President Obama has stated that foreclosures and this downturn in our economy have affected everyone especially with our high unemployment.  Inasmuch as I have agreed with that from the beginning, it was even more obvious to me recently again.  This doesn’t rank up there with people losing their homes, having financial problems, etc. but even while completing some minor tasks on my “to do” list the other evening it was more than obvious.

Bloomberg.com yesterday said that the bottom is close at hand.  Click here for the whole article.   Our inventory here in Portland albeit still high, is creeping on a downward trend.  Although all the reports in the media have said the worse is over and we are nearing or at bottom, going to the mall the other evening I had a front row parking space yet again.  Inside it was empty.  Heading over to Toys R Us store, there were lots of cars in the parking lot, but I saw two couples walking in front of me, loaded with toys in the arms of each husband and wife, piled high over their heads returning them. Must have been around 20-25 different toys they were returning.  Did their children already have duplicates?  Did they not want those toys?  Or, was it a matter of spending too much and returning the toys for cash?

Heading over to the local Starbucks…each time I’ve been there lately, they have been out of coffee.  This time I asked ‘what’s up with that’?  They said they are no longer making coffee after 4 p.m. and are only brewing regular and not decaff.  She said it had been extremely slow although none of the 8-9 Starbucks within walking distance of my home have closed yet I keep reading there have been over 900 Starbucks closures?!  That’s really how many are close to where I live as I counted them once and was amazed.  At Winco later in the evening, there were lots of empty parking spaces.  When I walked in there were no crowds even around the fruit and veggie aisles; and, at the check-out, no one was there either.

If you don’t think it’s affecting everyone, just get out in your neighborhood – it’s visible everywhere without even looking.  The politicians in Washington should do the same – get out in the neighborhoods they represent.  Maybe they’d understand it all better then.

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