Why America Needs A Jobs Bill

Last night, in front of a joint session of Congress, President Obama announced his $450 billion plan to help jumpstart the U.S. economy. “The American Jobs Act” calls for tax cuts for small businesses, new investments to modernize infrastructure and a 50 percent reduction of payroll taxes for 160 million workers. The plan also aims to reform unemployment insurance to encourage workers to pursue job training and expand summer job opportunities for low-income youth.

Many of the ideas unveiled yesterday have been supported by both Democrats and Republicans. With the political gridlock in mind that continues to plague Washington, the President urged strongly for compromise.

“The people of this country work hard to meet their responsibilities,” Obama said. “The question tonight is whether we'll meet ours. The question is whether in the face of an ongoing national crisis, we can stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy.”

As a whole, the plan is a good step in the right direction. If passed, the plan could add 2 percentage points to real GDP growth and 1.9 million payroll jobs, and reduce unemployment by a percentage point, according to Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi. Extending the payroll tax holiday on its own could add 750,000 jobs, Zandi told McClatchy-Tribune News. While the bill still needs to be vetted by Congress, this short-term stimulus would come at a critical time for an economy that has yet to fully recover from the 2008 recession.

The U.S. unemployment rate continues to hover around 9%. Even more alarming are the number of Americans who are unemployed or working part-time but want full-time work, which stands at 18.5 percent, up from 18 percent at the end of July, according to a Gallup Poll. It is clear that Congress needs to act quickly to improve the labor market. Without immediate action, there will continue to be uncertainly in global financial markets, which will undermine long-term economic growth and private sector job creation.

For far too long, politicians in Washington have ignored our real priorities. America can no longer afford the price of political posturing. As we approach the 10th anniversary of 9/11, we should be reminded of our ability to come together as a nation in times of uncertainty. Today, our economic security is in danger. I hope Congress and the President will set ideological differences aside and unite to pass a jobs bill. The American people deserve it.

Bond Market and the U.S. Dollar

Great article about the Wall Street Journal discussing how the bond market is creating new implications for the U.S. dollar.

Have Bond Vigilantes Become Dollar Vigilantes?

Have market “vigilantes” — the scourges of U.S. economic policy who in years past drove up Treasurys yields in response to inflation fears — traded in bonds for dollars as their weapon of choice?

And if they have picked up the dollar as their sword, they are headed for their final showdown when the Federal Reserve ends its controversial $600 billion bond-buying program in June.

During the late 1970s through the 1990s, bond vigilantes routinely demanded higher yields to compensate for rising prices, cowing U.S. policymakers into curbing budget deficits or hiking interest rates. But the U.S. government’s current unsavory mix of cheap credit and a precarious budget deficit has closed off that path.

The Fed’s bond buying program has suppressed Treasury yields and curbed selling pressure. Also in a world where several central banks are large buyers of Treasurys, vigilantes would not only be fighting the Fed, but also several other central banks.

“What investor will fight the power of a central bank?,” asked Alessio de Longis, vice president and portfolio manager of the Oppenheimer Currency Opportunities Fund. The bond-buying program “may incentivize macro investors to find different vehicles to express” disapproval of U.S. economic policies, he said.

Have the vigilantes pounced on the dollar? The dollar has fallen by more than 10% on a trade-weighted basis since Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke announced the bond buying in August 2010.

The dollar has plunged to multiyear lows against higher-yielding currencies such as the euro, Australian dollar and pound. It has also plumbed a record low against the Swiss franc, sliding nearly 5% in April against a basket of major currencies on its way to its lowest level since July 2008.

“Although the dollar has declined substantially from recent peaks, it remains about 20% above its average level over the last 40 years versus a broad, trade-weighted index,” noted Matthew Gelfand, a senior economist and senior investment advisor at Rockefeller Financial.

As a result, the dollar is not yet at levels that would lead to a loss of confidence in U.S. assets. But should Washington prove incapable of taming its debt-fueled spending and the Fed remain biased toward easy money, the vigilantes would likely press U.S. policymakers.

Before that occurs, “I expect the Fed and the U.S. government are likely to shift gears in the foreseeable future. . . and thus forestall a significant, deleterious drop in the dollar,” Gelfand said.If the vigilantes have moved to the U.S. currency, their hand definitely will be forced when the Federal Reserve ends its bond buying.

They could get caught if the end of ultra-loose liquidity leads to a pent-up wave of dollar buying. John Taylor, chief investment officer at FX Concepts, said the program’s end “should put upward pressure on the dollar, even if interest rate differentials stay exactly where they are.”

But the vigilantes could cash in should the dollar fall into a death spiral if the economy falters or needs even more stimulus once the bond buying ends.

Dollar bears are clearly discomfited by the current U.S. policy mix, but not all market observers think that vigilantes are the culprit.

