Professor and theorist Richard Florida has written a thought provoking cover story for the March, 2009 issue of The Atlantic titled How The Crash Will Remake America . Some of his visions are relatively generic, including increased emphasis on public transit and the continuing trend of urban renewal. But many are more disconcerting. He believes the home ownership emphasis of the American dream should become a thing of the past, advocating banks to carry on with foreclosures, then offer to rent the properties back to the foreclosed individuals or families at the going market rate. The banks as landlords? I'm not so sure. Would they care enough to maintain properties the same way an owner occupant would? My home owner associations can't get the banks out here just to cut grass, let alone more complicated outdoor tasks. And let's not even think about them needing to get people to do anything inside the house.
I'm forever hearing that one part of our crisis is that we don't make anything anymore. He sees that trend continuing and potentially causing deeper pain for the Rust Belt manufacturing communities unless they're able to re-invent themselves, like Pittsburgh has been able to do. He sounds positive on financial centers like New York and Charlotte, NC. which have both experienced some pain, but are more likely to stabilize.
That part of this leads me to think about South Florida, where I live. I married a Hispanic girl, so I'm no raging racist. But I still bemoan the loss of things more "gringo" as they've been replaced, one element at a time, by businesses and attractions catering more to Hispanics, blacks, or Caribbeans. He confirms what we already know about this area being the finance capital for Latin America. Certainly, geography has a lot to do with that, but I also believe the sheer numbers of Hispanics here is a factor in that as well. Could that fact help soften what threatens to be a difficult, deep slowdown?
He also mentions that the energy producing areas of Texas and Oklahoma have fared better so far than most areas. In my vision, that changes. Desperation always incubates innovation. It's my hope that, at this critical and late hour, we have a serious investment in research and capital that gets us off the internal combustion engine and on to some truly renewable energy source(s). Something that won't consolidate the benefits to particular regions of the country, or, especially, to certain areas of other continents. This could provide a wholly new economic driver that would have virtually everlasting economic and security benefits.
I'll link to the piece again here. But be warned that it's quite long, but worth it, I believe, if you have the time.
Also, Mr. Florida recently did an interview with National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation about his piece that I'll link to here. It runs about 30 minutes and says many of the same things. One moment I found interesting comes toward the end where he agrees with a caller's friend who happens to be an urban planner who believes that today's far flung, recently built suburbs are tomorrow's slums.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I printed the article out to read at a later time. But I was interested in your comment, 'loss of things more "gringo" as they've been replaced, one element at a time, by businesses and attractions catering more to Hispanics, blacks, or Caribbeans.'
ReplyDeleteI'll focus on the Spanish language aspect of business. Take a typical business owner, no particular political or cultural agenda. For argument sakes, let's say his business is 80% 'gringo.' When he thinks of how he could improve sales, the most obvious possibility is getting more of a non-gringo crowd. So he adds a sales clerk who speaks Spanish. Unfortunately for the business owner, the lady has a heavy accent when she speaks in English--but she's honest and married to his cousin, so he keeps her.
Now one of core-gringo-customers comes to the store and can barely understand the lady. He leaves fuming. He runs into you at a dinner party, 'you never believe what happened ... I'll never go back.'
Classic case of unintended consequences. Business owner was not trying to make a statement or upset his regulars, just maybe bump up sales a bit. Customer frequented store because he liked the non-Hispanic atmosphere. Owner assumed he just had better prices.
For this scenario not to consistently recur, a business owner would have to realize and be OK with the fact that a big part of the appeal to his customers is that he does not cater to Hispanics.
But that type of business owner - with an agenda not driven by the bottom line - is not the profile of most small business owners, who typically have to be very flexible to survive.
I'm guessing that's what leads how Gringo-flight ensues. No bad guys, no master plan, just Adam Smith's invisible hand. Meanwhile in Ft Myers, there was an opening ...
Sure, that's a gringo flight catalyst. And, like you said, purely unintended. Also, never underestimate the racist element as well. Many people like to see faces that look like theirs. But isn't that also a large part of why South Florida is so attractive to Hispanics immigrating to the U.S., because they can maintain a lot of their language and culture among similar faces? Again, neither good or bad, just reality.
ReplyDeleteAnd hey, do we agree that Adam Smith would be apoplectic if he were alive today?
Poor dude gets blamed for everything
ReplyDelete