For most of the summer, political rhetoric has been focused on the economy. The word recession is back in common usage.
Various plans for reducing the national debt have analyzed based on their effects on individuals tax burdens, retirement income, health care costs and other numbers that directly affect their standard of living. Job creation has been an ongoing theme, especially since any plan to reduce the size of the federal government includes the loss of federal jobs which, popular or not, do contribute to local economies.
The downgrading of the federal credit rating, the steep drop in the stock market, economic turmoil in Europe, and the Federal Reserves attempts to quiet market turmoil will all affect Americans budgets. Interest rates are down good for borrowers and bad for savers Right now its really hard to tell which way stocks are headed.
None of that is good for the average U.S. citizen who just wants to earn a living. Decisions about national economic policy are made far from Cortez, but as former U.S. Speaker of the House Tip ONeill pointed out, All politics is local. That is doubly true of the politics of economics. The only factors that feel real are those that affect individuals personally.
That may not seem particularly relevant right now, with not a single boom in sight. Times are tough. But its a mistake to allow local economic factors to be obscured by the loud roar of partisan arguments and the equally loud demands that Congress solve the problem. In good economies and bad, local decisions are tremendously important.
One Montezuma County example is discussions currently being held regarding zoning. Landowner-Initiated Zoning, once touted as an example of freedom from government interference in land-use decisions, has not been a shining success, nor has it brought growth to Montezuma County. LIZ had a fair trial; now its time to institute a well-crafted zoning policy with provide much-needed protections for landowners.
Another example, less specific to this area but still in play right now, is education. Exemptions to No Child Left Behind requirements are all well and good, and state policy weighs heavily, but decisions made locally determine the future of students. Voters make some of those choices, and school boards, administrators and teachers make others, but together, those decisions have far more influence on specific students than do decisions made in Washington. No one wants to move to, a community that lacks strong schools.
Health care, too, is influenced at several levels, but in Southwest Colorado, as everywhere, what patients care about is its local availability, quality and affordability. Citizens support Southwest Memorial Hospital through taxing decisions, by providing information and opinions to guide board decisions, and by seeking health care either locally or elsewhere. Sustaining good health care is hard local work, and without it, this is a less attractive place.
Local decisions about land use, education, health care and other public-policy issues carry great weight in determining whether Montezuma County will thrive or wither. They can attract people and businesses or discourage growth. Its fashionable, and recreational, to blame the government meaning the government far from here, not the local people who are doing all they can to provide high-quality essential services in a cost-effective manner. Local efforts make or break a community. Dont let the babble in Washington distract the citizens of Southwest Colorado from making good ones.
