Bruvold is the president of the National University System Institute for Policy Research.

There are troubling signs that while the economy is rebounding, we may be facing a jobless recovery. Last week, the presidents of the Federal Reserve Banks of San Francisco and Atlanta each suggested that unemployment will persist well into 2010. A recent public opinion poll by Hofsta University found that three out of four suburbanites had either themselves or knew someone who had lost their job during the recession. The Golden State is seeing unemployment higher than it has been in 26 years and almost every forecaster believes it will go higher. While some of the locally-tracked leading economic indicators are positive, help wanted ads and jobless claims continue to point downward.

Four miles from my neighborhood is one of the many "community serving" retail centers that dot San Diego's landscape. Built in 1993 and with more than 500,000 square feet of space, it prospered during the boom of the first half of the decade.

For the last few years every time the temperature goes up and the wind starts to blow a good friend of mine starts to get worried. He starts smelling for smoke. Clouds in the sky get a close look just to be sure they are not signs of wildfire. He fills up his vehicles in case the call comes to evacuate.