5views.com

Last week I read this in the Business Examiner Daily:

“This discussion arrives, ironically, on the heels of a year-long effort led by the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber to create just such an environment using models popularized by economic pundit Richard Florida.”

Having never heard the name I decided to find out a little about this guy and his ‘models’. Since his ideas may be used in shaping our city government’s policies, it’s important to me to be an informed voter. I haven’t done thorough research (that would require reading his books and looking into his seminars) what I’m commenting on here is only the questions that came to mind as I looked into all of this.

Are his ideas based in sound scientific and statistical analysis of the subject?

In an article on Metropolismag.com the writer points out an interesting contradiction. A few excerpts:

“In classifying a whole host of occupations as “creative,” our leading pop economist overstates the influence of urban professionals.”

“I read the book, and all the way through I kept trying to understand how 30 percent of workers could be part of this booming creative class.”

“Then there’s the larger component known as “creative professionals,” which encompasses management, business and financial operations, law, health care, and high-end sales and management. This mixed bag of professionals represents the majority of the so-called creative class. I’m not saying that an accountant or a corporate manager can’t be creative—surely the Enron debacle proves otherwise—but when you read how Florida defines this Creative Class, it’s hard to distinguish them from our old friends from the 1980s, the yuppies.”

Without putting a lot of statistical analysis to the problem, the writer brought up a few extremely important, make or break issues regarding the validity of Florida’s assertions.

• He focuses on a group of people that he seems to think are key to economic development/redevelopment of a city. Did he isolate that group to determine their true impact on the outcome of that effort? The broad, sweeping categories brings that into question.
• Did he control for other factors that may have influenced the statistics that were reported in his research? Example: In formulating his ‘gay index’ and ‘bohemian index’ as indicators of a good atmosphere to attract these ‘creative class’ workers, did he isolate other factors that may have influenced the results reported in his research. Should there be an ‘age index’, a ‘quality of local education index’, a ‘tax index’, a ‘local unemployment rate index’ or a ’support for small business index’?
• Are his findings rendered irrelevant because of failures in his research method? The broad categories that he describes are far too complex to generate any meaningful conclusions about which factors would contribute either to their effectiveness in producing the intended goals or the qualities that would attract them to a particular area or municipality.

In short, can he produce concrete, unambiguous proof that his conclusions are valid based on his research.

Are his ideas proven to work in a city like Tacoma?

In looking at his ‘representative client list‘ I can see that there are a lot of corporations and non-profit organizations, but very few municipalities. Corporations and non-profits can spend their money any way they choose, and they only have their board of directors and stockholders to answer to. However, the City of Tacoma has it’s taxpayers to answer to. They must ask the questions that will determine whether Florida’s ideas are applicable to Tacoma and whether they will be effective, both in cost and in results.

One of the biggest questions that the city’s leaders need to ask is, “is it the City of Tacoma’s place to implement these ideas.” If individual companies in the Tacoma area want to implement his ideas then I really have nothing to say against it. But if my tax dollars and the future of my community are at stake, I have a right and an obligation to speak up and make sure the questions are being asked and that the answers are satisfactory.

Another important question is, “are his ideas proven to have worked in cities like Tacoma.” Tacoma is somewhat unique. It exists in the shadow of a large city that is directly competing with it in attracting businesses, particularly in the financial and high-tech industries that Tacoma seems to be focused on. It also has a history and a reputation that it has not yet lived down (the “aroma” and crime rates are only part of that issue.) It also has a history of growing businesses from startup that eventually leave the city for communities that seem to them to be better suited to their needs (usually Seattle and King County.)

So, I ask the question. Based on those (and other things that make Tacoma somewhat unique) have Florida and his ideas been effective in building a city’s commerce (which is the focus for Tacoma right now)?

Also, have his ideas been around long enough to be proven effective, or at least be proven to be an effective component for cities that have successfully attracted commerce to their area? I have to say, it appears that his books are only a few years old at most, and some may be almost brand new. That’s not enough time to even implement his ideas, much less give them time to prove their effectiveness.

