Hard Times, Hard Decisions

Saturday I attended an auction at Riverband Golf Course. Needless to say it was not well attended as the relentless snowfall kept all but the hardiest and most dedicated auction fans away. Renee and I borrowed my sons 4 wheel drive truck to make the journey. I must say Mike Rogers had the roads leading to Riverbend very well cleaned and salted. I thought the prices at today's auction were generally low compared to other warm weather auctions I have attended and don't know if the lower prices were due to the weather or the trying economic times we face. I was the low bidder on a set of three floor fans I will use at the studio to circulate air in the basement. With the spring thaw hopefully around the corner, the basement is subject to moisture creeping in.



Just before the auction started I was talking with a group of attendees and sharing stories about health care and the lack of action we see from Washington. One person in the group said he was just happy to have a job with some sort of benefit package. He shared the the company he worked for in thetimber industry was faced with job cuts and cost reduction. He was grateful to have made the cut and retain his job, but had to take a $4.00 per hour wage reduction in addition to having his health care deductible raised from $750 to $2000 per person annually. WOW!!! He was also a supervisor and had to share the harsh news of wage and health care reductions with his staff. Running a business is challenging especially in difficult economic times. The same is true for running a household when income streams are reduced. Vacations are redefined, major purchases are postponed, you eat out less and for some, just paying the utility bill is tight.



Running a city is not that much different than operating a company or household. When times are tough, tough decisions have to be made. I hope our city council has the tenacity to make the right decisions for our city as they struggle with the budget for next fiscal year.