David Gilmore, a partner at FX Analytics in Essex, Conn., sees the yield differential between Europe and the U.S.–expected to grow wider as the European Central Bank embarks on a monetary tightening cycle–as the single biggest reason why the dollar is falling. Gilmore sees surging stock markets, which have risen on strong earnings, and stable bond markets as a sign that investors have not yet completely lost faith in U.S. assets.

“If those two markets start to weaken because people are losing confidence in the dollar, we will have a rapid change in policy. That would bring forward an exit policy from the Fed,” which would likely start talking up the dollar in order to avoid a run on dollar-denominated assets, Gilmore said.

Invest in America's Children

My Latest Piece Featured @ YPNation.com:
http://www.ypnation.com/blogs/invest-americas-children

Conspicuously missing from the national budget debate is a discussion about strategic investments in early childhood education.

Without a doubt, all levels of government are facing tough choices in this new age of austerity. But if America is to remain a country that prides itself on enabling individuals to pursue their God-given abilities in a free market system, than it must place top priority on ensuring its children have the skills to compete in today’s global economy.

Targeted investments in early childhood development can lead to significant economic gains for society. For every dollar invested in early learning programs today, savings range from $2.50 to as much as $17 per child in the years ahead, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Children who are involved in early childhood education programs are less likely to rely on social services and are more likely to earn more. High-quality prekindergarten for disadvantaged three- and four- year olds generates a 16 percent annual rate of return, according to the Federal Reserve.Which leads to increased tax revenues for local communities as well as declining expenditures on costly juvenile justice and social welfare programs.

Many communities across the country have begun to develop innovative programs to address this need. For example, in Cleveland, a broad spectrum of leaders from the public, private, and non-profit sectors joined together in 1999 to develop Invest in Children, an initiative aimed at increasing the development, funding, visibility, and impact of early childhood services. Since its inception, the program has served more than 75 percent of all new infants born in Greater Cleveland. Students who participated in the Invest in Children program and then entered kindergarten in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District averaged a score three points higher on the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment for Literacy (KRA-L) than other students in the district.

Early learning programs are a good investment, yet they are too often neglected in economic agendas, despite their importance to America’s long-term strategic interests and the high rates of return they generate for the public and private sectors.

Investing in early childhood education is an important first step as America plots its path back to prosperity. Tax cuts and entitlement reform are only part of the solution. To win the future, we must invest in our most precious asset—our children.

Building A Critical Mass

St. Patrick’s Day is a great day if you’re a Clevelander. It’s one of those rare occasions where you can experience having a critical mass of people downtown. Bars are packed. Cars stand at a stand still on the street. If you close your eyes and take in all of the sounds of the city, you would easily think you were in Chicago or New York City. Walking down the street, I was struck by the comments of a bystander who said, “I would easily live downtown if it were always this crowded and filled with energy.” The sad reality is that there a probably thousands of people across Northeast Ohio who feel the same way. They would live in the city if it had a vibrant urban core, good schools, and a sense of connectedness.

The latest figures from the U.S. Census make the case for a new sense of urgency around quelling Cleveland’s population loss even greater. With 396,815 residents, the lowest since the 1900’s, the challenge of creating a robust urban core seems daunting, but the problem can be fixed. To help solve Cleveland’s population problem, a group of civic and business leaders have come together to help re-engineer Cleveland as an international metropolis, through Global Cleveland, a new initiative aimed at attracting diverse talent and marketing the city in immigrant and minority communities across the country. The group has set out an ambitious goal of attracting 200,000 immigrants over the next two decades. This new project is also focused on building a welcome center that would serve as a way to connect new residents to the greater Cleveland community.

The Global Cleveland project, if done right is certainly a step in the right direction. By attracting new immigrants and creating more open and welcoming neighborhoods, the city could truly begin to develop the entrepreneurial culture and dynamism to foster sustainable economic growth. Creating a prosperous urban core in Northeast Ohio also requires dramatically transforming public education to help encourage middle-class families to live in the city. More of the same just won’t do.

Cleveland: A Visionary City

Last week, Yahoo Travel ranked Cleveland as one of the word's most visionary cities. This comes as a pleasant surprise for a city who is usually showcased in a negative light when it comes to rankings on misery, crime, and education.

Being back in Cleveland recently, I have been able to feel the sense of excitement and optimism in the possibilities for the future. Businesses, policymakers, and foundations are collaborating in innovative ways to turn the tide to create sustainable economic growth in the region. Just in the past two weeks the city has held groundbreaking ceremonies for over $2 billion dollars  worth of development projects, which over time has the opportunity to make Cleveland a true 24-hour city.

Social entrepreneurs from across the city are also rallying together to help renew the civic fabric of Northeast Ohio. Just yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with Jack Storey, Co-Founder of Saving Cities, an organization dedicated to using media as a tool to advance community development across the Rust Belt. Jack shares the passion and intellectual curiosity of so many young professionals in Northeast Ohio who are dedicated to putting Cleveland back on the map. They just need the right voice and the right mechanisms to ensure that their ideas can be translated into action.

