Economic Woes Spread…But We’re Fighting Back
You don’t have to be a financial genius to figure out that a country cannot operate for very long with a national debt of 34 trillion dollars before the economy starts sliding sideways. With $5 per gallon gas, and inflation that has taken a 20% bite out of the dollar’s worth, it would seem that it couldn’t get any worse for businesses in California. Well…it has. Welcome to the new $20 per hour minimum wage which has already caused the price of food, hotel stays and restaurant visits to spike, with other areas of the economy expected to follow suit.
Landscape Warehouse already pays our employees a fair wage, and although prices from our suppliers have gone up as well, we’re looking for ways to ease the pocketbooks of our loyal customers. As an example, we are setting up a series of cost-saving promotions in various areas of the business, starting with equipment. We have also begun a series of educational seminars that will help you save money through efficiency and proper product choice. We will be announcing the classes in these newsletters and at our various locations throughout the year.
There is another aspect of life today that may be causing our customers and their clients to be a bit more cautious as they consider new landscape projects, materials, and other monetary decisions. It is the increase in negativity and uncertainty of the future brought about by wars – actual and political – homelessness, and the dramatic increase in crime. The way I see it, there will always be something that could pull us down if we let it. Can you say COVID? And there will always be people to fan the flames of negativity because misery loves company. But as business owners and entrepreneurs we must stay positive, or we won’t survive.
One thing we can do to counteract our current financial and social problems is to quit voting for the same people of both parties that overspend our money, continue to raise taxes, are anti-business, and fail to secure our safety. In a previous national election, the phrase “It’s the economy, stupid” – directed to politicians from politicians – took center stage. It is time once again, for them to adhere to their own wake-up call.
There is some good news for a change. All the rain and snowpack we have just experienced should take those drastic water conservation measures off the table, at least for the foreseeable future. And because this is our busiest season – and the landscape awards competition is also upon us – we can soon expect the business turnaround we have all been waiting for.
– José Robles, owner, Landscape Warehouse