Unemployed?  Looking for a job?  This is a hot topic in today’s world.  In fact it is hot enough to turn some heads in the direction of the proposed Gibraltar Rock Quarry. There is a fantasy out there that if the quarry is approved then jobs will follow. But, what a fantasy! The illusion of employment soon fades under the spotlight of obvious facts.

It is a fact of life that employment goes up when the demand for goods and services goes up. Likewise, if the number of people employed goes up while the demand for goods and services stays the same, then wages are depressed and unemployment follows.

Consider the facts about the depressed need for quarry products in the area around New Hanover Township. This small market is easily satisfied by existing quarries. Just west of the proposed Gibraltar Rock site there is a growing quarry in Bechtelsville, and to the east a short distance there is a quarry outside Green Lane. Gibraltar, if it comes into being, will at best be competitive for only a few miles stretching into housing developments and corn fields. Currently there are not many quarry trucks to be seen in the area.

What will happen if Gibraltar gets permission to go forward? The demand is flat so a truck load of gravel coming from Gibraltar will be one less truck employed by a neighboring quarry. A job is added here but a job is lost over there. That is not an increase in employment. Such an arrangement is an increase in resentment. We don’t need angry neighbors pounding on our doors wanting their jobs back. Lets keep peace among friends and keep Gibraltar Rock away from where they are not needed. Existing quarries can progress without disruption and we can progress without dust, noise and traffic congestion.

Roger Buchanan

Past President – Paradise Watchdogs