Listen close and I can hear the needle scratch across the phonograph as the old song starts to play.
Look up and I can see that skies above are clear and happy days are here again.
The Senate passed that super-sized stimulus package, so that means the economy is on the road to recovery, yessir.
We can prepare for the Eastowne Business Park to be transformed from a well-graded pasture off Riverside Road to a hub of industry.
The first factory might be Intel Corp., producing microchips for computers. When you’re aiming for economic development, you might as well shoot for the moon.
At one time, Intel was reportedly looking to build a facility in St. Joseph. It’s hard to say how likely that was.
Even the world’s brightest optimist, Chamber President Ted Allison, acknowledges that new projects are on hold at best, while many others have been scrapped altogether. Mr. Allison gave no official word on the status of the Intel project. If it ever existed. Or did not.
Hopes were revived, however, when Congress announced yesterday they’ve reached a compromise on the stimulus package. They’ve also whittled the cost down to a mere $789 billion.
It’s still big enough, though, that Northwest Missouri ought to be able to get a little sliver of the pie. For instance, $24 billion is directed to “health information technology to prevent medical mistakes,” among other things. Maybe the life science incubator at Missouri Western can cook up some business that manufactures medical-mistake preventers.
President Obama encouraged the CEO of Intel to publicly support the stimulus plan. He declined, saying he prefers investment over spending.
Also this week, Intel said it is investing $7 billion to upgrade its factories. The company is putting in new machinery at factories in Oregon, Arizona and New Mexico.
With this rescue package, though, maybe they can be persuaded to build a little factory here in St. Joe, hire a few out-of-work electrical engineers and computer programmers and get this economy stimulated.
Perhaps the Intel factory is a bit farfetched. It also seems unrealistic to expect increasing Pell grants for college students by $500 to do much to create new jobs. That $16 billion to make public housing more energy efficient will be nice, but the long-term economic impact probably won’t make much of a dent.
When you’re shooting for the moon, you can’t expect it to be a short trip. I hope displaced workers can find something to hold them over until the stimulus kicks in, or Intel opens up, whichever comes first.
