ARDIAN, MICHIGAN (WTOL) - It's been a year since the economy took a major turn for the worst. Many remember when the price of gas was over $4 a gallon last year.
Courtney Elam can't imagine paying those high prices today. She thinks the current price of $2.50 is reasonable.
The economic crunch didn't stop at the pumps. People stopped buying new cars, many jobs disappeared and folks fell behind on bills and many turned to credit cards for a temporarily bailout.
"What went through my mind was, 'how am I going to pay my bills?'" said Courtney Elam.
The biggest impact on Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan's economy has been job losses.
"I haven't worked in ten years. I've been a stay at home mom and...people just don't want to hire people that don't have job experience," said Elam.
Experts believe the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the U.S. investment bank that filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, was a major trigger for the recession. They held onto more than $60 billion in bad real estate debt.
"I think we're in better shape, but I don't think there's the end is coming anytime soon," said Sandy Bloomquist.
