May 19, 2008 02:23 pm
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The April 30 announcement that Johnstown would be targeted for the “onshoring” of jobs left me thinking that it was a classic good news-bad news situation.
The good news is that every job added to the local economy brings benefits as a result of the “multiplier effect,” by which a portion of each employee’s paycheck gets spread throughout the local economy to support workers in areas such as groceries, clothing and so forth.
The bad news is that it means that the Johnstown area has succeeded in winning the infamous “race to the bottom” that Ross Perot and others warned us about when North American Free Trade Agreement was being considered in the early 1990s.
Of course, it wasn’t a completely fair race since the Johnstown area had a head start with the steel mill closings starting in the late 1970s. (Admittedly, other factors contributed to the region’s decline; for example, the enhanced ability of investment capital to flow across international boundaries in search of the best return.)
Nonetheless, while the types of jobs that Americans Work plans to bring to Johnstown involve information technology – and that’s a good thing – I hope that Johnstown Area Regional Industries and our elected officials won’t write off local residents on the other side of the “digital divide” whose skills, experience and education are better suited to making and manipulating real objects in the real world, rather than symbolic objects in the virtual world.
For these current and former blue-collar workers, it’s imperative that local development officials consider a strategy that creates sustainable, locally owned “green collar” opportunities that benefit local workers as well as local investors.
Ian E. Miller
Johnstown
Southern states know formula for success
I recently returned from a road trip through seven Southern states; it was a real eye-opener. Once out of Pennsylvania, highways were much improved for the remainder of my 2,100-mile, eight-day trip.
My first stop was in Louisville, Ky., to see Big Brown’s Run for the Roses. Although the Derby was attended by more than 150,000 orderly fans, traffic and parking was very well managed. Kentucky is a beautiful state with growth and development occurring at every Interstate exit.
Next stop was Nashville, where economic growth was equally robust.
Then Huntsville, Ala., which is about as big as Greater Johnstown. A priest said that the diocese could immediately open six parishes if only it had a place to put them. The U.S. Space Defense Center will soon be located there, bringing 5,000 white-collar jobs. It is expected the population will swell by 30,000 by 2010. New housing developments were erupting like flowers in the spring.
Auburn, Ala., is a college community on the move with new roads around old traditions.
Atlanta is growing so fast that a colleague told me that they need 100 new dentists per year to keep up with demand.
South Carolina is clean and charming with well-designed highways and a lot of early-American history.
Charlotte, N.C., is becoming the jewel of the South. It even has a Cadillac dealership owned by one of our local golf legends.
Raleigh has an average growth of 72 additional people per day and is expecting to eclipse Charlotte in the near future.
Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland were equally impressive since my last visit just two years ago.
What makes these places so different?
Good highways, low taxes, less government, a lower cost of living, more jobs and no unions. Go figure.
Dr. Bill Choby
Latrobe
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