Auchtoon!

Originally published in the Grand Rapids Press, September 25, 2010

The highly abridged back story is this: Bob Israels, a longtime West Michigan furniture store owner and entrepreneur, got caught in the credit crunch. Back in 2008, Israels borrowed a boatload of money to renovate the former Roger’s Department Store in Wyoming to be the new home of Klingman’s, a century old name for high quality furniture retail. The investment was stunning — the store, the building, the surrounding grounds were all top class, and a beacon for commercial development. 

Unfortunately, the timing could not have been worse. The Great Recession reached even into the ranks of Klingman’s customers — the upper and upper-middle class. Israels attempted to work with the banks for some flexibility with his loans. In years past, banks were glad to work with business people with high integrity and proven records. But the mid-size banks that Israels borrowed from were hurting for cash, too. Maybe they tried to work with him, I don’t know. But they ended up calling in the loans. Now Israels is liquidating Klingman’s.

So to review: Wall Street throws a party, sucks all the money out of the system, takes money from the government and keeps it, reports tidy profits as actual businesses in the hinterlands of America suffocate from lack of capital, and then attempts to bolster consumer confidence by declaring the recession over. That about right?…