Back to the Future - Again

Recently I was commissioned to write a feature series for a Miami Valley publication which highlighted the past, present and future of the economy of the Dayton, Ohio area. Within 50 years, the region grew intertwined in the automotive industry and virtually dependent on the businesses in that market to employ the majority of the population.

I had relatives who had worked at NCR and General Motors throughout the 1950's and 60's. However, as the youngest in my generation of the family, I knew almost nothing about these massive corporations and how important they had been to thousands of workers over the past century.

While researching the series, I poured through old books, photos and personal accounts of the heyday of Dayton and its neighboring communities. From the start, Delco, GM, Frigidaire, and dozens of other smaller companies held the area as a fiscal hostage.

I also saw, first-hand, the current economic environment of the Miami Valley and how people are pulling together to weather the downturn. I am thoroughly impressed by the determination and perseverance of the citizens and government officials of the Dayton area.

Some former factory workers were planning new careers. Those who were willing to relocate were still looking for manufacturing jobs in other regions. Still more were simply worried about the potential loss of pensions and health coverage as a result of the collapse of these big businesses.

Most of people I spoke with seemed to put a great deal of faith in the idea that the technologies of the aviation industry would restore Dayton's troubled market. Because of the BRAC initiatives public and private sectors are investing a great deal of time and effort into attracting high-tech aeronautical companies.

If successful, all of the hard work and funding will bring in new businesses, new jobs and new tax revenue. However, if demand and technologies change, as they did in the automotive business, a full-blown dependence on the resources that support a single industry may just put us right back where we started.

I'm no economist, but in my experience investments require a certain amount of diversity to be successful. In my opinion, Dayton's dependence on the resources of a single, massive industry, to say nothing of one enormous corporation, is what finally landed so many people in the unemployment line in the first place.

It is doubtful that any action at the local level could have prevented the events which crippled the auto makers. However, if we again throw all of our resources at one industry our children may have to deal with a repeat of the financial meltdown that cost so many, so much.

What does all of this mean to Greene County? The answer may depend on your perspective. For many, a switch from manufacturing to high-tech work means more opportunity and better pay. For others, it means a complete overhaul of personal career skills and goals.

Either way, the areas surrounding Wright Patterson Air Force Base certainly stand to benefit from the mass immigration of new business. It may suffer, however, from a devastating lack of skilled labor to fill those jobs. Losing some jobs while at the same time creating others, the field may balance out somewhat, with a slight list towards the latter.

In addition to aviation, Dayton leaders should be working harder to attract other industries as well to balance the scales of economics. If there are several smaller companies, rather than one or two gigantic firms, the region is less likely to be injured in the event of a market-wide failure.

Perhaps, in the long run, the local economy would be better served if government and civic organizations made an effort to support and attract companies outside a single industry. If diversity makes a nation's people stronger, it must be so for its economy. Or, put more simply, we should do our best to avoid having all of our eggs in one basket.

Independent columnist Gery L. Deer is based in Jamestown, Ohio. Follow him on Twitter by visiting www.gerydeer.com