Why would a leech kill its host?

I continue to get e-mails and blog comments from folks who live outside Birmingham and Jefferson County and wish the worst for us.

Here’s a comment I received from a prominent Shelby County business person…

“We make money when businesses move from Jefferson to Shelby.”

His follow up e-mail said…

“Why can’t you just realize that the city of Birmingham, Jefferson County, and the Water Works has always been run by corrupt, incompetent politicians of every color. Why would we want to dilute our smooth running suburban cities with this mess?”

Do folks in outlying counties benefit from Birmingham/Jefferson County’s misfortunes?

Possibly in the short run?  I’m sure some businesses are moving to Shelby County.

But in the long run?

According to the BBJ, our metro area, (this includes Shelby County) ranks 92nd among the nation’s 100 largest metro areas in job loss over the past 12-months. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).  We lost 1,200 lost jobs in our region this past year.

Also according to the BBJ, our metro area ranked 333rd out of the 366 metro areas in net loss of residents between July 2010 and July 2011.  Our region lost 1,207 residents per day.

Fifty-two percent of Shelby county workers, 47% of St. Clair County workers, and 43% of Blount County workers are employed in Jefferson County.

How do Jefferson Counties’ misfortunes help the people who live in those counties?

If Jefferson County implodes it will take everybody with it.

Leeches better hope for a long and healthy life for its host.

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David Sher’s goal is to create a conversation on how to fix our fragmented and dysfunctional local government.

David Sher is a partner in Buzz12 Relationship Marketing and co-CEO of AmSher Receivables Management. He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (ONB), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).

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2 thoughts on “Why would a leech kill its host?”

  1. *Someone said all it takes for bad people to control the world is for good people to do nothing. This blog is a great opportunity for good people to do something. There are two ways to have the tallest building in town. Build until your building is the tallest or simply tear all the other building down. There are some people who choose to tear down, why I don’t know. I never took that class. 

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