Yet another great editorial from Bill Virgin: Once considered recession-proof, Seattle no longer is
Recessions, Seattle has long believed, were phenomena that happened to other, less fortunate, less blessed and, frankly, less gifted parts of the world.
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Until now.As recently as the first half of 2008, you could find plenty of people who believed that the old model would continue to hold, that Seattle would be largely immune to the slowdown afflicting the rest of the nation. A series of major layoff announcements by the high-profile big companies that were supposed to carry us through may have been enough to chase away such comforting notions. Diversity is a nice thing to have in an economy, but it’s not of much use when every sector is ailing and when every corner of the globe is in trouble.
As usual, I recommend you read the whole thing.
Bill has been one of the few local commentators that has consistently provided a voice of reason on the subject of the local housing market and economy—even during the boom years. It will be a real shame to lose Bill’s perspective if/when the P-I closes.