My Friend is Going Out of Business [View All]

Crossposted from http://bluejersey.net, with small edits, where appropriate.

I have a good friend out here in western Warren County NJ who told me last night that he will be closing his small business at the end of August. While this is sad, sad news for both him and me, it is just as sad for the community, which is largely bereft of small businesses. The few that are here are struggling. Except for the bars and the liquor stores, of course.


My good, loyal and considerate friend is a master craftsman in his business. His business is one that you do not see much anymore, is needed and he embodies everything good in the word "artisan". His work is always of the highest quality and his prices are fair. But he cannot make it anymore.

What I experienced last Thursday might reflect on his plight:

I had to go to the NJ Department of Labor office for an appointment. While I was there, people were arriving for two classes that they were giving, manditory classes for those receiving unemployment benefits. It seems that these days, there is not a state benefit you can receive without having to pay a penalty in time and effort, for if you are out of work in this economy, you must be worthy of some form of recompense. Call it "punishment", because at the core of things, that is what it is.

But, if my eyes were not deceiving me, the economy , to use a scientific term, sucks. The Job service was packed with people for these two classes. No, these were not three-tooth dirtbags with the IQ of a wet fern, either. These were people who, from their dress, accesories and demeanor, had good jobs of real responsibility, attainment and remuneration. These were people who were undoubtedly considered good members of their communities. These were people who campaigning politicians target. I would say that most of them were from the business world and the building trades.

And they were all out of work and going to classes on how to find a job. The Job Service runs these classes every week and they are similarly attended. Seems there is no shortage of people who need a job, especially jobs that don't include the phrase "deep fat fryer" in their description.

These are also the folks who, a while back, formed the backbone of my friend's customers. The people who had the money and the inclination to avail themselves of my friend's high quality craftsmanship. At one time, he did very, very well.

Now, my friend's phone never rings and in his mid-fifties, he too will be looking for work.

These are stories like these all over the landscape, but somehow, they don't seem to get reported. Of course, there is no end of stories in the newspaper and on TV, telling people how strong the economy is.

Sooner or later, Democratic Politicians are going to have to stop running interference for the depredations occurring to our workforce. They are going to have to discard the "Hey! I am so business-friendly you'll get a nosebleed!" stance and start taking a look at the realities of the workers. People are really, really hurting out there and it never seems to get noticed. Or mentioned. Or addressed.

That all said, I am not holding my breath. Like the change in the civil rights laws, nothing really happened until after Martin Luther King was assassinated and the cities burned. I honestly don't think that anything will change, substantively, until things degrade to that drastic point. I get no joy from that thought, either. But I see politicians, I hear what they are saying and I know how the campaign finance system works. There just isn't the will or courage to change things yet. It's gonna probably take a lot of time and a real socio-political crisis before this situation is addressed.

Meanwhile, my friend is going out of business. Sad to say.

Oh, and a digression: While I was there, I mentioned to someone that there sure was a lot of people going to the class. What ensued from this person was a political rant of the likes I have never given in my life. This person simply went off, talking about the poor job market, economic conditions and the impact of energy prices. This person ended up by saying "I would not be surprised to see a revolution start in this country. That's how bad things are."

I was gobsmacked. I had not expected to hear or say anything political while I was there. How wrong I was. It might also be noted that this person was not there as a consumer of the services. This person deals with the realities of the economy and the job market every week.

Unlike most politicians. They are too occupied with being business-friendly.

While my friend is going out of business.