With MBNA gone and with it all of the jobs and scholarships it gave out to a good percentage of the graduating high school seniors in this state, I submit that there is a shortage of entry level jobs for college graduates. With the exception of Astra-Zeneca, Gore, part of the duPont company, the state, and some banks that have stayed here, the remaining jobs are in the health, legal, and education industry, and half of those require an additional post-graduate degree. So my concern with this is that the state pushes for high schools to get their graduates up to "no child left behind" par, and a third or so go on to some type of college, and where do they expect these Delaware college graduates to come back and do? And even more to the point, is the state, by limiting these options, inherently telling the graduating seniors that unless you get a degree in these certain areas, you should look for jobs elsewhere?
Maybe, but probably not. Obviously your options with a college degree are more than they are without one. And there are a lot of jobs (although I agree there could be more) for those with just a high school diploma. But the gap is widening. And here, in 2007, I argue that a gap is beginning to form between those types of degrees people are getting. Thirty years from now, are you going to have to get a post-graduate degree in order to survive financially?
So what is the solution? (Meaning, how would I fix this?). I think the Governor, whoever the next one is, needs to make a concerted effort to recruit another Astra-Zeneca or MBNA-type (bank, insurance, etc.) (or Silicon Valley-type) company to relocate to Delaware. I would argue that this should be each of the '08 candidates' primary concern and platform (followed by the health care and education platforms that always show up at the top of the list). With the population growth spreading further south, the push shouldn't necessarily be to relocate this/these companies to Wilmington, but toward Kent or Sussex County. The population shift toward those counties is here anyway; the failure to recognize this and start to accommodate for it is just being short-sighted or disingenuous.
Even if one new company came in, that would create upwards of 2000+ jobs across the board (more if they build a new building and have to restructure the infrastructure). This would generate income for the state and the positive effects will certainly outweigh the negative ones I am conspicuously and purposely leaving out of this entry. Further, it would help fill out the void in the housing market that currently exists. While we are at it, why not start pushing for a branch of Toyota or some other car company to take over when Chrysler finally pulls out and leaves even more people out of a job? I think the effort to bring industry and business in shouldn't be focused directly on incorporation and the franchise tax; a scattergun recruiting effort across multiple industry lines could work. More research, admittedly, will need to be done (which helps create more jobs as well).
Lastly, for now, the idea of putting a new company south of the canal allows for the first step toward creating a mass transit system a more realistic idea. The current rail system exists for the industrial sector; putting the dual rails back in and recruiting a Septa-type organization to bid for the contract certainly would create additional jobs (both permanent and temporary) in building, running, maintaining, and policing this system. It could also help with the beach and tourist industry because many more would hop on the train to get to the beach, and could thereafter take Dart from the final train stop. Translation = more money for the state. More on this mass transit idea another day.
I can only invite commentary by posting; feel free post a comment and explain why this idea would or would not work.
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