The BP oil spill prompted Jimmy Buffet to give a free concert on the beach in Alabama and the Doobie Brothers did the same just to our east. This has prompted a local developer and the director of the local island authority to start a move to set up a gulf-front stage to attract musical acts to Pensacola Beach.
I usually get fully behind economic improvement moves, but I have serious reservations about whether or not this will truly boost the area economy;
1. It is focused on increasing tourism only, a seasonal business.
2. Although it will be a "portable" stage it will be where hurricanes like to come ashore, when they come ashore in Florida.
3. We have a little thing called the Community Maritime Park project that has been "in the works" for four years and the only visible signs are some earth moved and signs promoting the park "coming soon." This project was a $40million project when it started. Who knows what it'll be if it ever happens.
4. Orange Beach, Alabama has a little 10,000 seat concert venue (The Wharf) that has been attracting major acts for over a year now. I'm no entertainment expert, but I doubt they'll be lining up to book their act on a small stage on Pensacola Beach when there's better potential so close by.
When investing your money, most money managers will tell you to diversify to some extent. The old "don't put your eggs in one basket" philosophy. I suggest the same applies when it comes to adding industry to a local market. I.e. if our economy is based 80% on tourism, the weather and many other factors dictate the success or failure of our economy. If however, we have 40% based on tourism, 20% on military, 30% based on manufacturing and the remaining 10% on small business, we suddenly don't live or die on the success or failure of tourism.
I've only lived in Florida for 11 years, but I noticed long before moving here that a guy by the name of Disney knew that people would come to your location for more than the sunshine and beaches. So, he built an empire around that thought. His was family entertainment. We could apply the same logic to other industries. Imagine that; attracting people to the area for something other than the beach.
If a simple guy like me can figure this out, why can't the elected officials and paid "experts" tasked with economic improvement?
It always amazes me how people with big ideas can't see the big picture. They get focused on what may seem like a good idea but are just incapable of thinking it through competently. I'm not the most intelligent person on the face of the earth, but why doesn't anybody have any common sense anymore? It would save us all a lot of grief. There is a forest in the trees, but very few folks realize this (or are unable to fathom any other scenario). I may get flak for saying this, but I live in West Virginia, and after the recent mining tragedy, a bunch of tree huggers put up a huge billboard saying how Massey Energy ought to be criminally prosecuted. Well, my friends, I come from a long line of coal mining people who accept the fact it's a dangerous occupation. They aren't a bunch of namby-pamby crybabies and in many regions it's the only way these miners can make $60k a year and provide for their families. Plus who's gonna provide us with electricity? Know I'm veering off the Florida path, but there are some parallels here. At least, very unfortunately, the oil spill took the focus off us. Seems dangerous to me to erect a stage on a hurricane prone beach to me, too, just to have all the money potentially blown away. But we're all not slimy enough to be politicians or the powers that are in charge of this stuff. Heaven help us all. (Michelle)
ReplyDeleteWell said. Thanks for the thoughts. Unfortunately there is never enough thanks given to those that risk their lives everyday to make sure we have the electricity, air conditioning/heat, water and other services so many of us take for granted.
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