Continuing the theme set by the Site Admin, I'll add/clarify the few quotes I have in the Blog takes critical eye toward MDC story in the MRT.
..."Ospurt," said he started blogging to be a neutral provider of information. When the 4A tax was considered in 2001, he voted for it believing Midland needed to be pursuing economic development in the same way many of its competitors were."I was looking at it like every other Midlander in the beginning with hope," [Ospurt] said. "Then there were no results."
When the 4A tax came up for the third vote I initially didn't like the idea of a new tax to lure businesses contrary to their needs and market forces, but the proponents were able to point at the Cingular/AT&T call center, the Family Dollar warehouse and some vague references to unknown firms that passed over Midland because we didn't have an economic development fund. I reasoned, it looks like it is working elsewhere, and Midland needs to compete, maybe my previous no votes were wrong.
After that I didn't think much about the MDC and local politics until 2005 when I became involved with the City's Generation WOW committee, which had the task of helping city leaders, and the MDC understand the needs of young professionals. I was blogging about National Politics in various places at that time, so I knew the on line terrain. It was the speakers and other committee members that introduced me to the MRT's MyOpenForum and Jessica's Well as we discussed on line places people might find during a Google Search of Midland.
Like the MRT at the time, MyOpenForum and Jessica's Well had good discussions, but they were very thin on information that could be used to back up arguments or analyze the effectiveness of policies. There were lots of general quotes from both sides, with little substance. I knew where this information was available, and with an original intent to just fill in the information gaps and correct outright falsehoods, I stated looking at the numbers and outcomes and started to question the return on investment, campaign promises and the role of local government in business matters. Oddly enough, it wasn't the MDC that got me on Jessica's Well, it was EZ Rider.
Like the Site Admin, I hold nothing against those who have served on the MDC board over the years. I consider many if them some of the very best Midland Minded individuals, but, the track record is hard to ignore. Their own admissions of frustration with just getting to the point where they are incenting businesses only to have the oil industry up so much they have to look at housing and employee recruitment, then to switch back, before finally deciding, at least through their recent deals, to just incent the oil and gas industry in the biggest expansion of activity in my lifetime. That just seems hard far anyone to defend in light of the original intent of the MDC.
When I talk about "no results" I look at things like the Bureau of Labor Statics database which shows Midland has expanded non-farm payrolls by nearly 15,000 workers since September of 2001. If the MDC accounts for 900 of those employees, is around 6% of employment growth over the last decade success for the amount of money taken out of the economy?
Is a company that cuts its workforce in half, or closes shop soon after they meet their development contract obligations success? Is a requirement to make capital improvements to a property that don't translate into an increased property valuation at that location a success? Is multiple amendments to development deals because employment didn't rise to contract levels a success? Is saying Countrywide, of all companies, taught you how to structure development deals to reward jobs that got created on the back end smart, much less a success?
"Countrywide said, 'Why don't we come to you with jobs created and you give us incentive based on what we did,'" Billingsley said. "We had finally hit upon a formula that worked."
It isn't just Midland's MDC, this is happening with ED bodies around the Country and with the nation as a whole. How many billions have we spent trying to fight market forces nationally with marginal results and calls for even more money to get us over the hump in industries like banking, housing, auto manufacturing, solar power and wind power?
$47 Million is a lot to take out of the local economy over a decade based on a promise to the voters to diversify, create economic stability and produce returns on investment that reduce the burden of property taxes on homeowners.
Are the ED tax election promises the measure of success? I think they are. If they aren't, the citizens of Midland need to be consulted through an election to determine if the new direction of economic development meets current community need and goals.