Life continues in face of furloughs, layoffs

I was going to talk about teenage pregnancy, but I’ll put that subject off for a week. In the meantime, if you have something to say about the subject, or you want to sound off about Superintendent Nathaniel Miller’s recent column and discussion on teenage pregnancy, send us your thoughts by e-mail, ; telephone, 423-2050; or fax, 423-2542 ...

This week, let’s discuss the economy, yours, mine, the county’s, the state’s and beyond.

I was sent an e-mail of a column that appeared in the Richmond Times. The writer said “Six months ago, the Dow was above 11,500, TARP and credit default swaps were not common terms, and ... business news appeared on the business pages.“ I’d like to add that most people were unaware of shadow markets and that greed and prosperity of others does affect us locally.

The Star & Enterprise doesn’t have a business section in which to report such stories, but we cover changes with the Marion County businesses as news and those stories appear on any page of our newspaper and online. And coverage of ribbon cuttings and talk of economic development were evident in just this past few weeks’ issues. Not that our overall unemployed workers numbers have gone down, but we all remain hopeful.

We have all been touched by a slowing economy and are forced to make choices about when, how and where to spend money. We are all learning more specifically how something that happens on Wall Street in New York, or with a thought in France or Germany or as an intent in Dubai, affects us, even here in Marion. We are one world.

As I was leaving town this past weekend, there was discussion about more layoffs, this time of workers at a Marion institution, the Beneteau boat plant. On Wednesday, the Richmond-based corporation that owns this newspaper announced we are all having to take furlough days, four within the next month. The measure will save the company money and save jobs, at least for now.
Furlough may not be as bad as out-right losing your job, but the news of less pay affects most budgets and requires adjustment.

If you’re in a business that relies on others to purchase something, and most of us are, then, as we all are learning, if we have less money to spend, we will spend less, and eventually that will mean someone else will have to cut back because they have sold less, which means they will spend less and everyone is in, well, the same drifting, if not sinking boat.

The column continued, “Strengthening the nation’s economy and improving job opportunities ranked as the highest policy concerns of Americans surveyed ... in January ... Pew reported that 85 percent of people surveyed ranked the economy as their top priority, up from 68 percent two years ago. And the 82 percent who rate improving the job situation as a top priority represents a 21-point jump from a year ago ...“

So, the questions are: Where do you pinch pennies? Where do you splurge, even if you feel you don’t have the money? How do you survive on less?

Are you putting more on your credit card? Are sincerely working to pay down your personal debts, wherever they are? Tell us your stories about adjusting, surviving, and maybe even thriving in today’s economic climate. You tell us, is it more important to save or to spend?

We’re wondering how you’re doing—really. Are you finding bargains you didn’t know existed? How are you making ends meet? Again, we look forward to hearing from you about your economy in amongst the other, aggregated economies around. Again, send us your thoughts by e-mail to ; call us by telephone at (843) 423-2050; or send us a fax at (843) 423-2542 ...