I'm not an economist, and I don't play one on TV. But regardless of what the likes of Senator Saxby Chambliss and George Will have to say, it's clear we are still on a downward trend with the economy, and no one can see the bottom of that pit just yet.
How do I know if I don't have a Ph.D. in something that involves math or economic theory?
Well, I had lunch at Burger King last week and there was no one in line ahead of me, which struck me as a little odd. And there was no one behind me. The cashier behind the counter exclaimed when he saw he, "Oh, thank God -- a customer!"
The cashier at Ann Taylor Loft, where I went in search of a new sweater as I was armed with my 20% off coupon, told me at the check out I wouldn't need it. "All the sale merchandise is an additional 40% off," she told me. That almost made the sweater free -- and Ann Taylor Loft didn't care as long as they could make some kind of sale. Any sale.
One of my stepdaughters is pretty sure a series of E-mails over the Thanksgiving day holiday, cryptic though some of them were, means she doesn't have much of a job to go back to. And she wasn't the only family member worried that the days ahead will bring a pink slip, not a promotion.
And when a lunch of cold-cuts is offered, but the hosts don't eat any of nicely arranged turkey or cheese, claiming they're really not all that hungry, it doesn't take a team of economic advisers to know that people are hunkering down for worse things to come and want to make food stretch as far as possible.
I'm sure such anecdotal evidence isn't the stuff that the likes of Alan Greenspan or Robert Rubin rely on. And I admit those few incidents don't a case study make.
But the list of little things keeps growing that sends a message -- sort of like when you see squirrels hoarding nuts too early in the season and know that's just the first sign of a harsh winter that you don't want to acknowledge.
I'd love to be wrong. If I am, the next round of sandwiches at Burger King is on me.
Joanne Bamberger is better known around the blogosphere as PunditMom, which is also the name of her political blog. Joanne is a writer and political commentator who lives outside of Washington, D.C.
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clearly. Without a doubt if our government continues with
the same actions they are taking now, our economy will
tank, or go over a cliff as one economist said. When it does
it will cause a domino effect, and could very well shut down
everything including government. More bailouts are not the
long term answer. Getting Americans back on their feet,
providing funds for roads and other infrastructure is. But
that will take a year to get jobs really going. Hit the housing
market, pay off bad mortgages and make banking and Wall
Street operate within strick supervised bounderies.
Otherwise, we can kiss our way of life goodby.
if in a few months, when times are really tough and I forget my lunch again, I will just go over there to see how many people are there lunching, certainly not to buy.
hit bottom, it takes a very long time to climb up.
When my wife & I joined up with Quixtar (disclaimer - we are still members but not actively growing our business) about 2 years ago - One of their big means of patting themselves on their backs was that they 'Didn't neet to waste money on advertisement - they were a word of mouth business".
Apparently the DeVos family fortunes have turned a bit - and now it is "OK" to advertise.
It's hard to justify to people to get into a pseudo-pyramid scheme when more than half the business is optional and 'luxury' items to sell. People cut that stuff out of the budget first when times get rougher.
No one was there. No one. No car other than mine. 2 girls behind the counter. I saw open doors into examining rooms I had never seen before. I have been going there for 15 years.
I went to the electronics store. Same day, same thing. I don't know what to think.
or had hours cut to the point of no money. In the past
retail was one of the easiest jobs to get. Not any more.
Actually, I've noticed more customers at cheaper fast food places where I live... the Del Taco by my house is more packed than ever...
And I don't notice any lack of customers at the Home Depot.
My wife does like this store, Anthopologie, but rarely gets anything there, I don't know if they'll make it, selling $200 "HAPPY HOLIDAYS" paper and string garlands... my wife just makes her own for a couple of bucks.
On Seattle's "Eastside" (near Microsoft, aka The Silicon Forest), we've gone into Home Depot where the employees vastly outnumber the customers, and the cashiers are cleared to "dicker" with customers and lower prices to get any sale...
I grew up in the rustbelt when it was dying and this feels the same; no money, no credit, no omph. Scary.
Home Depot and / or Lowes are likely to fold within months at this rate...
drip drip drip distaster