This reader has a question for Dan
E. St. Bernard, La. | Infrogmation | Wikimedia Commons
Your daily Letter to the Columnist — Dec. 13, 2012
Note from Dan: This came in as a Letter to the Editor that is not going to be published. So that department forwarded it on to me.
I would appreciate it if your editorial department could find space to print this letter in your next available editorial section.
Title: Response to Dan Casey’s article on Ailing economy claims Grandin auto shop.
Dan Casey recently covered the Grandin Road auto business by the name of Grandin Automotive and has brought to the attention of the news readers how the economy is effecting this small business. It is also effecting these businesses across the whole United States Mr. Casey.
I was surprised that you would include their own words that this has started in the last four years. I would like to ask Mr. Casey a question.
Would you have printed this article, lets say in the month of September or October, right before the election? I already know the answer to that question so don’t waste your time in answering it.
I am afraid this is only the beginning of what will be the final affect after the next four years.
Hubert Hunley
BOONES MILL
————————————-
Answer from Dan: Bill Millner told me the decline started six years ago, and that he hasn’t made any money there in the last four years. This was clear in the article. Also, Millner made his decision to close AFTER the election. So of course I would not have published a story that he had decided to close before the election. That would have been false.
December 13, 2012 - 1:30 PM
he told me that it was BECAUSE of WHO WON the election…..we spoke for quite awhile on the subject…not like a rag interview
Who cares what he told you, pammala? I mean, really.
I was the one who reported and wrote the story. It’s what he told ME that matters.
I am so sick of hearing about the election. Get over it, it’s a done deal. THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN!!!
Who cares why he’s closing his business, really. An 18 year old college freshman in Business 101 could tell you that building your business model around a vanishing population and 1950s technology is stupid. The guy is 70 and probably ready to retire anyway. There’s nothing interesting here.
As I’m sure would be attested to by the legions of folk in VA who apparently feel that pumping their own gas is vital to their personhood.
So let’s see, pammala, you’re saying that Millner lied to Dan and that only you know the truth?
Jeez, one would think you’d be delighted that Dan wrote about this OBVIOUS example of Obama destroying a small business.
More on this is coming from a local business consultant in a guest post next week.
Let’s face it, as I pointed out yesterday, the car maintenance and repair industry has changed steadily over the last 30 years. Cars no longer require frequent maintenance (changed points and plugs, carburetor adjustments, lube jobs etc.) and the public wants cheap gas quickly. Most any car part is stocked and sold at any one of many retail stores such as Advance Auto throughout every town in America. Routine maintenance is done faster and cheaper (though perhaps not as well) at the quick oil change places that are everywhere.
I’m not sure how Mr. Millner missed it but the change started a long time ago. Over the years my elderly Mother has continually lost her “favorite” full service station as they have gradually closed and at 88 she now either pumps it herself or I do. Improved automotive technology, a demand for lower prices and our “I’m in such a bleepin’ hurry, I don’t have time for full service” lifestyle has led to the full service station’s demise. To blame this on the President is like blaming the weather on the plumber.
I am so sick of hearing about the election. Get over it, it’s a done deal. THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN!!!
Not true, Liz. Hundreds of precincts in swing states were stolen. The will of the people has been thrwarted.
Today Grandin Auto is selling gas for $3.29 a gallon, while the Exxon on Memorial and the BP farther up Grandin Road are both selling at $3.09. In fact, Grandin Auto’s gas is usually a fair bit more expensive than either of those two, and a quick Google suggests they have just about the most expensive gas in Roanoke. This would seem to be a more immediate cause of the business’ struggles than the result of any presidential election. Can anyone shed some light on this?
Curious,
When I interviewed Bill Millner, he told me he’d bought his last load of gas a couple of weeks ago. The price he paid then, wholesale, was more than the retail price is now because gas prices are in freefall. He hasn’t cut the price because he doesn’t want to lose any more money than he already is, and he’s not going to replace that with cheaper gas anwyway, so it makes little sense to him to sell it now below his cost.
