On Being 'Too Arlington'

               Councilman Eric Olsen was denied a chance at being Chair of the Prince George's County Council.

               And why, one might ask? Because he is too 'Arlington' is the answer we are given.[1] To be 'too Arlington' would mean attracting investments and professional workforce  such as  DRS Technologies, Inc., a Finmeccanica Company, and relocating its corporate headquarters from New Jersey to Arlington County.[2]

               To be 'too-Arlington' would be to be number 3 on a list of highest-income counties in the United States.[3] To be' too Arlington' would be a county that defense contractors, financial institutions and subject-matter-expert businesses find inviting and locate.

               To be 'too Arlington' would be to showcase a great school system such as a top rated school district as found in Arlington where communities comes together county-wide in public/private initiatives to support the greater good.

               To be 'too Arlington' would be to have a county with no murders in 2011.[4]  Why on earth would someone think that trying to have a great school system, no murders, a low crime rate, and a attractive business climate that consists of more than 'milling' one's way to prosperity' for a few is a bad thing? Let's take a look at what being 'Arlington' means.

People QuickFacts[5]	Arlington County	Prince George's County
Population, 2011 estimate	216,004	871,233
White persons, percent, 2011 (a)	77.3%	26.6%
Black persons, percent, 2011 (a)	9.1%	65.4%
American Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent, 2011 (a)	0.8%	1.0%
Asian persons, percent, 2011 (a)	9.7%	4.3%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander persons, percent, 2011 (a)	0.1%	0.2%
Persons reporting two or more races, percent, 2011	2.9%	2.5%
Persons of Hispanic or Latino Origin, percent, 2011 (b)	15.2%	15.2%
White persons not Hispanic, percent, 2011	64.0%	15.2%
High school graduates, percent of persons age 25+, 2006-2010	92.5%	85.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher, pct of persons age 25+, 2006-2010	70.1%	29.6%
Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2006-2010	$571,700	$327,600
Per capita money income in past 12 months (2010 dollars) 2006-2010	$57,724	$31,215
Median household income 2006-2010	$94,880	$71,260
Business QuickFacts	Arlington County	Prince George's County
Private nonfarm establishments, 2010	6,019	14,250
Private nonfarm employment, 2010	126,195	237,908
Private nonfarm employment, percent change, 2000-2010	10	-5.1
Nonemployer establishments, 2010	16,524	62,171
Total number of firms, 2007	19,422	72,759
Black-owned firms, percent, 2007	6.0%	54.5%
American Indian- and Alaska Native-owned firms, percent, 2007	0.6%	0.9%
Asian-owned firms, percent, 2007	9.5%	6.2%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms, percent, 2007	F	0.1%
Hispanic-owned firms, percent, 2007	8.0%	8.8%
Women-owned firms, percent, 2007	32.0%	37.8%
Merchant wholesaler sales, 2007 ($1000)	453,168	10,449,816
Retail sales, 2007 ($1000)	2,482,916	9,209,683
Retail sales per capita, 2007	$12,176	$11,060
Accommodation and food services sales, 2007 ($1000)	1,164,025	1,205,022
Building permits, 2011	1,945	1,227
Geography QuickFacts	Arlington County	Prince George's County
Land area in square miles, 2010	25.97	482.69
Persons per square mile, 2010	7,993.6	1,788.8
FIPS Code	13	33

               A first quick glance at Arlington would suggest a richer and more affluent place to live and work. With a quarter of the population of Prince George's county it brings in nearly the same revenue in the food service industry.... could this be more restaurants perhaps? Arlington's population has a higher education and earns more money...is this so bad a thing as to not want an Arlington type Council Chair?

               The 2007 GRC score indicates the level of math or reading achievement by the average student in a public school district.  Prince George's County ranks 28% in math and 39% in reading; Arlington however has a 46% rank in math and 53% in reading.[6] For some reason we are to take this as a bad thing that Arlington out performs us and therefore we would not want a chair who might enable us to compete across the river. In fact there is no economic reason to disparage Arlington. While I am the first to think that this county should lead not follow, I have to wonder about the new found tendency to lead towards the basement of economic accomplishments.  We are not going to get anywhere repeating the small minded parochial sectional practices of the past. Just because one group many years ago practices the politics of exclusion does not mean that exclusion is the best practice for moving the most upwards and forwards today. We must be better than the past; we must move forward beyond the good of the few today at the expense of the needs of the many tomorrow.

              

              

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[1] Miranda S. Spivack. December 4, 2012. Environmentalist Eric Olson loses bid to head Prince George’s County Council. Washington Post. [accessed December 5, 2012] http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/environmentalist-eric-olson-loses-bid-to-head-prince-georges-county-council/2012/12/04/541d75ca-3e40-11e2-a2d9-822f58ac9fd5_story.html

[2] The company, recognized as one of the leading defense technology companies in the world, will be expanding its regional office to accommodate over 100 employees. The relocation and expansion costs will bring in excess of $10 million of capital investment to the region.  http://www.governor.virginia.gov/news/viewRelease.cfm?id=1232

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-income_counties_in_the_United_States

[4] http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Arlington-County-Finishes-2011-With-No-Murders-136548603.html

[5] United States Census  http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html

[6] The GRC score indicates the level of math or reading achievement by the average student in a public school district compared to student achievement in a set of 25 developed countries. The score represents the percentage of students in the international group who would have a lower level of achievement. For example, a percentile of 60 means the average student in a school district would perform better than 60% of the students in the international group. http://globalreportcard.org/map.html#bottom-results