Oregon's unemployment is a record 9%, This past week over 2,000 jobs were lost and up north in Redmond, Washington, Microsoft announced 5,000 layoffs.
At the same time, there is a huge (up to 85%) surge in applications for Food Stamps and Public Assistance, not only here in the NW, but all over the country.
Bailout or Stimulus Package aside, there is no short term fix, and the economic picture looks dark & gloomy through 2010. In fact State economic problems are just beginning to trickle down to the local county and city level. Those layoffs and budget deficits are months away.
The "Obama Bounce" so far is a joke. Liberal Obama supporters say this is the bounce.......that the DOW instead of going down 1,000 points, would have gone down 4,000 points if McCain had won the election. Uh huh.
Gear up for survival mode folks cause it will get much worse, and in fact, may never get better. These may be the "good old days" of prosperity in 5-10 years.
