Sic Semper Bob
OK.... so follow
along now.
First, you get a fairly complete synopsis of my thoughts on
the 'young people leaving' meme in this just out: The Young Person Myth
Now I admit I get pinged on for not letting go of the BorderGuard Bob meme in itself. The idea that
young people are not fleeing has not been a part of any data apparent to me fora long time now. So I may be wrong, but
nobody can say I am inconsistent. Apologies
for those sick of hearing about Bob, but it really is an idea that just will not die in Pittsburgh. I routinely have conversations to this day
with someone who wants to do something or another to 'retain' people and do whatever it takes to keep them from
leaving. Especially the idea of keeping
more young college graduates here as if it is possible to keep young college grads from moving..
or if it is even possible to keep more than we are already retaining. Border Guard Bob was a big deal. I saw the story boards for the Border Guard
Bob production being toured around and the projected ad buy I remember clearly
as being touted was going to be ~$8mil and that was nearly 15 years ago.
Real money and the real cost was not the $$ but the self-defeating message
it gave to ourselves... and let's not even ponder what fun the world might have had with it all. It was a pre-sarcastic age (no Colbert) so it may not have been so bad.
But for those who think I make up Border Guard Bob (I really
do get that thought on rare occasion), don't read my earlier thoughts on the
subject, but how about this in the PBT in 1999: Why I should be Border Guard Bob.
Now if you read that piece it says Pittsburgh should save itself
by keeping one student-resident, a Brian
Mendelssohn. So what happened to him. Did he take Bob's advice? Now I don’t know Mr. Mendelssohn, but I hope it is the same BM who now owns the
former Arsenal Bank building
mentioned in this CP story yesterday on a potential new hotel in Lawrenceville. Looks like he stayed in town.
Thanks Bob! You succeeded by osmosis.
posted by C. Briem at Thursday, August 23, 2012
2 Comments:
I bet the Pittsburgh MSA has a high turnover rate. Meaning that a lot of people that grew up or around in the 'burgh move away either for college not to return or move after college graduation in search of a better job. These people are replaced by others moving in, often from more distant areas of Pa.
Lots of Pa cities and towns have been losing their college educated for decades. New Castle, Franklin, Meadeville, Dubois, Johnston .....lots of towns have lost population, especially ones that go off to college and never return 'cept for holidays, weddings and funerals. I'm sure that would also include people from Oho and W Virginia. Many of these move into the Pittsburgh MSA.
This is actually good for Pittsburgh as it gives the area a vibrant population with a mix of people with various backgrounds. But it hurts the areas that suffer from16 a brain brain and leadership deficit.
It is the same guy. I forgot about that article. Now I'm blushing.
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