There are a lot of pots boiling right now. When it’s all said and done, all that’s left is the sighing.
The local economy: Sigh. I’m hearing a lot of discussion on improving the economics of the region. It has beenan ongoing conversation that continues to include a weird dynamic – people discussing economic development as a yes/no issue. The economy is no more a yes/no issue than the environment, entitlements, or education. If the discussion centers on yes/no as opposed to size and scope, it’s focused on the wrong thing.
The hurdle that most of the naysayers must clear is the word “development.” The fear here is that development, in the physical sense, begets more development. Those people are right. Physical development requires infrastructure to support it. Then there are schools. You can’t build half of a school. So if you’re building a school, you have to have enough addresses to fill it. This dance continues until people are crowded out and move to the next frontier.
Economic development, or the maximization of the region’s aggregate wealth, can occur with limited physical development. The region surely has assets. But assets aren’t assets if they aren’t leveraged for the purposes of a return. Our open spaces and waterfronts can be used towards a leisure focus,developing green energy opportunities, and using the US301 corridor for light manufacturing and warehousing operations.
Public and private solutions have been advanced towardst hese ends. The Hopkins Game Farm, Chestertown waterfront, and the Worton solar field are steps in the right direction. What’s left is to cultivate an all-in attitude. If we have this attitude, others will want to get on board. This means fewer “for sale” signs, and living here as a primary residence. Now we’re talking about more children in the public school pipeline and greater tax revenues. It can be done without the strip malls and cookie-cutter neighborhoods that so many associate with economic development. But the first step is toget past “no.”
Another One Bites the Dust: Sigh. Another group of hourly workers was shuttered out of their positions seemingly overnight. There was some chatter that the closing of the Red Brick Pizza location is especially problematic because it was a franchise location. The implication is that a franchise has more capital at its disposal. This may not betrue. It all depends on the franchisee, and the demands placed on them by the franchisor (for example, Quiznos is notorious for making life hard on franchisees).
What felled this operation wasn’t a matter of capital. At the end of the day, Red Brick was “stuck in the middle.” They were a value-added provider in a low-cost location. This meant that people in the immediate vicinity are more apt to buy a $9 pizza, and those who would pay for a $15 pizza may not remember them tucked away on upper High Street. If you read articles on-line about “10 brands that may disappear in 2012,” the problem is almost always “trying to be all things to all people.” It sounds good in the beginning, but ultimately leaves companies being nothing to anyone.
Plus there is a critical mass of places to get a pizza around here. Which brings me to . . .
Some Self-indulgence Sigh. I hesitate to write about this matter. I was only kidding about helping friends, crushing enemies, and getting free stuff. But my reasons aren’t entirely selfish.
Our middle child recently won his second student of the month award for this school year. This award was particularly pleasing to us because the award for art is selected from the entire student body. As a treat, we took him to eat at a place of his choosing. He wanted pizza. We’ll leave it at that. The next hour was spent listening to the supervisor curse at staff, slam dishes, and berate customers on the phone. That was all before our order was incorrectly prepared! It was not an ideal experience.
The reasons why I was hesitant to mention this are twofold. One, I’m not here to embarrass people. Two, plenty of people have had bad dining experiences in their lives. Not all of them are afforded bandwidth to discuss it. The reason why I bring it up is the staff. I have had management apologize for staff errors. I have never experienced the reverse. It isn’t fair to them to have to do that, and I hope this was just someone having a bad day. Bad days are contagious.
Rush to Judgment Sigh. Rush, you ignorant slut! When you have been in the business this long, you can’t use those words, especially with flimsy logic. This all started with an issue that wascovered in a recent TC non-sequitur. The Affordable Care Act has a provision that allowed HHS to compel religious organizations to provide insurance that covers birth control expenses. There was considerable pushback, citing that separation of church and state should cut both ways.
The resistance was loud enough that Congress took up the possibility of overturning the rule. Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown Law student, testified in front of Congress why she and others should be entitled to such a benefit. Rush Limbaugh took the IRS definition that defrayed costs are income, therefore, Ms. Fluke’s possible nighttime exploits amount to prostitution.
Limbaugh’s gaffe presents several problems for the conservative position on this issue. By turning Ms. Fluke into the issue, she became a sympathetic figure. In turn, her testimony became above reproach. There was plenty to question. The costs she cited seemed extreme. The idea that these products are solely available through insurance companies is patently false. These employees’ employment with these organizations is at will. One could (gasp) consciously decide that they will not partake in such exploits. People act like all of these new rules wil lmake things free. To borrow the words ofanother local commentator, they only become mostly free. And mostly free ultimately leads to shortages.
Double Taxation – It’s for the Dogs You may recall my call for Chestertown to go forward wisely with its recreation initiatives. Your columnist agrees with Mayor Bailey that a mandate of her job is to provide a town where people or companies can gravitate. That said, I renew my call for the Town to abandon managing towards an increase in per capita recreation funding, and move towards working with the County’s existing Parks and Recreation department to secure access for the citizens of Chestertown. I think I may have found a few folks who agree with this principle.
Citizens of Chestertown fund Town and County coffers. To that end, I’m struck by something Kent County Commissioner William Pickrum recently said. We have to get past “County money” or “State money.” “There is only one color of money.” That phrase nails it. Quantity theory of money states that the money in existence is a specific amount, and that its scarcity contributes to its value. When it’s used unwisely, many feel the pain. What I’ve been trying to yell from my keyboard all this time isn’t “Government:yes/no?” It’s about who will do what to be the best stewards of our tax dollars. Whether you’re on Cross Street, High Street, State Circle, or East Capitol Street, this should be the mission that guides your decisions.
DLaMotte says
Re contraception, one cannot separate the reproductive part of a woman’s body from the rest of her body. Ms. Fluke
Purchased this insurance. Curious that a male with the same coverage can get Viagra but women cannot
get birth control. That this is an issue in 2012 is bazaar.
Keith Thompson says
I’ve said it before…often what you don’t say “no” to is more important than what you do say “yes” to.
Keith Thompson says
@DLamotte,
I sort of agree with you…I don’t think that insurance companies should be required to provide erectile dysfunction coverage either.
D LaMotte says
As someone said, if men could get pregnant, abortion would be considered a sacrament…