Publication:The Columbus Dispatch; Date:Dec 2, 2009; Section:Opinion; Page Number:A10
EDITORIALS Overstimulation
Calls for more federal pump-priming are driven by election fears
The Democratic majority in Congress hopes to have a jobs-creation bill on President Barack Obama’s desk as soon as January. No dollar figure has been attached to this stimulus effort, but congressional aides have said that it likely will cost tens of billions of dollars.
This plan follows a $787 billion bill in February that was intended to create jobs and get the economy trucking again. Nine months later, 3 million more jobs have been lost, 10.2 percent of Americans are unemployed and 17.5 percent are underemployed, meaning they either gave up looking for work or they reluctantly took a part-time job to squeak by.
This less-than-stimulating stimulus adds the better part of another $1 trillion to the U.S. deficit and national debt.
If jobs were saved or created by the manipulations of Congress and the Obama administration, they were hard for the American public to see. Congressional Democrats are frustrated about that lack of visibility. A significant number of Democrat-held House and Senate seats that are considered to be in play for next year’s election are in states where the unemployment rate has topped 10 percent for the past couple of months.
Members of the majority party see no light at the end of the unemployment tunnel, and they know the voters might punish them for it in 2010.
Thus, the calls for yet another stimulus. If it passes, watch for the Obama administration to spin the results as it did with the last bill. Washington claimed that as of Sept. 30, the stimulus had saved or created 640,000 jobs directly and perhaps a million jobs indirectly. Almost overnight, stories appeared on TV and in newspapers across the U.S. disputing the numbers.
The Columbus City Schools, for example, reported to the feds that of the 212.5 full-time-equivalent jobs that the district expected to fund with part of the $64 million in stimulus it expected, about 65 percent were saved jobs, including 36 school administrators. But when the district was asked whether it was on the verge of laying off 36 administrators, it said no, the money for those positions would have come from another part of the budget. But “saved” and “created” were the only two options for reporting how the funds were used.
A new stimulus might be a do-nothing measure — economists say that even an aggressive new program would decrease joblessness by perhaps only one percentage point — or it could make things worse.
Business people and investors need stability and predictability in the economy, so that they can make long-term plans for economic growth with a reasonable expectation that conditions won’t change overnight and undercut their investments.
Having the government intervene in the economy every few months with massive spending programs or takeovers creates the opposite of stability and predictability; it creates uncertainty that slows or paralyzes private-sector decision-making, and this prolongs economic stagnation.
In the face of widespread economic distress, it is part of every politician’s DNA to appear to be doing something. But doing something that deepens a problem rather than fixing it is hardly what this battered nation needs.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Thanks Jackie Brown!- Martings in Portsmouth
My wife, Jeanette Weddington Kegley loved Martings and Atlas Fashion and she bought a lot of her clothes in those quality stores. Her best friend, Deloris Salyers, was a buyer for Martings for several years.
Sam
To me, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Marting's and Mom are all tied up together in my memories....not to mention going there to shop and meeting up with friends and boyfriends, etc. during the magical holiday season. Cashmere sweater sets; Je Reviens Perfume; prom dresses....Marting's had it all and my youthful ghost together with all the people important to me are probably still in there, wondering and wandering around the store at the center of many of our halcyon, happy 50's and 60's days....I loved this piece - thanks for sending. Jackie
----- Original Message -----
From: Karen Colley
To: Doug Harness ; Jackie Brown ; Brenda Mitchell ; Gerry A. Lenhart
Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2009 4:36 PM
Subject: Fw: friend recommendation from Portsmouth Daily Times - Your source for local news, classifieds, business listings and events.
----- Original Message -----
From: Portsmouth Daily Times - Your source for local news, classifieds, business listings and events.
To: kbcolley@roadrunner.com
Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2009 4:02 PM
Subject: friend recommendation from Portsmouth Daily Times - Your source for local news, classifieds, business listings and events.
Karen (kbcolley@roadrunner.com) wanted to share this with you
story about Martings!
Shopping season brings back memories of Marting’s
by David Horr
Many of us can remember back a few years when we would enter Marting’s Department Store on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. What a wonderful sight greeted us: The store was brightly lit. All the beautiful Christmas decorations which had been carefully put up over the previous weeks were alive with lights at last! Christmas music was playing in the background. That day, everything at Marting’s was ready for what was traditionally the largest single shopping day of the year.
