Hey Americans! This is just the crack in the egg....

It WILL get worse.....

http://money.aol.com/special/retail-...-closing-doors

Circuit City just closed here too as well as Linens & Things. Tweeter is also closing.

There is more....see my blog......listed in my sig. It is not just high end stores, they are the first to go. Low end retail will be next. Continue to spend people...Buy your necessities...Keep money in the economy. And Igor, thank you. You listened to me! Kisses.....

Well, all my life my family has been poor. I'm not exactly on the bottom of the totem pole now, even though I don't technically have a job and neither does hubby, I go to a college (as does my hubby) that is specifically for low income families and students. The work study job I do have pays me less than minimum wage (not because it sucks, because that's how my college works-most of your actual 'earnings' go toward tuition and on top of that I only work ten hours a week (as per the college arrangement) and we're not allowed any other outside jobs. My housing is an uber cheap apartment that my financial aid helps to pay for-and I don't have a car. I barely have any spending money, but I manage to pay rent and utilities and buy groceries. But, I'm used to this-and just having my own place with a roof over my head is enough to make me happy to be alive. I have everything I need plus a little more-and so I cannot complain. Economy isn't a permanent thing, and even a huge crisis will eventually go away. I just try to count my blessings, and stay optimistic, and know that no matter what, hubby and I will survive-we will be happy and healthy, and we will find a way to get by. Maybe I'm too much of an optimist, but I find that issues such as this become less important when I choose to be happy for better or for worse. Just my $.02. Hugs and kisses, sweets!

Shine on, you crazy diamond.

As usual, I love you because you get the point! Don' change, just maintain. You have no idea how I grew up. It was slim and lean. If we all just keep going like we have been there is not cause for alarm...I love ya........

Exactly-I love you too, hunsy!

Shine on, you crazy diamond.

Dreama...were we seperated at birth? You are going to do so well after you graduate...seriously. You have the main thing that it takes above all else...the right attitude. Damn, you're awesome. I love the one thing you said..."choose to be happy". There ya go...that is indeed a conscious choice, and the key to EVERYTHING.

BD

Look for Wicked Truth's release "Into You" on iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon, Napster, and eMusic.

One thing that pisses me off is when the "big guys" like Walgreens or Home Despot comes in and drives out the little independent neighborhood stores. Yeah - the little guys may charge more but it is often worth it (Like the time my sump pump died in the middle of a raging downpour and the hardware guy opened his store after hours to get me a new one on a Sunday night).

As for places like Office Max, Office Depot, Circuit City, etc, there are too many of them in a given area anyway - what are they thinking when they open up a new place 1/2 mile from a similar store?

...pretty kewl blog. I love 'Reason'.

All we need right now, in my view, is for the administration to make up their damn mind and stick to something. They are CREATING more and more uncertainty and the markets and people hate uncertainty.

You are my first blog visitor YAY for me! It is a random place. Yes, I posted a link there to an article today about the market crash, and plans for more bailouts. The government doesn't know what the hell to do, but what else is new!

Yeah, the independents have been dying, in bigger cities at least, for decades. The big stores create huge mega strip malls with four or five other anchors, and cut down all the trees in the process. I prefer to shop off the beaten path to avoid crowds. I will go to the Ace Hardware down the block and pay more for what I need rather than fight the people at Home Depot. I will say though, if we didn't have a Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, and every feasible grocery chain every three to five miles or so the lines would be overwhelming. Store planners use demographics and economic data to plan new stores, then when times get a little hard they pull out of the markets with the lowest sales. Walmart has been pulling regular stores here and replacing them with Superstores for a few years. If nothing else that viable and formidable institution will still be standing when all else is gone! What can you NOT buy at Walmart?

Our Ace says they will match any price you find elsewhere. I always go there first anyway. It's a bit closer and friendlier (and they are the only ones that handle the replacement pads for my humidifiers).

As for Walmart - I've never been in one!

If this small college town had any place to shop for groceries besides Wal-Mart, I'd never go. I don't approve of the way they treat their employees and run other businesses out of town. When I was little, this town had all sorts of places-but now, unless you're hungry for crafts, most of the food you buy will most likely come from Wal-Mart (unless you actually have a car. :p )

Shine on, you crazy diamond.

I agree with you, I hate the employment philosophy too, but that being said, they are making changes for the better. They have a new man on the mahogany row who is converting stores to "look" more friendly and green, and there is a little higher class of merchandise going in. Let's just say it seems more "Target-like". That being said, the least expensive food option is always Walmart, so when I have lots of family here together, I go there so I can buy two carts of food for $300 instead of one at my favorite haunt for $500 for the same stuff.

The sad truth is that mega-stores are what americans get for wanting convenience. We move too fast, scurry around like rats in a maze, and Walmart and others are just capitalizing on the market needs, that is why they are successful. They build, we flock. One can find all the goods Walmart offers at local and small shops that still exist, because they do, but it would inconvenience the buyer into spending all day running errands rather than getting most things done in one stop, and they would pay more, including spending extra on fuel. For someone without a car, this is impossible, and I appreciate your plight, Dreama. I once read a book, I forget what it is called, and the author penetrated many areas of low-income work, including Walmart. It was quite a great insight and a highly satirical piece that showed lots of truth. I should send it to you.....

Edit: We are disgusting: http://www.wral.com/news/national_wo...story/4046784/

Somewhat related - In the town where I work, except for Sears, Kresge's, and Montgomery Wards, when I was growing up, all the stores were small family owned ones. Most people took a bus to get to town. Now, most all of these stores are closed. Part of the problem is we now all want to drive our own cars everywhere and there are not enough parking places. On top of that, the city has those damned parking meters, so if you are going store to store, you may not have enough time before the meter runs out and you get fined. Plus the malls with everything under one roof are a lot nicer environment in bad weather.

The city is always wringing their hands trying to figure out how to "revitalize" the downtown area. Well, you idiots, two things would help a great deal - dump the damn parking meters and tear down some of those derelict buildings to make parking areas.