People who live and work on North Main Street in Oshkosh, Wis., talk about the $700 billion financial rescue package just signed into law.
ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: This week, who hasn't heard some version of this reality check?</s>G: I think we need a little bit of reality from Wasilla, Main Street.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: You have to focus on homeowners and folks on Main Street.</s>H: We must insulate Main Street from Wall Street.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, before that Sarah Palin and Joe Biden in their vice-presidential debate, all trotting out the cliche of the week. Well, to get beyond the cliche and the political rhetoric, let's talk to some real people on a real Main Street in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Let's start in the 500 block.</s>M: Hello. This is Candy at Apple Blossom Books.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: How's business?</s>M: Business has been going pretty well so far.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: No changes with the economy?</s>M: Well, there have been some. Over this summer, I would say that our business is even a little bit better as people were really cautious about spending money on gas and going out of town for books.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: But do you worry about running a business in this economy, in terms of, you know, the credit you can get and...?</s>M: Definitely. In fact, just yesterday, I had one of my vendors notify me that they're going to have to decrease my credit terms. Before I had a credit line of $5,000 with this vendor, and now, I only have 2,000. So, for me, that means I have to make more frequent payments. I have to have better cash flow. If I have more than that vendor that does that to me, then I'll have to turn around to some of the customers that buy on purchase orders from me, like the local school district, and say, I'm no longer going to be able to accept purchase orders because I can't carry it on credit like I used to.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: Do you think the bailout will help your credit situation?</s>M: I think, once companies start making those kinds of decisions, where they're going to change their terms to their customers like me, doesn't mean that they're going to turn around this week and tell me, oh, sorry about that. That was just temporary. You know, I think that's going to take a while to come back up again.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: Candy Pearson, thank so much.</s>M: Thank you.</s>M: My name is Mark Schultz (ph). I am a co-owner of Oblio's Lounge, 434 North Main Street. We're kind of a unique place. We are, like, one of the oldest bars in the city. We've got 27 beers on draft. That's our claim to fame in northeast Wisconsin.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: Woo! How's business going?</s>M: Business has been steady. I mean, it's been OK. But I see, you know, people like come in, they're more value conscience, you know. They want to know what you got on special. And I never used to see that, and you're just seeing more and more of it.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: So you think you're feeling some of the effects of this?</s>M: Oh yeah, definitely. You just see the cost of everything going up, like the price of popcorn in the last year. I used to buy four cases, like, you know, a week. Its gone from $98 and $96, something like that, to $125. The price of corn has gone up 25 percent.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: And is the popcorn free?</s>M: Popcorn is free.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: Mark Schultz of Oblio's, thanks so much.</s>M: You're very welcome.</s>M: My name is Pam Elmer (ph), and I own a retail shop for women that sells lingerie, swimwear, and mastectomy products, 224 North Main Street.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: How's business, Pam Elmer?</s>M: It's very slow. What we notice is gals coming in - we do bra fittings - and they'll come in, get fitted for a bra, and maybe have their eyes set on two of them, and they're $30 usually, on average. And they say, well, you know, I can only get one, and then that way, I can still put gas in my car, or they do without completely. They just say, well, you know what, I'll make my old bras last.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: Are you changing the way you do business?</s>M: Yeah. Normally, at this time, we'd be going to market to buy the swimsuits for the 2009 season, and I'm putting that off for probably another month just to see what happens. But I know for sure I'm not going to be ordering as many suits as I have in the past.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: Pam Elmer, thank so much for speaking with us.</s>M: Well, thanks for calling. It was wonderful to talk to you.</s>M: I'm Tom Harenburg, and I'm a stockbroker. I own Carl Hennig Investments in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, 206 North Main.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: All this talk about Main Street versus Wall Street, you're sort of the connection. You're a stockbroker on Main Street, huh?</s>M: You know, Wall Street, in the bad times, they don't come into the office. They don't answer their phones. We're coming into the office, answering our phones, and the month of August, we had the best month we've ever had in the history of the firm.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: Huh.</s>M: So, I mean, we are holding some hands, don't get me wrong. There is concern, but there's some great buying opportunities, providing you believe in the good old U.S.A.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: Now, you're not at the office right now. Where are you?</s>M: I am in a duck marsh. I've shot half my limit of ducks so far. Just when you called, my dog was just retrieving one.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: So life goes on, huh?</s>M: It sure does.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: Tom Harenburg, thank so much for speaking with us.</s>M: Thank you.</s>M: My name is Ruth Percy (ph), and I'm a reference librarian at Oshkosh Public Library. It's just a block off of Main Street.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: So how does the public library do in a time like this? How is it going?</s>M: Well, when it comes to finding a good value, you really can't beat the services at your local library.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: Sure can't. It's free.</s>M: I did have a really nice woman come in yesterday, and she had watched some of the debate. She wanted to get more of a history of how this crisis came to fruition. She was interested in finding out more about the deregulations that had passed previously, so we were able to assist her in getting that information. And in addition to all the wonderful, practical things that a library offers, sometimes there's nothing like getting lost in a good book or movie to restore some balance in an otherwise stressful life.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, Host: Ruth Percy, librarian at the Oshkosh Public Library. Thank you so much.</s>M: You're welcome.