Northam’s Affordable, Not-So-Ambitious Plan for Reviving Rural Virginia
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13 responses to “Northam’s Affordable, Not-So-Ambitious Plan for Reviving Rural Virginia”
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This is an important issue and I would hope that community leaders across Virginia from the Eastern Shore to the coal fields would press both candidates for governor for plans.
Higher education really focused on work related programs can be of help to prepare people to work at home or somewhere else. In the past many talented people have been drawn from rural Virginia to education and never went back. I know of one case of a coal miner who foour children all went to college and majored in a fields where they could get a job. None of the four went back to Grundy to live…there were few if any jobs for college educated people in that community then or now.
And, it will take aggressive efforts to make my country…Southwests Virginia more economically independent but it can be done.
I have spent a lot of my life involved in economic development and am anxious to see Virginia come up with a more aggressive approach.
I would hope to see a series of debates between the two candidates for Governor across SWVa this fall. -
re: ” Perhaps the best thing that can be said about this plan is that Northam isn’t making extravagant promises that he can’t keep. These narrow-bore proposals won’t exactly spark a rural Renaissance, but for the most part, they seem politically and fiscally feasible.”
And I agree.. and would point out that this is essentially McAuliffe’s approach also.
What this shows is that Northam is well aware of the issue – as well as intelligent enough to know the problem is a tough one and won’t be easily fixed.. and will require longer term , multi-prong.. incremental steps.. as opposed to promises of magical and totally unrealistic things…
Coal is not coming back. Trains that carry coal are going to shrink dramatically… low-skill human labor for manufacturing is going to be replaced by robotic automation which requires much higher skill workers.
Health care is a growing field but it does require the govt deal with how it will be paid for… but it will provide jobs in the localities… and others may have to move to more urban areas for jobs but in order to do that – they will need higher quality , more robust education…
Notice though that Northam is NOT promising govt entitlement programs to “help” the unemployed… etc.. AND he’s similarly not promising “massive tx cuts” as the panacea for Southwest /Rural Va problems..
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I’ve heard a lot dumber things for an economic revival program. This deserves some serious discussion.
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I get bulk email from various GA reps, and outgoing rep Dave Albo of Springfield gave a synopsis of the recent CNBC business friendliness rating (Va. back to top 10). Albo was saying that’s great, but we still have a problem in that Va. is #35 (among the worst) for high cost of doing business here. Albo suggested this made it hard to start a new business here. I wrote Albo to ask what are some of the factors that cause this?
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State by state cost of doing business calculations seem pretty bogus to me. How do the costs in Grundy compare with Arlington? I also wonder how much the cost of doing business matters vs the talent pool. SanFrancisco is frighteningly expensive but tech start ups spring up every day in SF.
Jim Bacon has always been on the right track with this – smart people want to live in nice places. Create nice places (read: walkable, clean, safe, etc) and smart people will show up. Look at Nashville, Austin, etc. They put a lot of effort into creating places people want to live and … smart people are moving there in droves.
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Below is one of the dumbest ideas, I’ve come across:
“Expanding renewable energy. Expanding solar generation is viable rural economic development strategy. Solar farms may create few permanent jobs, but they do increase the tax base, and they often pay streams of royalties to landowners (depending on how particular deals are structured).
“In my home county of Accomack on the Eastern Shore,” says Northam, “the commonwealth’s largest solar farm is in the process of being built, which will ultimately power several data centers owned by Amazon.”
Northam says he is committed to working with Virginia’s electric utilities and the General Assembly to “remove barriers that stand in the way of developing and expanding clean energy efforts.” Note the phrase “remove barriers.” Northam is not asking for new subsidies or tax breaks. Solar doesn’t need subsidies; market forces increasingly favor solar. Rather, Northam wants to remove obstacles that inhibit businesses, entrepreneurs and homeowners from building rooftop solar and solar farms.
Utility-scale solar like the Amazon Web Services farms in Accomack need little help — Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power have ample incentive to deploy solar on a large scale. The barriers exist at two levels: local zoning codes and state regulatory policy. Local governments need to make their zoning codes more solar friendly. Meanwhile, state lawmakers need to craft “net metering” legislation that balances the interests of independent solar producers with those of electric utilities who maintain the electric power grid that everyone depends upon.”
Imagine VA’s Eastern Shore covered with seas of swirling metal blades and vast deserts of hot radiant metal panels, having been designated as the dumping ground for an environmental Hell.
This proposal remains me of the refrain “The Romans desolate our lands and call it peace.”
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“Imagine VA’s Eastern Shore covered with seas of swirling metal blades and vast deserts of hot radiant metal panels, having been designated as the dumping ground for an environmental Hell.” That image resonates — you could inspire a new exhibit at the Hirschorn with it!
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You are quite a comic, Arbar.
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Northam is a typical Virginia Democrat. Pander to the “Gimme Dats” to get votes. None of his ideas will make a bit of a difference.
Ocean City, MD is just over 4 sq mi of land. It has a year round population of about 7,000 people but swells to 340,000 vacationers on summer weekends. It attracts 8 million visitors per year. There’s nowhere on Virginia’s Eastern Shore that could be zoned and developed as a beach vacation town? Really? Remember, we’re talking about 4 sq mi.
As for southwest Virginia – find me one other similar place in the United States where rural economic development has worked. Please don’t come back with Hilo, Hawaii or any other tropical paradises. Please don’t come back with tiny ski resort towns abutting 11,000 ft tall mountains.
You want to do something useful in southwest Virginia? Legalize casino gambling in that part of the state. It costs nothing and would bring people and jobs.
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I once read somewhere Virginia is 49th least likely state to approve gambling after Utah, or something like that.
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“You want to do something useful in southwest Virginia? Legalize casino gambling in that part of the state. It costs nothing and would bring people and jobs.” Helluva good idea.
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yup.. and include legalized POT!!! Helluva good idea
” smart people want to live in nice places. Create nice places (read: walkable, clean, safe, etc) and smart people will show up. Look at Nashville, Austin, etc. They put a lot of effort into creating places people want to live and … smart people are moving there in droves.”
and there you have the essential difference between the two spheres of thought as to what the govt role should be or not!
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[…] week I offered a point-by-point review of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ralph Northam’s plan to revitalize rural Virginia. In rough […]
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