Jobs: Biggest 4-letter word

Steve Griffitts is right.

One of the best things Twin Falls and the Magic Valley have going for them is something we just can't emulate up here. They're in one of the most diverse "food baskets" in America, with ample space to build manufacturing plants and plenty of natural resources to feed those plants.

But the "secret sauce" in the Magic Valley's success formula isn't that. In our opinion, they've got something we don't, and it's the biggest reason they're soaring while we're floating. They work together.

Let us repeat that: They work together. That's the difference.

Sure, in North Idaho we've got cooperation. Most people here in a position to influence the recruitment, retention or expansion of businesses apply the theory that good news in Post Falls or Hayden or even Sandpoint is also good news for Coeur d'Alene and Kellogg and St. Maries. Nobody gets that more than Griffitts, the head of our region's economic development agency, Jobs Plus, Inc.

But the cold truth is that we're splintered, and it hurts all of us. North Idaho College is adapting to the increasing demands of rapid workforce changes, but perhaps not quickly or thoroughly enough. That's not all their fault; they need the resources to adjust, adapt and train. And many of those resources come from the Idaho Legislature, which is part of the problem, too.

Our legislative contingent might be unanimous in its Republican Party affiliation, but after that it splinters into different directions. When virtually every economic development expert cites urban renewal as an essential or even the most essential economic development tool, we have one or more legislators working feverishly to outlaw use of that tool. We have legislators who appear more focused on women's reproductive issues and gun rights and woes in Washington than they are on doing everything in their power to strengthen the economy back home. That has to change.

In southern Idaho, this month's issue of North Idaho Business Journal illustrates, all egos are checked at the door and every agenda is aligned to one common good. That extends from the region's economic development leaders to the legislative delegation to area city councils to the vibrant College of Southern Idaho to private businesses of every size and shape. Together, they've generated 1,200 new jobs in just one year. That couldn't happen unless every single player was pulling in one direction.

Around here we've got to do a little soul searching. Then we've got to do some better communicating. We have a model for economic development: After the failures of timber and mining years ago, our region adapted by focusing on smaller, more diverse businesses. That way our whole economy wasn't dependent on one or two giants.

But is it the right model for today? What strategy do we as a region have to fulfill our economic development goals, and what resources are we dedicating to that attainment?

For a truly happy new year, these and other important questions must be addressed - together. The only way we're going to win the jobs war is to fight it every single day - together.