How can anyone forget that glorious experience? Thanksgiving week-end at Marting’s was always special in a number of ways. Christmas decorations were shining brightly. Departments were well stocked wi th merchandise and looked very inviting. The island show window on Chillicothe Street glowed with the life-size figures of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Wise Men and animals. In Gift Wrap, hundreds of bows in all colors had been measured out, punched and tied, and were waiting to be peeled open and put on wrapped packages. And customers streamed in by the thousands – young people home from college, relatives back home to share the holiday with families. Grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, cousins. It was like “old-home week,” a great family reunion right in the store, and everyone loved it.
For 130 years, The Marting Brothers Company occupied a prominent place in the life of Portsmouth, Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky. Like countless other family department stores across America, Marting’s carried on a proud tradition of serving the shopping needs of the customers in our community with quality merchandise and friendly, personal service. It may seem strange now, but back then we took all that for granted. It was just the way the store did business. At the end of the day when employees left the store, perhaps they felt a bit tired, but they also knew they had served their customers proudly and well, and they had fun doing it! The kind of shopping experience they provided was special. Each employee felt a real sense of pride in knowing they were part of a great family of Associates who helped keep that experience alive for so many years, and who helped make Marting’s “One of Ohio’s Good Stores.”
David Horr retired from Marting’s in 1994 after serving for 31 years, first as controller, then secretary-treasurer, president, and finally chairman of the Board of Directors. A native of Portsmouth, he was the last family member to head the company, founded by his great-great-grandfather Henry Marting in 1872. He now resides in Tucson, Ariz.
Thanks for reading!
Portsmouth Daily Times - Your source for local news, classifieds, business listings and events.
Sam
To me, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Marting's and Mom are all tied up together in my memories....not to mention going there to shop and meeting up with friends and boyfriends, etc. during the magical holiday season. Cashmere sweater sets; Je Reviens Perfume; prom dresses....Marting's had it all and my youthful ghost together with all the people important to me are probably still in there, wondering and wandering around the store at the center of many of our halcyon, happy 50's and 60's days....I loved this piece - thanks for sending. Jackie
----- Original Message -----
From: Karen Colley
To: Doug Harness ; Jackie Brown ; Brenda Mitchell ; Gerry A. Lenhart
Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2009 4:36 PM
Subject: Fw: friend recommendation from Portsmouth Daily Times - Your source for local news, classifieds, business listings and events.
----- Original Message -----
From: Portsmouth Daily Times - Your source for local news, classifieds, business listings and events.
To: kbcolley@roadrunner.com
Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2009 4:02 PM
Subject: friend recommendation from Portsmouth Daily Times - Your source for local news, classifieds, business listings and events.
Karen (kbcolley@roadrunner.com) wanted to share this with you
story about Martings!
Shopping season brings back memories of Marting’s
by David Horr
Many of us can remember back a few years when we would enter Marting’s Department Store on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. What a wonderful sight greeted us: The store was brightly lit. All the beautiful Christmas decorations which had been carefully put up over the previous weeks were alive with lights at last! Christmas music was playing in the background. That day, everything at Marting’s was ready for what was traditionally the largest single shopping day of the year.
How can anyone forget that glorious experience? Thanksgiving week-end at Marting’s was always special in a number of ways. Christmas decorations were shining brightly. Departments were well stocked wi th merchandise and looked very inviting. The island show window on Chillicothe Street glowed with the life-size figures of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Wise Men and animals. In Gift Wrap, hundreds of bows in all colors had been measured out, punched and tied, and were waiting to be peeled open and put on wrapped packages. And customers streamed in by the thousands – young people home from college, relatives back home to share the holiday with families. Grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, cousins. It was like “old-home week,” a great family reunion right in the store, and everyone loved it.
For 130 years, The Marting Brothers Company occupied a prominent place in the life of Portsmouth, Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky. Like countless other family department stores across America, Marting’s carried on a proud tradition of serving the shopping needs of the customers in our community with quality merchandise and friendly, personal service. It may seem strange now, but back then we took all that for granted. It was just the way the store did business. At the end of the day when employees left the store, perhaps they felt a bit tired, but they also knew they had served their customers proudly and well, and they had fun doing it! The kind of shopping experience they provided was special. Each employee felt a real sense of pride in knowing they were part of a great family of Associates who helped keep that experience alive for so many years, and who helped make Marting’s “One of Ohio’s Good Stores.”
