07-04-2008, 06:22 AM
First off, I'm a self-proclaimed idiot (and have been called as such on several occasions) so take me as you will:
Baby Boomers - There's lots and lots of us. As a matter of fact, through no fault of our own, we're the ones f****** everything up. There's just too many of us and too few to follow. Anyway, to state the obvious, we're just now starting to retire. I see a lot of negativity and an undercurrent of fear (no offense) as to the future of The Big Island and no wonder. We're talking about a sparsely populated Island in the middle of the ocean. Being isolated can be scary especially in our unique economic times. With the price of oil skyrocketing the future is unknown and the unkown is always scary as is change. As I said I'm an idiot, but I think the rising price of oil is a good thing. Okay, I know it is bringing real and difficult hardship now but it had to happen sometime and let's face it, we deserve it. We're the generation that brought consumption and consumerism to a high art.
My Grandma was born in 1892 on a farm in NYC. She saw the entire Industrial Revolution start, develop, and begin to decline. What a crazy time. Everything from the automobile to the the airplane to landing on the moon. Whoa!But what a price. When I was born there was no TV but by the time I was three, we were watching full time. Unfortunately we were the beginning of the Industrial Decline which is now starting to come to a head. It has to die if we are going to have the Non-Industrial Revolution to follow. Viva la Revolution!
So, The Big Island. Lots and lots of Baby Boomers are sick to death of winter. And I'll tell you what, if you think Puna can be scary, try living in the Northeast or Detroit or LA. Many of you know what I mean. Where I live you try not to make eye contact with your fellow drivers on the highway. An incorrectly perceived glance can lead to road rage. The Big Island, with it's many subdivisions is in a unique position to accept many newcomers without too much congestion. If oil stays high, traffic won't be a concern. As population thickens town centers will pop up. it's already starting to happen. Retail business will move in much as any frontier area with necessities first. Businesses in the service sector will increase for those unlucky enough to be born after us. But the big business will be - retirement. Fancier adult and long-term care facilities will start to pop up to the North in the Waimea and North Kohala area. Where would you rather be, a crumbling post-industrial city or looking out at Maui and Mauna Kea? Duh!!!! As these are successful, businesses in the field of Old People will recognize the Profit Potential of Puna. Old People. No joke. The price of gas becomes moot as driving becomes more and more dangerous. Services will come to us much as they do in the continuing care facilities on the Mainland. From a working class point of view it's hard to imagine that there is still $$$$$$ out there but there is and plenty of it. It will only take a small percentage of the total amount of people retiring in the next ten to twenty years to fuel this industry. The real beauty of The Big Island is that it can be largely self-sufficient. Three real growing seasons, plenty of livestock and still enough fish. Heat is not an issue. This is a big one. Last year when oil wasn't nearly as high, landlords in the North East weren't filling oil tanks for heat because they couldn't afford it. This winter could bring a public disaster in heat. The Heat Riots of 2009.
Security is another issue that is easy to handle but anyone who has read this much, no offense, but you might be as big an idiot as I am.
Best to all
Baby Boomers - There's lots and lots of us. As a matter of fact, through no fault of our own, we're the ones f****** everything up. There's just too many of us and too few to follow. Anyway, to state the obvious, we're just now starting to retire. I see a lot of negativity and an undercurrent of fear (no offense) as to the future of The Big Island and no wonder. We're talking about a sparsely populated Island in the middle of the ocean. Being isolated can be scary especially in our unique economic times. With the price of oil skyrocketing the future is unknown and the unkown is always scary as is change. As I said I'm an idiot, but I think the rising price of oil is a good thing. Okay, I know it is bringing real and difficult hardship now but it had to happen sometime and let's face it, we deserve it. We're the generation that brought consumption and consumerism to a high art.
My Grandma was born in 1892 on a farm in NYC. She saw the entire Industrial Revolution start, develop, and begin to decline. What a crazy time. Everything from the automobile to the the airplane to landing on the moon. Whoa!But what a price. When I was born there was no TV but by the time I was three, we were watching full time. Unfortunately we were the beginning of the Industrial Decline which is now starting to come to a head. It has to die if we are going to have the Non-Industrial Revolution to follow. Viva la Revolution!
So, The Big Island. Lots and lots of Baby Boomers are sick to death of winter. And I'll tell you what, if you think Puna can be scary, try living in the Northeast or Detroit or LA. Many of you know what I mean. Where I live you try not to make eye contact with your fellow drivers on the highway. An incorrectly perceived glance can lead to road rage. The Big Island, with it's many subdivisions is in a unique position to accept many newcomers without too much congestion. If oil stays high, traffic won't be a concern. As population thickens town centers will pop up. it's already starting to happen. Retail business will move in much as any frontier area with necessities first. Businesses in the service sector will increase for those unlucky enough to be born after us. But the big business will be - retirement. Fancier adult and long-term care facilities will start to pop up to the North in the Waimea and North Kohala area. Where would you rather be, a crumbling post-industrial city or looking out at Maui and Mauna Kea? Duh!!!! As these are successful, businesses in the field of Old People will recognize the Profit Potential of Puna. Old People. No joke. The price of gas becomes moot as driving becomes more and more dangerous. Services will come to us much as they do in the continuing care facilities on the Mainland. From a working class point of view it's hard to imagine that there is still $$$$$$ out there but there is and plenty of it. It will only take a small percentage of the total amount of people retiring in the next ten to twenty years to fuel this industry. The real beauty of The Big Island is that it can be largely self-sufficient. Three real growing seasons, plenty of livestock and still enough fish. Heat is not an issue. This is a big one. Last year when oil wasn't nearly as high, landlords in the North East weren't filling oil tanks for heat because they couldn't afford it. This winter could bring a public disaster in heat. The Heat Riots of 2009.
Security is another issue that is easy to handle but anyone who has read this much, no offense, but you might be as big an idiot as I am.
Best to all