I know it may sound melodramatic, but might Tuesday, November 6, 2007 be the day that the great metropolis of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania reaches its “tipping Point”?
 
Think of it: especially if you are like me and over 55.  I remember the bustling Holiday Seasons, where one took the streetcar downtown just for the experience.  I remember walking through not one, not two, but THREE huge department stores … each replete with “Toy Departments” (even though I had at most 50 cents to spend at those wonderful oases).
 
I remember the huge corporations and their company picnics.  Things just seemed secure as we all looked to the big-money/mega-power executives of the Allegheny Conference for guidance and wisdom.
 
Of course, much of this was through the prism of a young boy’s eyes, but one thing that could not be denied was the fact that this city, this metropolitan area, was among the ten largest in the United States.  This meant that we had clout. I believe that today’s term for this is “gravitas”, which I do admit sounds rather cool.
 
But whatever you wish to call it, we were important!
 
Then, we were hit by a combination of punches that would make Cassius Clay proud.  First, somebody discovered air conditioning.  Then came mass media - showing us all that one could lie on a beach in the dead of winter without first having to show a passport.  But atop all of these technological changes also came the inevitable - complacency.
 
The Chinese call complacency “the curse of the third generation”.  I call it, “The fire usually goes out whenever you’re sitting on a big fat trust fund.”  Either way, all I know is that while New York City survived, we sank.  As Washington built upon the growth of centralized government, we went ahead and gave up on the steel industry.  While Boston capitalized upon its rich history, we acted as if we had no history whatsoever.  We failed to study our natural assets and resources and thus we lost any opportunities to exploit them altogether.
 
Now, we’re in the bottom of the ninth, down 6-0 with the bases empty.  We’ve used our best pinch hitters and our bullpen is completely depleted.  We’ve sold off or traded away much of our young talent, and while there is no clock in our game, there is the reality of the scoreboard and our ability to affect it.
 
What to do?  Who to rely upon?
 
Panic has already set in.
 
Before this game began, there was much discussion about “How we got here.”  Factions were blaming factions for our condition.  “You guys let the farm system die,” and, “Yeah but you guys were the ones who sold off our water purification plant.”  And so on. And so on.
 
But still, the game is on.  People need to eat.  People need jobs!  And the governments above us are now themselves nearly bust.  (Remember our old friend, complacency?)  In fact, this game is damn-near over!  So the time for recrimination is past.  People wishing to flap their lips should instead enroll in some community college course on rhetoric and debate.
 
But wait!  What if we could still find an impartial and experienced leader?  Someone with smarts, experience, and courage. Someone who knows what to do, how to do it, and is also willing to take the huge pay cut for reasons most politicians simply don’t understand - because he cannot bear to see this city simply dissolve in the rain.  Someone who owes nothing to no one and vice versa.
 
Because such a person exists … and this man is Mark DeSantis.
 
I’ve said this many, many times before - the “secret” to saving the city of Pittsburgh (and thus, by extension, the county of Allegheny and ultimately the area known as “Western Pennsylvania”) is spelled out in just four letters: J-O-B-S.
 
Simple as that.  Jobs!  Let’s NEVER take our eyes off that prize, folks.  For it is our only goal.  All else will follow.
 
Why?  Because jobs require workers.  And workers get paid.  And paid workers in turn pay taxes. And taxes run cities.  Simply stated, tax dollars keep us safe, warm, and free from jarring potholes.
 
But, and unlike so many short-sighted thinkers to have come this way before, jobs are not going to show up in the form of mega-corporations.  (Not unless we bribe them to do so, which seems to be the latest trend. USAIR is always waiting just outside the door for the next city/county handout -- hell, I can still hear them laughing from the last one).  Think about it.  What was the last big employer (more than 1,000 net new employees) to physically move into this region?
 
You can’t think of one because there ain’t one!  In fact, you’d have to go back at least a couple of decades to come up with a mega-employer who actually re-located its people into this region.
 
There are two reasons for this.  First, we now live in a world of small companies.  Forty years ago, some 70% of all companies were characterized as big.  The big boys were locked in.  They couldn’t move if they wanted to.
 
