MINDEV

Wednesday September the 28th 2005, Plain Dealer published on its front page two articles on stagnant growth, and “million dollar homes”. The “Growth” and “million dollar home” article clearly showed (1.) that the cause of Cleveland’s decline is “Stagnant Growth”, and (2) the effect of that decline “is lower real estate values” in Cleveland). Bravo to the PD staffers and editors for writing those stories and for hopefully beginning a dialogue about the cure for Cleveland’s decline. The article on stagnant growth defined the most pressing problem, facing our region. A growing economy creates jobs, and provides funding for public services, school funding and social services. It is heretical to say, but “trickle down economics work” There are no employee’s without employers and thus will all better off if the economy is growing. It is time the region embraced pro growth economic policies, as the solution to the regions problems. It was encouraging that in 2005 the PD began to write about the lack of growth. It is discouraging that in 2011 the region is not yet beginning to address the issue. Six years of Mayoral debates, State of the City address’s and articles such as Brent Larkins recent “Bumper Crop of vacant office buildings” have failed to ignite a widespread effort to stop the outflow of jobs. Our City is being destroyed by lack of initiative and resolve to fix this problem and it is mired in the endless whirlpool of consensus building which delivers nothing. It is as if the region is more concerned with talking not doing. The first step in solving a problem is recognizing it, and the PD did that very well in the September 2005, front page article on stagnant growth. More articles such as the recent Larkin piece, describing our malaise, would be the wrong approach. I would like to suggest to the PD another way. Why not a series articles as thoroughly researched as the recently published “stagnant Growth” stories on the solutions to stagnant growth and a declining real estate market? Imagine the enthusiasm the news room would have if young reporters were given the opportunity to research what has worked in other communities and advocate for the adoption of those growth based solutions to our regions problems. I can envision a “Reverse Brain Drain” approach. “Assignment Solutions” could be the tag line and the PD would be the envy of its peer set as article after article cited solutions adopted by other communities to solve their slow growth problems. At the very least it would provide young idealistic reporters with a shot at helping their community and maybe even garnering a trip or two to some more exotic locales to do the research. The senior editors would get relief from the same problem driven reporting style, which has to be depressing to research and write, much less read day after day. Why not challenge the politicians to start solving the stagnant growth, by offering the PD staffers an opportunity to do first class research on the solutions? :shoot: