Futer Brothers

I was attracted to the look of Futer Brothers Jewelers, in York, PA, because it reminded me of the stores my mother dragged me to when I was small. Despite the facade, the building is much older than that; it was York's first "skyscraper," 6 stories, built in 1850. The red brick building to the left is even older; the Articles of Confederation were signed there.

Futer Bros. recently closed the store. There was a good obituary in the York Dispatch, it asked some of the same questions I've been asking myself lately:

"Still, in the long run, how well are the city and its taxpayers being served when all of the official effort, energy and dollars are expended promoting restaurants, clubs and bars, industries well known to come and go in a flash, subject to trends and financial failure, while long-standing businesses are left to fend for themselves or die in a sea of red ink? How many of those long-time businesses, I wonder, have been offered tax forgiveness or tax rebates or tax incentive programs? How many have received a single economic development or block grant dollar to help them remain viable in downtown York, while others plan on spending $30 million on a baseball stadium?"

York, Harford, it's the same everywhere. A few years back I was listening to a talk show featuring an interview of a prominent foreigner who spent a lot of time in the U.S. When asked how he liked the place he said he loved it, "except for all the corruption." The interviewer, a usually savvy, realistic, professional, was at a loss for words. Why are we always surprised?