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OOOPS found a glaring editorial error. This one is
corrected.<br><br>
At 09:24 AM 3/3/2006, you wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">BJ,<br><br>
Thank you for your comments. <br><br>
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 Rhode Island. 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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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
" ...<b><i>but obviously Moscow's quality of life beats Rhode<br>
Island's hands down.</i></b>"<br><br>
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.<br><br>
In any case, let me reiterate the point I made last night. To
maintain the <b><i>status quo</i></b> 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 <b><i>JOBS</i></b>. 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.<br><br>
You note that "<b><i>Numbers don't always tell the whole story and
are often poor indicators of culture and atmosphere</i></b>." 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.
<br><br>
Finally, you state "<b><i>BTW, people and number of houses don't
automatically equate to favorable<br>
economic growth. In fact, quite often the opposite is
true</i></b>." The fact is people and number of houses are an
indication of economic potential or lack thereof.<br><br>
Again, thanks for your comments.<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">Jeff & Others,<br><br>
Glad to see you made it to the New Cities meeting tonight. Jeff,
it's<br>
unfortunate you did not stay around long enough to hear the former
Rhode<br>
Island and current Moscow resident refute nearly everything you said
about<br>
how great Rhode Island is. The Rhode Island NUMBERS may be superb
when<br>
compared to Latah County, but obviously Moscow's quality of life beats
Rhode<br>
Island's hands down. Numbers don't always tell the whole story and
are<br>
often poor indicators of culture and atmosphere.<br>
<br>
B. J. Swanson<br><br>
BTW, people and number of houses don't automatically equate to
favorable<br>
economic growth. In fact, quite often the opposite is true.
<br><br>
---------------------<br><br>
-----Original Message-----<br>
From: vision2020-bounces@moscow.com [
<a href="mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com" eudora="autourl">
mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com</a>]<br>
On Behalf Of Jeff Harkins<br>
Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2006 11:55 PM<br>
To: vision2020@moscow.com<br>
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Unstable, Doomed Model Cannot Protect
OurQuality<br>
of Life<br><br>
Joe and others,<br><br>
Thank you for your thoughtful and deliberate <br>
comments. But I think you miss the points.................<br><br>
<br>
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