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Randy Schenkat: Let's invest in people's minds to boost economy
By Randy Schenkat|Posted:Sunday, February 19, 2012 12:15 am
In 1905, Winona went bust - lumbering had petered out. In the lumber era, lots
of money was made by a small number of people. It was pure and simple
exploitation of the working class and the natural environment.
Lumbering dried up pretty quickly, and many men were left without work. And
many of the lumber barons said goodbye to Winona and headed west to keep those
fortunes growing. So much for hometown loyalty.
Old-style lumbering and frac sand mining have something in common. They're
based on extractive economies - taking from mother nature with no consideration
of this sacred balance we're learning to recognize is necessary for our
long-term survival. From a religious context, more of us are taking serious our
call to be stewards of the earth. In fact, if frac sand mining was
nature-sensitive, we wouldn't need the county concocting all kinds of
requirements to protect us and the environment from the rapine ways of these
undisclosed nonlocal companies.
A lot of study has been done on this kind of extractive/exploitative economy.
One general pattern is the boom-bust cycle. In all the testimony before boards
and commissions we've had of late, one hears little about this well-studied
area. For example, a study titled "The Economic Anomaly of Mining - Great
Wealth, High Wages, Declining Communities" finds: "Across the United States,
mining communities, are noted for high levels of unemployment, slow rates of
growth of income and employment, high poverty." Are the folks at the Chamber of
Commerce considering this and the possible impacts on our whole economy?
Winona's lumbering history and frac sand mining have another feature in common.
It has to do with the assumptions they have about their workers as human
beings. They support the attitude of paying them the minimum they can get away
with. When things get tough, you've made your money, and you certainly don't
have any obligations to those local working stiffs.
It's sad the pro frac sand lobby is talking about bringing back this
extractive, exploitative economy - something that prevailed over a century ago
in Winona. Is this progress?
In conversation with a friend the other day, he made a distinction that sheds
some light on economic development. His son works for Google. Their philosophy
is, "Help our workers do well financially, and we'll do well, too." They have
an innovative practice of allowing each worker to devote 20 percent of his or
her time to projects they personally create. It's like devoting 20 percent of
your compensation to research and development. And it pays huge dividends in
the creativity and success of Google.
That Google story got me recalling a local story tucked away in my head. I went
back online and re-read an article the Daily News ran last fall on Plasticomp.
It sounded a lot like Google.
They believe their company profits are created out of the minds and creativity
of their employees in coming up with solutions for customers. In the 2008
recession, people weren't laid off. They have a loyalty to workers and their
families. The company tightened its belt.
Come to think about it, it's part of the Fastenal story, too. Associates do
well, and the company does well. It's a whole different mind-set than paying
only what you have to. It's also a way of thinking about co-workers that the
Winona Council for Quality has advocated over the past 20 years.
Back to the new future the Winona Area Chamber of Commerce touts ... What's
particularly curious about the wealth to be created in frac sand mining is that
we as citizens know little of what's behind the ownership in this whole
burgeoning mining industry. Some speculate Big Oil is behind it. There might be
some money made by local trucking firms, and the owners of the frac mountains
where it will be processed before it's shipped out of Winona. Best guesses say,
along with lots of sand being shipped out of our county leaving gapping holes
in our pristine landscape, a lot of money will be shipped out, too.
Fastenal and Plasticomp aren't unique; many local companies are operating with
a pro-people/pro-profit mentality that is supportive of the minds and spirits
of co-workers. These are the jobs of our future.
Let's have some thoughtful discussions about what this extractive, exploitative
economy is going to do for our area in the long run - and look at the abundant
research that isn't being considered.
We know Chrysler Winona isn't happy. What about Sears or Daniel's Hardware?
How appealing will Shakespeare and Beethoven visitors find the drive to the
Minnesota Marine Art Museum next summer among the frac sand trucks?
If jobs are the issue, let's try to think a little more creatively about how to
create pro-community jobs in Winona County. Our answers for a healthy economic
future are in our minds, not mines.
Schenkat is the director of the Winona Council for Quality.