October, 2006

Dave Claborn

We’re a month or so out from the November election and it’s not surprising that candidates are running on economic development platforms.  Laying blame or taking credit for a given set of economic circumstances is common election year fodder.  Separating the wheat from the chaff can be a challenge even for the most politically aware voter. 

Candidates often claim credit for particular projects, as if they alone were responsible for the bricks and mortar and jobs associated with that project.  Or a candidate may claim that he or she will bring “high paying jobs” to town, leaving the impression that few exist currently. 

Working in the community’s economic development office lends a certain perspective to those claims and counter claims.  It has been my experience that no single individual can claim credit for any particular project.  The process that results in a new plant going up, a new company coming to town, a new store opening, or a new development taking shape is a complex choreography with dozens or even hundreds of individuals playing roles.  Is there a role for elected officials?  Certainly—primarily in creating a political climate that invites investment by companies looking to grow and expand.  That means making sure public offices are accessible, information is available, and licensing and permitting are streamlined.  In some cases, it means that tools such as tax abatement, job creation programs, and financing programs are in place.  It means acting with honor and not causing headlines that throw a negative light on the community.  It means having adequate public infrastructure extended to areas where development is happening or is likely to happen.  It means providing resources for a robust economic development marketing effort and smooth coordination between all levels of government.  As coaches often say, there is no “I” in “team.”  It always takes a team to produce a successful project.

Candidates’ promises to “bring high paying jobs” begs certain questions.  The first being, what is a high paying job?  And the corollary, what qualifies someone to get one?  A discerning voter might also question the assumption that none exist in the local area at present.  Whirlpool is in the process of adding close to 600 new jobs to their workforce here in Marion.  At present, the company has 62 openings for managers, engineers, skilled and semi-skilled workers.  The lowest pay rate for any of those positions is over nineteen dollars an hour, plus benefits.  Weekend assemblers will make thirteen dollars an hour for two twelve hour shifts.  Weekday assemblers make over sixteen dollars an hour, plus benefits.  The Marion Whirlpool plant employs over 80 engineers, in the $70,000/year range and up.  And that’s just Whirlpool.

Many of the companies arriving here within the last ten years have grown substantially.  U.S. Yachiyo, for example, started in 1999 with 90 associates.  Today they’re at 150.  As I write this, a Marion County jobs fair is underway with 45 employers seeking good employees. 

Having the jobs available is half the equation.  The other half is having applicants who are qualified to take them.  That means people who are educated, show up for work, and can pass a drug test.  Gone are the days when you could expect to earn a solid middle-class income without at least a high school education.  You can’t find those jobs here.  You can’t find them in Columbus.  They no longer exist.  A discerning voter might ask political candidates what they’re doing today to provide good jobs.  If a candidate currently hires workers, how much do they pay them? 

A job is really a contract, between employer and employee.  Employers need skills, talent, labor, flexibility.  Applicants who bring more of those things to their job can expect to take more home in their paychecks. 

Perhaps in this political season, it wouldn’t hurt to pass politicians’ economic development claims through a filter that recognize the first job most candidates are trying to create is their own.