feminist blogs

In the case of the mortgage crisis, when all is said and done, we're probably talking flood, not trickle:

Local governments, which rely heavily on property taxes, will have to find ways to replace lost revenue or face having to cut services, lay off staff members or delay projects. The possibility of those losses has alarmed officials in areas already facing large numbers of foreclosures and slumping sales, products, in part, of the mortgage credit crisis that has rippled through the country. [Sunday Business.]

“Government has been the beneficiary of increasing home prices,” said Relmond Van Daniker, the executive director of the Association of Government Accountants. “And now they are on the other side of that, and they will have to reduce expenses.”

While every state and local government has its own methods for assessing home values for tax purposes — some do it annually, some every five years, and everything in between — many counties are hearing from residents that they would like their homes reassessed, or have taken steps to bring the taxes down of their own volition.

Laid-off government workers, bank tellers, etc. usually don't do alot of discretionary holiday spending. Worried-about-losing-their-jobs retail workers might not eat out at M&S. Troubled chains won't build new outlets. Laid off construction workers ...