The summer of 2007, I worked as a legal assistant at a small law firm that facilitated real estate closings. Everything was going about at it’s usual hectic pace until one day when countrywide suddenly announced that it might not fund mortgages. For one painfully long day, the six of us held our breath and thought of the repurcussions of the firm trust account being wiped out. But luckily it was all settled, and everyone swore up and down that what was going on with the economy wouldn’t be that bad.
Today in charlotte, it is. Now I’m at a much larger law firm, and while that comes with an illusion of safety from economic turmoil, the truth is, the stakes are much higher. The reality of the situation is this: it’s not just about the loss of Wachovia, the loss of the company’s highest paying jobs to NYC as well as thousands of lost jobs to come. The implications reach so much further than just that company. Charlotte commercial and residential real estate will take another blow (imagine all those empty houses in already crime striken university city), vendors that serve the company, lawyers and accountants, uptown restaurants and high end boutiques frequented by wachovia’s i-bankers, charities that benefitted from their generosity. Everyone will feel the pinch.
For now we still have Bank of America and USAir. But the swagger is gone, and with it some of the yuppiness. Yesterday afternoon people were looking up at the skyline, wondering if the new Wachovia tower would be finished, and if they would soon find themselves without a job. What does this mean for any of Charlotte? Will we be able to keep up with the Belks if there aren’t any of them left, or will be too concerned about keeping up with the price of gas?
Yesterday we had a meeting at work. I don’t work for Wachovia, but the room was still full of grim faces. The loss of the bank was all that was on the agenda. What does it mean for us? We were reassured that it’s not that bad, that we will rebound. Just like the reassurances echoing throughout uptown. But the truth is no one knows how bad it will be or for how long. And for all the optimism, no one can really say when, or if, it will get better.
Today is a new day, and we’re all holding our breath.
Lick
