Maine: Pph

The PPH has this story about the closing of Wood Structures, Inc., a manufacturer of trusses and other prefabricated building components. This follows the closing of a printer nearby, and other businesses throughout the state.

While the closing of a store or accountants office or other such business is painful for all those involved, there is an additional hardship when a business like Wood Structures shuts its doors. At some point the economy will improve, and owners and developers will want to build new projects, and unfortunately a major supplier will no longer be able to provide for contractors' needs. A truss manufacturer isn't the type of business that can be started up overnight, and it takes years to develop working relationships with contractors, engineers and architects.

Good morning.

You can start your day - and hence your week - with this bracer by Paul Krugman:

As I read it, this dismissal - together with the continuing failure to announce any broad plans for bank restructuring - means that the White House has decided to muddle through on the financial front, relying on economic recovery to rescue the banks rather than the other way around. And with the stimulus plan too small to deliver an economic recovery ... well, you get the picture.

Sooner or later the administration will realize that more must be done. But when it comes back for more money, will Congress go along?

Republicans are now firmly committed to the view that we should do nothing to respond to the economic crisis, except cut taxes - which they always want to do regardless of circumstances.

Good morning, and a beautiful start to this day it is. I'll definitely get out on my XC skis later.

British PM Gordon Brown will address a joint session of Congress later today, to expound upon his call for a global new deal. The BBC has this report on his visit and an interview that they conducted with him earlier:

Gordon Brown will urge the US to "seize the moment" to "make the future work for us" when he addresses a joint meeting of the US Congress.

Mr Brown, the fifth UK prime minister to address both houses on Capitol Hill, is set to issue a plea to the US to avoid protectionism.

Good morning.

Another snow day for our kids. Our daughter is always a little bothered when her mates celebrate their birthdays in class, as hers come at the end of June, after school is over. This year she expressed hope that there would be so many snow days that school would still be in session when hers rolled around. She may just get that wish.

The NYTimes reports that our Treasury will give AIG another $30,000,000,000, this despite that AIG lost another $61,700,000,000 last quarter.

Sixty-two billion dollars? Where the hell did that go? And why are we giving them another thity billion, on top of the one hundred and fifty billion we've already sunk into that hole?

Via the Hill I find