Ignoring the state’s largest industry is not a fruitful way to bolster Pasco’s economy. But that was the recommendation from an economic development consultant who said Pasco should quit worrying about luring tourists and the low-wage service jobs that follow. Instead, the county should put more emphasis on industrial recruitment.
The suggestion is based on economics, not politics. It doesn’t even account for the commission’s frustrating and prolonged effort deciding how to spend Pasco’s tourism construction money that has accumulated for more than two decades. The high profile political problems tied to tourism development include commissioners approving a tourism plan then killing a bed tax increase to finance it; parochialism; and the soured romances with private-sector partners over proposed sports venues. [Read more...]
