Northeast Ohio Town Meeting - September 16

[AllanY2525]

Youngstown, the Mahoning Valley, and Northeast Ohio all need J-O-B-S.  Not the kind of jobs
available at Wal-Mart, etc making "McMinimum McWage" but good, decent paying jobs
with benefits that will pay salaries that are high enough for folks to live on and support their
families, become home owners, tax payers, etc.

From a financial standpoint new and better paying jobs will do more to get the area back
on its feet than just about any other kind of government program going.  Local and county
governments MUST have a sufficient tax base in order for them to operate the way they
should be and provide the necessary public services - ie: Fire and Rescue, Police, Schools,
Street repairs and maintenance, etc, that any decent community needs to have.

I think that Youngstown, Mahoning County, etc should be doing more to promote the area -
on a NATIONAL SCALE - to businesses that could benefit from relocating here. Businesses
in other states that are considering out-sourcing their jobs to India, or wherever, should
be approached and informed of the low cost of living here in the Mahoning Valley, the large
amounts of available industrial space, the fact that Youngstown is halfway between
Cleveland - Pittsburgh - Chicago - New York City,  the fact that we STILL have working
Railroad lines,  the fact that Real Estate is CHEAP here,  the fact that Ohio is a BORDER
state - and the potential for International Trade with Canada via Lake Erie, etc.

We need some "Corporate Recruiters" who can audit the business sector on a national
level, identify businesses in far more expensive areas of the country and aggressively pursue
the "recruitment" of those businesses that would be willing to relocate - or at least open a
new division - here in the area.

I feel that Northeastern Ohio is NOT getting the word out loud enough and clear enough to the
rest of the country.  The Steel Mills flourished here because all of the resources needed for
making steel were ALREADY HERE in the local area (coal, iron ore, waterways, available
labor force, etc).

We need a comprehensive audit of ALL the resources this area has to offer - and an
active and AGGRESIVE marketing strategy to make the rest of the country aware of
what Youngstown and Northeastern Ohio have to offer.

All of the above being said, Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley are in somewhat of
a "Catch-22" in that they MUST cleanup the area, rebuild their school system, etc in order
to RETAIN people and businesses that might be considering the prospect of locating
(or relocating) here.  So far, I think they're doing a pretty darned good job on the
rebuilding part.  The city is starting to change for the better.  The downtown is looking
the best it has looked in many, MANY years.  The construction and reconstruction of
our schools is moving right along.  The bridges and roads around I-680 are being rebuilt.

Oh, and Rick - I APPLAUD your announcement a while back that you were moving
your foundry business to Youngstown.  EVERY business that we can get to move
here is another fresh "brick" that will help us all to collectively tuck, point and "re-mortar"
the once-strong foundations of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley.

[Rick Rowlands]

Some of the conclusions reached by this Voices and Choices group are the typical liberal responses you would expect.  Their answer for almost everything as shown in one of their publications involves spending more government money and creating more programs. They did have a couple of good ideas about regionalization and reducing the fragmentation of local government entities however.

Here is an interesting quote from their preliminary report:

"Increasing Racial Inclusions & Income Equality
I. Reduce racial isolation by increasing affordable housing throughout the region
Option 1. Improve residential diversity by using public funds to build more scattered site, single-family homes for low-income
families throughout the region.
Option 2. Offer a regional set of low-income housing tax credits as an incentive to develop affordable housing not only in inner
city neighborhoods but throughout the region."

Option 1 is very disturbing.  I can think of no better way to ruin a neighborhood than to introduce public housing into it.  What the hell are these people thinking?  There is no good reason why low income families need to be subsidized to live in mid to upper level income neighborhoods.  If they want to work to attain the income level that will buy a house in that neighborhood then that is fine, but to put a low income family in a house that is practically given to them in the midst of hard working homeowners will cause nothing but problems.

The way to solve racial isolation and income equality is not to continue to throw government money at failed ideas.  My god how much of our tax money must be wasted on low income housing before we learn that it has never done one bit of good.  The best thing to do is remove the subsidies and allow these people to stand on their own two feet. 

[jay]

Northeast Ohio Regional
Town Meeting

Saturday, September 16
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Rhodes Arena
University of Akron
Akron, Ohio

Please register online at
www.voiceschoices.org

The Youngstown bus leaves at 7:30 a.m.
from Youngstown State University
5th Avenue, M-26 Parking Lot
5th Avenue and Lincoln Avenue