During the New Year’s celebrations I kept hearing people hope against hope that KC and this town were coming out of The Great Recession.
Unfortunately, during this unprecedented cold spell the only thing that’s clear is that progress and “hope for change” has come to a halt. This isn’t necessarily a tragedy given that a realistic understanding of the current circumstances is the best way to take steps toward improvement in much the same way that drunks must “bottom out” and come away with an amazing story if they survive.
But I digress . . . This post is really about making Kansas City’s current state of affairs plain for all to see.
And the fact is, that for all the talk of a “Downtown Renaissance” or local resiliency against a recession: Economically, this is one of the worst periods in local history since The Great Depression.
Again, dealing with this cold hard fact is essential if things are ever going to get better. A quick look at the current snow removal controversy is a great indication that this town is currently without two nickels to rub together.
The recent loss of J.P. Morgan and Cerner to nearby cities demonstrates that economic development in this town has fallen away despite years of an aggressive TIF policy.
More importantly to everyday people on local streets:
The recent cold stretch during this Great Recession is testing the resources of local charities with so many people in need of assistance.
And the X-mas Blizzard of 2009 completely busted Kansas City’s snow removal budget.
As much as I’d like to believe in optimists that keep touting a recovery, in the dead of winter it just doesn’t seem likely to happen anytime soon. Again, this isn’t all bad news if only because broke chicks tend to lower their standards and that has always worked in my favor.
Tony Botello
jojo
THE BEST THING FOR YOU TONY IS TO MEET SOME
BLIND CHICKS…THATS YOUR BEST CHANCE OF
GETTING A DATE IN 2010.
rob lane
Tony glad SOMEONE finally said it…this town, more than many is deeply hit during this depression period. I now live in S.F. and its bad but not this bad. KC, when I am here, has almost no nightlife anymore, except Saturday night and a little on Fridays. Almost ALL the restaurants and bars I was in, even over holidays, on weekdays were empty or near empty, all of them. And most of these were on the plaza. And as for The Power and Light, please, they basically are closed except on Saturdays and Fridays. The weather has made this ten times worse. Its not good folks and Tony is right.
XXX
So, when are people going to face the facts that Cleaver and Barnes sold the city to the highest bidders and got out of town. Of course now Cleaver is doing his best to piss and whine on behalf of “his” community in D.C. and Barnes tried to get there too, luckily she lost. People wouldn’t be so hard on Funkhouser if he hadn’t inherited Barnes and Cleaver’s f’ ups.
Johnny Utah
I agree with above poster that barnes and cleaver don’t get their share of cricism.
but look on the bright side. at least funk beat brooks. think things would be better with that dunce running things?
Duke
This never happened under Charlie Wheeler’s direction, even Berkley’s. Both were ahead of the curve. Both anticipated, Wheeler especially. Smart guy.