Planet Planning: September 2011

Interesting Info on Unemployment

Interesting article on Metro unemployment in the Atlantic Monthly. As the map shows, there are big differences in employment around the country.

Click to read more:

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2011/09/geography-unemployment/176/

One Page Economic Development Strategy

Economic Development Strategy

Communities in the Heartland

The center of Illinois and the United States is the Heart of the Heartland,
in midstate Illinois mideway between Chicago and St Louis.

We will market our advantages, which include:

Minimal congestion

Middle of America’s Heartland

Close to Chicago & St Louis

Governments that are easy to work with

You can meet with the Mayor and City Council

A skilled work force with midwestern work ethics

Excellent road, rail, barge, and air service

Low crime rate

Great schools

Low taxes

Affordable quality housing

Quality universities and colleges

Our goals:

Expand and diversify our economy

Improve employment opportunities

Attract new investment and trade

Towards these ends, the region will:

Market our assets

Support economic development programs

Promote business expansion in the region

Coooperate with other communities

Special focus areas include:

Attract businesses to our region

Lower red tape

Promote tourism

Market the region for international business

Support international service at our Airports

Support agribusiness expansion

Focus on alternate engery – ethanol, wind, etc

Tinley Park Plan

Comprehensive Plan Document

Click for a nice update on the Downtown Plan

Patience and Wisdom are Virtues

Two of the greatest qualities in life are:

1. Patience

2. Wisdom

Median Household Income

The United States is still near the top of median household income, according to Wikapedia.

Median household income for selected countries is shown in the table below. The data for each country has been converted to U.S. dollars using purchasing power parity (PPP) (obtained from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development).^[4]

Annual median equivalised disposable household income

This is what a each equivalent adult in a household in the middle of the income distribution earns in a year.

Data are in United States dollars at current prices and current PPPs for the reference year.

Rank	Country	2007^[5]
1	Luxembourg	34,407
2	United States	31,111
3	Norway	31,011
4	Iceland	28,166
5	Australia	26,915
6	Switzerland	26,844
7	Canada	25,363
8	United Kingdom	25,168
9	Ireland	24,677
10	Austria	24,114
11	Netherlands	24,024
12	Sweden	22,889
13	Denmark	22,461
14	Belgium	21,532
15	Germany	21,241
16	Finland	20,875
17	New Zealand	20,679
18	France	19,615
19	Japan	19,432
20	South Korea	19,179
21	Slovenia	18,860
22	Spain	18,391
23	Italy	16,866
24	Greece	15,758
25	Israel	14,055
26	Czech Republic	12,596
27	Portugal	12,515
28	Estonia	9,836
29	Poland	9,113
30	Slovak Republic	9,071
31	Hungary	8,531
32	Chile	7,851
33	Turkey	5,940
34	Mexico	4,689
—	OECD	19,229