Dec

Thinking Skills Part 4

Table of contents for Thinking Skills

thinking-4 Consider this situation:

The shirt factory on the edge of town closes, and 250 people lose their jobs. The shirt company sells the property to an entrepreneur who converts the factory into a warehouse that employs 30 people. The warehouse operator comes to the city planning commission seeking approval to expand her operation by constructing a second facility on the property. The new warehouse will employ an additional 20 people. A group of former employees of the shirt factory oppose the new facility, claiming that the warehouse company has “eliminated” a net total of 220 jobs from the community.

But is there any relevance to the fact that 250 people once worked at the shirt factory? No. The shirt factory is gone for good, never to return. The warehouse company did not “eliminate” 220 jobs — it actually took a vacant property and created 30 jobs, with another 20 jobs planned. The fact that the warehouse is located on the site of the old shirt factory is meaningless.

The loss of 250 jobs is an emotional issue. It has had an effect on the lives of many people. But punishing the warehouse company, and limiting its growth, will not bring those jobs back. To find the best course of action, we must discard the irrelevant facts, no matter how emotional they are, and look at the things that will make a difference.
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