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Editorial
Signs of spring
Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, and the evidence is only anecdotal at this point, but we’re seeing signs that the darling buds of spring may be bringing with them an economic recovery this year.
Retail sales, after a pitiful Christmas and even-worse January and February, are definitely picking up in the region, and with the drop in gas prices Rappahannock’s many commuters aren’t being pinched quite as hard.
The cakewalk of a war, which we think is almost completely over, did its part to discourage risk-taking by businesses during the past seven months, and spring always sees a surge in business activity. Those two factors are doing more than anything to drive events in recent weeks.
On the state level, much has been made of Gov. Wilder’s fiscal conservatism, and how that will make him an appealing national candidate in the near future. That’s speculation, but what is certain is that by tackling the state budget deficit head-on, he has truly best-served the needs of the Commonwealth. If his projections prove to be worse than the r reality, then making adjustments up in revenue will be easy enough. We haven’t heard anyone saying the state picture is more dire than Richmond’s assessment, so at worse Gov. Wilder is erring on the side of pessimism, a good tack in stormy times.
What can people in Rappahannock do to encourage these ; first signs of an upturn? We should all learn from the penny1 pinching and caution of this recession. There was something reckless about the profligate Reagan years, and we have too . much at stake in this country to take things for granted in the ’90s.
We’ve lost a great deal in terms of foreign competition in the past 20 years (the Japanese come immediately to mind), but the Gulf War has done much to restore an underlying faith in our values. The next war, the war for economic prosperity in the ’90s, may not be as short or as easy, but it may say more about the backbone of the American people.
With the Gulf War over, it’s time to turn our attention back home, but leaders like President Bush and Gov. Wilder have proven their leadership in tough times. We can breathe a little easier, but we’re by no means out of the woods yet.
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