Some Hard Truths

President Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord and stated his intention to renegotiate the terms.  For anyone in business who has ever dealt with a tough negotiator, this approach should not surprise.

But as someone who literally happened to be within earshot of an office television at the moment he mentioned “Pittsburgh, not Paris” and then later on when he spoke of “Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Youngstown, Ohio and Detroit, Michigan” in the same context, I figured then and there some poo-poo was gonna hit someone’s fan.  Don’t get me wrong; this kerfuffle [only in Pittsburgh] over Pittsburgh being mentioned by the President who, for many, is making a colossal mistake in this Climate agreement pull-out is "mouse nuts" in the larger scheme of the world’s current issues.  But it has some relevance to how Pittsburgh perceives itself as well as how it’s perceived by the larger world.

I myself was not happy to have our burgeoning high tech hub described alongside Youngstown and Detroit [though full disclosure makes me admit there are many lovely parts of and fun activities in both those metro areas] as that typecasts Pittsburgh as one of the stereotypical dead and dying cities.  Well so be it.  Our President is from New York with all the prejudices that encompasses.

What I am dismayed with is the attitude, again, of Mayor Peduto who was “offended” that Pittsburgh was mentioned in the context of pulling out of the Climate agreement.  Or was it that the Left’s latest “evil one”, the anti-Christ to Peduto’s political party, simply uttered the term “Pittsburgh” from his lips?  Your call.

Here’s the thing: Peduto needs to admit to and then face up to the hard truth – as our friends in AA would have him do – that the popular perception of Pittsburgh as an economic backwater compared to more successful cities is, well, true.  Unemployment rate?  We have been consistently one percentage point higher than the national average during this anemic recovery period.  And let’s not talk about that rate compared with other second tier cities in our so-called “cohort group”.  We have an unemployment rate fully two-plus percentage point higher than cities like Charlotte, Columbus, and Nashville.   And don’t get me started about income levels.  It’s ALL ABOUT income, and Pittsburgh is a historical laggard when it comes to per capita income. What good is inexpensive housing when you don’t have income to afford a lifestyle you really want?

Lastly, while I’m on this rant, let’s talk about how the Pittsburgh region is still a net exporter of young and talented people to other parts of the country.  This is personal for me today.  Just this week my cousin’s daughter who was married last year to a great guy, both having jobs they enjoyed and a new house in Bellevue, announced they are moving to Atlanta for better jobs.  I lived in Atlanta and I know the god, bad and ugly and believe me there’s a lot of that.  But jobs?  Those it has in spades.  Something a young couple looking to make their mark on the world have a much harder time finding in metro Pittsburgh.

I realize Peduto isn’t the mayor of the metropolitan area.  But he’s the most visible spokesperson.  Maybe when he admits Pittsburgh still suffers from a century long economic malaise that shows little signs of going away will we finally see some concrete [tax cuts? more economic incentives for relocating companies?] actions to help stimulate the local economy.

Ending this screed on a positive note, I see that Milllcraft Investments has decided that the downtown Pittsburgh market is ripe again for condo development and is returning to a plan that puts condominiums on the former Saks Fifth Avenue site on Smithfield Street.  Millcraft believes there is demand for owner-occupied apartments as opposed to rental units.  This is great news for downtown.  Homeowners, even high rise homeowners, bring a level of social and economic stability to an area that can only translate into even more development.