There’s no question that the Grand Valley is in a better position today to recruit primary jobs than it was just a few years ago, thanks to a series of developments stemming from greater buy-in to economic development theory.

Business and government are cooperating on an unprecedented scale locally to improve the economy. But what about consumers? They play a role, too, as we’ll explain, but as the third leg of economic-development stool, they’re coming up short, creating wobbly results.

The main tenet of economic development is to create, recruit or retain primary jobs. These are jobs that produce goods or services for customers who are predominantly outside the community. It’s the influx of “outside” dollars that help grow the economy. They have a much greater ripple effect than the money we pass back and forth in the local consumer market to buy gas or groceries, for example.

Read more at The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.