Moving forward, Cleveland should be proud of this new ranking. Our city has all the right assets to be a competitive city in the 21st century. For too long we have focused on whats wrong and not whats right. Citizens of Cleveland should hold their heads high and be proud as people from all walks of life are rolling up their sleeves to solve local problems. At the end of the day, this is the only thing that will allow us to realize our true destiny.

A New Era Begins

This week, Ed Fitzgerald began his tenure as the county's first-executive. On his first day in office, Fitzgerald implemented a sweeping new ethics policy for county employees. Under this new framework, county employees will no longer be able to accept any gifts that could influence their official duties and will be forbidden to hold any outside job without approval. This is certainly a step in the right direction. Focusing on creating a more accountable and transparent government is the best way to rebuild public trust. Yet, beyond focusing on good government policies, Fitzgerald will have a huge opportunity to create a 21st century economic agenda for the region.

The latest economic downturn has fundamentally changed our global economic order, creating huge implications for state and local governments across the United States. With rising deficits, unfunded mandates, and weak economic growth, the mantra of “doing more with less” will continue to be an overriding principle when delivering public goods. While the challenges of this “new normal” seem insurmountable, there is a unique opportunity for Northeast Ohio to think differently about it's economic assets.

Cleveland's healthcare sector is one economic asset that, if leveraged right, has the opportunity to truly revive the region. Just this month construction started on the Medical Mart and Convention Center, which will showcase and market high tech medical equipment. The $465 million facility is not a economic panacea but alongside other strategic investments, it could help re-brand Cleveland as a global health-care hub while attracting high-paying jobs.  It also will help bring more customers to the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospital. Yet, to fully reap the benefits of these economic development projects, regional leaders, like Fitzgerald, will need to work towards developing policies and strategies to ensure our region has a world-class workforce. This requires a bigger, bolder, and better approach to education.

According to the U.S. Census, more than a third of adults in Greater Cleveland hold an advanced degree. However, in the city of Cleveland, only 13.7% of adults hold a bachelor degree, and only 5.2% have an advanced degree. This huge gap, coupled with the cities low graduation rate, make it particularly difficult to attract employers in today's highly competitive knowledge based economy. Fitzgerald, along with the regions other business and civic leaders must use this defining moment in our region's history as a clarion call to action. Ensuring that every child in Cuyahoga County has the skills to be ready for college, work, and life in the 21st century is in everyone's best interest.

Sustainable Leadership in Urban Schools

Earlier this week, Cleveland Schools CEO Eugene Sanders announced his intentions to resign. Sanders retirement came as a surprise to many throughout the city. Just six months ago he announced a wide scale school transformation plan, calling it the most important work of his career. While the district has asserted its intentions to continue moving forward with the plan, its success is without a doubt in question.

Cleveland, like many other cities with failing schools, is struggling to keep students and attract high-quality teachers. Bold reform is needed. But can it be achieved without sustainable leadership?

The D.C. public schools face a similar challenge. This past November, school Chancellor Michelle Rhee and Mayor Adrian Fenty suffered an electoral defeat that has put the city’s education transformation plan in jeopardy.  While Mayor-Elect Vincent Gray has promised to continue those reforms, there is still a sense of uncertainty about the future.  The challenges facing Americas education system are too daunting for inconsistent leadership. School chiefs need time to implement their plans.  And elected officials need to think creatively about how they hire superintendents. Even more importantly, superintendents must implement succession planning into their human capital strategies. All of these factors are critical to ensure school effectiveness.

It is my hope that Cleveland community leaders will do their due diligence to ensure our next schools chief has the commitment and the vision to turn around Cleveland’s schools. With a 54% graduation rate, one of the lowest in the nation, we need more than a plan…we need a movement. 

Connecting Lake Erie to the Global Economy

Yesterday, the Cleveland Plain Dealer released a thoughtful op-ed discussing the merits of Cleveland connecting its port with Montreal. The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority has struggled for years to develop a comprehensive vision. Developing a strategic partnership with Montreal is a step in the right direction for opening up our ports to the global economy.


Montreal link with Cleveland port is worth a look: editorial
By: Plain Dealer Editorial Board


They're back. But this time the Cleveland- Cuyahoga County Port Authority is developing a strategy for container traffic within the Great Lakes that could actually hold water -- and make Cleveland a leading innovator for a new form of lakes shipping.

Former ports CEO Adam Wasserman first flagged the idea of expanding the Cleveland port to handle containers that also ship by truck and rail. But Wasserman never moved beyond pie-in-the-sky schemes.

Since taking over after Wasserman's ouster, current port President Will Friedman has been busily establishing the contacts and key planning elements needed to create the first international container service on the Great Lakes. Among them:

• The definition of a route between Montreal and Cleveland. Great Lakes Feeder Lines, a joint American-Canadian company, would provide a vessel to shuttle containers back and forth.

