This is going to be a hopelessly incomplete and irrational listing of absurd yet innovative ideas. Though Saint Bernadette wants to be taken completely seriously as the lead singer in a rock band, as a theorist in social policy, she’s looking for a little more slack. So, please, use these incomplete and irresponsibly tossed-off ideas as a jumping off point for your own discussion of how economic development can be achieved in our fair city.
Aren’t these the kind of times and isn’t Bridgeport the kind of city where we can all just finally say what needs to be said and forget about walking on the eggshells of the status quo? Last I checked the status quo was in a heap of garbage at the dump next to Seaside Park. Or maybe the status quo has reinvented itself as a 40,000 person mob of hippies reliving the 70s at Gathering of the Vibes this weekend. Point being, everything’s gone to hell and though it’s always sad and scary when that happens, in many ways, it’s the most exciting and positive time because fresh ideas are given a chance to develop and grow. (And what would be so wrong with bringing back the 70s?)
Here are a few and I’ll be doing a follow up on each in the coming weeks:
TAX CREDITS/STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR MENTORING
Urban professionals get tax credits or student loan forgiveness for mentoring in low income communities.
Schools need after-school programs. Recent graduates need job training. Entrepreneurs need mentors. Would you tutor, coach, or mentor one day a week in exchange for forgiveness of your student loans or a break on your income tax?
DITCH THE CORPORATE MODEL FOR A “MOB” MODEL
I found this article recently – http://sivers.org/the-mob. It’s about the music industry but I think the same applies to most businesses. Forget about corporate structure – let’s go back to local and family based businesses – just without the extortion and killing.
Why are we constantly trying to lure corporate business to Bridgeport? Rents are finally cheap enough to bring back an economy of specialized, passionate tradespeople who cater to a specific consumer base. Beyond tax relief for the enterprise zones meant to lure large companies who can create large numbers of soul-crushing jobs and supposedly solve our city’s problems in one fell swoop, why not offer small business training and loans that specifically match small business owners with vacant new space downtown and around the city.
The really good property owners already do this – they look carefully at their properties and try to cultivate what they believe will be the most successful tenant and the best contribution to the downtown environment. What’s the core difference between a chain restaurant and a restaurant owned by an individual? The individual does it because they are driven by a passion and an interest in food and people. When you go there, they might remember your name, what you like, make adjustments to the menu based on the preferences of the people in the area. Chains and large corporations can’t do this – they are working off a centralized model created to maximize profits. Maximum profits are great, I’m all for large profits, but these are maximum profits to people that don’t live here and do not care about you or your dinner. I’ll take Amici Miei and Fraiche Burger any day over the Olive Garden and McDonald’s and that goes for just about everything else, from hardware to office supplies.
SWITCH THE DRINKING AGE WITH THE DRIVING AGE
What happened to all of Connecticut and the rest of the nation’s downtowns? That’s easy – they don’t let 16 year olds in anymore so everything went out of business. All the bars, clubs and concert venues were kept in business by teenagers with dad’s money and that is how it should be. What was the real problem here – that these same teenagers would get in their car at the end of the night and crash into our nice new telephone poles at best and kill themselves or innocent bystanders at worst. Why don’t we fix it all in one here? Get the kids off the road (they drive like maniacs anyway), fix the public transportation system and let the kids drink some beer and listen to some music.
Now Saint Bernadette knows that she is naive and that these ideas could never succeed in a world full of selfish, litigious, and entitled people who want everything as cheap as possible no matter what ill, evil, dishonest means were used to arrive at these cheap prices. But she can only hope that these same people still yearn for a life where a person can work a decent job during the day, hop on a train or bus or trolley to meet some friends at a downtown establishment for some fresh food and a cocktail and then maybe take in a show or some really good music, jump back on that same train, bus, or trolley or even bicycle to arrive at their home that they can reasonably afford at said decent job and fall into their pillow topped mattress satisfied enough to enjoy a good night’s sleep.
This can’t be too much to ask in the 21st Century, can it?
