Bankruptcy filings by retailers, newspapers, casinos, and racetracks have become commonplace. According to the Ottawa Citizen, filings in the first quarter of 2009 were 78 per cent higher than the same period in 2008 and three times higher than in 2007.

So take heart! If a simple payday loan will tide you over, you really can beat the big business bust.

April

Shopping Malls

General Growth Properties Inc., the second largest mall owner in the U.S. One of the biggest real estate failures in U.S. history and one of the largest non-financial companies to succumb to the economic crisis, the Chicago-based giant has been unable to refinance its maturing debt. Filed April 16.

March

Cable

St. Louis-based Charter Communications, the nation’s fourth-largest cable operator. The company, controlled by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen,hopes to reduce its debt by $8 billion. Filed March 27.

Resorts

Greenbrier Hotel Corp, owner of the posh four-star Greenbrier resort, which has housed numerous presidents and royalty in West Virginia. The company lost its five-star rating in 2000 and has since spent millions to expand its offerings and attract younger visitors. Filed March 19.

Newspapers

Sun-Times Media Group, the Chicago-based parent company of The Chicago-Sun Times and operator of 59 newspapers. The company has no bank debt but owes $608 million in back taxes and penalties. Filed March 13.

Racetracks

Magna Entertainment, one of the largest horse racetrack operators in the US and owner of the Pimlico racetrack, host of the Preakness race. The company’s debt and negative cash flow require it to sell off assets. Internet entrepreneur and Thoroughbred owner Halsey Minor is offering to purchase the company’s properties. Filed March 5.

Motor Homes

Oregon-based Monaco Coach, maker of the Holiday Rambler. Despite cost-cutting measures, the company – along with rest the RV industry — has been decimated by weak consumer confidence, tight credit markets, and record high fuel prices. Filed March 5.

February

More Newspapers

Philadelphia Newspapers, parent company the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News. The same conditions that have devastated the broadcast industry — advertising downturn, rising newsprint costs, and the migration of readers to the Internet — caused the company to default on loans last year. Filed February 22.

Casinos

Donald Trump’s casino group Trump Entertainment Resorts, owner and operator of several Atlantic City casino hotels, including the Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza and Trump Marina. The company filed just days after founder Donald Trump quit the board, saying he disagreed with the bondholders’ rejection of his buyout offer. This is the company’s third bankruptcy filing. Filed February 17.

Batteries, Shavers, Pet Care

Atlanta-based Spectrum Brands, maker of Rayovac batteries, Remington shavers, Spectracide lawn-care products, and Nature’s Miracle pet care products. The company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in January and its stock values dropped to just over a penny per share. Filed February 3.

January

The President’s Clothes

Chicago-based clothier Hartmarx, the largest maker of men’s tailored clothing in the U.S. The company’s clients include President Obama, who wore Hartmarx creations at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, on election night in Chicago, and at his inauguration. Filed January 23.

Restaurants

ARG Enterprises, owner of Black Angus Steakhouse restaurants. The company is just one in a long string of bankruptcy filings by sit-down restaurants hard hit by the deepening recession. Filed January 15.

Department Stores

Gottschalks, a Fresno-based retailer with department and specialty clothing stores in California, Washington, Alaska, Oregon, Nevada, and Idaho. The 58-store chain is liquidating and closing its doors. Filed  January 14.

A different outlook

In “The Big Bing Blog” on Fortune Magazine’s Web site, author Stanley Bing writes about the SkyMall catalog in relation to the recession. He is of the opinion that people buying things from said catalog is a sign that the economy will stabilize.

“I still believe that in the end we’re all going to be all right. If people are buying meerkat gang sculpture for their yards and living rooms, can recovery be far behind?”

You can order your very own Harry Potter wand from the SkyMall catalog. (Warning: Wand does not actually contain magic.)

But are people doing that? Bing argues that the SkyMall catalog, and the marketing business in general, makes us think that we actually need things like cigar humidors and slippers with built-in night lights.  I admire Bing’s optimist, and I understand that his blog is meant to be humorous. Still, I can’t help but wonder if Americans are still making frivolous purchases like these.

Cold, hard facts

Statistics indicate that they are not. The Commerce Department has released its official report on just how dismal holiday sales were this season. Wall Street had predicted that the decline was about 1.2 percent, but final  figures show that sales fell 2.7 percent.

Before you go thinking that maybe Americans did their holiday shopping early this year: It was the sixth straight month of decline. I’m no financial guru, but it seems to me that if people were going to be making frivolous purchases, they would have done it for the holidays, even if they had to take out payday loans to do it.

Aftershocks

In the wake of these reports, some major retailers are announcing big changes. California department store chain Gottschalks is up for sale, and it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Famous luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group Inc. says it is going to cut 375 jobs. Macy’s department store is closing 11 stores, which will affect 960 employees. So between those two companies, I can safely assume that at least 1,335 people out there will be even less likely to be making discretionary purchases.

Job loss leads to job loss

So, because consumers aren’t spending enough on retail, employees from retail store are out of a job. If (when) those employees go on unemployment, their incomes will be slashed by more than 30 percent, leading to even less spending and more … well, you get the picture.

Thus, it comes as no surprise to me that Federal Reserve says this low-spending trend is continuing and worsening this month. An AP reporter says “job cuts, sinking home values and cracked nest eggs have made American consumers wary of spending.”

Ahem. I think that by “wary of spending” she means “unable to spend.”

A slow fix

The only way I can see to change this trend is for employers to start hiring instead of firing. American consumers aren’t going to suddenly start spending money they don’t have, especially considering the credit crunch going on.

So Obama has the right idea by including programs that create jobs in his American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. You see, the government will spend money it doesn’t have to hire people to work on roads and bridges and alternative energy sources. Then perhaps those Americans will start ordering antique-style gumball machines from the SkyMall catalog and all will be well again. Perhaps.

The future of the American way

Are we changed forever? Americans, especially those who have lost their homes, have learned some hard lessons in the past year. When this is all straightened out, will Americans really go back to maxing out their credit cards at luxury department stores?

No one can tell the future, but it’s always fun to make predictions. So, what do you think? Will Americans start using payday loans because they absolutely must have that UV-ray-blocking beach canopy right now?