• A demonstration that Cleveland's current docks could handle container cargo without added taxpayer investments. Last month, one of Great Lakes Feeder Lines' vessels was in town to demonstrate how containers could be loaded and unloaded here. Cleveland has the necessary longshoremen, a terminal operator with the needed equipment and the road and rail connections to move goods throughout Northeast Ohio.

• A realistic sense of scale. Cleveland is not going to compete with the Port of New York and New Jersey, which handles more than 5 million containers a year. Friedman figures the feeder line would handle 16,000 containers a year, linking with ocean-going vessels plying trans-Atlantic routes. "We're trying to provide a niche service for Northeast Ohio," he said.

Initial response from Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies in the region has been good, according to David Gutheil, who was hired last month as vice president of maritime and logistics for the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority.

For taxpayers, the good news is that, unlike Wasserman's approach to international shipping, Friedman's envisions no public subsidy. But it's not all likely to be smooth sailing. 

Transit time and cost must be competitive enough to give ocean shippers a reason to change to a new mode of transportation.  And let's not forget Mother Nature. The St. Laurence Seaway and the Great Lakes freeze between mid-December and mid-February 

Still, the idea of a contained container service between Montreal and Cleveland merits further study. As cargo tonnage on the Great Lakes drops, it is crucial that the port embrace innovative ways of selling its services. And container traffic could help buoy it up.

The End of Our Real Estate Market Woes?

Without question the latest economic recession has had a devastating impact on the economy of Northeast Ohio. Exacerbated by the foreclosure crisis, Cleveland's real estate market has been in decline as early as 2007. However, recent market trends show some signs that Cleveland's real estate market may be on the upswing.

While the housing market in cities like Detroit and Las Vegas has yet to fully recover, the Cleveland market has begun to stabilize and bottom out. According to the most recent numbers, home sales in the greater Northeast Ohio area from January through September are better than they were in 2009. Throughout the region, housing consumers are beginning to buy and their appetite for investment has been increased due to historically low interest rates and federal tax credits. Home prices have also gone up over the past six months, which bodes well for residents who have seen their housing values plummet due to the sub-prime mortgage crisis that almost paralyzed the region. While these trends are promising, Cleveland's economy still has a long way to go to fully recover.  Over the past 10 years, Cleveland lost a a fifth of its jobs as the manufacturing base eroded. Leaders in the region are now working vigorously to retrain workers in healthcare, one of the regions greatest economic assets.

Moving forward, Cleveland and its leaders must continue to work towards creating regional economic development strategies that will attract new investment. Cleveland's unique location by Lake Erie and its emerging strengths as a biotechnology and healthcare capital are all great foundations to build upon.

A New Path for Revitilization

Yesterday voters elected Ed Fitzgerald, Mayor of Lakewood, as the new County Executive for Cuyahoga County. Under the backdrop of the worst corruption scandal in county history, Fitzgerald was able to overcome his Republican challenger, Matt Dolan, who spent millions of dollars linking Fitzgerald to the current scandal facing the local Democratic party. As the first County Executive, Fitzgerald will be faced with a laundry list of challenges. While restoring faith and credibility in county government should be his main priority. Fitzgerald has a unique opportunity to re-imagine Cleveland's role as the economic nucleus of Northeast Ohio.

Earlier last month, urban development experts from across the country gathered in Cleveland to discuss how to use vacant properties as an economic asset. Many cities across the country have had no choice but to make this issue a priority, as towering mortgage debt and urban disinvestment continues to plague many inner-city communities. In 2009, Cleveland alone witnessed more than 20,000 foreclosures, according to cases filed in the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. This coupled with rising population loss and increasing levels of poverty, has undermined real GDP growth in the region. Yet while these structural challenges seem impossible to address, there is hope as some communities in the city are beginning to turn the page. Urban wine gardens are being created in the Hough Neighborhood, and University Circle is only at the cusp of witnessing how the new transit line will help link its assets to Downtown Cleveland. "Instead of figuring out what to do with (all) the vacant land, we need to figure out for each neighborhood, 'What are your most pressing problems, and in what way can vacant land be part of an answer?" says, Terry Schwarz, director of Kent State University's Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative. And it may take this neighborhood approach to really help make Cleveland, and thus Cuyahoga County, more economically competitive. 

Nonetheless, as Fitzgerald begins his transition as the region's newly elected leader, he must do all the he can to listen to leaders in Cleveland to develop a sophisticated economic agenda that places the city at the center. In this age of austerity, rethinking how we utilize our must underused properties will be integral to that economic agenda. Cleveland can't afford to wait for another historic election to solve its problems. If Fitzgerald does his due diligence, he can help lead the both the county and the city to a new age of prosperity. 

