Soapbox: At year’s end, time to reflect, question and prioritize

Each fall grants us the opportunity to exhale a long sigh after a harried year, take stock of the past several months and look forward to the next year.

From a business point of view, 2009 is a year many will be glad to see take its place in the history books. Commerce, tax revenues and property values all have been pressured by market corrections, which analysts had predicted for many years. Times such as these offer the opportunity for reflection and prioritization.

No one in mid-Missouri or any other area in the U.S. has escaped the reduction in sales activity, manufacturing or government funding. Personal, business and public budgets are tight and highly scrutinized.

Only during difficult times do we evaluate the programs and services governments provide. Basic services are preserved while amenities such as parks, trails, arts funding, social and tax relief programs suffer the brunt of fiscal constraint. These are prudent and forthright responses to the economic conditions. Creativity and resourcefulness are born during these times, not during times when we are flush with cash.

It’s been encouraging to see many businesses working hard to avoid layoffs. Reduced hours and periodic furloughs might not be welcomed by employees, yet most seem to understand that the alternative is much more life-changing.

As a community, the current malaise has drawn clear attention to our economic base. For several years observers have warned us that our economic prowess was slipping. In particular, we have unduly relied on sales tax revenues for funding governmental operations at both the city and county levels. The paradox we are thus confronted with is that consumer spending is down and most likely to remain that way for at least another year.

In regard to sustaining corrected spending patterns, it would be helpful if consumer spending were flat an additional year. We Americans must learn not to spend more than we earn and that saving is a virtue. Baby boomers, yuppies and the lettered generations have yet to thoroughly grasp this lesson.

The good news is we are learning. Consumer debt is declining while the savings rate is increasing. The government will likewise need to learn how to reprogram. Locally, every city and county service has been thoroughly reviewed and prioritized. We have avoided widespread layoffs through staff attrition and allowed empty positions to remain open. But the revenue/spending side of the equation is only half of the self-analysis necessary for our community.

Economic development, particularly development that provides technical and skilled job opportunities, is essential. Given that approximately 60 percent of the growth in our population comes from within, we need a commensurate level of job growth to meet the employment needs of our community.

Sadly, the average wage in Columbia continues to slip. Technical job development is essentially zero, and the number of individuals employed below their skill level is increasing.

Additionally, we must recognize that even in a community such as ours that is laden with higher education, not every high school graduate will go to college. Thus, the need for technical and skilled training grows. We must diversify our education, research, medical and insurance base in order to accommodate a broader range of employment opportunities.

So, as we question spending priorities, we must also reevaluate our economic development goals and efforts. TIF financing of projects and other tax abatement tools must be reserved for the cultivation of technical and skilled jobs rather than subsidizing minimum-wage positions. Our public budgets testify to the need to preserve base revenues in favor of this type of job development.

The rewards of more balanced job opportunities will be a reversal of declining economic indicators, a reduction in crime, a restoration of government revenues and a stabilization of the local economy so it is less dependent on consumer over-spending.