The economy.
Those two words carry a lot of weight these days. And they’re everywhere.
In the last seven or eight months, talk — and news coverage — of a slowing economy has moved from hushed undertones to an unavoidable dull roar.
In December, the VBJ was hesitant to print the “R-word” and our sources were even less excited to talk about it. But now a regional economist has proclaimed the nation is moving straight toward one on this very page.
But that’s the nation.
In the newsroom, when we decided to tackle this issue and devote a sizeable portion of the paper to it, we set out to find out what’s happening here in Southwest Washington.
What reporter Charity Thompson found was an unquestionably slow residential housing market that is causing ripple effects throughout several regional industries. She found regional unemployment that is higher than both the national and state levels, but also employment numbers that are on their way up, albeit slowly.
She also found cautious optimism.
So far it does appear Southwest Washington is faring better, and businesses may be better-positioned to handle whatever is headed our way in the next year.
Charity had conversations with representatives from several local industries. They all offered a great glimpse into their economic situations, but a few of their words stuck with me.
The president of a healthy microelectronics distributor said if it weren’t for many global economies doing well, he would be more concerned about the economic outlook.
And all of the economy watchers we spoke to said the weakening dollar has created more local opportunity for global exports.
I’m glad that means there is hope for this region’s manufacturers, but it also makes me slightly uncomfortable to be looking to economies outside of our control to keep the economy afloat. But if it helps us weather the storm at home, great.
A few other words stuck with me lately.
In thinking about this issue, the phrase “mob mentality” was constantly floating around in my head. The words came from a report that ended up in my email inbox a few weeks ago.
As is often popular, the underlying message was that the media has reported on the economy and scared a lot of folks into not spending – which could hurtle us straight into a recession.
I’m not a financial expert by any means, but I’ve certainly cut back my personal spending, and not because a mob mentality has told me to. I have cut back because frankly, my budget doesn’t go as far as it did last year and I don’t need anyone to tell me that.
I think it’s the media’s job to look at the numbers and talk to the local experts and put the findings out there for your judgment.
And that is what we’ve tried to do.