A fad redevelopment program is about as good as a fad diet. Both are ineffective and will likely leave you bloated and your wallet empty.

Why do his ideas sound so familiar?

Let me take a moment and describe the impressions I’ve been left with in this preliminary look at Richard Florida and his ideas.

At first I had this nagging feeling that the suggestions he was making sounded very familiar, but it took me a little while to put my finger on it. Then it hit me. He’s describing a college campus. It’s not surprising. He’s an academic and has been living and working for years (maybe decades to get his doctorate and then working for universities) in the cloistered atmosphere of a college campus. Maybe it’s his love for that environment that motivates him to try to convince cities that they need to be more like his native terrain. I don’t blame him. I went to Bible College and I wish the world was like that environment (sans a few idiosyncrasies). I doubt that this is his sole motivation, but I can’t help but think that there’s a thread of love for academia in his ideas.

Since colleges and universities are supposed to be the place where ideas are openly discussed (unless they’re conservative ideas), I understand his association between creativity and that environment. However, having spent decades in and around the high-tech computer industry I can say with relative certainty that just because someone can come up with an idea it doesn’t mean that either the idea or the person with the idea will ever be productive or even practical. In my experience it’s the hard workers that make things happen, not the creative people with the bright ideas. In fact, ideas need pragmatic examination before they can be implemented. Without that the venture is all but doomed to failure. This was a big factor in the dot com bubble/burst.

Next, I have to say that his description of the people that cities supposedly need to attract sounds very elitist and classist. In addition he seems to be implying that everyday, blue collar workers don’t use their brains. Since Tacoma has historically been a primarily blue collar town, it’s particularly insulting that community leaders would ignore a large part of our community to seek the advice of someone who rejects the validity of their contribution to economic redevelopment.

As a side note, I also thought his staff somewhat slanted to the form of his presentation rather than the substance.

Why are socialists interested in his ideas?

While it’s important to look at his ideas, it’s also important to see who is turning to him for advice. On his Web site I found an entry for an upcoming speaking engagement (Jan. 25, 2008) at a conference for the Socialist Party in Valencia, Spain. I’m not citing this to prove that he is a socialist, but rather to ask the question, “do we really want to get advice on building a stronger capitalist economic structure in our city from someone who has the admiration of socialists.”

To be clear, I am addressing the issue of socialist economics and it’s applicability to problems in a capitalist economy. I don’t particularly care if he is a socialist, but if he is it’s important to understand the context in which his advice is given and the underpinnings of his ideas, whether they are rooted in the proliferation of capitalism or of socialism. And if you’re confused about that question, then we clearly have much bigger issues to address.

I will say this in his defense, after looking at his Web site it’s clear that he understands capitalism. He definitely seems to be trying to capitalized on something.

Is there a more effective and/or less costly approach?

Having been a dot com executive in Pioneer Square during the bubble and the burst, I think I can speak to the issues that attracted high-tech startups to that area. And to be honest, I think there are a lot better ideas than those I have seen from Richard Florida.

Maybe I’ll post some of my experience and ideas about what it was that attracted those small businesses and startups to that area, and some of the things that didn’t seem to be a factor in their decisions.

In Summary:

For me, personally, I haven’t seen anything that would make me want to dig deeper into Florida’s ideas or ‘models’. However, if someone cares to take a few minutes and explain which of his ideas are being looked at by the local Chamber, I’d be happy to take a look and see if they can change my mind.

I think I have seen enough to warrant caution in moving forward with implementing any of his ideas. Some of his ideas require costly public projects which should be based on popular agreement that they will be effective in meeting the desired goals and be a welcome addition to the community. Those that require changes to a community’s collective values are a different issue, and I have to say that these changes are already well under way. So all we really need to do is to sit back and see if they produce the desired results.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 15th, 2008 at 9:35 pm and is filed under National Issues, Tacoma Economy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.