Old School Economics:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/magazine/27wwln-lede-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine&oref=slogin

Perhaps Buffalo needs fewer lawyers and more choreographers?

Hmmmm………….

Democracy is a responsibility

That’s sure true, and it’s a big part of America’s problem today in my opinion. We settle for mediocrity.

I think, though, you put togther a nice plank in a platform there. not like what I was trying to get you to do, not at all.

From the people:

- Demand better from politicians. Stop wasting votes on status quo candidates who pander to the remnants of a blue collar ethos that has slowly melted away. Stop pining for entitlements from the government and instead demand your elected leaders put forth a progressive vision and work towards it. Sure, these are esoteric concepts, but before a glacier can be moved, you need to get people to agree that it needs to be moved. It is the ultimate horse to be put forth before the cart. Without a sea change in the collective mindset of local people about what government is and what it should do, little will change. Democracy is a responsibility, if it is to work, we need to make it work.

From the city:

- Lobby Albany for change. Band together with upstate cities to demand change from Albany. Round up the Mayors, Supervisors, Councils, and Town Boards across upstate and form a coalition to create change. All should contribute funding to lobby Albany and Washington for reform, tax relief, and smarter business governance.

- Leverage synergies to manage shrinkage, land bank, reduce costs, lower city property taxes, reach out to civic organizations, put police on the streets, reform zoning laws, implement smart code, work with regional leaders to create one master plan for economic development, advocate for shared services and create economies of scale, implement transparency regulations for all government departments, move to online services, offer business incentives, etc.

Certainly there are macro reasons for why industry in Buffalo and many Northeastern cities has migrated to points south and overseas, but there are incremental changes that we can make on a local, regional, and statewide level to reverse the flow. Incremental changes are needed and once enough of those are achieved, macro trends can be influenced. We still operate as if blue collar jobs will return and we support regional plans which openly advocate for their return.

Where is the marketing and outreach built around new economy businesses? Where are the plans to leverage our resources, IT infrastructure, and location on an international border?

Often times, we hear that these activities are too expensive or are impossible to achieve due to circumstances beyond our control. Or the groups advocating for them are politically disconnected or are working from differing agendas. Fuck that noise. The Mayor of this town needs to LEAD and not sit passively by while other cities implement the plans that will continue to draw our people and businesses. The people of this town need to demand he do it and actively join in the process.

Change is hard fucking work and we all need to get going on making it happen.

I think sometimes we confuse the issue. Other rust belt towns have enacted policies aimed at dealing with smart downsizing- including consolidation of services under various brands of regionalism. I’m not saying it’s a good idea to be anticompetitive, or to stop trying to attract new people and business. I’m saying that, one can accept and manage a period of decline that might be part of a broader trend that’s out of your hands. When and if that period of decline reverses, you can worry about the cranes that come with.

To me, *thats* the horse before the cart.