http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/25650 A business consultant named Mark Hovind thinks it is, along with Prescott, Ariz.; Fayetteville, Ark.; Grand Junction, Colo.; Bend, Ore.; Valdosta, Ga.; and Morgantown, W.Va. According to a report from the Associated Press, Hovind, who is the president of JobBait.com, came up with a formula with data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that shows yes, Bakersfield will be fine in any downturn. Read the full story, including comments from Bakersfield folks. But yet we keep hearing that people are pinching pennies. Is Bakersfield recession-proof? What's the evidence? Is it that we have strong oil and ag to buoy the economy? &mdash; Christine Peterson A business consultant named Mark Hovind thinks it is, along with Prescott, Ariz.; Fayetteville, Ark.; Grand Junction, Colo.; Bend, Ore.; Valdosta, Ga.; and Morgantown, W.Va. According to a report from the Associated Press, Hovind, who is the president of JobBait.com, came up with a formula with data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that shows yes, Bakersfield will be fine in any downturn. Read the full story, including comments from Bakersfield folks. But yet we keep hearing that people are pinching pennies. Is Bakersfield recession-proof? What's the evidence? Is it that we have strong oil and ag to buoy the economy? &mdash; Christine Peterson en-us <p>The only reason we're "recession-proof" is that we're always a depressed economy. Can't really go up...so can't really fall. I mean, please...we've got 20 percent of Kern residents live below the poverty line...and this guy thinks we're recession-proof?</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/25650/#c_230616 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/25650/#c_230616 <p>The only reason we're "recession-proof" is that we're always a depressed economy. Can't really go up...so can't really fall. I mean, please...we've got 20 percent of Kern residents live below the poverty line...and this guy thinks we're recession-proof?</p> <p>Oil and Ag. Last to feel it, first to recover.</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/25650/#c_230617 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/25650/#c_230617 <p>Oil and Ag. Last to feel it, first to recover.</p> <p>Unemployment rate is twice the national average. </p> <p>County is $50+million in the hole.</p> <p>Home prices are down 30+% from their peak.</p> <p>Foreclosures are a record every month.</p> <p>Only 15% of the locals have a college eduation.</p> <p>etc....</p> <p>What is this guy smoking? </p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/25650/#c_230664 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/25650/#c_230664 <p>Unemployment rate is twice the national average. </p> <p>County is $50+million in the hole.</p> <p>Home prices are down 30+% from their peak.</p> <p>Foreclosures are a record every month.</p> <p>Only 15% of the locals have a college eduation.</p> <p>etc....</p> <p>What is this guy smoking? </p> <p>More than just one bowl, for sure.</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/25650/#c_230683 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/25650/#c_230683 <p>More than just one bowl, for sure.</p> <p>This goes to show that it's all a matter of perspective. This guy, using pure numbers, has come up with a statistical model that most people thinking from an emotional standpoint would consider to be absurd. However, he's probably correct about the numbers. As nooneisabovethelaw pointed out, we've already got many living below the poverty line so the financial impact of a recession purely on a number basis will likely be less here. Of course, the numbers perspective completely ignores the emotional/human perspective, where we'll probably take as big of a hit as everyone else. Yep, it's all about perspective.</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/25650/#c_230741 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/25650/#c_230741 <p>This goes to show that it's all a matter of perspective. This guy, using pure numbers, has come up with a statistical model that most people thinking from an emotional standpoint would consider to be absurd. However, he's probably correct about the numbers. As nooneisabovethelaw pointed out, we've already got many living below the poverty line so the financial impact of a recession purely on a number basis will likely be less here. Of course, the numbers perspective completely ignores the emotional/human perspective, where we'll probably take as big of a hit as everyone else. Yep, it's all about perspective.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>As evident by Hovind's findings, the relatively bulletproof education industry rolls on despite economic downturns.</p> <p>So, the two small Pennsylvania cities boasting large universities remain prosperous as the economy crumbles. Most of the classified employees&nbsp;working for these schools&nbsp;are earning sufficient&nbsp;wages and their services will be needed through&nbsp;both good and bad economic times.</p> <p>The&nbsp;certificated staffs of colleges and universities&nbsp;are&nbsp;earning&nbsp;wages high enough to more than&nbsp;meet their needs.</p> <p>Although, like&nbsp;everyone else,&nbsp;they also&nbsp;will pay more for goods and services, people employed by&nbsp;the well paying, mostly white collar industry will fare well through&nbsp;inflation, stagflation, recession, depression or whatever we're calling this economic downturn.</p> <p>Tenured college faculty members making upwards of 100K per year with benefits and automatic cost of living adjustments will still be eating well,&nbsp;buying new cars, homes and clothes, paying their mortgages, enjoying exotic vacations and living the good life along with many others in &quot;recession proof&quot; businesses.</p> <p>The universities will go on teaching tons of students from&nbsp;resourceful families&nbsp;how to make more money, despite the number of unemployed and the length of figurative soup lines streaming from welfare offices.</p> <p>It's the little people making poverty level wages in other&nbsp;economic sectors&nbsp;who are&nbsp;the hardest hit segment of society.</p> <p>Their low wages remain stagnant as prices soar and are no longer able to sustain themselves on their already meager resources.</p> <p>We have plenty of those folks here in Bakersfield and its few schools are certainly not the mainstay of local economy. Lots of people in Bakersfield are going to feel the pinch of inflation.</p> <p>I would guess that Kern County oil and agriculture industries comprise a relatively small percentage of jobs for bottom economic tier&nbsp;locals who are&nbsp;employed in the large service sector and certainly will not support them.