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It was a big week for the U.S. economy.

The stock market whipsawed. The jobless rate rose. Once-solid banks went under and Congress put up $700 billion to help them. And we’ll elect a new president in a month.

It’s hard to know what all this means, where it goes from here. But Thursday, here in St. Louis, there were two very different events, three hours and less than three miles apart, that gave a window into what’s going on.

One was a debate at the Missouri History Museum between Austan Goolsbee and Douglas Holtz-Eakin.

They’re top economic advisers to Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain, respectively, and, in a few months, one of them may have a hand at the wheel of the entire U.S. economy.

The other was a job fair in Wellston, put on by a group called the Partnership for a New Workforce, to help people from the poorest parts of St. Louis find work in the toughest job market this town has seen in 18 years.

We visited both, to see the view from the top and the bottom of this economy. And we found two things in common: Hope. And a little fear.

PIN STRIPES, RECRUITERS

The debate drew a standing-room-only crowd, perhaps 250 people, to a basement auditorium. C-SPAN was there. Before it started, Washington University students in sweatshirts and economist types in dark suits mingled in a sunny atrium, munching bagels and sipping coffee. The room buzzed with talk of politics and economics. The rival debaters, wearing pin stripes, chatted a bit before they were brought on stage.

In Wellston, dozens of job seekers walked the circuit of 22 recruiters, collecting business cards and applications. There were hotels and security firms, Toys R Us and Ameren. By the end, 232 job seekers showed up. A good turnout on both sides, organizers said.

Aaron Harris sat off to the side, taking it all in. He’s been looking for five months, he said, trying to find "anything I can get."

"It’s going cool right now," Harris said. "The economy? It blows. Not too many people hiring."

MAIN STREET,

Wall Street

When the debate began, Goolsbee and Holtz-Eakin stood under spotlights at either end of the stage. They opened with jokes to warm up the crowd, then got to business.

"This is a very serious moment in our economy," Goolsbee said. "People risk losing their life savings, millions of people stand at risk of losing their jobs. These are the issues we should be talking about."

There is a "direct, straight line" between the challenges facing ordinary Americans and the crisis on Wall Street, Goolsbee said. The squeezing and stretching so many middle-class families face have weakened the fundamentals of our economy and warped our financial system.

Holtz-Eakin didn’t disagree. The answer, he said, is to clean up Wall Street, to help small businesses grow, to boost research into new technology, and to find the leadership to solve tough problems such as energy and health care. Doing that, he said, will generate jobs in an economy with a strong future.

"We look forward to an America that is vibrant and prosperous and that gives opportunity to all," he said.

A PRESIDENT, A PLAN

Two young women sat chatting, taking a break from the job fair. Both said they were a little frustrated: Most of these companies just told them to apply online, and most of the jobs aren’t near where they live.

"I don’t really think there’s that much here right now," said Miranda Bishop, of south St. Louis. "Especially not in this part of the area."

Bishop’s in school for nursing but wants a part-time job. Laneisha Donnell, from north St. Louis County, is in school, too, getting a business degree at Columbia College. In her economics class, they’ve been talking about the Wall Street meltdown.

"It’s really scary," she said. "I don’t know what you do."

A new president, and a new approach, would help, Donnell said. She hasn’t yet decided for whom she’s voting, but she’ll be listening to what they say.

"I’m waiting to hear a plan," she said (payday loan online). "A real set plan on how we’re going to get out of this."

HOT-BUTTON ISSUES

The debate moved on, away from the crisis of the moment. Goolsbee and Holtz-Eakin volleyed on all the hot-button issues that govern how we spend our money, and how much we have to spend: Health care. Taxes. Foreign trade. The price of gas.

They had their plans for each, and their talking points, and they stuck to them, shifting billions of dollars around the federal budget with a phrase.

McCain’s man talked about changing the health care system to prevent illness instead of just treating symptoms and about restoring faith in government. Obama’s urged help for people in "the real economy" and for "re-establishing the rules of the road" on Wall Street.

Both said it’s time for leadership, and to make tough choices. The stakes are too high for anything else.

"This is an important election," Holtz-Eakin said. "We face dramatic decisions."

When they were done, the room applauded.

SKILLS ARE NEEDED

Working the room at the job fair was an outgoing man in a three-piece suit. His name is James Clark, and he works for Better Family Life, a nonprofit agency in north St. Louis, recruiting people from the city’s most violent neighborhoods into job training programs.

"If we can get people jobs," he said, "We can fight crime."

But getting a job, a good one anyway, is hard right now. Clark tells everyone who’ll listen that the bare minimum is a high school diploma or GED; they’ll really need "at least one more graduation," from some sort of training program. They need a skill.

"If you think you’re going to navigate this economy without that, you’re setting yourself up for a life of poverty," he said.

But find a skill, said the man in the suit, and you can build a good life.

‘IT’S OUR LIVES’

After the debate, outside in the sun, three WU students earnestly discussed tax policy before they headed back to campus. They’re juniors, and college kids, and they don’t pay much in taxes. But between the election and all the Wall Street turmoil, they’re starting to think about that stuff more, said Katherine Brown. And they’re a little worried about the job market when they get out of school.

"All this has really got me thinking about what kind of things I want for myself in the future," Brown said.

They know that debates such as the one they just watched are imperfect indicators, that there’s a long road between that stage at the Missouri History Museum and the real world. But Stephanie Chalfour, who wore an Obama button and a "Yes We Can" sticker, said she’d been following the election closely. And when she’s asked if she hopes it’ll make a difference, she looks a little surprised by the question.

"Yeah," she said. "It’s our lives."

A CAREER, NOT

just a job

Lingering over the tables at the job fair was a 24-year-old named Rita Wright. She was on lunch break from a advanced machinery training program downstairs, safety goggles still on her forehead. She works, too, on an assembly line making electric equipment. But Wright’s looking for something better, she said. Not just a job, but a career.

Right now she’s working a lot, but she’s moving backward. Between rent and food and the car note and day care for her 2-year-old son, Wright said, her expenses total $1,800 a month. Her income? About $1,700.

"I need a change," Wright said.

It’d be nice to be able to put a little money away, to not have to rely on "Band-Aids or Nyquil" when she gets sick. To maybe buy a soda with lunch once in a while.

"That’s what a career means to me," Wright said. And while she’s worried about all the economic tumult of recent weeks, she’s still confident she’ll get there.

tlogan@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8291

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