Wednesday, July 8, 2009

A Little Piece of Good Economic News for RI

According to the Providence Business News, the Rhode Island economic index has risen for the first time since 2007. The current recession has wiped out a decade of growth here in Rhode Island, and we are almost at the levels we were in in 2000. This is a little piece of mind for us Rhode Islanders, as before the month of June, we had the worst economic fall off in the country. The recession hit Rhode Island the hardest, even Michigan had a 10-point higher index then Rhode Island. So what is the reason for this rise in economic index... consumer confidence and building permits. Well I don't think that is sustainable, but hey, good new is good news. What do you all think?

http://www.pbn.com/detail/43412.html

2 comments:

  1. Yeah I think this is just a blip on the radar screen. I don't buy that there has been an improvement in consumer confidence. Too many Rhode Islanders are on unemployment and face unemployment in coming months for there to have beem an improvement in consumer sentiment. Not only that, but consumer credit is as expensive as it ever has been and isn't easy to get.

    Building permits are nice, but I smell a temporary shot from the stimulus package that may create some temporary labor jobs but nothing long-term. I've seen a lot of folks patching streets and painting lines on streets which, so far as I've been a Rhode Islander, have not been deemed worthy of paint.

    On the other hand, nothing would make me happier than seeing an early recovery here in Li'l Rhody. Well, ice cream might make me a little happier.

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  2. temporary fixes... but hey still better than nothing... and i saw about six people painting cross walks about 10 feet from each other on Park Ave in Cranston today... they could have at least made these projects efficient.

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