[Vision2020] water sale bill

[Kenneth Marcy]

On Monday 09 February 2009 10:34:03 Kai Eiselein, Editor wrote:
<snip>
> Looking at it, the mall "may" be a good idea. I'll tell you why:
> Because we have raised a couple of generations of "Mall Rats", a mall with
> the shops that today's kids expect may very well be a draw for prospective
> to students to both universities. That translates into outside $ flowing
> into the communities and that is a good thing.
<snip>

It is wonderful to read that the recent years' burgeoning market in youth 
fantasy literature has lead to, in older adults, such wonderfully creative, 
if self-serving, conclusions that the Greater Palouse Metropolitan Shopping 
Area will become such a high-demand shopping destination that university 
students from around the country will actually make a local school their 
choice because of the local shopping characteristics.

Admittedly, I have not done any economic research on this question, but of all 
the factors that students and their parents take into consideration when 
choosing a college, I suspect that the strength of local shopping is not high 
on the list. The last time I looked at US News and World Report's 2009 
Edition of America's Best Colleges, I am quite sure I did not see a column 
inside labeled Shopaholic Satisfaction Index, SSI, the higher value of which 
indicated a better educational value at the associated institution.

Economic development is a good thing, but causal delusions are detrimental.


Ken