Our View: Missed opportunities deepened the Valley's downturn

The state never found a way to capitalize on the presence of big firms with long histories in Idaho - such as Albertsons, Hewlett-Packard and Micron. Idaho never seemed able to draw a second wave of corporate employers.

Worse than that, Idaho's debate over growth and job recruiting focused on a false dichotomy. Growth vs. no growth.

The naysayers defined the terms and set the tone. They embraced the status quo as both a romantic ideal and a strategic plan. It is neither. The status quo is only a recipe for stagnation.

The state and the Treasure Valley would be facing hard times today, no matter what. The recession is so deep and so global that no area is an insulated island. But had we been more assertive and proactive, we might have better positioned ourselves for the downturn. Idaho might have avoided going from one of America's fastest-growing states to the state with the most rapid unemployment rate increase.

We need to learn from where we've been, so we know where we want to go.

Idaho, and particularly the Valley, reaped the benefits of an unnatural housing and construction boom. That sector will rebound when the national economy stabilizes, as retirees and young families seek a less stressful and more affordable lifestyle. It probably won't be as robust as it was - which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The most bitter growth debates centered on residential development, and concerns about the ripple effects on schools, traffic and open space. These are legitimate issues, until they are co-opted to advance an anti-growth mindset.

A community shouldn't try to stop growth; it should aspire to grow on its own terms. Saying no to all growth is failed policy; saying yes to everything is as well. Let's be thoughtful about the neighborhoods we build and about the businesses we recruit.

New housing projects should reflect well-founded concerns about cramped classrooms and clogged highways, and new thinking about compact neighborhoods. Let's grow in a sustainable way.

Let's also look for companies that build a sustainable economy. We cannot just seek to reduce the unemployment rate - 7.7 percent in the Valley, up from 3.9 percent a year ago. We need to pursue and promote companies that will create good jobs and encourage spinoffs.

In that sense, the backlash over Micron's proposal to go into the solar panel and LED lighting industry has been somewhat disconcerting. Micron pursued state dollars for the spinoff, to no avail, and now is seeking federal money.

The project would bring in energy-related jobs, an economic growth sector. The manufacturing jobs would produce an export that would bring money into the state. The 200 jobs would hardly replace the 2,000 jobs Micron will shed from its memory chip manufacturing plant - but it's a positive incremental step.

Critics have questioned putting public dollars into this enterprise, a reasonable question. Yet much of the pushback stems from anger over a series of cuts at Micron, which once employed 11,000 Idahoans but will have 5,000 jobs by summer's end. Frustration is understandable, but it's not a sound governing principle.

We cannot afford to let raw emotions guide the policies that chart our future. We've done that long enough. We must change the debate.

"Our View" is the editorial position of the Idaho Statesman. It is an unsigned opinion expressing the consensus of the Statesman's editorial board.