It pays to employ

The Commerce Department “report provided clear evidence of the economy’s rapid deterioration as the housing, credit and financial crises — the worst since the 1930s — feed on each other. It’s a vicious cycle that has proven difficult for

Washington policymakers to break,” the story said.

Here’s an idea that I’m sure will sounds naive to some business owners trying to survive the downturn and save the jobs they can, but I’m saying it anyway: Before you cut employees from the payroll, think about cutting everything else first, including profits.

The vicious cycle they’re talking about is not fueled by the housing, credit or financial crises. Housing was only the start. Until people are fairly confident their jobs aren’t going anyway, you’re not going to see much spending on furniture, vacations, autos, homes, you name it.

Naive? Maybe. But is it anymore so than businesses thinking they’ll cut their payrolls back to prosperity? In a better business envvironment this actually may work. But in the weakest of markets, which we face today, it’s just fueling the fire for just about everyone save Wal-Mart and maybe grocery stores. Think cuts in hours, overtime, and salaries in general before you think about cutting people who not only work for you but buy from you.

In the public sector, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has done this and so has our own industry’s Jake Jabs of Denver-area American Furniture Warehouse, who has had to resort to a small layoff, but is much more focused on trimming employee hours than actual employees.