Cheap shot

The local media recently brought us numerous and breathless reports of how great it was for the Fort Smith region to be THE lowest cost of of living region in the nation.

Our regional cost of living index is 85.2, meaning what costs a $1 for the average American in the average city costs us 85.2 cents. This is according to the smart folks at Kiplinger.

“Arkansas is a low-cost, low-tax state, and its second largest city, Fort Smith, is no exception,” Kiplinger noted in its report. “Housing, grocery and transportation costs here are well below the national average. And compared with the most-expensive city on our list, New York, everything in Fort Smith is a bargain.”

Such news was hailed as a great revelation to be used to recruit more businesses and jobs and folks to this great place where everything from bubble gum, bibles, bungalows and sex toys are cheaper than anywhere else from sea to shining sea. It was as if we were all an ecstatic Sally Fields amazed that Kiplinger really, really liked us.

When it comes housing, utilities, transportation, grocery items, health care and miscellaneous goods and services, you get more bang for the buck in the Fort Smith region.

Let me be the first cynical ass to suggest this cheap-living moniker is not necessarily a badge of honor. Or, in other words, let’s note that you get what you pay for.

When you book a hotel room in an unfamiliar city, do you search for the cheapest place to stay? Nope. Cheap doesn’t equate to safe, or good or convenient or efficient. When going out to eat in an unfamiliar city, do you always look for the cheapest steak house? Probably not. Most folks shoot for the middle on hotels and restaurants, hoping to maximize their dollars and experience.

Is it nice to get more home for the dollar than almost anywhere else in the nation? Sure. And as a small business owner, there is a clear appreciation for the low labor and other operating costs found in the Fort Smith region.

But the thing is, we can’t cheap our way to a better economy.

If our collective goal is to improve our regional economy by adding more jobs, creating a greater diversity of jobs and adding a larger mix of higher-paying jobs, we can’t do that and be a cheap place to live.

Economics 101 demands that a more robust economy create inflation. A more robust economy that creates more work opportunities for the increasing number of graduates from the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith and the Ozark campus of Arkansas Tech University will require a higher level of pay. A higher level of pay will result in more opportunities to spend that higher level of pay. More opportunities to spend higher pay will result in more options for arts and entertainment, more dining options, more housing options, more shopping options and more folks reading The City Wire. All of those options — except for reading The City Wire — will result in a higher cost of living.

This is not to lobby for a cost of living that approximates that of New York City, where the average home costs $1.15 million (compared to $223,885 for the Fort Smith region).

It is to lobby that we aggressively pursue an economic development strategy that puts us in Kiplinger’s “10 Best Cities for the Next Decade” list. On that list you’ll find low-cost mid-American cities like Topeka, Kan. (cost of living index: 89.1) and Des Moines, Iowa, (cost of living index 92.1) where Kiplinger suggests a combination of affordable housing, growth in emerging economy jobs and increase in arts and entertainment options (quality of place) make the cities a good bet for businesses and individuals.

Of the Best Cities, Kiplinger notes: “Creativity in music, arts and culture, plus neighborhoods and recreational facilities that rank high for ‘coolness,’ attract like-minded professionals who go on to cultivate a region’s business scene. All of which make our 2010 Best Cities not just great places to live but also great places to start a business or find a job.”

In other words, our goal should be to prove wrong a recent Georgetown University report that predicts Arkansas in 2018 will be 47th in the nation in terms of jobs that require a bachelor’s degree, and 9th in terms of jobs for high school dropouts.

“By 2018, 52% of jobs in Arkansas will require postsecondary education. This is 11 percentage points below the national average of 63%,” notes the report from the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown.

Do we really want to be on the low-end of the job totem pole AGAIN near the end of the next decade?

Let me be the first cynical ass to again suggest this cheap-living moniker is not a badge of honor. Or, in other words, let’s note that you get what you pay for.

Life is worth living in Fort Smith only as long as the jobs are worth having. And if the jobs are worth having it’s safe to say life will be a little more expensive in Fort Smith. And if it costs a little more to better ensure that my children and your children can find more economic opportunity and cultural enrichment in this region, then please, send me a bill.