One of the more troubling things for me about last night’s council meeting was the comment made that our City is in decay and our best days are behind us. This thought was vocalized by Alderman Diz Demes and echoed by Aldermen Boo Herndon.
I will admit that we have problems in areas of our city with abandon homes and rundown commercial buildings but …”best days are over?”
I have spent the majority of my life here and I can recall old abandon homes when I was a kid as well as environmental waste areas that should have been dealt with (we didn’t realize they were dangerous at the time). I also remember the downtown business sections thriving with people and activity on a daily basis. I can also recall when the manufacturing factories were closing left and right and a bumper sticker was seen that read “Last one out of the Illinois Valley, Please turn off the lights!”
My point is that these periods come and go. President Clinton could not have been more wrong when he declared the end of the business cycle in his presidency. History shows us that there is a natural expansion and contraction of our economy. This “business cycle” has and will always exist.
This area has weathered the storm before and will again. It was not long ago we were commenting monthly on new housing starts or new developments here or coming in the near future. Many dedicated people worked hard and took risks to make these things happen.
I guess that’s my point. This area, this community isn’t about physical structures that come and go but by the people who live here and are willing to spend their time, money,and sweat to make it a place they can be proud of. We will come out of this downturn and we will be stronger for it.
This will happen in spite of what government does or doesn’t do. Its the people that make things happen, not governmental programs or long winded politicians.
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Although I admire your optimism, I think the situation is more complicated than a rising cyclical tide will ultimately lift all boats.
First of all, it’s important to recognize that most small communities didn’t keep pace with the healthy expansion enjoyed by our national economy during the most recent boom cycle. Therefore, we were especially vulnerable to the downturn and will almost certainly face a more challenging path to prosperity when the general economy recovers.
Furthermore, there are multiple tsunami-like trends aligned against smaller communities like ours. Several of the most thorny illustrate why I don’t see our local difficulties as essentially cyclical problems.
The Emergence of the Knowledge-Based Economy: It places a premium on education and a career-long ability to acquire and hone new skills for a rapidly evolving workplace. Roughly speaking, one in four Americans is a university graduate, and that proportion is growing. Locally, just one in eight persons is a university graduate, and there is no discernible upward trend. Since formal education is often viewed as a surrogate for adaptability to the new economy, we appear poorly positioned.
The Crippling Out-Migration of Young People: Sadly, many young people leave permanently when they graduate from high school or community college, and university graduates seldom return. It’s a widespread trend that’s sapping our community of current vitality and future potential. The result is a twofold problem. The average age of the workforce increases while the permanent loss of locally-reared university graduates deprives our community of their ongoing contributions.
Generally speaking, entrepreneurs are attracted to communities that have a young, well-educated workforce. Again, in this regard, we find ourselves at an apparent disadvantage.
Globalization and Technological Improvements: These have been discussed to death, but the effects are clear. Old economy manufacturing jobs are simply not coming back in any significant numbers.
You might conclude I’m pessimistic, but I’m not. If we realistically confront the challenges that face us, we can renew our community. However, that necessitates taking an active, pragmatic approach to revitalization as a matter of economic survival.
That’s why I support a competently and professionally coordinated community economic development program. Unfortunately, I just wish I felt better about how our new municipal initiative has been unfolding.
Tom,
You make some valid points and there is cause for concern regarding this not being just a cyclical situation in business which will right itself in time. I do think that some current theories regarding businesses are not necessarily true in the long run. With the change to an at home work force becoming larger and larger and the internet being the ” office connection”with many business concerns, cities must look for other things to attract the workforce and the physical structures of enterprises. From a workforce standpoint I believe that cities our size will attract those educated individuals by having low crime rates, affordable housing, good educational systems, and ease of access to larger cities via transportation systems. From a physical structure perspective, transportation ease, TIF funding, water and air access for shipping and a reasonable cost of living so as to keep the labor costs in line with the ability for those companies to make a profit. That would be my focus as a municipal leader going forward.
The traits you mentioned are hardly unique to La Salle. They are shared by innumerable struggling communities throughout The Heartland.
Since these attributes are so commonplace, they do not constitute a distinct comparative advantage when defining and marketing the community. Banking on them, so to speak, is a dubious revitalization strategy. Clearly, we can simply disagree on this point.
However, my main concern is our permanent loss of intellectual capital. For the last three decades, smart and talented young people have flocked to large metropolitan areas. They are drawn by compelling “quality of life” considerations: economic opportunity, cultural energy, and creative dynamism. This trend is not abating.
Small towns, especially those in The Heartland, are hemorrhaging their futures. Without perceived opportunities, even those who would rather stay feel constrained to leave. Preferences give way to frustrated aspirations and economic necessities.
Simply put, if “the next generation” can’t be induced to stay, any current economic gains we realize will only be temporary.
I don’t know you, so take this for what it’s worth. You speak of being a municipal leader, and clearly you aspire to being mayor. Genuine leadership demands insight and courage–the insight to see beyond conventional wisdom and the courage to realistically address challenging issues. I sincerely hope you are the leader you envision yourself to be.
Best of luck, and bye-bye.
I appreciate your thoughts and the fact you took the time to share them with us. I hope you drop by again…