds me of the ghost towns of the old west.

Going Out of Business

It is so sad and disheartening to see so many businesses closing their doors. Some of these are owner operated, but others employ hundreds of people. What is upsetting is the chains that are choosing to close business because they do not meet expectations. I am not saying it is not a smart thing to do for the owners - it is just sad that so many will be losing their jobs at years end or sooner.

It is extremely hard in a small town to make a go of any specialty business. With rent and utilities taking the first thousand plus dollars of your sales there is nothing left for inventory replacement much less earning a salary. The business providing the "must haves" - food, gas, groceries, medicine - are hardly surviving, so you know a specialty shop is really taking a hit.

Our area is flooded with restaurants, drug stores and gas station/convenience stores, but most of the specialty stores have gone to the wayside.

Without a sustaining industry coming to our area, it will not be long til our little town will be a memory of what was.

Goofing Off

Just reviewed a pic of our congressional leaders playing solitaire and checking Facebook while working - Oops! they didn't watch their back.

Goofing off while working is one of the perks of working. There is little joy in getting up and going in, if we can't goof off!

Besides these esteemed reps have a staff of people to keep them up to date on what is going on, they don't need to pay attention. Same as all the other executives running businesses. These media people need to take a course in Upper Management before they start judging others!

Season of Discontent

I read some blogs today. The most interesting responses came from the question "How is Obama doing as President and is he obtaining his objectives?"

Well, it turns out, after much reading, the consensus don't like Obama or Bush or any other politician. There was much confusion on whether this country was built on Christian principles and whether Obama caused the problems of today or did Bush. Well, the problems seem to have started 40 years ago, so neither can be blamed. As far as Christians beliefs, that is still up in the air. Whether our forefathers were Christians is only a question that They and god can answer. I do believe that our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were developed based on Biblical laws, ethics and morals. That does not make them Christian.

Then came the discussion on the turn around of American businesses. Some businesses are going to fail based on the operations of the company. Some will fail due to the greediness of the executives. Some businesses are going to fail based on its leadership. Some business are going to fail due to a lousy product. Then some businesses will fail based on the lack of cash flow in the economy. A good business leader will anticipate the changes in the economy and IF they want their business to succeed and stay afloat, will adjust where ever and whenever is needed. Yes, some people will lose their jobs. Yes, some will have to double up on work - but they will have work.

I worked for a company that was a viable and productive manufacturer for many years. They looked into manufacturing out of country and not only did that not pan out, they had invested so much money and resources on the project, they lost the original company. This happened 25 years ago, not in the past 3 years. The company thought it was stable enough to expand, but did not take all the factors into consideration in the planning process.

There are many reasons businesses close. The economy is just one factor. It is a fact of life that we live lavishly, wastefully and without thought or reason for the future. However, when forced we either blame it on someone else or languish in pity for our hardships. Mr. Bush nor Mr. Obama is to blame, yet we expect them to lift us out of the pit we now find ourselves and return us to the lap of luxury.

Don't You Just Hate That Old Devil!

Recently a couple and their children went on a trip with a church group. They all had a great weekend. The children played and everyone enjoyed fellowship with each other. All the participants felt blessed for a peaceful and enlightening weekend. New friendships were forged and new bonds created. But as the weekend came to an end and the families packed up to go home, the devil injected himself into their camaraderie, fellowship and all around good time. As is often the way of the devil, he sneaked in when no one was looking and convinced these people of God that much more had gone on over the weekend than the fellowship and Bible study. Before long these people carried home bad feelings, accusations and hard feelings. Then the devil injected himself in their home life causing disruption and doubt, nurturing hate and mistrust, and general discontent between family members and friends. The devil won another one.

There was a company in the area where all the staff were friendly and worked together in a cooperative and pleasant manner. Most of the staff were Christians. I know it is not correct to discuss religion in the workplace, but Christians don't have to discuss religion - they live it. Everything was going really well and progress was being made until the old devil moved in. Actions speak louder than words. The same words were being spoken, but the actions had changed. And you know, those words were spoken in a different tone, a different volume, a different look on the face from which they were spoken and everyone knew, the devil could not stand the wonderful things that had been happening. Not only did the atmosphere in the office change, the outlook of the whole company changed and there was no stopping the discontent, hatred, jealousy and accusations that now flowed from every employee. The devil won another one.

Two young men were starting a business. They had been getting small orders, but not enough to pay themselves a salary and pay the overhead too. Their start up cushion was almost gone and they had to make the decision to stay open and not draw a salary or close the doors. Just as they were about to give up, a huge order came in. Unless they worked night and day they couldn't deliver on time without hiring additional help which they could ill afford to do. They worked and worked and got the order out, but were exhausted. They made enough money to stay open for at least another year and still draw salaries for themselves. They thanked God for their good fortune as more orders started flowing into the office. The devil sneaked in and set the two men against each other. They two could not agree on anything and slowly the business collapsed. So sad that the devil won another one.

Don't you just hate that old devil!