Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:03:46 -0400
From: Karen Crowell
Subject: Amenities and development
Companies who are looking to hire people generally want employees who
are likely to stay on the job long enough for the company to benefit
from what it cost to train them and give them experience. People who
have close ties to a community and who enjoy the kind of amenities that
were mentioned earlier are not likely to pull up stakes and move to
another location. On the other hand, companies that can rely on an
endless supply of unskilled labor don’t have to concern themselves
about job satisfaction or the quality of life in the communities in
which they do business. Any taxes they pay or contributions they are
asked to make to cover the cost of these amenities are just a burden
that cuts into their profits, because they don’t have any long-term
investment in the people or the community. Franchises and branches of
big companies that do business in multiple locations also tend to fall
into this category. It’s all too easy for them to pull up stakes and
leave because they have plenty of other locations to choose from. So
yes, we /do/ need to be careful in terms of who we attract in the way
of businesses. We need to make sure that they are just as committed to
making this community a desirable place to live as those of us who live
here.
Many of us were not born and raised here, but we call it home. We
actually /chose/ to live here, and because we intend to stay here for
years to come, some of us have a deep commitment to the future of this
community. We aren’t asserting /our/ right to sell /our/ property to
anyone /we/ choose. We don’t /want /to sell out; we are here to stay.
And we aren’t the ones that the developers are cozying up to. The
developers are going after the ones who want to leave, the ones who
want to make a quick sale. So those of us who “stand in the way of”
development are really just standing in the way of the promise of easy
money. And those who say that we shouldn’t stand in the way of
development are really just saying don’t stand in /my/ way. If you are
truly committed to a better future, then you /should/ be willing to
stand up to anyone who wants to make a profit at your expense. Do you
really think the developers want to pay for our clean water, our
schools, our teachers, our police and fire protection, our roads and
utilities and all the services that are in demand when you build all
these houses? Developers are in the business of building and selling
houses, period. So if we don’t stand up to developers, and we don’t
stand up to lobbyists in the real estate industry who just want to make
a nice profit buying and selling houses, too, and if we don’t make the
people who actually buy the houses pay taxes to cover the costs of all
the new services we are expected to provide them with, then guess who
gets stuck with the bill for all this “development”? And who walks
away with all the money in their pockets?
No, as I said once before, change is inevitable, growth is optional.
And uncontrolled growth is like a cancer. It destroys its host. I
don’t want to see the good qualities of this county in which we live
destroyed by greed and the false promises of a better life for some but
not all.
Karen Crowell
Chatham County resident