[Grovenet] America's Trillion-Dollar Baby

[David Morelli]

Ask anyone who operates a business on Main Street or Pacific Avenue  
if they have noticed a change.  The ones I have spoken with, have  
seen a reduction, as the Pacific staff associated with the graduate  
programs and the families of the graduate students changed their  
shopping focus to Hillsboro.  I would expect that the rental market  
has also seen a reduction, since a large segment of the graduate  
students have traditionally lived off campus, and many have families.

David

On Feb 9, 2007, at 5:31 PM, Steven wrote:

> How does the grad prgram fit into the equation? PU doesn't pay prop
> taxes. The students don't run businesses. What income is derived  
> for the
> city in this venture?.
>
> David Morelli wrote:
>> No, I am saying that our tax base is shifting from one that was based
>> upon an urban mix to one based upon a suburban mix.
>>
>> Formerly, we had a city with businesses and residences providing a
>> tax base with residents and workers representing the consumption
>> base.  Now, we are moving to a city with a reduced percentage of tax
>> base coming from business and an increase in consumption coming from
>> residents.
>>
>> The mantra that has been around for a long time goes, "residential
>> land doesn't support residential services, it needs to be subsidized
>> by business land."
>>
>> In the case of Matshushita and the Pacific graduate programs, they
>> grew by leaving Forest Grove which reduced in-town and out-of-town
>> employees.  In the case of Pacific, I understand that the city
>> financially assisted them in their effort to leave.
>>
>> David
>>
>> On Feb 9, 2007, at 11:23 AM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Are you saying that local businesses cost the city money?
>>>
>>> Otherwise how can the fact that a business grows by hiring an out-
>>> of-town
>>> employee cause an imbalance in the city's budget?
>>>
>>> Ron D'Eau Claire
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com [mailto:grovenet-  
>>> bounces at rdrop.com] On
>>> Behalf Of David Morelli
>>> Sent: Friday, February 09, 2007 12:38 AM
>>> To: Forest Grove local interests list
>>> Subject: Re: [Grovenet] America's Trillion-Dollar Baby
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Feb 8, 2007, at 2:25 PM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> Carol:
>>>>
>>>> ...
>>>> That raises an interesting question: What percentage of the 20,000
>>>> residents of Forest Grove work in Forest Grove? I suspect it's less
>>>> than half, but I don't know. Also, I suspect it's a declining
>>>> number. The number of commuters is growing.
>>>>
>>>> Even if it's a fairly small number who commute, that means that
>>>> Forest Grove is being driven not by the needs of the community we
>>>> call Forest Grove, but by the needs of the larger Portland
>>>> metropolitan area. I suspect we are already simply another
>>>> "neighborhood" of that metropolis. And it's a growing metropolis.
>>>>
>>>> Ron D'Eau Claire
>>>>
>>> Good questions.  I would suggest that we ask the inverse as well.
>>> What percentage of the jobs in the Forest Grove vicinity are filled
>>> by persons commuting into Forest Grove?
>>>
>>> Some time in the last few decades, the jobs and workers were in  
>>> rough
>>> balance.  Since that time it has fallen out of balance and is moving
>>> further away.  The loss of Matshushita and the Pacific University
>>> graduate programs hurt those numbers just recently.
>>>
>>> That imbalance is a likely suspect for the imbalance in the city's
>>> budget.
>>>
>>> David
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>>
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