Fresh Loaf

The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government recently looked at states’ revenue streams and discovered, whoa, hey, this appears to be the worst year on record.

State tax collections during the first quarter 2009 showed the sharpest decline on record, dropping 11.7 percent overall, according to an Institute report released July 17… Early figures for the second quarter reveal continued worsening of fiscal conditions for states.

According to the report (PDF), Georgia leads the pack when it comes to declines in sales-tax revenue.

Forty of 45 states with broad-based sales taxes had declines, and eleven states had double-digit declines. Iowa had the largest increase at 18.5 percent which is attributable to legislated tax increases. Georgia led the states with the largest decline at 16.3 percent followed by Nevada at 16.0 percent.

The institute predicts more budget shortfalls and financial hardships for states. Last Tuesday, Gov. Sonny Perdue told agency heads to trim their budgets once more to help fill a $900 million shortfall. Some teachers face three furlough days.

Not the best way to start the upcoming school year, but you work with what you’ve got.

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U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., visited the Atlanta Press Club today and spoke about rail, water woes and the nation’s standstill economy. (He said it might take five years for the nation to recover.) Isakson also said the closing of the Hapeville Ford Plant might have hurt the region’s chances for the Atlanta-Lovejoy rail line.

Maria Saporta and the AJC’s Kristi Swartz wrote great summaries of his speech. Grayson Daughters also produced a video of Isakson’s talk.

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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will give a speech on the economy at Morehouse College today.

Bernanke is apparently bored with straight speech-giving. Based on the transcript published on the Wall Street Journal’s web site, he plans on spicing-up today’s Morehouse address by delivering it in the form of ma nishtana, the four questions traditionally asked by the youngest child at a Passover seder. No, I’m not making that up.

In his conclusion, Bernanke tries to go upbeat. He will declare he is “fundamentally optimistic” about the U.S. economy and note “[r]ecently we have seen tentative signs that the sharp decline in economic activity may be slowing.”

Tentative signs that the sharp decline may be slowing?

It’s sad what passes for optimism these days.

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Whereas, things worth remembering need names. Children, pets, generations, boats. If we didn’t name them, then we might forget ‘em.

Whereas, when this current recession — or “current economic crisis” — ends, we better have some way of distinguishing it from the other occasional economic dips this country’s seen.

Whereas, I, Thomas Wheatley, who as an employee of Creative Loafing enjoy a wide variety of useless trinkets in my vicinity, have the desire to award the commenter who provides the best name for the “current economic crisis” with a scribbled-on Sany Group hat snatched from an “economic development” announcement. Or a National Rife Association bumper sticker currently plastered on my cubicle wall. (Or maybe tickets to something? I don’t know, I can’t promise anything. I’ll have to check with our marketing department.)

Therefore, let it be resolved that I am sick and tired of referring to the “current economic crisis” as such, and would like to know what to call this damn catastrophe in which the country finds itself.

Please leave your suggestions in the comments. You can also e-mail me. Be sure to let me know how I can get back in touch with you.

(Many more silly boat photos at Media-Post)

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Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond

In this week’s feature, “The big hurt,” I write about Georgia’s rising unemployment rate and how it’s impacting metro Atlantans. To better understand the current economic landscape, I visited the state Department of Labor’s recent job fair at the Georgia World Congress Center. The event, which organizers estimate attracted more than 19,000 job seekers, was considered the largest in the state’s history. To view Joeff Davis’ photographs of the event, go here.

While reporting on the convention center floor, I spotted Commissioner Michael Thurmond monitoring the event from a hospitality suite. Thurmond, who’s brutally honest but optimistic about the situation, agreed to chat. After the jump, a transcript of my interview with the commissioner. In it, he talks about how the state can prepare for a recovered economy, the impact of globalization, and the job-loss story that hit him the hardest.

(File photo by Joeff Davis)

(more…)

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• Scary: ‘I think we’ve done pretty well.’ Dick Cheney has no regrets about eight years in office.
• WTF: New Jersey couple upset after ShopRite denied baking a cake with their 3-year-old child’s name: Adolf Hitler Campbell … all they want is a little tolerance … they eventually got the cake … at Walmart.
• Seriously? Seriously: Muslim woman arrested in Douglasville for refusing to remove her head scarf.
• Why don’t you ask me about it later? Poll finds 63% are already hurt by the economic downturn.
• Not only is she a hate crime, she’s a hate crime against humanity.
• This should be a crime … Madonna and Guy Ritchie reach a (rumored) $76 million dollar divorce settlement??! You can say they “bailed” each other “out.”
• Speaking of dollars and cents, the Fed cuts key rate to near zero …the dollar is no longer as appealing a haven amidst the current financial crisis … and thus, it sinks.
• First face transplant performed in the U.S. Who would’ve thought a John Travolta/Nicholas Cage movie turned out to be prophetic…
• Want an incentive to switch to Firefox or any other web browser? Internet Explorer has a security flaw that may expose your personal data to malicious websites. Microsoft is working on a fix. (And yes, it’s IE 7).

Happy humpday!!

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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It’s increasingly likely that the United States economy is falling into its deepest recession in a quarter-century.

Unemployment is rising. Retirement funds are dwindling. And one of the only sectors of the housing industry that’s doing well is locksmithing. When banks repossess homes after foreclosure, they have to put new locks on the doors.

Even members of the liberal media elite, such as myself, are starting to feel the pain.

I have downsized from venti to grande lattes. I’ll now drink whatever wine I have in the house, even if it isn’t ideally paired with the meal I’m eating. I may even start charging my new iPhone 3G at the office – just to shave a couple bucks off my home electricity bill each month. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Read the rest

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The Center for the New American Dream has created an online guide on how to save money and improve your quality of life at the same time. It basically puts an emphasis on economically buying quality products (those that last and work well), and at the same time has a lot of PC stuff like helping the environment, etc.

I interviewed Lisa Wise, the center’s director, for this story on the particular challenges Atlanta faces with this economic downturn. She also sent me this column about the prospects for good things coming out of a recession. So she sent me the link.

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