The Resource Curse: Hampton Road's Call to Action

The Hampton Roads region of Virginia receives tens of thousands of servicemembers leaving the military. They carry valuable job skills, personal attributes formed in the discipline of service, as well as educational and housing allowances of the GI Bill. Many, of course, are predetermined to return to their hometowns, but many would be willing to stay, build a career, and invest, if they were given an honest chance. Instead of embracing the growth mindset, local leadership is personally invested in auto dealerships and major appliance stores galore. The demand for these items come from young couples furnishing their first apartments and houses, with the help of military housing allowances. It would be amazing if dishwashers and refrigerators were built locally; however, the big-box sales jobs are often low-paid retail work. I have previously written about the need for better public transportation on and near military bases, servicemembers without cars are unfortunately often seen as a “difficulty”; the pressure to own a car comes not just from peers, but also from supervisors. (Naval Station Norfolk’s on-base shuttle just celebrated its 2nd anniversary of service). The economic drivers for the region are transportation and the military, particularly the receiving end of such. More positively, we could call it the “tip of the sphere”. While Northern Virginia – home to the Pentagon and CIA, retains the headquarters of major defense firms, homegrown entrepreneurship in the defense sector hasn’t received much attention in the Hampton Roads region. Much of it seems to be cults of personality; the former special operator who performs training sessions as an independent contractor, for example. However, Virginia Beach is the hub of transatlantic communications cables, and good work is being done in the UAV space (see Drone Up, for example). Shipyards are a major employer, but flush with government work, they have not embraced newer technology seen at modern Asian shipyards. The limits of innovation are certainly underwhelming: An engineer was tasked to determine that it was better for the boilermaker to press harder and work quicker; than to be gentle with the five-dollar drill bit, at one local shipyard. A resource curse comes with the misallocation of political power and capital investment. I am surprised by how difficult it is to raise capital for important projects, such as building overpasses over busy train tracks; or for community improvements in older neighborhoods. There seems to be plenty of funds, however, for municipalities to become owners of parking lots and tired shopping malls. Redevelopment by the major real estate players will come sometime, they promise. Or, witness the large companies that reap the benefits of a company town (captive workforce), without embracing the financial responsibilities of running a company town (underwriting bonds and sponsoring community amenities). A significant part of Hampton Roads faces an existential challenge: Rising sea levels. Within the next 50 years, easy living won’t be so easy as floods become more frequent. Awareness and action on coastal resiliency have begun recently, but we must stay ahead of the rising tide. In comparison to coastal Louisiana, once oil-rich but now stagnating after 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, Hampton Roads must make itself worth saving.