While you were at work, the Asheville Argus captured escenas de la vida in downtown Asheville.

Incidentally, I spoke yesterday with somebody at a headhunting firm that is closing its Western North Carolina office. She said there aren’t enough jobs in Asheville for the huge influx of people. The newspapers, however, say unemployment in Buncombe County continues to decrease and at the most recent calcuation was down to 7.2%.

Regardless, there is a perception that the job market is tough. During the public comment portion of the Buncombe County Commissioners’ meeting last night, a couple people with a reputation for conservative activism asked government to create jobs. I am still waiting for somebody to explain the process. Public sector jobs don’t count because they are destructive to the economy; they are funded with tax contributions that could otherwise be expended in productive activity. When government increases taxes to provide breaks to large corporations to entice them to relocate within the local jurisdiction, it transfers some jobs and destroys others.