In all of Kansas City's grand schemes and fantastic designs there's one word that isn't being mentioned.
In fact, not a singe City official, politico or light rail promoter wants to mention a really scary word:
RECESSION.
It doesn't matter, a recession doesn't need a consensus or the recognition of the media in order to take effect.
And while there are always contrasting economic opinions out there, it's important to know that the rest of the nation (and the world) isn't pinning their hopes to shiny trains, new stadiums or questionable shopping districts and THERE IS WIDESPREAD TALK OF A COMING RECESSION EVEN IF FOLKS IN KANSAS CITY WANT TO IGNORE IT.
Really, one of the reasons that nobody likes to mention the word here is that it's yet another indication that Kansas City is behind the times given that our building boom is just coming to an end and we're waiting for consumers to revive the downtown area while others are bracing for the very likely prospect of an economic downturn.
Feel free to research this theory on your own but I believe there is "blood in the water" as far as a recession is concerned, here are a couple of headlines which back me up:
Forex - Euro hits new record high vs dollar as US recession fears gather pace
How Bad Will the Next Recession Be?
And no matter what your economic outlook, the fact is that people in charge of this City and so many local media folks who hold vast influence haven't really given the idea of a pending recession a fair amount of consideration.
In essence, Kansas City has just bought a new house (The Sprint Center) wants to put money down on a new car (light rail) but the prospect of downsizing (recession) looms in the background. I'm no Dave Ramsey but that doesn't exactly sound like a recipe for success.
The people in charge aren't really putting all the facts on the table; and even worse they want you to keep paying the bill with the upcoming PIAC renewal. (TKC loves alliteration). Already KC's Condo boom is pretty much kaput and the full impact of the housing slump has yet to be felt in Kansas City.
Put simply, money just might get tight in Kansas City and leaders in both media and politics haven't prepared their followers for it.
Tony, as a white man how worried should I be that the blacks are going to go crazy and start "wilding?"
ReplyDelete8:01
ReplyDeleteStart "wilding"? Check out the other posts. From Westport to Admiral they were "wilding" this weekend. Don't worry, just stay out of the way. With no black leadership (especially from city hall) in the city the best you can do is buy a vest and start filling sandbags.
KC wants to spend several hundred million to build the Amish bus line and 7 million each year to operate while the customer (rider) values the service at 1.5 million. Yes, that is the amount riders are willing pay in fares. Amortize it out and it will cost ten times as much for every rider as a taxi. The congestion decrease will be offset by cars waiting for the Amish bus to cross. The only reason to build is rail envy.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing keeping KC from being a major league city is the lack of a gondola.
ReplyDelete8:29
ReplyDeletegondala's rock hard.
I do hate cops, but I thank god for their "unspoken" beat and release policy they use when handling certain races. This tends to quell the primal "wilding" habits of these types and corrall them to their neighborhoods so they can rage against each other without my worrying if this will happen in my backyard (of course in my lily white neighborhood)
ReplyDeleteWhen I don't have to wait 30 min to an hour to be seated at nearly any half-way decent KC area restaurant on a Friday or Saturday night, I'll believe there's a recession.
ReplyDeleteAnony 9:38, when I can't afford to make reservations at a restraunt where one has to wait up to an hour to be seated, I define that as a depression. That brings up the old adage: A recession is when the other guy is out of work. A depression is when you our out of work.
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