Cleveburg Rising

Check out this great post via  Burgh Diaspora by Jim Russell

The next Silicon Valley won't look like Silicon Valley. The era of greenfield economic development is over, at least in most OECD countries. Here in the United States, we've done a good job of picking that low-hanging fruit. The next innovation heartland will be in the Rust Belt, brownfield economic development.

Richard Florida, and others, are very good at mapping where the current clusters are located. We also understand why regions such as Silicon Valley are now economic powerhouses. Unfortunately, that hindsight doesn't project well into the future. What we read and hear is that the current winners will only get stronger. In many cases, that's likely true. But there will be new winners. How might we divine them?

Worthy of reiteration, Detroit hopes to be the next Pittsburgh:

Primary metals and all of manufacturing continued to decline as a share of metro Pittsburgh’s employment earnings. But it didn’t consign the region to permanent low- prosperity status. By the 1990s Pittsburgh was at or above the national average in per capita income even though primary metals accounted for only 4 to 5 percent of employment earnings and 17 to 19 percent for all of manufacturing. In 2008 Pittsburgh returned to its previous peak compared to the nation—104 percent of the national average. Of the 55 metropolitan areas with populations of a million or more, it ranked 16th and was more prosperous than Dallas, Raleigh/Durham, Austin, Portland and Atlanta.

In terms of prosperity, Pittsburgh hits way above its weight. If Cleveland could gets its act together, look out world:

Cleveland historically had the more diversified economy [than Pittsburgh] and traditionally was the most successful and largest city in the region. The city primarily built component parts, providing the essential industrial pieces to other mostly producer products. Companies such as Parker Hannifin, Standard Products, Cleveland-Cliffs, the Eaton Corporation, Yale & Towne, TRW, White Motor, and Sherwin-Williams exemplify the entrepreneurial efforts that build Cleveland.

This proud historical legacy is a blessing and a curse. It is a curse because the industrial decline of Cleveland has been more gradual, punctuated by many efforts to restructure alongside a common belief that corners were being turned—only to face another setback amid the steady decline of employment in industrial manufacturing across the Midwest. But it is a blessing because many parts and components are still manufactured in the city, along with the important service components that accompany their distribution. These industries remain highly competitive in the global economy, sustaining the region for export markets and defining a source of expertise and strength.

Pittsburgh shed its manufacturing base much more quickly than Cleveland did. Hence, Detroit looks at Pittsburgh as opposed to Cleveland as a model for a way forward. Ironically, Cleveburgh is a tried and true economic geography that lends itself to cluster-based economic development:

The fortunes of regions, of course, are tied to the fortunes of their firms and industries. The success and specialization of 19th-century achievements are still visible and still define many of the expectations, capabilities, and obstacles in this region. Writing in 1936, economic geographer Richard Hartshorne noted that the Pittsburgh-Cleveland region—geographically situated in western Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio—was one of the most important regional economies in the United States.

The name "Richard Hartshorne" should be familiar to anyone who majored in geography at university. 

(I didn't realize he was born in Kittanning) Cleveburgh was obvious in 1936. Cleveburgh should be obvious now. It isn't. I think we are looking at the first regional innovation cluster to cross state boundaries. At least, where better to test the policy idea?

Cleveburgh, not the Great Lakes Economic Initiative or the Global Midwest, is the policy geography of the future. The TechBelt is further along than anything John Austin or Richard Longworth has proposed. The reason why is buried in obscure texts about historical geography. If only more analysts and pundits read them.

The Washington Post Takes a Trip To Cleveland

Check out this great article on Cleveland from Washington Post Travel Section:

Impulsive Traveler: A Cleveland neighborhood rises above the city's Rust Belt image
By Maryann Haggerty
Special to The Washington Post


There's something appropriate about going to Cleveland to pay homage to Bruce Springsteen, the poet of Rust Belt rock. What I didn't expect in that much-maligned city was a fun neighborhood of historic bed-and-breakfast inns, up-to-the-minute restaurants and one of the best traditional food markets I have ever visited.

Cleveland, about seven hours by car from the Beltway, was the first stop my husband and I planned on a longer Midwestern road trip. The goal was to see the special Springsteen exhibit that runs through Dec. 31 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame downtown. But somehow, nearly every downtown hotel room was booked by convention-goers.

Serendipity (and some Internet trawling) led us to a B&B, the J. Palen House. Maps showed it a few miles from downtown, across the Cuyahoga River and close to a station on the city's light rail system.
Make no mistake, the Great Recession has battered Cleveland, already shaky from the decline of Midwestern manufacturing. The neighborhood around the J. Palen House isn't the hardest hit, but it's transitional. The B&B, a pretty purple Victorian, was the most obviously gentrified building on its block. Rooms were large and lovely, with the sort of flouncy touches that turn a night on the road into a romantic interlude.

