From today's LA Times we get this story. "What recession? Places like Sioux Falls, S.D., prove resilient"

"One chunk of the nation has avoided much of the current economic misery: the region from North Dakota to Texas, most of it sparsely populated. This area includes five of the six states that analysts at Economy.com have classified as not yet in recession. And other states in the Rocky Mountain West -- from New Mexico to Idaho -- are facing relatively mild downturns...

For decades, Sioux Falls was a modest agricultural outpost, a place for farmers to pick up new equipment or have a fancy dinner. Its main employer was a hog-butchering plant. But in the early '80s, Citibank and other financial companies began to open branch offices here to escape New York usury laws that hampered their efforts to expand into the credit card market.

"People were very proud," [Mayor] Munson recalled. "It lifted the whole being of Sioux Falls to say we can get a corporation like Citi to come here."

After that more banks showed up so they could charge the rest of the country arms and legs with interest on their credit cards at rates that would have Jesus weeping uncontrollably as he tried to throw these modern day money changers out of the temple.  

Then the next bunch of out of staters arrived to make use of all those arms and legs.   Something called health systems came to Sioux Falls.  A children's hospital was built in the shape of a castle.  A medical research facility was built.  Other medical facilities were built with a 400 million dollar gift from "a credit card magnate".  Does anybody else think this circular capitialism model is kinda creepy? You charge people scandalously high interest rates and then with the money build a hospital so they can also pay an arm and a leg for medical care?

And the Mayor is proud of their "retail development" aka another Target and another Wal-Mart store.  That stands for progress in rural towns where people had to travel hours to enjoy the luxuries of the box stores and chains that other cities had.  Of course, no where in this article is Mayor Munson talking about the Mom and Pop stores that are closed down to make room for these modern temples filled with imported tennis shoes and foreign shop tools.

Throughout the piece the mayor and  other business leaders chirp about  "old-fashioned heartland values". Yes, good old Yankee values of paying for what you need and not borrowing helped some Sioux Falls residents from reaching for those credit cards while at the same time they made a modest living enticing the rest of America to buy stuff on credit and pay over 20% interest.  Plus they gave those pillars of the community, Citibank, HSBC and others all kinds of tax breaks "since South Dakota has no personal or corporate income tax."

In the end it looks like the recession is coming to Sioux Falls since they will not be building their seven story retail center.  And just like everywhere else, retirement accounts have dwindled.  But for some, like the local Harley Davidson dealer, Jim Entenman who has had his best month in three years, "we're not going to buy into this economic downturn."

So here is where another "heartland value" comes in.  It's that good old believe in the distant Wizard of Oz who keeps the Wicked Witch (insert here your most feared group of people) at bay.  And so, as a customer at the Harley store put it:    

"As long as everybody can make a fair living and put food on the table, it's good," [Greg]Harder, 43, said. "The economy is pretty good if you just don't read the newspaper or watch the news."

Yes, Greg, as long as everybody can make a fair living and put food on the table, it would be good."  But that's not what Greg means by "everybody" is it?  He's not really talking about the millions who are out of work and starving because of crooks in the Emerald City.  He's talking about himself.  As long as he's got his, it's good.   

Well, Greg, the old fingers in your ears "I've got mine, I've got mine" song will work as long as you left Toto back in Kansas;  keep that curtain closed; and  keep believing in the great and powerful Citi in that Emerald City in the wonderful land of Corporate Oz who will make sure you don't end up on a truck with Ma Joad.    Yes, Greg, Jim, Dave, just click your heels together and say "We're not all in this together. We're not all in this together... Your out of the woods.  Your out of the dark.  Your out of the night.  Step into the Sun.  Step into the light.  La, la, la, la......"  Good luck with that idea.

From the LA Times, Saturday, April 11, 2009  http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-recession-proof11-2009apr11,0,1846549.story?page=2&track=ntothtml