The Hope and The Change: Restaurant Performance Index declined in September

All a part of The Hope and The Change that the President promised us.

Calculated Risk blog reports the following:

The RPI – a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry – stood at 100.4 in September, down 0.3 percent from August. Despite the decline, September represented the 11th consecutive month that the RPI stood above 100, which signifies continued expansion in the index of key industry indicators.

“Although restaurant operators reported softer same-store sales and customer traffic levels in September, they are somewhat more bullish about sales growth in the months ahead,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the Research and Knowledge Group for the Association. “Forty-five percent of restaurant operators expect their sales to improve in the next six months, while only 11 percent expect weaker sales.”

The Current Situation Index, which measures current trends in four industry indicators (same-store sales, traffic, labor and capital expenditures), stood at 99.9 in September – down 0.7 percent from a level of 100.6 in August. Although same-store sales remained positive in September, the softness in the labor and customer traffic indicators outweighed the performance, which led to a Current Situation Index reading below 100 for the second time in the last three months.

Here is the chart:

Click to make it bigger…

So, what does this have to do with Obama? Plenty. When you promise a better economy, and then, you spent 16 trillion-dollar on recovery that does not work and then you hike taxes on businesses and the middle class and above stop eating out, because of a President, who is more interested in taking trips and living it up, instead of actually running the Country. This is what happens, businesses suffer, and that includes Restaurants. Restaurants like Gallagher’s in New York, which survived the depression, but could not survive this economic downturn.

This is why we need to vote different in 2012; Are you unemployed? Are you feeling the pinch, like many Americans? This is why, when an economy gets depressed like this; this is what happens, restaurants and other businesses take the hit. Housing Market collapses, stock market tumbles, then the Economy drops. Then, the Government tries to print more money to fix it; and then everything you buy goes up. It is a vicious cycle and the only way to stop it, is to get the people out of power that caused it. This is why we have to vote for Mitt Romney. Memo to my Democratic Party friends: George W. Bush did NOT cause this mess. Bill Clinton did! Because of this, we are ALL feeling the pinch.

We need new leadership, and that is why we need Mitt Romney to be President of the United States.