Bush I, Bush II The Economy, Stupid

[caligirl]

Bush I and Bush II sell the American people a transmission full of sawdust. NYT article.

Economic Jitters Hit Community Not Used to Lean Times
By SHAILA DEWAN

Published: April 24, 2005

MARIETTA, Ga., April 22 - Inflation is tamer here than in the rest of the country, and gas is somewhat cheaper. The number of new people asking for unemployment is falling. Even so, for this affluent community just north of Atlanta, economic anxiety is creeping in.

The shopping district around the town square, usually prime real estate, is dotted with rental signs. Paul Lubertazzi, the owner of Traveling Fare Catering, plans to redo his menu this weekend, raising prices to cover increased food and delivery costs. Hakan Senkal and his wife, Semra, have moved into the apartment above their restaurant and laid off the cook. Their weekday business has dwindled to just a few diners.
ring their own lunches with them," Mr. Senkal said. "They don't want to spend money."


Reluctance to spend is one of the signs of trouble burbling beneath the smooth statistics churned out by the state's Department of Labor. Merchants like Mr. Lubertazzi, who have been struggling to absorb rising costs instead of passing them on to their customers, are beginning to reach their limits. Jobs are not scarce, but high-paying jobs are disappearing, said John Helton, the executive director of CobbWorks, a job placement and training center in Marietta, part of Cobb County..........


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/24/national/24jitters.html

[Inland]

1. It's Marietta, GA--a town that thought it was beyond the pain

of the economy, buoyed by defense spending, government largesse, and successful flight from urban problems.

These are the people who vote 75% republican on the ground that the deficit spending, tax cuts, and defense waste is good.

Welcome to America, folks.

[caligirl]

2. I once visited Marietta, cumberland mall. bought my first tart and

madeline pans in a very nice kitchen store there. My impression was this was a very nice town. If its going through economic problems the rest of the south is worse off. Wonder how the Florida panhandle tourist trade is doing?