By Forrest Whitman
One thing is constant in my small town: bitching about the local economy. I’m accustomed to hearing the same old complaints. Plenty of folks at our coffeehouse call it a permanent recession resulting in low wages with no break in prices. I’ve got a couple of coffee bets out that something new is going to help.
Our economic squeeze is partly due to the local industries. The river rafting companies do hire in the summer, but that’s short term. Our local ski area isn’t a big one. Again, the jobs are not well paid. Walmart is at least consistent, but no source of a big salary. This is an old tale of economic depression told again and again in the small town west.