I believe that we are living in a time of great opportunity. It is true that we are sinking into an economic recession, but this could be the best of times as well as the worst of times. In Tom Brokaw’s book “The Greatest Generation” the Great Depression was the catalyst that built the character of the generation whose selfless sacrifice led to victory in WW II. You will remember that prior to the Great Depression there was the Roaring Twenties, not unlike the prosperity and the decadence that we have experienced for many years. During the depression there were those that were opportunists (like old man Potter in “It’s a Wonderful Life”), taking advantage of the suffering of others and those that gave opportunity to those that were suffering. Other people gave when they had little to give, took in their neighbors kids when they couldn’t feed their own, and gave comfort to those that were suffering in spite of their own pain.
In 2 Corinthians it says in part that God comforts us when we have trouble so that we can be a comfort to others. My hope and prayer is that during this time we will see more George Bailey’s emerge and that the Biblical principles of self sacrifice, compassion and giving would permeate our culture. I am reminded of the story of William Booth the founder of the Salvation Army. He was unable to travel because of a storm and was supposed to speak at a church. They asked him to send his message by telegraph; he wrote these words “others”. If we focus on others it will give hope to those that are suffering and it will lift our spirits as well. Nothing cures depression better than helping others.
1 comments:
oug,
Good post. A couple comments. First, TIF money is repaid via increases sales tax receipts. Due to the recession, sales tax revenues weren't increasing, hence the need to sell bonds, which, in my opinion, defeated the purpose of using TIF to begin with.
Second, cities should adopt the principle of the great industrialist Henry Kaiser. Kaiser refused to pay bribes to get business, period, to the point of walking away from profitable deals. He belived that once you opened that door, it would ruin your company. Instead of producing a superior product at the lowest price, Kaiser employees would try to resort to corrupt practices. Not to mention every potential customer would be looking for a kickback.
Likewise, cities should stop racing to the bottom, throwing money at developers. We should be proud of what Tucson has to offer, like the azure clear skies, the outdoors recreational opportunities, the wonderful scenery, Hispanic culture (people who visit my wife and I always exult over the authentic cuisince), etc.
Post a Comment