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Street Level Economics |
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Geographic Area: Texas (Houston) Reporter: BG
It might be redundant to report from Houston, but here
goes...
Of course, in December Enron went belly up, practically
shuttering two of the largest skyscrapers and laying off 4,000 folks in
the process. This was on top of energy-related lay-offs of up to 51,000
over the past couple of years because of a slow-down in the OLE BIDNESS.
Those folks (engineers, project managers, etc.) are having a heck of a
time finding new work around here. Related to that, Anderson shut down
their offices here in town which threw a couple thousand bean counters
out on the street. Lately, giant energy megacorp ****** has been having
accounting problems, as well. We can probably expect to see more folks
thrown out in the next few months from that one.
Property taxes were raised in January by a significant
amount. The legislature is said to be considering an income tax in next
year's session even though that one thing could get them all shot and
then hung 'round these parts. State budgets are in trouble and there is
much whining about meeting tax goals on both the state and city levels.
The sheer number of cops on the street handing out tickets is enough to
tell you that the city coffers are drying up.
Now, on to the anecdotal stuff.
Houston is not known for its smooth-flowing traffic.
Traffic jams of massive proportions are the norm. However, in the past
three months, I have noticed a distinctly easier commute morning and
evening. Jams that used to predictably stretch a couple of miles are
down to half a mile, and others have disappeared. Interstate 10, which
runs through the heart of town, was on course to be widened to 24 (!)
divided lanes by 2005. When work began two years ago, there was much
activity and daily changes. That work has nearly ground to a halt now.
A number of grocery stores in my area have shuttered or
cut back from 24 hours to 12-18. Small businesses that I have traded
with for several years are gone. Nothing shocking, just a slow and
steady decline in numbers in my area. The area on west Richmond Ave.
used to be a VERY busy strip with dozens of nightclubs, restaurants,
bars and endless lines of 20-somethings cruising up and down the
street. All of that is practically gone and the cruisers have moved
on. The only thing that seems to be growing are pharmacies with
Walgreen's and CVS building free-standing edifices face-to-face all over
the place.
Downtown office space available is growing
precipitously. For a while, Enron and other majors were luring masses
of folks to move back into downtown lofts and newly built or renovated
condos. The sheer number of folks on the streets downtown after dark
reminded me of my childhood, when downtown was the center of social and
business life. All of that is dying fairly quickly and parking has
gotten quite easy. Most of the lofts and condos that were charging
upwards of $1,200/month for closets are now offering free rent like the
suburban apartment towns. Not a single new parking space has been added
downtown in the past 6 months, whereas that was one of the most
lucrative growth businesses for years.
Homes in my neighborhood, which used to sell within three
months, are taking a year or more now...and there are a lot more
available, too. For Sale signs have practically become lawn ornaments.
Finally, I work in oil field services. The first quarter
of this year was horribly slow despite oil and gas prices being up.
There just wasn't any exploration and completion going on offshore. It
has picked slightly this past quarter, but we are still running behind
last year (which was a ho-hum one by dead reckoning). This tells me
that demand for energy is down nationwide, since Houston is the hub of
North America's oil and gas refining and distribution. By extension,
the Port of Houston's (second-largest in US) traffic has been down, as
well. I have not quantified it, but I can see a lot fewer ships tied to
the docks when I pass over the turning basin.
So there you have my observations...
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