As Mainebiz looks back at its 30-year history, we reflect on the early coverage of the Great Recession of 2008-09.
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In the fall of 2008, the nation’s economy was headed into a recession. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was in a nose dive, with Wall Street reeling from the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. It was just the beginning of a prolonged economic downturn.
Here at Mainebiz, the cover of the Nov. 17, 2008, issue reflected the gloomy outlook on the economy. The lead story bore the headline “Crisis control.”
“The current crisis is distinguished by the speed with which it has unfolded and the complexity of the relationships that have manifested,” economist Charlie Colgan told Mainebiz.
A business owner in the retail recreation field told Mainebiz that “traffic has virtually stopped and people are not shopping for extra items that they can live without.”
An Augusta entrepreneur was even more blunt about it: “It is very bleak and I believe it will worsen as time goes on.”
Just as the economy hit full froth, on Nov. 4, 2008, Barack Obama was elected president. And he immediately faced questions over his pledge to reform the tax structure.
A Mainebiz headline read: “Tax shift: Obama’s victory is expected to add $77 million more to the wealthiest Mainers’ tax bill.”
Still, at least one voice in the issue of Nov. 17, 2008, took a tried-and-true Mainer point of view: “Fortunately, Maine does not have big highs, so misses the big lows.” Those are words that have gotten Maine through many a crisis.
