The ripple effect of the Bush economy is evident in the mountains of North Georgia. Georgia's urban sprawl, emanating from Atlanta and radiating into the surrounding counties, was a hallmark of the 1980s and 1990s. The first decade of the twentieth century witnessed continued unfettered growth and development at the expense of the environment. Malls were built next to malls. McMansions replaced mansions. Large wooded lots stripped of their natural beauty to make way for a strip mall.
Easy money made commercial development ...easy. Lax city and county ordinances made the path to commercial real estate development a smooth one. The economic impact of the war, the mortgage crisis, and the economic impact of the war all contributed to the faltering economy, now the hallmark of the Bush years, and what is left in the wake is a sad scar on the nation and a sad scar on the Georgia landscape: a Red Scar. Where trees once stood are now sad vacant lots.
Georgia, known for its red clay, is peppered with the result of a high number of bankrupt real estate developments. Massive real estate projects, both commercial and residential, begun in better times are now halted half-finished leaving behind red scars of clay dotted with frantic FOR SALE signs and silent yellow bulldozers.
With every red scar is a story of loss. Loss of jobs. Loss of money. Loss of natural beauty. Loss of confidence in responsible leadership whose job it is to protect our jobs, our earning potential, our environment. And sometimes, to protect us against ourselves.
