03.13.2009 6:12 pm
This blog’s a (temporary) casualty of the recession
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
I won’t dwell on the irony here, but the economy is forcing Mound City Money to take a few days off from writing about the economy. Like dozens of other employers, the Post-Dispatch is forcing employees to take time off without pay, and bloggers aren’t exempt. I’ll be back March 20 with some fresh thoughts; in the meantime, feel free to use the comments section of this post as an open forum on the state of the St. Louis economy.
(2 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
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David Nicklaus has covered St. Louis business for more than 25 years. His column appears three days a week on the Post-Dispatch business page. 
If I had this coming week off, paid or unpaid I would head to Jupiter and take in a couple days of Cardinals SPring Training.
You got to do it. Drive down, the biggest cost is the airfare. You got the time. Make it a 2 day drive down a 2 day drive back and a 3 or 4 day at Roger Dean Stadium.
GO AHEAD DO IT.
Go somewhere WARM,
No you wouldn’t. Well, at least I wouldn’t. In this day and age one is not sure if they will have a job when they return from their “week off”. Things like eating and house payments take precedence.
See ya soon Dave.
John2
Taking time off without pay is the second best way of dealing with the recession. The best way would be for EVERYONE to take a cut in hourly pay and for this to be reflected in reduced prices for whatever service or product is being produced.
Essentially, that would represent an increase in aggregate supply which — in conjunction with government stimulus to increase aggregate demand — would work to sustain real output and consumption.
I’m essentially retired now and can’t personally take a pay cut, but I have voluntarily done so in the past in response to reduced demand for my services. Economists of all persuasions have recognized that one cause of recessions is the “stickiness” of wages and prices in the downward direction, and this is the way that everyone can act to overcome that. People who are the least bit financially astute recognize that very few careers can promise pay that increases constantly without setbacks, and they plan accordingly by keeping some assets in liquid investments (not stocks).
Incidentally, no organizations do more than unions to institutionalize wage stickiness. If there were ever a time NOT to be passing legislation giving unions additional power to price themselves and their employers out of the market (i.e., through “card check), this is it.
When employers can cut employees’ pay at will, that’s a good thing?
You union bashers crack me up.
Ticket, as opposed to being unionized and just plain laid off? Yeah, that’s a MUCH better solution to the problem…(And, for the record, I generally like unions too, but c’mon, that was a silly comment).
David, they close this blog while some of the other idiotic ones stay open??? (No names, but it isn’t hard to figure out). I for one will miss it, and look forward to when you come back.
David, I rarely agree with you, but I hope for you and your fellow employees this is only a one time thing. Best of luck.
I’m back, folks. No, I didn’t get to Florida, but that’s a nice thought. Thanks for the kind words here, and a special thanks to Tim for the shout-out over in Talk of the Day.