Editorial:
In reviewing last year’s editorials it was interesting to see that our very first editorial of the year was succinct in pointing out that 2009 was going to be a tough year. It was more of an obvious statement in that the previous years had laid the groundwork for a disasterous year ahead.
2009 did not disappoint: It was a disaster. Unemployment at an all time high, the economy searched for the bottom, home foreclosures rose, the State of California floundered, and local cities all struggled. The small businesses that survived all cut corners, reduced expenses, and doubled down. Many more small businesses just closed their doors. And as a society we had to make choices, do we tax ourselves for education, services, and for such things as libraries and police protection or do we make due with less.
Yes, indeed it was a tough year.
2009 was also the year that there had to be a turn around, there was no alternative. Without an economic recovery the future was unthinkable. President Obama came in and made some early and swift decisions. Terms such as bailout and stimulus money, programs such as cash for clunkers, became part of the nightly newscast. And slowly, oh so slowly, the economy bottomed out.
Thankfully, at La Prensa San Diego with the moral and financial support of friends and family, we are still in publication and will continue to bring the news to our readers for years to come. This is not to say that it was easy. We, like most businesses, had to make personnel and personal cuts, and although we have always felt that we ran a pretty lean business, we had to take a second look and find ways to cut expenses and keep up circulation. Thankfully, the outlook for the New Year already is much brighter.
La Prensa is just a small slice of the much bigger picture. For those companies and small business that survived, they are much smaller, smarter, and poised to rebound and thrive with new business and less competition.
The economic outlook is improving and as the economy improves so will many of the other issues that we have had to face all year long. Tax revenues will increase, as will home sales and values, companies will start rehiring, the stock market is on the rebound, and as the tax revenue increases there will be more dollars to fund education and restore basic services.
All this won’t happen overnight, but it will slowly build throughout the year. With this optimism, we wish you and yours a Happy and Prosperous New Year.