Ripples

Want to see the economy fall apart in real time? The local new car dealership in my hometown shut down just before Christmas. GMAC, which has a world of trouble of its own, called in its loan. No credit, no business. So 60 people lose their jobs, every type of media - paper, radio, TV - in the area takes a huge hit with the loss of the biggest advertiser in the county. Local government takes a big loss in tax revenue and has to lay people off and so on. Now the same thing is happening elsewhere. Now repeat this scene 1,200 times over the next year and you have yourself a very bad economy.