WIELD WE THE PEN

Are the people of your community getting richer or poorer? Well, by isolated metrics, like wages and 401ks, one could argue richer. But by lived experience, in relation to the important expenses of our lives and our ability to build wealth over time, the clear answer is poorer. But why? The answer is woven into our economic system.

There is no better workforce investment than my wife. My wife is a counselor at a small, rural, Title I elementary school in South Carolina. How much money is being spent to address the soft-skills crisis in the US right now? How many billions of dollars? How many employers report that workers struggle with communication, teamwork, adaptability, conflict management, and self-regulation? Working with adults is triage. We must invest in the future of our workforce.

Economic Developers have traditionally focused on business recruitment and real estate development. Now we find ourselves in workforce development, skills training, soft-skills, even transportation and childcare. We need a new perspective on what it means to serve a community in Economic Development.

More people are getting poorer over time. We must evolve our understanding of the economy so that we can see the pending crisis that lurks underneath. Only then can we design the changes that will avoid calamity and create a better future for all.