Moving Right Along...

In my travels, and having lived and worked in different places,
one of the things I became acutely aware of is the difference
in some of the local cultures here in the USA. For example,
business in the NYC region relies heavily on social networks
where it comes to making agreements and generally doing
business with one another. The exception, that’s to be
expected, was in aerospace/defense where many suppliers
and the customer weren't part of the region, socially or
economically, in which the manufacturer functioned. To be
sure, all the people who worked there, from the CEO or local
equivalent, down to the guy who swept the parking lot, were
all part of the local social structure. But once at work, from a
business standpoint, local considerations didn't make it past the
front door.

I found Chicago to be very open and accepting. If anyone is
starting a new business, make sure your customers are either in
Chicago or some other region that’s similarly open to new
business relationships. And that’s the crux of the matter
explaining the failure of midwestern transplants to the New York
region. I saw many of them come and go when I lived at
Princeton. Typically they would last about a year, then they went
home. I don’t think they caught on to the way business is done in
the NY area. The few I talked to in what might be considered an
“exit survey” had no idea why they failed, but in the end, the
reason was that they didn't manage to break into the right social
circles in time to make a difference in their business strategies.
Migration to the west coast, on the other hand, proved a great
advantage to most transplants from the midwest. On the west
coast, midwesterners are the “go-getters.” Having heard plenty
on the topic from a  daughter and son-in-law in California
extended my knowledge base on this issue.

Because we have such a small population here in Iron County, a
set of circumstances similar to the NYC region exists here. If
you’re not enjoyed by the “in crowd” (and there’s only one here
in Iron County) you might as well whistle Dixie and look for
friendships wherever it is you go as a snowbird, you’re not
finding any meaningful socialization here.

Now that might sound as though I’m jealous or have hurt feelings.
Let me assure all readers that isn't the case at all. I have friends
up and down the east coast where I worked for decades, as well
as in the Chicago region, some overseas, and a few locally too. I
don’t need the local snobs in my life. My mother volunteered in
her community in her day, and found that the lasting friendships
were few and far between while some accused her of “social
climbing” at their expense. Now that, my friends, was jealousy
and hurt feelings arising out of their own failures to progress as
well as the best of them were able to. I am fortunate to be a
whole lot more  pragmatic than that and my world is a lot larger
than that of the majority of the local population. On the other
hand, there’s nothing wrong with living in a smaller world if
that’s what’s available to you and that’s what you want.

Moving right along, what this region needs badly is someone
somewhat like me, probably a lot better at business than I ever
was, who doesn't want to get caught up in/with local social
considerations, and is a lot younger than I am. Hire that
someone, and let that person or group run with their visions for
progress and the financial success of this county and region.
And for heavens sakes, don’t get this sort of initiative get
mixed up with adjoining counties, or we’ll end up with the short
straw again.

Sit down with that person and decide on a set of parameters
that are in stone. Which do we need, a railroad spur or a locally
based trucking company that can haul local products to a nearby
railway spur and load trains. Given the infrastructure we presently
have, including availability of utilities, roads, proximity to
railheads, and any other important considerations too numerous
to list here, where would the proposed heavy or light
manufacturing complex be best placed? Then let them run with
their mission. Don’t forget that we’re competing with New York
State that offers 10 years with no taxes for new businesses.

But I can hear the clique clamoring already, “I have this piece of
land….”

Forget it! The decision must be made by the individual we
(that’s right, all of us is “we”) hire for this position without
any consideration other than what’s best for all of us. And
that is going to be the problem with every decision, and that
impoverished mindset contributes heavily to the depressed
economy we live in today. Heaven forbid someone in the
clique get ahead while others, similarly situated, tread water.

Join me, come stand in God’s sunshine for a while, you’ll feel
better. And then realize that even someone else’s gain opens
new opportunities for you! They’re done, and you’re just
starting.

Well you now have the gist of what my current letter to the
editor intended for publication in this week’s Reporter is
about, above and beyond what I was able to provide in the
300 allotted words. Whether or not it ends up in the paper,
you were able to read it all here, so you have an advantage
already that’s denied to the others.

Letter to the editor follows:

-------------------------------------------------------------

The hospital is being taken over by Aspirus after losing about
$1.2 million in 2012. The clique that runs Iron County has
failed to run the hospital efficiently. While that group contains
most successful people in the county, their management and
entrepreneurial skill set is size-limited to the small businesses
they run well. Needless to say, it’s a subset of the same clique
that’s similarly run the EDC for decades.

Yes, we've had outsiders move into Iron County and
become part of that group. But they've done so at the
expense of abandoning the principles of success they
learned elsewhere in exchange for local social
acceptance.

The hospital is being taken over by a group that has no
apparent intention of becoming similarly localized. They
will eventually get our hospital back to supporting itself.
So the lesson is that if we are to get this county
economically viable again, we need to bring in people
with the necessary skills and give them a free hand to
achieve the sort of success this region had in earlier
days.

How can we achieve that given a non-existent budget?

1) Combine school districts, saving at least $ half-million
annually. Plow that money back into courses teaching
manufacturing skills beginning with welding, the most
needed trade in this region today. 2) Eliminate all
redundant municipalities, saving $1 to $2 million (or
more) annually, and spend that on hiring people who
can get industries to move here, assuring employment
and the economic growth that’s needed.

Of course nothing will happen if the single-issue
folks remain couch potatoes instead of holding our
elected officials’ feet to the fire every month at
meetings. Giving the EDC “another year” to waste
time and money is a well practiced decision to
procrastinate yet again.

Bill Vajk