Thread: Who Can Afford The High Cost Of Patriotism

Who Can Afford The High Cost Of Patriotism

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articl ... leID=38720
Ken Hughes
September 27, 2007

What would you be willing to pay for the opportunity to show your patriotism to the entire nation? Before you say yes ask the citizens of Riverside New Jersey if the principle is worth the price. The village of Riverside was one of the first in the nation to pass rigid anti-immigration laws. They were proud of their stand for the law and the American way. That is until the illegal immigrants moved on to neighboring communities and Riverside lost 50% of its economy. Now Riverside is actually recruiting to bring illegals back to their village. It seems the price of patriotism was more than they could endure.

Let’s not condemn Riverside New Jersey without a fair hearing, The citizens of Riverside wanted to be good Americans, they wanted to be the first to make a statement, “America First.â€

There are communities that go through sharp declines--often due to economic reasons--yet rebound later on, because they are recognized as very smart investments for other reasons and because of their low cost. In the Pacific Northwest some log exporting towns had a terrible time in the 1980's when receession stalled the US economy and decimated home construction. Hoquiam and Aberdeeen Washington were clear examples. Coos Bay and Astoria, Oregon also relied on log exports. More recently smaller towns in British Columbia that relied on timber exports were severely hurt in the 'softwood tariffs" fracas between the US and Canada. In the 1990's many California cities that had enjoyed lucrative defense contracts under President Reagan suffered serious reversals.

All of these areas have been able to rebound. The NW coastal cities have been discovered for their liveability and even Aberdeen, WA, with its proximity to Seattle is climbing as a tourist destination. Southern California climbed back up into a real estate bubble. British Columbia with the Olympics coming in 2010 and the surging Canadian dollar is generally on a roll-- so even hard hit communities are becoming prosperous.

If a town experiences a crisis and becomes very cheap in value it may very well attract an industry fleeing the high prices of more densely populated areas.