Blatitudes about economic development

email | By Craig J. Cantoni

[hsmomx3]

What is a blatitude? It's a combination of blather and platitudes spouted by elitist central planners. For example, the following blatitude was written in an op-ed in the June 6, 2005 edition of the Arizona Republic by Richard Seline, CEO of New Economy Strategies:

"All these efforts [at economic development] and many more like them suggest that Arizona is poised to catalyze a response to global innovation challenges."

Let me catalyze a response to the above: Huh?

Another blatitude: "Given the competitive landscape, accelerating the baseline performance of Arizona's assets and people is imperative."

Well, I don't know about you, but I don't want my baseline performance accelerated by Seline. I'll leave that to my wife.

Still another blatitude: "We must remove barriers to capital held by individuals with the resources to co-invest side by side with traditional venture and state dollars."

Ah, I know what the above blatitude means, because I know what Seline advocates. Let me translate. Seline is saying that the state should take private capital and spend it on state-run economic development schemes advocated by the likes of Seline.

So why doesn't Seline write sentences that are as clear as my translation? Three possible answers: First, since clear writing depends on clear thinking, maybe Seline isn't a clear thinker. Second, maybe the former Commerce Department muckety-muck knows that if writes clearly, the public would realize that he is advocating the old-fashioned ideas of mercantilism and industrial planning, both of which are antithetical to free-market capitalism. Third, by writing blatitudes, Seline knows that he can't be held accountable if his vague nostrums don't work. On the other hand, if the free market works its wonders in spite of what Seline advocates, he can take the credit.

What cities are models of centrally-planned economic development according to Seline? Philadelphia and San Diego.

Yes, that's the same Philadelphia that is pillaged by corrupt machine politicians, that is controlled by union thugs, that has one of the worst school systems in the nation, and that saw its population decline by 68,000 from 1990 to 2000, a decade in which metro Phoenix's population increased by more than one million.

And, yes, San Diego is the very same city in southern California that is on the verge of bankruptcy.

Seline is in bad company. The day that his op-ed appeared in the Arizona Republic, another op-ed by another central planner appeared next to his. Nan Ellin, an associate professor of urban design at Arizona State University, wrote blatitudes about the importance of including nature in urban design, specifically in the redevelopment of downtown Phoenix.

Ellin actually wrote that studies show that the "greening" of urban areas results in important physical and mental health benefits, including "significant reductions in incidences of obesity, diabetes, anxiety, depression and ADHD."

Maybe Ellin should visit Philadelphia with Seline. The City of Brotherly Love has an abundance of what Ellin advocates: parks, tree-lined streets and rivers. It also has an abundance of obesity, diabetes, anxiety, depression and ADHD.

Ellin says that downtown Phoenix "betrays little of its majestic natural setting." ("Betrays"?) She then advocates the planting of green stuff that is foreign to the natural setting of the mostly tan Sonoran desert, including acacia trees, which are native to Africa and a favorite food of giraffes.

Don't get me wrong: I prefer the unnatural green stuff to the natural barren desert. One of my favorite bike/walking paths meanders for about 12 miles through an unnatural greenbelt that starts near my house in the privately-planned community of Scottsdale Ranch, continues through the privately-planned community of McCormick Ranch, and proceeds south through the Indian Bend wash all the way to Arizona State University, where Ellin does her urban planning. The greenbelt is dotted with lakes, golf courses, sports fields and picnic areas.

Hmm, maybe Ellin is right after all. I frequent the greenbelt and don't have obesity, diabetes, anxiety, depression or ADHD. But I do have an aversion to blatitudes. ____________

Mr. Cantoni is an author, columnist and founder of Honest Americans Against Legal Theft (www.haalt.org). He has just finished his second book, Breaking from the Herd: Political Essays for Independent Thinkers by a Maverick Columnist. For ordering information, contact him at ccan2@aol.com or haalt1@aol.com.

[sinanju]

Lovely, lovely postmodernese. The thicker the jargon, the thicker the BS.

And if Ms. Nellin is so down with nature you would think she would no better than to bring in alien species. Greenspaces cost a lot of water in a desert environment.

And haven't I been reading that landscapers in Las Vegas are learning to work with cacti, Mesquite and Joshua trees?