Here’s a (link) to a blog post by the Puget Sound Business Journal, which cites a study about the most prosperous counties. In this study, Whatcom is at the top of the list among Washington counties, and 54th highest out of the 455 major U.S. counties.
The study was done by On Numbers, the research division of American City Business Journals, which owns the PSBJ. The findings are based on the total personal income growth rates of the counties between 1986-2011.
Given all the data I’ve seen over the years about Whatcom’s personal income remaining below most of the other bigger Washington counties, I was a bit surprised to see Whatcom as “most prosperous.” I shared the link with Hart Hodges, director of Western Washington’s Center for Economics and Business Research and asked him what he thought.
He noted that the study in the business journal relies on total income, not per capita income. So the article says an area is prosperous when the real driver might be population growth more than any increase in relative income per person.
Hart provided a graph to the total income and a graph of per capita growth to show the difference (see below). It’s interesting to see how well Whatcom did (per capita) between 2000-2009, but the county trailed King County in the 1980s, 1990s and 2010-2011.
Thank you Dave for an honest explanation from Mr Holt who can be depended on for a realistic take on an obviously massaged “report” about our County’s financial health. A visit to any food bank, child care center, street ministry, shelter program, service-industry or retail job site begs the question of this County’s “prosperity”. Perhaps the population increase does explain an increase the County’s total wealth but numbers are easily manuevered. Does this amount include the inflated real estate values or individual investment returns? This is paper “wealth”, none of which is available to the average Joe to buy groceries or pay the light bill. This “report” is cold comfort for three of my acquaintances who were laid off this week from jobs they have held for years. I am grateful to be fully self employed and able to help my friends financially but I am truly curious on how these figures were arrived at – an examination of tax returns, or nebulous guessing by economists who enjoy the amenities of our County but haven’t lived here for the past umpteen years. We long-timers have the right to dismiss this latest puffery.
The truth lies in the enormous gap between the filthy rich and the working poor…. many rich retirees love Washington State due to the lack of income tax, and we know why Whatcom County is popular for all the usual reasons.
If this is prosperous, imagine what not-prosperous is like.
The Income Divide is very real and very obvious and very dangerous for the Haves. Throughout history, white Have-Nots have had a hard time with the ruling Haves. One of my all-time favorite poems that also happens to be labeled Hate Speech by the feds is “When the Saxon Begins to Hate”.
Whatcom County the most prosperous county in WA. I really think not. Try finding a good paying job here. Very difficult to find and many, many applying for the same position.