The host, Scott West, offered us a tour of the neighborhood, called Ohio City. No big deal, he assured us; the walk would take just a few minutes.

As Scott led us past solid renovated houses and a few old industrial buildings, he explained that Ohio City is one of Cleveland's oldest neighborhoods, once an independent city and home to Irish and German immigrants, including brewers. There's still a sweet-stale smell of beer in the air, but now it comes from Great Lakes Brewing Co., which opened in 1988. (Although it has microbrewery cred, Great Lakes is more than a corner brewpub with a few copper tanks. It ships 100,000 barrels a year.)

We turned the corner onto Market Avenue, a restaurant-lined block lively with young Clevelanders. Scott pointed out the highlights - the Flying Fig, considered one of the city's best locavore restaurants; a nice wine bar; the Great Lakes brewpub. Around the next corner, on 25th Street, there were more shiny new restaurants mixed in with worn neighborhood storefronts. And a few hundred yards away, in a handsome red-brick building with an eye-catching clock tower, was the West Side Market, one of those century-old food-stall palaces. Later, I found that city boosters are trying to brand the immediate neighborhood the Market District and attract even more restaurants and food-oriented retailers.

We started the evening with a pint at Great Lakes - I opted for the Burning River Pale Ale, a nod to the bad old days, when the Cuyahoga infamously caught fire. Dinner at the Flying Fig was all that a fashionable New American farm-to-table meal should be: creative, fresh, seasonal. Afterward, we wandered the little neighborhood and learned that in this city with brutal winters, the locals flock to sidewalk cafes and outdoor beer gardens on a pleasant summer evening. We read menus and added to our list of must-visit places for our short stay: Bar Cento for Italian-ish; Momocho, several blocks away, for what it called Mod Mex.

In the morning, we took the Red Line of the light-rail system, the Rapid, to the main Tower City station downtown. After a frustrating wait there, we determined that the Waterfront line, which runs near the Rock Hall, no longer operates on weekdays even though it's on all the system's maps. Nobody had bothered to put up a sign on the platform, and transit employees were dismissive. It turns out that most service on the line, always underused, was discontinued this year for budget reasons. I grumbled, but as we knew from past visits, the walk to the Rock Hall is less than a mile. Did you know that Bruce, who made his name as the voice of the gritty '70s, was touring around the country in the 1960s, long before he became famous? Or how much he paid for the guitar he held on the cover of "Born to Run"? (It was $180, maybe $185, Bruce recalls - a fortune to him at the time.) Or how little I probably paid for my ticket to the "BTR" concert in 1975, if the other posters from that tour are any guide? (If I paid more than $10, I should have had a much better seat.)

The Hall lets you go in and out all day, so you're not stuck with a museum cafeteria. We decided against Iron Chef Michael Symon's downtown restaurant, Lola, instead opting to hunt down Polish Boy sandwiches. The Polish Boy, a very local specialty, is a sausage topped with cole slaw, French fries and barbecue sauce. I know, but it's good - and we found some not far away, at a hole-in-the-wall called Freddie's Southern Style Rib House.

But the highlight - the big pig-out revelation - came the morning we visited the West Side Market. It's huge, vastly outsizing Capitol Hill's beloved Eastern Market. It's sparkling clean, putting Baltimore's Lexington Market to shame. And the variety! Pasta, sausage, cheese, pastry, pierogies, tamales, meat, meat, meat. (Produce, not so hot.)

We still had two weeks of road trip ahead, so we restrained ourselves, buying a pound of raw-milk Amish cheddar, pretzel-and-cheese concoctions called pretzel boats, and some spicy distant cousins of beef jerky known as smokies. A few days later, when we finished the cheese, we agreed to shift our route home and swing back through Cleveland.

This time, it was the J. Palen House that had no rooms available, so we stayed in another romantic, historic Ohio City B&B, Stone Gables. We had dinner in yet another local-food restaurant and the next morning filled a cooler with yet more West Side Market purchases - beef pasties, chicken enchiladas, pasta, bread, sausage, cheese, smokies. After all, it was only a seven-hour drive home.

Making Government Work

The recent arrests of County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora and former County Auditor Frank Russo further cemented the fact that Cuyahoga County government has been paralyzed by lack of accountability and transparency.  For years, Dimora, Russo, and others used their office and taxpayer dollars to advance their own political and personal interests, while the region they served witnessed massive brain drain and lost thousands of jobs. Incompetent leadership in government at any level is a recipe for conventional thinking and persistent decline. For Cuyahoga County, and the Greater Cleveland area, this is has been a sad reality for far too long. However, with the new county charter and the upcoming county elections, there is a small glimmer of hope that the newly elected leaders will put restoring faith in government as their number one priority.

