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Real Economic Indicators from Cleveland - 11/1/2008 1:43:26 AM

candystripper

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Here are some changes I have seen or expect to see in my neighborhood that will adveresely affect me, directly or indirectly. These are the things that keep me awake at night.

Run out of food in Cuyahoga County and there are exctly two food banks, with different income restrictions. Each will give you three days' worth of food, so if you visit both, you can score only six days' worth of food here within any given month. As seniors are pressed harder and harder to choose between food and medicine and families lose their incomes abruptly, where are people here supposed to go to avoid starvation?

Need mental health care here in Cuyahoga County? Well, if you're uninsured, we might lock you up in the worst psych ward we have for three days, but then you'll be streeted. Doesn't matter whether you're a paranoid schzophrenic or otherwise rendered vunerable by your disease....we have no services to offer.

Need a car? Low income or bad credit? We have a whole industry here waiting to rape you. One dealer goes so far as to video tape contract signings to defend against suits. You can also 'pawn' your car if you need money....but good luck paying that interest rate and getting it back.

The streets are no longer cleaned here, ever. Nothing was announced by the county or city; I've just noticed the litter accumulating and realise I haven't heard that machine in months.

More and more businesses in my neighbor are failing and there are no new renters coming in and opening new businesses. Much more of this and I'll be living in a 'transitional' neighborhood....and from there it's a short slide into decay.

Crimes against property are rising. Criminals are getting more brazen. We have many elderly in my housing association, and this rash of daytime burglars is eventually going to result in a tragedy.

Need a divorce here in Cuyahoga County? Well, if you have no police reports that your spouse has abused you, you're not getting one from Legal Aid. They are overwhelmed and cannot meet the most urgent needs...but good grief, someone who cannot prove abuse might still urgently need represtantion.

Home values insidfe the city limits seem to have completely tanked. I don't think my brother could give his home away. Neither could my brother's mother-in-law. Once these new values are established in the tax assessors office, the city will see a drastic loss of revenues. They will have no choice but to lay off more police and fire, and begin looking at closing schools.

Is anything being done? So little attention is being paid to the local races due to the preoccupation with the presidentiual race, there's not much chance we are going to get anything other than the same ole, same ole.

Some wealthy people I know here are beginning to talk about moving. If not now, in the foreseeable future. I have lived through the collapse of a city before (Rochester NY in the 1970's) and I fear it will happen again here.

So, how're things in your community?

candystripper

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RE: Real Economic Indicators from Cleveland - 11/1/2008 2:16:24 AM

PanthersMom

Posts: 2215
Joined: 11/26/2007
From: Cleveland Ohio
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you're right about the housing market here. i couldn't give my house away. the house around the corner from me sold for 26k. the people on my side of the corner have a beautiful duplex and have had it up for sale for over a year, not even one person has come to look at it. it's really depressing. the food pantry at our church has seen a drastic drop in donations and the pastor has commented on how she's finding less and less to bring to the pantry from the regional food bank. i've put my boys in a private charter school rather than send them to the schools here in the city. i've been present in a school office when an adult sized male student went nuts and started beating people up when he was told he was suspended. this was an 8th grader! god help the school he attends if he actually stays in long enough graduate, but we both know the chances of that in our school system. does our illustrious mayor do anything to help these problems? i can't remember the last time i heard anything from frank jackson! he's less visible than our last mayor and in my opinion, even more worthless with his criminal family acting like they own the whole damn city. if i could move, i would. unfortunately, like alot of fixed income folks here, i'm stuck. god help us all when this city finally self-destructs.
PM

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RE: Real Economic Indicators from Cleveland - 11/1/2008 6:44:24 AM

OneMoreWaste

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I think perhaps Cleveland doesn't rock nearly as much as I've been led to believe

Things are nowhere near that bad around me.

