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Keeping pace means spending money

Forbes magazine recently published a list of the “Best Places for Business and Careers,” in which Knoxville finished 13th among the top 150 cities in America. The 13th-place finish is where Knoxville ranked overall, as compared to 22nd in last year’s survey.

Individual categories in which Knoxville finished highest were job growth, 29th, up from 56th in 2003; the cost of doing business, 20th, up from 34th last year; and advanced degrees, 17th, the same ranking as in 2003.

Categories in which Knoxville did poorly were income growth, 106th, down from 53rd last year; crime rate, which jumped from 53rd in 2003 to 67th in this year’s poll; and educational attainment, which remained static at 85th.

How these numbers translate into a 13th place overall finish is somewhat confusing, but a relatively low cost of living and net migration numbers certainly played a factor in helping Knoxville place significantly higher on the list than any other Tennessee city. Nashville (31) was the closest to Knoxville in ranking, followed by Johnson City (78), Memphis (110) and Chattanooga (111).

Such a ranking should help the Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership, the governments of the city and county, and the local Jobs Now! initiative in their efforts to attract new business to our community, but, judging from the numbers, there is still much work to be done—particularly in the area of attracting higher wage jobs.

Jobs Now!, in partnership with the chamber, is currently boasting that it surpassed its first year goals by creating 7,300 jobs and $526 million in new, non-residential capital investment in the region. For all its efforts and expense, however, the new Uber-Chamber and its jobs initiative have had little luck in landing new major businesses or manufacturers to the area.

Still, it seems undeniable that progress is being made on the home front, as cities such as Chattanooga and Nashville begin to look with envy at Knoxville, instead of the other way around. Chattanooga is envious of our jobs and population growth, as Nashville wonders at Knoxville’s recent success in attracting residents to downtown.

For Knoxville to capitalize on its growing momentum, it is extremely important to continue on the current path of funding jobs initiatives and promoting downtown revitalization. Unfortunately, there are several movements afoot that would stem the tide of momentum; namely pulling the financial support for Jobs Now! from the city and/or county budgets, and the referendum to put the county’s proposed wheel tax to a vote in November.

It is an old and wise business maxim that for one to make money it is sometimes necessary to spend money. And this applies collectively to our current situation as a community. If Knoxville is to continue to rank high on such lists as the Forbes survey, and if it is to improve in attracting new and better jobs in order to increase our tax base, then we must invest in ourselves. We cannot afford to be a penny wise and a pound foolish when it comes to creating job growth or improving education. The same goes for such quality of life issues as a new downtown library and cinema, as well.

As is evidenced in the Forbes report, the cost of living in our community is already quite low. But what we have to guard against is getting the level of services and quality of life that we pay for, if we’re not paying much. Funding job initiatives, education, and downtown revitalization are too important to Knoxville’s future to take a miserly and myopic view toward them.

Alzheimer’s and Care

The debate is on in force over the potential for finding a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease through human stem cell research, with Democrats (and Nancy Reagan) championing the research and the Republican administration keeping the brakes on.

Regardless of the outcome, there will be lots and lots of people who fall victim to Alzheimer’s ravages before any successful treatment regimen is found and approved.

Meantime, Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers are on the minds of many Americans, including Sharon McWilliams, a Kentuckian who lived through the Alzheimer’s family experience as her father’s life ended. She’s written and published a small book with big implications. It’s a sensitive discussion of ways she remembered her dad in his healthy days and how she used those positive recollections to keep up her patience and understanding as his life waned away.

Called Daddy, I Remember: Hope and Healing for Families of Alzheimer’s, it is a poignant piece of work that provides a blueprint for the survivors’ survival while providing the most helpful kind of care. Its availability can be checked on the Internet through www.thegiftlifecoach.com.

July 29, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 31 © 2004 Metro Pulse