Comment by Suzie — December 13, 2012 @ 3:48 pm
LaLa Land still exists.
Mr. Millner recently told a friend of mine his gas was superior to that sold at Kroger and that his gas would provide better gas mileage. I tested that out and it was not true.
“The will of the people has been thrwarted.”
Not true, suzie. You’re just a pouter.
I miss PeeWee and Dallas
1 & 2 – He did tell you that Dan,…. convenient memory?
“He might have tried to tough it out if Mitt Romney had been elected president, he told me. He believes Romney could have turned the economy around, but he doesn’t see that happening under President Barack Obama.”
If you really want some insight into what’s happened to mom and pop gas stations, just go and redeem your Kroger Fuel points. Geez, it ain’t rocket science. Kroger gives me huge incentives to hit their fuel plaza and if you’ve spent more than ten minutes trying to wait for pump there, you should some insight into how the business model has changed.
Do conservatives recognize how capitalism works, or not? I’m thinking not.
Suzie must have been watching the Andy Griffith show recently. When Aunt Bea ran for office, her battle cry was ‘the will of the people!”
Denial is a sad thing.
Remember Dan, everything is Obama’s fault. Our recent warm weather is turning cold. It’s Obama’s fault.
…i think it was susan rice’s fault, for saying to the American people on all five Sunday morning talk shows, …EXACTLY what barack hussein obama instructed her to say. it was NOT bho’s fault. it was sr’s fault.
Hang on to that Immaculate Delusion Ellie May..
Hopefully it’ll give you some comfort in your
long dark nights of winter.
SKON
I’ve had to change jobs many times in my life. Every time it was Reagan’s fault.
SKOFF.
Dang, that “K” was supposed to be an “F”
I got gas for $2.95 yesterday before my discount was applied at Kroger.
Dan,
Gas pricing is very complicated, and changes daily, you might want to do more study before you make any ill informed conclusions.
I’ll throw you a bone on this; I believe we could raise the tax 15-20 cents and not feel the difference at the pump.
The reader didn’t have a question for Dan, he had a whine, much like the one that Suzie had at 3:49.You lost. Get over it and act like an American for a change.
“Dan,
Gas pricing is very complicated, and changes daily, you might want to do more study before you make any ill informed conclusions.
I’ll throw you a bone on this; I believe we could raise the tax 15-20 cents and not feel the difference at the pump.”
mikeO, you’re the one that’s uninformed.
Thanks Dan for the response. I guess the point I was trying to get across is that the Roanoke Times and almost all of the national news media are biased in their reporting on almost all of the political news. Anyone with a grain of since could see this. All I have ask the local T V stations and your Roanoke Times is to adopt a more fair reporting policy when it comes to the political news. It would be easy if you guys would just listen to some of the arguments and commentary being reported on Fox News. I do watch all of the stations and you have to admit, it is pretty obvious who’s side most all of the reporters are on. Are you just going to ignore the other half of the people in America?
Hubert Hunley,
The only media you believe is fair is media you agree with. Believe it or not, that’s not the definition of unbiased.
As for persuading people to your point of view: You hurt yourself when you twist the facts of what Millner told me and what I wrote to fit your own screwy perspective.
I bet you were one of the folks out there who was sure Romney was going to win the election, right? And that the “liberal media” were misreporting the polls that showed Obama leading.
the two traitors in the senate have torpedoed the nomination of a really qualified nominee in Susan Rice for secretary of state…..John McCain wants his fellow traitor John Kerry so badly to be the voice of Americas foreign policy that he has proved just how much of a fool he is…..such a shame….both should have been prosecuted for their actions during and after the Vietnam war
Like pammala, Mr. Millner does choose to blame all that is wrong, evil and changing on President Obama. He and his wife are quite vocal about how they feel. That is their right. Just as it is our right to ignore such gibberish and move on.
