Iowa's rain forest Saturday, January 28, 2006 For a couple of years, we have been following the saga of the indoor rain forest in Iowa. I got steamed when Iowa's Senator Grassley stuck in a $50 million earmark to support the indoor rain forest at the same time the federal government was cutting the Manufacturing Extension Program by a similar amount. (not surprisingly, the controversy pumped up the blogoshere. (The money for the rain forest was tucked into the Department of Energy legislation. That's the logic of earmarks.) The Senator has since modified his position to be more sensible. He has made the $50 million contingent on a local match. I'm all for big projects. But they need to be financed locally. Federal earmarks lull us into the idea that money is "free". The Environmental Project might be a great idea. We may need some environmental education in this country. (A new study released this week ranks the U.S. 28th in the world in environmental performance. Read more.) But the majority of the financing should come from a combination of private financing and local taxes. The federal government's investment -- if any in this time of record deficits-- should represent a small fraction of the total project. (Better yet, keep the federal government focused on investing in our colleges and universities.) Here's the latest chapter. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison |		This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. links Some Background on EDPro Weblog The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it. One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information. So, spread the word...Share the knowledge. Tell a friend about EDPro Weblog. If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site: Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber: Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking. Background on Ed Morrison Download some background information on me here.

The Web EDPro Weblog