Historically small towns were established around commercial trade and service centers. Their purpose was to provide goods and services to a population nearby. They grew as the commercial activity or industry developed. In Snohomish County, many of our oldest cities sprouted at river crossings near agricultural activities. The market, mill or processing plant was in town. Around the “core employment business” were retail commercial shopkeepers and a work force for both as residences. That was a town. Without all three components, what do we have? Read the history of our county.
One important thing to remember about them was that as their industry flourished or failed, the city did the same. Today, ghost towns exist as a testament to long lost industry. We need to remember that without a business base, a town has little substance and is in jeopardy of blowing away. Even today with exploding population in small towns, a well supported business community is critical to community health. Failure to keep that concept high on the priority list will be disaster as we plan for the future.
If you listen to regional planners, they would have us believe that we can have thriving suburban cities without a base of private sector family wage employers. History doesn’t support that concept.
Public sector employers like school systems are often one of the largest employers in a community but they don’t produce sales tax or property tax revenue that pays for local government.
Sadly, many cities are drying up and blowing away because the mill (substitute your major private sector employer) has closed.
The percentage of the workers that have jobs producing a marketable product is getting smaller and smaller. Service sector and Public sector employers are increasing by percentage. Historically, a country is only as strong as its ability to produce durable goods. As we buy more and more consumer goods from foreign sources we undermine the foundation of our society.
Imagine how a community reacts when a major employer leaves town. The loss of employment plunges the town into recession. Retail businesses fold because they aren’t selling product to the former employees of the plant. Sales taxes and property tax revenues shrink and government services go away. This scenario has played out thousands of times in our country. All this because of the loss of family wage employers.
We need to make sure our leaders don’t lose sight of the importance of private sector family wage employers. Thriving businesses are the foundation of a successful community.
Posted on December 20, 2008 at 11:54 am in Political commentary, Snohomish County Political Commentary | RSS feed
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No Loss for Words
Mill Town or Ghost Town?
by Steve DanaHistorically small towns were established around commercial trade and service centers. Their purpose was to provide goods and services to a population nearby. They grew as the commercial activity or industry developed. In Snohomish County, many of our oldest cities sprouted at river crossings near agricultural activities. The market, mill or processing plant was in town. Around the “core employment business” were retail commercial shopkeepers and a work force for both as residences. That was a town. Without all three components, what do we have? Read the history of our county.
One important thing to remember about them was that as their industry flourished or failed, the city did the same. Today, ghost towns exist as a testament to long lost industry. We need to remember that without a business base, a town has little substance and is in jeopardy of blowing away. Even today with exploding population in small towns, a well supported business community is critical to community health. Failure to keep that concept high on the priority list will be disaster as we plan for the future.
If you listen to regional planners, they would have us believe that we can have thriving suburban cities without a base of private sector family wage employers. History doesn’t support that concept.
Public sector employers like school systems are often one of the largest employers in a community but they don’t produce sales tax or property tax revenue that pays for local government.
Sadly, many cities are drying up and blowing away because the mill (substitute your major private sector employer) has closed.
The percentage of the workers that have jobs producing a marketable product is getting smaller and smaller. Service sector and Public sector employers are increasing by percentage. Historically, a country is only as strong as its ability to produce durable goods. As we buy more and more consumer goods from foreign sources we undermine the foundation of our society.
Imagine how a community reacts when a major employer leaves town. The loss of employment plunges the town into recession. Retail businesses fold because they aren’t selling product to the former employees of the plant. Sales taxes and property tax revenues shrink and government services go away. This scenario has played out thousands of times in our country. All this because of the loss of family wage employers.
We need to make sure our leaders don’t lose sight of the importance of private sector family wage employers. Thriving businesses are the foundation of a successful community.
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Posted on December 20, 2008 at 11:54 am in Political commentary, Snohomish County Political Commentary | RSS feed | Reply | Trackback URL