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Journal Opinion
All Politics Should Not Be LocalPerhaps mindful of how presidential hopefuls of the past have gotten into trouble by overpromising, U.S. Sen. John Kerry made no specific pledges of aid to the Mahoning Valley during his April 27 rally in downtown Youngstown. Instead, the candidate focused on plans to improve the nation's economy overall, with particular emphasis on manufacturing jobs. That's probably for the bestfor the candidate and for the Mahoning Valley.With the wave of steel mill closings that began in 1977, the Valley was one of the first areas in the country to suffer the downside of the emerging global economy. As such, there may be a case to be made that some form of extraordinary federal intervention or aid would be appropriate.But consider what happened 12 years ago, when candidate Bill Clinton pledged he would support the Valley's bid to secure a Defense Finance and Accounting Center if it was among the top contenders. After he was elected, Clinton's administration scuttled the community competition. (Perhaps more questions should have been asked then about a process in which communities were pittedagainst each other in a bidding war to secure taxpayer-supported jobs.)Although the Clinton Administrationunder pressure from local officials at re-election time four years latercommitted substantial money to improvements at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, the DFAS center incident continues to be a sore spot among many in the traditionally Democratic Mahoning Valley.President Bush, who visited the area during the 2000 campaign, designated downtown Youngstown as a community renewal area, which meant no new federal money but tax breaks for employers within the area. However, the one of the key provisions of the designationthat businesses can claim the credit for employees only if they also live within the renewal areaseverely limits its benefit for a central business district that lacks a large residentialpopulation. City officials have been lobbying the administration to expand the renewal area.Certainly we should take advantage of any program that would help the area recover from the wounds left from decades past, not to mention the fresh ones inflicted in recent years. And local officials should press for whatever outside assistance they can get. But with a national economy that sees little job creation and the security issues of the post-9/11 world, the stakes are higher in this election. Local voters have an obligation to look beyond what candidates may be offering from the government goodie bag and consider which candidate's policies offer the best prospects for our nation as a whole.Ultimately the health of the local economy is more dependent on what is done locally to make this region more attractive for businesses to invest. Today,that means providing prospective employers with infrastructure to operate efficiently and a highly trained pool of workers at all skill levels as much as financial inducements such as cheap land and tax abatements.Do you have a comment or question about The Business Journal's MidMay editorial? To e-mail your message, click here."