When voters head to the polls on November 2nd, the most important vote they cast will be for the newly elected county executive. So far, a majority of the candidates have a promised specific policies to promote openness and transparency. According to a survey conducted by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, a majority of the candidates agreed to the following provisions:

• Make public records available without delay
• Provide timely access to their calendars of public business
• Disclose any gifts they receive as public officials and the values of them

These are all steps in the right direction. Yet, beyond these basic recommendations, voters should look towards putting their faith in the candidate who best articulates a vision and a plan to usher in a new era of leadership in county government. One that is grounded in understanding the fundamental challenges our region faces in today's global economy, not based upon patronage and favoritism. As the sole shareholders of our region, citizens must take their vote seriously. We must hold our elected officials accountable. Each of us have a stake in the economic prosperity of our region. To invoke the words of Thomas Paine, let us begin the work of remaking our county. If we wait any longer, it may be too late. 

A Bold Call to Action

The continued challenges facing the Warehouse District have forced many leaders in Cleveland to reassess the cities viability as destination for young professionals. Reverend Jawanza Karriem Colvin wrote a compelling editorial articulating his vision for the city. It's a bold reminder to all of us who care deeply about the future of our city. Check out the piece below:

Finding Strength in Open Minds:

Last week's reports on the arrest, detention and alleged beating of two African-American corporate executives in the Warehouse District are disturbing, but unfortunately not surprising. The Warehouse District, a section of the city that at its best should reflect the trendy, cosmopolitan character of Cleveland, is gaining a reputation for racial insensitivity.

Coupled with the shocking allegations of police misconduct, this incident only complicates attempts to successfully market the city and the region to aspiring young professionals. As we know, the recruitment of this population is an important part of fulfilling any hopes of regional prosperity, which can positively impact the quality of life for our communities and neighborhoods.

The arrival of bright, vibrant and energetic persons seeking to begin their careers with the prospect of eventually settling down, starting families and making civic contributions is an increasing reality for some American cities and an urban planner's dream in others. Today, growing and emerging regions recognize that this is a population they simply cannot do without. They also recognize this is a demographic that is increasingly diverse in race, culture and place of origin.

As a result, the message is clear: Tolerating intolerance is self-defeating.

If Cleveland and Northeast Ohio are going to attract a new generation of talent, they must -- along with reimagining the local economy -- continue to nurture an inclusive and open environment across racial, cultural and geographical lines. Historically, such lines, instead of being points of meeting for healthy discourse on our commonalities and differences, have become intersections of ignorance and discrimination.

As this region wrestles to find its 21st-century political and economic identity, it must expend similar intellectual and soul-searching capital to frame a new cultural one. It must do so or risk lagging behind in a competitive global marketplace where the talent pool is multiracial, multicultural and more tolerant of differences than previous generations.

How do we accomplish this?

There are no quick formulas or magic potions for changing hearts and minds, nor are there assurances that the embracing of inclusion in our personal lives will translate into more progressive policies and practices, or vice versa. However, there is an opportunity and a challenge. The opportunity at this moment is to celebrate the growing diversity of our region and to continue to increase such efforts in defiance of the pockets of prejudice that still remain in sectors of the public, private and commercial arenas.

The challenge is to summon the courage to confront our deeply embedded historical, cultural and institutional "isms," which can manifest themselves in the form of glass ceilings, abuses of power and violations of the most basic civil and human rights. W.E.B. Dubois, the famed African-American sociologist, asserted that the greatest issue of the 20th century would be the color line. It is a new century but, sadly, we have still not solved this old, vexing problem of race and difference; and while some pray for it to simply go away, the future will not wait for us. As a matter of fact, it's time to catch up.

Colvin is the pastor of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Cleveland.

Rethinking Homeownership

If your in Cleveland, take a drive through the Kinsman neighborhood or Slavic Village, and you will easily see the symbols of America's most recent housing crisis. Fueled by poor regulation and exuberant behavior from both banks and homeowners, the era of sub-prime lending has given the argument against homeownership in America even more credibility. The blight, crime, and poverty associated with the recent foreclosure crisis, particularly in urban America, should give our leaders an even greater sense of urgency to dramatically transform our nation's housing policies.

Check out Time's Magazines new cover story: "The Case Against Homeownership"

It's a good piece that can help inform a new conversation about how we can bring prosperity and stability to communities like Cleveland who are still struggling to recover from our most recent housing crisis. 

Detroit's Master Plan

The 21st century is quickly becoming the age of the city. Today, half of the world's population lives in cities. And in the developing world, cities are constantly expanding to meet the demands of massive population growth in the urban core. This narrative however is quite different in the United States. While economically metropolitan centers are critical to the U.S. (90 cents of every dollar made in the U.S. comes from U.S. cities), many are facing declining tax revenues and massive population loss. Detroit, like Cleveland, is one of those cities that shares this narrative. Currently, the city has an $85 million budget deficit, an unemployment rate of 14%, and a high school graduation rate of only 37.5%.

