Sunday, July 19, 2009, 4:59 PM
Atlanta, Sunday Paper News, In the News, Stop the Presses
By Kevin Moreau
We're here to help
Georgia’s unemployment rate reached a record high 10.1 percent last month, according to figures from the state Department of Labor. That’s higher than the national average of 9.5 percent. And there doesn’t seem to be much good news on the horizon. (Don’t fall asleep on me: I’m going to talk about the economy for a second. I promise I’ll make it worth your while.)
On the one hand, New York University economist Nouriel Roubini, the man widely credited with predicting the current financial crisis, said on Thursday, July 16 that we “might be at the bottom or close to the bottom.” On the other hand, crawling up from the bottom won’t happen overnight. The current recession “might continue through the end of the year,” Roubini said.
Or, as the New York Times’ Paul Krugman told Stephen Colbert last week: “Things are getting worse more slowly.”
On the local front, State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond says Georgia “is in the midst of a deepening economic crisis,” and has called upon state leaders to “develop a bipartisan recovery plan,” according to the Associated Press.
With 483,394 Georgians pounding the pavement looking for jobs, I agree the state should show some initiative. Ten percent unemployment would seem to be enough of an incentive for Gov. Sonny Perdue to call a special session of the legislature to focus on job creation and other measures. In that same AP story, Rajeev Dhawan, director of Georgia State’s Economic Forecasting Center, predicts negative employment growth for the next two years, with “modest recovery” in 2011. If that’s not a call to action, what is?
I can’t speak for Gov. Perdue, but The Sunday Paper isn’t waiting until 2011 to do our part. In light of last week’s unemployment news, our cover story this week shares a number of cost-effective ways to enjoy some of the great food and entertainment Atlanta has to offer, regardless of your credit score or job situation.
But we’re not stopping there. Last month in this space, I issued a call for submissions for a new column or regular feature dedicated to surviving the recession. In the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing some of those submissions in a series of guest columns.
It’s my hope that these writers’ thoughts and stories will not only point you toward great bargains, but help you understand our current economic climate a little better and even offer some hope and inspiration to those in tight financial spots. Your reaction to those columns will help us decide who becomes SP’s new recession guru.
In the meantime, keep your head up and your wallet full, and we’ll see you next week.