Economic recovery thru lists

Today in Washington county, are we in economic recovery?

+++ TriQuint Semiconductor has a lot of activity today, a Sunday at that:

• people going to work on Sunday
• energy systems humming at full tilt
• construction equipment in the back - evidence of expansion

(TriQuint - makes chips that go into iPhones)

+ Well-fed ducks on Dawson Creek behind the library (people have money to buy bread for these ducks, also lots of small plastic toys owned by kids owned by Intel parents)

- DHS expansion (Dept of Human Services)
Not sure exactly what they do in Hillsboro, but their expansion and hiring of extra staff implies a need for their services. The Republicans state that the state budget has increased 49% in 4 years. Do they know we're in a Great Recession?
- Even have money for new bark chips around the parking lot

+ Yahoo parking lot presence - people working on Sunday
(Customer service call center)

- Yahoo customer service call center
Check it out. Tektronix' customer service call center in Beaverton was offshored to India. The workers did qualify for Trade Act benefits for retraining, which is nice. So. Call center work - starting to sound like a third world kind of occupation. Possibly not sustainable on American wages.

+ Sun shining brightly today in Washington County. Silicon Valley-like. Maybe some rich VC's will visit and think its Silicon Valley II (but! with cheaper workers, electricity, housing, taxes) and want to invest a lot of money

Today's economic recovery tally:
+ 6 plus points
- 3 minus points
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Net: 3 positive points! Yes! Recovery is right around the corner.