David Horr retired from Marting’s in 1994 after serving for 31 years, first as controller, then secretary-treasurer, president, and finally chairman of the Board of Directors. A native of Portsmouth, he was the last family member to head the company, founded by his great-great-grandfather Henry Marting in 1872. He now resides in Tucson, Ariz.
Thanks for reading!
Portsmouth Daily Times - Your source for local news, classifieds, business listings and events.
Email from a good friend- #77
Thanks Dean,
I didn't know either.
Sam
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dean Williams" Subject: FW: *77
Hi Sam & Jean! Please share with your Family & Friends. I never knew
there was such a number.
Take care,
Dean
THIS IS IMPORTANT!!!!
I knew about the red light on
cars,
but not the *77
It was about 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon,
and Lauren was driving to visit a friend. An UNMARKED police car pulled
up behind her and put his lights on. Lauren's parents have always told
her never to pull over for an unmarked car on the side of the road, but
rather to wait until they get to a gas station, etc.
Lauren had actually listened to her
parents advice, and promptly called *77 on her cell phone to tell the
police
dispatcher that she would not pull over right away. She proceeded to
tell
the dispatcher that there was an unmarked police car with a flashing
red light on his rooftop behind her. The dispatcher checked to see if
there
were police cars where she was and there weren't, and he told her to
keep
driving, remain calm and that he had back up already on the way.
Ten minutes later 4 cop cars surrounded
her and the unmarked car behind her. One policeman went to her side and
the others surrounded the car behind. They pulled the guy from the car
and tackled him to the ground. The man was a convicted rapist and wa
nted for other crimes.
I never knew about the *77 Cell Phone
Feature, but especially for a woman alone in a car, you should not
pull
over for an unmarked car. Apparently police have to respect your right
to keep going to a safe place.
*Speaking to a service representative at
**
Bell ** Mobility confirmed that *77 was a direct link to State
trooper
info. So, now it's your turn to let your friends know about *77..
Send this to every woman (and person) you
know; it may save a l ife This applies to ALL 50 states.
--------------------------------------------------
Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get
Windows Live Hotmail Free. Sign up now.
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.422 / Virus Database: 270.14.20/2444 - Release
Date:
10/18/09 09:04:00
------------------------------------------------------------------------
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.425 / Virus Database: 270.14.72/2511 - Release
Date:
11/18/09 07:50:00
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.425 / Virus Database: 270.14.72/2511 - Release Date:
11/18/09 07:50:00
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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I didn't know either.
Sam
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dean Williams" Subject: FW: *77
Hi Sam & Jean! Please share with your Family & Friends. I never knew
there was such a number.
Take care,
Dean
THIS IS IMPORTANT!!!!
I knew about the red light on
cars,
but not the *77
It was about 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon,
and Lauren was driving to visit a friend. An UNMARKED police car pulled
up behind her and put his lights on. Lauren's parents have always told
her never to pull over for an unmarked car on the side of the road, but
rather to wait until they get to a gas station, etc.
Lauren had actually listened to her
parents advice, and promptly called *77 on her cell phone to tell the
police
dispatcher that she would not pull over right away. She proceeded to
tell
the dispatcher that there was an unmarked police car with a flashing
red light on his rooftop behind her. The dispatcher checked to see if
there
were police cars where she was and there weren't, and he told her to
keep
driving, remain calm and that he had back up already on the way.
Ten minutes later 4 cop cars surrounded
her and the unmarked car behind her. One policeman went to her side and
the others surrounded the car behind. They pulled the guy from the car
and tackled him to the ground. The man was a convicted rapist and wa
nted for other crimes.
I never knew about the *77 Cell Phone
Feature, but especially for a woman alone in a car, you should not
pull
over for an unmarked car. Apparently police have to respect your right
to keep going to a safe place.
*Speaking to a service representative at
**
Bell ** Mobility confirmed that *77 was a direct link to State
trooper
info. So, now it's your turn to let your friends know about *77..
Send this to every woman (and person) you
know; it may save a l ife This applies to ALL 50 states.
--------------------------------------------------
Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get
Windows Live Hotmail Free. Sign up now.
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.422 / Virus Database: 270.14.20/2444 - Release
Date:
10/18/09 09:04:00
------------------------------------------------------------------------
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.425 / Virus Database: 270.14.72/2511 - Release
Date:
11/18/09 07:50:00
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.425 / Virus Database: 270.14.72/2511 - Release Date:
11/18/09 07:50:00
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft's powerful SPAM
protection.
Sign up now.
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