Erie's economy: a mixed bag

The empirical evidence of the state of Erie's economy would show that while on the surface, there are signs of strength, digging deeper uncovers the smell of rot.

On the positive side, GE's near record locomotive orders is all good, as well as Nick Scott's desire to again grow his tourist mecca, Splash Lagoon. Although I think that basing a government's budget on gambling revenue is ridiculous and morally wrong, you can't deny that spending $184 million on what's probably the biggest construction project in Erie County history, Presque Isle Downs, would have a least a short-term impact on wages and jobs.

However, here are the tell-tale signs that we are hurting: plant closings, boarded up retail, even in "coveted Millcreek;" layoffs or zero-hiring's at places like Times Publishing, or NextMedia because readership, viewers and listeners are all in decline, causing ad revenue to drop.

The true story is that population and income is stagnant, has been for decades. There is nearly no growth in buying power; we as a population cannot keep up our spending as costs increase, because our wages don't increase fast enough. We aren't making stuff that people outside of Erie need like we used to, so that dollars generated elsewhere aren't being infused into our economy. We have little knowledge-based industry here, which is really the present and future for the entire American economy.

This is one of the reason why I'm so hype about a region-based comprehensive approach to government, taxes, business retention, and development. There are hopeful signs, but the major paradigm shift of how we operate every day has yet to be embraced.