We hear the words "economic development" all the time.
Usually there is a big number attached to it. Millions of dollars invested. Sometimes billions. A new building. New construction. New tax revenue. And we point to those numbers and say, "Look, we're growing."
But I think we're measuring the wrong thing.
We can measure development in dollars and cents, but what we really need to measure is something much more personal:
Is my life better?
Can I live the life I want to live with some sense of safety and security? Can I afford the necessities? Can I put food on the table, get to a doctor when I need one, find a safe place to live, and earn enough money to pay my bills without constantly worrying about which one has to wait?
Can I raise my family here? And when I get older, can I stay here?
Because that's something I think we forget when we talk about growing our communities. A successful community isn't just a place where young families want to move. It should also be a place where the people who spent their lives building that community can grow old.
I don't want someone to have to leave the home they've lived in for 30 or 40 years simply because the grocery store closed and they can't drive twenty miles anymore. I don't want an older Missourian choosing between asking someone for a ride to a doctor's appointment or just not going. I don't want families leaving the town they love because there isn't childcare, housing, healthcare, or a job that pays enough for them to stay.
Those things don't show up in a ribbon cutting photograph.
But they tell us a whole lot more about the health of a community than the size of a new building does.
I'm not against growth. I'm not against bringing new businesses and new opportunities to Missouri. We need them.
But I don't think we should call something progress just because somebody spent a lot of money.
We should be willing to ask what that investment actually does for the people who already live there. Does it make their lives easier or harder? Does it strengthen the community around it? Does it use resources the community can afford to give? Are we building something that will still benefit the people living there twenty years from now?
Sometimes economic development is a billion-dollar project.
But sometimes it's a grocery store.
Sometimes it's a childcare center that allows ten parents to go to work.
Sometimes it's a local business that employs five people and keeps those five paychecks circulating in the community.
Sometimes it's making sure the doctor, pharmacy, or other basic service that's already there doesn't disappear.
Those investments may not make a very exciting press release. They may never come with an oversized pair of scissors and a ribbon cutting.
But they can change someone's life.
I want Missouri to grow. I want businesses to come here. I want our small towns and rural communities to have opportunities they haven't had before.
I just want us to remember why we're doing it.
The goal isn't development for the sake of development. The goal is a better life for the people who call Missouri home.
That's how I think we should measure progress.