Elana Centor's blog

The prediction is that we'll see a 2 percent increase in job growth in 2010. On the surface, that would seem like good news. But, there is an underlying story here -- the story of a changing job market. In 2010, an increase in jobs doesn't mean that the lost jobs are returning.

After reading a variety of blog posts, talking with a Professor of Finance, and the President of the Independent Community Bankers of Minnesota, my reaction to the proposed $30B stimulus for small business loans is sadly: "money, money everywhere, and not a dime to keep."

Sometimes being the biggest loser is not a good thing. Such is the case of Webvan, an online grocery store that was the biggest loser in the dot-com bust. When all those venture capitalists were pouring money into Webvan - a total of $441 million before the company declared bankruptcy in 2001 - the general consensus was: online grocery shopping was a no-brainer.

At 11:50 p.m., on December 31, 2009, our dinner host turned on the TV, handed us each a dime and a piece of herring on a cracker. We were instructed at the stroke of midnight to hold the dime, eat the herring, and make a New Year's wish.  Even if I liked herring, which I don't, eating this genus Clupea after champagne and trifle would have no appeal. While it was obvious to my host that I was not playing along with her ritual, she had no way of knowing whether I actually made a New Year's wish. I did, and it was business related.

One of my daughter's friends opened a time capsule on Whidbey Island around midnight on New Years Eve to highlight what was,and what has, changed in the first 10 years of this millennium. With no time capsule to review, I have to rely on my memory to think about what has changed in my life over the past ten years. What surprises me the most, as I reflect back on the last decade, is that the changes in my work life are not as dramatic as I would have imagined.