by Jack
Looks like retailers didn’t make the kind of money they were hoping for, even though the volume was up. Consumers are tending to be more value buyers to make their declining incomes go farther. Black Friday, considered the start to the US holiday shopping season, saw its first drop in sales since 2009, according to a National Retail Federation survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics over the holiday weekend.
On the local front it appears that ticketing bums for City Code violation is working and it’s caused a drop in their numbers. However, the transient 
population is still disproportionately high for a community of this size.
The presence of armed security guards patrolling the downtown has been enthusiastically received by shoppers and store owners alike. These folks don’t care where the protection is coming from, so long as it’s there. The local businesses had to hire their own police. This has caused the Chico Police Administration look indifferent to the needs of the community, Chief Trostle better start tuning in or he may not be around much longer. From my personal observations I can tell you that the occasional drive-by of a police patrol car for 2-3 seconds doesn’t get it. People want to see police out of those cars and on the street or walking through the mall. They want a police presence, because this community is sick of the stabbings, thefts, robberies and harassment by transients and punks that have claimed ownership of our streets and parks.
On the global front, there’s more saber rattling coming from China. The word is China is feeling threatened because of the US war in Iraq. No comment was heard about the Afghanistan war. The end result of this concern is, China’s devoting more of it’s revenue to building state-of-the art military hardware. This comes at the risk of damaging their fragile gains in basic human rights. Another bi-product of their fear is the newly created air defense zone north of Taiwan. The Chinese have claimed the right to control air traffic in this area, despite it being far outside their territorial limits as established by international law. The air defense zone encompasses the Senakus islands that are held by Japan, needless to say the Japanese are not happy. President Obama’s response to China has been tepid. He instructed U.S. civilian flights to comply with the Chinese demand to request permission before entering their security zone. Chinese officials believe that it’s almost inevitable they will have a military conflict with the U.S. in the coming years. The Chinese of course blame the US for this climate of hostility, citing the recent war in Iraq where they claim the U.S. had no legitimate reason for invading this sovereign nation. On the other hand, China has been waging all out economic war on the U.S. for decades and quite successfully, mostly because own companies that have moved jobs and hardware to China. The Chinese have been extremely aggressive with cyber-attacks and cyber-spying on both U.S. civilian and military targets.
A recent poll showed that more than one quarter of Americans currently perceive China as the world’s dominant economic power, a reflection of the changing global order. (Source CNBC)
Retail sales this last weekend is just another indication of Obama’s failed economy. It’s the middle class who are getting hurt the most while the poor get the help they need and the mega rich are making tons of money in the stock market and real estate because of the record low interest rates.
Funny how Obama’s policies are helping the mega elites to become even richer while he keeps saying he wants to help those without get more stuff. You’d think people would start realizing how the socialist redistribution of wealth works and who really benefits….It isn’t the middle class, for sure.
I’m not sold on private guards patrolling public streets of Chico. If businesses want to hire a guard posted within their business like a bank does, I’m all for it. But, having them patrol the streets sounds more like the duties of a public servant with a badge.
Yep Peggy, it sure would appear that way. People want to buy, but our pocketbooks have been downsized! There just isn’t the money we once had and I don’t see it getting a whole lot better until Obama is out of the White House. Life under Obama has been a real learning experience. But, I have to give him some credit… he’s done an almost miraculous job of stalling the world’s greatest economy. That was no small task, it took a major effort! Obama has been very calculating, deceptive, and driven, he’s done everything within his power (and then some) to weaken America and divide the nation. Of course his nitwit pals in Congress have helped too. It’s going to take decades to undue the damage the democrats under Obama, backed up by Reid (dumb) and Pelosi (dumber). They have all wreaked havoc.
Then we have the Republicans or should I say Weak-publicans. They have never, never, effectively communicated a good idea, took on a needed reform and followed through or dealt effectively to an attack. They have never stepped up to play hard ball! Look at the line of questioning during the Benghazi hearing! OMG…who helped them write their questions, Joe Biden? They totally whimped out!!!! I’m disgusted with our GOP. They need some backbone. Sorry for the rant…but, I just get so frustrated with this whole mess as I watch our country go down the tubes.
“But, I have to give him some credit… he’s done an almost miraculous job of stalling the world’s greatest economy.”
Oh, now, that’s pitiful. You just can accept responsibility for your beliefs, actions, anything.
“OMG … who helped them write their questions, Joe Biden? They totally whimped out!!!!”
No. It’s just that they, unlike you, had to premise their questions upon objective reality, and not a lot of paranoid fantasizing.
Libby, why should I accept for responsibility for what I didn’t do? lol
Next…paranoid fantasizing? Ha! People died in Benghazi and they didn’t have too and that’s no fantasy. It was 100% preventable and the hard evidence proves beyond a shadow of a doubt there was extreme bungling at the very least. Of course Obama won’t admit to the bungling, nor will Hillary. I can’t believe you refuse to see the attempted cover up by the White House? Obama was trying to sell us a bogus version of the events and continued to do so long after the truth was leaking out. If anyone here is fantasizing it’s you Libby! Take off your partisan blinders (for once) and see the truth about your man Obama and his creepy liberal followers. Obama is the kind of power broker not seen since the days of Tamany Hall.
So back to that there should be no minimum wage post.
Good to see the boycott on Equity owned wall street stores had an affect!.
Ya see walmart opened on thanksgiving while having a food drive to feed their underpaid employees and they lost!…………. yesz yes yes!
There is a Walmart Boycott in place. Now those wall street numbers did not reflect those who went to local non wal street stores and they did OK.
Also black friday has not been the biggest shopping day for a couple of years cause of the fake sales of cheap Chinese crap produced to be doorbusters.
The weekend before Xmas is now the busiest shopping day of the year. Know your retail!
LOL RW Blogs just are propaganda, real writers get real facts and look at the reason
yes the Boycott showed a result it is called economic sanctions by we the people, so lets reduce those wages boys that was the whole problem right?
No one wants the cheap Chinese crap that breaks anymore boyz!
By the way I am saving $400 a month with my new health insurance policy that you ACA!