Thursday, December 07, 2006

We Got It Good

I realize that many are worried about the ramifications of growth but the bottom line is that most communities would love to have the problems that we are dealing with. The front page article in today's Sun outlines the opportunities and challenges that BRAC presents us. Personally I think we are up for the challenge. If we can tone down the rhetoric and work together to find that ever elusive middle ground between those who want to stop all growth and those who want to "pave paradise and put up a parking lot" we will become the envy of the nation.

And...given that we are are also facing a budget shortfall, this projected growth in employment is very good news indeed.

Think about it. We have a state that is growing with "knowledge workers" instead of a state that is bleeding from the drain of an aging population coupled with the loss of manufacturing jobs.

We got it good.

3 comments:

Hayduke said...

An interesting piece of information that I just learned yesterday is that the 5,500-some BRAC jobs being created at Ft. Meade will actually be outnumbered by the 6,000 new jobs slated for NSA, which are expected over a shorter time frame. Unfortunately, I don't have a link to the information -- it came to me via a popular local listserv I'm on -- but this story from last year mentions the NSA wrinkle.

wordbones said...

hayduke,

The growth at NSA started before BRAC. One of the most significant changes was the mandate to move the lions share of the defense contractors off base. This is what fueled the explosive growth at the National Business Park.

Anonymous said...

Good post WB

"If we can tone down the rhetoric and work together to find that ever elusive middle ground between those who want to stop all growth and those who want to "pave paradise and put up a parking lot" we will become the envy of the nation."

You have said it all right here.