Economic Growing Pains Have Just Begun

In many ways a city is a living entity. It is continually evolving in feature, landscape and character. Changes in the "econo-industrial" landscape of a particular region are not uncommon and when they happen over a long period of time people rarely take notice. If brought on too rapidly however, they can cause a kind of socioeconomic culture shock.

The Dayton area is experiencing this kind of change right now. As the region converts from an economy based on automotive manufacturing to one of high-tech aviation, drastic changes will occur in the business environment and workforce.

As an illustration, imagine a tree growing from a sapling over the course of several decades. Passing by the tree on a regular basis, most people wouldn't pay much attention to it because the changes occur so slowly. Now imagine if that tree were suddenly hit by lightning - forever altering its appearance.

It's the same tree, but starts growing in different directions. The changes in the tree's appearance and character stand out more in this case because they happened so quickly.

That's how a city evolves as well and that is exactly where the Miami Valley is today - evolving. It's just happening more quickly than people would like and it affects more than just one industry or town.

The Dayton and surrounding regions, including Greene County, have been dependent on manufacturing for over a century and have now been thrust into a rapid state of change. Oddly enough, that change did not come as quickly as most people would like to believe.

More than two decades ago Dayton's largest manufacturing employer, General Motors, was experiencing similar problems to those going on today. In 1989, author Maryann Keller published a book on the subject called, "Rude Awakening - The Rise, Fall and Struggle for Recovery of General Motors."

With a title that sounds like it could have been printed last week, Keller's book documents how the auto maker nearly collapsed once before because of a company culture and operating methods that made no adjustment for changing times.

She even refers to GM of the 1980's as being a microcosm of American industry, a faulty and outdated business model that was copied by subsidiaries and suppliers. "The hard reality of General Motors," Keller wrote, "is that its original systems have been designed for conditions that no longer exist."

The company underwent a massive reorganization that began in 1984, but the damage had already been done. Keller wrote, "The bureaucracy and outdated organizational structure had become so strangled that it was virtually impossible to achieve a cooperative working environment." Since division heads could not agree on the same course of action, most of what was wrong went uncorrected. The company started closing factories in the Dayton area even back then.

Of course, GM is not the only manufacturer to leave. Mead Paper and the printing plant for McCall's magazine left the city years ago. Standard Register, which develops software for automotive dealers, is now cutting its workforce as well.

In a final blow to the Dayton area, National Cash Register (NCR) has announced after 125 years it is leaving the city altogether. In the early1970's NCR discharged hundreds of workers when it shut down most of its Dayton factory operations.

Looking back, it is easy to see that companies have closed and people have lost jobs before, but Dayton and its neighboring communities are still here. What makes the current situation so unique and difficult is that entire industries are changing all at once. From Wall Street to Main Street, the recession affects people differently.

Those who own car dealerships, for example, have a unique perspective on the situation. While they may not employ as many people as a factory, thousands of dealer franchise owners were forced into a spot from which they may never recover.

Despite popular liberal rhetoric, the "cash for clunkers" initiative did little to help the economy and any increased sales were temporary. Not to mention that there are dealerships still waiting for government reimbursement. As I noted in a previous column, the program ran out of money almost immediately. Even with a second injection of cash, which was supposed to last until November, the program went broke in a matter of weeks.

In the end, the Dayton region will need to suffer more growing pains in order to survive economic stagnation. Fluff-filled stimulus packages from the White House and congress will do little to help the troubled financial situations of those on Main Street USA.

Columnist Gery L. Deer is syndicated by GLD Enterprises & Productions Media Services (GMS) www.gerydeer.com