From the President

We are all aware of the current economic situation in the United States and many other nations. For some the economy has impacted us directly, and others have yet to feel the impact. The effects of the recession vary from business to business. For those people who are affected more than others comes added stress, family problems and emotional problems. Sadly, some people turn to suicide and/or murder-suicide to deal with the problems thinking that this is the only way out. This adds more stress to the families as well as more economic hard times.
Recession is defined as a significant decline in the economic activity over a sustained period of time. Employment, investment spending, household incomes and business profits all fall during a recession. Recession is also defined as a 1.5 percent rise in unemployment within 12 months.
Since 1980 there have been four periods that have been considered recessions:
1981-1982 for 14 months;
1990-1991 for eight months;
March 2001 to November 2001; and
December 2007 until now.
After the United States entered this recession, a substantial number of other countries followed suit. The U.S. housing market has significantly contributed to the recession.
In 2008 the prices of many commodities, notably oil and food, rose high enough to cause economic damage. In July of 2008 oil peaked at $147.30 a barrel, and a gallon of gas was on average more than $4 a gallon. Although Texas has yet to feel the full impact of the recession, it is starting to hit some of the smaller Texas counties. Consequently, some counties are holding budgets flat and decreasing budget lines. Another option is hiring freezes on new employment.
Counties could save money by canceling the purchases of large equipment. Two other options that counties may have to consider are raising taxes and a reduction of force. A reduction of force would not be the best option due to the increased burden to the remaining workers and the fact that the counties would not be able to fully serve their communities to the best of their abilities.
We as Texans can only hope that we will not have to experience all of the burdens brought by the recession. I believe that the recession is finally bottoming out, but it is going to be a long, uphill battle to get the country back to striving for success.
I would like to tell all of you to hang in there, and things will get better. Success is all in your hands; we can get through this, but we must come together as a state and as a country in order to succeed.
Terry Simpson, San Patricio County Judge