What's Up In A Down Economy?

Opening day for the Reno Aces was April 17, 2009. The Aces are a Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks and 1 of 16 teams in the Pacific Coast League. Franchise owner, SK Baseball, has built a $40 million, 10,000-fan capacity stadium in downtown Reno. Not only does the stadium provide several hundred jobs for a city with 11.2% unemployment; but there are plans for a Stadium Entertainment District to include retail, dining and nightclubs. The Aces lost their first home game, but for a $7 ticket fans can pass some bad economic times watching America’s pastime.

Facing bad economic times Starbucks ran the first ad of its new campaign May 3, 2009 – a full page in the Sunday New York Times. The ad described Starbucks drinks as higher quality than the competitions’ and less expensive than customers might expect. May 5 McDonald’s began its $100 million plus campaign – television, radio, print, online and outdoor ads – for its McCafe espresso drinks, which will be available at all 14,000 U.S. locations. The ads describe McDonald’s drinks as affordable, quality alternatives to gourmet competition like Starbucks. While Starbucks stock is down, things are looking up for McDonald’s and for coffee drinkers.

Things are also looking up for workers in northern Ohio. An unemployment office comes to them, many of whom no longer have cars or can’t afford to drive to the main office in Norwalk. The Huron County Job and Family Service mobile job unit is an RV containing 3 tiny, computerized offices and a bench for gratefully waiting job-seekers – especially as Huron County has the state’s highest unemployment rate – 17.5%. Florida, Kentucky and North Carolina also have mobile job units. The U.S. Department of Labor has 40 units to help people find jobs after natural disasters. Unfortunately, the economy is an unnatural disaster.

Motivated by the down economy PPL, an electric company in Pennsylvania, is putting “smart meters” on customers’ houses. These meters track energy use monthly, daily, hourly and instantaneously. A Web site helps customers use this money-saving information and also gives them energy-saving tips – like flat-screen plasma televisions use electricity even when they’re turned off. Using smart meter information, PPL can offer cheaper rates during off-peak hours.  The bad news is these meters put meter readers out of work; and the Web site, which compares energy use with similar houses in the area, seems to have energized “neighborly” competition.