It's probably safe to say most Americans feel mired in the mess of the Great Recession. Families and small businesses continue to struggle.
The nation's unemployment rate has hovered around 9% for two years. Here in California, it stands at 11.7%. But if you believe in business cycles, surely, recovery lies ahead.
Or does it? Kira Klapper went those in the North State who have survived economic downturns in the 80's and 90's for the final installment of Action News in-depth "Economy Forward" reports.
Standing inside Collier Hardware, it's almost impossible to miss the old worn floors, which have endured a lot over the last 140 years. The building has anchored the corner of Broadway and W. 1st Street in downtown Chico since 1871.
Syl Lucena has been a partner and then owner of Collier for 48 of those years, and he offers his modest insight: "Seen a lot. Not all; Not everything, but seen a lot. We've cycled. Businesses always cycle back-and-forth."
He says this time around is different, "Because it's a lower ebb, longer-lasting," Lucena reflects.
As an outsider, Collier to me seemed bustling, busy with customers old and new, but Lucena says this down economy is affecting his bottom line.
Instead of buying new homes and built-in grills, Lucena's customers are picking up parts to fix what they already have. The customers are still coming in, but the big bucks are not.
Still, hindsight affords Lucena the ability to remain optimistic that economic recovery lies ahead. In short, he says, "We've seen worse laughs, let's put it that way."
Across Chico, at the corner of Bruce Road and East 20th Street is the site of the future Meriam Park, which will hold the new Butte County Superior Courthouse, developed by Chico-based New Urban Builders.
Tom DiGiovanni has developed highly-desired projects in the north state for nearly 25 years. This is the third downturn he's seen; he, too, believes this time is different.
He offers this explanation: "It's longer, it's deeper, and I do think it represents sort of a structural shift that needs to happen in the country," DiGiovanni says.
Although it's been a tough last few years, DiGiovanni says the prospect of recovery keeps him going. "At the individual level, it's wrenching, it's difficult, it's in some ways, you know, tragic. But, you know, you live through that, too. You can, you know move-- get to the other side of that."
Golden Valley Bank President and CEO Mark Francis opened the bank in 2006, after 25 years in the business. He says his bank continues to prosper when other aren't: "The business that we do at Golden Valley Bank is done in these four walls and nowhere else."
Because Francis naturally is invested in this community where he was born and bred, he offers this bit of advice: "Until, as a community, we decide that we want business to be successful, it's going to be flat.
And we need to decide that quickly. Business is what's going to take us out of this recession, depression, whatever you want to call it and make us prosper for a long time to come," Francis says.
Though none of these men can pinpoint when the economy will rebound, they feel confident that when it does, they'll still be here, with the satisfaction they were able to successfully ride it out.
knvn.com
The nation's unemployment rate has hovered around 9% for two years. Here in California, it stands at 11.7%. But if you believe in business cycles, surely, recovery lies ahead.
Or does it? Kira Klapper went those in the North State who have survived economic downturns in the 80's and 90's for the final installment of Action News in-depth "Economy Forward" reports.
Standing inside Collier Hardware, it's almost impossible to miss the old worn floors, which have endured a lot over the last 140 years. The building has anchored the corner of Broadway and W. 1st Street in downtown Chico since 1871.
Syl Lucena has been a partner and then owner of Collier for 48 of those years, and he offers his modest insight: "Seen a lot. Not all; Not everything, but seen a lot. We've cycled. Businesses always cycle back-and-forth."
He says this time around is different, "Because it's a lower ebb, longer-lasting," Lucena reflects.
As an outsider, Collier to me seemed bustling, busy with customers old and new, but Lucena says this down economy is affecting his bottom line.
Instead of buying new homes and built-in grills, Lucena's customers are picking up parts to fix what they already have. The customers are still coming in, but the big bucks are not.
Still, hindsight affords Lucena the ability to remain optimistic that economic recovery lies ahead. In short, he says, "We've seen worse laughs, let's put it that way."
Across Chico, at the corner of Bruce Road and East 20th Street is the site of the future Meriam Park, which will hold the new Butte County Superior Courthouse, developed by Chico-based New Urban Builders.
Tom DiGiovanni has developed highly-desired projects in the north state for nearly 25 years. This is the third downturn he's seen; he, too, believes this time is different.
He offers this explanation: "It's longer, it's deeper, and I do think it represents sort of a structural shift that needs to happen in the country," DiGiovanni says.
Although it's been a tough last few years, DiGiovanni says the prospect of recovery keeps him going. "At the individual level, it's wrenching, it's difficult, it's in some ways, you know, tragic. But, you know, you live through that, too. You can, you know move-- get to the other side of that."
Golden Valley Bank President and CEO Mark Francis opened the bank in 2006, after 25 years in the business. He says his bank continues to prosper when other aren't: "The business that we do at Golden Valley Bank is done in these four walls and nowhere else."
Because Francis naturally is invested in this community where he was born and bred, he offers this bit of advice: "Until, as a community, we decide that we want business to be successful, it's going to be flat.
And we need to decide that quickly. Business is what's going to take us out of this recession, depression, whatever you want to call it and make us prosper for a long time to come," Francis says.
Though none of these men can pinpoint when the economy will rebound, they feel confident that when it does, they'll still be here, with the satisfaction they were able to successfully ride it out.
knvn.com
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