Article May 29, 2000 Issue

The economy: high tide or low tide?

Your worth isn't at the mercy of either boom times or a bust.

By Warren Bolon

If, as the old saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats, then a lot of people where I live are sitting in financial dry dock, waiting for the moving of the waters in northern New England. Prosperity trickles up slowly where the prime use of silicon is to improve traction on icy roads.

From the day we moved here, my wife and I put the local economy at the top of our prayer list. Through our windows we saw postcard loveliness. But the scene was like a Hollywood movie set facade hiding signs of economic stagnation, at a time when much of the country was enjoying unprecedented growth.

Our prayers and hopes joined an invisible chorus. It has been four years since we moved, and things have begun to improve. New small businesses have opened, and a county justice center is planned for the town common. Houses that had been on the market for years have sold.