Life in Charlotte

Wachovia is Charlotte's 2nd largest employer, and it just announced that it lost $8.9 BILLION in the second quarter. Now, it's going to cut more than 10,000 jobs. Here's the article, for those you who may have nothing better to do.

Charlotte's growth in the recent years is due primarily, if not solely, to the banking industry. Thankfully, BofA seems to be fairing better. And although it's bigger than Wachovia, Wachovia employs more people here than BofA does. We know several people who lost their bank jobs in the round of cuts last year, and most of them haven't found new jobs yet. These are people with mortgages and young families. There just don't seem to be any jobs to be had, and now more people are going to be out there looking.

But still, our President tells us to be optimistic. "The market is working!"

This Onion article came to us courtesy of Matt Robertson at CWT. We're trying to figure out if it was really published in 2001. It it was, it's crazy scary. It starts:

Mere days from assuming the presidency and closing the door on eight years of Bill Clinton, president-elect George W. Bush assured the nation in a televised address Tuesday that "our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over."

Among its more poignant passages:

Bush also promised to bring an end to the severe war drought that plagued the nation under Clinton, assuring citizens that the U.S. will engage in at least one Gulf War-level armed conflict in the next four years.

"You better believe we're going to mix it up with somebody at some point during my administration," said Bush, who plans a 250 percent boost in military spending. "Unlike my predecessor, I am fully committed to putting soldiers in battle situations. Otherwise, what is the point of even having a military?" . . .

On the economic side, Bush vowed to bring back economic stagnation by implementing substantial tax cuts, which would lead to a recession, which would necessitate a tax hike, which would lead to a drop in consumer spending, which would lead to layoffs, which would deepen the recession even further. . . .

Turning to the subject of the environment, Bush said he will do whatever it takes to undo the tremendous damage not done by the Clinton Administration to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He assured citizens that he will follow through on his campaign promise to open the 1.5 million acre refuge's coastal plain to oil drilling.