Nothing Worse Than a Lousy Economy : Recession Takes Back Seat to Traffic on List of Woes
Traffic may still be a hassle in Orange County, but these days people apparently have something more important on their minds: the economy. The Orange County Annual Survey released last week indicates that the recession has surpassed traffic congestion to become the major issue of concern to county residents.
According to the survey, which has tracked the county’s attitudes and population characteristics for 11 years, residents are most worried about their own and their neighbors’ jobs. As a result, they are rethinking many financial decisions. The bad news: Many feel gloomy about being able to ever buy a home. The good news (at least for the environment): Fewer commuters are driving to work solo.
Residents also, unfortunately, are reducing or discontinuing charitable giving at a time when donations are needed more than ever to help people through rough times. Giving has fallen sharply from a median of $223 per person in 1991 to $146 in 1992--a trend that must be reversed.
What seems clear is that there is a major change going on in Orange County, and we all must adjust to it. Survey co-directors Mark Baldassare and Cheryl Katz say that the county’s boom economy, which most accepted as “normal,” may never return. The county, which gained about 350,000 jobs in the 1980s, lost 75,000 jobs in the two years before July, 1992. The cuts came in aerospace, defense and banking as well as land development. While some of these industries can be expected to improve as the recession ends, others must adjust to permanent cutbacks. New approaches to economic development must be found.
How to do that? Obviously, the region’s economy is tied closely to those of California and the nation, so much will depend on what happens to them in the coming months and years. Baldassare and Katz said the recent election of Bill Clinton may foster more optimism about the future and boost consumer confidence.
But the county’s business community must also be poised to take advantage of growing industries like computers and biomedical research. In addition, because of its large immigrant populations, the county may well be able to benefit from new trade agreements with Mexico and a normalization of relations with Vietnam.
But more than business development will be needed. Attention must be paid to taking care of the homeless, providing health care for the poor and improving public education. Only when social institutions are working well can the county be set on a strong new course that will prepare its work force for the challenges of the 21st Century.
While the survey showed residents in a worrisome mood, there was a positive note: Residents seem happy with recent improvements in the county’s transportation system. Traffic woes, which topped the list of concerns every year for a decade, now are third behind the economy and crime. Part of the shift away from the county’s traffic blues is because more pressing problems are at hand. But, also, county voters two years ago took a responsible step forward by approving a half-cent sales tax increase for transportation. Money now is becoming available for many projects designed to relieve congestion.
The survey, which is funded by contributions from 32 public agencies, private foundations and corporations, including The Times, provides a yearly glance into the thinking of Orange County residents. By doing so, it helps provide a path of action for the future. Now the county’s leaders must use that information to provide guidance toward better times for everyone.
