Denver, CO

Inflation. Rising prices. A country that imports and doesn’t produce enough to export and offset the imports. The three trillion dollar war. Baby boomers are retiring in mass, or hoping to retire soon. Social Security. Medicare. Landmark foreclosure numbers. Economic slowdown. Rising oil costs. $4 per gallon at the pump…

These are buzz words that I’m sure you have heard quite enough of lately. But it is important that we do not simply ignore these words that make us cringe and that one 9 letter word that has taken on the same aspects of four letter foul-language words: “recession,” not to be uttered in polite conversation.

Indeed, times will be getting rough and this will be happening very fast and soon. We will all feel the pinch and be forced to consume less. Not necessarily a bad thing. But one group that I am concerned about:

The senior citizens. These are the people who have been paying into social security with the belief that it would be there when they retire and they would need little else to live comfortably and not have to work. This belief is no longer so. I have noticed it to be commonplace to see senior citizens pushing carts at the grocery store, waiting on me at restaurants, cutting my hair, etc., and I can’t help but wonder: was this what they were planning to do when they reached this age? Is this what they had in mind for retirement?

Don’t be fooled by newspaper articles talking up positive effects from the current economic stimulus package. Yes, there are positive effects, but the reporting of these effects is often misleading. Here’s what I mean,
Last week I read an article online that specifically said the stimulus package was not working and our country was still in a recession. The very next day I read another article that said the stimulus package was indeed working and had increased spending. The example given for increased spending was Wal-Mart, who had increased sales by 1% that month. Hooray.
This is an oversimplification. Wal-Mart is poised to increase sales with or without the economic stimulus package because Wal-Mart is a discount store and, with prices rising as fast as they are and with it, people’s nerves, Wal-Mart will be gaining more and more business as consumers feel the pinch and switch to cheaper alternatives.
What the article neglects to mention was the other stores who aren’t as well positioned as Wal-Mart to profit and do well during economic downturns; businesses such as the Gap who experienced a sharp 14% drop in sales.
So if you ask me, yes, Wal-Mart will see increased sales, revenue, and business; but look to a decline in companies that do not readily provide basic needs and who aren’t basement bottom pricers. These are the companies who will be hurting for the months to come and who aren’t likely to benefit at all from any economic stimulus package.

Here are a few farmers markets near you:

Cherry Creek Fresh Market
“Top Farmers Market in Denver”
Cherry Creek North Drive and S University Blvd. On University between 1st Ave and Alameda Ave
Saturdays May 3rd through October 25th 8am-1pm
Wednesdays June 4th through September 24th 9am-1pm

Old South Pearl Farmers Market
on 1500 Block of Old S. Pearl between Florida Ave., and Iowa Ave
Sundays June 8th through October 26th 9am-1pm

Why buy from farmers markets?

+ Fresh produce
+ Support local Colorado farmers
+ Do a small part in protecting the environment, since foods grown locally and sold locally don’t require mass transportation which burns fossil fuels and adds pollution