I have no clue what Romney could or would have done to make people care more about having their gas pumped and car serviced than the price they pay for it. But hey, it is their delusion to have.
Perhaps letting your political hate drive you to offend some potential customers who might want to step back in time should get just a shred of attention. He was not in the most solidly right wing section of the city and that had to matter.
ignoring #15 Dan?
William @ 7:25,
Both Kerry and McCain volunteered to serve their country and both did it admirably. Although they are on opposite sides of the political spectrum, any real American should be thankful for their sacrifice. Only an ungrateful ingrate would claim either of these heroes are traitors.
You totally suck at attention whoring. I hope Santa brings you a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
John Huntsman would make an excellent Secretary of State. Kerry is needed in the Senate.
McCain wasnt a traitor as far as I have read..
But I can tell u he sucked as a pilot.
And probably would have been booted from service had
it not been for his dad.
Re: Steve C @ 8:55 pm
Well said, sir.
Both Kerry and McCain volunteered to serve their country and both did it admirably.
Kerry didn’t. His combat duty was a pathetically short amount of time, just long enough to get his phony purple hearts. He won’t release the records that show just what his ‘injuries’ were. Sounding familiar, isn’t it? Transcripts anyone?
hey william,
a good democrat potus would not have stepped in front of rice to defend her…from anybody. first of all, the fems wouldn’t like it…’cause they don’t want anything from a man, least of all from some faux chauvinist like barack hussein obama. second of all, a good potus wouldn’t want someone as ss who would so readily and unquestionably and without even a whimper accept what potus told her to say…like rice did.
and…another one bites the dust.
Dan,
Gas pricing is very complicated, and changes daily, you might want to do more study before you make any ill informed conclusions.
I’ll throw you a bone on this; I believe we could raise the tax 15-20 cents and not feel the difference at the pump.
Comment by mike o — December 13, 2012 @ 5:39 pm
You mean like the conclusion that every gas station has to purchase gas daily? Or that they have to charge more/less for gas they already have in the ground that was bought at a different price? The math isn’t complicated at all.
And how is this for not feeling the difference?
Averaging 500 gallons (according to http://1.usa.gov/Uev2zw ), your not-feeling-the-difference (at 20%) amounts to $250.00 per year. That’s a full-time week’s pay if you make minimum wage, man! That’s also $250/year that shippers will inevitably pass on to the consumer. Food and retail prices will increase, so you can add a few more dollars yearly in there. How can you possibly “not feel the difference”?
I apologize if this comment comes across as snarky, but the irony of such an ill-informed statement accusing others of being ill-informed is overwhelming.
“He believes Romney could have turned the economy around…”
He was outnumbered. Putting the “Defeat Obama” sign in the window wasn’t too bright, either.
LaLa Land still exists.
Ron,
Don’t you think 59 unanimous Philadelphia precincts (19,620 to 0 sounds pretty danged fishy? I hope you don’t ignore obvious cheating at your school.
Who cares what he told you, pammala? I mean, really.
I was the one who reported and wrote the story. It’s what he told ME that matters.
When reporters start to place themselves in importance above the people they report to, that’s when their judgment starts to get badly skewed.
Could be if we got water buckets for Republicans to cry in for the next four years it would help the drought. Before you blame all the economic problems on President Obama check the facts on how much we have spent on the Bush wars. Remember the ones where a lot of our troops were killed because Bush lied about WMD.
30.Like pammala, Mr. Millner does choose to blame all that is wrong, evil and changing on President Obama. He and his wife are quite vocal about how they feel. That is their right. Just as it is our right to ignore such gibberish and move on.
Comment by Sandi Saunders — December 13, 2012 @ 7:57 pm
IMO; not one of us should ignore the damage to businesses, citizens, the economy, our currency, our rights and standing in the world order that this administration is actively engaged in…at our own peril…both individually and collectively.
