Business and cities exist together and follow similar stages
of growth and decline. Each invests back into itself to foster higher levels of
economic interaction and revenue development. Governments seek to create a net
return on tax investments while businesses seek revenue returns on new product/service
lines. Without constant reinvestment and
growth, the system eventually declines.
Sustainability can be seen as a positive return on
investment money that allows for reinvestment back into the system for future
growth. Governments may reinvest resources in schools, roads, police, WI-FI, fiber
optic cables, etc. to realize greater levels of income generating
interactivity. The basic development mechanics between business and government
are similar even though they take different forms.
Economic hubs must draw in resources to fuel future growth. Resources
may come in the form of new business start-ups or existing corporate
reinvestment. Private investment increase local revenue streams that raise tax
revenue (not tax rate) and create more tax paying employment opportunities (not
tax rate). Growth can be seen as the total increase in economic activity and
revenue development throughout the hub.
Young governments and business entities may grow quickly but
will eventually move into a mature stage when they reach homeostasis with the
market. During this mature stage, a consistent percentage of revenue should be
reinvested back into their systems to maintain future growth. This reinvestment
ensures that the system continues to develop, improves the lives of its
residents, lowers transactional costs, and attracts new investments.
When a system is not
sustainable, or fails to reinvest back into itself, it declines. The system may
begin to lose residents, raise taxes, fail to attract businesses, take unnecessary
debt or fall behind on needed infrastructure improvements. Eventually the
system may need to painfully revamp itself, seek outside assistance, or perish
into history as resources disinvest and make their way into better-managed
systems.
