A casualty of 2012 election. New YMCA plan in Lynden

While there were yes votes for a lot of things in Washington State, a recreation center in the town of Lynden (north of Bellingham) was voted down. Plan was to restore the old Delft Square building that was damaged by fire several years ago. Turn it into a recreation center that would be owned by the Lynden Parks District and then operated by the YMCA.

Lynden voters weren't that generous, but also geography might have played a role. Lynden Parks District has the same boundaries as the Lynden School District and the recreation center would have most likely been a benefit to a much larger region. Maybe the folks around Lynden didn't feel like paying a tax that would have provided something for a larger area even though it would have helped downtown Lynden as people would be drawn to the downtown.

Below picture from my files taken in 2009. Old Lynden Department Store building, later named Delft Square.

I don't get to Lynden that often, myself. What's there to do out there? I know, there's the Lynden Museum with a lot of antiques. I'm sure there's some stuff to do, but there's more to do in Bellingham, of course. Bellingham is a lot bigger.

At least there's a nice bike path to Ferndale. It goes along the Nooksack River Dike into Hovander Homestead County Park. Sometimes I ride out to Ferndale and then turn around and come back. I pick up that bike path off of Slater Road.

As an armchair "Wednesday morning" after the election analyst, I got to thinking. Seems like if the parks district was bigger, the idea might have gotten farther. That thinking brought me (web surfing) to a map of Washington State school districts. Here's the northwest Washington area excerpted from the school district map.

Remember, Lynden Parks and Lynden School District have the same borders, but maybe Lynden could view itself as sort of a hub for Nooksack Valley, Meridian, the north part of Ferndale and possibly even Blaine districts.

A county park rather than a city park?

Interesting looking map I discovered. I've never looked at the state from the perspective of it's many varied school districts.

Update 2016. Building has been restored as hotel and retail. See description and photo essay here.

Like it our not, this economy seems to be dependent on government spending

Radio news says Congressional Budget Office warns of possible double dip recession if automatic spending cuts and tax hikes, called "the sequester," go into effect at end of year. Looks like the economy is, to a large extent, dependent on government spending.

Maybe private enterprise should be allowed to build all those fossil fuel pipelines and coal ports? More drought in Midwest for sure.

We need some better thinking than the old Republican playbooks.

Main point of Obama's comment today. Public sector isn't doing fine

But the campaign gets lost in sound bytes.

Republicans are giving President Obama flack for saying that job growth in the private sector is doing fine. They are seizing a sound byte to make it look like Obama is out of touch.

Since then, Obama has admitted that the private sector isn't really doing fine. Recovery is anemic at best. While a lot of political hay is being made out of whether Obama was mistaken, or not, in saying that the private sector is fine, a more important point is being lost. The public sector is retrenching.

Well, maybe that's part of the reason why job growth in the private sector is anemic. Like it or not, the public sector is a big market for goods and services created by the private sector. Softness in the consumer market is probably the main reason why private sector growth is anemic at best. Who wants to invest in expanding production if they don't feel there's going to be a market for that production?

Some conservatives are happy that the public sector is shrinking since they feel that the public sector is not the way to stimulate the economy.

Conservatives keep asking whether the public sector is a good way to lead a recovery; especially while the public sector is so far in debt.

Maybe it is. Maybe it's not a good way to lead a recovery. If not, then one needs to ask, is there another way to stimulate the private sector, besides growth if spending in the public sector?

Increasing exports comes to mind; for instance.

Regardless of whether growth is in the public sector or the private sector, here is the big question I keep asking. Is there a way to grow the economy without destroying our natural environment? If we can answer that question, we're on our way to recovery.

Where would Wall Street be without Bureau of Labor Statistics?

Lucky it was Department Of Commerce with it's Census Bureau, rather than the Department of Labor that Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry suggested eliminating. The Census is important, but without that constant stream of numbers flowing from the Bureau Of Labor Statistics, those friends of Republicans, who reside on Wall Street would be lost. Employment data, cost of living analysis and other barometers to the economy seem to give the stock market it's bearing. Is it good news or bad news? Should stocks go up or down? Without these figures, they might have to resort to using roulette wheels. Come to think about it, they might as well be using roulette wheels. Is it killing the goose that lays the golden egg?