“When reporters start to place themselves in importance above the people they report to, that’s when their judgment starts to get badly skewed.”
LOL. When anonymous bloggers believe other anonymous bloggers are more worthy of being quoted than the subject of a story, that’s when you KNOW their judgement is badly screwed.
(But we knew that already, eh?)
The only media you believe is fair is media you agree with. Believe it or not, that’s not the definition of unbiased.
Comment by Dan Casey — December 13, 2012 @ 6:59 pm
Dan’s columns and blog(s) are not news nor are they unbiased as, I believe, Dan has made clear from time to time. Therefore, to have any expectation of non-bias is unreasonable.
IMO, Milner does make a point. Journalism and journalists, in general, have diminished from professional stature in appointing itself or themselves, as definers of what is news or what should be reported or not. Free Press that is not free is propoganda. Instead of just the five W’s we get “how’s this play?” or “how to we spin this?”. This is a problem in solving the problems and issues that confront us. It is divisive.
william
I find your cpmments about John McCain and John Kerry to be reprehensible.
Both men have been fully documented as having served diligently and heroically as Vietnam veterans, despite the conspiracy theories that radicals from both sides have falsely thrown at them (including the blogger Suzie in her post about Kerry). I often disagree with McCain because I feel he has an overinflated view of his wisdom in the arena of foreign policy. But I would not demean the service and sacrifice he gave to this country .
don @!0:53
Great idea! And think of the boost to the economy. All those buckets we would need to make would certainly create lots of manufacturing jobs.
That is, unless Romney and his cronies can find some way to export them to China.
Mr. Millner could have posted Romney/Ryan signs on his property and I would havwe still had no issue with patronizing his business. Or he could have posted signs for Johnson, or Virgil Goode, or whoever he supported
for President. But the negativity of the “defeat Obama” crowd would have turned me off and I would have avoided his place of business for that reason. Give me a positive reason for who you support. But the defeat Obama sign, wheteher it was meant that way or not, connotes that slightly bigoted “he’s not one of us ” mentality and I find that a turnoff and objectionable.
all kerry did was burn his records…..spit on and burn the flag….throw his wrongly awarded medals away and go to hanoi with hanoi jane fonda…..mc cain made the news reel movies….shown in all the theatres around north vietnam during the war accusing america of war crimes……both are traitors…..plus mc cain is a wife abuser….dont believe it…..ask his first wife
SuzieQ,
You missed these three precincts in Oklahoma.
http://quibblingpotatoes.blogspot.com/2012/11/obamas-zero-vote-precincts-in-oklahoma.html
dave, agreed. I said earlier I’d seen them outside of the Rocovic offices prominently displayed on 419, and was surprised such presumably “professional” people would embarrass themselves that way.
People like thm and Milner make Obama’s win even sweeter.
Well at least I can thank you for admitting your disingenuous rant was just your opinion Leon.
It is not remotely true that President Obama’s administration has led to “damage to businesses, citizens, the economy, our currency, our rights and standing in the world order“. Not in any sense is that true. I do not expect you to ever be capable of seeing that lie. Nor will people like pammala, Mr. Millner or conservative right wingers of the world, but it remains the truth.
That you do not understand your own country or how things work is patently obvious. I can see why the safety of anonymity is important to you and others. No one would say publicly what you right wingers say and put their name to it.
It is not remotely true that President Obama’s administration has led to “damage to businesses, citizens, the economy, our currency, our rights and standing in the world order“. Not in any sense is that true. I do not expect you to ever be capable of seeing that lie. Nor will people like pammala, Mr. Millner or conservative right wingers of the world, but it remains the truth.
Comment by Sandi Saunders — December 14, 2012 @ 8:01 am
Sandi, the above is not truth; just your opinion. Further the damage being done to this country and it’s citizens is tangible and can be seen
and documented. . .just review the layoff statistics since the election results were announced. Your viewpoint is not truth; not anywhere close.