</p> <p>There aren't a whole&nbsp;lot of people needed to watch oil pumps pump&nbsp;and crops grow. At the end of the growing season there will be&nbsp;a&nbsp;need for pickers, packers&nbsp;and such for a couple harvest months and then to help sow some new seeds.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>With new home sales and construction down, and all the other oppressing economic factors,&nbsp;Kern County will&nbsp;surely not be immune from&nbsp;the dire economic&nbsp;failure threatening the entire nation.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/25650/#c_230852 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/25650/#c_230852 <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>As evident by Hovind's findings, the relatively bulletproof education industry rolls on despite economic downturns.</p> <p>So, the two small Pennsylvania cities boasting large universities remain prosperous as the economy crumbles. Most of the classified employees&nbsp;working for these schools&nbsp;are earning sufficient&nbsp;wages and their services will be needed through&nbsp;both good and bad economic times.</p> <p>The&nbsp;certificated staffs of colleges and universities&nbsp;are&nbsp;earning&nbsp;wages high enough to more than&nbsp;meet their needs.</p> <p>Although, like&nbsp;everyone else,&nbsp;they also&nbsp;will pay more for goods and services, people employed by&nbsp;the well paying, mostly white collar industry will fare well through&nbsp;inflation, stagflation, recession, depression or whatever we're calling this economic downturn.</p> <p>Tenured college faculty members making upwards of 100K per year with benefits and automatic cost of living adjustments will still be eating well,&nbsp;buying new cars, homes and clothes, paying their mortgages, enjoying exotic vacations and living the good life along with many others in &quot;recession proof&quot; businesses.</p> <p>The universities will go on teaching tons of students from&nbsp;resourceful families&nbsp;how to make more money, despite the number of unemployed and the length of figurative soup lines streaming from welfare offices.</p> <p>It's the little people making poverty level wages in other&nbsp;economic sectors&nbsp;who are&nbsp;the hardest hit segment of society.</p> <p>Their low wages remain stagnant as prices soar and are no longer able to sustain themselves on their already meager resources.</p> <p>We have plenty of those folks here in Bakersfield and its few schools are certainly not the mainstay of local economy. Lots of people in Bakersfield are going to feel the pinch of inflation.</p> <p>I would guess that Kern County oil and agriculture industries comprise a relatively small percentage of jobs for bottom economic tier&nbsp;locals who are&nbsp;employed in the large service sector and certainly will not support them.</p> <p>There aren't a whole&nbsp;lot of people needed to watch oil pumps pump&nbsp;and crops grow. At the end of the growing season there will be&nbsp;a&nbsp;need for pickers, packers&nbsp;and such for a couple harvest months and then to help sow some new seeds.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>With new home sales and construction down, and all the other oppressing economic factors,&nbsp;Kern County will&nbsp;surely not be immune from&nbsp;the dire economic&nbsp;failure threatening the entire nation.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Results for Distressed homes in Bakersfield area from RealtyTrac as of today</p> <p>Pre foreclosed&nbsp; 3107</p> <p>Aution 1211</p> <p>Bank owned&nbsp; 2950</p> <p>total non distressed properties for sale&nbsp; 887</p> <p>Recession proof is spot on, No problem here other than the ordinary</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: xx-small">aging,bitter,dazed and confused</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/25650/#c_230923 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/25650/#c_230923 <p>Results for Distressed homes in Bakersfield area from RealtyTrac as of today</p> <p>Pre foreclosed&nbsp; 3107</p> <p>Aution 1211</p> <p>Bank owned&nbsp; 2950</p> <p>total non distressed properties for sale&nbsp; 887</p> <p>Recession proof is spot on, No problem here other than the ordinary</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: xx-small">aging,bitter,dazed and confused</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Bakerfield home sale price down -20.86%</p> <p>March stats&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2007&nbsp;MP&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2008&nbsp;MP&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; %</p> <p>units sold&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 507&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; $ 283,250&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; $ 225,000&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; -20.86</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="http://www.dqnews.com/Charts/Monthly-Charts/CA-City-Charts/ZIPCAR.aspx">http://www.dqnews.com/Charts/Monthly-Charts/CA-City-Charts/ZIPCAR.aspx</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/25650/#c_230938 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/25650/#c_230938 <p>Bakerfield home sale price down -20.86%</p> <p>March stats&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2007&nbsp;MP&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2008&nbsp;MP&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; %</p> <p>units sold&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 507&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; $ 283,250&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; $ 225,000&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; -20.86</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="http://www.dqnews.com/Charts/Monthly-Charts/CA-City-Charts/ZIPCAR.aspx">http://www.dqnews.com/Charts/Monthly-Charts/CA-City-Charts/ZIPCAR.aspx</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Notice of Defaults , Kern County +147.6%</p> <p>2007 Q1&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 1297</p> <p>2008 Q1&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 3211</p> <p>% Chg&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; +147.6%</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/25650/#c_230956 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/25650/#c_230956 <p>Notice of Defaults , Kern County +147.6%</p> <p>2007 Q1&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 1297</p> <p>2008 Q1&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 3211</p> <p>% Chg&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; +147.6%</p>