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RE: Real Economic Indicators from Cleveland - 11/1/2008 7:57:16 AM

Termyn8or

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Cleveland rocks and being the rock and roll capitol of the world is a bunch of hype. Country is actually more popular, and take away the rappers and hiphoppers, rockers are not in the majority.

As to the economy here, I am a native Clevelander so I don't see it as all that bad. I'm not pleased to say that this is because it has always been bad. Cleveland doing well seems to have ended with my birth. We have had so many jobs shipped out of here, of all kinds that it's not funny. We natives are used to it. Now National City Bank is taking a walk. Citibamk used to be here, it seems everyone forgot about that. Many of these jobs were not all that great, but they beat nothing. May bank took a walk several years ago, which was a major processing center for credit card transactions. Retail outlets are closing up, Value City is closing up, shutting down. That is that. Again, not the best jobs, but jobs.

Manufacturing is all but gone. In that industry my neighbor used to make $58K a year, he now makes less than $25K and is losing his house, even though he is working full time. I am down to two days a week and just barely sqeaking by, and I won't be able to maintain that for very long. My former aspirations of starting a business might become a necessity, but the reason I am down to two days is because people have no money to pay, so would a business even help ?

It is getting so bad that I rarely see panhandlers anymore, I think they are getting the idea that nobody has any money, or at least what they think they should. And when you bring up the city of Cleveland proper, not the suburbs, things are even worse. Most major retailers have moved out, we don't even have a Sears. Even grocery stores are moving out.

But we natives are used to it.

T

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RE: Real Economic Indicators from Cleveland - 11/1/2008 8:02:48 AM

pahunkboy

Posts: 33061
Joined: 2/26/2006
From: Central Pennsylvania
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Frankly, my local area is no where near that bad.

We never had the boom. employers are stingy but if one wants to work hard- one can still do so.

a couple of empty houses- prices have not gone down...in fact- some went up.

however I am pissed off still over my patio door being stolen, and the fake call us- no tip is too small premise of crime watch.

our food bank is abit low- but not alarming. nonprofits are feeling the pinch- a few factories close.

but the local mentality is big city problems dont happen here and never will. indeed the power elite does come thru for the peons -it may be over ballyhood, and minimal- but it isnt the cold disertion of multimnational conglomorites.

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RE: Real Economic Indicators from Cleveland - 11/1/2008 8:05:38 AM

pahunkboy

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From: Central Pennsylvania
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Termyn8or

Cleveland rocks and being the rock and roll capitol of the world is a bunch of hype. Country is actually more popular, and take away the rappers and hiphoppers, rockers are not in the majority.

As to the economy here, I am a native Clevelander so I don't see it as all that bad. I'm not pleased to say that this is because it has always been bad. Cleveland doing well seems to have ended with my birth. We have had so many jobs shipped out of here, of all kinds that it's not funny. We natives are used to it. Now National City Bank is taking a walk. Citibamk used to be here, it seems everyone forgot about that. Many of these jobs were not all that great, but they beat nothing. May bank took a walk several years ago, which was a major processing center for credit card transactions. Retail outlets are closing up, Value City is closing up, shutting down. That is that. Again, not the best jobs, but jobs.

Manufacturing is all but gone. In that industry my neighbor used to make $58K a year, he now makes less than $25K and is losing his house, even though he is working full time. I am down to two days a week and just barely sqeaking by, and I won't be able to maintain that for very long. My former aspirations of starting a business might become a necessity, but the reason I am down to two days is because people have no money to pay, so would a business even help ?

It is getting so bad that I rarely see panhandlers anymore, I think they are getting the idea that nobody has any money, or at least what they think they should. And when you bring up the city of Cleveland proper, not the suburbs, things are even worse. Most major retailers have moved out, we don't even have a Sears. Even grocery stores are moving out.

But we natives are used to it.

T

A buddy of mine in Akron said that loosing the tire industry was a big blow.

at least your politicians speak up- ours dont. kucinich and that lady that scolded the bail out.

(in reply to Termyn8or)

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