“Kerry didn’t.”
suzie continues yet another one of her trolling themes — despite her and her “hubby’s” lack of military service, she gets to decide who deserves credit for serving and who doesn’t.
Gah! Why has no one pointed out my terrible math and the irony of me griping about irony and “math not being complicated”? I mean, the point is the same, yeah, but I totally butchered the delivery.
That’ll learn me, dern me, to do payroll and blog at the same time. Too many numbers.
@37. Tell that to Scooter Libby. The last (real) GOP pres stood up for him when the kitchen got warm, didn’t he.
Screwy Perspective Dan. Come on buddy, can’t you do better than that. It all depends on which side of the fence you were raised on. My perspective comes from the country I grew up in back in the 50s and 60s, when people helped each other, and there was close family bonding. I’m not suggesting we go back in time, but I am suggesting we bring back the family values and patriotism that we are quickly loosing.That’s right Dan, I’m old school. Back when John F.Kennedy and Martin Luther King really did have a dream,if only they could have lived to fulfill them. Yes Dan, I was a John F. Kennedy supporter as was my parents and I proudly voted for Ronald Reagan also. Unfortunately today , half of the country is on some sort of Government aid and the other half is expected to carry the whole load. I am a small business owner Dan and my business has definitely declined in the past four years.. I have been for 31 years. I started with nothing but my hands, a old pickup, and some tools I could get from family members and flea markets. My parents had nothing but what they earned by working. No inherited money or rich relatives. My wife grew up in the same setting as I have described above. Back then, working people were considered middle class. Now you have about half the country on Government aid, another large percentage can’t find work, and the rest are footing the bill. I cannot for the life of me understand how this could be considered going in the right direction. All we are becoming is a divided nation. You tell me, Dan, if my perspective is so screwy, what is your solution to this country’s degrading infrastructure and our reputation abroad. Is it to let the Government control our every move? It has never worked in passed history. How do you decide when the Government has enough control. After we tax the 1% with a higher tax rate and that doesn’t help, what will be next, retirement accounts, 401KI, your savings.I believe the only way this country is ever going to get back on track is number one, you have leaders in the White House, Senate, and the House that are true Americans and their number one goal in their career as a politician is to better this country. Politicians like the great John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Regan. These men, along with great contributors like Martin Luther King who’s message was to come together and unite as a country are missing now. I’m afraid this country has become so divided, that we are beginning it’s downfall. So as screwy as it may sound to some, I am old school and I will not be changing my mind anytime soon. I will read your response sir, but I will not be replying back on this blog. I appreciate the opportunity you have given the me to voice my opinions.
Hubert Hunley,
1) Half of the country is not on “some sort of government aid.” That’s a lie, propagated by the Republicans during the last campaign.
2) The past 30 years have indeed pushed many “working people” from the middle classes into lower income classes. It’s largely because of tax policies that have benefited the wealthy classes, which widened the income gap, while spending continued. Now conservatives are trying to dump all that debt on the middle and lower classes, who haven’t gained much in the past 30 years, while making sure the wealthy don’t have to pay anything more to help fix the problem.
3) In your letter you mischaracterized the facts of the article. You had to do that to make your point. You wrote, “I was surprised that you would include their own words that this has started in the last four years.” That is not what Mr. Millner said in the article, or what he told me. He told me the decline started 6 years ago, and that he hasn’t made any money in the past four. Those facts undercut your point.
Leon, it is very simple: I understand how the world and government work. You do not appear to at all.
It is not even possible for the Obama administration to be responsible for what you list and it is people like you who are perpetuating the division and class warfare, not Obama. The recession hit this nation (and the world) hard, but nothing Obama has done has made any of that worse. It simply and literally has not. The more people on “welfare” and food stamps, as well as the unemployed and struggling businesses are ALL because of the recession and the slow recovery. It would have been the same (only with dumber quotes) had McCain/Palin been in charge and why you and others believe the President has such authority and power over our economy, even in the face of the obvious right wing obstruction at every turn, will remain a mystery for the ages.
