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Bad Economy Bypasses Missouri Town
Bill Truitt has seen plenty of dark days before, and not just in the coalmines where he labored for nearly 50 years. Truitt, 75, is old enough to remember hard times during economic downturns over the decades. So when he structured his finances for retirement, he made sure he wouldn't have to depend on the nest egg he invested in various mutual funds. He's fortunate. The fund has shrunk by $60,000 in the latest stock market bust, but he and his wife can still live and spend as they did before, relying on his pension from Associated Electric and the yearly fruits of some annuities. ``I figure I'm in too deep, I can't pull it out now,'' Truitt said of the retirement account. His frugal attitude is shared by many here. That may help explain why, in towns like this and across the country, the economic downturn has yet to translate into a significant reduction in consumer spending. In Macon, Monday night at the local KFC restaurant finds the tables and booths packed with senior citizens. It's half-price night for them. ``A lot of these people are pretty wealthy people,'' said Barry Shatcer. ``But they're saving two dollars.'' Shatcer, 49, owns and operates Barry's Carpets in Macon's struggling downtown district. His own business has remained steady -- maybe even improving over last year. His older customers always have been penny-wise, he said, re-carpeting a room here or there instead of the whole house. ``They're worried about hospital bills and everything else,'' Shatcer said. ``I think they're just a little more conservative.'' What he's seeing jibes with recent comments from Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, who said the sour market hasn't stopped Americans from opening their pocketbooks. Frank Withrow, Macon's economic development chief, works from a rehabbed office in the town's old post office building downtown and soon plans to retire himself in Macon, a town of about 5,500 people in northeastern Missouri. While lots of people are complaining about taking hits in the market, he said it isn't anything that's affected Macon -- at least not yet. In fact, sales tax collections have been up recently. His own personal accounts? ``I've lost a lot of money,'' Withrow, 60, said. ``Well, I haven't lost it, because I haven't cashed it in. ``Most of that loss is on paper, because most people have that in retirement programs. But overall, I feel like we're holding up pretty well in our corner of the world.'' Over at Butner's Country Mart, owner Kevin Butner hasn't seen a big change either, but he's heard it. While older customers still seem to be spending as much on food as usual, Butner said the seniors -- like plenty of others -- have been talking about the discomfort caused by the down market. ``It really, at least so far, hasn't changed anything here,'' said Butner, 40. ``But you hear a lot of whinin' and complainin' and carryin' on.'' FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Action on Aging distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
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