A recent letter to the editor published in this paper questioned why “old downtown” Albion businesses continue to seek grant money. The letter went on to compare grant money to “welfare” or a “handout.” The author stated that business owners should “roll up (their) sleeves and fix” the buildings themselves. I am certain that he is not alone in his opinion that downtown Albion is a lost cause and that grant money is just taxpayer money that is wasted.

I understand why someone feels that way, but based on personal experience I simply do not agree that grant money is a handout. Comparing grant money to welfare is overly simplistic. There is such a thing as corporate welfare, which is when large profitable corporations negotiate tax breaks on the threat of leaving the country to go overseas or like the bank bailout money given to banking institutions that gave out huge bonuses to executives in spite of their poor performance. Few people other than the ones who got nice junkets support that kind of “welfare.”

As far as grant money is concerned, it always has a designated purpose that will address a specific problem. Grant money is an investment that will reap rewards. On an individual level, if a student receives grant money to go to college they will likely pay it back tenfold in the form of taxes because of the ability to earn more income. That does not mean that a person who never goes to college does not pay taxes, there are plenty of examples of people who did not go to college that pay tons of taxes, but the reality is that some people will simply not be able to become productive members of society without a formal education. The choice then is if you want to pay for subsidies for a lifetime or college for a few years.

Other grant money goes to projects that no private entity will fund, such as road and sewer improvements. In upgrading infrastructure, the government adds value to communities and increases the tax base. The alternative is to let neighborhoods deteriorate which usually leads to an influx of uneducated criminals and drug dealers. Again, it is pay to keep up a neighborhood or pay for a jail to house the criminals.

As far as investing in “old downtown Albion” goes, it is a no-brainer. The choices are simple, let the area deteriorate and watch all the building owners be forced to abandon buildings. That sticks the taxpayer with the cost of demolition, which likely will not happen especially if there is a bunch of buildings taken off the tax rolls. Then we have a ghost town, which will attract more drug dealers and squatters, and since it is in the center of town, the ripple effect will destroy the property values of many homes in the village.

Luckily, Albion has a lot of dedicated business and building owners that roll up their sleeves and open their wallets. I respect every one of them and I have no problem with any or all of them receiving money because I know it is a good investment. The fact that businesses are seeking grant money shows a commitment to the area. We must also realize that we will all reap the rewards.

Finally, everyone should realize that in order to get grant money there has to be a clear plan as to how the recipient will use it. I have reviewed and scored over $30 million in grant applications and I can attest to the amount of detail and supporting documentation that is in the larger ones. The Teaching American History grant that Albion Central Schools received was highly competitive, and, although I did not review their application, I did participate in part of the grant program and can attest to the fact that there were many controls in place including auditors and independent evaluators.