Maybe some perspective would help:
http://www.statisticbrain.com/welfare-statistics/
Percent of the US population on welfare 4.1%
US Population: 311,591,917 (2011)
Leon, it is very simple: I understand how the world and government work. You do not appear to at all.
Comment by Sandi Saunders — December 14, 2012 @ 11:28 am
Stimulus 1 failed, so did 2, then 3. Can’t stimulate the economy and payoff your cronies and political favors at the same time. QE 1 failed,
QE 2 failed, now we have QE 3 with the Fed creating $85.0 billion a month in new currency. . .making every dollar in circulation go down in value each time one is printed. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results defies common sense yet this administration (and Sandi) keep on and on with the same mantra. Obama owns the economy and is going down as fast as Bernanke can print dollars for Obama to give
to bankrupt green energy sham companies owned by his political cronies.
This is truth Sandi, even you cannot deny it.
As to what I understand; it really is none of your business. IMO, you could not pour whiz out of a boot even if the instructions were written on the heel.
“Stimulus 1 failed, so did 2, then 3. Can’t stimulate the economy and payoff your cronies and political favors at the same time.”
This is a ridiculous statement. The stimulus measures succeeded. Without the first one, many companies would not have been able to make payroll. Since round 2, the economy has created at least 4.5 million private sector jobs.
Leon, you really need to quit that steady diet of Tea Party dogma you’re feeding your mind.
“with the Fed creating $85.0 billion a month in new currency. . .making every dollar in circulation go down in value each time one is printed”
Leon, you’re still thinking about the current Fed policy in terms of the macro-economic environment from years ago, because you obviously think that the Fed’s current actions must inevitably create inflation. And while it could in the economic context of the several decades prior to 2008, and the threat isn’t entirely gone, it’s a very different environment today. Just a couple days ago, I tried to explain this to Another Chuck, and the very next day, Bernanke gave more specifics about the employment and growth metrics that the Fed is using to calibrate its’ monetary easing.
So Leon, here’s a recap of the basic reasons why your alarm about inflation is at this point, well, inflated:
The basic idea is that the Fed is only replacing value that was lost in the hollowing of the markets by the 2008 crisises, not adding extra inflationary liquidity.
The Fed’s QE programs have been done in the context of severe deflationary pressures, not inflationary, so while managing the aftermath of those easing decisions will have challenges, it’s a different set of problems than is faced in a war on inflation.
The 2008 credit crisis hardly gave the yield curve on U.S. treasury debt time to predict the recessionary aftermath of the crisis, which made the first easing necessary and gave subsequent easing plenty of room too, and the yield curve still has not shown a substantial reversion to a highly inflationary curve yet.
Remember, we don’t want to go back to the falsely inflated pre-2008 bubble, but those price levels had to kept from completely collapsing for there to be a feasible path to recovery, and some demand maintained. While anemic job growth in a slow recovery is painful, it’s preferable to the wage and price pressures from a too rapid expansion. Done right, the management of recovery will leave us with an economy at 2008 levels (or better) that actually deserves its’ valuations.
Keep in mind the adage about pushing on a string: Monetary policy is asymmetric; i’s easier to stop an expansion than to end a severe contraction.
It is readily apparent why no right wingers sign their actual name to anything they write. Leon, you are painfully and pitifully wrong. You prove with every post what you do not know. I am not interested in trying to “prove” what is so obviously wrong. Your ODS has gotten the best of you and you are granting both power and influence no president has, not even Obama.
I will waste my time with some suggested reading:
Presimetrics: What the Facts Tell Us About How the Presidents Measure Up On the Issues We Care About
How Keynesian Policy Led Economic Growth In the New Deal Era: Three Simple Graph
The Romney campaign says stimulus doesn’t work. Here are the studies they left out.
Fiscal Stimulus Works
Don’t Tell Anyone, but the Stimulus Worked