Today, this is reversed.  The simple fact of the matter is that we’re now moving electrons, not atoms … and since electrons can be produced anywhere, companies generally choose the most temperate climates.
 
Also, big and asset-intensive organizations often require specialized metals and fabrics and the like.  We have plenty of iron, coke and coal, but this isn't exactly the kind of stuff that big manufacturers are making or bending these days.
 
Not to say it can’t be done - but it’s just tougher to do.
 
And please notice that I’ve avoided altogether the topic of union labor.  (Even though these kinds of skilled jobs pay extremely well.)
 
So if they are not re-locating here, we instead need to GROW our future-big companies.  And by grow, I mean start small and get big!  Heck, we can put a thousand small start-ups in the streets tomorrow.  If we did, they’d join the 2,000 or so start-ups that are already in place, just awaiting decent leadership and organization from the city’s power-brokers.
 
Now, if you want to grow a business here in western PA, you first have to act like a good farmer and look at your soil and your seeds.  I’m not gonna do a horticulture lecture here, folks, but what I am about to remind you of is the fact that we do have here in western PA a pretty fine mix of top soil and water (also known as “ideas and private investment money”).  Not to mention an abundance of risk-taking individuals.  How do I know this?  Well, I teach such people … each and every day!
 
What we lack is the road-map for these folks.  That’s all.  We lack only the previously-successful entrepreneurs who are willing to donate their time and experience so that others can ultimately do precisely what they have already done.  Which of course, is grow little companies into big ones!
 
So where does Mr. DeSantis fit in to all of this?
 
In my mind, that’s the easy part!  Pittsburghers are more than willing to chuck their old lifestyles and old ways of doing things if only they can be shown a new way to accomplish their entrepreneurial goals.
 
Now you tell me.  Is “Lucky Luke” gonna do this?  If you really think he can, please contact me at 412-298-1996 and we’ll talk about it.  Because I REALLY, REALLY what to know exactly what qualifies him to start a business from scratch; with only the money generated from “friends, family, and fools” (typically, the first investors in any start-up).
 
Mark DeSantis has done exactly this for much of his professional life.  I have personally read the business plans that Mark has written and I have personally seen the results of those plans.  In all cases, I am hard-pressed to find anyone with more insight and understanding of markets, margins, and opportunity than him.
 
Talk about the right guy at the right place at the right time!
 
Once the start-ups are “started-up”, employment will grow right along with tax revenue.  Once tax revenues are flowing (again!), there will be prosperous times for this city and region.
 
And what this means for all of you grandparents who are right now lamenting the fact that your own children; and thus your grandchildren are now working in Charlotte, Austin, or Phoenix will soon be headed back home for your delicious Sunday cooking!
 
Remember, no one is going to jump out of the voting booth should you happen to pull a republican lever on November 7.  In fact, I’ll bet that you don’t even know why you are feeling compelled to vote democratic (if you are a city dweller) each and every election.  “Cuz we always have,” seems to be the most common answer I get whenever I ask this question of a senior Pittsburgher.
 
The plain and simple fact of the matter is this - Mark DeSantis knows how to create jobs.  In order to survive as a city and a region, we need jobs!  And the faster we get them, the better chance we have of preventing further economic erosion and loss of even the opportunity to have jobs.
 
It’s all up to you.  I’m soon to be 58 years old with two kids, ages five and seven.  I have said to my wife numerous times, “Either we elect this guy or we head west where at least they’ll have an opportunity.”  This is not some idle threat.  Unfortunately, it’s a lamentable fact.
 
We NEED people in city government (heck, all government) who are educated and who know what they are doing.  (Does the behavior of the mayor and his staff really inspire you?)
 
Because the truth is this - we’re competing with the rest of the rust-belt in an all-out struggle for jobs and market share.  Winner take all.  We win; your kids and grand-kids get to grow up in this wonderful part of the country.  We lose and I’ll plan on seeing you in South Carolina or somewhere with just ONE season.
 
This election is our one and only chance to make this all happen.
 
My very best regards,
 

Ron Morris – Director, Entrepreneurial Studies Program
Duquesne University and,
The American Entrepreneur – heard each Saturday from 9:00 – 12:30 on WPTT AM 1360