"I couldn't possibly fail to disagree with you less."
9 May 2008The lure of Number OneOnce again, the Tulsa World and the Oklahoman are engaged in a pissing match, and, well, urine for it now. The subject: that Forbes assertion that Oklahoma City was well-nigh "recession-proof." The World dribbled forth the first round:
[O]ur neighbors at the other end of the turnpike can justifiably point with pride to the Forbes-bestowed honor as the nation's most recession-proof city.
They just shouldn't forget the advantage that makes that so. What advantage is that, you ask?
A high number of safe and stable government jobs probably constitutes the best hedge against recession.
Oklahoma City is indeed the state capital, and what's more, the huge Tinker Air Force Base complex is here. But Forbes didn't mention government jobs at all: the rating is based entirely on private-sector investment. Otherwise, snips the Oklahoman:
Washington, D.C., would lead the list every year and the rest of the list would be all be state capitals.
And then things escalate:
The relationship between Oklahoma City and Tulsa has evolved into a big brother-little sister equation, with the sister occasionally squeaking her high-pitched frustration with the older sibling. The headline on the Tulsa World editorial was "Recession proof?" The question mark speaks volumes, marginalizing the report and challenging Oklahoma City to put up or shut up.
We choose to put up with this sniveling because we think Tulsa's accomplishments are mighty and beneficial to the entire state. We wish Tulsa's opinion leaders shared our sentiments instead of retreating into petty provincialism. Finally, a nearly-QOTW-worthy punchline:
Envy is one of the seven deadly sins. In Tulsa it's a default setting.
If only it were true. But Tulsa doesn't want to be Oklahoma City; Tulsa wants the sort of status that once came with the "Oil Capital of the World" label, and the ability to look down their collective noses at everyone else, Oklahoma City included. So this isn't envy, exactly: call it nostalgia for a bygone era. Besides, the World has already given the game away:
[Oklahoma City's] citizens' willingness to tax themselves to radically improve their downtown — including manufacturing a now nationally recognized "river" out of a muddy trickle — really has the city rolling.
Tulsans, however, have largely seen fit to disregard the World's calls for higher taxes, and that, I suspect, annoys the World far more than anything that might be happening down here at the other end of the Turner. Posted at 10:51 AM to SoonerlandTrackBack: 11:56 AM, 9 May 2008 » Ticked In Tulsa from Modern Land Run Dustbury, on how the Forbes rating has further fueled the ongoing rift between OKC and T-Town... ...Tulsa doesn't want to be Oklahoma City; Tulsa wants the sort of status that once came with the "Oil Capital of the World".......[read more] Tulsa seems to have the franchise on sour grapes, eh? I really don't like that town. Posted by: Nate at 11:52 AM on 9 May 2008I lived there for 10 years, lived here for 16. You couldn't pay me a million dollars to move back. Tulsans actually wanted to remove themselves from Oklahoma but then found out that AR, MO & KS didn't want them either. Posted by: Dwayne "the canoe guy" at 9:27 PM on 9 May 2008"A high number of safe and stable government jobs probably constitutes the best hedge against recession." Boy that is dangerous. Jersey is on the verge of collapse under the weight of 'safe' government jobs. (I do not exaggerate, the state is in deep trouble.) Posted by: Mister Snitch! at 11:56 PM on 9 May 2008Post a comment
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