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rmb2830
"have seen much worse..." not recently, I would think. Perhaps in the aftermath of the fountain valley incident...but I can't recall or think of any time since, when the economic situation on stx was as difficult as it may become in the next months/year. Not even so much the immediate impact of thet jobs lost, but the cumulative and trickle-down effect...we're hoping it won't be as bad as we are thinking; we'd be happy to be proven wrong.

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JahRustyFerrari
On behalf of the 40,000 or so Crucians who call this place home and have seen much worse:

WE ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE.

To those of you who are leaving:

Happy trails. Find a place to make your stand and take it easy.

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Neil
Some of you are already making plans to join family and friends who live in the states. This is not by choice. This is because your govt failed you, because of the times, and because you cannot find work in your profession without moving off island.

At UVI I met many young Crucians who planned on moving to the states after they graduated. This was before the Hovensa closing. It's a brain drain for sure and I expect the current situation will only accelerate that.

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Neil

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JahRustyFerrari
On behalf of the 40,000 or so Crucians who call this place home and have seen much worse:

WE ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE.

To those of you who are leaving:

Happy trails. Find a place to make your stand and take it easy.

Jah, I appreciate your spunk.
But I also had to wince at the double meaning of "We are not going anywhere".

I feel sorry for many of my Crucian friends and acquaintances who feel they are "not going anywhere" on island and need to move.

Some of you are already making plans to join family and friends who live in the states. This is not by choice. This is because your govt failed you, because of the times, and because you cannot find work in your profession without moving off island.

At UVI I met many young Crucians who planned on moving to the states after they graduated. This was before the Hovensa closing. It's a brain drain for sure and I expect the current situation will only accelerate that.

One native Crucian friend of mine moved to the states a few years ago, and most of his family has since joined him, including his aged mother who needs dialysis and his younger sister who is an RN and didn't like working at JFL in her specialty. He travels back to the island to check on their shuttered family home and visit relatives. He hopes one day to retire back there. He works in IT and is a UVI grad and couldn't find work on the island after graduation --years ago. He married a statesider and she can't stand the island. Says she feels like an outsider there and "likes air-conditioning." His brother did two years at UVI, still lives on island, and puts tires on cars for a living.

I wonder if there are any current STATS somewhere about emigration from the island.
I wonder if there will be any stats showing how many good paying jobs have been or will be lost.

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OldTart

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rmb2830
"have seen much worse..." not recently, I would think. Perhaps in the aftermath of the fountain valley incident...but I can't recall or think of any time since, when the economic situation on stx was as difficult as it may become in the next months/year. Not even so much the immediate impact of thet jobs lost, but the cumulative and trickle-down effect...we're hoping it won't be as bad as we are thinking; we'd be happy to be proven wrong.

I certainly wouldn't discount the consequences of and recovery from Hugo and Marilyn.

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rmb2830

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OldTart

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rmb2830
"have seen much worse..." not recently, I would think. Perhaps in the aftermath of the fountain valley incident...but I can't recall or think of any time since, when the economic situation on stx was as difficult as it may become in the next months/year. Not even so much the immediate impact of thet jobs lost, but the cumulative and trickle-down effect...we're hoping it won't be as bad as we are thinking; we'd be happy to be proven wrong.

I certainly wouldn't discount the consequences of and recovery from Hugo and Marilyn.

OT, I think the situation is very different. (Not to take away from anyone (myself included) who lost their home, or job as a result of the storm.) Just think about it, within a couple months after Hugo and to a somewhat lesser degree after Marilyn on stx there was lots of relief and insurance money being spent on the island, plus federal money that was coming in. My experience is stx, but there was a ton of rental income being made by anyone who had a liveable rental.....tarps and no power and all. Adjusters, and FEMA, electric crews from the states, etc. Lots of folks had insurance and the companies who paid...mainly continental on stx...were generous with their settlements. SBA and such as well. Businesses certainly took a hit at first, to varying degrees, but then all the recovery folks were living on per diem and spending that money, which circulated through the island. Homeowners were rebuilding and some of the companies in the business of construction, building materials etc had the best years in the year or two after Hugo that they ever have. Sure lots of people left island, but folks came as well. It was a very hard time for anyone who lost everything, whether home, or job, or all, but the island as a whole was in a different place than what we forsee this time.--there is no extra or new money coming from anywhere unless some new project comes along. Where are new jobs going to come from? How many new businesses are going to open? What about the businesses that have been struggling for the past couple years? What happens as the government tax revenues continue to decrease? What if Home Depot and Kmart close? Where are the June 2012 high school and college grads going to look for jobs? We've already lost (next year) the American Eagle flights unrelated to Hovensa, what's next? I think it's going to be a hard life for alot of folks for who knows how long...and I don't think there are any easy fixes.

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JahRustyFerrari
Since 2002 corporate profits have doubled, matching their highest share of GDP ever in 2006. Yet government data show domestic investment growing more slowly than in any previous postwar recovery.

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STXBob

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JahRustyFerrari
Since 2002 corporate profits have doubled, matching their highest share of GDP ever in 2006. Yet government data show domestic investment growing more slowly than in any previous postwar recovery.

Businesses have the dough, but they won't grow (eg: hire people) until consumer demand increases. Consumer spending won't increase until people have more money (eg: jobs).

On the count of three, everybody start hiring and spending!!!

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OldTart
I certainly wouldn't discount the consequences of and recovery from Hugo and Marilyn.

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noOne
I remember I became a roofer after Hugo hit. I also remember a lot of new people coming to STT to clean up.

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meowruff
We're staying! We still have our jobs (teachers in the public school system), and know that there are always students to teach. We continue to try to make a difference - even if only a day at a time.