Politics of Culture, Environment, and Process

Culture, environment, and process are terms for categories of social information such as that contained in maps.  These terms are particularly useful for identifying three classes of description and issue definition for Curry County.

1.0          Culture

This first page examines culture which is reflected in demographic data including physical distribution, population breakdowns by income, age, occupation, sex, and ethnicityi, which lluminate culture texture in such a way as to permit enumerating cultural issues peculiar to Curry County.

1.1          Population Distribution (ethnicity, age, education):

1.1.1      Description:

Curry County's population is about 23,000, 95% white, of which 51% are female, and fewer than 6% minority.  Curry County is among the top ten counties in the nation in average age.  Twenty six percent of the county's citizens are 65 or older, while only 4% are age five or less and only 17% are 18 or younger.  Over 80% have graduated high school, and about 16% have earned at least a bachelors' degree.

1.1.2      Issues:

While the uniform ethnic nature of the Curry County Population suggests few ethnic pressures and the education levels are at least adequate, the graying population suggests problems for industrial establishment and job formation.  The aging population in a semi-rural environment puts stress on infrastructure not likely to be present such as modern communication, adequate medical, safety, and social services.  These three concerns, job formation, communication, and services, require extreme effort to remedy if Curry County is to survive as a viable economic and social entity. 

1.2          Population Economic Character (stability, industrial and job environment)

1.2.1      Description:

Curry County residents are fairly stable, 50% of persons in the county have lived in the same household for over 5 years, With over 28% of the population being retirees and only 25% employed by non-farm establishments, it  goes without saying that Curry County has a very limited industrial or service employment base.  Retail sales, of which about 20% are hospitality and an additional 15% are otherwise tourist related, substantiates the fact that tourism constitutes more than a third of the business in Curry County each year.  Considering the above population attributes is little wonder, then, that median incomes per household ($32,000) and per individual ($18,000) are well below state and national averages.

1.2.2      Issues:

The social issues identified in the previous segment are only exacerbated by the existing economic climate.  Low incomes are the result of withering fishing, timber, and agricultural economic conditions and infrastructure.  As a result of substantial job losses in these industries, the County is transcending from a commodities based economic base to a retirement, tourism based economy.  Such transitions drive out many looking to attain employment in trades they understand, while at the same time, provide lower income jobs to those who remain.  Even these jobs require retraining to service from industrial-commodity based trades.

1.2.3      Comments:  Clearly, education, services, and enlightened development are required for Curry County to transcend to what appears its tourism, recreation, retirement based future.  The governmental attribute of providing for the general welfare needs to be focused on with determination and clarity.  Business models which require profit considerations where there is no profit can not be trusted to bring the county through. 

If services are appropriate to providing for the general welfare of larger populations, these same services should be provided to those living in more rural settings.  It is not enough to scoop up the profits where providing services and providing for welfare is easy. It must be mandated to assure those same services are provided to citizens where profit is not so easy.  

It is not for profit, after all, that these services are deemed vital for citizen welfare.  It is that these services are required for assurance of citizen welfare.