[Vision2020] RE: Unstable, Doomed, Missed Points

[Jeff Harkins]

BJ,

Thank you for your comments.

I appreciate your interest in this matter but I 
am puzzled by your unmitigated assertion that the 
quality of life in Moscow is superior to that in 
Latah County.  The fact that the population in RI 
is 1.3 million or so suggests to me that there 
must be many people that find the quality of life 
acceptable.  Now that is true, but it is also 
true that many of those folks have never spent 
any time in Latah County.  I suspect that it is 
also true that there aren't many folks from Latah 
County that have spent meaningful time in RI.  I 
did live in Smithville for 15 months - so I have 
had the opportunity to experience both.  A 
charming place really - rich in American history 
and a community tied to the Atlantic Ocean and 
maritime activities.  And they have a 400+ year 
American history. We are still in knickers compared to that.

But all that of course really misses the 
point.  I made no declarative statement about the 
quality of life in Rhode Island versus Moscow.  I 
did make a comparison between the two with regard 
to the green space amenities.  RI has been able 
to invest a significant amount of resources in 
public green spaces and parks - which has been 
made possible as a result of economic 
infrastructure.  We don't have a similar resource base.

What I find so disappointing in discussing such 
topics with you and others is the shift from a 
quantitative dialogue (intended to clear some of 
the fog from the scene) to having to retort to a 
statement such as " ...but obviously Moscow's quality of life beats Rhode
Island's hands down."

Quality of life is a qualitative assessment - and 
only measurable at the individual personal 
utility level. It is virtually impossible to 
compare the utility of one person's "quality of 
life" with that of another person.  You just 
don't seem to understand that - but that does 
explain why you and others are so quick to impose 
your "quality of life" standards on others.  It 
does help to explain it - but it does not excuse it.

In any case, let me reiterate the point I made 
last night.  To maintain the status quo in growth 
(.6% to .7%), we must find a way to house about 
150 - 200 families each year in Latah County - 
that is a mathematical fact.  The challenge in 
all of this is that those families must have a 
way to feed and house themselves - they must have 
economic opportunity.  There is a desperate need 
for a viable economic engine that offers people 
JOBS.  And there are some very specific elements 
to those jobs - the output of those jobs must, in 
one way or another, attract income from outside 
of the county - we need to export product in 
exchange for financial capital - that is also a mathematical fact.

You note that "Numbers don't always tell the 
whole story and are often poor indicators of 
culture and atmosphere." I agree with you 
completely. And my numbers were not used to 
advance a culture or atmosphere.  But some 
numbers are very useful in helping us understand 
the challenges we face here in Latah 
County.  Among those are per capital income, 
property tax burden per capita, overall tax 
burden per capita and local per capita gross marginal product.

Finally, you state "BTW, people and number of 
houses don't automatically equate to favorable
economic growth.  In fact, quite often the 
opposite is true."  The fact is people and number 
of houses are an indication of economic potential or lack thereof.

Again, thanks for your comments.

>Jeff & Others,
>
>Glad to see you made it to the New Cities meeting tonight.  Jeff, it's
>unfortunate you did not stay around long enough to hear the former Rhode
>Island and current Moscow resident refute nearly everything you said about
>how great Rhode Island is.  The Rhode Island NUMBERS may be superb when
>compared to Latah County, but obviously Moscow's quality of life beats Rhode
>Island's hands down.  Numbers don't always tell the whole story and are
>often poor indicators of culture and atmosphere.
>
>B. J. Swanson
>
>BTW, people and number of houses don't automatically equate to favorable
>economic growth.  In fact, quite often the opposite is true.
>
>---------------------
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
>On Behalf Of Jeff Harkins
>Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2006 11:55 PM
>To: vision2020 at moscow.com
>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Unstable, Doomed Model Cannot Protect OurQuality
>of Life
>
>Joe and others,
>
>Thank you for your thoughtful and deliberate
>comments.  But I think you miss the points.................
>
>
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