Peering through lace curtains, an irreverent opinionated compendium of what's interesting upstate.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

The Soul Of The Community


A new Gallup Poll,
Soul of the Community,
explores what makes a community a desirable place to live, what draws people to stake their future in the community, and if communities with more attached residents are better off.

Posted by North Fifth Street at 10/01/2009
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7 comments:

Biographical Outline said...

This is fascinatng, valuable material. It confirms studies that assert cultural and educational as well as social amenities and opportunities are what drive community enthusiasm. And let me not forget what the Gallup results are dealing with -- the intersection of attachment and economic opportunity. My belief is also that the level of attachment in Hudson comes in large measure because many of us, especially the newer residents, select to be here, and because we are a diverse community, but one with strong parts. But even the resident sof longer standing, have social and economic connections that bind them here. The problem is that the level of economic opportunity is dwindling for them (it ain't so hot for any of us) meaning that fewer younger members of these families can afford to stay and enjoy the benefits of a smaller, more initmate community.

October 03, 2009
Anonymous said...

I think that putting the teeth back in antitrust regulation, to stop the destructive totalitarian juggernaut of Walmart that stifles competition, is what might help in the end for economic opportunity to "trickle down" to the local level. Does the Obama administration even have antitrust regulation on its agenda? If it does, somehow I never hear about it. I am sure that breaking up monopolies, corporations "too big too fail" will boost economic opportunity for the 99 percent rest of us. Having just typed that, I realize that they don't seem to be interested in breaking up monopolies - instead they're propping up the businesses that are "too big too fail," to so far no good effect except to the top 1 percent. Not Good.

I hope the new Michael Moore film comes to Hudson. I saw a great interview with him and Tavis Smiley the other day. Smiley expressed profound concern about the will and ability of the Obama administration to improve the structure of the economy. Moore, and I love him & he's so smart, just sounded like a hopeful choirboy, "hoping" that Obama has the FDR in him. Yeah, I hope, and pray too, but man, I hope that inner FDR kicks butt soon, because this bipartisanship nonsense (simply will NEVER work, we're in a defacto civil war) is for the birds.

October 03, 2009
Anonymous said...

I meant "too big to fail," of course. More coffee please.

October 03, 2009
Hudson said...

Parents love to blame a lack of opportunities for why their children move away. But the hard fact is that kids move for a lot of other reasons, too. Even those who grow up in areas where there are decent opportunities may move elsewhere. Many kids want their own space, their own territory, to see the world. Others want to get as far from their parents and the people they grew up with as possible. A better test is whether kids move *back* to the area where they grew up later in life, not what they do at age 21.

October 07, 2009
Hudson said...

P.S. I'd add that education is at least as big a factor as economic climate in retaining people (of any age). If some dream company could bring 1,000 "green" jobs paying $35/hour to Hudson, the first thing they would want to know is whether there are 1,000 people looking for work whose skills are worth $30/hour. If such an employer were to arrive here, they would likely fill their available positions with recent graduates of Bard, RPI, SUNY Albany and maybe HVCC and CGCC, not unemployed high-school dropouts. So long as our schools fail local kids, the idea of high-paying jobs with long-term benefits is a fantasy... because no sane employer hires people for more money than they can earn for the company. Hudson needs better schools, better job training, better mentoring in order to truly build a 21st Century economy (because the 1950s are never coming back).

October 07, 2009
Hudson said...

(Typo, should be $30/hour in both examples)

October 07, 2009
Anonymous said...

I agree with Hudson's comments, but I would guess that there are 1,000 people in the region (if not necessarily in Hudson proper) looking for work whose skills are worth $30/hour. Or if an employer with that workforce requirement were looking to locate here, in this mobile society people would move here for the jobs, which in itself would expand the local economy. I imagine this would in turn create more local service jobs that relatively skilled and/or under-educated workers could handle. The school system's a problem though... would a critical mass of skilled workers settle here if they can't secure a high quality affordable education for their children? Maybe not. Musing, then, maybe Hudson's future lies more in catering to a population for whom educating their children is not an issue, namely, empty-nesters and retirees. After all, the population is ageing - maybe that's the golden egg for Hudson: make it a super-attractive, interesting community to grow old in, for those who aren't interested in the Florida golf course condo life, but prefer cultural amenities, access to NYC, nature, etc.

They will require and demand a great public library though - kids or no kids, whoever comes!

October 07, 2009

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