[Grovenet] America's Trillion-Dollar Baby

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

David wrote:

"So, if a city wishes to be viable they  
will want to reduce labor leakage as one factor in reducing  
purchasing leakage.  Otherwise they become a bedroom community and  
eventually they must be swallowed by the city that has the economic  
base to support public services."

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It seems to me that Forest Grove is already a 'bedroom community' and
becoming more of one every day.

I work and live in Forest Grove, yet I spend probably 2/3 of my purchasing
dollars elsewhere because I can't get what I want here in town. Even
groceries. As Safeway continues to be our only grocery store, steadily
cutting back or raising prices on the staples I use daily, I find myself in
Hillsboro more and more often buying groceries I can't get here or which are
sufficiently cheaper there to justify the trip. I can't buy a shirt or a
pair of socks or paper for my printer here, or even find a decent meal out
in the evening unless I want Mexican food (my diet doesn't include
hamburgers or pizza).  

Since I work and live in Forest Grove, I resist going elsewhere if I can
avoid it. If I were commuting to Hillsboro or points east I wouldn't bother
to shop here at all. I'd go where I find the best prices, selection and
convenience. I suspect that's the majority of Forest Grove residents today,
and that majority is still growing. 

Bringing more people in town to work here would, it seems to me, only enrich
the thriving business community in Cornelius that has grown rapidly and
steadily over the past several years filling many of the needs of Forest
Grove residents.

Ron D'Eau Claire