There are varied opinions on how a doubling of crude oil prices, the loss of fifty or sixty thousand jobs a month, tightening of credit, devaluation of the dollar vs other currencies, and the national debt affect local economies. None of those opinions, however, is, “In a good way.”

As you know, Washington Realtors have endorsed Dino Rossi for Governor. That is really your only option.

Party on.

Another local employer with issues.

be careful pushing telecommuting too hard. it is one step closer to being outsourced. if you can do your job without coming to the office, maybe some guy in India can do it without coming to the country…..and for 10% what they pay you. maybe your boss is trying to help you out by keeping you in your desk.

It’s not much different than purchasers of Belltown real estate who are in denial about how incredibly dangerous of an area they chose to live. Facing up to reality is often painful — especially when money spent foolishly is involved.

I noticed this gem in the PI today:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/jamieson/373526_robert05xx.html

“I can’t tell you how many times people have had their store windows shot out,” she said Monday, ticking off some names. “Bullets are flying. It’s the Wild, Wild West down here, especially Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.”

Maybe that will be used in future Belltown real estate listings.

I have said it many times. In Seattle, you have no idea how good you have it and how terrible it is in most other states. Not only you have a highly educated progressive population but also a very healthy job market (at least currently). Sure, if you want to compare yourself with San Jose….but there is only one San Jose, but hundreds of Detroits around the country.

With all due respect to everyone; if you are have only lived west of the Rockies all your life, you are very disconnected to the tough realities of 80% of the population of this country.

I responded that I had read her previous recommendation for Washington employers to adopt telecommuting policies when possible. I went on to inform her that the head of IT in the state department that I work for has an “absolutely no telecommuting” policy. I asked her for recommendations on how to talk my stubborn old fashioned director into opening up his mind and entering the 21st century so we can uncongest our roadways, save our environment, and cut down on fuel usage in order to help oil prices come down.

I’ll let you know if I can start telecommuting in the next week or so…

Seriously, the problem with my workplace isn’t that I have to drive a hundred miles a day to get there and back. It is that there is so much non-work related talking going on in my office that it is almost impossible for me to concentrate long enough to get any actual work done. If I could stay home, I could at least double my work output.

I am not sure exactly what you are implying with that post. Sure, credit is an absolute necessity in many cases (business expansion, car loans, medical emergencies, heck even micro credit loans that were made famous by the guy who won the last nobel peace prize).

However, with credit comes a price. It must be used with caution and responsibly. There was a reason all those boring 30 yr fixed rate mortgages made available for the last 40 odd years or so since the 1950s worked so well. People saved for a 20% down payment. Banks made sure debtors had “skin in the game”. More importantly banks held on to the loans on their portfolios and it was in their best interests to ensure that the debts were paid off. With the frivolous lending of this past decade we have seen basic fundamentals and with it prices being thrown out of the window.

Its time to return to basics. Sure you can invest money anywhere in the world. If I had a million bucks just sitting around doing nothing, I sure would have thought about investing 20-30% in “risky” ventures. But my whole life’s savings and the (potential) roof above my head, especially from individuals who stand to profit from those very transactions, most certainly not!

Its all the bureaucrats she’s added to the tax pay rolls enlarging Olympia’s population, and her [and her Dem Senate and Reps] never say no attitude to a bill adding costs. What happenned to our rainy day surplus fund?

I was horrified when she wanted DUI checkpoints and car searches; and this is liberal?

I’m sure other of you Dems and moderates have some horror stories about her too. You Reps are just laughing at us…lol….

Washington can have a lousy economy and be the envy of other states whose economies are even lousier!