contraction
Contraction - Twice now I have overheard airline gate attendants discussing what they were going to do now that they have received layoff notices. They seemed quite worried and uncertain. Boeing sends out another round of layoff notices tomorrow; the first round of layoffs take effect just before Christmas. Boeing’s competitor to the north, Bombardier, just fired 4,000 people. Washington State is predicting tax revenues will be shorter than expectations by $800 million this year, blaming the shortage largely on uncertainty spawned September 11. But the dotcom layoffs have been going unabated here for at least a year, and the Boeing move to Chicago predates September 11. So I suspect that September 11 has little to do with the fact that Washington now has the highest unemployment rate in the country. Our state senator Maria Cantwell (formerly Real Networks) has proposed a nationwide sales-tax free shopping holiday period of ten days to kick-start the economy after Sept. 11. Of course, states that don’t have a sales tax are asking what’s in it for them. But with the sales tax around here being somewhere between 8 and 9 percent to compensate for our lack of income tax, such a holiday would be a big stimulus. Microsoft just bought another 40 acres in Issaquah to build more office space, but even Issaquah is feeling the pinch. We went shopping yesterday and were shocked to find that one of our favorite stores is closing down.
Another thing I’ve noticed since Sept. 11 is a lot more traffic congestion during rush hours. I’m not sure why, but I am guessing there is something to do with fear of air travel and fear of layoffs. I wonder if the traffic in areas toward Boeing is lighter these days? I could probably figure out, since the DOT here provides FTP feeds of traffic congestion information. There is still a high correlation between home games for the local sports teams and congestion; it would be interesting to see what other correlations exist.
One way to avoid automobile traffic congestion is to trade for bicycle congestion. Is seems like most of the population of Seattle is within a short distance of the Burke-Gilman/Sammamish Trail. From University of Washington to Microsoft’s Redmond campus is a 20 mile bike ride, almost entirely on paved off-road trails. Many people use these trails to commute to work, even during Seattle’s rainy winter. I’m very tempted to try this out; theoretically I could be to work in less than 30 minutes at a relaxed pace. Of course, I would have to take a change of clothes and get a shower in the building 2 locker rooms when I got in. More importantly, I would have to buy a bike. And even more importantly than that, I would have to get in shape. Well, one can always dream…