States and metro areas are like watercraft in that they can effortlessly ride with the tide, go with the flow. There’s even an outside chance in doing so that they’ll end up somewhere they wanted to go. Maybe.
The opposite of that is seen aboard vessels that have the dual strengths of powerful propulsion systems paired with skilled crews unafraid to both precisely navigate and lean hard into oars they’re willing to put into the water.
That’s the difference between passive and intentional.
It’s a fitting analogy for a new year and an economy that’s regained enough steam to let the most aggressive global players sail off in new directions toward that place called prosperity.
Right now, Georgia and metro Atlanta are far from the first away from the dock in this latest scramble for success. There’s still time for us to catch up — but only if we’re willing to adjust course, fire up lukewarm, idling old engines and get moving with gusto.
This maritime metaphor came to mind after Gov. Nathan Deal’s recent State of the State speech at the Gold Dome. Deal invoked the old fisherman’s prayer of, “Oh, God, Thy sea is so great and my boat is so small.”
We agree broadly with Deal that 10 million Georgians should have their oars in the water. We may differ on what cadence should be called so as to row in unison.
To start with, it’s up to Capt. Deal and the crew of lawmakers at the General Assembly to stop admiring the scenery up on deck and scramble down below to their stations and set to work on getting the ship that is Georgia moving faster, better and more efficiently than it has in decades.
To continue to ignore or gloss over our biggest economic risk factors while offering feeble excuses of conservative this or small-government that is unacceptably risky in 2015, we believe. Other conservative states are making bold moves; we should join them.
If that doesn’t happen soon, the popular applause line of “we’re the best state in the U.S. to do business” will rapidly hit its expiration date. For economies never stand still. The best players at the task of creating jobs and prosperity don’t lounge around on their laurels. They’re always looking ahead for the next opportunity — and looking over their shoulder at what might be gaining on them.
Just ask Georgia’s true job creators – business leaders. They’ve long led the advance teams searching for solutions to our problems. State and local elected leaders have too often been content to stay way further back, where the risk of taking a hit is much less. That’s happened on a Big Three of our state’s challenges: Transportation, education and water.
The business community has been forceful, consistent and innovative in urging action. Not all cities have this competitive advantage. Yet, what they’ve received in return from political ranks has been inconsistent, inadequte and haphazard at best. A narrow tax cut here; a charter school or two sprinkled elsewhere. We must do better.
While we sit moored at the dock, the hard-to-detect costs of gridlock and an inadequately educated future workforce continue to climb. But you have to know where to look to tally them up. That’s given our political leaders cover to continue saying – and doing – only what the electorate wants to hear. Thus, the hard conversations have yet to be had. That must change.
For the costs of inefficiency keep rising. Last week’s unfortunate pedestrian fatality on I-285’s top end brought much of this megaplex to a halt for hours. That wouldn’t be the case in other places that understand the worth of paying for adequate public infrastructure.
Most all of us know that challenges and upheaval – managed well – are not always bad things. Stared down honest and true, obstacles don’t get the best of the best among us. They deal with them. Georgia once did that better than most. It’s time to reclaim our legacy.
If Georgia’s political and business leaders can truly row together, then we believe nothing worldwide can stop our advance.
What’s that look like? Specifically, we need an audacious, far-reaching transportation fix enacted this year. That entails far more than an on-the-cheap, politically palatable effort to figuratively and literally patch a few potholes. Such won’t even delay the day of reckoning that’s coming if we fail to create new capacity and ways for people and goods to move efficiently.
Georgia also needs to settle on real ways to begin improving the schools that educate – or try to – 9 of 10 children here. Gov. Deal’s new Education Reform Commission holds promise in this regard – but only if they work fast, smart and well. And only if lawmakers act on smart solutions to ensure Georgia’s students have a workable shot at educational success.
We also need to finally end, somehow, the decades-long water war that threatens Georgia’s long-term viability. With the state lawyering up for yet another round of costly, lengthy litigation, the need to reach a real resolution of our water woes is as urgent as ever. The answers to this problem will likely involve much more than an uncertain court victory.
Georgians today need fixes, not platitudes, missteps and street theater that distracts from the looming calamities behind the curtain.
Gov. Deal, beginning his second term, is in an ideal position to lead bold efforts to safeguard Georgia’s future — and his own legacy.
Courageous, comprehensive action by Deal and lawmakers is the best way to synchronize those 10 million oars in the water that Deal spoke of. To do otherwise is to continue to row in circles.
