[Vision2020] Unstable,Doomed Model Cannot Protect OurQuality of Life

[Jeff Harkins]

Oh Mr. Hansen, come on now.  And how do you suppose they got that 
budget?  Surely all those resources must have come from the "Budget 
Tree"! They must be indiginous to RI.

No, they accepted growth,  Mr. Hansen.

Grow or die - that is the bottom line.

Now let's cut to the chase.  Surely we can afford growth at 350 head 
per year.  That really wouldn't inconvenience you too much now would it?

There is one particular flaw in the logic about the threat to "our 
quality of life" here in Moscow.  First, who is "our"? Most of the 
resident population in Moscow these days are transplants from 
somewhere else (including me - 1979).  The folks that were here 
before most of you, welcomed you with open arms and hearts.  While I 
have had many natives tell me that they had some misgivings about the 
"growth", they accepted it, nourished it and have, for the most part, 
embraced it.

If I accept the premise that our quality of life is now suffering as 
a result of growth and sprawl and too much this and too little that, 
the question I pose is this - who brought that "change in the quality 
of life" about?  I wonder if it isn't the result of all those 
transplants, all those "newcomers", all those "progressives" - who 
now seem to live by the mantra - our quality of life will be your 
quality of life.

I wonder if there is an alternative solution?

At 03:13 PM 3/1/2006, you wrote:
>Mr. Harkins stated:
>
>"I hope those attending the Moscow New Cities forum will keep these 
>numbers in mind.  As a benchmark for comparison, you might consider 
>the State of Rhode Island.  RI enjoys a land area of 1,045 sq miles 
>(they also have about 500 sq miles in water).  The population is 
>about 1,048,319.  If you have visited Rhode Island, you know that 
>they have managed to preserve their growth, their green spaces, and 
>their rural area quite nicely."
>
>I can't believe that Mr. Harkins is actually comparing Latah County 
>to the state of Rhode Island.
>
>Other than a comparable geographical size, these two land masses 
>share ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
>
>Try comparing the budgets of the two.
>
>Without looking (and with my eyes closed), I am guessing that the 
>state of Rhode Island's budget is a couple bucks more than Latah 
>County's budget, which makes "sprawl" a little easier to deal with.
>
>And another thing:  I'm guessing that the state of Rhode Island's 
>economy allows for considerably more career advancement than a 
>Wal-Mart Super Center.
>
>Thoughts?
>
>Tom Hansen
>
>
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