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Other options at airport
In following the stories regarding the “Cascade Aerospace USA” facility at Spokane International Airport and the editorial “Jobs up in the air” (May 26), there are questions that are left unanswered.
Is the loan from the state a grant or a loan? Are there no longer investment firms or banks that make loans to commercial enterprises and proven business ventures?
Why did this project not qualify for the federal stimulus dollars? It was ready to go and had proven to create immediate jobs. Jobs in construction, jobs for the equipment manufacturers and suppliers, and the permanent jobs at the plant.
Whatever happened with community banks that invested in projects that strengthened the local economy? Perhaps therein lies the answer to the collapse of America’s economy. Better that they invest in derivatives, risky ventures, unethical if not illegal activities.
Remember when banks were strictly intrastate, how well they grew and how they had the best interest in their communities’ welfare? Then they became national and became so big that they imploded. So what have we learned here?
Allan LeTourneau
Spokane