So the New York Times has another story about how shitty the economy is! No surprise there, but what is surprising is that they’ve picked Portland as a focal point for their examination of how the Econopocalypse is affecting businesses.
Portland, a metropolitan area of 2.2 million people, affords an ideal window onto the spiral of fear and diminished expectations assailing the economy. The area has long attracted investment and talented minds with its curbs on urban sprawl, thriving culinary scene and life in proximity to the Pacific Coast and the snow-capped peaks of the Cascades. In good times, Portland tends to grow vigorously, elevated by companies like the computer chip maker Intel—which employs 15,000 people in the area—and the athletic clothing giant Nike.
But in recent months, Portland has devolved into a symbol of much that is wrong. Housing prices have fallen more than 14 percent since May 2007, according to the S.& P./Case-Shiller index. Foreclosures more than tripled last year, according to RealtyTrac. The unemployment rate for the metro area surged from 4.8 percent at the end of 2007 to 9.8 percent in January 2009, according to the Labor Department.
The story looks at the changes the economy has brought about in Portland—from the delay of a planned Powell’s expansion to layoffs at companies like Columbia Sportswear. The piece is here, and it’s well worth a read—though you might want to have a stiff drink on hand, for immediate consumption as soon as you’ve finished reading.
Can it be that the NY times is finally falling out of love with us? Thank God.
It’s funny, the Times just keeps on laying off employees, cutting salaries, not selling papers, and writing BORING ASS articles about Portland and the shitty economy.
Finally, a NYT story that gives people reasons to NOT move to Portland.
Well, except for the drop in housing prices.