Opinion
OUR VIEW: Make county the test lab for job-creating proposals
Mercer County has earned a dubious distinction while many of its citizens are having trouble earning anything at all.
The county has Pennsylvania’s third-highest unemployment rate, according to the latest figures available. Mercer County’s jobless rate of 12.1 percent is well above the state’s 8.9 percent and the nation’s 10 percent.
A story in Tuesday’s Herald looked beyond the obvious numbers to reveal a troubling reality.
The two commonwealth counties that outpace our jobless rate — Cameron and Fulton at 16.6 percent and 13.9 percent respectively — are apples to Mercer County’s orange. Both are thinly-populated rural areas with work forces that are best described as tiny.
Mercer County’s 53,700-strong civilian work force is 21 times the size of the working population in Cameron County and seven times that of Fulton. In fact, the number of unemployed in our county, nearly 6,500, is only about 1,000 fewer than in Fulton’s total work force.
For all intents and purposes, when it comes to unemployment, we’re No. 1.
It’s not news that the local employment picture has deteriorated over the last three decades. The exodus of manufacturing jobs and the attendant population loss and brain drain has damaged the entire region and turned once-prosperous communities into struggling, near-ghost towns.
Some may look at the numbers and say it’s all over for Mercer County. Stick a fork in us, we’re done.
But there could be an opportunity in those sad statistics.
In Washington today, the political mantra is “jobs, jobs, jobs.” The ideas flying around the halls of power are all about ways to get the nation working again.
We can think of no better place to try out those ideas than right here in Mercer County. If politicians think that they have the answers, then we offer up our struggling area as the perfect laboratory to test their theories.
Why not? Our local economic development experts and chambers of commerce chiefs are quick to tout the area’s strengths: Easy access to market through road and rail, a skilled and dedicated work force and quality of life. (Though that last one has taken a beating over the years.)
Consider this a challenge to our state and federal lawmakers, their policy experts and the financial titans that — as our national commitment to bailouts and protections for that industry, at least, indicates — are the key players in any recovery: If you can turn things around here, you can do it anywhere.
- Opinion
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OUR VIEW: Public bodies must stop abuse of taxpayer money
Most private businesses have quit paying for employees to attend these kinds of conventions, and public bodies need to follow suit.
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Students learn valuable lessons outside classroom
The C.O.O.L. program in Sharon is a useful model for other districts looking for ways to prepare students for life in and out of school.
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Too hot? It’s much preferred over d-d-dead of w-w-winter
Summer is great. I’ve never hidden my affinity for the hot days and warm nights and all that the season has to offer. When I returned last week from Clearwater Beach, Fla., some of my co-workers said it was hotter in Mercer County than it was on the Gulf. I was dismayed that my friends were complaining.
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OUR VIEW: Arts fest just one of great cultural events in county
This weekend’s Hermitage Arts Festival is one of many attractions that provide culture in Mercer County.
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Keeping up back home easy now for vacationers
Remember when people used to go on vacation, and pretty much be out of touch with things back home? Boy, have times changed for most of us.
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Good Samaritan turned away for fear of lawsuit
Cash-strapped public entities should either keep employees busy by having them maintain their properties or allow volunteers to do the work without having to worry about being sued.
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OUR VIEW: Turning out some lights will save taxpayers money
Shutting off a few lights is a smarter way to cut costs than laying off employees who keep the city safe.
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Exercising our freedom includes eating what we want
Fast-food restaurants across the country have been besieged to offer healthy alternatives, crispy salads and such to vegetable-based choices. Building on successful lawsuits filed against tobacco companies, such litigation against fast-food restaurants started to accelerate in the 1990s. People were suing the restaurants, claiming that the food caused them to be fat.
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Taxpayers must decry unrealistic school spending
Local school boards have managed to turn back the clock to the 1960s — or so they would have taxpayers believe.
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Young and old alike enjoy lunchtime concert series
As I walked down to the “Brown Bag Lunch Concert Series” at noon Wednesday from The Herald, I had to smile as I heard a song by “The Letterman” playing through a loudspeaker outside Penn-Ohio Cigar Shop on East State Street.
The concerts are being held each Wednesday in front of The Vocal Group Hall of Fame (old Columbia Theatre), which is owned by Tony Butala, the Sharon native who founded The Lettermen. - More Opinion Headlines
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OUR VIEW: Public bodies must stop abuse of taxpayer money
