How Will Spokane Develop Jobs Environment It Needs?

Thu., July 16, 1998

Doug Floyd Interactive Editor

The struggle to create more and better work opportunities in Spokane County suffered a setback this week. Key Tronic Corp. announced it is sending 200 more jobs to Mexico, where labor is cheap.

The layoffs will occur within the next five months.

In sending work not only out of the community but out of the country, the Spokane County keyboard manufacturer is merely continuing to follow the pattern set by its competitors. Even without a plant relocation, the jobs still would be in peril if Key Tronic couldn’t produce a competitively priced product.

After all, computer makers look for the lowest price for keyboards and other components. If they don’t, they won’t be able to attract price-conscious consumers who are always looking for the best buy on electronic goods.

Therefore, it’s hard to find a villain in this tale of economic misfortune. What the Spokane area needs is a greater supply of good-paying, stable jobs - the kind that last and provide a livable wage.

With a large population being pushed into the workplace by welfare reform, the region also needs an ample supply of entry-level jobs where marketable skills can be developed.

With competitive pressures likely to keep driving manufacturing work offshore, what kind of jobs will meet Spokane’s needs? Who will provide them, and how?

America’s goriest home video

In 1994, for the first time, a home movie was added to the Library of Congress’ registry of American film. It was the grainy, 8 mm film shot by Abraham Zapruder on Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas capturing the murder of President John F. Kennedy.

Now, you can obtain your own digitally enhanced copy, available in video stores for $19.98.

Only in America would a national historical tragedy be so commercially exploited, right? Well, maybe not.

It was Lord Earl Spencer, the late Princess Diana’s brother, who recently opened the family estate, Althorp, to public view - at a price.

Visitors aren’t actually allowed to go to the princess’ gravesite, although they can stand on the river bank and gaze across the water to the island where she is buried.

Before they leave, however, they can visit a Diana museum and pick up mementoes at a Diana souvenir shop.

Brit or American, what sanctuaries will these money-grubbing schemes trample next?

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