by Janet Blanding

Hard times are upon us. Gas and food prices are skyrocketing. The consumer price index in June 2008 was 5.6% higher than in June 2007. Retail sales are down, foreclosures are up, rents are on the rise, and some of Olympia’s largest employers have laid off employees or cut back on hours. More layoffs are mostly like in the works. People are finding it difficult to make ends meet, to find affordable housing, to keep the gas tank filled and the refrigerator stocked. The middle class is being impacted, and the poor, as usual, are being hit even harder.