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This is by turns heartening and depressing:
A gargantuan mall right out of the heartland — or perhaps just Westchester and Queens — has set up shop in an area once known for arson, crime and an eight-story jail. And the mall comes with all the must-have accessories, like Home Depot, BJ’s Wholesale Club and Bed Bath & Beyond.
…
The Gateway Center at Bronx Terminal Market, as the three-block-long, orange-tinged mall is known, may be the maraschino cherry topping a revival of Mott Haven and other neighborhoods of the South Bronx that began more than two decades ago. Acres of abandoned or fire-gutted buildings and weed-strewn lots have been filled in with new suburban-style houses or rebuilt apartment buildings. Only a handful of empty lots remain, city officials say.
It’s great that new businesses are opening in this economic climate. But I’m not sure this is a sign of recovery, or at least the recovery we really need.
More malls? Is that what we’re headed for. Yes, there are jobs to be had, but minimum wage service jobs can’t turn this country around on its own. And asking people to spend more of their money, as wages stagnate, isn’t going to get us back on our feet either.
As Ruth is fond of saying, how can we base our economy on consumer spending if we’re giving our workers consumers less and less money to spend?
We need recovery, but it also matters how we recover.
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Heh! The Chief is not listening to the Indians. Somebody forgot about changing George Bush’s “Service Economy Plan” into something that would create real jobs and growth.
Logically, if we all have to work as sales clerks or restaurant employees our wages will only allow us to buy food. Maybe we should all get together and form our own economy. Heck, I know lots of people with skills in all the major sectors. I mean, these people actually know what they were doing!
The people at the top the past 8 years didn’t have a clue.
Yeah, that’s pretty much it.
I thought more about this article last night. I remembered my college days and lessons on Business Management. The basic needs of people and what drives them to work hard and be proud of their accomplishments in America’s Economy are as follows:
Food
Clothing
Shelter
Transportation
From my perspective only the first two are applicable at this time. While many like myself are struggling to keep up with the mortgage payments, we have lost or lessened the amounts of the others. Those four basics are the beginning of a longer list that do not have meaning now.
Is there something that is being made that we can be proud of as a Country?
Right. The made in America campaign that’s coming back is going to be interesting, at least interesting to watch how Americans respond.
No guts, no glory.
Oh yeah, Happy Labor Day to all that still have jobs. For those that don’t, do not ever forget that your efforts have built this nation and its cities. Without employees there is no employer.