Obama deficit?

Okay, maybe they shouldn't have had a stimulus program to try and reduce unemployment after the 2008 crash. If the private sector doesn't create the jobs, tough. Can't the people eat cake? If the infrastructure is crumbling, tough. Just let the bridges fall where they may.

Just kidding.

Last bastion of the middle class - public employment

The gap between high income elite and low income masses is more pronounced in private sector. A larger percentage of public sector employees seem to be middle class. Not wealthy, but still having pretty nice benefits like health insurance that's more likely to be missing in private sector employment.

As the middle class disappears in private sector, it will get harder to sustain it in the public sector as well. Following leads from Facebook friends, a video from CBS News 60 Minutes came to my attention. Sure points out how far in the hole so many state governments have gone borrowing from their own pension funds and so forth. Looks like a lot of the pensions that were negotiated by state employee unions were unsustainable. Some are generous by private sector standards, except for the golden parachutes near the top of private sector. One governor was quoted saying that if he talked about needs to trim state employee pensions, many of his constituents would say, you mean there are still people who have pensions?

Yes, it's hard to justify middle class living in the public sector when many of the taxpayers are no longer living in the middle class. Part of the energy behind the Tea Party movement; no doubt.

As the gap between wealthy and low income becomes wider, in private sector, it's harder to maintain an economic "middle ground." in the public sector.

On another note, I remember how the middle class was derided during hippie movements of the late 60s and early 70s. Middle class was seen as materialistic, stuffy, the suburbs, conservative, mainstream and living in little boxes made of ticky tacky.

Now, the middle class is being missed by quite a few folks on the left. Folks are holding protest signs for "family wage" jobs. Even Lawrence Welk (a pastime in many middle class homes of the 1960s and 70s) is now remembered with fondness and nostalgia by folks who often derided the show in it's day.

Joe Biden's frozen custard remark

After Biden asked what he owed for his tasty frozen treat, Kopp's Frozen Custard manager Scott Borkin quipped, "Don't worry, it's on the house. ... Lower our taxes and we'll call it even."

Biden initially brushed off Borkin's comment — but then circled back to the manager and asked, "Why don't you say something nice instead of being a smarta-- all the time?"

Biden should have said, "it's easier to pay $5 for a custard than cut taxes, or government spending."

Biden was in Wisconsin, but I've bought things here in Washington State where the shopkeeper tallies up with a frown and the remark "and 20 cents for the governor."

My comeback has been, "20 cents to help keep Western Washington University open." WWU is an important employer in Bellingham's local economy that relies to a large extent on state taxes.

When government becomes the consumer of last resort

Both Congress and President elect Obama are talking large stimulus packages. Government becomes the "consumer of last resort" and, if done properly, it can buy things we really need. Things like transportation infrastructure and affordable housing. The private market hasn't been bringing enough of what we really need.

Construction on Walton Place near downtown Bellingham.

A stimulus check as tax rebate might just go into the private market and get lost in buying imports. Do we really need more toys from China?

When government becomes the consumer, it can direct spending toward more long term needs that private market doesn't seem to buy. Things like roads and bridges. Research into cleaner energy.

I'm sure private markets do some of this, but it seems like government needs to set direction. Let private enterprise do the work, contracting and so forth while government buys.

Pictured above is a large crane working on local project of mixed and affordable housing. Crane was brought in this fall as lots of other projects faltered from the current economic crisis. This project is moving forward. Government is involved. HUD money I think.

Government can be the consumer of last resort. Also, hopefully, a wise spender.

Where does government get it's money?

I'm scratching my head.

Hopefully it doesn't have to be paid back.

The Federal Reserve prints it?

I'm sure government does owe lots of money, but somehow, it seems to get by ringing up more debt. Interest rates remain low.

There's plenty of capital, but government seems to be the only conduit that's trusted these days. I guess it's called priming the pump.