Understanding the challenges facing the city, earlier this week, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing announced his new campaign to revitalize the city. While the details of the plan will primarily depend on public input, the Mayor has boldly challenged his constituents and city officials to think differently about redeveloping a shrinking city. Like many other mayors of shrinking cities, Bing is beginning to embrace the new era of downsizing. Youngstown, Ohio and Flint, Michigan have paved the way for how we think about redevelopment in this new era. They have torn down blighted homes to create more green space and have consolidated city services with inner-ring suburbs to save tax dollars.

Now more than ever, cities like Detroit and Cleveland need to think critically about the merits of downsizing. For many urbanists this is a hard idea to accept, as the notion of downsizing an American city goes against our optimistic nature. Yet, their is immense opportunity for these cities if downsizing is done right. If Detroit can embrace its shrinkage through innovative land use plans, it could allow the city to focus more on addressing the systemic problems of creating jobs and improving public schools. Let's see if Detroit can prove us wrong and return to its glory days. Cleveland could use the competition.

Cleveland's 2012 Democratic National Convention Sweepstakes

The buzz around town is that Cleveland may be a leading front runner to host the 2012 Democratic National Convention. Hosting the convention would be a great opportunity showcase Cleveland's greatness. As goes Ohio, so does the White House.

Cleveland Congressman Dennis Kucinich has just launched a statewide effort to rally his congressional colleagues to bring the convention home to the shores of Lake Erie. Check out the Cleveland Plain Dealer's latest article on this important effort. Keep your fingers cross Cleveland! After the "DECISION", we need some good news...

Dennis Kucinich rallies colleagues to bring DNC Convention to Cleveland

A New Model for Teacher Pay

Earlier this week, D.C. City Council approved a contract with the Washington Teacher’s Union which guarantees higher pay for teachers who show significant impact in the classroom. After 2 years of intensive debate, Chancellor Michelle Rhee has finally cemented her innovative ideas around tying teacher pay to new systems of evaluation into a school system that for decades has been in desperate need of change. While most union contracts of large cities rely mainly on tenure for paying teachers, the new D.C. contract will use growth scores as one benchmark of higher teacher pay. As many other urban districts go back to the bargaining table to approve their own union contracts, some are wondering if the D.C. model can be replicated across the country.

Some of the tenets of the new teacher contract include:

-21.6 % salary increase through 2012, which includes a raise they did not receive while the new contract was being negotiated.

-Raises the average salary of a D.C. teacher to $81,000 from $67,000.

-Includes a volunteer pay-for-performance system that could increase teacher salaries by an additional $30,000 if students achieve better than expected growth in test scores.

-Creates “teacher-centers” where teachers can receive additional profession development support and resources.

Cleveland is one of those cities that is in desperate need of examining how it attracts, retains, and incentivizes highly qualified teachers. As it stands now, Cleveland has one of the most restrictive teacher contracts in the nation. Teacher seniority and other defunct contract provisions stand in the way of any real reform that would allow the district to eliminate ineffective teachers. For Cleveland to create a word-class education system, teachers unions, education leaders, and policymakers need to think hard about creating a teacher evaluation system that rewards success and fosters real accountability, not just seniority.

Cleveland's Job Creation Future

Like many cities in the Rust Belt, Cleveland has struggled to reinvent its economy. The erosion of Cleveland’s manufacturing sector has not only undermined its once competitive edge, it has also triggered massive brain drain. According to the most recent report from the U.S. Census, Cleveland has witnessed an average population loss of 1% each year for the past decade: roughly about 45,000 residents. Job losses have also been immense in the area with the city losing roughly over 150,000 jobs over the past two decades. Even more striking is the fact that Cleveland has witnessed the exodus of many of its largest companies, which has further eroded the city’s base as a global economic hub.

However, beyond all the troubling statistics, Cleveland is well on its way towards revitalizing its entrepreneurial ecosystem. Understanding that the city’s economic future was at a pivotal crossroads, in 2004 leaders from all sectors came together to form JumpStart, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing intensive entrepreneurial development assistance to entrepreneurs leading high potential, early-stage companies. With many early successes it has quickly become a national model for new venture creation. John Torinus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in his most recent article highlights that Cleveland’s jobs commitment is an enviable model. One of the most fascinating findings from Torinus's piece is that the fact that out of all of the 47 companies JumpStart has invested in, only three failed. According to Ray Leach, JumpStart’s CEO, the ventures created by the non-profit have helped to create over 700 jobs. This is a promising statistic, especially in an economy where every job matters.

For Cleveland to succeed in today’s innovative, knowledge based economy, it is clear that small-business creation will need to be a key ingredient. With small businesses accounting for 70% of all new job creation, cities now more than ever need to do whatever it takes to create the right entrepreneurial and regulatory climate for them to prosper. So far, with JumpStart and other key initiatives, Cleveland seems to be doing all the right things to ensure that it can help lead the Rust Belt towards a path of sustained economic vitality.