Honestly, there is a little section of the population here that supports shutting down the Port. And they lack vision. We should be improving Port operations, seeking new lines of business, and challenging those who refuse to see the benefits of the Port. According to the financial records of the Port, over 2,600 direct jobs, over $132 million in direct wages and salaries, over 1,300 induced jobs, and over 1,000 indirect jobs were supported by the Port in their 2021 financial benefits analysis. The claim that the Port loses money is suspect too. One of the "accounting tricks" that some folks use to back this argument is depreciation. An accounting measure that is easily compensated for and written off in the private sector, but the Port is a public entity. Let's also not forget the benefits and uniqueness of so-called break-bulk cargo, which can be directly shipped to hard to reach areas around the world and to where large cargo ships would have to break cargo down anyway. And, let us not forget the element of emergency management that makes the Port of Olympia necessary in case of a disaster. Perhaps having little to no escape routes or no access to the supplies we might need isn't the best idea. The real reason a contingent of short-sighted naysayers wants the Port shut down is because they don't care for industry and would rather have a park. It's actually quite in line with the rest of the anti-growth sentiment from this contingent. Well, unfortunately for them, growth is happening and it won't be stopped. The only thing we can do is grow with it.
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